Blackberry Ridge

Blackberry Ridge was founded in 1857 as the second Euro-American settlement in Benona Township. It was named for the wild blackberries that grew in clearings after the native white pine trees had been logged. Many early residents were lumbermen who had cleared the remaining hemlocks and hardwoods and planted orchards. Peaches, and later cherries, became the area’s dominant crop. In 1879 residents funded construction of Sammons Landing, a pier on Lake Michigan, one mile to the west. Fruit, lumber, and other goods were shipped across the Midwest from the pier until it was destroyed by waves and ice in 1909. Community activity centered around a church and a school located on this corner. Early “Ridgers” often served simultaneous roles, including township officer, justice of the peace, school superintendent, and real estate agent. James Gibbs, Blackberry Ridge’s first permanent settler, bought 240 acres of land in 1857. After serving in the Union Army from 1862 to 1865, he married Cynthia Orena Allen. Gibbs was a notary public and the area’s first postmaster, operating the post office from his home. Charles A. Sessions and his wife, Mary Ellen Jay, arrived circa 1869. A businessman and farmer, in 1875 Sessions helped found the County Pomological Society, which studied how to grow fruits and berries. Sessions also served as a spokesperson for the fruit industry at the annual Michigan State Fair. Charles W. Jay, a journalist and politician from New Jersey, arrived in 1871 with his wife, Mary F. McCabe, and their children. Jay recorded life on “The Ridge” in local newspapers. In 1874 he published many of his stories in My New Home in Northern Michigan.