A Little History of
Seney, Michigan
in the Upper Peninsula
Seney, MI started out as a little settlement located by the
tracks of the Duluth, South Shore, and Atlantic railroad,
that ran
from St. Ignace, MI to Marquette, MI in about 1881. The train stopped at Seney to load and unload passengers who
wanted to travel the footpath north to the harbor town of Grand
Marais, MI, located on Lake Superior.
Some say the town was named for one of the contractors on the
railroad as were some of the nearby villages.
The Upper Peninsula was a vast forest of white pine, so in 1882
the Alger, Smith Company began logging and other companies soon
followed. Seney was suddenly the center of the logging industry and this little hamlet abruptly grew to become a thriving
town of around 3000 people, and many more when the lumberjacks came
in from the 15 or more nearby camps.
Much of the town was built up on 6 foot cedar posts because of
the swampy land and the depth of the snow. There were about 21
saloons, 10 hotels, a church, drug stores, meat markets, general
merchandise stores, a jewelry store, other businesses, and several
hundred houses.
The quiet little village of Seney was now a roaring lumber town
and had become notorious. The cemetery, Boot Hill, was located just
south of Seney, where the tall pines still stand guard over the long
gone loggers.
Logging was conducted during the winter as it was easier to
move the logs on sleds or with big wheels because of the deep snow.
The sleds and big wheels were pulled by oxen, mules, or horses.
The logs were moved to the Fox River and piled up until the
spring thaw and then they traveled down the river to Manistique where
they were sent to the saw-mills. Much of this wood was used to build
homes in the midwest. Some wood was also hauled to Grand Marais and
sent to England. This boom lasted for about 15 years.
During this time, Seney was plagued by fires and the pines were
logged so the loggers and shopkeepers soon followed the big pines to
new camps. There were two major forest fires, in 1891 and 1895, but
Seney never totally burned to the ground.
Other towns grew and Seney became an almost abandoned village.
The population dropped to about 300 and is now a very pleasant
village with outstanding recreational facilities for all seasons.
From Ernest Hemingway, The Big Two Hearted River:
"The train went on up the track out of sight, around one of the
hills of burnt timber. Nick sat down on the bundle of canvas and
bedding the baggage man had pitched out of the door of the baggage
car...The thirteen saloons that had lined the one street of Seney had
not left a trace...
The river was there. It swirled against the log spiles of the
bridge.
Nick looked down into the clear brown water, colored from the
pebbly bottom, and watched the trout keeping themselves steady in the
current with wavering fins. As he watched them they changed their
positions by quick angles, only to hold steady in the fast water
again. Nick watched them a long time...
Nick's heart tightened as the trout moved. He felt all the old
feeling."
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Information on the History of Seney courtesy of Al Seccia, Seney
Country Inn.
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