[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 78 (Tuesday, June 16, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1140]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


            CONGRATULATION TO THE VILLAGE OF EIK RAPIDS, MI

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                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 16, 1998

  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, a small village in my district, the 1st 
Congressional District of Michigan, is celebrating its sesquicentennial 
in 1998. In its 150-year history Elk Rapids, like so many small 
Midwestern cities and villages, has grown grow from the homestead of a 
single hardy pioneering family to a community with a rich and unique 
heritage.
  Like other Midwestern communities, Elk Rapids has witnessed the lure 
of lumber and furs, has seen boom times and times of economic hardship, 
and has renewed itself through several generations with the same 
strength and courage demonstrated by its original settlers. Through 
research and recollection, the village leaders in a resolution marking 
their sesquicentennial have distilled those 150 years into a brief 
history, which I will related to you, Mr. Speaker.
  The community's story begins in the mid-1800s, when Abram Wadsworth, 
a government surveyor from Durham, Conn., came to the region to explore 
the Grand Travese Territory in northwestern Lower Michigan. Mr. 
Wadsworth's task was to explore the Territory in general, and 
specifically to survey land in the section now known as Elk Rapids.
  Mr. Wadsworth, on one of his visits, found a pair of elk horns in the 
rapids near the mouth of the Elk River and determined that this 
pristine and picturesque spot would be especially well-suited for the 
construction of a sawmill for the purpose of processing timber cut from 
the vast hardwood stands of Antrim County. He erected in 1848 the first 
permanent dwelling on the shores of Grand Traverse Bay in the general 
vicinity of the present Elk Rapids Township Hall.
  This structure led to the eventual settlement and development of a 
town around that site, which has grown through the hard work and 
dedication of its citizens over the last 150 years to become the 
Village of Elk Rapids.
  The village grew to a thriving community which based its livelihood 
on the lumber industry. The community sent out lumber and drew its 
local supplies via rail lines on the landward side and through docks on 
the Grand Traverse Bay side that drew steamers from Milwaukee and 
Chicago.
  The population of the village grew to a bustling 1,800 by the year 
1905, fell with the decline of the lumber industry to 530 people by the 
year 1930, but has grown again to more than 1,600. With the natural 
attraction of the water and the moderate temperatures caused by its 
nearness to Lake Michigan, the village now bases its livelihood on 
fruit farming and tourism. Community leaders are optimistic about the 
future of Elk Rapids as it prepares for its next 150 years.
  I am proud to be a participant in the events of Founder's Day, June 
20, 1998, which has been officially designated as the day to spotlight 
this auspicious occasion.
  Mr. Speaker, by proclamation of the Village of Elk Rapids, I 
encourage my colleagues, and I encourage all residents, business people 
and visitors to the village to recognize and celebrate this milestone 
in ways that heighten civic pride and inspire further preservation of 
the historical, cultural and natural characteristics that make Elk 
Rapids one of the most enchanting places on the face of the Earth.

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