In November 1848, George Atkins began sheltering travelers here in a log cabin over the Pinery Road. The next spring, John Shumway bought out Atkins and built the Wautoma Hotel. A hundred feet east, he built a sawmill and started sawing lumber in December, 1849. Across the road stood the first Court House. At the crossroads stood the McKeaque Wagon Shop, Lyman’s Cabinet Shop, and the Furniture Factory. East of the sawmill still stands the Gristmill.