John Mason Loomis (January 5, 1825 – August 2, 1900) was a nineteenth-century American businessman and lumber tycoon from Chicago who was known for developing the city of Ludington, Michigan. He was involved with the Pere Marquette Lumber Company, which also operated salt distilleries that in turn influenced the salt industry of northern Michigan. The village of Pere Marquette benefited from these local industries and developed into the city Ludington.
Loomis served as a colonel in the Illinois militia, mobilized as part of the Union Army during the American Civil War, held several commands, and fought in several major battles. He was recommended twice for promotion to brigadier general. Loomis was also active in Chicago real estate investments and charitable causes. His legacy is the Loomis Chaffee School, a college preparatory school.
Early life and education
Loomis was born in Windsor, Connecticut, on January 5, 1825. His parents were Colonel James Loomis and Abigail (nee Sherwood Chaffee) Loomis, both of English descent. His father, a farmer, merchant and miller, was also a native of Windsor. He also served for many years as colonel of the First Regiment of Connecticut State Militia. The first of the Loomis family in America was Joseph Loomis from Braintree, Essex County, England. He came to Boston in the ship Susan and Ellen in 1638. In 1640, he bought a large tract of land in Hartford County, Connecticut, where the Farmington River enters the Connecticut River at the site of the city of Windsor.
John Loomis was named after a prominent officer in the colonial forces of the Connecticut Colony who was distinguished for his gallantry during the French and Indian War. His mother was from Greenfield Hill, Connecticut, and was descended from a family of high social standing. Loomis attended public school in Connecticut and received initial business training working at his father's store as a teenager.
Business career
At 23, Loomis took over an existing lumber concern in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The business was successful and in 1852 Loomis moved it to Chicago, where he formed a partnership, Loomis & Ludington, with James Ludington of Milwaukee. The partnership succeeded until 1861, when Loomis entered the American Civil War. In 1864, he left the army and returned to Chicago to find his lumber business had been mishandled and destroyed by its managers. Still interested in sales, he became a commission merchant. He prospered and later became a partner with John McLaren, forming John Mason Loomis & Company. For many years, his company on South Water Street was the leading lumber firm in the city.
In 1869 the Pere Marquette Lumber Company was formed with Loomis as treasurer. He, assisted by others in the Marquette Co., was instrumental in moving the Mason County Michigan county seat from Lincoln to Ludington. Loomis and Delos L. Filer pledged $1,000 towards a new county office building which was completed in 1874. In 1879, Loomis became the president of Pere Marquette.
Loomis's other interests included experiments with salt mining, when he determined that the brine of flowing salt water from a well could be distilled to produce usable salt. The Pere Marquette Lumber Company pioneered burning scrap lumber to operate salt distilleries. Other local entrepreneurs copied Loomis's techniques, establishing the salt industry in northwestern Michigan. The village of Pere Marquette benefited from these local lumber and salt industries and developed into the city of Ludington.
Military service
When he was 18, Loomis became a captain in the Connecticut state militia. He was then appointed as a midshipman in the United States Navy, but opportunities for active service and travel were rare so he resigned. He then joined the United States Merchant Marine, traveling to China and other Asian countries, returning to Chicago in 1845. He then moved to Milwaukee.
When the American Civil War began in 1861, Loomis was a first lieutenant in the Chicago Light Guard with a reputation as a devoted and skilled military leader. This prompted Governor Richard Yates to request that Loomis take command of a regiment for service in the field. Yates' request was supported by several influential men in Chicago, and Loomis accepted. In August 1861, Loomis took over the 26th Illinois Infantry Regiment as colonel.