Frank H. Van Cleve

Frank H. Van Cleve. . , This memorial stone is dedicated to the memory of Frank H. Van Cleve, one of the men of influence in Gladstone’s early beginnings, who gave to the community this storefront area named after him. Frank H. Van Cleve was born June 12, 1848 in Ypsilanti, Michigan, where he attended public schools followed by Yale College for two years, culminating at the University of Michigan with a major in civil engineering. He was employed by the Chicago and North Western Railroad in 1871 as a civil engineer on its line from Green Bay to Escanaba where he is credited with the building of the first ore dock. In 1876 he was appointed land agent stationed in this area permanently. In 1885 Van Cleve and Richard P. Mason entered into a partnership in the Sault Ste. Marie land and improvement company. For the sum of $50.00 they acquired a tract of land called Saunder’s Point and named it Minnewasca (later named Gladstone). In 1887 Van Cleve and Mason gave 160 acres to the Soo Line Railroad for its yards, lines and docks. , After the completion of this project, the remaining tract was given to the railroad’s promoters, in exchange for the establishment of the port on Saunder’s Point. Van Cleve’s name appeared time and time again in the unfolding of the early history of the city of Gladstone. In 1892 Van Cleve along with Fred Merriam and James A.W. Sears agreed to go into the manufacture of the washboard, thus establishing the Gladstone Washboard Factory. In 1898 Webster L. Marble secured a patent on a safety axe. A few months later Van Cleve intrigued by this idea, became a partner and co-owner in the Marble Arms Manufacturing Company. Van Cleve was a founding member and president of the First National Bank of Escanaba until the time of his death on August 11th, 1920. As a man of business and great ability, he was an acknowledged leader. Man of business and great ability, he was an acknowledged leader. Frank H. Van Cleve, “a man of highest character and principal.”