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Local HistoryHenry Rowe Schoolcraft created the name, a shortened form of ossin and muscoda, meaning pebbly prairie. Informational excerpts from Michigan Place Names, by Walter Romig, L.H.D. Oscoda-AuSable...A Unique History In 1800, Louis Chevalier, a French trader, located his post on the banks of the AuSable River near Lake Huron. The first settler in the area, in 1820 Chevalier was granted 500 acres of land on the Riviere Aux Sables and became the first landowner in the area. The Oscoa-AuSable area was carried through four district periods of development. Starting with the native Chippewa's, who ceded their territory to the government in the Saginaw Treaty of 1819, the cycle moved from Chevalier's hunting and trapping era to the fishing stage, the lumbering industry...and to the present day of the tourist industry. The first settlement in the county of Iosco, or Kah-no-tin, newly created by the legislative act of 1840, was made at the AuSable's mouth in 1849. Schoolcraft, the Indian agent, gave the meaning of the county's name as "Water of Light". Some time previous to 1848 Curtis Emerson, of East Saginaw, and James Eldridge located the land on both sides of the river mouth. Benjamin Pierce had a trading station which formed a landmark on the river bank. Using this landmark, Eldridge and Emerson platted lots in March 1849. These lots were divided among resident fishermen and others. In 1857, the township of Sable was organized. However, the name was changed to AuSable in 1877. It was incorporated as a village in 1872. In 1889 AuSable was incorporated as a city with Henry Martin Loud its first mayor. Oscoda Township was organized in 1869 and incorporated as a village in 1883. As early as 1836 the forest began to attract attention. In that year a saw mill was built at Van Etta Lake by the firm of Howard and Van Ettan. After meeting difficulty in building a water mill, the firm abandoned the project. Backus Brothers were pioneers in the lumber business at AuSable. They arrived in 1865. Following these men were such firms as Loud, Priest, and Sheppard; Loud, Priest and Gay; Oscoda Salt and Lumber Co.; Gratwick, Smith and Fryer; Hull and Ely; Pack Woods and Co.; to mention some of the more important firms. Included among later independent operators who floated logs down the AuSable were such names as: Dan B. McDonald, Christian Yocky, AuSable Lumber Co., Northern Lumber Co., and Solomon Lumber Co. In 1867 the total annual output of the mills was 48,000,000 board feet of lumber. From 1867 to 1876 the AuSable River Boom Co., handled 594,700,341 board feet. The Oscoda Boom Co. handled the choking total of 3,307,419,514 board feet between 1877 and 1896. The annual cut after 1896 was approximately 50,000,000 feet. Oscoda-AuSable was called a rendezvous for many rough characters. Men who first worked in the mills and on the fish boats were reported uncouth, unpolished and coarse, hard livers. No churches had taken root and schools were ignored. Whiskey and fish were the town staples. There were no saloons in town until 1884. The early inhabitants of Scotch-Irish, French, German and Jewish descent were a fighting bunch. There is the story about Jesse Duell betting his brother that the latter couldn't strike alongside his fingers with a hatchet without hitting them. Jesse lost three fingers but won the bet. Railroad tracks were laid in AuSable in 1883. The first passenger train reached the town on December 3, 1883. Labor strife was practically unknown. However, in June 1884 state troops and detectives hired by mill owners were on duty 19 days in a general strike by mill workers. Need for a newspaper became apparent in 1877 and the first paper the AuSable and Oscoda News, was established. Several other papers followed. The present paper, the Oscoda Press was started in 1893. The Methodist church was the fist religious unit in the the area in 1867. Other denominations, Baptists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Catholics and Lutherans, built churches later. The small Jewish population had a synagogue. Fires have been a plague to AuSable-Oscoda. The first mill and salt block were destroyed in May 1877. Losses were estimated at $150,000. On July 11, 1911, flames swept in from enveloping forests and ravaged the twin towns. Six hundred dwellings were destroyed along with whole business blocks, mills, factories and docks. Five lives were lost and the entire population turned into refugees. Oscoda-AuSable arose from the ashes of devastation and today are fast growing communities. Above historical information is provided by, with much appreciation, the Oscoda-AuSable Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
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