James Ludington

Infobox Person
name = James Ludington

---

image_size =200 px
caption =
birth_name =
birth_date = April 18, 1827
birth_place = Carmel, Putnam County, New York
death_date = April 1, 1891
death_cause =
resting_place =Milwaukee, Wisconsin
resting_place_coordinates =
residence = Milwaukee, Wisconsin
nationality = American
other_names =
known_for = developing Ludington, Michigan
education =
employer = self-employed
occupation = bussinessman, entrepreneur
title =
salary =
networth =
height =
weight =
term =
predecessor =
successor =
party = Republican
boards =
religion =
spouse = never married
partner =
children =
parents = Lewis Ludington, father
relatives = Charles H. Ludington, brotherfour sisters

*Amelia
*Delia
*Lavinia
*Emily

---

website =
footnotes =
James Ludington (April 18, 1827 – April 1, 1891) was an American entrepreneur.HMC, p. 303] HMC, p. 11]

Biography

When Ludington was sixteen in 1843, the family moved from New York to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. With his father, Lewis Ludington, they founded Columbus, Wisconsin in 1845.

On October 11, 1854 Ludington loaned funds to George W. Ford for a sawmill operation in what was then known as the village of Pere Marquette in the northwestern part of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Cabot, p. 14] Ford defaulted on the loan and became insolvent in 1859. Ludington then took over the operations of this sawmill.

The post office for the village was established in 1864 in Ludington's original store at this sawmill. A boarding house called the Filer House was constructed in 1866 to house the employees of Ludington's sawmill.

Ludington platted the village of Pere Marquette in 1867. In the same year Ludington built a large commercial building that sold a variety of goods called The Big Store. Ludington founded the first newspaper of the village called the "Mason County Record" in 1867.

The sawmill that Ludington acquired had developed into an independent entity called the Pere Marquette Lumber Company that was the operator and management of the sawmill and The Big Store. Ludington sold his interests to them in 1869 for half a million dollars - making him a very wealthy person. Ludington used a portion of this money to develop the village. On March 22 1873, the city of "Ludington" was chartered. The streets of Ludington Ave and James Street are named after him. The village city streets of Lewis, William, Robert, Charles, and Harrison are named after his family members.

Ludington lived in the state of New York as a boy and in the state of Wisconsin as an adult. He never lived in Ludington, Michigan - the town that bears his name. [HMC, p. 303 "He never married and he never lived in the city which bears his name."] cite web|url= http://www.ludington.name/|title= Are you a Ludington or Luddington by birth or marriage?|accessdate= 2008-07-29]

Positions

At one time or another Ludington held the following positions.

*Treasurer of LaCrosse Railroad (La Crosse, Wisconsin)
*President of Bank of the West (Madison, Wisconsin)
*Vice-President of the Juneau Bank (Milwaukee, WI)
*Alderman in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin

References

Notes

Bibliography

*"Historic Mason County, Michigan" - HMC - Ludington: Mason County Historical Society, 1980.
*James L. Cabot, "Ludington: 1830-1930". Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Publishing, 2005. ISBN 0-7385-3951-1
Persondata
NAME = James Ludington
ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Mr. Ludington
SHORT DESCRIPTION = businessman
DATE OF BIRTH = 1827
PLACE OF BIRTH = New York
DATE OF DEATH = 1891
PLACE OF DEATH = Wisconsin