Samuel Latta Smith, a Michigan native, grew up on the banks of the St. Clair River in Macomb and St. Clair Counties. After attending Algonac High School he went to Albion College from 1846 to 1848. Smith married Eliza Cordelia Seager in 1853 and they were living in Houghton, Michigan by 1860. A sister, Lydia Reed Smith married explorer Columbus Christopher Douglass. Douglass was a companion to Douglass Houghton, Michigan's first state geologist, on his explorations of the Michigan wilds.
Smith was an early investor in Michigan's shipping and lumber industries. Later he was instrumental in the development of the upper peninsula's copper mines, railroads, and the Keweenaw Peninsula Ship Canal. He worked with the Schoolcraft (Centennial), Huron, Atlantic, Wolverine, Mohawk and Baltic copper mines. Smith also supervised the construction of the Marquette, Houghton & Ontonagon Railroad and helped to develop the ship canal that cuts across the Keweenaw peninsula. He later moved to Lansing and then Detroit, Michigan. In retirement—at the beginning of the 20th century—he became interested in the potential of automobiles and invested in a number of firms, He organized and backed the Olds Motor Works.
It is likely that Samuel Latta Smith was named for the itinerant preacher, Rev. Dr. Sam A. Latta who served the Methodist Episcopal churches in St. Clair, Michigan for a term of one year around 1827.
His home at 5035 Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, built in 1889, was still standing in 2013. It was used by the Detroit Music Conservatory before being taken over by Wayne State University. The house is on the National Register of Historic Places and has a Wikipedia entry.
Smith is the author of the book, "Pre-historic and modern copper mines of Lake Superior." A biography of Smith can be found in "The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Volume 4" edited by Clarence Monroe Burton, William Stocking,Gordon K. Miller.
Smith was an early investor in Michigan's shipping and lumber industries. Later he was instrumental in the development of the upper peninsula's copper mines, railroads, and the Keweenaw Peninsula Ship Canal. He worked with the Schoolcraft (Centennial), Huron, Atlantic, Wolverine, Mohawk and Baltic copper mines. Smith also supervised the construction of the Marquette, Houghton & Ontonagon Railroad and helped to develop the ship canal that cuts across the Keweenaw peninsula. He later moved to Lansing and then Detroit, Michigan. In retirement—at the beginning of the 20th century—he became interested in the potential of automobiles and invested in a number of firms, He organized and backed the Olds Motor Works.
It is likely that Samuel Latta Smith was named for the itinerant preacher, Rev. Dr. Sam A. Latta who served the Methodist Episcopal churches in St. Clair, Michigan for a term of one year around 1827.
His home at 5035 Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, built in 1889, was still standing in 2013. It was used by the Detroit Music Conservatory before being taken over by Wayne State University. The house is on the National Register of Historic Places and has a Wikipedia entry.
Smith is the author of the book, "Pre-historic and modern copper mines of Lake Superior." A biography of Smith can be found in "The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Volume 4" edited by Clarence Monroe Burton, William Stocking,Gordon K. Miller.
Samuel Latta Smith, a Michigan native, grew up on the banks of the St. Clair River in Macomb and St. Clair Counties. After attending Algonac High School he went to Albion College from 1846 to 1848. Smith married Eliza Cordelia Seager in 1853 and they were living in Houghton, Michigan by 1860. A sister, Lydia Reed Smith married explorer Columbus Christopher Douglass. Douglass was a companion to Douglass Houghton, Michigan's first state geologist, on his explorations of the Michigan wilds.
Smith was an early investor in Michigan's shipping and lumber industries. Later he was instrumental in the development of the upper peninsula's copper mines, railroads, and the Keweenaw Peninsula Ship Canal. He worked with the Schoolcraft (Centennial), Huron, Atlantic, Wolverine, Mohawk and Baltic copper mines. Smith also supervised the construction of the Marquette, Houghton & Ontonagon Railroad and helped to develop the ship canal that cuts across the Keweenaw peninsula. He later moved to Lansing and then Detroit, Michigan. In retirement—at the beginning of the 20th century—he became interested in the potential of automobiles and invested in a number of firms, He organized and backed the Olds Motor Works.
It is likely that Samuel Latta Smith was named for the itinerant preacher, Rev. Dr. Sam A. Latta who served the Methodist Episcopal churches in St. Clair, Michigan for a term of one year around 1827.
His home at 5035 Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, built in 1889, was still standing in 2013. It was used by the Detroit Music Conservatory before being taken over by Wayne State University. The house is on the National Register of Historic Places and has a Wikipedia entry.
Smith is the author of the book, "Pre-historic and modern copper mines of Lake Superior." A biography of Smith can be found in "The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Volume 4" edited by Clarence Monroe Burton, William Stocking,Gordon K. Miller.
Smith was an early investor in Michigan's shipping and lumber industries. Later he was instrumental in the development of the upper peninsula's copper mines, railroads, and the Keweenaw Peninsula Ship Canal. He worked with the Schoolcraft (Centennial), Huron, Atlantic, Wolverine, Mohawk and Baltic copper mines. Smith also supervised the construction of the Marquette, Houghton & Ontonagon Railroad and helped to develop the ship canal that cuts across the Keweenaw peninsula. He later moved to Lansing and then Detroit, Michigan. In retirement—at the beginning of the 20th century—he became interested in the potential of automobiles and invested in a number of firms, He organized and backed the Olds Motor Works.
It is likely that Samuel Latta Smith was named for the itinerant preacher, Rev. Dr. Sam A. Latta who served the Methodist Episcopal churches in St. Clair, Michigan for a term of one year around 1827.
His home at 5035 Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, built in 1889, was still standing in 2013. It was used by the Detroit Music Conservatory before being taken over by Wayne State University. The house is on the National Register of Historic Places and has a Wikipedia entry.
Smith is the author of the book, "Pre-historic and modern copper mines of Lake Superior." A biography of Smith can be found in "The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Volume 4" edited by Clarence Monroe Burton, William Stocking,Gordon K. Miller.
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