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Burr Caswell

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Burr Caswell
Born3 January 1807
Glens Falls, New York, US
Died15 September 1896
Resting placeLakeview Cemetery,
Ludington, Michigan
Other namesAaron Burr Caswell
Occupation(s)lumberman, lighthouse keeper, civil servant, probate judge, surveyor, fish inspector, coroner for Mason County
Known fordeveloping Mason County
Spouse(s)First wife Hannah Green, second wife Sarah
Children4

Aaron Burr Caswell (1807–1896) was an American frontiersman and the first white man to occupy any part of Mason County, Michigan. He became the county's first coroner, probate judge and surveyor; and constructed its first framed building that functioned as a home, courthouse and jail—it is also the only surviving landmark of Mason County's earliest history.

Early life

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Caswell was born in 1807 as Aaron Burr Caswell at Glens Falls, New York.[citation needed] His parents were George and Sarah (Green) Caswell.[1]

Caswell practiced woodworking as his first trade for several years in Glens Falls.[2] Caswell married Hannah Green in 1837 at Glens Falls, where they remained through 1839. They went to Mississippi in 1840 and were employed on the river boats. In 1841, he moved his family to Barrington Station, Lake County, Illinois, where they bought a farm and lived for six years.[2]

Mid life

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Ottawa family with bark and log house, c. 1885
Burr Caswell house in 1865

Caswell went on a hunting and fishing trip in 1845 to Pere Marquette Township in Mason County, Michigan.[2] He hunted in the territory for the next two years, though he spent most of his time fishing.[2] He briefly returned to Illinois in 1847 to retrieve his family for relocating back to the Michigan area permanently.[3]

Caswell's house was the first frame structure in Mason County; it still stands at White Pine Village where it was placed as the Mason County Historical Society's outdoor museum's centerpiece, very close its original constructed location.[4][5] The Mason County Courthouse county seat was located at Caswell's house.[6] For many years, Caswell produced lumber and shingles from the local timber and it was shipped to Chicago for construction.[2] He operated the boat Ranger for years to deliver his lumber products.[7]

Later life

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In 1871, Caswell married Sarah Billings. They moved into the Big Sable Point Lighthouse in 1873, where Caswell eventually became its lightkeeper.[2][7]

  • Caswell's tombstone Lakeview Cemetery
    Caswell's tombstone
    Lakeview Cemetery
  • Hannah Green, Caswell's first wife
    Hannah Green, Caswell's first wife

Caswell's home

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Aside from the second floor, Caswell's home was used as the site of the first Pere Marquette Township meeting:[8][9] the front half of his home was the site of the first county seat and the first courthouse in Mason County,[10][11] the kitchen served as the county's first store and post office, and the basement was used as a temporary jail.[11][12] The building is recognized as a Registered State Historic Site,[13] and the house was fully restored by the Mason County Historical Society between 1965 and 1976.[14]

Caswell's house as the first Mason County courthouse
  • Dining area
    Dining area
  • Kitchen
    Kitchen

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ Cabot, James (September 7, 1996). "Burr Caswell–first permanent settler". Ludington Daily News. p. 4. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e f History of Mason County 1882, p. 9.
  3. ^ Petersen, David (July 9, 2005). "Early Mason County Settlers Faced Harsh Conditions". Ludington Daily News. p. A6. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  4. ^ "Burr Caswell Home At Pioneer Village: Burr Casswell House; First County Courthouse". Ludington Daily News. August 1, 1974. p. 15. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  5. ^ Hawley, Rose D. (April 30, 1987). "White Pine Village Represents Early Days Museum". Ludington Daily News. p. 8. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  6. ^ "Burr Caswell Home Oldest in County". Ludington Daily News. August 16, 1957. p. 5. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  7. ^ a b Portrait and Biographical Record of Northern Michigan 1895, p. 127.
  8. ^ An Act to Organize the Counties of Manistee, Mason and Oceana 1855, p. 425.
  9. ^ History of Mason County 1882, p. 70.
  10. ^ "Ludington County Courthouse". Ludington Daily News. Ludington, Michigan. August 3, 1966. p. 2. Retrieved October 24, 2015.(subscription required)
  11. ^ a b "First Courthouse in White Pine: Burr Caswell's House was Original County Seat". Ludington Daily News. February 17, 1987. p. 2A. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  12. ^ Cabot, James (August 10, 1984). "From Our History". Ludington Daily News. p. 4. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  13. ^ "Village Brochure" (PDF). Historic White Pine Village. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 24, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  14. ^ Cabot 2005, p. 7.

Bibliography

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Further reading

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  • Anderson, Russell (1933). Historic Not-A-Pe-Ka-Gon. Ludington, Michigan: Lakeside Printing Company.
  • Hannah, Frances Caswell (1955). Sand, Sawdust and Saw Logs — Lumber Days in Ludington. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  • Petersen, David K. (2015). Mason County 1850–1950. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781467114455.
  • Peterson, Paul S. (2011). The Story of Ludington / Born of logs, nurtured by carferries, forged by resilience. Heritage Publishers. ISBN 9781935438083.
  • Cabot, James L. (September 14, 1996). "Caswell had varied career in county". Ludington Daily News. p. 5.
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