John and Eva Porter Estate / John and Eva Porter Estate

Elm Pointe is an eleven acre estate developed c. 1926 by John J. and Eva Porter. The house, designed by Grand Rapids architect J. Alexander McColl, was constructed of lumber milled by the East Jordan Lumber Company. An unusual, contemporary version of Colonial architecture, the house provided a showcase for the company’s products when the Porters entertained clients. Robert W. and Augustine Allen purchased the estate in 1942 to use as a summer home. They built the lodge in the early 1940s. Augustine Allen Westgate donated the property with many of its original furnishings to the city of East Jordan in 1972. The Portside Art and Historical Society’s museum was established here in 1976. This property was a part of the original holdings of the East Jordan Lumber Company, owned by John Porter’s father, William P. Porter. Organized in 1888, the company began manufacturing cedar shingles in 1890. By 1912 it operated two sawmills and a maple flooring plant. It made lumbering the leading industry in East Jordan until the last of the company’s mills closed in 1928. John Porter directed the sales department. Recognizing the need for an alternative source of employment as the lumbering era came to an end, the Porters formed the East Jordan Canning Company. From 1927 into the 1970s, the company processed and marketed the region’s produce. John Porter became its president in 1931.