George Willis Pack (born 1831, Peterboro, New York; d. August 31, 1906, Southampton, Long Island, New York) was a second-generation timberman on Michigan's

Lower Peninsula The Lower Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Lower Michigan – is the larger, southern and less elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; the other being the Upper Peninsula, which is separated by the S ...

. Building on his father's legacy, over the course of several decades, Pack successfully developed his timber businesses, becoming one of Michigan's first millionaires. His son, Charles Lathrop Pack, and his grandson, Randolph Greene Pack, carried on the family tradition.

Life and career

His father, George Pack, Jr. had established two sawmills outside of

Lexington, Michigan Lexington is a village in Sanilac County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,178 at the 2010 census. The village is located within Lexington Township. Geography * According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a ...

, in a place known as Pack's Mills. After years of working with the elder Pack, in 1860 George Willis Pack, together with John L. Woods, established Carrington, Pack & Company, in Sand Beach, Michigan. In 1864, with Woods and Jeremiah Jenks, George Willis Pack established a second sawmill, Pack, Jenks & Company, also near Sand Beach. A third firm, Woods & Company, in Port Crescent, Michigan, was formed in 1870. In 1876, Pack, Woods & Company was formed in

Oscoda, Michigan Oscoda ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Iosco County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The CDP had a population of 916 at the 2020 census. The community is located within Au Sable Township and Oscoda Towns ...

, on the Au Sable River. George Willis Pack grew to be a wealthy man. He "would be remembered as one of the few millionaires who had lived in Huron County. The public square in Asheville, North Carolina dates to 1797. Pack gave land for a new

Buncombe County Buncombe County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is classified within Western North Carolina. The 2020 census reported the population was 269,452. Its county seat is Asheville. Buncombe County is part of the Ashevill ...

courthouse, which was completed in 1903 and no longer stands. A condition of this gift was that the former courthouse site become part of the public square, and the area was named Pack Square as a result. Pack also donated much of the cost of a

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

to former

North Carolina Governor The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The governor directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander in chief of the military forces of the state. The current governor, ...

Zebulon Baird Vance Zebulon Baird Vance (May 13, 1830 – April 14, 1894) was the 37th and 43rd governor of North Carolina, a U.S. Senator from North Carolina, and a Confederate officer during the American Civil War. A prolific writer and noted public speake ...

Firms, places, and dates

* Carrington, Pack & Company, Sand Beach, Michigan, 1860–70 * Pack, Jenks & Company, Sand Beach, Michigan, 1864–70 * Woods & Company, Port Crescent, Michigan, 1870–78 * Pack, Woods & Company, Oscoda, Michigan, 1878–1901

Landholdings

Huron County, Michigan Huron County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 31,407. The county seat is Bad Axe. Huron County is at the northern tip of the Thumb, which is a sub region of Mid Michigan. It is a peninsu ...

- of timber * Pinnebog River, Michigan - of pine lands

External links

"George Willis Pack: A Name That Will Endure"
A Virtual Exhibit, University of North Carolina at Asheville, August 2006

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Eyle, Alexandra. 1992. ''Charles Lathrop Pack: Timberman, Forest Conservationist, and Pioneer in Forest Education''. Syracuse, NY: ESF College Foundation and College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Distributed by Syracuse University Press. Availabl
Google books
1831 births 1906 deaths Businesspeople in timber History of forestry in the United States People from Peterboro, New York People from Sanilac County, Michigan Businesspeople from Cleveland People from Asheville, North Carolina 19th-century American businesspeople {{US-business-bio-1830s-stub