Chittenden Nursery Extractory, 1070 Nursery Road, Wellston, Manistee County, MI

Significance: Served as seed extractory and processing plant for Chittenden Nursery from 1936 to 1973. The Extractory is a unique representation of depression era architecture specifically designed for forest seedling production during reclamation activities of the USDA Forest Service, Manistee Purchase Unit and subsequent Manistee National Forest. Reclamation activities had a notable influence on the historic development of local communities by developing work centers and providing jobs, creating an environment suitable for settlement, and attracting attention to and interest in northwest lower Michigan. The Extractory is also significant through it's direct association with the politics and legislative events of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. Specifically associated with the CCC, the Extractory represents the agency created to put unemployed young men to work reclaiming the developing nation's natural resources, and illustrates significant contributions to relief and reform.
Survey number: HABS MI-407
Building/structure dates: 1936 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: ca. 1970 Subsequent Work