Methodist Episcopal Church

Here is a picture of the old Methodist Episcopal Church in Copemish. 

The church still stands on Elm Street, between Second Street and Third Street.

Railroad Garage

Roger Griner shared this photo with us. The photo shows a railroad garage that was located where the Mish-a-Mish Park is now.

Congregational Church

The Congregational Church was located in the middle of the block between Second and Third Street on Maple Street.

Copemish Lake (1980s)

Ben Blaho shared this photo with us. This is the village of Copemish with Copemish Lake in the background.  This aerial photo was taken in the 1980's.

Danville Ford Garage (1920s)

Above: This photo shows the Danville Ford Garage in the early 1920's. It stood at the corner of Elm and Second Streets in Copemish. I have noticed that there was also a Danville Ford Garage in Cadillac in the 1930's.

Above: This photo shows cars that were for sale lined up along Elm Street.

Below: This photo shows the property as it looked in 2006.

Henry Armstrong's Studio

Above: This building was Henry Armstrong's photo studio. 

Below: This photo is from the Armstrong studio property. I often wonder if the runoff the children are playing in came from the photo studio.

The Armstrong House

This is probably the oldest second story house in Copemish. It is still standing on the corner of Front and Ash Streets. The current owner, Dick Szelepski, showed me an 1897 document deeding the house from Henry Ellis and wife to Abram Armstrong and wife. He thinks that one of the founders of the village, Buckley or Douglas, may have built the house for a daughter who was of marriageable age.

Abram Armstrong's, son, Henry, was a professional photographer. Henry also lived in this house and built his studio across the street.

Boarding House on Elm Street (1909)

This 1909 boarding house was located on the north side of Elm Street, near First Street. It may also have housed a bar in the 1950's. According to Kathy Tucker, this house was owned by Mike McCarthy in the 1970's. It burned down before 1973. The steps and the grassy bank are still there.

1991 Newspaper Article

This article was originally published in the Manistee News Advocate on February 9, 1991 to celebrate the Copemish centennial.

How the Village of Copemish was first incorporated in 1891

By Steve Herald, For the News Advocate
Updated July 7, 2021 8:36 p.m.

Downtown Copemish, circa 1900s. 

Courtesy photo/ Copemish Area Historical Society

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was originally published in the Manistee News Advocate on Feb. 9, 1991. 

A hundred years ago on February 10, 1891, Copemish elected a village council and became an incorporated village in Manistee County. The irony of this first is that Copemish was also the newest village in the county of 1891.

Surveyors for the Toledo, Ann Arbor & Northern Michigan and the Manistee & Northeastern railroads had determined the location for the future village by fixing a point where their two lines intersected. The first residents of Copemish had arrived in the summer of 1889 to serve the needs of construction crews for both the railroads. The surveyors concluded their work by plating a portion of the railroad owned property at the intersection of the tracks as a village.

Copemish developed very rapidly due to the fact it was a transportation community built in a virtual vacuum. The pioneers of the community had had to walk 30 to 50 miles for all their outside needs; politics, legal problems, medical help, supplies, grist mills and often even churches. Produce from the homesteads had to be freighted to market a like distance unless they could find a closer logging camp. Consequently, with the arrival of not one but two railroads in 1889, the local people rushed to use the transportation center and the junction quickly became a sizable community.

State law specified that whenever a community of more than 300 people lived in an area of less than a square mile they could petition the county Board of Supervisors to become an incorporated village. Copemish met this requirement by 1891 (318 people in one square mile) and thus 15 residents filed a petition with the Supervisors at their organizational meeting in 1891. The petition was granted on January 7, 1891, with the actual incorporated village to commence after an election of officers on February 10th.

Following the election the Manistee Times-Sentinel carried the following proud announcement from a Copemish correspondent:

“The village of Copemish contains about four hundred inhabitants, and was incorporated Tuesday, by electing the village officers. There were three tickets in the field – Citizens, Village and Union – and the contest was a spirited one. The Citizens Ticket was victorious, the following officers being elected: President, C.B. Caniff; Clerk, Walter W. Gibb; Treasurer, George H. Marzloff; Trustees, James B. Loshbough, David Barry, Charles H. Taylor, John Tweddle, Cassius R. Bunker, Columbus W. Kingsley; Assessor, David A. Cornell; Street Commissioner, Thomas A. Fralick; and Constable, William Fenner.

“Copemish is a little over a year old and one of the most enterprising and progressive villages in northern Michigan. The buildings are of a substantial character, and everything about the village has the air of life and vigor. The $8000 company grist mill is one of the finest in the state, being supplied with all the modern improvements. It has given satisfaction in every instance, and farmers come twenty and thirty miles with their grists. Many other enterprises in and about the village are worthy of mention.”

Old View of Second Street

You may notice that the postcard lists this photo as a Third Street, but we are positive it is Second Street.  I am not sure if the streets were renamed at some point or if the photographer made a mistake. 

The house in the foreground burned in the 1990's, but the middle house is still standing. According to Kim Frees, the middle house was owned by the Hendricksons in the 1950's. In later years, the house was used as a Bed and Breakfast, M & M Lodging.  It was also owned by H.L Hunter and a family with the last name of Dwyer -- according to the Millirons (2012).