Foster City was named after Alonzo L. Foster, who came from Ohio in 1880. Mr. Foster was in the insurance business at the time in Ohio, but having heard much talk about the great expanse of pine timber in Upper Michigan and Wisconsin, and of how men were getting wealthy in the pine business, he became very interested.
Mr. Foster talked with some lumbermen, who recommended him to a cruiser and estimator. The latter was James McGillan, of Appleton, WI. Mr. Foster immediately returned to Ohio, to interest other men and to get backing for a company. The company was named the A.M. Harmon Company, after a wealthy member of the new organization.
Foster came north again and that fall the company purchased 80,000,000 feet of pine stumpage on the east branch of the Sturgeon River, and 38,000,000 feet on the Ford and Flat Rock Rivers. The company then let a contract to clean out the river from a point where Foster City now stands, to Brown's Lake. The drive up the Sturgeon at that time extended only to Brown's Lake.
At this time, also, the company gave a contract to Charles Pendleton and Son, to log the eighty million feet of pine; to build three dams and to improve the river from the site of the present Lehman's farm to the present site of Foster City.
Pendleton and Son began their contract in 1882 and one year later had succeeded in building three dams on the east branch of the Sturgeon; had improved the stream; built pole trails, and put in 10 million feet of logs. In the spring of 1883 the company drove five million feet of logs to Menominee, and had it sawed into lumber.
This drive, however, did not prove wholly satisfactory, because the cut lumber fell short nearly 100,000 feet. The company then decided to build a mill, and Mr. Foster, having heard that several mills in lower Michigan were about to close because of a shortage of pine, left immediately for the lower peninsula.
Foster knew very little about saw mills, but off he went, alone and courageously, to Saginaw, to interview the representatives of various companies. The White and Friant mill was on of the many belonging to these companies. Foster was advised to buy that mill and had just about closed the deal...all but paying over the money...when he was approached by the Hood and Gale Company, eager to sell its mill.
The Hood and Gale mill was much older than Friant's but was offered at a lower figure. Foster, not realizing that the Hood and Gale mill was just about worn out, immediately purchased it. Bitter feeling developed between Mr. Friant and Mr. Foster over that deal.
On February 21, 1884, the late John Emmett Nelligan arrived, bringing with him a crew of eight men, a carload of lumber and some tools, to start construction of teh town of Foster City. "Pat" Farrell was one of that crew. Pat was considered quite an old hand at the game, for he had had two years' experience working on contracts for the company.
The Town Gets Its Name:
The late P.J. Anderson, section forman at that time, built a camp and hired a cook, and the entire crew boarded at the Anderson camp. Pat and one of his chums, on the day of their arrival, cut down a small tree so that they could say--honestly--they had cut down the first tree, to build Foster City. The carpenter, Mr. White, put up a large sign, and on that sign was written, "Foster City, Michigan."
Foster arrived teh next day and, seeing the sign, gave it his hearty approval. "That," he said, "will be the name of this town--Foster City." And it has been Foster City ever since.