VICKSBURG, MI HISTORY
VILLAGE VIEWS PAGE 3
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Indian Lake, Lemon Park boats, 1910
Property of the Vicksburg Historical Society
| Historic Village - VICKSBURG COMMERCIAL PRINT SHOP |
| Historic Village - STRONG SCHOOL |
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VILLAGE VIEWS PAGE 3 |
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Businesses continued |
this page: https://sites.rootsweb.com/~mivhs/vicksburgvillageviewsp3.htm
BUSINESSES continued
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Pickle Factory, Scotts MI, 1910 According to Maggie Snyder, the Scotts Pickle Factory was a warehouse where local growers brought their cucumbers for sorting and shipping to a processing plant elsewhere. There was one in Vicksburg, too, but that one lasted into the 1950's. And, according to Scotts Past and Present (1972), "...a pickle factory was located near the Eureka Hoop and Stave Mill, which was located behind and to the south of the house presently occupied by the Joseph Halasz family on East QR Avenue, formerly known as Mill street." |
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The Governor Works, Vicksburg undated
| Sunset Lake, the key geographic feature in the
development of Vicksburg, was created by John Vickers, founder of
Vicksburg, when he dammed Portage Creek in 1830 as a source of water
power for his grist mill, at the time the only such mill in southwestern
Michigan.
Sunset Lake continued its commercial, as well as its recreational, importance for many years as a source of ice - see the SUNSET LAKE ICE HARVEST page. |
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Portage Creek, Vicksburg, 1910
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Sunset Lake, 1911, by Dr. F. S. Coller
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Sunset Lake, 1940's ?
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Sunset Lake Gazebo, 2000
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Sunset Lake, 1914 by S. D. Joy
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Sunset Lake, undated
SUNSET LAKE LOTUS LILIES
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Vicksburg was once famous for the beautiful American Lotus water lilies that grew in great profusion on Sunset Lake. Sight-seers thronged to the area each summer, with hundreds arriving in town on specially chartered excursion trains, just to see the spectacle of the cream-colored, saucer-sized blossoms, which opened over a period of about three weeks in August. They diminished over the years, blossoming for the last time in 1930. |
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| Lotus Lilies: This
photo post card was published by drug store owner O. B. Dunning from a
hand-colored photograph taken by local photographer William Koons*. It is
postmarked 1912. |
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Another view of the Sunset Lake lotus lilies, postmarked 1909. The photograph is by Dr. C. R. Scott whose office was above O. B. Dunnings & Sons' drug store. |
AUSTIN LAKE
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Austin Lake Airport and Seaplane Base -1940's
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The Austin Lake airport was constructed on the old Woodhams farm in the 1920's by Irving Woodhams, a local aviation pioneer. Austin Lake is one of few lakes in the area where seaplane landing are permitted. The old airport was located at the south end of Austin Lake and had a 3400 foot runway before the airport was closed at the end of 2000. |
LONG LAKE
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Diving at Bucholz's Summer Home Park, Long Lake, 1930's |
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Sunbathing, Long Lake, 1922 |
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Most likely this is a view from Ramona Park. There were two popular parks on Long Lake, Ramona - on the west side and Summer Home Park - on the south side. There was once a railroad spur from the Austin Lake station, Zylman Road east of Cox. Ramona is now a Portage City Park. Summer Home Park is no longer open, only the skating rink remains in use. Houses have been built on the old baseball field across 24th St. once used by the popular Bob Quiring Summer Sports School. Ramona Park was once part of the Thomas Branch farm that encompassed the land between Austin and Long Lake. |
