as new beginnings for their families. Today,
Bell is a ghost town. Nothing remains except
a tall stone chimney, a bronze dedication
plaque, a few other building remnants,
and an old cemetery; which has been lovingly
cared for by Presque Isle area citizens.
More history about the lumber-era can be
explored at Besser Museum for Northeast
Michigan.
Manufacturing/Mining
– As the lumber boom started to fizzle, residents
of Alpena refused to give up. Earning
the nickname “The Boom Town that Forgot
to Bust”, Alpena reinvented her industry as
big timber harvest days started to dwindle
so residents could continue to live in this
4-season Oasis of the North. The early
1900’s brought manufacturing into the area
and it is still considered one of Alpena’s top
sources of employment. Two major corporations
of note have made a significant impact
on the economy of Alpena throughout
their interesting years.
Mining – Raw product mining for the
cement making process earned Alpena the
name “Cement City” in the early 1900s. As
demand for lumber diminished and overharvest
of the resource left vast fields of
stumps in its wake, times were changing
and opportunities for new building materials
began to surface. Notable Lumber
Barons joined together to form the Alpena
Portland Cement Company in 1899. Sequentially,
the Huron Portland Cement
Company was created to make something
of the waste from the Michigan Alkali Company
which produced soda ash for the
manufacture of glass. The answer was cement.
Huron Portland Cement overshadowed
Alpena Portland Cement Company
which closed for maintenance in 1909 and
never reopened. The Huron Portland Cement
Company came under the management
of Lafarge Corporation in 1986 and
mining operations at the site continue today.
The Lafarge limestone quarry operation
in Alpena was at one time the largest
cement plant in the world. Today it is the
second largest. Limestone quarry operations
continue in the Alpena
and Presque Isle area under
the LafargeHolcim name. You
can see massive freighters
pulling into dock from Lake
Huron on an almost daily
basis, and you can view the
quarry from a lookout point
along Wessel Road. Tours of
the Alpena quarry are also
available at LafargeHolcim by
calling (989) 354-4171.
Sunrise through LaFarge; Courtesy Jenny Speaks
Concrete Block Making
Technology – Perhaps with inspiration
sparked by Herman Besser’s involvement
with the Alpena Portland Cement
company, Jesse Besser, Herman’s son, developed
the first hand-tamp block machine
in 1904. This technology, seemingly simple
by today’s standards, revolutionized the
block-making industry and Besser Company
was born. In 1924, the production of
the Automatic Plain Pallet Stripper Tamper
made it possible to produce all styles of
block and brick in one pallet, another major
victory in the block-making business.
Besser Company briefly shifted 80% of its
operation to service war contracts during
World War II. During the early 1940’s, Besser
Company manufactured many parts and