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Port Huron, Michigan, circa 1900. "General view east from Post Office." The signs are everywhere in this bird's eye view of the business district. View full size.
In the Wikipedia article about Port Huron, Michigan a postcard is shown which is a hand-colored version of the D.P.C. photograph shown here.
Apart from the Masonic procession there seems to be another fraternal organization in the city. On the windows of one of the buildings at the bottom of the picture we see the letters A, O, U and W on the windows. That might indicate that the building is (co-)used by the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
The sawmill was the Cleveland - Sarnia Sawmill located near present day Centennial Park. The building at the extreme right of the photo was the city ticket office at Ferry Dock Hill where the ferry between Port Huron & Sarnia tied up.
Looks like the Ferry Lunch Room building is still there! It's on the right.
It looks to me like a Masonic procession.
It's what put Michigan on the map. Note the large floating raft of logs corralled in by a floating boom, being fed into the sawmill.
We're looking across the St. Clair River to Sarnia Ontario before the existence of "Chemical Valley" which led to the town having the highest level of air pollution of any city in Canada.
Most of those buildings at the intersection of Quay & Military streets are still there, its nice to see the good stuff preserved.
As it appears today, from a slightly higher view:
Any ideas on the dozen or so people marching on the sidewalk at the center left of the photo? They're visible in the gap between buildings. Almost all are carrying some sort of card in front of them and wearing something around their necks. They also appear to be at the first or third beat in their march, as their left feet are all forward.
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