Closser Associates Real Estate Appraisal records

The papers are divided into five record groups: Appraisals, Financial Tax Documents, Maps, Publications, and Soil Surveys. Most materials are of Upper Peninsula properties and are arranged by alphabetically.

The most significant appraisals are of Kincheloe Air Force Base at the time of its closing. Kincheloe was the first major military base to be closed in the modern era, and the appraisals illustrate the challenges faced in converting a military installation to civilian use. Several of the buildings were appraised several years after conversion and show how difficult it was to overcome those challenges in a rural area.

There may also be interest in the materials related to abandoned railroad properties. These include the Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic right-of-way in St. Ignace, the Chicago & North Western lakefront property in Escanaba, and the North Western and Milwaukee Road right-of-ways along the Menominee River in Menominee.

Included among the business and industrial appraisals are appraisals of many medical facilities and office buildings, nursing homes, and rest homes. The firm also appraised several mining properties, notably the Groveland Mine north of Iron Mountain. In addition to the independent market studies, some of the appraisals of specific businesses include lengthy discussions of the need for that type of business in the area and Upper Peninsula.

A significant number of residential appraisals were of summer cottages or year-round homes on waterfront properties, notably the summer cottages on Grand Island. The firm also appraised most of the islands at the eastern end of the Upper Peninsula.

The two Minnesota appraisals are of forest lands, and the Wisconsin appraisals are of the same types as the Upper Peninsula appraisals.

The maps are arranged alphabetically by county and local subdivision. Most of the maps are general maps issued by county and local governments. There are also a few U.S. Geological survey topographic maps with parcels to be appraised marked on them. Some of the Mackinac County maps, however, do not fall into the general map category. These maps show what are labeled private claims. The claims are actually the grants made by the French when they controlled the area. The other notable maps are the Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Railroad station maps for St. Ignace. These very detailed maps show lands, tracks, and structures as they were in 1916 and are each close to twenty feet long.