Lewis Ludington

Lewis Ludington (June 25, 1786 – September 10, 1857) was an American businessman, lumber baron, and real estate developer. He operated general merchandising stores in New York and Milwaukee and is the founder of Columbus, Wisconsin. Among his businesses were lumber mills and docks.

Lewis Ludington
Lewis Ludington, ca 1855
Born(1786-06-25)June 25, 1786
Kent, New York
DiedSeptember 10, 1857(1857-09-10) (aged 71)
Keshena, Wisconsin
NationalityAmerican
OccupationBusinessman, lumber baron
Known forfounder of Columbus, Wisconsin

Early life

Ludington's father, Henry Ludington, was a soldier in the French and Indian War. Records show that when twenty-one years old, he assisted a company of wounded soldiers from Quebec to Boston in the winter of 1759–60, and after that duty returned to civilian life. Henry married his cousin Abigail on May 1, 1760, a week before her fifteenth birthday. They had six children, all born in Kent, New York (then known as Fredericksburgh). Lewis was youngest, born on June 25, 1786.[1] His eldest sister was Sybil Ludington.

Mid life and career

Ludington was twenty when he partnered with his elder brother Frederick to operate a general merchandising store near their home in Kent, New York.[2] He visited Milwaukee in 1838 with his nephew Harrison Ludington and Harvey Birchard of Carmel, New York. They explored the interior of Wisconsin with the idea of purchasing extensive tracts of land from the government for timber. In 1839 the brothers formed a general merchandising store in Milwaukee called Ludington, Burchard & Company. A year or so later Burchard retired and the firm became Ludington and Company with Harrison's younger brother Nelson being brought into the partnership. Ludington was the general manager of the company for nearly twenty years. It had a more wide-ranging business compared to other companies in Wisconsin at the time; among its holdings and activities were docks in Milwaukee and lumber mills in Oconto as part of the firm.[3][4][5]

Ludington also became involved in real estate development in Wisconsin. His connections there were extensive, and he would travel to the state on the schooner Lewis Ludington, which he used to transport harvested lumber across Lake Michigan from Wisconsin and ultimately back to New York state by train and wagon.[6]

Columbus, Wisconsin
Main article: Columbus, Wisconsin

Ludington acquired a section of land in Columbus County, Wisconsin Territory sometime in 1838.[4] He sold a portion of it to Elbert Dickason in 1839 on a land contract.[7] Dickason built a cabin on this land acreage on the west side of Crawfish River and dammed up the river for a sawmill site. He became the first settler to locate in this area, when he brought with him a herd of cattle, some horses, and a few wagons of supplies with hired men. The first winter Dickason spent at this site was severe, as most of his live stock died and he almost ran out of food. In spite of his bad luck, he persisted for the next four years, struggling to complete his log cabin and sawmill operation. He spent nearly ten thousand dollars doing so. However, he was unable to make enough money from the sawmill to meet his payments to Ludington and lost all his rights to the property. Ludington took back the property for the back payments and a $200 buy-out.[8]

There was one other log cabin constructed on this property by Hiram Allen in 1843 not far from the sawmill. Jeremiah Drake became the local real estate agent managing the property in Wisconsin for Ludington, whose home was in New York state.[9] Drake built the first frame house on the property in the early part of 1844. Other settlers that arrived were James Shackley, S. W. St. John, T. Baldwin, H. W. McCafferty, H. A. Whitney, Jacob Smith, James T. Lewis, J. C. Axtell, D. E. Bassett, J. E. Arnold, Warren Loomis, W. C. Spencer, Jesse Rowell, E. Thayer, and W. M. Clark.[10]

In July 1844, Ludington designed a community layout for this land that became the basic city plan of Columbus, Wisconsin.[11] Ludington's Plat was the first official evidence of the existence of the city of Columbus. [12] Lewis recorded in Brown County, Wisconsin, on November 11, 1844, Ludington's Plat containing Blocks 1 to 9.[13] The school within Ludington's Plat was built in 1846. Columbia County was formed in 1847 from Brown County. There was a Ludington's Addition of Blocks 10 to 13 recorded in Columbia County on August 6, 1849. Ludington made a second addition to the original Ludington's Plat, and it was recorded in the Recorder's office in Portage on October 3, 1850.[14] He deeded some of this land to the Congregationalists later in 1850 and they built a church on it.[15] By the next year they also built a Methodist church and a Universalist church.[14]

Ludington, with his son James, helped pioneers to settle and develop the new city of Columbus. They assisted H. W. McCafferty in 1855 in building the Columbus Exchange Hotel that was located in downtown Columbus at the corner of James Street and Ludington Street.[13] They also helped businessmen A. P. Birdsey, Isaac Robinson, R. Thomas, J. Colville, Franklin F. Fowler and B.F. Hart establish firms in the city.[13] The plat of West Columbus was recorded in the Recorder's office in Volume 10 of Deeds (pages 107 and 208) on June 10, 1854.[14] Lewis' First Addition to West Columbus was recorded in Volume 17 of Deeds (page 324) on August 8, 1856.[14] Ludington himself never resided in the state of Wisconsin, despite his many contributions to the state.[16][17]

Family (Excluding Siblings)

Ludington married Mary (Polly) Townsend in September, 1812.[18] Their children were Laura, Delia, William, Robert, Charles, Henry, James, Lavinia, Emily, and Amelia.[17]

Death

Ludington, while a resident of Carmel, New York, died while on a temporary stay at Keshena, Wisconsin.[19][20] He was 71 years old, dying on September 10, 1857.[21]

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See also

References
  1. Johnson 1907, pp. 35–45.
  2. "The First Show". Green Bay Advocate. Green Bay, Wisconsin. August 25, 1881. p. 1 – via newspapers.com .
  3. Bruce 1922, p. 121.
  4. Fuller 1941, p. 411.
  5. Johnson 1907, pp. 218–225.
  6. Johnson 1907, pp. 224–226.
  7. Butterfield 1880, p. 665.
  8. Jones 2016, p. 228.
  9. Butterfield 1880, p. 666.
  10. Jones 2016, pp. 228–229.
  11. Johnson 1907, p. 224.
  12. Jones 2016, pp. 234–235.
  13. Butterfield 1880, p. 669.
  14. Butterfield 1880, p. 669-673.
  15. Jones 2016, p. 235.
  16. The Commission 1994, p. 38.
  17. Beers 1905, p. 125.
  18. Downs 1934, p. 180.
  19. "Obituary". The Daily Milwaukee News. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. September 13, 1857. p. 2 – via newspapers.com .
  20. Conard 1895, p. 322.
  21. "Hudson River Items". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. September 15, 1857. p. 2 – via newspapers.com .

Sources
  • Beers (1905). Record of New London County. J.H. Beers & Company. His partners, who conducted the business (Mr. Ludington never resided in Wisconsin) were, Harrison Ludington, a nephew, afterward governor of Wisconsin, and Nelson Ludington, afterward president of the First National Bank of Chicago.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Bruce, William George (1922). History of Milwaukee. S. J. Clarke Publishing Company.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Butterfield, Consul Willshire (1880). History of Columbia County, Wisconsin. Western Historical. p. 665.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Conard, Howard Louis (1895). History of Milwaukee County. American Biographical Publishing Company. Lewis Ludington died 1857 Kenosha farm.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Downs, Winfield Scott (1934). Encyclopedia of American biography. American Historical Society.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Fuller, George Newman (1941). Michigan History Magazine. Michigan Historical Commission.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Johnson, Willis Fletcher (1907). Colonel Henry Ludington: A Memoir. his grandchildren L.E. Ludington and C.H. Ludington.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Jones, James Edwin (4 September 2016). History of Columbia County. FB&C Limited. ISBN 978-1-333-47058-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • The Commission (1994). Wauwatosa Landmarks. The Commission. Lewis Ludington, was founder of Columbus, Wisconsin, and his cousin James founded Ludington, Michigan.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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