Rural "Small School" Execution!

PUBLISHED: Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Ortonville mill addition will house more history

By KAREN AUCHTERLONIE
Of The Oakland Press

Ortonville's Old Mill will boast 1,600 square feet more of historical displays, thanks to a $35,000 addition that should be open to the public in May.

"We've been working on it every weekend," said Dean Salley, president of the Ortonville Community Historical Society. "We hope to have it open and ready to go by the middle of May."

The society planned the addition to be large enough to house Ortonville's first motorized fire engine, which will be on display when the addition is finished.

"The fire engine has been in storage for many, many years. (Brandon Township) Fire Chief Robert McArthur made me aware that it was available and he'd be willing to put it on display," Salley said.

Though the society has been discussing an addition to the mill for the past four years or so, finding out the 1920s fire engine could be displayed spurred members to start construction, Salley said. Construction began in spring last year.

"It's replacing a much smaller shed that was hooked on to the mill and built in 1943," Salley said.
The shed's condition had deteriorated severely in recent years, and since it was an add-on from the 1940s, it didn't have the same historic value that other buildings on the property have.

The first mill, which no longer stands, was built by Ortonville's founder, Amos Orton, in 1852. Because of its success, Orton built a larger mill in 1856.

"He built the building we're in now, and all the lumber that it was built with was harvested right on the property here," Salley said.

"Some of the boards in here are 3 feet wide. At that time, the tree was probably 300 to 400 years old."

The new addition is located where the shed used to be, on the back of the west wing of the building. It has two levels, and the fire engine will be displayed on the lower level.
Since the engine still runs, it won't be difficult to get it in the new addition.

"It'll be driven right in off the yard, through two big doors. It'll be there, along with artifacts from when Ortonville used to have its own police department. Those will all be new things that have never been on display before," Salley said.

Artifacts from when the community's first Boy Scout troop began in the 1920s also will be on display.

In the upper level of the new addition, artifacts and photos of historic Ortonville buildings including a doctor's office, drugstore and bank will be showcased.

"We have the vault door off the original bank that was here and also some artifacts from the hotel before it burnt down," Salley said.

The historical society also plans to display its extensive collection of graduating class pictures.
"We have almost every class picture from 1896 until now," Salley said.

Many of the pictures are of students who attended the Mann School house, which was moved and rebuilt behind the Old Mill in the late 1990s.

"There's something for everybody to see," Salley said.

In warmer months, the Old Mill is open for free tours from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturdays. It is closed in the winter because there is no insulation in the walls to keep the Mill warm.

The society has not yet decided when to reopen the Mill for tours. It may be open in April, depending on how much work is completed on the addition, said Marilyn Salley, treasurer for the society.

Contact staff writer Karen Auchterlonie at (248) 745-4643 or karen@oakpress.com .