Allegan, Michigan
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Allegan is a city in the U.S state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 4,838. It is the county seat of Allegan County6. The city lies within Allegan Township, but is politically independent.
Allegan was named by Michigan historian Henry Rowe Schoolcraft in 1837 to sound like a Native American word. Land was purchased from government to form the downtown business district; village organization came in 1838 with city incorporation authorized in 1907.
Allegan is located in the south-central portion of the county. To the west and northwest is the Allegan State Game Area for which the city is considered a gateway. In all other directions Allegan is surrounded by farmland.
Allegan's dense forests and river geography served as a source of water power, trade routes for steamboats and timber production. Once cleared, Allegan became a center for business, industry and expansive farmland.
History
The men after whom Allegan's downtown streets were named - Elisha Ely, Samuel Hubbard, Charles Trowbridge, Pliny Cutler, and Edmund Monroe - settled in the area in 1833. They considered the site a prime location for industry, due to its potential for waterpower (since it straddled the Kalamazoo River) and waterbound transportation. By 1835, a dam and sawmill had been established.In 1914, Allegan entered the automobile (race car) industry as the manufacturing site of Howard E. Blood and Louis Chevrolet's unique chain-drive Cornelian automobile. The venture was short-lived, however, with fewer than 100 Cornelians actually produced.[link][link][link]
Easter/Passover Weekend 1967, some scenes from the movie Ciao! Manhattan were filmed at the old Allegan County Jail, now the Allegan County Jail Museum. Ironically, Paul America, one of the actors in the underground film, was jailed the following year in upstate Michigan, facing twenty years to life on an obscure marijuana charge. [link]
Industry
The largest employer is the L. Perrigo Company, the largest maker of private label over-the-counter pharmaceuticals in the United States. The Perrigo company was founded here in 1887. In 2004 it employed 3,500 people in the United States, England and Mexico. Allegan is home to a longstanding manufacturing base of smaller companies; the City of Allegan lost a major UAW-organized Rockwell manufacturing plant in the early 80s. The city has a small general aviation airport with a paved runway. Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, Michigan are larger metropolitan points of access to Allegan County; generally access by commercial airlines would require a trip from (or to) Grand Rapids.Waterfront Plaza
A longtime industrial town, Allegan's downtown waterfront fell into disrepair and environmental pollution by the late 1960s and early 1970s. The potential for loss of an aging iron bridge would cause the citizenry of Allegan to focus on community history, en masse, for an event that solidified Allegan's view toward community architectural preservation. The Second Street Bridge in Allegan is a whipple-trough truss bridge erected by the King Iron Bridge Company (Cleveland, Ohio) in 1886. Used as a two-lane bridge until discussions about its demise began in 1970s, the City of Allegan experienced an unprecedented and consistent outcry not to demolish its most prominent downtown trademark. City planners often commented the downtown district would be better served by a more modern, two lane structure, a common progressive view that has resulted in the demise of thousands of historic structures nationwide. As a result of community efforts and the successful application for federal grants, the Second Street Bridge was renewed for likely another century of service. The only noticeable modifications are the installation of wood in the decking of the bridge, reduction of traffic to one lane and the installation of traffic lights at both ends. Allegan received national recognition in the form of The National Historic Preservation Award, one of fifteen such recipients in the United States. Focus on preservation of the downtown business district and timeless residential homes has continued as a theme in Allegan since the two-year bridge restoration (1981-1983).BridgeFest
For several years in the late 80s and 90s, Allegan held a city festival called "Bridgefest" in honor of the Second Street Bridge. The "Old Iron Bridge", as it is referred to by residents, remains the most common logo and identifying characteristic of historic Allegan, Michigan. The Second Street Bridge served also as an ideal "second chance" for Allegan residents to gain footing against progressive construction. Faced with legitimate needs to modify or replace aging structures, Allegan also began taking inventory of its well-preserved architectural wealth. In 1953 the City of Allegan gave its unique architectural history a back seat to progress and demolished its then 65 year old Richardsonian Romanesque styled courthouse. The previous courthouse, a magnificent structure incapable of meeting the growing office space needs of the city, was leveled in favor of a modern structure that serves as Allegan County's courthouse today. Many of Allegan's senior residents can recall the old courthouse with reverence, and vividly contrast apathy that consumed the courthouse with activism that saved the Old Iron (Second Street) Bridge.Historical District
Much of Allegan's historic architecture dates to an odd Civil War era windfall received by Union Army General Benjamin Dudley Pritchard. Pritchard's apprehension of Confederate States President Jefferson Davis led to a $100,000 bounty that would forever alter the Allegan residential district. Pritchard shared his reward with troops who, like Pritchard, chose to settle in Allegan. With financial gifts from Pritchard and the continued growth of Allegan as a center for business, the valuable downtown properties were populated with stately homes of impressive architecture. Much of these homes remain, with only minor modification, today. Owners of distinctive Allegan homes are often well-versed in the history of their houses, with stories passing from owner to owner, generation to generation. It is not uncommon to hear exactly which political power, war hero or business magnate stayed within the walls of these beautiful Allegan homes.The downtown business district of Allegan falls among some of the best preserved small-town residential districts in America. Dozens of homes built in the 1800s and early 1900s remain much as they existed at their construction; homes with porches suitable for carriage ingress and egress are spectacularly preserved. Largely unchanged in layout for well over a century, the Allegan business district remains a unique presentation of shops, professional offices and yet another example of architectural community renewal.
Al Capone & the Yellow Motel
A local attraction is the remains of the old Yellow Motel on the outskirts of town. It is said to have been owned by Al Capone and used for a hideout whenever thing would get too heated in Chicago. This motel is where Al Capone did some of his work and had meetings in a secret place in the tunnels. The motel was once painted blue but the next day it was back to yellow. It was burned down by the fire department in the late nineties after complaints of kids getting hurt at the abandoned site. All that remains now is the tennis court, and small fragments of the building that once stood there. The geographical coordinant is: 42 deg, 30 min 24 sec North -86 deg, 02 min, 05 sec West.The Old Regent Theatre
The downtown Regent Theater, its roots as a Buick garage (1903) and vaudeville theater (1919), serves as an example of Art Deco building styles that date to the World's Fair of 1925. As Allegan's privately run theater, the Regent suffered a series of failed operational attempts that left the theater largely abandoned by the mid-1980s. Having also suffered wear, damage and community apathy, the City of Allegan purchased the Regent for the remaining mortgage balance of roughly $18,000. The 1990 purchase led to the permanent re-establishment of the single screen theater to full operational status in 1996. A second round of restoration was required just a year later, in 1997, when a violent rainstorm caused the roof to collapse just an hour after the night's last movie ended. The building has been outfitted with a new electrical system in addition to many features designed to return the building to its 1930s prominence. Used for first-run films and community events, the Regent is yet another of many examples of Allegan's dedication to its cultural and architectural past.Allegan Community Players
Allegan's historic Griswold Auditorium is home to Michigan's oldest extant theatre company, the Allegan Community Players. The auditorium was built in 1929 through an $100,000 endowment left by the late Marilla Griswold and has remained virtually unchanged ever since its completion. [Photo & Description (external link)]Medical Care
Allegan maintains, impressively for a city its size, a comprehesive 24-hour hospital system (Allegan General Hospital) and is served in community policing by both City of Allegan police and the Sheriff's Department of Allegan County, also headquartered within the Allegan City limits. The County of Allegan is comprised of 24 incorporated townships, most maintaining their own system of city schools, emergency services and local law enforcement.Notable natives
- Ray Luther "Dad" Hale (1880-1946), Major League Baseball player [link]
- Frank Miller (1886-1974), Major League Baseball player [link]
- Madison Monroe (1984- ), actress & director [link]
- Corporal George Munger, Civil War hero
- Brvt. Brig. Gen. Benjamin Dudley Pritchard, Civil War hero
Geography
For reference, Allegan County is the 18th largest physical county in Michigan (at 827 square miles) and enjoys 25 miles of Lake Michigan coastline. The City of Allegan, as the other towns and the county itself, enjoys numerous parks, natural areas and access to multiple opportunities for lake activities and watersports. Allegan's largest annual celebration, widely reputed as the largest county fair in Michigan, is the Allegan County Fair each September. Allegan's local newspaper, locally-owned and in publication since 1858, is the Allegan County News.Allegan is served by Michigan state highways M-40, M-222 and M-89.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 4,838 people, 1,831 households, and 1,186 families residing in the city. The population density was 490.3/km² (1,270.9/mi²). There were 1,947 housing units at an average density of 197.3/km² (511.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.44% White, 4.71% African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.64% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.34% from other races, and 1.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.85% of the population.There were 1,831 households out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.4% were married couples living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.2% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $39,539, and the median income for a family was $45,833. Males had a median income of $35,417 versus $25,669 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,075. About 10.8% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.7% of those under age 18 and 13.1% of those age 65 or over.
External links
- [City of Allegan official web site]
- [Allegan Historic Preservation Program]
- [City Map (pdf)]
- [Allegan County Fair]
- [Allegan County News]
- [History of Allegan]
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