Ringelberg Publishes 4-Volume Set of Michigan Log Mark History

By ANGELA KELLOGG-HENRY

Cleaver Managing Editor

While a member of the Clare County Historical Society for over 40 years with only a self-proclaimed nickname of ‘curmudgeon”, Jon Ringelberg has a new nickname of ‘log mark guy’.

Ringelberg became interested in log marks primarily by investigating old logs which surfaced in Clare County lakes. A bit of research bloomed into a lot of research, then a talk about log marks in Clare and other counties, following up leads on log hammers, meeting collectors and everything else you can imagine about logs marks. He’s scoured County Clerks offices in dozens of Michigan counties looking for their original registration books and followed up on leads where the books might be if no longer in possession of the clerk.

Log marks, similar to cattle brands, established the ownership of timber during the logging era and date back to the 1860s, with the earliest surviving log mark registration for Clare County dating back to 1878. Log marks were registered in the county where the lumber operator was doing business to prove ownership of their harvest. During Michigan’s lumber heyday, logs were floated down rivers from cutting grounds and sorted by their ownership marks at mills. Some logs were obliterated or cut off in order to give stolen logs another brand.

Some of those log’s sink to the bottom of lakes and resurface later and log ends with the log marks are also found from time to time in lakes and rivers. They are collectable along with the hammers that created the marks.

Recently, the Harrison District Library and Clare County Historical Society was contacted by Gordy Mason, who lives in western Clare County. Mason donated over 20 logs ends which Ringelberg readily identified using his research. Some of the logs could not be identified due to age and condition but are interesting relics of history, nonetheless. Four of those logs’ ends will be displayed at the Harrison District Library and the others at the museum at the historical society. The new logs join several log ends and log hammers already on display at the museum.

To make his research useful to others Ringelberg has compiled a four-volume set of Michigan log marks. I feel comfortable claiming it’s the largest effort in Michigan’s history to identify log marks with a finding aid.

In 1941 a publication by the Work Projects Administration (WPA) Writers' Program produced a small volume titled “Michigan Log Marks: Their Function and Use During the Great Michigan Pine Harvest.” It doesn’t come close to the volume of material Ringelberg has amassed. Ask him about that WPA volume and he’ll give his curmudgeon opinion about the work. His analysis of the book is also in Volume 1 of this new collection in its own chapter.

His four volumes contain more than just log marks. He includes log hammers and tools from museums and historical societies he visited during his research. His volumes also include interesting side quests he encountered throughout compiling this work.

His four volumes are titled “Michigan Log Mark Search & Activity Tool, Volume 1: Introduction & Grand River Basin”, “Michigan Log Mark Search & Activity Tool Vol. 2: Saginaw River Basin & Northeast Lower Peninsula”, “Michigan Log Mark Search & Activity Tool, Vol. 3: Upper Peninsula & Northwest Lower Peninsula” and “Michigan Log Mark Search & Activity Tool, Vol. 4: Muskegon River Basin.” The books are available from Amazon.

Ringelberg’s future plans are to provide a thumb drive at minimal charge for anyone wanting the 12,500 original source log mark entries photographed/scanned over the course of his research by request to museum@clarecountyhistory.org.

A 40-year member of the Clare County Historical Society Ringelberg and has lived in Clare County since 1967. A 50-plus year active attorney, his varied career included that of law clerk for Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Donald E. Holbrook, Sr.; elected in 1968 as Michigan’s youngest District Court Judge at age 26 and serving from 1969 to 1985; a criminal defense and Social Security disability attorney; a Hearing Officer for the DoD; serving for 10 years as Clare County’s Public Guardian; and an adjunct professor of Business Law at Central Michigan University. Ringelberg’s love of local history and his research has produced 6 books, numerous compilations, and the synopsis of over 4,500 Clare County Circuit Court legal cases from 1871 through 1950.

His other titles include “Clare County At 150”, “Historical 'Travels' In Clare County: This & That”, “Clare County Murders: 1871 - 2020 “, “Clare County: 'Almost Murders' 1872 – 1950”, and “Random Recollections of Legal Times.”