By Margaret Baker
(The original hand-written manuscript appears to have been written as a school project circa 1914 and was donated to the Historical Society by her sister, Lula.)
Margaret was the daughter of George Baker of Alabaster and attended the Alabaster School. Margaret became a school teacher and taught in Detroit She married Arthur Povish and they returned to Iosco County in the 50's and operated a dairy farm on M-55 near the former County Farm.
Alabaster was first homesteaded by Jack Thompson. He came from the state of Maine and was a salt water sailor and fisherman. About the year 1860 he built a shanty in which he lived for awhile.
Two men by the name of Patrick were clearing roads from Bay City and that's the way they came to Alabaster. They searched for a Gypsum or plaster bed. They got Jack Thompson in his shanty entertaining in a lumberman fashion, (drinking whiskey) while one man went exploring and found a bed of plaster. Then the Patricks gave Jack Thompson a shotgun, two quarts of whiskey, and a dog for all the land.
The Patricks then sold the land to George B. and B. F. Smith of Detroit for Twenty thousand dollars. In 1860 the Smiths then built a saw mill, dock, store and dwelling houses. The first store was a one story , flat leaky roof building. They bought some red houses from Oscoda and they have seven of them at the present time. (These had been lumberjack housing and were brought across the ice to the site.)
Then afterwards they built some more houses. The hotel they had then was in a tent. The building material supplies were brought from Detroit by a scow sailing vessel by the name of Sunshine. Mr. John White came on this vessel with a pair of oxen and two cows. There was no dock then so Mr. White put the oxen and cows in the water and let them swim to shore, and he made a raft so he could get to shore.
The United States mail was brought from Bay City or lower Saginaw by Indians with dogs and sleds in the winter and by sail boat in the summer. It was as old Ben Smith, said, "The mail bags soaked with water, and the carriers soaked with whiskey".
In 1863 and '64 the company had a little snorting side wheel steamer that ran between Tawas and Alabaster and to Bay City. The first steam boat that ever ran on that route was in 1864. She went on the beach at the mouth of the Saginaw River and believed it was wrecked.
The first mill was built by Smith and it was much larger than it is now, but the works inside were not so large. They had a trademark on the bags at that time of a dog. A dog was standing on a barrel with a sack of plaster in his mouth. The man who owned the dog was from Chicago. The dog looked so pretty that they had it for their trademark. They have the dog on some of the bags yet, but you very seldom find one. The trademark they have on the bags now is "U. S. Gypsum Co.".
The cooper shop was by the mill then and they had a stave mill where they made staves for barrels, and they made the barrels in the cooper shop. When the mill burnt the cooper shop burned also and they built another cooper shop where it is at the present, time. They had a warehouse on the dock where they took on the plaster. They carried this plaster on little flat cars. The flat cars ran on a track which they had running to this warehouse.
April 16,1866, Alabaster was practically swept by fire, the plaster became too hot upstairs in the mill and caused it to burn. They then built the second mill and it burnt down some time ago. The mill they have now is the third mill built in Alabaster.
In the quarry they scraped the dirt off the rock with shovels and hauled it to a log cabin located where the company's barn is.
They made another room to the school in 1911. They raised the whole roof. Now we have four rooms.
In 1899 the track was made from Alabaster to Tawas.
The Presbyterian Church was built in 1902.
In 1910 they built the Catholic Church and the town hall was started in 1911 but is finished now.
The tramway of the U. S. Gypsum Company at Alabaster has long been a tourist attraction. Built in 1928 the tramway stretches 1.3 miles out into Saginaw Bay. Like a horizontal ski-lift, the cable system carries 72 "buckets" of gypsum to a waiting ship or to the storage bin. Each bucket holds more than two tons. The tramway includes 6,450 feet of one and three-quarter inch steel cable and 14,000 feet of three-quarter inch cable. At a length of 6,350 feet it is the longest over-water bucket tramway in the world.
The manufacturer of the tramway went out of business years ago and the Gypsum Co. has had to devise its own repairs for years. In the current year 2001, the tramway is broken and not operating. It is doubtful if it will operate again.
Until 1898 when the railroad spur was installed, all shipments were made by sailing vessels that tied up to a 600 foot dock. Marine shipments were resumed in 1929 after the building of the tramway enabled the larger ships to load in deeper water at the end of the tramway. Rail shipments were then made when the boat season was closed.
Gypsum, the mineral with a thousand uses, is found in great abundance in Iosco County. It has contributed to the growth and economy of the area for more than one hundred years. The story of gypsum in Iosco County goes back to the 1840's when outcroppings were discovered along the shores of Saginaw Bay almost coincident to the birth of the County. Many millions of years ago Iosco County was part of an inland sea, or basin. Geologists believe the area passed through successive stages of sea and land. The presence of gypsum in relatively thick deposits confirms this theory. Partings of shale and limestone between the layers of gypsum indicate radical changes in conditions during the millions of years that passed while the deposit was being formed. The deposits of beds thirty to thirty five feet thick at Alabaster and National City would require the evaporation of a column of sea water 52,000 feet high.
Gypsum's suitability for economical mass production and its insulating qualities has made it indispensable to the building industry. Annual production of wallboard alone in the USA would pave a pathway five feet wide from the moon to the earth or build a wall 50 feet high around the 25,000 mile girth of the earth.
Did you know gypsum is used as a base for toothpaste? It forms the molds for bathroom fixtures, table china and other ceramic products. It is the head of a match and classroom chalk and the mannequin in store displays. The dentist fashions bridgework out of gypsum and the doctor splints with gypsum orthopedic plaster. Gypsum rock from Alabaster was used to plaster buildings at the Columbian Exhibition of 1883. Alabaster gypsum is of unusually high purity. It is white with black markings but may come in pinkish tints unique here , or even with a blue cast. The famous King Tut was found to be encased in a gypsum cast. The Egyptians coated the pyramids with three coats of plaster and the temple of King Solomon was built from solid rocks of quarried gypsum.
It was not until 1862 that a quarry opened at Alabaster (biblical name far gypsum). In 1891 the company was organized at the Western Plaster Works and then became the Alabaster Company in 1898. In 1902 the company was acquired by the U. S. Gypsum Company, the continuing owners to the present day.
In the early days the mining work was highly labor intense. Railcars were loaded with hand forks compared to later day use of giant 600 ton Marion draglines which take a 16 ton "bite" of earth at a scoop. The gypsum deposit is extensive and is known to extend far out in the water and some miles inland. The Alabaster operation is the largest gypsum quarry in the United States.
(The original hand-written manuscript appears to have been written as a school project circa 1914 and was donated to the Historical Society by her sister, Lula.)
Margaret was the daughter of George Baker of Alabaster and attended the Alabaster School. Margaret became a school teacher and taught in Detroit She married Arthur Povish and they returned to Iosco County in the 50's and operated a dairy farm on M-55 near the former County Farm.
Alabaster was first homesteaded by Jack Thompson. He came from the state of Maine and was a salt water sailor and fisherman. About the year 1860 he built a shanty in which he lived for awhile.
Two men by the name of Patrick were clearing roads from Bay City and that's the way they came to Alabaster. They searched for a Gypsum or plaster bed. They got Jack Thompson in his shanty entertaining in a lumberman fashion, (drinking whiskey) while one man went exploring and found a bed of plaster. Then the Patricks gave Jack Thompson a shotgun, two quarts of whiskey, and a dog for all the land.
The Patricks then sold the land to George B. and B. F. Smith of Detroit for Twenty thousand dollars. In 1860 the Smiths then built a saw mill, dock, store and dwelling houses. The first store was a one story , flat leaky roof building. They bought some red houses from Oscoda and they have seven of them at the present time. (These had been lumberjack housing and were brought across the ice to the site.)
Then afterwards they built some more houses. The hotel they had then was in a tent. The building material supplies were brought from Detroit by a scow sailing vessel by the name of Sunshine. Mr. John White came on this vessel with a pair of oxen and two cows. There was no dock then so Mr. White put the oxen and cows in the water and let them swim to shore, and he made a raft so he could get to shore.
The United States mail was brought from Bay City or lower Saginaw by Indians with dogs and sleds in the winter and by sail boat in the summer. It was as old Ben Smith, said, "The mail bags soaked with water, and the carriers soaked with whiskey".
In 1863 and '64 the company had a little snorting side wheel steamer that ran between Tawas and Alabaster and to Bay City. The first steam boat that ever ran on that route was in 1864. She went on the beach at the mouth of the Saginaw River and believed it was wrecked.
The first mill was built by Smith and it was much larger than it is now, but the works inside were not so large. They had a trademark on the bags at that time of a dog. A dog was standing on a barrel with a sack of plaster in his mouth. The man who owned the dog was from Chicago. The dog looked so pretty that they had it for their trademark. They have the dog on some of the bags yet, but you very seldom find one. The trademark they have on the bags now is "U. S. Gypsum Co.".
The cooper shop was by the mill then and they had a stave mill where they made staves for barrels, and they made the barrels in the cooper shop. When the mill burnt the cooper shop burned also and they built another cooper shop where it is at the present, time. They had a warehouse on the dock where they took on the plaster. They carried this plaster on little flat cars. The flat cars ran on a track which they had running to this warehouse.
April 16,1866, Alabaster was practically swept by fire, the plaster became too hot upstairs in the mill and caused it to burn. They then built the second mill and it burnt down some time ago. The mill they have now is the third mill built in Alabaster.
In the quarry they scraped the dirt off the rock with shovels and hauled it to a log cabin located where the company's barn is.
They made another room to the school in 1911. They raised the whole roof. Now we have four rooms.
In 1899 the track was made from Alabaster to Tawas.
The Presbyterian Church was built in 1902.
In 1910 they built the Catholic Church and the town hall was started in 1911 but is finished now.
The tramway of the U. S. Gypsum Company at Alabaster has long been a tourist attraction. Built in 1928 the tramway stretches 1.3 miles out into Saginaw Bay. Like a horizontal ski-lift, the cable system carries 72 "buckets" of gypsum to a waiting ship or to the storage bin. Each bucket holds more than two tons. The tramway includes 6,450 feet of one and three-quarter inch steel cable and 14,000 feet of three-quarter inch cable. At a length of 6,350 feet it is the longest over-water bucket tramway in the world.
The manufacturer of the tramway went out of business years ago and the Gypsum Co. has had to devise its own repairs for years. In the current year 2001, the tramway is broken and not operating. It is doubtful if it will operate again.
Until 1898 when the railroad spur was installed, all shipments were made by sailing vessels that tied up to a 600 foot dock. Marine shipments were resumed in 1929 after the building of the tramway enabled the larger ships to load in deeper water at the end of the tramway. Rail shipments were then made when the boat season was closed.
Gypsum, the mineral with a thousand uses, is found in great abundance in Iosco County. It has contributed to the growth and economy of the area for more than one hundred years. The story of gypsum in Iosco County goes back to the 1840's when outcroppings were discovered along the shores of Saginaw Bay almost coincident to the birth of the County. Many millions of years ago Iosco County was part of an inland sea, or basin. Geologists believe the area passed through successive stages of sea and land. The presence of gypsum in relatively thick deposits confirms this theory. Partings of shale and limestone between the layers of gypsum indicate radical changes in conditions during the millions of years that passed while the deposit was being formed. The deposits of beds thirty to thirty five feet thick at Alabaster and National City would require the evaporation of a column of sea water 52,000 feet high.
Gypsum's suitability for economical mass production and its insulating qualities has made it indispensable to the building industry. Annual production of wallboard alone in the USA would pave a pathway five feet wide from the moon to the earth or build a wall 50 feet high around the 25,000 mile girth of the earth.
Did you know gypsum is used as a base for toothpaste? It forms the molds for bathroom fixtures, table china and other ceramic products. It is the head of a match and classroom chalk and the mannequin in store displays. The dentist fashions bridgework out of gypsum and the doctor splints with gypsum orthopedic plaster. Gypsum rock from Alabaster was used to plaster buildings at the Columbian Exhibition of 1883. Alabaster gypsum is of unusually high purity. It is white with black markings but may come in pinkish tints unique here , or even with a blue cast. The famous King Tut was found to be encased in a gypsum cast. The Egyptians coated the pyramids with three coats of plaster and the temple of King Solomon was built from solid rocks of quarried gypsum.
It was not until 1862 that a quarry opened at Alabaster (biblical name far gypsum). In 1891 the company was organized at the Western Plaster Works and then became the Alabaster Company in 1898. In 1902 the company was acquired by the U. S. Gypsum Company, the continuing owners to the present day.
In the early days the mining work was highly labor intense. Railcars were loaded with hand forks compared to later day use of giant 600 ton Marion draglines which take a 16 ton "bite" of earth at a scoop. The gypsum deposit is extensive and is known to extend far out in the water and some miles inland. The Alabaster operation is the largest gypsum quarry in the United States.