USA > Indiana > LaPorte County > Michigan City > History of Michigan City, Indiana > Part 13
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25
The persistence and decisiveness of the influence impressed upon a commun- ity by its first settlers will be admitted as an established law. Out of this law flows the distinctive character attaching to every state, and in fact to every city. In 1876 a writer of Fulton county his- tory referring to the influence of the Michigan road on the settlement of that region, recognized the law just mention- ed, thus :- "The lands were more easily reached from the south than any other direction, and to this is to be traced the fact that the preponderance of the early settlers came from the southern counties,
SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' MONUMENT, WASHINGTON PARK.
99
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN CITY
while in Marshall, and more particular- ly the counties in the northern tier, most of the settlers came in from the North. There is still a noticeable difference in some of the habits and customs of the communities in the counties no further south than Fulton, and those on the north, owing to the causes named." Al- most without exception the first inhabi- tants of Michigan City were easterners, either by birth or by parentage, "hard- headed, practical Yankees," as Dunn has characterized the race, "who came west in early times and built their lives into the foundations of our commonwealths, while others were doing the ornamental work." The new town on Trail creek was essentially, and almost exclusively, a Yankee settlement in the first years and it continued so to the present time, for by far the greater part of the men whose names occur among the builders and promoters of the city and its enterprises have been of the east. They were edu- cated, orderly folks, those pioneer foun- ders, and they did not sign their names by mark nor did they cumber the justice dockets with the records of crimes and misdemeanors. The returns of fines im- posed by justices of the peace during the first few years of the county do not con- tain the names of any residents of Mich- igan City ; the proceedings that made the office profitable in this township were all concerned with real estate transfers and other proper business matters.
Notwithstanding their preoccupation in getting the town ready for the influx of people they knew would come with the opening of the Michigan road and the establishment of a harbor, these advance- couriers of municipal greatness had time to hear Rev. Armstrong preach the gospel, to set Gallatin Ashton up as a school teacher, to attend lectures (though the names of the lecturers and the subjects they treated are lost), and they did not neglect the amenities of so-
cial intercourse, for Robert Cissne, who died at South Bend March 20, 1906, at the age of ninety-five, came over from his then home at Bootjack in 1833 and later to play the fiddle for dances, he being the only fiddler then for many miles around. Of such character were the inhabitants of the place whom the "Wabash people" found here when they came up from "down below" with their great vans and trains of grain and pro- duce for shipment by the lake. The "Wabash people" were regarded as al- most of a different race.
Major Elston and those associated with him in the promotion of the town were immensely furthered in their work by the great land craze that set in during the year 1833 and lasted until the bottom fell out in the panic of 1837. In those years northern Indiana enjoyed a boom such as the state has never witnessed since. It peopled the wilderness above the Wabash, doubled the population of the state, multiplied its revenues by twenty-six, and created such excitement that the state expenditures were multi- plied by forty-one at the same time, leav- ing the public treasury bankrupt when the panic broke and causing it to repudi- ate a large part of its debt. But the spec- ulative mania brought many of the men who made the commonwealth great and opened every inhabitable corner to settle- ment and it made our town a city in fact as well as in name.
At Michigan City the great panic of 1837 was an inconvenience to the busi- ness men and a temporary hindrance to the growth of the town. But the Trail creek mills still ran, the "Wabash people" still brought their produce to exchange for Michigan salt, the harbor improve- ment did not stop, no business house failed. The Yankee spirit of thrift and cunning won a signal victory over wide- spread adversity.
The second year of activity, 1834, wit-
100
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN CITY
nessed a material development that must have been most gratifying to those in- terested. Samuel Miller began import- ing salt and other supplies and exporting grain and produce. He also procured the appointment of himself as postmas- ter and opened the postoffice in his store at the bend of the creek, establishing a mail route by horseback to LaPorte. The Chicago and Detroit stages carried mail. Joseph C. Orr established a tannery in what is now the business cen- ter, Gallatin Ashton taught school and Rev. James Armstrong preach- ed occasionally. Rev. Silas Tuck- er, a Baptist who taught a school at Springville, also preached sometimes at Michigan City. Licenses to transact business in the new town were issued by the county commissioners as follows :-- April 17, to Benjamin Sailor, tavern ; April 26, to Abram Baker, grocery; May 5, to Abraham Balser, grocery; May 6, to Benjamin Salor, tavern; May 13, to William Teall, to vend merchandise ; May 31, to Samuel Olinger, tavern; June 21, to Brown & Haas, to vend mer- chandise ; June 30, to James Forrester, same ; July 7, to F. P. Harrison, same ; July 16, to Daniel Lacey, grocery ; Sep- tember term, to William Teall, James Forrester, F. P. Harrison and Samuel Miller, each to vend merchandise; Nov. 28, to Alexander Frasier, grocery. Charles Tryon opened a blacksmith shop. Reynolds Couden established him- self as a tinner, later as a dealer in hard- ware. Abel . D. Porter was a clerk. Among the other arrivals were George and Fisher Ames, W. W. Higgins, W: O. Leeds and John Harding. Late in the year, or perhaps in the year follow- ing, Lofland & Taylor opened a hotel near the wharf, and Hiram Inman built the Stockton house on Pine street near the school. In support of various ap- plications for licenses in 1834 the follow- ing persons signed themselves as resi-
dents of Michigan township, which meant Michigan Citv :- Benjamin Sail- or, William Teall, David Sprague, Elijah Casteel, John Mather, George Barnard, Wm. Holmes, Jr., Michael A. Billings, T. A. Holmes, J. Sherwood, George Olinger, Eli Henricks, W. S. Clark, Al- den Clark, Samuel Olinger, David Y. Bond, Thomas Thornburgh, Willis Hughes, Anthony Torbert, Samuel Flint, Wm. Consalus, Samuel Weston, James Dogue, Thompson Francis, Lem- uel G. Jackson, William Downing, Jo- seph C. Orr, Samuel Miller, J. Barnett, James Laughlin, Abraham Balser, I. C. Elston, J. D. Holmes, Henry Thompson, Daniel Hall, H. C. Fisher, Alexander Frasier, John G. Forbes, L. N. Harrison (or Morrison), R. C. Inman, James Waddell, Sam Haviland, Wm. Eaton, Oren Gould, Sanford Edwards, Henry Quick, H. S. Finley, Jeremiah Barthol- omew, Jesse Pinn, Aylmer J. Conry, Asa Harper. This summer the boys of the village began using the old swim- ming hole in the creek east of Franklin street where the railroad shops now are, and that spot was dedicated to the pur- pose. until well towards the period of the war; it was in the edge of a marsh that occupied the second bend of the stream.
In 1835 the spread of the town con- tinued, new stores and hotels were open- ed, among them the Daniel Low, Ames and Holliday stores, and James S. Cas- tle founded the first newspaper in the place, the Michigan City Gazette, with Polaski King as his devil. Dr. Lee H. T. Maxson, the first physician, came and was followed in the same year by Dr. J. W. Chamberlain, while Jabez R. Wells opened a law office. Dr. Cham- berlain's first office was in the Mansion House, corner of Franklin and Michi- gan, and Dr. Maxson was next door. Schuyler Pulford, Charles Palmer and others, probably DeWitt and Strong,
IOI
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN CITY
were physicians in practice within a year or two. Samuel Olinger, the first jus- tice of the peace, having resigned, an election was held in September, 1834, and Samuel Flint was chosen to succeed him, qualifying November 19; and June 24, 1835, Benjamin Woodward quali- fied as an additional justice. Elijah Cas- teel, the first constable, was succeeded in September, 1834, by David Branson, by appointment, the former resigning. The other early " 'squires" were as follows: William W. Higgins, May 2, 1837, to August 2, 1845, succeded by Herman Lawson: Jacob Bigelow, April 18, 1829, to April 18, 1844, succeeded by Orrin I. Miner ; Sylvester B. Wells, February 10, 1844, to September 4, 1848, succeeded by Increase S. Bigelow ; Amos P. Wells, May 31, 1844, to March 27, 1848, suc- ceeded by Silas W. Holmes: Orrin J. Minor left the country in 1844 and was succeeded by William B. Gustine ; Stephen Mix, April 25, 1845, died De- cember 15, 1846, succeeded by Almond Steele ; Oscar A. Barker, of Michigan City, was coroner from August 21, 1839, to August 21, 1844 ; Jabez R. Wells was elected probate judge in 1841 and re- fused to qualify, Gilbert Hathaway, who
had been practicing law at Michigan City several years, being appointed in his stead.
This year William Teall built a large frame warehouse on the creek near Mil- ler's and James Forrester put up a smal- ler one. About this time came A. A. Voight and his five sons, the first Ger- man family, as he claimed, to locate in the place. June 26, 1835, Benjamin Woodward (who is mentioned by the histories as the first postmaster) suc- ceeded Miller and served until June 2, 1837, when Isaac P. Goble took the office. The later postmasters, with their dates of accession, are as follows :---- Lee H. T. Maxson, Sept. 16, 1837 ; Wil- liam W. Taylor, Oct. 18, 1838; Augus- tus Barber, June 25, 1846; Thomas Jer- negan, April 26, 1853 ; Charles Palmer, March 24, 1858; John Andrews, April 6. 1861: C. S. Winship, Feb. 18, 1862; Wm. Schoenemann, Sept. 28, 1866; H. J. Willits, Jan. 9, 1871 ; U. C. Follet, April II, 1877; J. H. Peters, Jan. 18, 1884: H. W. Cook, Nov. 30, 1885 ; F. H. Doran, March 29, 1890: H. R. Harris. March 20, 1894 : Albert H. Leist, March 4, 1898.
102
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN CITY
GEORGE AMES
CHAPTER TEN.
Public Improvements.
The great central fact in the location of Michigan City was the harbor and the expectation throughout the state and elsewhere that about it there would of necessity grow up an immense commer- cial emporium. In earlier chapters it has been related how Trail Creek was chosen as the most available point in Indiana for the purposes of a port. In the beginning this spot was a formida- ble rival of Chicago for the commercial supremacy of the lake and every other creek mouth between Chicago and St. Joseph including Calumet (South Chi- cago), Indiana City, City West and New Buffalo, also competed, Jefferson's oppo- sition to internal improvements (on the ground that it would become "a source of boundless patronage to the executive, jobbing to members of congress, and a bottomless abyss of public money") had been overcome, but there remained in congress a considerable vestige of his doctrine that "the power to regulate commerce does not give a power to build piers, wharves, open ports, clear the beds of rivers, dig canals, etc." His reluctant admission as to lighthouses that "the utility of the thing has sanc- tioned the infraction" was finally extend- ed to the construction of harbors by federal appropriation and in 1833 money was voted for the Chicago port.
Another obstacle to be overcome in congress was the impression created by all the early travelers that such improve- ments were practically impossible on the southern shores of the lake. School- craft, in 1821, had described the dangers
of navigation in those parts and the ne- cessity for the protection of shipping, but he said that "it is yet somewhat problematical whether a safe and perma- nent harbor can be constructed by any effort of human ingenuity, upon the bleak and naked shores of these lakes, exposed, as they are, to the most furious tempests." His only suggestion, aside from that of turning the Calumet river into the Chicago, was to build, off shore at the sites of towns, islands large enough to contain all necessary ware- houses and to connect them with the shore by bridges.
Promptly after approving the report of the Michigan road commissioners desig- nating the mouth of Trail creek as the most likely place for a harbor within the state, the general assembly, January 7, 1831, started the harbor ball rolling by adopting a joint resolution praying con- gress for a preliminary survey, as fol- lows :-
"Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, That his Excel- lency, the governor, be, and he is hereby authorized and requested, to apply to the Secretary of War of the United States, and procure, if possible, a corps of en- gineers, to make a survey of the mouth of the river Deschemins, with instruc- tions to examine and report as to the practicability, best manner and expense of improving the same."
This action was not productive of the desired result and the legislature, De- cember 28, 1832, resolved to ask con- gress directly for an appropriation, set- ting up the necessity therefor in the fol- lowing preamble :-
104
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN CITY
"It is represented to this general as- sembly that the construction of a safe harbour and the erection of a light house at the mouth of Des Chemins on Lake Michigan are objects of great utility to the union, important to the commercial adventurer as well as the local agricul- turist, and of peculiar interest to our growing population in that quarter ; and whereas, the means at our disposal are utterly inadequate to accomplish the construction and erection of said works.
Edward A. Hannegan, one of the best friends Michigan City ever had, voted for this resolution as a member of the lower house and made a speech for it; he was elected to congress at the next election and the first act he performed in that capacity was to submit the docu- ment to congress and with it a resolu- tion instructing the committee on roads and canals to enquire into the expediency of making an appropriation for the nec- essary survey and construction of a harbor at the mouth of Trail creek. This was December 18, 1833, and, so far as the present writer has been able to dis- cover, was the first mention in congress of this spot. By this time the mouth of the Chicago river had been pretty thor- oughly surveyed and sounded by gov- ernment officers and Major Elston had caused examinations to be made of the mouth of Trail creek, while other mouths of streams on the same shore had been investigated by various private in- terests. January 2, 1834, the Indiana legislature memorialized congress at greater length and asked the members from this state to assist those from Illi- nois and Michigan in behalf of Chicago and St. Joseph, the idea being to com- bine the interests of the three states. The resolution represented
"That the mouth of Trail creek, in the State of Indiana, on Lake Michigan, has been adjudged to afford the best har- bour for vessels within the limits of the state aforesaid; and from the peculiar
nature of the mouths of rivers and creeks on Lake Michigan, it is obstructed in a considerable degree by the barriers of sand which surround the entrance of streams in said lake, and which can only be removed and prevented by the excava- tion of basins and the erection of piers. And your memorialists would further represent, that from the surveys already made at the mouth of the creek. afore- said, there is found to be as great a depth of water over the bar as at any other point on the southern shore of the lake within this State, and that a small sum of money properly applied, would make the same a safe and convenient harbour .: which harbour is imperiously demanded by the extraordinary improve- ments of the country in the northern parts of Indiana, and the necessity of protecting and regulating the extensive commerce, which is already extending itself from and to this point." It is fur- ther remarked "that Indiana, with only forty miles of coast, has little opportuni- ty to ask for such favors, and the salt and other supplies to be demanded by the dense population soon to inhabit her fer- tile soil gives the matter a national im- portance."
This document was transmitted imme- diately to congress, in which body it was presented by Mr. Hannegan January 27 (1834) and referred to the committee on roads and canals. On the same day Jonathan McCarty, another Indiana member, introduced a resolution instruct- ing the committee on commerce to in- quire into the expediency of making Michigan City a port of entry, this being the first recorded mention of the town by name in congress. March 27 Mr. Hannegan submitted a letter from H. S. Handy concerning the proposed harbor and it was referred to the committee on roads and canals. Hannegan appeared before the committee and spoke in con- gress. He succeeded in obtaining the desired authority and it was passed down through the channels of the war depart- ment to Col. J. J. Abert, U. S. A., chief of the topographical bureau, who, Octo-
105
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN CITY
ber 10, 1834, ordered Lieut. John M. Berrien, of his corps, with the assist- ance of Lieutenant Fetterman, to exe- cute a survey of the mouth of Trail creek, with a view of ascertaining the capability of improvement, and the prac- ticability of constructing a harbor at that place, and to transmit a map of the same. January 19, 1835, Lieutenant Ber- rien made his report, which was laid be- fore the senate February 9, in response to a resolution of the 4th requesting the same. The report, aided by the map, exhibits an accurate measurement of the creek and the adjacent section of the lake. It shows that at its widest part the stream measured 120 feet and at the mouth about thirty ; at the mouth there was a depth of one foot, increasing to six feet farther up; the current was scarcely perceptible and but little water was discharged, and the stream did not appear to be subject to freshets, though in wet seasons the depth increased some- what. There was a smooth clay bottom. The creek did not bring down any in- convenient quantity of sediment, the bar at the mouth being formed by the drift- ing sand from the adjacent hills. There was good anchorage for vessels outside. The improvements necessary were said to be the widening and deepening of the stream so as to get a stage of nine feet, that being sufficient for the largest ves- sels, and the construction of piers. Am- ple timber for the work was found on the banks, but the stone would have to be brought from Chicago.
December 22, 1835, the senate again asked for the papers and the same report was filed. In a private letter to Mr. Hannegan, dated February 20, that year, Colonel Abert said that by constructing a breakwater at an estimated cost of $84,240.00 the stream could be so pro- tected from winds and waves as to clean itself and provide a safe outer harbor. February 8, 1836, there was read in both
chambers of congress and referred in each to the committee on commerce a pe- tition signed by the masters of sixteen vessels plying to the south part of the lake, in which they said :-
"That during the last two years there has been an immense increase of trans- portation, and especially to different places on Lake Michigan. That this lake does not abound with harbors, hence navigation is extremely dangerous, and in the opinion of the petitioners it is practicable, at a reasonable expense, to construct a pier or breakwater at Michi- gan City, Indiana, so as to answer both the purposes of a harbor for that flour- ishing town, and also serve the impor- tant object of a general place of safety and protection for the whole fleet in time of danger."
This petition was circulated during the preceding summer. At the same time a committee of citizens of Michigan City wrote to Colonel Abert asking for a copy of Lieutenant Berrien's plan and estimate, which letter was forwarded to the latter September 15, 1836, for an- swer. The lieutenant replied at length in a communication dated November 14, in which he discussed the relative advan- tages of the pier and breakwater plans, concluding in favor of the latter ; he de- scribed the great importance of the sub- ject because of the growing need of a harbor near the head of the lake, and said that the mouth of Trail creek af- forded the best opportunity in that part, the nearest practicable harbor being at Grand river, 120 miles distant. "Its po- sition being nearer the head of the lake," he says of Trail creek, "than any point offering any facilities for the construc- tion of a harbor or any advantages in point of trade," and again, referring to the coast toward the south on the east shore, "the mouth of the creek presents itself as of the greater importance from the fact that beyond it no advantages offer for similar improvements." These positive statements of the superiority of
106
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN CITY
this place over any other south of Grand river, even shutting out Chi- cago, attracted considerable invest- ment to Michigan City and aided strongly in its. growth. Major El . ston again rallied his friends in the legislature and January 23, 1836, anoth- er memorial was adopted and transmit- ted to congress. It dwelt upon the
work.to the eastern states whose mer- chants were largely and directly inter- ested in trade with the growing town. Of Michigan City it said :-
"On that shore, so lately wild and un- inhabited, a city is now springing up, an enterprising people are fixing their homes. Already the constant hum of business is heard there, and the sails of
V
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
choice of Trail creek as the best site for a harbor in all the southern region of the lake. declared that all the internal improvements from the interior of the state had been directed to that point, showed the dangers of the coast to nav- igation and referred to fatal wrecks that had recently occurred in that vicinity, and emphasized the importance of the
commerce begin to whiten the hitherto undisturbed waters of the great lake. * * The amount of money paid for the freight of produce and merchandize at Michigan City during the past year has exceeded twenty thousand dollars. The value of the merchandize landed at the same place in the same period, and forwarded from thence into the interior of our state, we are certainly informed, has been upwards of four hundred thou-
.107
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN CITY
sand dollars. Indeed the whole northern part of our state for near one hundred miles south from Lake Michigan has re- ceived its supply mainly through that channel, and must continue to do so, un- til other works of internal improvement shall be completed. It is now the only road to the city of New York. An appro- priation has been made by Congress to erect a light house at this point, and nothing now is wanted but a commodi- ous harbor, to make the navigation of that part of the lake safe and the an- chorage good."
April 2, 1836, the house committee on commerce reported a bill in which was included an appropriation for a harbor at Michigan City. After several ses- sions of the committee of the whole it came to a vote June 28, 1836, and passed by 99 yeas and 85 nays, Mr. Hannegan being absent. There were motions to table, to strike out the enacting clause, to re-refer, to cut the amount in two, but all failed and the bill went to the senate, where after a stormy career it passed, with amendments, July 2 and, the house concurring in the amendments, it was laid before the president and re- ceived his signature July 4, 1836. The amount thus made available was $20,000. It was disappointing as compared with the estimate of the engineers, but was received as an earnest of the govern- ment's good faith and there was much rejoicing on Trail creek when the news arrived.
By congressional appropriations and departmental allotments the government has set aside for this harbor a total of $1,588,268.92, which sum has been used for two separate projects of improve- ment, the inner and the outer harbor. The following table shows these amounts by years, those for 1868 and 1869 and $2.500 for 1878 being allotments and all the others being appropriations except the closing item, which is made up of miscellaneous receipts :-
APPROPRIATIONS AND ALLOTMENTS
YEAR
OUTER .
INNER
TOTAL
1836
$ 20,000.00
1837
30,000.00
1838
60,733.59
1844
25,000.00
1852
20,000.00
1855
470.00
1866
75,000.00
1868
25,000.00
1869
31,185.00
1870
$25,000.00
25,000.00
1871
1 5.900.00
15,000.00
1872
50,000 00
50,000.00
1873
50,000 00
50'000.00
1874
50,000 00
50.000 00
1875
50,000.00
50,000 00
1875
50,000.00
50,000.00
1876
35,000.00
35.000 00
1878
50.000 00
$25,000.00
75,000 00
1878
2,500.00
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.