Town and City Scenes--Grand Ledge

Black and white panoramic photograph from approximately 1910 of Grand Ledge, Michigan. Image includes the newly constructed concrete bridge, which replaced the 1870 iron bridge in 1910.

Black and white stereograph of men posing on and around Lions Head Rock, one of the most well-known ledges in Grand Ledge, Michigan, above Sandstone Creek off of Grand River. Part of the rock was destroyed in 1936 when the city blasted it to lay a drainage pipe.

Black and white photograph from circa 1885-1895 showing part of the Seven Islands Resort on the Grand River in Grand Ledge, Michigan. The resort, which changed hands three times prior to this period, was built up in the late 1880s and early 1890s by J. S. Mudge, who added on to the Island House Hotel, built a rollercoaster and constructed "Mudge's Folly" - a decorative pagoda-like building which became an iconic building for the area.

Black and white photograph of the Grand River at Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Black and white photograph from 1894 showing Grand Ledge, Michigan from the north, looking over Grand River and the iron bridge crossing. The bridge was constructed to replace a wooden bridge in 1870, and then replaced by a concrete bridge in 1910.

Black and white photograph of a scene on the Grand River in Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Black and white aerial photograph of Grand Ledge, Michigan, 1959. Image shows Grand River and the Bridge Street crossing.

Black and white postcard from approximately 1907 showing Bridge Street, looking south in Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Black and white photograph from circa 1885-1895 of two men posing on the natural ledges found around Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Black and white stereograph of scenery around Grand Ledge, Michigan and the Grand River.

Black and white photograph from 1863 of the Grand River floodwaters at the Stone Dam in Grand Ledge, Michigan. The Stone Dam was constructed in 1887 by J.S. Mudge, the then new owner of the Seven Islands Resort. This dam created a deep, level body of water used for boating and swimming. In 1893, the river flooded, bring with it chunks of ice; both the ice and the flooding water several damaged many buildings.

Black and white postcard from circa 1910-1920 showing Bridge Street in Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Black and white stereograph of the hemlock grove at Hemlock Point in Grand Ledge, Michigan. Hemlock Point is located at the base of Lions Head Rock, and was a popular destination for boaters on the Grand River. It includes one of the only natural groves of hemlock trees in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.

Black and white photograph from 1959 of the Grand River at Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Black and white photograph from 1893 showing the rapidly-moving flooded Grand River in Grand Ledge, Michigan. The flood of 1893 is also known as the Great Ice Flood, as the flood waters included chunks of ice which damaged buildings.

Black and white postcard from circa 1907-1915 showing the natural rock ledges along the Grand River at Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Black and white photo postcard showing the west side of Bridge Street, looking south, in Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Black and white photograph from approximately 1870 showing the iron bridge crossing the Grand River in Grand Ledge, Michigan. The bridge was constructed to replace a wooden bridge in 1870, and then replaced by a concrete bridge in 1910.

Black and white photograph from circa 1886-1893 showing the Seven Islands Resort buildings on the Second Island in the Grand River at Grand Ledge, Michigan. The pagoda-like building - the Round House - was constructed after J. Scott Mudge bought the resort in 1886. He had grand plans about what it could be, including rotating levels, but in the end it was merely decorative (possibly due to damage it sustained in the 1893 flood) and so named "Mudge's Folly".

Black and white postcard from circa 1907-1915 showing West Jefferson Street in Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Black and white photograph from circa 1887-1890 showing men working on the Stone Dam on the Grand River in Grand Ledge, Michigan. The Stone Dam was constructed in 1887 by J.S. Mudge, the then new owner of the Seven Islands Resort. This dam created a deep, level body of water used for boating and swimming.

Black and white photograph from 1959 of the Bridge Street bridge in Grand Ledge, Michigan, looking south across Grand River.

Black and white photo postcard from 1905 of the first auto parade in Grand Ledge, Michigan. Ransom E. Olds (founder of Olds Motor Vehicle Company in Lansing, and the Oldsmobile and Reo brands) and his wife are in the first car. The street is the 200 block of South Bridge Street.

Black and white photograph of Lions Head Rock, one of the most well-known ledges in Grand Ledge, Michigan, above Sandstone Creek off of Grand River. Part of the rock was destroyed in 1936 when the city blasted it to lay a drainage pipe.

Color postcard from circa 1907-1915 showing the Island House Hotel and Round House on Second Island, part of the Seven Islands Resort on the Grand River at Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Black and white postcard of a winter scene on Bridge Street in Grand Ledge, Michigan, titled "The way we do in Mich."

Black and white photograph from 1959 of the Grand River at Grand Ledge, Michigan. Image includes the remains of an old bridge.

Black and white aerial photograph of Grand Ledge, Michigan, 1959, looking northwest. Image shows Grand River and the Bridge Street crossing.

Black and white postcard from circa 1907-1915 showing a bird's-eye view of Grand Ledge, Michigan. The white building in the background with the tower in the center is the Crawford Chair Company factory. The company was founded by one of the original founders of the Grand Ledge Chair Company in 1902. The factory burned down in 1943.

Black and white aerial photograph from 1959 showing the Grand Ledge Chair Company factory along the Grand River in Grand Ledge, Michigan.Founded in 1883, it passed through various ownerships until it folded in 1982. The factory in the image was constructed in 1902.

Black and white postcard from approximately 1912 of the hollow tree in Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Black and white photograph from circa 1900-1910 of the north side of Bridge Street in Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Black and white stereograph of the hemlock grove at Hemlock Point in Grand Ledge, Michigan. Hemlock Point is located at the base of Lions Head Rock, and was a popular destination for boaters on the Grand River. It includes one of the only natural groves of hemlock trees in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.

Black and white postcard showing Jefferson Street, looking west towards the intersection with South Bridge Street, in Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Black and white postcard from approximately 1919, showing the bridge to Second Island and the Island House Hotel, part of the Seven Islands Resort on the Grand River in Grand Ledge, Michigan. The resort, which changed hands three times, was significantly built up in the late 1880s and early 1890s by the third owner J. S. Mudge, who added on to the Island House Hotel (seen in this image), built a rollercoaster and constructed "Mudge's Folly" - a decorative pagoda-like building which became an iconic building for the area. The resort came to be one of the most popular vacation spots in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.

Black and white postcard from approximately 1913 showing houses on south Bridge Street in Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Black and white photograph from 1959 of the Grand River at Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Black and white postcard showing a bird's-eye view of a residential area of Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Black and white photograph of the steamer Lanota ferrying people on the Grand River in Grand Ledge, Michigan. Steamers were always a part of the Seven Islands Resort, bringing vacationers to and from the islands. The Lanota was launched by the resort's third owner, J. S. Mudge, who took over the resort in 1886 and made it into one of the most popular resorts in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.

Black and white stereograph of the natural ledges on the Grand River at Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Black and white stereograph titled "From the Cliffs below the Kilns," showing a view of the Grand River in Grand Ledge, Michigan. The kilns refer to kilns used in the area for clay pottery. The area around Grand Ledge is rich in clay; Native Americans and early settlers capitalized on this, and eventually large-scale manufacturers took over.

Black and white postcard from approximately 1907 showing the mill and Stone Dam on Grand River at Grand Ledge, Michigan. The Stone Dam was constructed in 1887 by J. S. Mudge to provide a deep and level area for recreational boating and swimming on the river.

Color postcard from circa 1907-1915 showing Bridge Street in Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Black and white postcard from approximately 1907 showing the west side of Bridge Street, looking south in Grand Ledge, Michigan.