Cheboygan Lumber / Paper Mill

In 1844, Alexander McLeod, a resident of Mackinac Island, built the first sawmill at this location. The area was great for lumber, as there was an abundance of tall, straight pine trees and a river to be able to handle the processing and transportation of the lumber. Logs could be cut upstream at the logging camps, then floated down the river to the sawmill. The lumber could then be transported using the rivers and the lakes.

The W & A McArthur Lumber Company later operated a huge mill on this site. They sold the mill in 1902 to the American Bag and Paper Company. It was at this point that the local lumber economy began to decrease. The mill was then bought in 1915 by the Cheboygan Paper Company. The Union Bag and Paper Company operated the mill from 1917 until 1929. The site then sat idle for 27 years until it was bought by Charmin Paper Products in 1956. This company was bought by Proctor and Gamble the next year and the facility made major improvements until 1990, when the facility shut down again. In 1993, the Great Lakes Tissue company opened up here and they now produce 100% recycled towels and tissues.

One interesting aspect associated with the mill is that it created what was known at one time as “The Worlds Largest Sawdust Pile”. When the McArthur Company owned the sawmill, it would produce huge amounts of waste. In 1871, the preferred method of disposing of sawdust was to dump it into the river. This was problematic in that it clogged the river, polluted the waters, and affected the ships. Eventually, the mill built a bridge over the river and began transporting hoppers filled with sawdust to an undeveloped plot of land. The sawdust pile grew immensely. It is estimated to have been 50 feet tall and covered ten acres, weighing roughly sixty million pounds. After the McArthur company left in 1902, the sawdust pile sat, unchanging, for decades. A local tradition in the town would be sledding on the sawdust pile in the Winter.  The pile remained until 2000, when it was transported away and disposed of.

Fridaymfriday@cheboygantribune.com, Matthew J. “Putting It on Paper: Paper Products Manufacturing in Cheboygan.” Cheboygan Daily Tribune - Cheboygan, MI, Cheboygan Daily Tribune - Cheboygan, MI, 23 July 2018, www.cheboygannews.com/news/20180722/putting-it-on-paper-paper-products-manufacturing-in-cheboygan.

Fridaymfriday@cheboygantribune.com, Matthew J. Cheboygan's Famous Sawdust Pile, Part I. 4 June 2018, www.cheboygannews.com/news/20180603/cheboygans-famous-sawdust-pile-part-i.

Fridaymfriday@cheboygantribune.com, Matthew J. “Cheboygan's World Famous Sawdust Pile, Part II.” Cheboygan Daily Tribune - Cheboygan, MI, Cheboygan Daily Tribune - Cheboygan, MI, 11 June 2018, www.cheboygannews.com/news/20180610/cheboygans-world-famous-sawdust-pile-part-ii.

Group, Genealogy Trails History. “Cheboygan County Michigan Genealogy and History.” Genealogy Trails History Group, genealogytrails.com/mich/cheboygan/cheboyganhistory.html.

Powers, Perry Francis, 1857-1945, and H. G. (Harry Gardner) Cutler. A History of Northern Michigan And Its People. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1912.

Turner, G (2000)   Cheboygan’s Past Included Lumbering, Agriculture, Cheboygan Daily Tribune, 28 June 2000 (Reprint), p7