By David Fleet
Editor
Ortonville — About 1920, Ortonville Blacksmith Irvin Williams’ shop was located on the south side of Mill Street west of Kearsley Creek. Irvin’s father, Carl Williams, was located on the north side of Mill Street east of Kearsley Creek. Irvin shod horses and traveled to farms for work, while Carl was a general blacksmith often repairing equipment on site. Irvin closed in the late 1930s, Carl closed in the late 1950s.
The family of blacksmiths are just two examples of village businesses that thrived in the first 100 years since Ortonville was founded in 1848.
As Ortonville celebrates its 175 birthday this year, key in the success of the community are its local businesses. From G.N. Hart Hardware, Sherman Funeral Home, Grist Mill, C.F. Smith Store and the Yolando House were just some of the early businesses that were defining the community.
“Small businesses have long played an important role in defining the fabric of our community— creating our charming small-town experience, helping to fuel our local economy, providing unique experiences for consumers, and spurring innovation,” Matt Jenkins, executive director, Ortonville Downtown Development Authority.
“Our All-American, authentic village has been a hub of activity for the surrounding townships for 175 years because our businesses are locally owned, unique with truly one-of-a-kind experiences.”
“Ortonville’s culture has dramatically influenced the way people do business, the way businesses differentiate themselves, and the way physical place and business intersect. We value place and our downtown as central factors in creating and growing successful businesses in Ortonville.”
A key hub in many American small towns was the local hardware store. Such was The South Street Village Hardware store. From nails to feed to paint, pretty much any item could be found at the village store established in the early 1900s.
In the late 1920s Myron and Mary DeLano purchased the hardware store from the Harts. After Myron died Mary continued to run the store with the assistance of several employees.
Local Marv Featherston started working for Mary DeLano when he was in high school. Marv would go down the basement of the store and build a coal fire in the furnace before school, then sweep the floors before customers arrived, recalled Marilyn Featherston, the wife of Marv.
The hardware building was destroyed by fire in 1942 and a new building was erected in 1944.
“The boys from the high school were let out to help with the fire,” said Marilyn, during an interview in 2018. “We did not have a large fire department back then so I guess they needed the help.”
In 1947 Marv and his father, Harry Featherston purchased the store renaming it Featherston Hardware.
“Early on there was no place in downtown Ortonville to buy milk, butter and cigarettes,” said Marilyn. “So for a while that’s what we sold. And the penny candy was always a big deal.”
Marilyn remembers school children lining up to come in the store. The Featherston family owned the store for more than 45 years.
In 1992 Ed and Arlene Thompson purchased the former Featherston Hardware, renaming it Thompson’s Hardware. The store closed in 2018.
For those who called Ortonville home over the past 175 years, businesses like the Featherston Hardware store were once the hub of rural towns, where villagers came in for not only necessary items but for the town gossip and penny candy.
“By emphasizing the importance of our downtown we continue to support this great place for people to live and work, and our downtown continues to attract new businesses and new ideas, making downtown Ortonville a colorful place to stroll, a fun place to play and the perfect place to shop.”