Aral: A Town That Vanished

The Aral wayside tells the history of Aral

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Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Parking - Auto

This area was once a bustling town of stores and homes. A steam-powered sawmill, located just upstream from the mouth of Otter Creek, was the hub of activity. Sailing ships and steam barges moored at the dock in Lake Michigan. They were loaded with lumber for shipment to the growing cities around the Great Lakes and across the prairies. Aral was abandoned when the forest that once surrounded it was cut down. Today the forest reclaims the land, and only a few traces of the town remain.

Aral- murder in the back woods

The beach is a wonderful place to enjoy the sun, wind, and waves and get away from it all, but once this area was a busy lumber town with mills, stores, homes, and even a murder!

Dr. Arthur O'Leary first noticed the area's potential for lumbering white pines and bought land from Robert Bancroft (the first to move his family to the area). The mill, operating by 1882, consisted of the mill building, living quarters, and a horse barn. A 90-foot long dock stretching out into Lake Michigan was piled high with lumber waiting to be loaded on steamships. Having no real experience in running a mill, O'Leary hired Charles T. Wright from Wisconsin to run the mill.

Charles Wright was well known in the area. Described as 6'2", 200 pounds and handsome, he was 31 years old when he started the mill. Wright grew up in the west and believed that the gun was the law, so he always carried one. According to local lore, "He could put five bullets through your hat before you know what was going on." Wright was friendly, a good manager, and respected in town, but he would also become quick-tempered and a two-fisted fighter. These last two qualities would prove to get him in trouble.

Involved in a tax dispute in 1889, Wright protested and did not pay his taxes, leading to a confrontation with Sheriff Deputy Neil Marshall and local physician Dr. Frank Thurber. Marshall and Wright struggled over a rifle. Marshall let go and backed up; Wright shot and killed him with one shot. Dr. Thurber fought over the rifle; Wright let go and pulled out a revolver, placed it at Thurber's head and fired, and then quickly shot him again in the chest. Wright spent 17 years in prison on a life charge.