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Michigan\'s Largest Real Estate Company
Company: Real Estate One, Inc.
In the very early years of the 20th century, so the story goes, local folks wouldn't live near the shore of Torch Lake, thinking that there was an unhealthy miasma rising from it. It's a different story today, as we all know. No miasma at all. In fact, people flock to that shore for rest and relaxation, and possibly quite a few have improved their health by doing so.
This little village of Alden predates those early 20th century visitors who came to bask in the beauty of this lake, though. Its beginnings are tied to the lumbering era. Alden began as a logging camp at the mouth of a creek which flows into Torch Lake. John Spencer founded that logging camp in 1854, and today that creek is called Spencer Creek, as was the village till 1891. That was the year the Marquette railroad came to town and the grateful citizenry renamed Spencer Creek Alden in honor of the president of the railroad, W. Alden Smith.
The railroad opened up the area for tourists and locals alike. Farmers used to drive their herds right down the main street of the village to load them on the rail cars for transporting to the slaughterhouses in Chicago. And those same trains brought car loads of tourists to the area. Those tourists liked Torch Lake, and word spread quickly.
Little Alden hasn't changed much since those early years of the last century. The railroad and its tracks are gone, so no more cattle drives through town. Those were probably worse than the traffic we all dodge today. Imagine the mess! This village has faithfully served everyone down through the years, and in the late 1980's its little downtown area was lovingly rejuvenated with grant money from the state. Today we welcome many, many visitors each year and are so happy to have them. You will seldom find a friendlier bunch of people than those who live and work in Alden.
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