Traverse City

Traverse City Hall is located at 400 Boardman Avenue, Traverse City, MI 49684; phone: 231-922-4440.

Beginnings [1]

In 1847 Captain Boardman, a thrifty farmer living near Naperville, Illinois, purchased of the United States Government a small tract of land at the mouth of the river, and furnished means to his son, Horace Boardman, to build a saw-mill. The latter, with two or three men in his employ, arrived at the river in the early part of June of that year, and immediately commenced construction of a dwelling.

Once the mill had been built, a settlement began growing up around it. At the setting of winter, in 1851, the following families are known to have been in the settlement: Michael Gay, John Lake, Henry Rutherford, Benjamin Austin, T. D. Hillery, William Voice, Seth Norris, Robert Potts and a family named Barnes.

A post office was established in 1853, named Traverse City so as not to conflict with an existing post office, at Old Mission, known as Grand Traverse. Dr. Goodale was chosen the first postmaster.

The first Sunday school in Traverse City was begun in June, 1853 under the supervision of Mr. Scofield, assisted by Mrs. Goodale.

Grand Traverse County was created in 1851 calling for the creation of the county seat at Boardman's Mill. The law creating the county was incomplete having made no provision for the creation of townships.

The question of incorporating the village as Traverse City was agitated for a number of years, and finally, in the winter of 1881, a bill to this effect was passed by the legislature. The former village operation had included only a portion of the present city. Traverse City changed from a village to city form of government in 1895. Perry Hannah served as the first mayor.

The Traverse City fire department was established in 1877 and a waterworks was introduced in 1881.

With the completion of the railroad to Traverse City in 1872, the following summer people began to visit the city as a summer resort. Popular hotels of the time were the Park Place, Columbia and Whiting. Many resorts had already been established at various locations around the bay, outside of the city limits.

1. Elvin L. Sprague, Esq., and Mrs. George N. Smith, Sprague's History of Grand Traverse and Leelanaw Counties, Michigan, B. F. Bowen, publisher, 1903.