Editing Prudenville, Michigan (section)

==History==
{{Multiple image
   | align     = left
   | direction = vertical
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   | footer    = Both sides of the joint Roscommon Lumber Company / Prudenville historic marker in Trestle Park
   | image1    = Roscommon Lumber Company Historic Marker.jpg
   | alt1      = Roscommon Lumber Company
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   | image2    = Prudenville_MI_historic_designation.jpg
   | alt2      = Prudenville
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The area received its first post office on September 6, 1875 under the name Prudenville, and it was soon changed to the name Edna on January 10, 1876.  The name Edna existed until it was changed back to Prudenville on January 14, 1886.  The Prudenville post office was discontinued on August 15, 1911, but reestablished 10 years later on August 30, 1921.  The post office remains in operation and is located at 899 West Houghton Lake Drive ([[M-55 (Michigan highway)|M-55]]).<ref>{{gnis|2508913|Prudenville Post Office}}</ref>

The [[Homestead Acts#Homestead Act of 1862|Homestead Act of 1862]], which granted free land to travelers moving west, prompted settlers to the Prudenville area in 1870 due to its plentiful lumber resources.  The growing community was named after early developer Peter Pruden, and the community grew to include a post office, two hotels, many businesses, and a school.  In 1882, the Roscommon Lumber Company built a "stand-alone" [[Trestle bridge|trestle]] railroad to assist logging crews in pushing timber into the east bay of [[Houghton Lake (Michigan)|Houghton Lake]].  The logs were floated across the lake into the draining [[Muskegon River]] and further down the river to the mills of [[Muskegon, Michigan|Muskegon]] on the shores of [[Lake Michigan]].  During its operation from 1882 to 1887, the company employed 700 workers and logged 175 million [[Board foot|board feet]] of white and [[Pinus resinosa|Norway pine]].<ref name=MSHS>{{cite web|last=MichMarkers.com|url=http://www.michmarkers.com/default?page=L2257|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030070708/http://michmarkers.com/default?page=L2257|url-status=usurped|archive-date=October 30, 2020|title=Prudenville / Roscommon Lumber Co. – Registered Site L2257|date=2020|accessdate=October 13, 2020}}</ref>

In 2004, the Roscommon Lumber Company and the community of Prudenville were dually listed as a [[Michigan State Historic Preservation Office|Michigan State Historic Site]].  A historic marker was dedicated in Trestle Park on September 6, 2014.<ref name=MSHS/><ref>{{cite web|last=Denton Township|author-link=Denton Township, Michigan|url=https://www.dentontownship-mi.org/parks.html|title=Denton Township: Parks – Trestle Park|date=2020|accessdate=October 12, 2020}}</ref>