Northern Michigan is a popular summertime destination, but our recent visit to Ludington in northern Michigan reaffirmed our affection for the idea of heading north for a little wintertime R&R at a B&B as well.
I spotted a special deal online for an off-season stay at The Ludington House, and it didn't take long for me to decide that this was the place I wanted to go for my late-January birthday.
We've visited Ludington in the past (most notably to take a 3-mile round wintertime trip hike through Ludington State Park to see the Big Sable Point Light), but we never stayed overnight in town until this most recent trip.
Bob and Ellen Alderink took over as innkeepers at this B&B housed in a 1878 Victorian home in summer of 2014, but the warmth and enthusiasm the duo showed for their role as innkeepers and caretakers of the home's rich history made us feel immediately at home when we arrived for our short stay.
Lumber baron Antoine Cartier built the three-story Queen Anne-style house as a home for himself, his wife, Eliza and their children.
Cartier came to Ludington after moving from his childhood home and life as a farmer in Quebec during 1852. He spent a couple of years in Chicago and then Manistee, Michigan learning the logging business.
Fur trappers and shingle-makers first came to area during the 1830s and 1840s. Burr Caswell and his family became the first permanent white settlers in this in 1847 and the village then named for the Pere Marquette River.
Milwaukee businessman James Ludington became involved with the area when he loaned money to a man who wished to purchase a sawmill. Ludington ended up with the sawmill when the man defaulted on the loan. Much of the land that Ludington gained at that time ended up becoming the town of Ludington.
The village of Pere Marquette earned its charter as a city in 1873, and Ludington offered to donate $5,000.00 to the city on the condition that it bear his name. Ludington Avenue, James Street and several other streets in town bear the names of Ludington and his family members.
Ludington, the city, experienced a boom during the late 1800s because of its sawmills, the discovery of salt deposits in the area and the logging industry that drove it to become a major Great Lakes shipping port.
Cartier, meanwhile, came to the city after becoming a logger driving and directing logs down the Manistee River and beginning work on the Pere Marquette River during the mid-1850s.
The lumbering industry continued to grow in the area, leading to the establishment of railroads to begin shipping lumber across the state and a ferry service that began moving cargo and passengers across Lake Michigan during the 1890s.
Cartier became a U.S. citizen in 1870, the first in his family line to do so (a line traced back to explorer Jacques Cartier who claimed Canada for France).
Cartier sunk his roots deep in the area after marrying his wife Eliza in Manistee in 1859 and subsequently moving to Ludington.
He built a grand home for his family at the northeast corner of Ludington Ave. and Lavinia Street in 1878.
Cartier served as a member of the city council for four years in Manistee, so it was no surprise when he became active in local politics and served as mayor of Ludington during 1880 and 1881.
Even as the city's fortunes grew during those decades, changes in the lumber and transportation industries saw the waning of the city's star as the forests and ferry fleet shrunk leaving the city to rely more on tourism and a fleet that became a one-boat show by the mid-1900s with the SS Badger doing the Lake Michigan crossings.
Cartier died in 1910 and rests in the city's Pere Marquette Cemetery.
His grand home lives on to welcome guests just a short walk (in warmer weather!) from Lake Michigan and downtown Ludington.
The Alderinks share the story of Cartier and his family with books and photos throughout the house, including reproductions of portraits of Antoine and Eliza in the parlor painted by Italian artist Luigi Gregori in 1884.
We also enjoyed the home's vintage architectural features and decor details like herringbone-patterned hardwood floors, carved cherry and oak woodwork, 12-foot ceilings, a walnut staircase and stained glass windows.
Each of the Ludington House's eight guest rooms have private baths and comfy queen-size beds.
We loved starting the day with a full breakfast at The Ludington House, and the Alderinks proved the prefect hosts as they advised us about Ludington's history and some of their favorite places in town to enjoy dinner.
The Ludington House is part of the Bed and Breakfast.com network. Learn more about it more here.
Want to know where we enjoyed our evening meals in Ludington? Check out my story Eats in Ludington, Michigan.
Want to learn more about Ludington and its lumbering hey day? Check out Ludington: 1830-1930 (Images of America) by James L. Cabot.
© Dominique King 2016 All rights reserved
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