Friend-Hack House

The Friend–Hack House, also known as the Hack House, was built as a private house, located at 775 County Street in Milan, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991, and currently houses the Hack House Museum.HistoryIn the mid-1880s, Professor Henry Friend arrived in New York City, claiming to have invented a process that used electricity to refine sugar. In 1884, Friend founded the Electric Sugar Refining Company with a capitalization of $1,000,000. Friend purchased a Brooklyn factory to continue experimenting with his process, and the fortunes of the company boomed, with stock prices jumping from $100 per share in 1884 to $625 per share in 1888. However, Friend suffered from various health problems, exacerbated by heavy drinking, and died on March 10, 1888. After Friend's death, his young widow Olive and her parents took control of the company.Olive was originally from Milan, Michigan, and purchased 80 acres from her uncle William Henry Harrison Hack. She had this house built for her on the property. After her husband's death, she and her young son lived for a while in the Brooklyn factory, then retired to Milan later in 1888. Becoming suspicious, other officers in the Electric Sugar Refining Company contacted her, then began investigating the company's factory. In early 1889, they discovered that Professor Henry Friend's "process" was a complete fraud, and that no machine existed. Olive Friend and her parents were arrested and returned to New York. Although her father was sentenced to nine years in prison, both Olive and her mother were released in late 1889 after being sentenced to time served.