Brass Baggage Tag Stands the Test of Time

Donations are still being accepted for the Surrey House Renovation Project. Learn more about it at https://surreyhouse.org/

183 W Main

125 E Beech St
Harrison, mI 48625

Every once in a while, a piece of history pops up that makes me stunningly happy that it exists. Recently, I purchased an unusual piece of Harrison history on an auction site.

While coat checks and baggage tags aren’t unusual, one that is over 140 years old and from a business in a rough and tumble logging town are very hard to come by. This brass tag is from the Johnson House of Harrison that operated from May of 1880 through the 1890s when it was changed to the Lockwood House.

The brass tag was made by John Robbins of Boston. How it got from Harrison into the hand of a metal detector who rescued it near Saginaw is anyone’s guess. We can fictionalize a shanty boy (as lumberjacks were called in the 1880s) that checked his belongings at the Johnson House but somehow left Harrison with the baggage/coat check tag but without his property. Maybe it was a hasty retreat from the saloon or a street brawl, as Harrison was famous for in its lumber heyday.

The tag was found by Mark and his father Archie. Their hobby throughout the 1970s and 80s was weekend warrior treasure hunters. Mark cherishes those days they got up 5 a.m. to enjoy their hobby together. In retirement he is sorting through some of those treasures, researching the history and thankfully with this item, selling them.

The Johnson House opened on May 24, 1880 according to the Clare Press. The building is still standing today as part of the Surrey House, soon to be the new home of Harrison District Library. The southern half and third story were added after 1900.

After it was built it went through many remodels as the rough and tumble business of feeding and sheltering gruff businessmen and entertaining shanty boys took its toll. In the 1880s Harrison had the reputation of being Michigan’s “toughest” town. It was then a sprawling metropolis of 2,000, containing 22 saloons, a dozen restaurants, 5 hotels and many business houses.

The local newspapers report things like “one day during court week mine host Southwick, of the Railroad House, Harrison, fed 275 persons, and the Johnson House, also, was chock full and running over.” and “the Johnson House, at Harrison is doing a thriving business. It is destined to become a popular resort for Clare county people.”

The tag will join the historical collection at the library. We assume no luggage can be claimed in return for the #94 brass baggage tag.