Jump to content

Ludington, Michigan

Coordinates: 43°57′19″N 86°27′09″W / 43.95528°N 86.45250°W / 43.95528; -86.45250
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 71.13.223.188 (talk) at 03:37, 13 February 2010 (→‎Transportation). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Ludington, Michigan
City
Location of Ludington, Michigan
Location of Ludington, Michigan
CountryUnited States
StateMichigan
CountyMason
Area
 • Total3.7 sq mi (9.6 km2)
 • Land3.4 sq mi (8.7 km2)
 • Water0.3 sq mi (0.8 km2)
Elevation
591 ft (180 m)
Population
 (2000)
 • Total8,357
 • Density2,482.2/sq mi (958.4/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
49431
Area code231
FIPS code26-49640Template:GR
GNIS feature ID0631201Template:GR
"The Clock Tower" Park.

Ludington is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 8,357. It is the county seat of Mason CountyTemplate:GR.

Ludington is a harbor town located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Pere Marquette River. Many people come to Ludington year round for recreation, including boating and swimming on Lake Michigan, Hamlin Lake, and other smaller inland lakes, as well as hunting, fishing, and camping. Nearby are Ludington State Park (which includes the Big Sable Point Light), Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area, and Manistee National Forest. Ludington is also the home port of the SS Badger, with daily service in the summer across Lake Michigan to Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Watching the Badger come into port in the evening from the end of the north breakwall by the Ludington lighthouse is a favorite local pastime. In summer, the city hosts quite a few large events. Examples are one of the largest Gus Macker basketball tournaments (with 35,500 spectators), the Ludington Area Jaycees Freedom Festival (July 4), the Lakestride Half Marathon in June, and the West Shore Art League's Art Fair. As a result of its many attractions (based on AAA's 2005 TripTik requests), Ludington is the fifth-most-popular tourist city in Michigan, behind Mackinaw City, Traverse City, Muskegon, and Sault Ste. Marie.[1]

History

Ludington Light


In 1675, Jacques Marquette, French missionary and explorer, died and was laid to rest here. A memorial and large iron cross mark the location.

In 1845, Burr Caswell moved to the area near the mouth of the Pere Marquette River as a location for trapping and fishing. In July 1847 when he brought his family to live there he became the first permanent resident of European ancestry. Two years later they built a two-story wood-framed house on their farm. After the organization of Mason County in 1855, the first floor of this building was converted into the county's first courthouse. Restored in 1976 by the Mason County Historical Society, the structure stands today as a part of White Pine Village, a museum consisting of several restored and replica Mason County buildings (see external links). The town was originally named Pere Marquette, then later named after the industrialist James Ludington whose logging operations the village built up around. Ludington was incorporated as a City in 1873 the same year that the County seat was moved from the Village of Lincoln to the City of Ludington. The area boom in the late 1800s was due to these sawmills and also the discovery of salt deposits.

By 1892, 162 million board feet (382,000 m³) of lumber and 52 million wood shingles had been produced by the Ludington sawmills. With all of this commerce occurring, Ludington became a major Great Lakes shipping port.

In 1875, the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad began cross lake shipping operations with the sidewheel steamer John Sherman. It became apparent quite early that the John Sherman was not large enough to handle the volume of freight and the F&PM Railroad contracted with the Goodrich Line of Steamers to handle the break bulk freight out of the Port of Ludington.

In 1897 the F&PM railroad constructed the first steel carferry the Pere Marquette. This was the beginning of the creation of a a fleet of ferries to continue the rail cargo across Lake Michigan to Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The fleet was also expanded to carry cars and passengers across the lake. By the mid-1950s, Ludington had become the largest car ferry port in the world. Unfortunately, due to disuse and declining industry, this fleet eventually dwindled. Currently only one carferry, the SS Badger, makes regular trips across the lake from Ludington, one of only two lake-crossing car ferries on Lake Michigan.

During the late 1910s and early 1920s, Ludington was the home of the Ludington Mariners minor league baseball team. A team of the same name currently plays "old time base ball" in historical reenactments of the original version of the game.

Geography

Transportation

Two major routes serve the area along with a state trunkline highway and a minor business route.

US-10 enters the city from the east, connecting with Clare, Midland and Bay City. It continues across Lake Michigan into Wisconsin via the SS Badger, providing carferry service to Manitowoc.
US-31 is a freeway to the south of a junction with US-10 east of Ludington. US-31 and US-10 run concurrently for about 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Ludington before US-31 turns northerly again at Scottville.

BUS US-31 is a section of the former US-31 along Pere Marquette Highway east of the city.
M-116 is a spur route providing access to Ludington State Park, to the north of the city, from US-10 downtown.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 8,357 people, 3,690 households, and 2,166 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,482.2 per square mile (957.5/km²). There were 4,227 housing units at an average density of 1,255.5/sq mi (484.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.02% White, 0.97% African American, 0.92% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 1.06% from other races, and 1.81% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.15% of the population.

There were 3,690 households out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.2% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.3% were non-families. 36.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.0% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 19.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 84.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,089, and the median income for a family was $36,333. Males had a median income of $31,970 versus $22,809 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,215. About 12.9% of families and 16.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.7% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.

Industry

Just south of Ludington is the Ludington Pumped Storage Power Plant, which generates pumped storage hydroelectricity. In town, there are Whitehall Industries Inc. (aluminum extrusion and aluminum fabrication), Occidental Petroleum Corporation (manufacturer of calcium chloride products), Great Lakes Castings Corporation, Amptech, Inc., and Carrom Company. Ludington has had a construction boom in luxury condominumssince about 2000, especially around the marina, although few condo units have actually been sold and the condo projects overall have been viewed as a bust.

Media

Ludington is home to four radio stations and one newspaper. The original radio station was WKLA, which continues today with a talk radio format at 1450 AM. In the 1970s, WKLA-FM (Adult Contemporary) and WKZC-FM (Country, licensed to nearby Scottville) were added. In 1999, WMOM-FM (Top 40, licensed to Pentwater) signed on the air. The Ludington Daily News has been serving the Ludington Area for decades as a daily publication. The Daily News website records over 4,000 visitors each day.

Retail

The Red Door
Art Gallery
Maude's Garage
Visitor Information Station


Ludington's downtown retail is focused on the city's tourism and includes clothing stores, art galleries, and jewelry stores. Unique local businesses include Daul's Twisted Arrow and Maude's Garage. Maude's Garage (formerly Maude's Gallery) is located in a converted 1930s auto repair shop. Daul's Twisted Arrow, a gift shop, used to reside across James street on the corner of Ludington Avenue in a more unique building and was known as Fort Daul. The exterior of the old building was fashioned after a wooden fort and included several murals of early American scenes on its façade (created by the Ludington Mural Society). In late 2009, this building was purchased by the neighboring business, Luciano's as a means to expand their dining area. The murals have been painted over in big blocks of red, white, and green.

Restaurants

Several local restaurants are located in the downtown area of Ludington. A particular favorite of both residents and tourists alike is ice cream specialist House of Flavors located on Ludington Ave. The Old Hamlin, on Ludington Ave., has been family owned and operated by a Greek family since the early 1940s. It has its own bakery where homemade pies and breads are made. Across the street is Luciano's, an Italian Ristorante, which was opened in 1998 and is located next to, what used to be, Fort Daul. A couple of blocks south on a site overlooking the Ludington Municipal Marina, is P.M. Steamers. The restaurant was named after the steam-driven Pere Marquette Car Ferries that once traversed the Great Lakes. The Jamesport Brewing Co. opened in 2000 in what was previously an abandoned storefront of the Jamesport Building on James St. Although it is not in the downtown area, Scotty's is yet another of Ludington's local dining establishments. Chuckwagon is the local favorite pizza place on Lakeshore Drive.

Marina

Ludington Municipal Marina

Elected officials

  • Mayor: John Henderson
  • Clerk: Deb Luskin
  • Treasurer: Mary Reeds-Mortensen
  • 1st Ward Councilor: Paul Peterson
  • 2nd Ward Councilor: Greg Dykstra
  • 3rd Ward Councilor: Brent Scott
  • 4th Ward Councilor: Dave Weston
  • 5th Ward Councilor: Pete Engblade
  • 6th Ward Councilor: Gary Castonia
  • Councilor At-Large: Kaye Ferguson-Holman

Education

Elementary

  • Franklin Elementary (Grades K-2)
  • Pere Marquette Elementary (Preschool)
  • Foster Elementary (Grades 3-5)
  • Lakeview Elementary (Grades K-2)
  • Ludington Area Catholic (Private, Grades K-6)

Junior/senior high

  • OJ DeJonge Middle School (Grades 6-8)
  • Ludington High School (the Orioles)

Notable residents

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ludington, Michigan.

References

  1. ^ Ford Motor Company Information - Ford

43°57′19″N 86°27′09″W / 43.95528°N 86.45250°W / 43.95528; -86.45250

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ludington,_Michigan&oldid=343664619"