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Contributed photo by Ron Beeber/Do you know what this 100-year-old downtown Pentwater landmark commemorates? Find out by taking the Hancock History Stroll.
By Ron Beeber, Contributing Writer
PENTWATER — The Pentwater Historical Society has resumed its one-hour “Hancock Street History Stroll” on Mondays and Thursdays through Labor Day, beginning at 11 a.m. at the top of the Village Green.
Shoppers can conveniently join the stroll either before or after they stock up for the week. It is a great way to learn about or recall Pentwater’s rich history.
Volunteer Pentwater Historical Society docents led the tours, describing businesses and happenings on six blocks of Hancock Street over the years. Much of the narrative is drawn from past newsletters that are posted on pentwaterhistoricalsociety.org under the research heading.
Folks will stroll three blocks south on Hancock Street to Fifth Street, cross Hancock, walk four blocks north to First Street, cross Hancock again, and end at the Village Green.
Topics include the great downtown fire of 1889, the “White Elephant,” Pentwater’s silent movie house, John Cahill’s saloon, the “finger factory,” the 400-seat Faulkner’s Opera Hall, the murders of 1896, Esther Dempsey’s information booth, why a big boulder was placed on the corner of Second and Hancock streets about 100 years ago, a hotel with an outdoor goldfish pond, an idea to build airplanes downtown, and more.
For even more Pentwater history, visit Pentwater’s admission-free history museum at the corner of First and Rutledge streets. Summer hours through August are Tuesday through Saturday from 1–4 p.m.
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