“The Bradley House”

          The expansive home that houses the Presque Isle County Historical Museum was built in 1913 and 1914 by George Radka, a local contractor.  The home is a “craftsman style,” or “arts and crafts style” bungalow.  There are many craftsman style homes in Rogers City, but this is by far the largest.

                George Radka died very unexpectedly in December of 1914.  The following year, Mrs. Radka—the former Isabel Larke—sold the home to the Michigan Limestone & Chemical Company, which had begun operating a limestone quarry at Rogers City in 1912.  The home became the residence of Carl D. Bradley, who was at that time the General Manager of both Michigan Lime’s Calcite Plant and the company’s Calcite Transportation subsidiary.  Calcite Transportation operated the self-unloading steamer Calcite, built in 1912.

                Michigan Limestone made some modifications to the house after they purchased it.  Two maid’s rooms, with an adjoining bathroom, were added, another bathroom was added upstairs, and the kitchen was enlarged.  Another large bedroom was also added upstairs, and the porch on the 4^th Street side of the house and the two-car garage were built.  The yard was also fenced, and extensive landscaping was done.

                By the time the alterations had been completed, the home had seven bedrooms, four baths, and three sun porches.  While that might seem excessive for the three members of the Bradley household, the Bradley’s also entertained many visitors in their home.  Mr. Bradley was reportedly not enamored with the accommodations at local hotels, so persons visiting Calcite were often invited to stay with the Bradley’s. 

                Interestingly, the yard was much smaller then.  The house had been built at the very back of the lot owned by George Radka.  There was just enough room behind the house for a driveway that led from 4^th Street to the garage.  On the other side of the driveway was the home of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Reinke, Sr.  That home was eventually purchased by Michigan Lime and moved to Calcite Road, creating a backyard for the Bradley house.  The pipe sticking out of the ground near the 4^th Street side of the backyard was the water line to the Reinke house.

Bradley lived here with his wife and son Frederick, who was then a high school student.  In 1920, United States Steel purchased a controlling interest in Michigan Lime, and they made Mr. Bradley president of the company.  He also served as president of the company’s fleet.  The fleet was then made up of three freighters, the Calcite, W. F. White, and Carl D. Bradley.  They operated as the Bradley Transportation Line, named in his honor.

                Carl D. Bradley died very unexpectedly in the spring of 1928, while vacationing in California.  He was only 68 at the time.  Shortly after his death, Mrs. Bradley moved back to Chicago, where the Bradley’s had come from. 

                John G. Munson, who had been Bradley’s vice-president, took over as President of Michigan Limestone and the Bradley Fleet.  Munson, his wife, and their son and daughter occupied this home from 1928 until 1939.  Following Bradley’s death, U.S. Steel purchased all of the stock of both Michigan Limestone and Bradley Transportation, and they operated those companies as subsidiaries.  In 1939, U.S. Steel promoted Munson to vice-president for raw materials, and the Munson’s moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, headquarters for the giant steelmaker.

                Irvin L. Clymer replaced Munson at Calcite.  He and Mrs. Clymer lived in this house from 1939 until 1950, when he left to head all of U.S. Steel’s limestone operations.

                By that time, U.S. Steel had reorganized its holdings, and moved the offices of Michigan Limestone and the Bradley fleet to Detroit.  The operations at Rogers City became U.S. Steel’s “Northern District.”  Joseph Valentin, a Rogers City native and long-time Calcite employee took over as manager of the Northern District.  He and his wife Josie and sons Joe, Junior and Jim lived in this home from 1950 until poor health forced his retirement in 1957.

                When John Suliot replaced Valentin as head of U.S. Steel’s Northern District in 1957, the company built a new, modern home for him and his family on Lake Street.   The homes on Lake Street, along with adjoining homes on First Street, and homes in the area of South Second Street, had all been built by Michigan Limestone for occupancy by company employees.  The residents of the homes on Lake Street were all managerial or technical employees at the plant or on ships of the Bradley fleet.

                With no further need for the stately old home, Michigan Limestone offered it to the county for use as the Presque Isle District Library.  It served as the library from 1957 until they outgrew the house in 1980.

                Michigan Limestone then offered to donate the historic building to the Presque Isle County Historical Museum.  In 1973, the Historical Society had purchased the former Schmekel residence at the corner of Second Street and Erie Street for use as a museum.  That museum opened on November 29, 1977.

                The museum opened in its new location here in the Bradley House on August 6, 1981.  While the building is now the “Presque Isle County Historical Museum,” it is commonly referred to in the community as “The Bradley House.”  Why that is the case is unclear, but Bradley was the first head of Michigan Lime to live in the house, and he lived here longer than any of the other Michigan Lime personnel.  Perhaps even more importantly, Mr. Bradley has always held a special place in the hearts of Rogers City residents.  Much of the success of Michigan Lime and Bradley Transportation is credited to his leadership.  He was also an active community leader and generous supporter of activities that benefited local residents.  Then, too, the tragic sinking in 1958 of the ship named in his honor indelibly linked Bradley to the people in our small community.