Jonathan Wade lost his job, his fortune, and his home when his mill at Singapore went "belly up" in the 1840s, forcing him to move on to greener pastures.

Although Singapore quickly became a ghost town, Wade built a brand new village - called Dudleyville (later a part of Douglas). He started with a lumber mill.

Wade adopted a typical business plan for the time: he brought in his family. First came brother Nelson, then Dudley, and soon a large clan was in place -  pooling capital, creating jobs, and establishing a village. They milled lumber, manufactured bricks, sold lots, built homes, planted orchards, welcomed travelers to their hotel, sold fish door-to-door, ands were among the first locals to call for war against the Southern States in 1861. At the same time. the Wade clan carried on a political feud with a new family in town, the Dutchers, who owned the north half of the town. Center Street became the dividing line between the two little empires.

Wade's Hotel, a handsome Michigan-style Greek Revival building - later called the Eagle Hotel, then the Douglas House, was one of the area's finest stage coach inns. It included a dining room, barroom, stables, guest rooms and was the scene for Saturday night dances.

To protect his family from the rough culture of the mill workers, Wade built his home on the south end of the village, on a gentle hillside overlooking a beautiful Bayou - called Wade's Bayou. The tiny but charming house was of two rooms down and two rooms up, and of early "plank construction." It still stands. Later the Wades moved nearby to a grander house with great orchards but still with a view of the Bayou.

Jonathan Wade had begun what Douglas would do best for the next half century: mill lumber, make baskets, run hotels, and grow fruits - and take in the views.

Click on the image to return to the full map

Tales of the Villages Home Page  |  Sidebar  |  Last Tale  |  Next Tale