Goodrich ? While life on the Goodrich Mill Pond was flowing peacefully along in 1900, the century that spanned ahead would bring progress. And turbulence.
When the Detroit United Railway (DUR) expanded its network of electric streetcars in 1900 to include areas like Flint, trestles for the electric train were built over the Goodrich Mill Pond.
The train quickly became an important method of transportation for the community.
Because the railway ran from Detroit to Saginaw and Bay City, local dairy farms could ship milk to Detroit. At one time a station on the corner of Clarence and Erie streets was used; a creamery stood on the banks of the millpond where the Goodrich Assembly of God Church now stands.
In the early 1900s, cars ran every hour, stopping nearly every half-mile. Citizens wanting a ride simply lighted a newspaper torch to flag down the car at night.
Dairy herds in the township were eventually reduced but while the DUR ran, farm families brought milk to a station near Hegel and Ridge roads to ship it to Detroit.
In 1913, a new dam was again built. Business was booming. Locally-ground wheat was sold and hauled to Flint, Lapeer, Davison, and even shipped to New York City. If water in the millrace became too low to operate the mill, a steam engine would be installed to propel the machinery to keep up with the bustling demand.
In 1916, mill owner George Slade died and the Goodrich gristmill was sold to a Detroit milling company.
After M.A. Jerome acquired the property in 1918, a small power plant was built next to the mill that lit the village until Consumers Power Co. extended its lines to the area.
Verne Nesmith was a barber who ran a chair out of the post office.
‘Occasionally, there was not enough electricity to run his clippers and we would have to call the mill to have them step up the power,? wrote George ‘Bud? Roberts, the son of George W. Roberts, who ran the post office and a nearby store.
Later the mill was sold to Cassius ‘Cash? Giddings.
July 14, 1927 marked the beginning of controversy for Goodrich residents living along the mill pond.
According to articles and editorials from The Flint Journal, after allegedly giving the City of Flint an option to buy the property, Giddings sold the mill pond to Meyer and Pearl Tarnpol for $13,500.
That day the Tarnpols turned a quick profit by reselling the pond to Flint for $30,000 during the ‘flamboyant and controversial? reign of Flint Mayor William McKeighan, who wanted the mill pond for a water supply.
While the transaction raised the ire of Flint natives, an investigation turned up no wrongdoing.
Following railway strikes and the advent of buses in some areas along the DUR interurban railway, the line was no longer profitable. Its 30-year franchise expired around the time the Great Depression hit. In 1931, railway service was discontinued.
Its trestles, now sunken, are barely visible on the mill pond’s surface.
It’s a shame, says Village of Goodrich Administrator Jakki Sidge.
‘If we had (the train) now it would reduce traffic on M-15.?
During WWII, S & F Tool Company purchased the picturesque old mill to manufacture gun parts.
Around 1947 John Ploe bought the property, turning it into Goodrich Manufacturing Company, which was expanded on the north by the addition of a metal building.
In the late 1960s, more than a decade after Goodrich was incorporated as a village in 1957, the area became a hot topic in Flint again.
On March 29, 1966 the Village of Goodrich sent a letter to the City of Flint asking the city to consider selling the mill pond to the village.
The mill pond had been appraised at $15,000. In July that year the Flint Land Board agreed to offered the pond to the village for $15,680.
‘Holy smokes, we can’t pay that much,? said former village clerk Evelyn Marcotte.
Three years later village officials were approached by local residents, accusing the Goodrich Country Club of lowering mill pond water levels by controlling the dam gates.
Hoping to gain legal recourse against unauthorized individuals caught operating the dam gates, the village wrote to the City of Flint in July 1969, asking for established pond water levels, and requesting authorization to control the gates.
That August, the Flint Property Advisory Committee met, discussing how to deal with the mill pond. Suggestions included selling it, draining it, or using it for a park or refuse landfill site.
In response to the village’s request to control the dam gates, Flint officials offered to sell’or lease’the mill pond to the village.
Village officials refused, clarifying their position, and contacted the Michigan Department of Natural Resources requesting help, alleging the city wasn’t properly maintaining or supervising the pond. In December 1969, the DNR’s reply arrived: Sorry, but they couldn’t assist the village.
The mill pond issue grew more turbulent as both sides stepped up their approach.
That same month, in front of the frozen pond, a green sign read ‘For Sale by City of Flint? was put up in front of the frozen pond, and the City of Flint posted notices that sealed bids were being accepted, as the pond served no function and the dam needed repairs.
Former village attorney Gordon Caswell didn’t recommend the village buy the ‘land-locked pond?. Instead, he promoted that Flint should give it to the state as a recreational area.
‘Who would want to buy it when all you have is a chance to pay damages if the dam goes out?? he said.
Early in 1970, village officials headed off the threat of turning the mill pond into a possible landfill by zoning it recreational in its completed master plan.
After a title search conducted by Burton Abstract and Title showed ‘for certain? Flint didn’t own the mill pond rights’which Caswell maintained had expired in 1861 and were mistakenly sold’it was announced the village would pay $1 per share to obtain the legal rights to the mill pond from the 12 descendants of Levi Goodrich.
Meanwhile, the City of Flint delayed the bid opening while conducting another title search.
The old mill was leveled in a ‘spectacular? fire in Feb. 1970, after which the metal building was sold to the village for equipment storage.
In March 1970, the City of Flint was assured by Guaranty Title Company that its title to the mill pond was ‘good and defensible?.
Former city manager Thomas Kay did not agree with draining the mill pond, calling it ‘an unnecessarily provocative act? to village residents.
On April 20, 1970, the Flint Water Department crew raised one of three dam gates six inches to begin slowly draining the pond. Draining the dam, which needed repairs, was necessary to prevent liability issues if it broke, said city officials.
That evening the village requested a joint meeting with the Flint City Commission. The commission took no action on the request.
On May 1, 1970 the Goodrich dam gates were completely removed by Flint officials, and about two-thirds of the 46-acre mill pond was drained, allegedly to check the dam’s condition.
A group called ‘Make Goodrich Beautiful? called a meeting May 2. About 50 residents turned out seeking the help of State Sen. Gordon Rockwell in an effort to have the state take control of the drained pond for a recreational area.
Whether or not the pond draining was an attempt by the city to strong-arm the village, it worked.
In a letter dated June 18, 1970, former Goodrich Village President Lloyd Blahnik wrote to Kay offering to buy the Goodrich Mill Pond from Flint for $5,000, on the condition the dam gates would be replaced in good workable condition.
The reduced price offer was based on unofficial engineering reports estimating dam repairs at $15,000 to $25,000, said Blahnik.
That July the pond was still drained, with rotting tree stumps and train trestle posts emerging from the mire surrounding the remaining Kearsley Creek.
The issue was resolved and the pond restored with the village purchase of the mill pond from the City of Flint on Aug. 14, 1970 for $5,000.
The agreement contains a reversionary clause restricting the use of the property to a public water recreation area or a mill pond purpose which will be available for the use of the general public without cost.
The Goodrich Mill Pond is now home to waterfowl, sandhill cranes, beavers, swans, mallard ducks, kingfisher, and other wildlife.
A 1990 citizens? survey revealed one of the most sought-after local improvements was cleaning up the pond.
The Village of Goodrich master plan proposed forming a mill pond group, resulting in the Goodrich Millpond Improvement Project.
Local donations resulted in herbicide and algaecide treatments for the pond in the 1990s.
Safety has been another issue on the pond, which measures only four to five feet deep in most areas.
Due to limited visibility and underwater hazards in the pond, residents and village officials met with the DNR in 2000 to determine if an ordinance to establish pond speed control was needed.
The DNR didn’t recommend an ordinance, as no documented accidents were presented.
A type of unspoken agreement exists among residents, though, that the Goodrich Mill Pond is a no-wake lake.
In January 2001 the DNR released a report recommending 21 of Michigan’s estimated 2,500 dams’including Goodrich and Atlas’be torn down, restoring the Kearsley Creek to its original state in order to promote natural fish movement and not facilitate pollutants.
Because the mill pond lacks Pacific blue coloration, residents in the past have questioned whether the water is contaminated.
‘Water color is not indicative of water contamination,? said Brian McKenzie, Genesee County Health Department Environmental Health Supervisor.
Private homeowners who want to swim in the mill pond can get a sample done for $11, McKenzie said.
An accurate analysis of the mill pond water purity would require three samples from across the pond, during five or more sampling events’a minimum of 15 samples, said McKenzie. (See page 17 for aerial photo of Goodrich Mill Pond.)
Historic information compiled from from ‘The Passage of Time, 1836-2002 History of Atlas Township? by The Goodrich-Atlas Historical Society and the Goodrich Women’s Club, archived articles from The Flint Journal, Village of Goodrich files, and reports from Michigan’s DNR at www.michigan.gov/dnr.