Nelson Ludington (January 18, 1818 – January 15, 1883) was a nineteenth-century American businessman,

lumber baron A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

and banker. Born in Ludingtonville, New York, he made his fortune in the Midwest based on resource exploitation: lumber, iron ore and copper. He bought large tracts of timber land on the

Upper Peninsula of Michigan The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by t ...

, where he was associated with the founding of the city of

Escanaba Escanaba ( ), commonly shortened to Esky, is a port city in Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located on Little Bay de Noc in the state's Upper Peninsula. The population was 12,616 at the 2010 census, making it the third-largest city i ...

. He also had a branch and the main lumber yards in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, but eventually based his namesake company in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, which became the boom town of the upper Midwest. There he helped found and served as president of the Fifth National Bank of Chicago.

Early life and ancestry

Ludington was born on January 18, 1818, in Ludingtonville in

Putnam County, New York Putnam County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,668. The county seat is Carmel. Putnam County formed in 1812 from Dutchess County and is named for Israel Putnam, a hero in the ...

, as the fourth of sixteen children. He was a direct descendant of William Ludington of the

Ludington family The Ludington family was an American family active in the fields of business, banking, and politics. Members in the American Revolution were Henry Ludington and Sybil Ludington. Additionally, Lewis, James, Nelson, and Harrison Ludington were in ...

. His grandfather was

Henry Ludington Henry Ludington (May 25, 1739 – January 24, 1817) was an American solider in the American Revolutionary War. He aided the effort by providing spies and was associated with John Jay in a ring of spies. Early life Ludington's father, Will ...

. Ludington took courses at the Tucker Hill Academy in a neighboring county.

Career

Ludington's training for the business world started at a general store in

Cold Spring, New York Cold Spring is a village in the town of Philipstown in Putnam County, New York, United States. The population was 1,986 at the 2020 census. It borders the smaller village of Nelsonville and the hamlets of Garrison and North Highlands. The cen ...

, a town located along the Hudson River. He later became a clerk in a

dry goods Dry goods is a historic term describing the type of product line a store carries, which differs by region. The term comes from the textile trade, and the shops appear to have spread with the mercantile trade across the British Empire (and forme ...

store in New York City, receiving further training in the retail business. In 1839 he joined his older brother,

Harrison Ludington Harrison Ludington (July 30, 1812June 17, 1891) was an American businessman, Republican politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He served as the 13th governor of Wisconsin and was the 20th and 22nd mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Early life and ca ...

, his uncle Lewis Ludington, and Harvey Burchard in the firm Ludington, Burchard and Company. After two years Nelson Ludington purchased Burchard's share of the business, and changed the name of the firm to Ludington and Company. Ludington sold his ownership share to the other partners in 1848. Ludington started in the lumber industry with

Daniel Wells Jr. Daniel Wells, Jr., (July 16, 1808March 18, 1902) was an American railroad businessman, Democratic politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (1853–1857), representing Wisconsin. Biograph ...

and Jefferson Sinclair in 1848 in a new firm called N. Ludington & Co. He recognized that the rapid expansion of western towns around the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

would increase market demand for lumber, so he bought up large tracts of timber lands. Ludington constructed sawmills at Marinette and

Escanaba, Michigan Escanaba ( ), commonly shortened to Esky, is a port city in Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located on Little Bay de Noc in the state's Upper Peninsula. The population was 12,616 at the 2010 census, making it the third-largest city i ...

. For the first few years of N. Ludington & Company, the main docks and lumber yards of the firm were in Milwaukee and was the main distribution point to places throughout the United States via shipping on the Great Lakes. Escanaba (originally called Flat Rock) was one of the places where Ludington established a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

. He named the settlement. Locals suggested it be named after the nearby river, known as the ''"Escanawba"'' by the local

Ojibwa The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

Indians, referring to the smooth, flat rocks on the river bottom. His hired surveyor,

Eli Parsons Royce Eli Parsons Royce (November 29, 1820 – May 26, 1912) was an American surveyor in and around Green Bay, Wisconsin. He worked for various lumbermen, one who was Nelson Ludington a lumber baron that was doing work for a new railroad and h ...

, entered the name on the town design

schematic A schematic, or schematic diagram, is a designed representation of the elements of a system using abstract, graphic symbols rather than realistic pictures. A schematic usually omits all details that are not relevant to the key information the sc ...

, as he understood it from a local Indian. In 1863, Ludington became a director of the Fifth National Bank of Chicago, and later its president, before it became the National Bank of America. He accumulated a considerable fortune.

Marriage and family

Ludington married Charlotte J. and they had two daughters. He died on January 15, 1883, in Chicago.

Legacy

His daughter Mary financed the

Ludington Building The Ludington Building is the earliest-surviving, steel-frame building in Chicago, Illinois. It is located in the Chicago Loop community area. It was designed by William Le Baron Jenney and was named a Chicago Landmark on June 10, 1996. It was ...

in Chicago.

References

Sources

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External links

Ludington Family Papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ludington, Nelson 1739 births 1817 deaths People from Dutchess County, New York People from Putnam County, New York People of the Province of New York People of New York (state) in the American Revolution Businesspeople from Chicago Businesspeople from Michigan Businesspeople from Wisconsin Ludington family