Johannesburg Manufacturing Company Store

The Johannesburg Manufacturing Company Store is a company store located at 10816 M-32 East in Johannesburg, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.HistoryThe Johannesburg Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1901 by lumbermen Ernest Salling, Rasmus Hanson, and Nels Michelson. The trio built Johannesburg as a lumber mill and company town, in the same way as they had built the nearby towns of Grayling, Salling, and Lewiston. The first building constructed in the new town was this company store, which was used as the headquarters of the company.The store offered hay, grain, ice, and bulky items from sheds behind the store building. The building also housed the offices of the Johannesburg Manufacturing Company until 1916, when they moved to a nearby bank building. The Johannesburg Manufacturing Company lasted until 1929, with the mill cutting over 300 million board feet and employing as many as 200 people. When the mill ceased operations, the lands and buildings were offered for sale at inexpensive prices, with former employees getting preference. Company accountant Alfred Larsen purchased this building in 1929.Larsen operated the store until 1942, when he sold the store to Andrew (Buck) Philips, who then sold it in 1945 to Howard Kelly. The Kellys operated the store until 1979, living in the upstairs space that had once housed the company offices. The building was vacant from 1979 to 1991, when it was sold again to William and Norma Lange who opened an antique store. The store closed a few years later, and in 2000 it was sold to Scott and Vicki Courtier. The Courtiers in turn sold it to Stacy Jo Schiller and Barton Briley, who as of 2010 planned to restore the building.