Charles Mears was a Michigan lumber businessman, capitalist, merchant, transportation executive, engineer, and farmer. He owned thousands of acres of timber in Michigan and had 15 sawmills to turn this into lumber. He built cargo boats to ship his lumber to Chicago and opened several harbors along the western part of Michigan. He was in politics a Republican and was a friend of Abraham Lincoln. Mears had two of his settlements in Michigan renamed to Lincoln and Hamlin in honor of the successful 1861 Republican Presidential ticket. Mears State Park in Pentwater is named after Charles Mears.