Stump Hole Rustic Furniture and Accesories

Newell A. Eddy Jr. came from a well-to-do family with roots in the lumber industry. Eddy’s interest however, was in potential for tourist trade, leading him to build Presque Isle Lodge north of Alpena in 1920. As the new resort was being finished, Eddy considered his options for furnishings and found nothing that would match the rustic style he had selected. So he decided to make his own. Eddy began filling orders from a small workshop behind the lodge. But in 1924, he trademarked the name Habitant, a word referring to early French settlers in Canada, with bigger goals in mind. By 1930 the company advertised that it would create customer designs from any simple sketch. During the 1930s, Eddy ended handcrafted production at the resort and moved the business to Bay City Mi. For the next 30 years, the company’s advertisements continued to promote the colonial designs with emphasized its American pine finish. Habitant closed its doors in the 1960s.