Early History
The village of Bangor is situated near the northeast corner of Bangor Township, a portion of it extending into Arlington Township.
Good water power privileges afforded by Black River and the Chicago and West Michigan Railroad having a line and station in the village made it an ideal place for a settlement. The lands embraced within the corporate limits were purchased from the general government
To Charles U. Cross, the first settler in the township, is accorded the honor of being the first settler upon the village site of Bangor. Mr. Cross came to Michigan from Madison County, New York, in 1834 and he settled on the site which became his home in March, 1837. He built a log cabin where the new West Michigan Savings Bank now stands. He was a civil engineer and surveyor. He aided in the contraction of the roads and bridges in the area.
On April 14, 1838, a son was born to Mr. & Mrs. Cross, the first white child born in Bangor Township.
The second settler in the village was Orlando S. Brown, who came from Monroe County, New Your, in 1837 and to Bangor in 1839. He owned 80 acres in Section 14 which he exchanged for 80 acres in Section 12. One half of this land is now within the Limits of Bangor. He erected a log house and cleared six acres and planted it to corn.
The timber which at that time covered the present city of Bangor was gigantic in size. Some of the black walnut and white wood trees were six feet in diameter. When roads were opened, a demand for this timber made it a profitable source of revenue.
Many Indians were in the immediate vicinity. They were Pottawatmies led by their chief, Pi-pa-wa. They were on amicable terms with the settlers, often exchanging supplies of game for bread.
They frequently visited the cabin of Mr. Brown, and often, when overtaken by approaching night, they spent the night there rolled up in blankets before the fire in his cabin.
A schooner laden with apples and ship-wrecked on Lake Michigan afforded an opportunity for raising an orchard. The seeds of the apples washed ashore were planted in 1841 and produced the earliest fruit in the township. (This was the beginning of the fruit industry in this area.)
Calvin Cross, a brother of Charles U. Cross, came in May, 1844. He and Charles U. Cross erected a sawmill in 1846. In 1850 the property was conveyed to Calvin Cross by Charles U. Cross. Mr. Cross managed the sawmill for six years and sold it to Marcello P. Watson who conveyed it in 1856 to Joseph H. Nyman who erected upon the same site a sash and blind factory.
Marcello P. Watson and Albert Comstock opened the first general merchandise store in the village in 1852. Since the demand for their wares was not great, they reduced their stock and closed the store. Mr. Watson soon thereafter became the owner of the sawmill.
A very marked impetus was given to the growth of Bangor and its business interests by the settlement of Joseph H. Nyman, who came from Niles, Michigan, in 1856 and purchased the sawmill and water privilege. He replaced the old mill with a larger one. A year later, 1857, he built a grist mill (on the north side of the dam on Black River. Some of the footings of this building are sill visible now in 1977).
In 1860 Mr. Nyman erected extensive woolen mills, having meanwhile much improved the water power. These mills manufactured flannels, cloths and yarn and were operated by John Crow, son-in-law of Joseph Nyman.
Through Mr. Nyman's influence a post office was established, of which he was the first post-master. The mail at first was brought from Arlington; later a tri-weekly stage conveyed it from Paw Paw and South Haven.
The store erected by Watson in 1852 was purchased in 1862 by J.D. Kingston and converted into a hotel of which he was proprietor. L.S. Russell, his successor, added considerably to its size and sold it to Horace Sebring. It was christened "The Sebring House."
In 1864 A.B. Taft came from New York State and opened the only general merchandise store, at that time, in a building standing just north of the depot. The building was small and exceedingly dilapidated in condition, but it did a good service in the celebration of the opening of the railroad in 1870.
Following Mr. Taft, the Ferguson Brothers embarked in business center on the north side in 1866. That same summer Silas DeLong opened a stock of goods which was sold to D.K. Charles in 1867.
The village was already assuming importance as a business center and attracting enterprising settlers from adjacent parts of the state when the question of building a railroad was agitated.
The Chicago and West Michigan Railroad was opened in 1870. The railroad afforded a means of transportation for the products of the adjoining county and made Bangor a central point of shipment, very materially advancing the value of property and ensuring for the village a future career of prosperity.
The most powerful lever of advancement for Bangor since the opening of the railroad was the Bangor Blast Furnace for the smelting of iron ore and manufacture of pig iron. It was organized in 1872. It employed over 400 people and average of 36 tons of pig iron daily. The company was influenced by an ample supply of hard timber (it consumed 125 cords of wood per day) and there inducements offered by leading residents of the township to locate in the village. The extensive demand for material and its immense shipping interests greatly advanced the business activity of the place.
The Bangor Chemical Works, the largest of its kind in the world at that time, was started by Ira B. Lyon. They manufactured acetic acid and wood alcohol from acetate of lime. This company added materially to the industries in the village.
These interest, supplemented by the prosperity of its business men and the ambition of its citizens, eventually placed Bangor among the most advanced villages in the state.
The first plat of the village was made by Joseph P. Nyman and recorded November 12, 1860. In 1861 Mr. Nyman built his residence on one of the lots of this plat. This was the first dwelling erected on the north side of the river.
The second plat was made by Charles U. Cross, July 11, 1867
The act to incorporate the Village of Bangor bears the date March 21, 1877. The first election was held at the office of Sebring's Warehouse on April 16, 1877. The officers of the Village elected at that time were as follows: President, Ephraim Harvey; Trustees for one year, William H Reynolds, James Salisbury and Mark Remington; Clerk, William H. Reynolds; Treasurer, John E Sebering; Assessor, James Ferguson; Street Commissioner, Edwin Ruthruff; Constable, Thaddeus McNitt.
In 1879 C.G. Russell built a hotel which was known as the "Russell House." it was converiently located and obtained good patronage from travelers.
A Wagon Factory was established by Stephen McMillan in the early 1870's. It became one of the most important enterprises in the Village of Bangor. The establishment was enlarged twice in order to handle the business. This factory manufactured wagons, carriages and sleighs and did general custom work.
(Information on Schools, churches, doctors, undertakers, centennial farms organizations, businesses and industries will be found in respective sections of this Centennial Book.)
Information was taken from History of Barren and Van Buren Counties published in 1880 and A History of Bangor, written by Charles E. Cross
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