Goodwillie Bros. Box Factory (1907-1922)

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The Goodwillie Box Factory on Manistique's west side.

The Goodwillie Box Factory on Manistique’s west side.

           Robert Walter Goodwillie was born on March 13, 1850 in Chicago, Illinois. He was the oldest of six children born to David and Cecelia Goodwillie. David Goodwillie was the proprietor of a box factory in Chicago where Robert and his younger brother James found employment and learned the business.

             In about 1873, while still residing in Chicago, Goodwillie married Pennsylvania native, Agnes Jones. At least three children were born to this union including Grace. Lillian and Agnes.  In 1889, Goodwillie, in partnership with his brother James, opened a box factory in Wausau, Wisconsin, which employed 70 men and produced 6,000 wooden boxes per day. By 1892, the box factory had expanded and employed approximately 220 men. Read More...

George Nicholson – White Marble Lime Co. (1889-1928)

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The Marblehead lime kilns were erected in 1891.

The Marblehead lime kilns were erected in 1891.

           Pioneer Manistique industrialist George Nicholson was born on February 8, 1852 in Hartford, Wisconsin, the fourth child in a sibling group of five. His parents, George Nicholson Sr. and Fannie White, were natives of Ireland, having settled first in New York before moving west to Wisconsin. As a young man, George Nicholson Jr. attended business school in Appleton, Wisconsin. His first venture into the world of commerce came in Graysville, Wisconsin, where he operated a general merchandise store. After relocating to Chilton, Wisconsin, he opened a clothing and dry goods store and also had interest in a grain elevator. Read More...

The Trouble with Cows – 1897

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Early photo of cows running free on Manistique's Westside

Early photo of cows running free on Manistique’s West side

           During the 1880s and 90s cattle were allowed to roam free in the city of Manistique. The Schoolcraft County Pioneer commented on the issue as early as June of 1884: “We hear a little trouble brewing in the county over the fact that cattle are allowed to run at large. Three years ago the Board of Supervisors voted to suspend the provisions of the cattle restraining law in this county; whether they have done anything since about it we have not found out but presume it remains the same.” Read More...

Wm. Middlebrook – Pioneer Merchant & Civic Leader

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Interior of the Middlebrook Grocery located on Manistique’s Westside. The stock included a mixture of grocery, dry goods and hardware items. The shelves were lined with canned goods and signs in the rear of the store advertised “Mexoja” high grade coffee and Oleo margarine

Interior of the Middlebrook Grocery located on Manistique’s Westside. The stock included a mixture of grocery, dry goods and hardware items. The shelves were lined with canned goods and signs in the rear of the store advertised “Mexoja” high grade coffee and Oleo margarine.

           William Middlebrook was born in Lindsley, Steuben Co. New York on July 22, 1864. He received his early education in Lindsley and then went on to attend Allen’s Business College in Elmira, New York. Middlebrook worked for a time as a bookkeeper in New York before coming to Manistique in the spring of 1886. Here, Middlebrook found employment with the Weston Lumber Company and was placed in charge of the Clothing and Dry Goods Department of the company’s general store on Deer Street. He married Dora R. James in a ceremony at Manistique on June 2, 1887. Read More...