I was doing some historical society reasearch today and came across the story of a house of ill repute here in Grayling started back in the 1800's. After reading some of the story I made some calls and found the area where it used to be. It was quite the place too. Here is part of the story of the Notch.
A notorious house of ill repute,
affectionately known as “The
Notchâ€, was located 3 miles
west of Grayling just past the
bridge on M-72. It was built
about 1880 by Harry Young of
Toledo, Ohio. The house contained
a saloon with a large mirror,
a brass foot rail and
benches along a wall. There
was also an orchestra platform
for the dance hall area.
The logging industry was in full
swing and the house of ill repute
was widely known. (There
were 12 boarding houses in the
area at the time.) The Notch
was also a fighting joint. The
lumberjacks fought as well as
women such as Grace Conhard
who was one of the notable
performers. There were also
matched dog fights. Silver
Jack and Eight Day Bill were
among the notorious characters
who were regulars at the
Notch.
Old-timers told the story of
Honkytonk Jack, a livery horse
in Grayling who had been
driven to the Notch so often
that he simply couldn’t pass
the gate; he always turned in.
Sometimes the liveryman
rented the horse out to young
men who took proper girls for
a Sunday ride. Needless to
say, Honkytonk Jack caused
many embarrassing situations.
After a number of years,
Charles and Maude Blair purchased
the 110 acre property.
They employed up to 13 girls
in as many rooms on the second
floor. In 1913, when the
first military encampment
(now Camp Grayling) was
established, the Blairs voluntarily
closed the Notch.
There was a law prohibiting
the operation of such a place
within a certain distance of
military grounds.
The couple continued to live
there until they sold the
house of ill repute in 1920 to
Rasmus Hanson.
I will be beating on some doors come spring to see if I can find the exact location. By the sounds of it this place was probably a coin factory. Can you imagine how many things were lost in some of those lumberjack brawls. WOO HOO!!
