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South Main Street, Scottville in 1915
This MCP Great Lakes History Blog is presented by Filer Credit Union and the Mason County Historical Society.
By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
The story of how Scottville got its name is part of local lore, the result of a coin toss between two businessmen due to a scandal. The story is told on an official State of Michigan historical marker in downtown Scottville and has been told in many historical accounts over the years.
Ruth Bishop Falconer
In the late 1870s, scandal struck the little town of Sweetland, located in the center of Mason County. The town’s namesake, James Sweetland, had apparently left his wife, Annett, while she was pregnant with twin daughters. He supposedly left town with a Native American woman. The townsfolk were so distraught about this they called a meeting and determined the name of the town should be changed. This task fell on business owner Hiram Scott and his colleague, George Reader, who flipped a coin resulting in Scott winning and naming the town after himself: Scottville.
At least, that’s how the story goes.
Reference to the “scandal” is found in the book “Back Home With Ruth,” a biography of Scottville pioneer Ruth (Bishop) Falconer, written and published in 1976 by June Newkirk. It was written by Newkirk based on Falconer’s hand-written memoirs and was the outcome of Newkirk’s master’s thesis, according to grandson Jimmy Newkirk. Excerpts of Falconer’s memoirs were published also in Ludington Daily News and by the Mason County Historical Society. A recording of Falconer is in the Society’s Rose Hawley Archives.
Falconer died in 1976, just a few months before her 100th birthday. Her biography is commonly used as a standard for Scottville history. Not only does it contain Falconer’s recollections of life in Mason County in the late 19th century but June Newkirk lists dozens of references in her bibliography that are a treasure for local history researchers.
Ruth Bishop was born on Oct. 23, 1876 in Mannsville, New York, the daughter of Emma (1846-1915) and Asa (1848-1877) Bishop. The following year, Asa died in an accident involving a horse-drawn wagon. At the urging of her friend George Reader, Emma left New York with her 4-year-old daughter and moved to the woods of northwest Michigan in 1880 to the little settlement of Sweetland.
In the book, Falconer recalls attending the meeting that resulted in the coin toss. Up until recently, I had always been under the assumption that James Sweetland’s departure of the town and the famous coin toss — which took place at the present day southeast corner of State (US 10) and Main streets — occurred within days of each other. But, Mrs. Falconer’s timeline doesn’t add up.
Another revelation has been the fact that the name Sweetland was a rather short-lived name.
To understand the history of Scottville, we need to briefly review the beginnings of Mason County. The first record of a non-Native American to travel through what is now Mason County was Father (Pere in French) Jacques Marquette who died on the shores of Lake Michigan near what would later become a river, lake and town named after him. Marquette died of dysentery at the age of 37 while traveling back to St. Ignace following an exploratory trip with Louis Jolliet that followed the Mississippi River and took them within 435 miles of the Gulf of Mexico.
Towns like Scottville were developed as a result of the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad. This station was built years after the events discussed in this article.
The next record of a non-Native American person coming to what is now Mason County took place in 1835, when William Quivillon, who was working for Louis Campeau and Sen. William T. Ferry, came to the area to trade with Native Americans. Quivillon left the area but returned with his family in 1850 and established a farm on the property that is now Summit Park in Summit Township.
On Jan. 26, 1837, Michigan became a state. Initially, Mason County was part of Ottawa County. Notipekago County was established in 1840 and was attached to Ottawa County. The named derived from what the Ottawa called the river that would eventually be named the Pere Marquette River and was translated as “heads on sticks”, named after a Native American battle that took place on the river in the 1700s near what is now the Custer Road bridge. (Read more here).
The county was renamed Mason in 1843, after Stevens T. Mason, the first governor of Michigan. In 1855, Mason County was separated from Ottawa County and established its own government.
Historical records show that Joseph L. Wheeler purchased land around Pere Marquette Lake in 1840 and in 1845, John H. Harris acquired 37 acres of land in what became known as Free Soils Mills near the mouth of Gurney Creek in Section 6 of what is now Grant Township.
The first Ludington sawmill was established in 1849 in the area where the Ludington Municipal Marina is now located. It was a steam-powered mill owned by two Manistee men, Bean and Baird. The village, mostly made up of shanties, soon became known as Pere Marquette, but the village was never chartered. With the addition of more sawmills, more housing and commerce eventually came to the area.
The sawmill in Pere Marquette, however, was not the first in the area. That honor goes to the sawmill established at Free Soil Mills in what is now Grant Township.
In 1847, Charles Mears built a mill at Black Creek, later known as Lincoln (near modern day Lincoln Hills Golf Club on Lincoln Lake in Hamlin Township). A log house and blacksmith shop were first built. Mears changed the name in 1861 after Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as president.
Amber Station train depot
Sweetland/Mason Center
About 1860, the first non-Native American people began settling in an area near the center of Mason County which would later become Scottville.
There were three other settlements that were also established nearby along the route of the anticipated Flint & Pere Marquette Railway, Ferryville (changed to Custer in 1878), Jordan and Amber.
Ferryville/Custer was located three miles to the east along the anticipated route of the railroad. A settlement closer to the Pere Marquette River, named Black Creek, had been first settled in 1847. With the survey of the railroad completed, the settlement was moved north and renamed.
Jordan was located in Section 13 of Amber Township, just west of the current Scottville city limits on the south end of property that is now the local offices of Great Lakes Energy. Though there are historical references to this settlement, there are not many details.
Amber, also known as Amber Station, was located on what is now Amber Road just south of US 10-31.
It is likely Scottville became the larger community due to it being closer to the river (and eventually had a river crossing) and also because a north-south road was established in 1875, along the Amber-Custer townships line. This road was surveyed and improved in 1880 and it eventually lead up to Manistee.
According to Ruth Falconer, as written in “Back Home With Ruth,” the area around Scottville consisted of 10 families in 1864, with many of the men gone, fighting on behalf of the United States in the American Civil War.
In 1871, railroad ties were being laid and the final stretch of the Flint & Pere Marquette Railway was being built from Reed City to Ludington. It would officially open in 1874.
First land titles in Sweetland
The first land grants were established in the settlement that became Scottville in 1870, and 1871 and went to Native Americans Key-way-quarn-m-quay (1870), O-taw-pa-taw (1870), and Naw-qua-naey-she (1871).
In 1875, land grants were granted to John Murphy and Harry Melsom. Melsom built the first general store in the town.
In 1876, James Sweetland and J.C. Mustard moved their families from Victory Township. In 1878, Sweetland, Mustard, and John Winters established a sawmill and the town soon was being called Sweetland (it was also often referred to as Mason Center). It’s likely the name Sweetland was more of shortened reference to the sawmill rather than an ode to Mr. Sweetland himself.
Hiram Scott (1849-1924) arrived in Scottville in 1877 and James Crowley arrived in 1879. Falconer described them as lumber scalers from Ludington.
According to the book “Michigan Place Names,” written by Walter Romig and published in 1973, Scott and Crowley purchased the Sweetland, Mustard and Winters sawmill in 1879 and then established a general store and built houses in the town.
Romig claims that Scott and Crowley then named the town Sweetland. In Romig’s book, he references U.S. Postal Service archives that state the Sweetland post office was established on June 20, 1879.
The Scott and Crowley store was a two-story building just south of the railroad tracks located on the northwest corner of modern Main and First streets (across from the Scottville Post Office). Scott operated the store and Crowley served as a silent partner. They hired George Reader as a clerk and assistant manager. Scott & Crowley’s store served as a flag station for the F&PM Railway. It also was the location of the first post office in Scottville; Chauncy Record, who had served as the first Amber postmaster, became the first Scottville postmaster as well.
When referencing the Scott & Crowley store as a flag station, this was not a regular stop on the railroad. Fred Reader, a descendant of George Reader, said a story passed down through the Reader family talks about how when a train needed to be flagged to stop, George Reader would put on the official F&PM railroad hat, step outside the store, and wave the flag, signaling the train to stop. This was a rather common practice until an official train station was later built on the north side of the tracks between Blaine Street and Columbia Avenue.
Before we continue, here is some more detailed biographical information on some of the key players in the naming and planning of the town.
Hiram Scott
Hiram Scott
Hiram Scott was born July 31, 1849 in upstate New York, the son of Eliphalet and Laura Ann Scott. In 1860 his family was living in Caledonia, Mich. In 1878 he married Josie Dunham, who died sometime between then and 1880. In 1881 he married Jennie Carrier from Sherman Township. Jennie
They had one daughter, Blanch, born in 1889. According to census records, the Scotts had moved to Manistee by the mid-1890s. Census records state in 1910 and 1920 he was a lumber inspector there. Hiram Scott died on July 22, 1924, at the age of 74, and is buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in Manistee. Jennie died in 1960 in Manistee at the age of 95 and is also buried at Oak Grove Cemetery. According to her obituary, the Scotts had no living children when she died.
James Crowley
James Crowley was born in 1842 in Wisconsin, the son of John and Ellen (Maloney) Crowley. On Sept. 26, 1869 he married Hannah Gullenbrough (1852-1945) in Ludington. Census records show him living in Pere Marquette (Ludington) in 1870 and in 1880. It is likely he did not live in Scottville. Crowley died in 1890 in Ludington.
George Reader
George Reader
George Huxford Hanford Reader was born on Nov. 4, 1853 in Lyme Regis, West Dorset, England, the son of George Huxford Reader (1832-1912) and Jane Jone (Gummer) Reader (1832-1910). In 1855, the Reader family emigrated to Sackett’s Harbor, New York and then moved to Hounsfield in Jefferson County, NY the same year.
Records show George HH Reader living in Pentwater in 1875 where he taught school, later moving to Amber Township where he also taught.
On May 11, 1880 he married Viola Amanda Carpenter (1855-1944).
In 1880, he is listed as living in Mason County and working a few months at a woodenware factory. He is also then listed as living in Amber Township that same year. In 1881 he is listed as living in Scottville and working for Scott & Crowley “until they went out of business.”
In 1882, he became business partners with W.A. Bailey and started Bailey & Reader, likely purchasing the Scott & Crowley store. In 1886, his brothers William H. (W.H.) and Talcott Richard (T.R.) bought out Bailey’s share of the business and formed Reader Bros.
George Reader was elected to the Michigan legislature in 1887 as a Republican.
In 1894, William Reader sold his share of the store to J.D. Hunter and the business became Reader Bros. & Hunter.
George Reader also served as Amber Township supervisor and as a justice of the peace.
George’s parents moved to Scottville in 1888.
George Reader died on Dec. 2, 1912 in Scottville. He is buried at Scottville Brookside Cemetery.
Descendants of George Reader continue to live in Mason County.
Charles Blaine
Charles Blaine was born in 1845 in Romulus, New York state, the son of James (1814-1893) and Amanda (DePew) Blaine (1820-1902). Records show him living in Pere Marquette (Ludington) in 1870. In 1875, he married Helen Amanda Williams (1849-1935). They are listed as living in Ludington in the 1880 census. In 1900, census records show them living in Ann Arbor.
Charles died on Aug. 6, 1902 in Romulus, New York.
According to his obituary, he was engaged in banking in Ludington. He and Helen returned to New York to raise their children but he often returned to Michigan where he continued to have business interests. The Blaines had two daughters, Nettie (1875-1918) and Myrtle (1882-1936).
Following Charles’s death, Helen moved back to Ludington where she lived with her daughters. Helen died in Ludington but is buried in Romulus, NY along with Charles.
Josephus Mustard, in back, second from left, with family.
Josephus C. Mustard
J.C. Mustard was born Oct. 11, 1833 in Washington, Penn. When he was a child, his parents moved to Ohio. Mustard served as a private in Co B of 118th Ohio Vol. Infantry from August 1862 to May 1865. He was wounded in the thigh in 1864 but continued to serve.
On Nov. 11, 1854, J.C. married Katherine Clark (1833-1857) in Ada, Ohio. They had two children, William Hamilton (1855-1931) and Mary Jane (1857-1857). It is likely that Katherine died as a result of childbirth. Mary Jane was born Aug. 20, 1857. Katherine died on Aug. 29, 1857, nine days after Mary Jane’s birth. Mary Jane died Dec. 20, 1857.
In March 7, 1860, J.C. married Tabatha Margaret Collins (1837-1924) in Ada, Ohio. They had seven children: Charles Edwin (1861-1945);, Mattie Matilda (1861-1934); James (1868-1943); Ralph A. (1870-1872); Albert A. (1873); John Harris (1875-1960); Anna G. (1881-1882).
In 1876 he moved to Amber Township, purchasing 40 acres of land in Section 13. His farm sat on what is now the northwest corner of US 10 and the US 31 bypass. Mustard was in the lumbering business and basically cut the timber that cleared the way for Scottville to develop. Mustard lived on the farm until 1897 when he was appointed Scottville post master. Though he continued to own the farm, he moved to a house on North Main Street.
Mustard died on June 11, 1913. He and Tabatha are buried in Scottville Brookside Cemetery a short distance from Ruth Falconer’s gravesite.
Sweetland, Mustard, Winters sawmill, located on “River Hill”
James Sweetland
James Montgomery Sweetland was born on April 13, 1839 in Dryden, NY, located about 56 miles south of Syracuse, the son of John and Candice Sweetland. On Aug. 20, 1862, the 23-year-old Sweetland married 17-year-old Annett (Ann) Ettie Nicholas (1845-1919) in Quincy, Michigan, located in Branch County about 11 miles east of Coldwater.
James and Candice moved to Victory Township, Mason County in 1867, homesteading 80 acres of land in Section 28 of Victory Township. It appears that James’s brother, William (1845-1939) came to Mason County the previous year, homesteading 80 acres in Section 22 of Victory Township.
James and Ann had seven children, one whom died in infancy and the rest who lived into adulthood. Those children included: Orrin J. (1864-1864); Celia Candace (married surname of Hagstrom, 1865-1950); Emma (Brownson, 1868-1956); John Javerse (1871-1928); Lydia (Bauman, 1876-1902); Martha Ann (Meyers, 1879-1913); Mary Etta (Mattis, 1879-1924).
We will discuss the rest of James Sweetland’s life in a bit.
Scottville in 1900
Now, back to our story…
Remember that James Sweetland had come to town in 1876 and established a sawmill, with Winters and Mustard, in 1878. James and Ann Sweetland also operated a boarding house.
In chapter 8 of “Back Home with Ruth” is the story about the renaming of the town and the coin toss takes place.
“By late 1882, the whole area had been shocked by a great local scandal and the name of the village was immediately changed from Sweetland to Scottville,” the book reads.
“Ruth Bishop was just a small child when ‘the scandal’ happened. Ruth watched her mother’s body bristle with indignation as she paced back and forth in their room. Her mother muttered to herself about it being the most terrible thing that could have happened; she certainly did not approve of it; and she could not understand whatever possessed a man to do such a horrible thing. She told Ruth to stay in their room and play while she went in and, as she put it, ‘Someone should sympathize with Mrs. Sweeland, the poor soul.’ James Sweetland’s wife had given birth to twin daughters and, while she was still bedridden, Sweetland ran off with an Indian squaw and never returned. He died, years later, in the state of New York.
“Everyone felt very indignant over Sweetland’s actions and the disgrace he had brought to his family and to the village. The next day, Ruth watched her mother as she prepared to go to the village meeting. She wanted to go along and so her mother allowed her to do so. At the meeting, all of the townfolk agreed that something had to be done to ‘right the wrong.’ George Reader and Hiram Scott stated they would not live in a place named for a man who would do such a deed as that. So Hiram Scott and his business manager, George Reader, tossed a coin on the main corners of town (where the stoplight would one day be located). Scott won the honor of renaming the village and so he named Scottville. Reader named State and Main Streets. A few years later, Reader was also instrumental in getting the village incorporated.”
In the next paragraph, the book explains a little more about platting the village: “In late 1882, Charles Blaine and Hiram Scott platted the area. The first real streets to be constructed were Blaine, Crowley State and Main.”
There are several statements in the book that cannot be historical accurate in relation to the timing of the “scandal” and the name change.
The Sweetland twins, Mary and Martha, were born on June 27, 1879 (seven days after the Sweetland post office was established). I have verified this information from three sources: A family tree posted on Ancestry.com plus Mary and Martha’s obituaries.
The book claims that these events took place in 1882 when Ann Sweetland was still bedridden from giving birth, but that’s just not accurate, since the twins were 3-years-old at that point.
Emma Bishop and Ruth Bishop in 1881.
Further, Ruth Bishop and her mother, Emma, came to Sweetland in late 1880. This is stated earlier in the book and also in several published articles about Ruth. I believe that they arrived late in 1880 because Ruth stated that she was 4-years-old when they came to Sweetland. Since her birthday was on October 23 and she was born in 1876, she wouldn’t have been 4 until later in the year. The 1880 census still shows them living in New York also.
One hypothesis is that Emma and Ruth arrived in 1879, which would explain Emma consoling Ann Sweetland. But, that doesn’t negate the fact that the town name was changed until 1882.
My theory is that Sweetland sold his sawmill and remained in town for a couple years, likely continuing to run the boarding house. Then, sometime in 1882, he deserted his wife and children. Emma Bishop probably did console her friend, but Ann Sweetland had not just given birth. Following Sweetland’s departure, the town residences decided then to change the name.
According to “Michigan Place Names,” the post office name was officially changed to Scottville, on Sept. 12, 1882. I don’t know how slow the U.S. government moved in the 1880s, but it’s likely the coin flip took place several months prior to the official recording of the post office name change.
Another inaccuracy in “Back Home With Ruth” is the eventual fate of James Sweetland, which states he moved to New York, where he died. He may have initially moved to New York, but James Sweetland died on Feb. 28, 1911 on his ranch in Shelton, Washington after accidentally being blown up by dynamite. This was found in a newspaper article. Ironically, Shelton is located in Mason County, Washington.
The purpose of this article is not to dispute the coin toss; there have been others who have corroborated that story. I believe the reason for the contradictions is that Ruth Falconer wrote her memoirs when she was in her late 80s to mid-90s. Add to that, the interpretation of events as witnessed by a 6-year-old child, and it’s likely she got things mixed up.
Separate from the book “Back Home With Ruth,” the more public inaccuracy of this story is the official State of Michigan historical marker located in the pocket park in downtown Scottville. This marker, which was sponsored by the Ludington Daily News during the Scottville centennial in 1989, tells the story of the coin flip — except it excludes George Reader and, instead, states that Charles Blaine flipped the coin with Hiram Scott.
Of multiple articles published about the coin flip, only one, written in the 1940s by Mrs. O’Hearn, states that Blaine was the second participant.
Fred Reader, descendant of George Reader, said he can remember when Jennie Scott, Hiram Scott’s widow, visited the Reader store in downtown Scottville in the 1950s and recounted the story of the coin flip. Fred said the coin flip is part of the family’s legacy and passed on through the generations.
In addition to helping name Scottville, George Reader, as a state representative, was responsible for sponsoring a bill that incorporated the town into a village in 1889.
It is this writer’s opinion that the historical marker should be changed.
“Back Home With Ruth” is available for sale exclusively at the Mason County Historical Society’s Mason County Emporium & Sweet Shop in downtown Ludington or the Society’s Historical White Pine Village.
Sources: Mason County Historical Society Rose Hawley Archives, newspapers.com, ancestry.com, “Back Home With Ruth,” “Michigan Place Names,” Fred Reader
The Mason County Historical Society is a non-profit charitable organization that was founded in 1937 that does not receive any governmental funding. It owns and operates the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum in Ludington, Historic White Pine Village in Pere Marquette Township, and The Rose Hawley Archives and the Mason County Emporium and Sweet Shop in downtown Ludington.
For more information about donating to and/or joining the Mason County Historical Society, visit masoncountymihistory.org.
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