Village of Wetzell

On November 10, 1881, the Antrim County Herald ran an advertisement about the village of Wetzell that read: “New Town, New Store; Everything New!” Earlier that year the Wetzell brothers had platted the village and opened a sawmill. As the town grew the pine forests were depleted. In 1886 Frank Harding changed Wetzell into a company town when he converted the sawmill into a wood turning factory that utilized the area’s abundant hardwood forests. Harding attracted millhands to the town by guaranteeing them “steady work, good wages, free stove wood, free rent and water.” Wetzell boomed, but its prosperity was fleeting. By 1909 timber supplies were low, the factory operated sporadically, and Harding decided to cease operations. Without a new industry to sustain it, Wetzell became a ghost town.