A map from 1900 showing Leonard Wheelers land in the upper left corner.
The village isn’t shown in this map, but you can see the two docks reaching out into the bay.
The proposed lots as yet unsold on the right. Courtesy A History of Leelanau Township.
The wives must have loved it. It looked like a big colorful flower growing in the yard, painted an unusual shade of red and green. The farmers were said to describe the color as “cow patty green with buzzard blood red tips.” The Eclipse windmill had an unusually dense pattern of fins instead of the four fins other weathervanes had. It was self-regulating and would take care of itself in any wind, “however gusty and strong it may blow.” And it was big enough to get the job done, up to 14 feet across. The farmers loved it!
The Eclipse Windmill that made Leonard Wheelers fortune.
The Eclipse was invented by Rev. Leonard H. Wheeler, father of Omena’s own Leonard Wheeler, the original owner of Sunset Lodge, still located up the hill from the village. And this unusual windmill changed lives. It was to become the most popular of all wooden windmills, and although Rev. Wheeler died before he could witness the success of his invention, his sons carried on his legacy.
Raised by an Aunt
This story has a sad start, however. Rev. Leonard’s mother died in 1811 when he was just one month old, and he was sent to live with an aunt. This aunt, with the sometimes help of his father, did a good job of raising him and as the years went by, he graduated from college and then from Andover Theological Seminary. The following year, 1841, he married and he and his wife Harriet became missionaries to the Indians on Madeline Island in the territory of Wisconsin. There Rev Wheeler built his first windmill in order to pump water out of a deep ravine up to his home. Being both a religious and mechanically minded man, Rev. Wheeler then adapted the windmill so it could be used by the Indians to grind their corn as well.
A year later the first of their 9 children was born. They named him Leonard Hemenway (It does not look right but the spelling is correct), the same as his father and grandfather. Growing up he played with his little brothers and sisters and the mission Indians, learning to speak their language, and learning their ways. He was among the first white children born on Madeline Island. Life was sweet.
But Rev Wheeler felt the need to find another way for the Indians to live. The fur trade, upon which they had been economically dependent for several generations, was declining dramatically. The soil on the island was not conducive to farming, so Rev Wheeler moved this family and the mission to the mainland, and established a home and mission there, naming it Odanah, the Ojibwe word for village.
Leonard Grows Up
Time passed, little Leonard grew up and fell in love with a local schoolteacher, Miss Rhoda Spicer, who was described as being an “earnest Christian person,” and in August of 1864 they were married. Leonard may have heard about land becoming available in northern Michigan from Rev. Dougherty, having corresponded with him for several years during this time. He was just 26, and fresh from missionary work at his father’s Odanah Indian Manual Labor Boarding School in the Bad River Indian Reservation in Northern Wisconsin, and he was ready to strike out on his own.
Leonard Wheeler in his younger years. Courtesy Omena Historical Society
So, in 1868 the young couple left Wisconsin for Plymouth, Michigan where they could stock up on supplies, and the following year drove a team of horses pulling a wagon up through the wilderness to Omena. It must have been a rough trip! He bought land and took up farming there for the next few years.
Meanwhile, the hard winter life in the far northern Wisconsin was taking a toll on his father, Rev Wheeler’s health. In 1867, he retired from missionary work after 25 years, and he and his wife and the youngest of his nine children moved to Beloit, Wisconsin, then a bustling industrial city. He turned to his self-regulating windmill to earn a living. Wheeler patented his windmill in 1867. He was ready to get them to the farmers who needed them. He needed a salesman.
Growing discontent
Leonard, meanwhile, was growing discontent in Omena. He had purchased 180 acres which were largely covered in timber. One freezing day in February when he was logging the farm with a team of horses, he suggested to his wife that they could return to Wisconsin and do missionary work in Odanah, or perhaps go to Beloit to be of help to his father with the windmill business. He had a plan for the farm while they were gone. His idea was that they not rent their farmhouse but find someone who would live there and work on it instead of paying rent He intended to keep the property as an investment or for a retirement place someday.
It was not until the next year, 1872, when Leonard’s father, Rev. Wheeler died, that Leonard left Omena and returned to Beloit and went to work for the families’ windmill company. For the next four years he helped build windmills and traveled all over the Midwest selling them to farmers and businessmen. Then he decided to open up a new market for them on the east coast, and moved to Boston, selling them there for the next 20 years. This “finest of all wooden windmills” found a ready sale on the east coast as well as in the Midwest.
California or Bust
Leonard moved on to California for a few years. And he traveled, making an extensive trip through Europe and to the Orient. Eventually, in 1898, Leonard Wheeler closed his Eastern branch office in Boston. The parent company, The Eclipse Wind Engine Co. and Clutch Works of Beloit, Wisconsin had already been sold. Leonard and Rhoda were free to return to Omena, thirty years after they had first tried to farm the land.
Time for Retirement
They built their retirement home, a large, 3-story colonial type house with extra-large windows so they could look down on the beautiful Omena Bay. He called his place Sunset Lodge. It was conveniently located not far from the village of Omena and overlooking the bay “from a lofty eminence.”
The main house, kitchen, dining, and staff facilities at Sunset Lodge (ca. 1905). Courtesy Omena Historical Society
In their enthusiasm they invited their friends to visit and discover the charm of their new-found environment. Word soon got around. The guest list steadily increased and the Wheelers found themselves in the resort business. With Leonard’s background in sales, he had developed a very outgoing personality. He loved storytelling, was a most genial host, courteous and kind. Soon they needed more space for their guests.
Adding more buildings
The following year (around 1905) they added another building to the west. They named it “The Shedd Cottage” after friends from Chicago.
Soon another 2-story building was added, named “The Dixie Cottage”, to accommodate their friends from the South. All the cottages looked like houses. All had indoor plumbing, were fully lathed and plastered and could be lived in year around.
Later a “Marine” dining room was added big enough for 100 guests. It became famous for serving fresh produce grown on site, as well as fresh local poultry and dairy, in a homelike atmosphere. The kitchen was added together with a 2-story recreational building known as the “Social Hall”. Of course this all called for a summer kitchen and helps’ quarters building. That was followed by a laundry building to care for the house and table linens. A large barn had to be built to accommodate the carriages, farm implements and horses. Double cement tennis and croquet court was constructed, plus horseshoe pitching boxes.
Leonard’s Guests
Leonard’s guests were “invited” from a theological seminary and associated institutions. They had similar cultural, refined personalities. These guests became such a part of the Wheelers’ lives that Rhoda proudly called them “our big family of summer people.” Leonard and Rhoda Wheeler never had children of their own. Creating a family of people who were well-educated and well-traveled suited them perfectly.
The main house of Sunset Lodge today. Courtesy Dan and Mary Ziegler, owners
Overnight Pullman trains on the Pennsylvania and Pere-Marquette Railroad would bring the guests right up to the Omena depot, or guests could arrive by boat. The Michigan Transit Steamship Co. would dock 3 times weekly at the Omena Dock. Guests came with trunks to stay for two or three months. Cottagers from Omena and Ingall’s Bay came up for dinners. Business was booming.
Uncle Leonard
Leonard H Wheeler, Leonard’s nephew, recalled, “Uncle Leonard would often hitch up a large hayrack to carry a group of his summer guests on an all-day outing with a picnic lunch on the north end of Lake Leelanau where the water was warmer. Other activities included dancing the “Virginia Reel”’ and playing “charades” in Social Hall.” Stories were told, and lively debates about books and religion attracted guests to the first-floor parlor and library. Sometimes the discussions got a little too lively. One guest, a Professor Steiner, who was a fan of communist Russia, was so adamant in his opinions that Leonard Wheeler was forced to ask him to leave Sunset Lodge.
It was a sad day in Omena when Leonard Wheeler died in 1917 a few years after Rhoda had died. The funeral was attended by most of the local and summer residents, including the local Indians, two of whom were pall bearers. Leonard had befriended the Indians, helped by his knowledge of their language from his early days on Madeline Island. His life had come full circle. His legacy of gracious hospitality lives on to this day at Sunset Lodge in Omena.