Cel
Since 1992
Lenawee County’s Premiere Real Estate Company
Sand Lake Stunner Enjoy water and nature in the heart of the Irish Hills. Stacked stone fireplace, windows facing the lake with a large gourmet kitchen and breakfast bar that extends to the composite deck. A side entrance leads to the mudroom connecting a family/game room completing a flexible traffic pattern throughout the main level. Porcelain tile, wood floors, granite countertops, wood cabinets throughout. 3-4 bedroom, two bath, two story, two car garage.
By Michael Hrivnak - Tecumseh Area Historical Society
$699,000 #50041989 Kris Isom 517-403-7097
Locate your business in Tecumseh 12,300 Sq. Ft. commercial building. Hardwood floors with cherry accents. Located in a high-traffic area along a main road in Tecumseh. New electrical within last 8 years, 3 newer HVAC units consisting of a 10 ton unit, a 6 ton unit, and a 5 ton unit, many newer windows. 1/3 of rubber roof redone in the last 5 years. Frontage on two roads. Seller says bring all offers! $275,000! #50033790 Diana Faust 517-270-3646 TOM DARLING Broker/Owner 517-403-2679
LORI MORGAN Associate Broker 517-403-9013
MARY CLYMER Associate Broker 517-403-1136
RICHARD KING Associate Broker 517-403-4799
LINDA RUDD Associate Broker 517-403-6837
SUMMER SEXTON 517-416-5737
CHUCK CHRISTENSEN 517-215-4714
KRIS ISOM 517-403-7097
ANGELA MOORE 517-902-5511
DIANA FAUST 517-270-3646
DAVID MCNEIL 517-215-3464
TYLER MORGAN 517-215-2807
CAROL KING 517-403-9473
www.HeartOTheHillsRealty.com 3136 N Adrian Highway, Adrian | 517-266-1324 40
JONI PARKER 517-270-2426
MITCH SELL 517-902-7167
ecumseh has been known for many different businesses and industries over the course of its history. Early entrepreneurs found the marsh grasses and natural resources in the area sufficient to manufacture cane rush chairs in large quantities according to a visitor to Tecumseh in the 1830’s, English author Harriet Martineau, who thought the town was full of chair factories. Carriage manufacturing was a dominant industry in the years after the Civil War. Tecumseh was once considered the “Refrigeration Capital of the World” when Tecumseh Products became a major business and employer for many decades. But it was celery farming that dominated the landscape south of town for a period of almost four decades during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, making Tecumseh renowned for the fragrant vegetable. Today, a stroll through the produce section of a grocery store finds celery in abundance; it has become a staple in diets and an imperative for many Thanksgiving dinners. But that was not always the case. Celery was native to the Mediterranean region and it wasn’t until the 1800’s that the first varieties made their way to North America, and then only in heirloom gardens. Because early cultivars were difficult to grow commercially, the produce was very expensive and considered a delicacy, affordable only by the wealthy, a seasonal crop, celery was harvested in midsummer and again in October, just in time for the traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Celery’s
popularity in New York City restaurants soared, making it costlier than caviar at one time. Diners at fine restaurants were treated to long stalks of celery served in upright vases filled with chilled water, which were then salted and consumed raw. Crystal celery vases from the era are highly prized by antique hunters; an 1830 piece recently sold for over $40,000 at auction. Capitalizing on this profitable demand, celery farming in Michigan began around Kalamazoo in the 1850’s when Dutch families brought the first seeds from Europe and began planting in the rich, mucky soil nearby Celery farming generally resulted in no resentment from the other local farmers because it was grown in otherwise untillable and undesirable marshlands. The first commercial celery farms around Tecumseh were started around the same time during the early 1880’s by several local residents: Dr. Homer Stewart, a local dentist and entrepreneur the Wilson Brothers, and John Russell. When the marsh near Tecumseh was drained by the digging of Cook’s Ditch, the area was transformed from swampy wetlands into a black, mucky expanse that stretched past present day Ives Road. While wholly undesirable for most agriculture endeavors, the conditions were perfect for cultivation of celery and a few farms began at first on a small scale. Like his neighbors, Dr. Stewart’s Prairie Celery Company fortunes and operations grew rapidly in the early years. At first, demand for high-quality celery out-paced supply and the farmers used their improving profits to expand acreage and operations.
