ALGONAC HISTORY IS FULL OF PRESTIGE
by Dave Ponke

History runs as deeply as the blue water of the St. Clair River in Algonac.

There was a time when you could get a room at a hotel in Algonac without any problem, but that was many years ago.

Back in 1895 the Currie Hotel was situated at the corner of Green and Water Streets (now St. Clair River Drive).

It was actually a popular spot, as visitors would stay and have easy access to the downtown area and the St. Clair River.

Other hotels included the Swartout Hotel at Water and Fruit Streets and the Gilbert Hotel, which was built by Great Lakes ship captain, Captain Flood. That building was eventually razed to make room for the Gilbert's Furniture Store.

Certainly the Algonac heritage runs deeply, even beyond its historic hotels.

In an earlier discussion about Algonac and its lore, the late Sam Martin, a longtime employee of the Chris Craft Boat Company, recalled, "There was so much to do in town years ago. I really enjoyed the time I spent as a salesman for the Chris Craft Company."

The Smith brothers, Chris and Henry, built their first wooden boat back in 1874, and it was the beginning of the prestigious and popular Chris Craft boat building company.

"We would have people custom order boats from all around the world," Mr. Martin explained. Sam worked for the company for many years in the 1940-1980 era.

A large portion of the Chris Craft responsibility was in 1939 when they began building patrol and rescue vessels for the United States military.

It was in 1884 that the Smith brothers opened their first boat-building company in Algonac. Jay Smith, Chris's son, became president of the company in 1927. His family sold the company in 1960 to Shields and Company and the National Fibers, Inc. The company built its final mahogany boat in 1971, and nine years later the company was sold to George Murray.

In 1989 Outboard Marine purchased the company, and in 2001 Stellican, a British company, bought it.

The actual boat building site in Algonac stills occupies the same space today, and is home to the Algonac Harbor Club for storage. Situated on the canal of the North Channel in the St. Clair River, it offers quick, convenient access to the boat racing and cruising areas of the St. Clair River, and the "flats" of Harsens Island. In early days Chris Smith could be seen testing his newest creations on the open waters.

Mr. Martin recalled some fond memories of his time spent selling the quality, popular vessels.

One wonderful experience was when he took a couple of Detroit Tiger baseball players out for a cruise on a new boat, as they were perspective buyers.

"Mickey Cochrane and Hank Greenberg came along. We had a great time," Mr. Martin said. "They even gave me an autographed baseball."

Boating enthusiasts from around the globe would contact Mr. Martin to have their specialty designed vessels made at the elite company.

I had a lot of good times traveling as an employee at Chris Craft," Mr. Martin said. "I met many interesting people."

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What some residents may not know about Algonac is that it was originally named "Point duChene", and was one of Michigan's oldest settlements.

The southern point of the city still bears this name, on the "island" that extends from the former Henry's Restaurant.

Algonac's original settlers were John Martin and Angus MacDonald, who hailed from Canada. They came to the area in 1805.

The city was first called "Plainfield," in 1826, then became Manchester 10 years later. It finally was named Algonac in 1837, which is the name it's still called today, 169 years later.