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Singapore, perhaps Michigans most famous ghost town, is one of the casualties of the four great fires (Chicago, Holland, Peshtigo, and Manistee) that ravaged the northern midwest on October 8, 1871. Its ruins now lie buried beneath the sand dunes of the Lake Michigan shoreline at the mouth of the Kalamazoo River in Saugatuck Township, near the cities of Saugatuck and Douglas in Allegan County. Singapore, Michigan, was founded in 1836 by New York land speculator Oshea Wilder, who was hoping to build a port town to rival Chicago and Milwaukee. At its height, the town boasted of three mills, two hotels, several general stores, a renowned bank, and was home to Michigan's first schoolhouse. In total, the town consisted of 23 buildings and two sawmills. ==The great bank scandal== In 1838, two banks were established in Allegan County: the Bank of Allegan and the Bank of Singapore. Both were "of the famous wildcat species".〔Pioneer Society of the State of Michigan (1881). (''Report of the Pioneer Society'' ), Vol. III, p. 273. W. S. George & Co.〕 By 1838, over $50,000 in Singapore Bank notes had been placed in circulation. Shortly after the Civil War, Singapore was involved in a bank scandal. State banks were required to maintain enough hard currency on hand to cover at least 1/3 of the banknotes that were circulating, and neither Singapore nor Allegan was at that level. When Allegan State Bank received warning from nearby towns that the bank inspector was coming through, the banks would arrange for all the money from Singapore State Bank to be transferred to Allegan State Bank. After the inspection, the banker in Allegan would take the bank inspector out and get him drunk. While he slept it off, they would get a head start on him and take all the money from Allegan to Singapore State Bank in time to pass the inspection there. From time to time collectors come across Singapore Bank notes used by the Singapore Bank. There are a few known full sheets of the bank notes before they were cut into individual notes, sometimes signed and sometimes unsigned by the bank president or authorized personnel at the time. There are a few such notes on display (not for sale) in an antique store in Galesburg, Michigan. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Singapore, Michigan」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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