Hannah and Lay Company (Traverse City, Mich.)

Lumber and mercantile company of Traverse City, Michigan, and Chicago, Illinois.

From the description of Hannah and Lay Company records, 1846-1931. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 34422303

The Hannah and Lay Company began as a partnership between Perry Hannah, Albert Tracy Lay, and James Morgan in the burgeoning Chicago lumber trade around the middle of the nineteenth century. At first the company purchased lumber from ships that docked in the Chicago harbor. Hoping to eliminate middle-man profits, the partners hoped to operate their own mill. After some investigation, Hannah and Morgan in 1851 decided to purchase a inactive sawmill in the Grand Traverse Bay area of Michigan as well as surrounding timber-rich acreage. The Hannah and Lay development would provide the foundation for city of Traverse City. The company under the management of Hannah acquired additional property totaling by 1886 45,000 acres of timber land. With the great demand for lumber, the company flourished, but also diversifying its business to include Great Lakes shipping, real estate acquisition, flour milling, banking, and storekeeping. In 1883, the company split into two separate corporate entities: Hannah Lay and Company and Hannah Lay Mercantile Company. For many years, Perry Hannah and Albert Tracy Lay alternated each year in the supervision of their Chicago and Traverse City operations. Eventually, Lay would remain in Chicago and Hannah would make Traverse City his permanent home. Recognizing that the boom in timber would not last forever, Hannah in 1886 wisely sold off his timber interests and devoted his energies to the company's mercantile and related operations. Hannah died in 1904, but the company would continue until 1931 when the Traverse City assets of the company were liquidated.

From the guide to the Hannah and Lay Company (Traverse City, Mich.) Records, 1846-1931, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)