Lewis Ludington

Lewis Ludington
Lewis Ludington, c. 1855
Born	(1786-06-25)June 25, 1786 Kent, New York
Died	September 3, 1857(1857-09-03) (aged 71) Keshena, Wisconsin
Nationality	American
Occupation	Businessman, lumber baron
Known for	founder of Columbus, Wisconsin

Lewis Ludington (June 25, 1786 – September 3, 1857) was a real estate developer and the founder of Columbus, Wisconsin. He was an American businessman of the nineteenth century that had general merchandising stores in Milwaukee and New York state for decades. Ludington was a lumber baron and operated lumber mills and boat docks in Wisconsin to transport his manufactured lumber to New York to be used for construction. He never lived in Wisconsin, but contributed much to its economy.

Early life[]

Ludington's father, Henry Ludington, was a soldier in the French and Indian War. Henry married his cousin Abigail on May 1, 1760. They had twelve children, all born in Kent, New York (then known as Fredericksburgh). Lewis was youngest, born on June 25, 1786. His sister, the heroine Sybil Ludington, was the oldest and born on April 5, 1761.^[1]

Mid life and career[]

Store at Kent, New York, built by Lewis Ludington and Frederick Ludington, c. 1808

Ludington was twenty when he partnered with his elder brother Frederick to operate a general merchandising store near their home in Kent, New York.^[2][3] He visited Milwaukee in 1838 with his nephew Harrison Ludington and Harvey Birchard of Carmel, New York. They explored the interior of Wisconsin with the idea of purchasing extensive tracts of land from the government for timber. In 1839 the brothers formed a general merchandising store in Milwaukee called Ludington, Burchard & Company. A year or so later, Burchard retired, and the firm became Ludington and Company. Harrison's younger brother Nelson was brought into the partnership at that time. Ludington was the general manager of the company for nearly twenty years. It had a more wide-ranging business compared to other companies in Wisconsin at the time; among its holdings and activities were docks in Milwaukee and lumber mills in Oconto.^[4][5]

Ludington also became involved in real estate development in Wisconsin. His connections there were extensive, and he would travel to the state on the schooner Lewis Ludington, which he used to transport harvested lumber across Lake Michigan from Wisconsin and ultimately back to New York state by train.^[6]

Founding of Columbus, Wisconsin[]

Bird's eye view of Columbus, Wisconsin, in Columbia County, c. 1868

Ludington acquired a tract of land in Wisconsin Territory sometime in 1838.^[4] He sold 1,300 acres (530 ha) of it to Elbert Dickason in 1839 on a four year land contract.^[7][8] Dickason built a cabin on this land acreage on the west side of Crawfish River and dammed up the river for a sawmill and gristmill.^[7] He became the first settler to locate in this area, when he brought with him a herd of cattle, some horses, and a few wagons of supplies with hired men. The first winter Dickason spent at this site was severe, as most of his livestock died and he almost ran out of food. In spite of his bad luck, he persisted for the next four years, struggling to complete his log cabin and mill operation. He spent nearly ten thousand dollars doing so. However, he was unable to make enough money from the mills to meet his payments to Ludington and lost all his rights to the property. Ludington took back the property for the back payments and a $200 buyout.^[9] There was one other log cabin constructed on this property by Hiram Allen in 1843 not far from the gristmill. Jeremiah Drake succeeded Dickason in becoming the manager of this acreage for Ludington, whose home was in New York state. Drake then built the first frame house on the property known as the mill house being close to the gristmill. Hiram Allen followed later constructing the second frame house on the parcel of land.^[10] Drake enlarged the gristmill, and farmers came as far away as Madison, Wisconsin, to have their grain milled there.^[7] Drake was in charge of both the sawmill and gristmill.^[11]

In July 1844, Ludington designed a community layout for this land that became the basic city plan of Columbus, Wisconsin.^[12] Ludington's Plat was the first official evidence of the existence of the city of Columbus.^[13] His plat containing Blocks 1 to 9 was recorded in Brown County, Wisconsin, on November 11, 1844.^[7][14] The school within Ludington's Plat was built in 1846.^[10][15] Columbia County was formed in 1847 from Brown County.^[15] There was a Ludington's Addition of Blocks 10 to 13 recorded in Columbia County on August 6, 1849.^[14] Ludington made a second addition to the original Ludington's Plat, and it was recorded in the Recorder's office in Portage on October 3, 1850.^[16] He deeded some of this land to the Congregationalists later, which they intended to use to build a Methodist church and a Universalist church in the spring of 1855.^[17] Ludington, with his son James, helped pioneers to settle and develop the new city of Columbus.^[16] Ludington himself never resided in the state of Wisconsin, despite his many contributions to the state, but was a resident of Carmel, New York.^[18][19]

Personal life[]

Ludington married Mary (Polly) Townsend in September, 1812.^[3] Their children were Laura, Delia, William, Robert, Charles, Henry, James, Lavinia, Emily, and Amelia.^[19] Ludington died on September 3, 1857, at the age of 71 while at Kenosha, Wisconsin.^[20]

See also[]

• Nelson Ludington
• Harrison Ludington
• Henry Ludington
• James Ludington
• Sybil Ludington
• Ludington family

References[]

Sources[]

• Beers (1905). Record of New London County. J.H. Beers & Company. His partners, who conducted the business (Mr. Ludington never resided in Wisconsin) were, Harrison Ludington, a nephew, afterward governor of Wisconsin, and Nelson Ludington, afterward president of the First National Bank of Chicago.
• Butterfield, Consul Willshire (1880). History of Columbia County, Wisconsin. Western Historical. p. 665.
• Downs, Winfield Scott (1934). Encyclopedia of American biography. American Historical Society.
• Fuller, George Newman (1941). Michigan History Magazine. Michigan Historical Commission.
• Johnson, Willis Fletcher (1907). Colonel Henry Ludington: A Memoir. his grandchildren L.E. Ludington and C.H. Ludington.
• Jones, James Edwin (4 September 2016). History of Columbia County. FB&C Limited. ISBN 978-1-333-47058-6.
• Pelletreau, William Smith (1886). History of Putnam County, New York. W.W. Preston.
• The Commission (1994). Wauwatosa Landmarks. The Commission. Lewis Ludington, was founder of Columbus, Wisconsin, and his cousin James founded Ludington, Michigan.

External links[]

• Lewis Ludington at Find a Grave