Longyear, John Munro, 1850-1922

Michigan Upper Peninsula real estate agent.

The Longyear Fund was established by J. M. Longyear, a member of the Board of Control of the Michigan Mining School. It was awarded to students in need of financial aid and was to be repaid to the school, with interest, as soon as practicable after graduation.

John Munro Longyear was twenty-three years old when he came to Marquette, Michigan from Lansing in 1873. He was a tall, rangy fellow who stood six foot two in his stocking feet. Influential friends secured a job for him surveying state mineral lands in the Upper Peninsula enabling him to gain valuable knowledge of the timber and mineral possibilities in the area. During the panic of 1873, he did not have enough money to buy himself a pair of boots. After the panic, he invested all his earnings in lands for development which turned out to be rich in minerals. He gave unstintingly of his time and money to further any worthy civic project. Many of the advantages the people of Marquette enjoy today are due to his interest and foresight. Mr. Longyear donated the site on which the Peter White Public Library was built and contributed money for it's establishment. Mr. Longyear was a prominent figure in the development of the Upper Peninsula and one of the wealthiest men in Michigan. He was the founder and president of the Huron Mountain Club, President of the Marquette County Historical Society and was appointed a member of the Board of Control of the Michigan College of Mines (now Michigan Technological University) in 1893. He served as the mayor of Marquette in 1890-1891. Mr. Longyear was born in 1850 and passed away in 1922 at the age of 72.