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Niles, Michigan business family involved in various business endeavors, including mining; business papers and plans.

This collection includes business papers of the family of Henry Austin Chapin of Niles, Michigan (1813-1898), his son, Charles Augustus Chapin, of Chicago, Illinois, (who died between 1913 and 1915), and the heirs of Charles Augustus Chapin.

The collection includes business papers relating to the family's operations, including leases, reports, and maps of Chapin Mining Company, operators of the Chapin Mine. There are also leases, correspondence and legal papers of Indiana and Michigan Electric Company relating to power dams at Buchanan and Berrien Springs, Michigan. Other portions of the papers include newsletters and related material of the American Manganese Producers Association; and papers relating to the Chapin Memorial (First) Presbyterian Church, Niles, Michigan.

Executive and historian of Consumers Power Company of Michigan. Correspondence, speeches, articles, and copy of his history of the company entitled, "Song of Service; A Century of Consumers Power Company and Its Predecessors"; also include articles on history of Jackson County, Michigan; and photographs.

The papers of E. Hardy Luther reflect his life-long interest in Consumers Power and the local history of Jackson County. Luther's history of Consumer's Power, "Song of Service," comprises the bulk of the collection. The several inches of Luther's personal papers include correspondence, speeches, interviews, and unpublished articles relative to the development of electrical power in Michigan, management techniques of Consumers Power and the history of the Jackson Community in the 19th century.

Family based in Detroit and Alpena, Michigan and engaged in many business enterprises; business records detailing involvement in lumbering, milling, paper manufacturing, and power and light companies, mainly in Alpena, Michigan.

The Fletcher family collection consists primarily the records of the family's business activities. The business correspondence date from 1856 to 1936 and relates to the operation of family firms, notably A. F. Fletcher & Co., Fletcher Pack & Co., and George N. Fletcher & Sons. The business records series is more specifically arranged by company name and includes the Alpena Power Company/Alpena Electric Light Co., George N. Fletcher & Sons, and the Alpena Water Company among others. Other series in the collection relate to both personal and corporate litigation. The Frank W. Fletcher Personal papers concerns his tenure as a regent of the University of Michigan and his continuing interest in university affairs.

Promoter of electricity, founder of the Society for Electrical Development, and supporter of the principle of cooperation in electricity and other industries; miscellaneous materials relating to the electrical industry.

The Crouse collection relates primarily to his interest in electrical development and cooperation. Include are minutes of the Advisory Board of the National Lamp Works of the General Electric Company, publications of the Society for Electrical Development, bulletins of the Cooperative Electrical Development, and printed materials. There are also some materials concerning his philanthropic endeavors.