Near Port Austin in Huron County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Huron City
Side One
During the mid-1850s the firm of R. B. Hubbard and Company, which included Connecticut-born entrepreneurs Langdon Hubbard, his brother Watson, and cousin Rollin B., built a steam-powered sawmill on Willow Creek. The company town they developed was named Huron City in 1861. A horse-drawn tram carried the mill’s products to a nearby dock in Lake Huron for transport to the firm’s lumber yard in Sandusky, Ohio. Huge forest fires in 1871 and 1881 entirely destroyed Huron City, but each time the town was rebuilt. Huron City’s surviving buildings--including Langdon Hubbard’s house, now called Seven Gables, the general store, the hotel, and the church--all date from the early 1880s. Langdon Hubbard died in 1892. In 1995 Huron City was listed as a historic district in the National Register of Historic Places.
Side two
William Lyon Phelps married Langdon Hubbard’s daughter Annabel in 1892. Until 1938 the Phelpses spent most summers at Seven Gables. Phelps, the Lampson Professor of English Literature at Yale University until his retirement in 1933, had a national following for four decades as an author, a critic, and a lecturer. He did much of his writing at Seven Gables and was the summer minister at the Huron City Church. In 1939 Phelps turned the town over to his niece Carolyn Hubbard Parcells.
Erected 1995 by Michigan Historical Center, Michigan Department of State. (Marker Number L463.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Michigan Historical Commission series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1861.
Location. 44° 1.712′ N, 82° 49.944′ W. Marker is near Port Austin, Michigan, in Huron County. Marker is on Huron City Road north of North Lakeshore Road (State Route 25), on the right when traveling north. Located behind the Huron City Museum Office and Welcome Center. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 7995 Pioneer Dr, Port Austin MI 48467, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. The US Life-Saving Service (approx. 1.9 miles away); Pointe Aux Barques Lighthouse (approx. 2 miles away); Brigantine E. Cohen (approx. 2 miles away); Oil House (approx. 2 miles away); Daniel J. Morrell (approx. 2 miles away); Life Saving Station (approx. 2 miles away); Storm of 1913 (approx. 2 miles away); Pointe aux Barques Lighthouse (approx. 2 miles away).
Also see . . . Huron City Museums. (Submitted on November 20, 2020, by John Garman of Rochester Hills.)
Additional commentary.
1. Additional Buildings of Interest
There are several other buildings that are available for tours, including the Church, the Community House-Inn, and a log cabin. The website also mentions the Pointe Aux Barques Lifesaving Station, but that building was recently moved from Huron City to Lighthouse County Park, next to the Pointe Aux Barques Lighthouse.
— Submitted November 21, 2020, by John Garman of Rochester Hills.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 21, 2020. It was originally submitted on November 20, 2020, by John Garman of Rochester Hills. This page has been viewed 229 times since then and 32 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on November 20, 2020, by John Garman of Rochester Hills. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.