Town and City Scenes--Grand Ledge

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

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

Black and white postcard from approximately 1909 showing an aerial view of the north side of Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Black and white photograph from circa 1891-1893 of one of Michigan's first rollercoaster, the steam rollercoaster on Seven Islands Resort park (traveled on Second and Third Islands) in Grand Ledge, Michigan. The rollercoaster was destroyed in the 1893 flood.

Black and white postcard from approximately 1951 showing the west side of the 200 block of South Bridge Street in Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Black and white aerial photograph of Grand Ledge, Michigan, 1959, looking north, focused on Bridge Street. Image shows Grand River and the Bridge Street concrete bridge.

Black and white postcard from circa 1907-1911 showing storefronts on North Bridge Street in Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Black and white photograph showing a boating scene on Grand River, in front of the bridge leading to the islands, in Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Color postcard from circa 1907-1915 showing a view of Grand River and Second Island, with the Round House on it, at Grand Ledge, Michigan. The Round House and Second Island were part of the Seven Islands Resort. J. S. Mudge, then-owner of the resort, had envisioned the Round House as a mechanical tower with rotating levels. Even as a merely decorative building, the unique architecture made the Round House a symbol of the resort.

Black and white postcard from approximately 1930 showing a scene on the Grand River, with the Bridge Street concrete bridge and water tower of Grand Ledge, Michigan. The bridge was built in 1910 to replace the iron bridge built in 1870. The bridge in this location continues to connect the two parts of Grand Ledge over the Grand River.

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 of the "Great Ice Flood" of 1893 in Grand Ledge, Michigan. In the spring of 1893, the Grand River flooded, bringing with it blocks of ice, which damaged buildings, including the Round House of the Seven Islands Resort; the Island House Hotel can be seen in the center of the flooding river.

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 of a couple boating along Sandstone Creek (just off of Grand River), surrounded by natural ledges in Grand Ledge, Michigan.

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 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.

Color postcard from approximately 1914 of the first auto parade in Grand Ledge, Michigan, approximately 1905. 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.

Black and white photo postcard from 1909 of the Grand Ledge, Michigan water tower, built in 1906.

Black and white postcard showing homes on East Jefferson Street in Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Black and white stereograph of Riverside Park (later renamed Fitzgerald Park) with the Grand River in the background, in Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Black and white photograph from 1959 of the Grand Ledge Clay Product Co. clay pits in Grand Ledge, Michigan. The company formed in 1906 and mostly manufactured conduits for underground telephone wires until a 1937 fire destroyed the factory, including molds for the conduits. When the factory was rebuilt, production shifted to agricultural drain tiles, chimney tops and sewer pipe fittings until the plant closed in 1986.

Black and white stereograph showing a couple by the shore of Grand River in Grand Ledge, Michigan. Grand Ledge's scenic river, ledges and islands made it a popular spot for vacationers.

Black and white photograph showing early automobile traffic on South Bridge Street in Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Color postcard from circa 1910-1911 of the new concrete Bridge Street bridge in Grand Ledge, Michigan. The bridge, built in 1910, replaced the 1870 iron bridge.

Black and white postcard from circa 1907-1915 showing a view of the Grand River with the High Bridge in the background, near Grand Ledge, Michigan. The High Bridge is a railroad bridge built in 1887 by the Detroit, Grand Rapids and Western Railroad.