Haunted Muskegon

INTRODUCTION

Most people enjoy a good ghost story, even if they don’t believe in ghosts. Others like them more if they think they might be real. To that end, I hope this book will both entertain and inform. If you’re someone who is fascinated by things that make the hair on the back of your neck stand up or send a cold shiver down your spine, then Muskegon, Michigan, may be just the place for you. What might not be known to the tourists who flock to the area in the summer months is that Muskegon has a few ghosts in residence—according to local stories, anyway. There are even whispers among some locals that all of Muskegon is haunted. This, of course, is probably an exaggeration, but there have been some pretty strange goings-on. In fact, the ghost stories, instead of fading away, have continued, because it appears the ghosts are still being seen around town. The fact that these stories haven’t faded into oblivion like a spectral shadow should be taken into consideration. Perhaps a serious study is in order. From the ethereal wanderings of an elegant showman in a luxurious 1940s-era theater, a ghostly pastry shop customer and the apparition of the city’s founding father in a library, to shadowy deckhands on a World War II warship museum, it appears that Muskegon, Michigan, is indeed haunted. Who or what these ghosts are is a matter of opinion. Because when it comes to ghosts, any cut-and-dried evidence to their reality is pretty much unverifiable. Thus, the divide between the skeptics and believers continues to be wide, no matter what the evidence. While modern devices and instrumentation have lent credibility and integrity to ghost research, a lot of information is based on anecdotal evidence and eyewitness testimony, which can be unreliable or faulty. Thus, unfortunately, there has been no smoking gun to prove the existence of ghosts to a definitive extent. As a consequence, these stories may continue to be seen in the same light as urban legends or folklore: entertaining and thrilling, but fiction nonetheless. On a positive note, scientific theories on the source of hauntings, ghosts and apparitions have given possible affirmation to their reality—if objective reality can be assumed. These theories are varied and cover a range of scientific disciplines, from meteorology to psychology or physics. Ghost hunters and paranormal investigators are striving to find answers to the question of ghosts. A few of Muskegon’s rumored haunted buildings have been investigated, including several of the homes discussed here.

It is imaginable that they are just faint glimmers of Muskegon’s gilded age caught in time, a time of extravagance, romance and glamour of bygone days that still lingers to cast shadows on the landscape. They may simply be mists imprinted on the landscape when Native Americans still lived along Muskegon’s marshy shores, burying their dead with tools or items for their journey into the afterlife. Perhaps it is the spirits of hardy trappers or lumberjacks who endured hardships and grueling work amid the wilderness and bitter Michigan winters that still wander the land as shadows. Under such harsh conditions, and in such uncertain times, it was not uncommon to meet with an early or untimely death. Any or all of these phantoms may yet roam restlessly over the land Muskegon was built upon, or in the buildings or houses that remain. If so, perhaps they only do so to be acknowledged, even if they can’t be counted on any city census.

IF YOU WERE TO walk along the city streets of Muskegon, Michigan, on any given day, you would find it quite lively and charming. Most people who live here are well acquainted with what Muskegon has to offer and are proud of their city. From Ottawan Native village to booming lumbering town to industrial hub, Muskegon has blossomed into a thriving and vibrant tourist town. However, it has been a long, arduous road from that small Ottawan village to thriving tourist hub, with a lot of twists and turns and ups and downs, but it is all the stronger for it. All in all, Muskegonites love their town, and first-time visitors to the area usually want to return again and again, sometimes making it their home. With its beaches, events and varied shopping scene with a unique feel, the city has become a boomtown once again. However, it has taken much determination, inspiration and sustained efforts to turn a factory town into a tourist city. There are now over 175,000 people living in and around the city. Growth within the city has been relatively stable, with a population of 36,565 in 2019. There was only minimal loss since the 2010 census. It’s true that Muskegon has seen a lot of changes in the past. No doubt it will change in the future. All cities do. However, one thing is for certain: Muskegon’s lumber-town spirit remains strong. If Muskegon gets knocked down, it will be sure to get right back up.

Muskegon Chronicle building.

Café Muskegon sign. Former Wierengo Hotel building.

Muskegon’s downtown progressed over the years, from store-lined streets in the 1930s and ’40s to a mall in the ’70s, and it now embraces a diverse and eclectic array of shopping and entertainment experiences. Aspiring to honor Muskegon’s rich industrial past and make use of the structures that remained, many family-owned businesses have cropped up in refurbished factories, closed stores and clubhouses. With the growing national trend of craft beers, Muskegon has seen an influx of microbreweries and pub-style establishments cropping up, reinvigorating and building on the town’s long history of beer making. This began with the establishment of the Muskegon Brewery Company in 1877. Muskegon Brewery’s claim to fame was being one of only two breweries in the world that bottled Guinness beer. With the shops, pubs and restaurants establishing themselves in these vintage and iconic buildings, the downtown area now has a warm and inviting look, harkening back to Muskegon’s Romantic era. Victorian-style lampposts dot the streets, casting a warm glow on the evening. Many businesses display artifacts and decor from past eras. Muskegon has become a premier spot along the lake to enjoy the company of friends, good food, beverages, events and music. This is especially true when summer comes to Michigan.

Fire truck and dog sign. Former Wierengo Hotel building.

USS Silversides Museum.

Muskegon has an amazing assortment of fun things to do in the summer, including music events, theater productions, art galleries and pop-up craft shows, as well as unique shops to browse to your heart’s content. For those looking to add some learning to their summer outings, there are numerous museums, including the USS Silversides Museum, the LST 393 Veterans Museum and the Lakeshore Museum Center. Lakeshore Museum Center comprises numerous buildings, including a history museum, archives, the Fire Barn Museum, the Depression-era Scolnik House and the Hackley and Hume Historic Site. For foodies, Muskegon has a vast range of cuisine to sample, from brick-oven pizza to Thai curry. If you like boating, swimming or just sitting on the beach soaking up the sun, Pere Marquette Park, with its two miles of beach area, has become a popular draw for people from around the country. Nothing says summer like a refreshing swim at the beach followed by a stop at a local ice cream shop. In summer months, the park is also the site of volleyball tournaments, parasailing, kite flying and family outings. If you prefer taking a leisurely stroll or biking, Lakeshore Trail along Muskegon Lake has a twenty-five-mile path suitable for walking, hiking and biking.

Mastodon statue. Lakeshore Museum Center. Sculpture by Gille and Marc, 2019.

Pier at Pere Marquette Beach.

Sailboat on Lake Michigan.

SITUATED ALONG THE BANKS of Muskegon Lake, an inlet of Lake Michigan, Muskegon started out as Masquigon, an Ottawa Indian village, around 1839. The name roughly translates to marshy swamp in the Ottawa language. Human habitation in Michigan goes back to at least ten thousand to fourteen thousand years ago after the last Ice Age. The Paleo-Indians are traditionally said to have come down through the Bering Strait by way of Alaska. Later on, tribes such as the Ottawa, Chippewa and Pottawatomi, part of the Algonquin family of Native Americans, began making seasonal settlements along its shores. These tribes migrated from place to place, following the seasons, animal migrations and buffalo herds. The Ottawa traded among neighboring tribes in cornmeal, sunflower oil, furs and tobacco, as well as medicinal plants. The Ottawa, migrating from Canada, Ohio and the East Coast first arrived in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula before spreading out over the lower region. After the signing of the Treaty of Detroit, the United States was given large swaths of southeastern Michigan and sections of Ohio.

Michigan, as a territory, was at various times under both French and British control. The first outpost was located at Saint Ignace in 1668. Michigan became a state in 1837, with Muskegon County being established in 1859. The early history of the Muskegon area is somewhat murky, but it is believed that the French had been familiar with the area since the seventeenth century. Muskegon is known to have been listed on maps as early as the 1700s. For over one hundred years, life in Michigan centered on the fur trade, with French pioneers establishing trading posts, missions and forts. The fur trade was a major feature in early exploration of the Great Lakes before the area was settled by Europeans, thus trappers and the early indigenous tribes composed much of the area’s inhabitants. French explorers had reached the Michigan coastline early on, setting up fur-trading posts in and around Muskegon Lake and beginning trade with Native Americans. Unfortunately, the French greatly exploited the fur trade in the colonial era, impacting the lives of these early inhabitants, who were greatly sought after as scouts and trading partners. These Native American scouts would paddle up and down the waterways of the Great Lakes in birch bark canoes loaded with pelts, goods and supplies. In exchange for furs, they would receive European goods such as iron tools, cloth and beads. The Native Americans were also supplied with firearms and liquor in exchanges, both of which had a detrimental impact on their lives and culture. Locations of French trading posts in Muskegon are not well known, but we do have record of a few trappers. It is known that explorer Father (Pere) Jacques Marquette passed through the area with a party of French soldiers in 1679 under the command of Henry DeTonty. Marquette was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan’s first European settlement at Sault Ste. Marie, in the Upper Peninsula. One of the earliest known fur trappers in the Muskegon area was a man named Edward Fitzgerald. He is said to have lived in the area in 1748 and died in White Lake. Another French Canadian trapper, Joseph LaFramboise, established a trading post near the mouth of Duck Lake. Other early settlers included Lamar Andie, Jean Baptiste Recollect and Pierre Constant. Little is known of these early Muskegon dwellers. When fur trading and trapping waned, settlers began arriving, bringing with them the need for food, supplies, tools, transportation and housing. The meteoric rise of Muskegon’s lumber industry, with the ensuing building of sawmills, railroads and ships, saw many of those needs met.

Muskegon grew to become a bustling hub of commerce. Trains brought in travelers as well as goods. Ships, many built or financed by Muskego’s wealthy lumber barons, transported goods from around the country and the world, as well as exported lumber. With the addition of the Michigan Territory, and after the forests of Maine and New York State had yielded all they could, Michigan began to be eyed as an important new source for lumber. Muskegon soon became the epicenter for that industry. Beginning in 1837, Muskegon became a key competitor in the lumber industry with forty-seven sawmills dotting the banks of the Muskegon River. Northern Michigan forests were lush with pines—Norway, jack and white. Forests in the lower half of Michigan were teeming with hardwoods, coveted for their beauty and durability. But it was the massive white pine, some over two hundred feet in height and over five feet in diameter, that drove the industry in Michigan. The promise of steady work and the possibility of striking it rich brought the lumberjacks to Muskegon in droves. Many of them were farm boys looking to make extra money during the winter months.

Muskegon, producing more lumber than any other city in the world, became a boomtown bustling with vitality, opportunity and ambition. The world cried out for