DEWARD

NAME: Deward
COUNTY: Otsego/crawford
ROADS: 2WD
GRID: 3
CLIMATE: Heavy snow fall in winter/summer is pleasant
BEST TIME TO VISIT: May-oct
COMMENTS: I dont really know too much about this town but i do know it did exist during peak lumbering times-(late1800's early 1900's) as were many michigan ghost towns est in this time period.In have not personally explored area it is somewhere between mancelona rd and crawford co. Border- close to the banks of the manistee river. There is a state forest named deward (appropriatly) in which the old town existed. For more check the book"ghost towns of northern michigan" i dont remember authors name it is @ the otsego co. Library though.(i live in florida now but i could get some further info w/o much of a problem)
REMAINS: Suppose to be some remains of foundations possibly remains of saw mill too.

Refer to comments Submitted by: Jason alexander

The town's sole purpose was to
liquidate Ward's Michigan lumber assets as directed in his will. I dont recall the exact acreage, but it was well into the hundreds of thousands.The mill constructed there was, at the time, a state of the art facility designed by the finest German engineers. Ward's property was successfully logged off within his will's required 10 year period and the mill closed
down in 1912. The rest of your information is pretty much accurate. No buildings are left from that era, only a few foundations. - Bob Goniea

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