Kendall

KENDALL

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Late 1800s black-and-white photo shows the Kendall depot on the left and an oncoming train with passenger cars. People wait for the train in front of the depot, a single-story building with a raised walkway and several doors facing the tracks.

Image Credit: Sue Hodapp

An August 16, 1899, newspaper clipping. A black ink portrait of Lucius B. Kendall accompanied his obituary. Kendall wears a suit, high-collar shirt and tie. He has thick eyebrows, warm eyes and a pleasant smile above a neatly trimmed beard.

Image Credit: findagrave.com

In 1864, Lucius Ballard Kendall purchased 160 acres of land and built a steam sawmill on the banks of Duck Lake. The lumber was sold and then hauled 12 miles to the nearest railroad station in Mattawan for distribution. By 1865, the mill added a barrel stave factory because oak lumber sales had dropped.

Kendall played a significant role in building the Kalamazoo & South Haven Railroad (K&SH), helping to plan its route from Kalamazoo to Bloomingdale. In 1870, just in time for the newly built K&SH Railroad, he and four partners platted the village of Kendall, giving it his name. Three years later, Kendall helped to start the Michigan Chair Company, later known as L.C. Pratt & Co.

1873 map of Kendall from the Atlas of Van Buren County by D.L. Lake. Although not all lots are occupied, the town includes personal dwellings, grocery, meat market, wood mills, school, hotel and the Kendall and Company store. The depot and railyard sit south of South Street.

Image Credit: Library of Michigan Rare Book Room

Late 1800s black-and-white postcard titled 'The Business section. No. 5. Kendalls Mich.' Street view shows a dirt road lined on both sides with wooden single and two-story buildings. At the end of the street, an ornate two-story building sits on another road.

Image Credit: Dick Godfrey

Black-and-white illustration titled 'Mich 1881: A Memory' shows the L.C. Pratt and Company building. Men and women stand in groups or walk on the sidewalk that wraps around the four-story building. A horse-drawn wagon sits in front of the entrance.

Image Credit: Walt and Kathy Garrett

Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery

Mid 20th-century black-and-white postcard shows a dirt road lined by a low post-and-rope fence leading to a white one-story building with columns and cupola. A large sign reads: 'MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT of CONSERVATION. FISHERIES DIVISION. WOLF LAKE FISH HATCHERY. VISITORS WELCOME.'

Image Credit: Dick Godfrey

Side one of a black-and-white postcard titled 'Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery Gobles Mich.' shows a waterwheel, its stone-and-wood house and small bridge nestled among tall leafy trees. A stream moves toward the viewer and opens wide, creating a small pool.

Image Credit: Dick Godfrey

Side two of the postcard titled 'Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery Gobles Mich.' is addressed to Mrs. Donald B. Villith of Battle Creek, Michigan. The unknown sender writes 'This is the place M P and E C stopped at August 13th on the way to Benton Harbor I looked at the wheel close up-it works Big Trout in this pool others across the highway ... Mow August 29th.'

Image Credit: Dick Godfrey

In 1927, the Isaak Walton League donated 78 acres of land to create the Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery, located a few miles south on M-43. The site was later expanded and became, for a time, one of the largest and most diverse hatcheries in the world. Michigan's Department of Natural Resources raises a variety of fish there, including steelhead trout, Chinook salmon, lake sturgeon, large-mouth bass and northern pike for release into Michigan's lakes and streams. Open to the public, the hatchery contains a visitor center, a show pond and over three miles of walking trails.

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