THE "THOMAS FRIANT"

The THOMAS FRIANT at the Emery Bros. Steamboat Dock at the foot of Mason Street.

"THOMAS FRIANT" IN THE HARBOR

IRONTON IN ITS HEYDAY

The Pine Lake Iron Company started operations at Ironton in 1879 and was in full swing by 1881, employing at one time close to 300 men. The company operated a smelter, 30 charcoal kilns, its own tug and barge, a large company store, and owned the dwellings for its employees. It also owned or leased great stands of hardwoods, which were sawed into 4 foot lengths of firewood to make charcoal. Ironton in the late eighties had a population greater than either East Jordan or Charlevoix. The plant functioned successfully until the Panic of 1893, when the company failed, and went into the hands of a receiver.