'Mayor' maintains community's vibrant history

Darrell Wilson at the sign in the front yard of his Oviatt home.

Oviatt is considered a geographical first for Leelanau County, but to the few residents who remain in the former crossroads settlement there’s something far more important at stake.

A continued recognition of its very existence.

“A lot of neat things happened in Oviatt, and we hope the public recognizes that,” said Darrell Wilson, who is involved in a genealogy project involving the Wilson and Holden families who are largely responsible for much of the ghost town’s colorful history.

Oviatt is located on County Road 669, one mile south of Polack’s Corners. And even if Oviatt fades away from memories, there’s one aspect that can’t be taken away: It’s the “first” settlement in Leelanau after crossing the Benzie County line.

Actually, one doesn’t even have to cross into Leelanau before reaching Oviatt. Pettengill Road divides the two counties, and on the north side sits Leelanau and Kasson Township while the south side is home to Benzie and Almira Township.

No matter what side of Pettengill people live on, however, it’s still considered Oviatt.

Adding to the confusion is that Oviatt is not too close, and not too far, from neighboring villages. Empire and Maple City are about nine miles away in Leelanau, Lake Ann in Benzie is six miles distant, and the U.S 31 junction is nine miles to the south.

Wilson’s personal situation helps explain why Oviatt may suffer from an identity crisis.

“I live in Benzie County, my mailbox across the street is in Leelanau County, my mailing address is in Empire, my phone exchange is from Maple City, and I live closest to Lake Ann. So take your pick,” he joked.

Wilson’s cousin Janet Padovano, who lives across the street from him on the northeast corner of Oviatt in Leelanau County and is helping with the genealogy project, said street signs at the four corners add to the confusion.

“The signs make reference to Pettengill Road, Oviatt Road, South Coleman Road and Maple City Highway all at once intersection,” she said. “I can see why people are confused. I feel a part of both (Leelanau and Benzie).”

Even some people who live in the vicinity admit they don’t know much about Oviatt, or the story behind the various road names.

A few weeks ago, Kathy Easter of Pettengill Road (on the Leelanau County side) was summoned home to the family farm from her teaching job by her daughter because of the imminent birth of an alpaca. Moments after the mother alpaca give birth to a little cria, Easter paused to share what she knew about Oviatt.

“I really don’t know a thing about it. I know that Oviatt Road is this way, and it’s that way,” she said, first pointing to the east and then to the west. Pettengill Road becomes Oviatt Road east of 669, and west of Coleman Road.

“I also know when we first moved here, we must have got four or five calls from Glen Lake School when we were trying to arrange busing. I remember them asking us, ‘Are you sure you’re in the Glen Lake district?’ We are, so the buses came.”

Country living

Part of Oviatt’s attraction is its rural landscape located amid many recreational opportunities. Oviatt is sandwiched between a series of small lakes, principally Armstrong, Polack and Gilbert to the north in Leelanau County, and Pearl, Brooks, Hartman, Lime, Holden, Sweet, Horseshoe and Davis to the south in Benzie County. Access to Brooks Lake is available just off Pettengill Road, and a state forest campground is also nearby.

Mother and baby alpacas

Wilson enjoys the quiet pace of Oviatt from the historic home he lives at on the settlement’s southwest corner. He created and installed a sign at his home that states “Welcome to Oviatt, Michigan Ghost Town.” He not only
keeps his lawn freshly mowed, but also the grounds of the Wilson-Holden Cemetery a half-mile north of Oviatt.

His friends dubbed him “the Mayor” of Oviatt.

The rural nature of Wilson’s home, and Oviatt, also create the perfect backdrop for the Wilson-Holden family reunion that he hosts each year on the first Saturday in August. Last year’s reunion attracted more than 130 people – more than the population of Oviatt at its zenith some 100 years ago.

Filled with history

The “Mayor” is part of the fifth generation of Wilsons to live in Oviatt since Dr. Abraham Wilson, who with his wife, Polly, two sons, a daughter, and a son-in-law, first arrived in 1869 to homestead 160 acres.

Darrell Wilson is proud of some of his ancestors. Dr. Wilson’s gravestone describes him as a descendant of Roger Wilson, “who fled from England to Holland and was largely responsible for outfitting the Mayflower, which brought pilgrims to America.”

The very first Wilson to come to America, Lt. John Wilson, settled in north Boston in 1651 – more than 350 years ago.

The saddest grave marker tells of Sgt. Elmer E. Wilson, a member of a field signal battalion in World War I who “died with honors in the service of his country in France” on Nov. 3, 1918.

“He was gassed by the Germans and blinded, got pneumonia and died,” Wilson said. “It took a couple of years to get his body back.”

Another grave notes the final resting place of Perry Greeley Holden, a colorful storyteller who is a descendant of the co-founder of Rhode Island. Holden also was renowned for inventing a hybrid seed corn, and as a professor at colleges in Michigan and Iowa. Holden’s writings of Wilson-Holden genealogy have served as the basis for work being done by Wilson and Padavano.

Who was Oviatt?

Oviatt was established in 1878 by H.C. Pettengill, and the early populace included farm families and men who worked at a sawmill in the community. The community is named in honor of M.C. Oviatt (pronounced Oh-vee-it), who operated the sawmill for about 10 years though logging in the area was primarily run through the Empire Lumber Co.

The first telephone switchboard in Oviatt was begun in 1906 by William and Anna Wilson, and their daughters Grace and Maude. The Wilsons and Pettengills both operated stores in Oviatt, which was a popular halfway point from Empire to Traverse City. Oviatt’s location was central to its existence, as the road to Traverse City went through the village long before M-72 was built to the north.

The Pettengills also operated a post office, and there was a telegraph office just down the road. As the community grew, children who lived on the Leelanau side of the road attended the Armstrong school, while students on the Benzie side went to the Ball school on Sweet Lake Road.

Oviatt also lays claim to having the first church ever built in Kasson Township, though it was torn down many years ago.

Wilson said his father, Ed Wilson, was born in Oviatt.

“There used to be houses lined up down the road, and my dad was born in one of them,” said Wilson, adding that he lives in the same house where his grandfather Frank Wilson once resided.

It was William and Anna Wilson and their daughters who arguably had the most significant impact on Oviatt. The Wilsons were very well known not only in Oviatt but also throughout Leelanau and Benzie counties. William Wilson taught school in the Leland area for 30 years and his wife was an Empire educator, but they also found time to run their store.

“We sold everything from kerosene to crackers in a barrel,” their daughter Grace told the Enterprise in a 1992 story, when she was 95. The Wilson’s store also served as a meeting place in Oviatt, and a dance hall next to their home was a gathering spot for waltzes, two-steps and square dances on Saturday nights. Wilson said as many as 100 people would come from Cedar, Maple City, Glen Arbor, Lake Ann, Honor, Empire and Frankfort for the dances.

Eventually, as sawmill activity started to wind down and residents started moving to Traverse City and elsewhere in search of jobs, Oviatt’s population started to shrink in the early part of the 20th century. Only farm families were left. The Oviatt post office, established in 1878, closed on Aug. 31, 1909.

Oviatt, which once had a population of about 100, only has a few homes remaining today. But it can be found on most maps, and will always hold a special place in Darrell Wilson’s heart.