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A BRIEF HISTORY OF BOYNE CITY
John and Harriet Miller were the first permanent settlers in Boyne City. In 1855 Harriet awoke in their Oswegotchie, New York home to a dream where the Irish immigrant, a spiritualist, had seen a lake far to the west that was shaped like a bear and had an abandoned cabin at the far end. The lake had sandy shores and was covered with tall hemlock and pine. On the afternoon of November 14, 1856 the Millers, along with their sons, James and Hugh, arrived in what is now the intersection of Groveland and Michigan Avenue in Boyne City. They found the cabin, that was abandoned by the Mormon Reuben T. Nichols, who left after the assassination of James J. Strang in June of 1856, and moved in. The river at the western end of the lake reminded Mr. Miller of his native Ireland so he named it the Boyne River. This led to the eventual naming of the new settlement. The Homestead Act was passed in 1863 and thus began the migration of families into the area. The Nicholas Morgan family arrived in 1870 and then the Sudmans Buttons, LeRoys, Jones, and Jubenville families arrived. In 1869 John Miller became the postmaster for the area setting up the office in his living room. The first school house was constructed in 1879 on Hugh Miller's property, a board shanty located near the comer of Elm and Pleasant Avenue. Marietta Hicky was the first teacher. When the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad came through the wilderness from Grand Rapids to Petoskey in 1873 it led to the founding of the Boyne Village. In 1875 A. J. Beardsley set up a store in one room of the Pine Lake House, and when his brother, George Beardsley, often called the "Father of Boyne City," and a "land looker" for the G R & Indiana came here, they decided that the location would make an idea! site for a town. In 1876 the original plart of Boyne Village, 15 acres, was made bounded by Lake, Water, North, and East Streets. This led to a city building boom that established the town further. The early 1880's was the period of history that led to the most significant era of development.The population of the community increased from 50 to 500 in a three year period, 1879 to 1882. This was the brawling, lusty, raw, timber economy that was to weld the new culture of Northern Michigan into a tough-minded generation of descendants who would later weather one of the greatest economic disasters in the country's history, the Big Depression of the 30's.
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