Post 29 History file

Mount Clemens, MI History

Black Waters and the Mount Clemens Bath Era

            In the 1860’s drilling for oil and salt eventually led to the discovery of Mount Clemens’ “black waters”. But instead of oil, brine was found and the well was soon given up on. A salt company eventually took over until the minerals became too much of a burden. Dorr Kellogg is credited for being the first to discover the water’s ability to heal, using it to cure his own eczema after seeing his old horse given new life from laying in it.

            Our quiet city was soon home to many hotels, accommodating and entertaining its many guests. Grand Trunk Railroad stopped five times each day and the steamer Ida ran daily from Detroit, allowing customers a fifty cent bath with an attendant for another quarter. Major hotels were charging between $2.50 and $4.00 a day. Some of the early bath houses included the Sherman House Hotel (1897), the Central Park (1879), the Clifton House (converted in 1875), and the Shackleton House (1881). More familiar to our generations were Clinton Gables (1894 as the Egnew Hotel), the Media Bath House (1894 and capable of 1500 baths a day), the Clementine (1893), the Colonial Hotel (1896), the Saint Joseph Sanitarian and Bath House (1899), the Olympia Hotel and Bath House (1903), and the Arethusa (1911). Scores of smaller hotels and boarding houses also existed to offer a variety of accommodations. The entertainment businesses also had to expand which kept people here for their recommended 3 weeks of bathing.

The end of the mineral bath era was almost a slow death. 50 cent baths in 1873 were only a buck in 1930 and double that in 1964. Changing life styles and the depression also contributed to the decline but the arrival of miracle drugs and a quick shot from the doctor were major blows to the industry.

Many of us have all but forgotten these bath houses but their history still lives on. One well is left and the Olympia Salon and Spa, along with the well’s owner Mineral Essentials, are again offering miner baths (without the sulfur smell). Harrison Township resident Lois Lombardo purchased and renovated the Martha T. Washington, the last hotel from the era (117 Cass just west of S. Gratiot). She has tried hard to keep much of the original hotel, in particular the claw foot bath tubs which are still used to bathe in. Pictures from “the day” adorn her walls and she is always looking for more. Visit her web site http://www.olympiasalon-spa.com or feel free to stop by and check out the amazing number of professional services that she offers. Or just pay a visit to feel good about the preservation of our history. Lois will be proud to show you around.

* Besides from Lois, most of this information came from the electronic edition of Centennial History of Mount Clemens, 1879-1979, edited by the delightful Dorothy M. Magee @ http://www.mtclib.org/centhist.htm .

History of AMVETS Post 29
Mount Clemens, Michigan

AMVETS Post 29 started on South Gratiot approximately where Gus's Coney Island now resides. 39 Veterans from WWII selected the site before Congress granted them a Charter to form AMVETS Post 29. They chose Ralph E Bennett Jr. to commemorate, who was a graduate of Mount Clemens High School and attended Michigan State University. As a young Air Force Pilot, he was killed in action in the Battle of Corregidor in the Philippines. It didn't take long for Post 29 to find their permanent setting.

On the present site at 1 Amvet Drive was a small log cabin owned by a local doctor. They purchased the building for $3500 but their first year there was a very damp one; The Clinton River overflowed and filled the building to its ceiling. After drying out and eventually constructing the present structure Post 29 became and remains a vital civic organization in the city of Mount Clemens, MI.

Many youths in town participated in the Mount Clemens Little League that was solely supported by Post 29 from 1953 to 1976. Judge Jack Roskopp, a Post 29 Commander, was in charge of the League from its beginning until 1967. Signup days took place at the Post or at the Judge's home on Cambridge if the little guys missed the deadline.

This is just a start as we delve into our past. We hope to interview Stan Petitpren, our longest living Commander, in the near future along with other special Post 29 members.

Thanks to Centennial History of Mount Clemens, Michigan, 1879-1979 / edited by Dorothy M. Magee. Mount Clemens, Mich. : Mount Clemens Public Library, c1980, http://www.mtclib.org/centhist.htm where most of this information was taken.