Businesses on the Northwest Corner of Judd & Maple

For many years, the lumber company’s 1848 general store on the northeast corner of Judd & Maple had little competition in town. That changed in 1857 when brothers Worthington and Aldis Ballard partnered with Nelson C. Draper to establish a competing store directly across Judd Street from the Judd, Walker & Co. store.

Ballard, Draper & Co. Store

The Ballard, Draper & Company bought property on the northwest corner of Judd & Maple in 1859, which is presumably where they built their general store. To help finance the effort, one of the original lumber company owners, Asa Parker, joined the firm shortly afterward. Unfortunately, that assistance didn’t help for long. Their partnership dissolved and the general store closed in 1862.

The Mermond Saloon

Charles Mermond settled in Marine in 1857, started working for the lumber company, and established a saloon and inn on the former Ballard, Draper & Parker Co. property. After purchasing it in September 1863, Mermond either repurposed their store or rebuilt it for his business and residence. His wife Rosalie tended the inn during winter months while Charles worked as a cook in the lumber camps.

Inns & saloons were the primary places to socialize in the early settlement. Mermond’s was one of three prominent saloons located on the west side of Judd Street from the 1870s into the early 1900s. A temperance movement opposing saloons in Marine got its start after an unnamed lady, when missing her husband from her side at church, went immediately to one of the village’s saloons, found her husband, took him by the ear, and marched him home to the delight of churchgoers. Hard liquor was banned from Marine in 1916 and did not return until the 1970s.

All the saloon buildings except Mermond’s were razed in 1950 to make way for State Highway 95. Mermond’s building was moved to a private residence on Judd Street where it remains.

— Andrew Kramer and the Marine Historic Signage Committee