Gypsy Heart
Gold Member
During the 1870s, Michigan was experimenting with prohibition under a state Dry Act. About two miles from the town was the Hole in the Ground saloon, operated by Alph Berlanquette. It was patronized by furnace employees, particularly on weekends and paydays. The Jackson Iron Company made an earnest effort to enforce the state prohibition law in the township, but without much success.
Berlanquette's saloon was on the shore of Sand Bay and rum runners were as active bringing liquor from Green Bay, Wis., as later bootleggers were bringing the wet stuff across the Detroit River in the 1930s.
Berlanquette died, and the Hole in the Ground saloon was taken over by Jim Summers, a notorious character, who soon converted the place into an infamous resort. It lasted until the respectable residents of the town were aroused by the story of a girl who had been lured there from Milwaukee. She escaped, and when Summers tried to force her to return, a mob descended on the brothel. Summers was beaten and the building burned. Summers left Fayette in a hurry.
Fayette and the surrounding countryside have been the scene of many feverish treasure hunts. There are several stories of buried gold, some of them legendary and others more plausible. The one in which more credence is placed, however, is the tale of the hoarded money of saloon owner Berlanquette.
Berlanquette's profits were believed to be immense. He spent little and never dealt with a bank, but when he died he left his widow penniless. The supposition was that he had cached his money as he did his liquor, in a cave. After his death, all the caverns in the region were explored, and much digging was done. No evidence has ever been found that this cache was discovered.
Berlanquette's saloon was on the shore of Sand Bay and rum runners were as active bringing liquor from Green Bay, Wis., as later bootleggers were bringing the wet stuff across the Detroit River in the 1930s.
Berlanquette died, and the Hole in the Ground saloon was taken over by Jim Summers, a notorious character, who soon converted the place into an infamous resort. It lasted until the respectable residents of the town were aroused by the story of a girl who had been lured there from Milwaukee. She escaped, and when Summers tried to force her to return, a mob descended on the brothel. Summers was beaten and the building burned. Summers left Fayette in a hurry.
Fayette and the surrounding countryside have been the scene of many feverish treasure hunts. There are several stories of buried gold, some of them legendary and others more plausible. The one in which more credence is placed, however, is the tale of the hoarded money of saloon owner Berlanquette.
Berlanquette's profits were believed to be immense. He spent little and never dealt with a bank, but when he died he left his widow penniless. The supposition was that he had cached his money as he did his liquor, in a cave. After his death, all the caverns in the region were explored, and much digging was done. No evidence has ever been found that this cache was discovered.
