Town Name: Aral
Population: Less than 10
Reason For Becoming a Lost Town: The timber ran out, the mill closed, then the stores and folks went elsewhere looking for work.
Town History: Aral was named for the inland sea in Russia.
The plaque at the coordinates gives some of the details of the history of the town but strangely, leaves out what I believe to be the two most interesting. On the afternoon of August 10th 1899, two Benzie County deputies, Neil A. Marshall and Dr. Frank Thurber were sent here to place a lien for unpaid taxes on the logs stacked at the mill. Hearing of their intent, the manager of the mill, Charles Wright promised that if anyone interfered with his operation, he "would drop them". Armed with a rifle and pistol, he met the men on the road that runs south across the creek just east of the plaque. Here a struggle ensued and both deputies were murdered. The mill continued to operate and Wright and his men continued as if nothing had happened. The bodies were left where they fell although at some point in the afternoon, some one placed an umbrella over them to shade them from the sun.Word of the killings spread through the community and anti-Wright feelings were building. Wright then shut the mill down, paid the workmen their wages and disappeared into the woods. A telegram was sent to Benzonia informing the sheriff of the killings. He organized a posse of about 20 men who traveled by buggy from Benzonia to Frankfort and then by steamer to Aral, arriving the next day. By that time an angry mob had gathered seeking revenge for the killings of two well-liked men.What happened next involves the fallen pine tree just beyond the plaque. This has long been know by local residents as "The Hanging Tree".
The mill employed a number of the local Ottawa Indians, many of whom had limited English language skills. Wright had often utilized Peter Lahala as an interpreter. One can assume that the European workers might have been jealous of Lahala’s elevated status and frequent contact with the boss. For whatever reason, the mob claimed that he had knowledge of Wright’s whereabouts. Lahala denied any knowledge of Wright's whereabouts. Under the direction of the sheriff, a rope was placed around his neck and the other end thrown over a limb of the tree. The Indian was hoisted into the air. After a short time, he was lowered and again asked where Wright could be found. When no answer was given, he was hoisted up again and the sheriff is reported to have said, "Just kick your legs when you're ready to talk". Before this grim game could be played out to it's somber conclusion, Wright was dragged out of the woods by some men who had captured him and Peter Lahala was released. Wright was convicted and sentenced to life at hard labor in Jackson Prison. Upon his conviction, his wife divorced him and remarried.
In 1900 Governor Pingree apparently decided that local politics had played a role in the incident and commuted his sentence. He was released and, or so the story goes, stopped in Aral on his way to Wisconsin. He visited his ex and her new husband and sang "Their Song" for her one last time. She was so over come that she rushed weeping into his arms, abandoned her new spouse on the spot and sailed off into the sunset with murderer Charles Wright.
The second notable event in the history of Aral occurred from about 1908 to 1911 and also involves the hanging tree. The mill and town became an outpost of the notorious "King" Ben Purcell's beard wearing, baseball playing, House of David cult from Benton Harbor. They used the tree as a light house, placing lights and lookouts in the tree to guide boats to their dock. They lumbered the cedar out the nearby swamps, using the logs as raw material for a shingle mill. Then as suddenly as they came, they abandoned the area. The last resident moved out in 1922 and the town's life was over
Cache Description: The cache is a small 1 quart clear plastic As of July 2023 it is a large metal Ammo Can located south of a campground near Michigan’s Shore to Shore Hiking Trail. You will find the campground entrance using the following coordinates; N44 46.711 W085 56.334. Park by the pump and walk south on the trail to the post marking the shore to shore trail. The total round trip is less than 1/2 mile
The plaque gives dates for the life of Aral.
Enter the last two digits of the ending date.
Multiply by the number of stores. Let the result equal A.
Subtract the starting date from the ending date and multiply by the number of stores.
Multiply that total by 5. Let that result be b1
Next take the number of letters in settler Robert's last name and multiply by 3.
Subtract 1 from that total and let the result equal b2.
Subtract b2 from b1, and let the result equal B.
Divide both A and B by 1000.
To find the cache coordinates, start with the coordinates given for the campground entrance. Add A +2 to West coordinates. subtract B and -1 from the North coordinates. Feel free to email me to check your results.
Update As of September 2023: I am adding a check sum now. Given are N 44 46.xxx W085 56.xxx. The last 3 of the North should equal 9 and the last 3 of the West should equal 16. You are looking for a large metal Ammo Can!
Notes of Interest: For ghost town aficionados, this cache is half way between two other ghost towns. The vanished village of Jack Town/Osborn is located at 44 degrees, 46.732 minutes north and 85 degrees, 58.375 minutes west. There is a cache there (GC911D). Further east is where the town of Oviatt used to be. The Wilson cemetery can be found at 44 degrees, 46.961 minutes north and 85 degrees, 53.716 minutes west.
This cache is part of the Michigan's Lost Towns cache series. Visit this link to see the complete list and to submit your own!!
