History of Dundee, Michigan
The Triangle District
No one knows exactly how or why it happened, but the heart of Dundee - its town square if you will - is in the shape of a triangle. This unique shape, bordered as it is by well-preserved commercial buildings in the Italianate style, gives Dundee the distinctive character which helped it gain a position on the National Register of Historic Places.
Except for buildings that replaced those destroyed by fire, all of the structures in The Triangle were constructed between 1866 and 1900. This was America’s “Gilded Age,” a time of enormous growth and general prosperity.
As with the 1990’s, tremendous increases in productivity were the main engine of the prosperity. Now its computers and the Internet; then it was railroads. Moving a ton of freight one mile by rail cost about $20 in 1865; a few years later the cost had been slashed to less than $1.
The wealth created in villages like Dundee (first served by rail in 1861) during this period is remarkable. Dundee had less than 1,000 inhabitants between 1870 and 1900, and yet was able to convert its entire downtown from ramshackle frame to solid brick.
Most of the buildings of The Triangle are two stories tall. At street level the structures housed retail establishments, and the second floor was devoted to owner’s apartments, storage, or small manufactories like the two cigar factories. The exceptions were the two and a half story Opera House and the three story Pocklington Hotel.
The street level of the Opera House was devoted to three distinct retail spaces divided by 18-inch thick brick walls. The Opera House itself was on the second floor, with dressing rooms in the ample half story above the stage. The extra height throughout the second level also provided for the feeling of grandeur so important to a fine entertainment experience. Patrons of the Opera House, no doubt dressed in their Saturday night finest, would ascend stairs from the sidewalk on Riley Street for an evening of vaudeville, or to watch the latest hit play from New York, or (rarely) an actual opera.
Today the three establishments at street level of the Opera House are the Dundee Antique Shop, the Wilson and Meyer Hardware Store, and the restored Village Hall. The section directly over the Village Hall, which originally held the stage and dressing rooms, has been renovated as part of an expansion of the Village Offices. The former audience seating area, above the antique and hardware stores, provides storage for those two businesses.
In addition to the restoration of the Village Office section of the Opera House, several other restorations have occurred in the Triangle in recent years, and at least one more – the Pocklington Hotel – is tentatively planned.
Several factors have contributed to Dundee’s current historic restoration boom. First is the fact that the Village was safely out of the way of the “bulldozer sub-urbanization” that took place near large cities after World War II. Our buildings stand because there was no economic reason to tear them down in the 1950’s and 1960’s, when America was still oblivious to its architectural heritage.
The second factor was an unusually enlightened village government, which had the foresight in the 1990’s to apply for and receive historic designation status for The Triangle District, and to create the River Walk adjacent to downtown, along with increased parking and other public improvements designed to make shopping downtown attractive and easy.
At the heart of all the bustle lies Triangle Park, with its cannon that was installed in 1909, and its beautiful eight sided limestone bandstand erected in 1913 as a Soldiers Memorial, commemorating service by Dundee boys in the Civil and Spanish American Wars.
No doubt the citizens who originally undertook the Triangle Park project hoped the beautiful buildings of the Triangle District would remain as they were forever. Today, despite a tumultuous century of constant change, their wish is coming true.
Bonnie Dundee
Historians generally feel that Dundee, Michigan, was named after Dundee, Scotland. Locally, this is taken as accepted fact. Dundee, Scotland, was founded in the late 12th or early 13th century and gained prominence as a whaling center. Later, it became famous for its production of jute, and is now known for its marmalade. It’s the fourth largest city in Scotland and is situated on the Firth of Tay, about 40 miles north of Edinburgh.
The belief that Dundee Michigan was named after this city in Scotland is understandable, given that so many American cities were named after places in Europe. And Dundee, Scotland is a nice enough place for a namesake.
The problem is that being named after a large industrial city in another country lacks panache. It’s an okay story, and probably true, but it has no pizzazz. Fortunately, there is an alternative – the dashing, heroic “Bonnie Dundee.”
Bonnie Dundee was more formally known as John Graham Dundee of Claverhouse, the First Viscount Lord Graham of Claverhouse. A swashbuckling Viscount was he; not one of your sit around the castle types. When young, he swashed and buckled his way through France and the Netherlands as a soldier of fortune, on various chivalrous missions, then returned to defend his king and country against insurgents. He carried out the task with typical elan, beating back the blokes at the bloody Battle of Bothwell Bridge in 1679.
Bonnie Dundee took up arms again in 1688, at age 40, when William of Orange invaded Britain. He rallied forces in the Central Highlands and defeated the invaders at the Pass of Killiecrankie.
Alas, Dundee was shot from his horse and mortally wounded during the battle. With his death, British resistance waned, and William and Mary became Britain’s rulers. Admittedly, it’s not likely that Dundee, Michigan was named after the courageous, heroic, Bonnie Dundee, but it’s not out of the question either. Certainly the fighting spirit of Dundee Michigan is more reflective of ancestry from Bonnie Dundee than from that dull city on the Firth of Tay.
Perhaps we should just say:
If our town’s naming didn’t happen that way, it should have.(Of course, there’s the Crocodile Dundee possibility too, but that’s another story.)
The Old Mill
The Old Mill, Dundee’s most prominent landmark, was constructed on the south bank of the River Raisin in 1849, taking advantage of the dam that originally had been thrown across the river in 1827 and rebuilt in 1846. It was a gristmill – a place where wheat, corn, and oats could be ground into flour and meal. The three-story frame building was of Greek Revival design – compact, geometric, well-proportioned and sturdy. Also, as it turned out, incredibly adaptable. The grist mill thrived for many years, helping build Dundee by attracting farmers and their families who would patronize businesses in the growing downtown area – just across the river from the mill - after delivering their grain.
By the early 1900’s, however, the ancient business of water milling was dying – not only in Dundee but across America. On the other hand, the infant business of generating electricity with water power was booming. So, in 1910, the Dundee Grist Mill made its first major adaptation – it became the Dundee Hydraulic Power Company.
Compared to gas light, the weak and uncertain electric light produced by the underpowered dam was satisfactory to residents – at first. Gradually, however, demand grew for the more efficient and far more reliable service that could be provided by the coal fired generating plants of Detroit Edison, which took over electric service in the 1920’s. The Mill stood abandoned, neglected, and in danger of falling in on itself. The Village Council condemned the structure and ordered it razed.
Once again, however, a relatively new and still young industry came to the rescue. This time it was the automobile industry, as personified by Henry Ford. Ford had been born and raised on a farm about 40 miles north of Dundee, in Dearborn. For a time as a young man he had operated a saw mill. He understood and appreciated the power of falling water and wanted to incorporate the mill into his industrial empire.
His workers began restoring the decrepit, 69 year old structure in 1935. (Ford himself was 71 at the time, but far from decrepit.) Great care was taken to authentically restore the building to its original state, using timber cut from adjacent land and hand hewed on site.
Ford did deviate from authenticity in one significant respect – he added a single story structure to the east and north sides of the building, using limestone blasted from the river bed. His architects and engineers artfully blended the addition and now – 65 years later – most casual viewers assume the entire edifice was built at the same time.
(In any event, Ford’s addition has taken on historical significance in it’s own right, and the mill is an important part of Ford Heritage Trails, a system of 20 “village industries” that Ford started on Southeast Michigan rivers between 1919 and 1944.)
Ford's Old Mill “little factory” opened in 1936 and produced parts for welding machines used in Ford factories worldwide. Some older Dundee residents recall meeting Henry Ford during his many visits to the Old Mill.
In 1955, after Henry Ford’s death, the property was sold to Wolverine Manufacturing and Fabricating Company, which used it for various manufacturing operations.
At the end of the 1960’s, the use of water power in manufacturing had run its course in America. No longer needed by Wolverine, the Old Mill was on the “endangered” list for the third time in its remarkable history. Adaptation or demolition were the only options. But, once again, a new “industry” was rising that would save it from extinction. The “industry” this time was preservation – the work of recognizing and preserving America’s heritage.
By 1970, the infant historic preservation movement had engaged the active attention of enlightened communities across the nation, one of which was Dundee.
Accordingly, the Village of Dundee purchased the 15,000 square foot facility and its surrounding 13.8 acres for $1 and set about preserving and protecting it for future generations. Major restoration was again undertaken, this time largely through the volunteer efforts of many loyal citizens.
Their efforts were rewarded in 1990 when the Old Mill was designated a National Historic Place. The Old Mill complex now snuggles within a village park, and houses a museum, a community center, and the meeting chambers of the Village Board of Trustees.
In 1995, a beautiful river walk from the Mill to the M50 bridge was constructed, and from the dam to the bridge on the north side of the river. The 137 years of the ever-adaptable Old Mill have encompassed the greatest period of change in human history. Virtually no material thing is the same now as it was in 1866, when battered men returning from the Civil War began to build again.
But the essence of humankind has not changed. Included in this essence is a desire for stability and respect for its symbols; appreciation of beauty; and awe at the power of natural forces. All this and more does the Old Mill call to the minds of those who visit it.
Historic Designation
In 1990, Dundee won designation in American history through inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. Following are excerpts from the proposal submitted to the Federal government, with minor changes and elaboration for clarity.
Dundee’s historic district is made up of two parts. The first part is the area on both banks of the River Raisin, where a dam, millrace, and early industries were located, including to the south a prominent Greek Revival mill and its property.
The other part includes the commercial area of the downtown located on the river’s north bank. This area includes a central triangular park, and a grouping of 19th century structures situated around this triangle.
The village of Dundee was established in 1823. The town’s location was in large part determined by a narrowing in a bend of the River Raisin, which allowed for a logical crossing spot on the road west from Monroe. The small downtown is set back from the river’s north bank, behind a narrow riverfront park which was once the site of a mill race and a number of water-powered industries. An old residential area stands to the southwest down Riley Street. Tecumseh Street to the west leads to the US-23 expressway and a small area of strip development at the west edge of town. On the north and east side of town are older residential areas.
In about 1850 Henry Angell constructed a handsome three-story Greek Revival structure, which still stands in it original location on the south bank of the river. The structure was used by a series of owners during the 19th century, both as a gristmill and flouring mill. In the early 29th century it was used to generate electric power. The mill building stood vacant and unused from 1925 until 1934. It had deteriorated to the point of being a fire hazard and was scheduled for demolition. At the “11th hour,” Henry Ford purchased the mill for use as the site of one of his village industries. Ford’s purpose in buying it, and others in southeastern Michigan, was to show how waterpower could better be used in rural areas. His goal, he stated, was to decentralize industry, and thus humanize it by combining industry and agriculture. In 1934 and 1935, Ford had the mill carefully restored, with new exterior boards and replacement of all deteriorated framework. Using limestone blasted from the riverbed, his workmen then built a carefully crafted addition and installed a new turbine. The “village factory” was then put to use making copper tips for welding machines. It remained a Ford facility until 1954, when it was sold to the Wolverine Manufacturing Company.
The Old Mill, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was given to the village in 1970 and is now a museum.
Over time a series of dams were constructed across the river at the mill site. The first, in 1827, was made of brush with earth compacted into it. The second, in 1846, was a log dam, composed of cut trees that had been trimmed and laid with interlocking ends. The third, built in 1897, was called a “rafter dam” and held the water back with planking fastened to upright posts driven into the riverbed. The current concrete dam was constructed in 1912. The top two feet of the 1897 dam was cut off shortly after construction in response to flooding problems in farmland upstream. Surprisingly, builders of the 1912 dam made the same mistake and, after a two-year court battle, were ordered to remove the top two feet of their dam also. Even more surprisingly, Henry Ford started to make the same mistake when he refurbished the dam in 1935. He started a new and higher dam but apparently stopped in response to complaints after building out about 20 into the river. That section of relatively new concrete dam, over which no water flows, can still be seen today.
Also of significant historic import in Dundee is the triangular park in the center of downtown. The triangle shaped piece of land was given to the village by its early owners as an unplatted space with the stipulation that it always be reserved for public use. By mid century, the town well was located there (and remained in use until 1940). Between 1909 and 1913 it was enlarged and became Memorial Park. An ambitious patriotic project included the acquisition of a naval cannon, erection of a new flagpole, and construction of a memorial bandstand with carved stone walls created by a local monuments firm. The park remains as established at that time.
The structures immediately surrounding the triangle are the functional core and visual focus of the downtown’s commercial area. The early wood frame buildings were replaced with two-story, brick, Italianate style storefronts. This style was prevalent everywhere during this period, but seldom is there found as much uniformity in the use of the style as in Dundee. Fifteen buildings, containing 28 storefronts, make up this assemblage, which, with one exception, (built about 1930) were all built between 1869 and 1892.
Since 1990, when the designation on the National Register was granted, more restoration work has taken place in the downtown area, and the beautiful river walk, taking full advantage of the water falling dramatically over the dam, was constructed.