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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01071 7749
١
6
A TWENTIETH CENTURY HISTORY
OF
BERRIEN COUNTY
MICHIGAN
JUDGE ORVILLE W. COOLIDGE
AUTHOR AND EDITOR
SURNAME FILE
ILLUSTRATED
1906 THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY CHICAGO NEW YORK
1
Allen County Public Library Ft. Wayne, Indiana
PREFACE 1480966
HE author of the historical sketch, which forms the introductory part of this volume, commenced his task in August, 1905. The historical sketch has been prepared under some difficulties, as the author has been necessarily engaged most of the time in judicial labors.
The sources of information have been various. In 1871 a partial history and directory of the county was published by E. B. Cowles. In some respects the work was a very valuable one. The narratives of the earliest settlements of Niles and St. Joseph were in the main evidently full and reliable. In 1881 a combined history of Berrien and Van Buren counties was issued, edited by A. Ellis. This work contained a valuable sketch of the earliest settlements of each township, the material of which was largely derived from interviews with early pioneers. This work has been largely consulted in the preparation of certain portions of the present sketch. The work, however, contained many errors, some of which arose from the fact that the editor had never resided in Berrien county.
The author is also indebted for information to the following works : The historical and biographical collections of the State Pioneer Association, consisting of 31 volumes, Journal of Charlevoix, The Jesuit Relations, Histories of Michigan by Lanman and Cooley, Sketch of St. Joseph by D. A. Winslow, History of Trinity Church, Niles. by Rev. Dr. McMurdy, History of St. Mary's, files of Niles newspapers from 1835, reports of the Secretary of the Berrien County Old Settlers' Association, and biographies of Berrien and Cass County personages, published in 1894.
For the first time a complete list of the supervisors of each city and township is pre- sented. To secure this considerable time and labor were necessary, as large portions of the records of many townships had been lost or destroyed. The author is under obliga- tion to the supervisors of the respective townships, to S. B. Miners, our county clerk, to C. J. Schultz, our county treasurer, and to the clerks of the cities for valuable assist- ance in the preparation of these lists.
An attempt has been made to portray the growth and development of the county in its industrial features. A brief sketch of its principal manufactories and statistical tables of agricultural and horticultural production are given.
The author is especially indebted to Hon. Henry Chamberlain, of Three Oaks, for interesting memoranda and information relating to the early settlement of the southwest- ern portion of the county.
The author is also indebted for information to the following pioneers, who became
iv
PREFACE
residents of this vicinity before 1835: Isaac Lybrook of Berrien, Wilson Sparks of Ben- ton Harbor, Capt. Amos Bartlett of Dayton, Alexander J. Collins of St. Joseph, Mrs. Thos. Huston of Niles, Jas. Kirk of Pipestone, Ezekiel Denniston and John Hatfield of Niles, Nathaniel Hamilton of Buchanan, A. J. Cleland and Mrs. Robert Gephart of Niles, Mrs. Thos. Stevens of Oronoko, Samuel Marrs of Lincoln, Andrew Marrs of Ber- rien Springs, and Jas. Claypool of Berrien.
In the chapter on "Aborigines and the French Occupation," the author has not relied on previous histories of the county, but resorted to more original and reliable sources of information.
More space has naturally been given to the early history of Niles and St. Joseph than to other portions of the county, for the reason that the commercial and business interests of the county for many years after its first settlement were centered at these two points.
ORVILLE W. COOLIDGE.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I.
Nature and Topography,.
1
CHAPTER II.
Aborigines and Early French Occupation.
6
Early Settlement of Berrien County.
19
CHAPTER IV.
Organization-General Interests and Institutions
Fruit Culture.
CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER VI.
Berrien County in the Civil War
CHAPTER VII.
Niles Township
CHAPTER VIII.
166
CHAPTER IX.
St. Joseph Township and City of St. Joseph.
171
CHAPTER X.
192
Berrien Township
CHAPTER XI.
198
Oronoko Township.
CHAPTER XII.
206
Buchanan Township
213
New Buffalo Township
221
Watervliet Township.
CHAPTER XVI.
Benton and Benton Harbor
232
Bainbridge.
244
Pipestone.
CHAPTER XV.
228
CHAPTER XVII.
CHAPTER XVIII.
249
Weesaw.
CHAPTER XIX. 252
CHAPTER III.
24
55
62
Niles City .
141
Bertrand ..
CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIV.
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Lake Township.
CHAPTER XX.
255
CHAPTER XXI.
259
The Early History of Royalton and Lincoln
CHAPTER XXII.
264
Sodus
CHAPTER XXIII.
26
Three Oaks Township
CHAPTER XXIV.
274
Chikaming Township
CHAPTER XXV.
280
Galien Township.
Hagar.
CHAPTER XXVI. 284
INDEX
Adams, Horace J., 581 Adams, William T., 815 Ager, Charles, 640 Alden, Hial, 545 Alexander, Mitchel, 288 Allen, J. Sherlock, 317 Allen, Israel M., 967 Allen, R. Clarke, 608 Allmendinger, John M., 614 Archer, Davis, 976 Arford. Albert R., 384 Arnt, Daniel C., 904 Atkinson, Robert C., 723 Aumack, Jacob, 982 Austin, Eugene W., 894 Austin, Stephen M., 418
Babcock, W. Irving, 655 Backus, Edwin I., 649 Bacon, Nathaniel H., 653 Badger, Chester, 846 Bainton, William F., 759 Baitenger, George M., 730 Bakeman, Frederick, 979 Baker, J. J., 693 Baldwin, Omar A. D., 995 Baldwin, Warner M., 326 Ball, James M., 847 Ballard, Otis W., 356 Bardelmeier, Philip J., 853 Barkhouse. William P., 913 Barmore, Salma, 642 Barnes, John E., 957 Bartram, Burr, 690 Batten. Levi, 872 Beall, James M., 587 Beaver, Theodore G., 647 Becht, William, '295 Beckwith, J. T., 752 Bedford, John W., 910 Bedinger, M. S., 864 Beeson, Dix H., 457 Behel, Wilbur F., 465 Beistle, John W., 426 Belknap, Fred R., 365 Belknap, Simeon, 71I Bell, George M., 302 Bell, John, 297 Benson Brothers, 314 Berry, Fanny, 628 Beyrer, Lucas, 29I Birdsey, Abijah, 306 Birkholm, Clarence D., 534 Birkholz, August W., 491 Bishop, John L., 927 Bither, Anson F., 549 Black, George H., 34I Blake, William, 574
Bliesmer, August F., 441 Bliss, Milton J., 567 Boardman, D. L., 509 Bonine, Isaac A., 700 Bort, Harry, 472 Bostick, John C., 371 Boughter, Samuel, 372 Bowe, Prosper O., 501 Bowman, Henry J., 976 Boyer, Dwight, 892 Bracelin, Frank, 635
Brammall, Edward, 388
Brant, Barney H., 676 Brant, Edward, 323 Brant, Ezra, 662 Brant, Nathaniel M., 671 Brant, Porter E., 691
Bremer, William D., 824 Brenner, Jacob, 1006 Brewer, Frank, 774 Bridgeford, George, 363 Briggs, Fred G., 463 Brodrick, Edward, 667 Brooks, John J., 495 Brower, Jacob, 797
Bruce, William L., 418
Bullard, William F., 319
Bullard, William H., 74I
Burdick, Stephen V., 398 Burg, John, 827 Burke, John, 736
Burkhart, John, 558
Burton, Edwin, 956
Burton, Henry, 621
Bury, Clellen B., 624
Bury, John D., 438 Butts, Elmer. 572
Butzbach, Benjamin F., 361
Butzbach, Jacob, 888
Butzbach, Philip H., 889
Cady, Alvah P., 381
Caldwell, Elliott H., 863
Camfield, William, 663 Campbell, Harvey J., 455 Carey, Milton T., 366
Cart, John A., 355 Case. William H., 40I
Cassiday, William H., 944 Chamberlain, Henry, 523 Chamberlain, William, 644 Chapin, Claudis B., 377 Chauncey, Albert E., 878 Childs, Theron D., 75I Church, William B., 603 Clark, Aaron, 345 Clark, Charles A., 778 Clark, John, 579
Clark, Roy, 947 Clarke, Ernest P., 718 Clawson, S. M., 890 Claypool, John J., 922 Close, Charles, 505 Collins, Eben D., 650 Collins, Fred B., 239 Collins, M. O., 955 Collins, William, 978 Collis, John H., 662 Commercial National Bank, 847
Conger, Frank D., 397 Cook, Fred W., 604
Cook, William, 871 Cook, William H., 970
Coolidge, Orville W., 286 Copeland. Abial C., 738 Corell, George E., 656 Crall, David, 925 Crall. Jacob B., 93I Crandall, Burton A., 984
Cranson, George P., 321 Crawford, Andrew, 336 Cribbs, Jacob, 749 Cryan, Edward B., 383
Cupp, Frank P., 972 Curtis, Orville, 346 Cutler, Solon, 760
Daigneau, Samuel E., 395
Dalenberg, Cornelius, 837 Damon, Oscar, 419
Dana, Charles E., 937 Dana, Eugene C., 680
Daniels, Francis A., 296
Deidrich, Fred, 887
Dc Mott, John E., 287
Dempsey, John T., 762 Dester, William, 31I Deuel, Abram, 444 Deuel, Joseph J., 458
Dick, John C., 428 Dickerman, Nicholas, 568
Dix, Orrin E., 661 Dix, Rosco D., 719
Dixon, James W., 35I
Doanc, Hannah R., 952
Doane, William H. H., 951 Dockter, William C., 705 Dodd, E. S., 339
Dodge, Balaam, 914
Donner, Garey, 883
Dukescherer. Fred, 813 Dukesherer, August. 908 Dukesherer, Peter D., 597 Dunbar, Julius E., 394 Duncan, John F., 733 Dye, Frank Z., 412
viii
INDEX
Eaman, Benjamin J., 697 Eaman, James M., 698 Earl, Benjamin F., 702 East, William W., 424 Edgcumbe, George J., 368 Edinborough, Olive A., 622 Edinger, Jacob L., 746 Edwards, Hiram A., 467 Eidson, Edward D., 841 Eidson, Gilbert A., 862 Ells, Joshua, 592
Ellsworth, Frank H., 701 Ellsworth, Selin B., 389 Emerson, Aden M., 649 Emerson, Moses, 743
Emery, Alexander, 350
Emlong, Henry, 296
Enders, Adam, 876
Enders, Jacob E., 575
Enders, William F., 873
Ericsson, B. O., 496 Esper, Michael G., 621
Farmer ` Charles K., 393 Farnum, C. H., 406 Fay, John W., 800
Feather, Daniel T., 794
Feather, Henry A., 808
Feather, Joshua, 848
Feather, Milton H., 810
Feather, William A., Sr., 881 Feather, William J., 984 Felton, Fred. 972 Ferry, Emery F., 791 File, William E., 569 Flewelling, David B., 916
Flood, James, 667 Flood, James H., 460
Flood, Thomas P., 462 Flower, George E., 641
Foeltzer. Helmath A., 380 Forler, George A., 720 Foster, George, 577 Foster, John J., 584
Franklin, Marshall D., 831
Franz, Frederick C., 290 Franz, George L .. 946 Freestone, Wilbert D., 688 Freestone, William, 687 French, Alfred O., 471 French, Charles H., 758 French, James E., 487 French, Joseph W., 636 Fulkerson, Frank L., 507
Gard, John F., 597 Gardner, James H., 950 Garland, Edgar F., 342 Garland, Horace W., 705 Garland, J. A .. 357 Garr, Abel. 823 Garwood. John, 347 Gaugler, Daniel G. W., 312 Geisler, Fred, 474 Gersonde, H. L., 518 Geyer, Benjamin C., 566 Gibson, Jolın S., 493 Giddings. Burton D., 535 Gillam, George E., 843
Gillette, Raymond B., 436 Glavin, Maurice, 764 Glavin, Thomas F., 765 Gleeson, John, 553 Glidden, Emory J., 489
Goodenough, Alonzo, 773 Goodwin, Richard M., 480 Gordon, Peter, 494 Gowdy, Frank M., 990 Gowdy, Franklin, 934
Graffort, Phay A., 425 Graham, Edmon A., 658
Graham, George, 714
Graham, Harry K., 866
Graham, William H., 320
Granger, Thomas, 685
Green, Daniel, 375
Green, George S., 334
Green, William W., 408
Green & Company, 375 Greenfield, John, 427
Griffin, Edwin C., 713
Griffin, George, 689
Griffith, Joseph, 565
Groat, Cyrus B., 912
Guy, Juan M., 756
Hall, Alfred R., 486 Hall, Byron L., 382 Halliday, Alexander, 459
Hamann, Henry H., 416
Hamilton, Edward L., 313
Hamilton, Louis S., 634 Handy, Gerald, 924 Hanley, George, 289
Hansen, Joseph B., 852
Hansen, Peter, 851
Hansler, Arthur, 335
Harder, James E., 639
Harger, M. E., 570
Harner, Abraham A., 787
Harner, Eldon C., 396
Harner, Michael F., 783
Harris, Lewis D., 675 Harris, Uriah, 328
Hastings. John J., 361
Hatch, Edward N., 939
Hatch, Henry C., 841
Hauser, Joseph W., 859
Hawks, Andrew M., 704 Heckman, Erasmus S., 886 Heise, Louis, 563 Helkie, William L., 504
Helmick, Burns, 940
Helmick, Hiram S., 816
Hemenway, Joseph R., 679 Henkel, George, 722
Herring. J. H., 903
Herring, Nathaniel A., 377 Hess, Homer E., 974 Hess, Juan, 993 Hess, William A., 915
Hewitt, William C., 770 Higbee, James F., 447 Higman, John, 598 Hill, John D., 694
Hill, William H., 699 Hinchman, Burwell, 988 Hoadley, Rodney P., 788
Hoadley, W. E., 349 Hoag, Isaac J., 631 Hobbs, Frederick A., 665 Hodges, Cyrus C., 986 Hogue, Emerson, 968 Hogue, John F., 961 Holden, Jonas H., 294 Holland, William L., 747 Hollett, Retta, 607 Hollinrake, Thomas, 632
Hoopenganer, John C., 309 Hoppin, George S., 338 Horn, George, 402 House, Amos C., 755 Houseworth, David, 786 Houswerth, Thomas F., 360 Hoven, Cornelius, 765 Howard, Franklin, 4II Howe, Alonzo F., 431
Howe, Charles F., 483
Howe, Frederick W., 780
Hunt, Daniel, 379
Hutchinson, Gilbert, 590
Ingles, Henry D., 770
Ingles, John S., 769 Ingraham, Elisha, 385
Isbell, James W., 652 Ives, Timothy H., 842
Jakway, James, 61I Jennings, Milo A., 946 Jerue, John B., 551 Jewett, Edson B., 515 Johnson, Frank A., 979
Johnson, Jether L., 606
Johnson, John, 757 Jones, Thomas W., 933
Kaiser, Barney, 761
Keith, William A., 836
Kelley, Sam H., 414
Kelly, L., 550
Kephart, Henry, 310 Kimball, Sylvester B., 416
Kimbel, William C., 432
King, Charles M., 781
King, Henry L., 591
King, Louis A., 544
King, William P., 821 Kingsley, Edward H., 715 Kless, Fritz L., 450 Kluth, Charles, 828
Knapp, William W., 891 Kniebes, Frank, 856 Kniebes, Jacob, 905
Knight, David, 837 Knisely, Abraham J., 599
Knox, E. Clifford, 844 Kompass, Rudolph F., 655 Kramer, Andrew, 615 Kramer, John, 486
Krieger, Eugene L., 374
Krieger, Frederick, 906
Krieger, Jacob C., 799 Krieger, J. D., 898
Lamore, George S., 975 Lardner, Henry, 659
ix
INDEX
Lavanway, Clark, 955 Lavanway, William, 949 Lawrence, John C., 517 Lee, Ray E., 855 Lemon, Charles L., 938 Light, Isaac, 967 Littleson, Theodore, 631 Lockinaw, Henry, 782 Lovell, Nathan V., 806 Lucas, James W., 381 Lusso, Christian, 884 Lybrook, Isaac, 761 Lyon, Thomas, 488 Lyon, William R., 601
Madison, Hans, 745 Mangold, George, 881 Mars, B. Frank, 784 Mars, Guy C., 309 Mars, Thomas, 725
Martin, Thomas H., 453 Martindale, John, 686 Matrau, Morgan W., 681 McCartney, J. H., 969
McCollum, Edward C., 576 McCombs, Hezekiah, 925 McDonald, James, 553
McGowan, Charles, 971 McGuigan, Samuel, 860 McKee, Fred, 677 McKie, James L., 802 McKindley, Frank A., 921 McLin, Luther I., 735 McOmber, Fred, 1000 Mell, William, 852 Mess, Peter F., 443 Metras, M. G., 369 Metzger, Richard B., 763
Metzger, Theodore, 357 Meyer, Christian, 477 Milbourne, Louis W., 384 Miller, Charles, 801 Miller, Christian, 463 Miller, James J., 378 Miller, William H., 771 Mills, George A., 634
Mitchell, Charles H., 589 Montague, Charles M., 643 Montross. Richard W., 768 Moore, Frank B., 373 Morgan, John, 684 Morley, Alvin, 775 Morley, Ebenezer P., 435 Morley, Francis H., 561 Morley, William S., 422 Morlock, George, 812 Morris, Richard H., 784 Morrow, Munroe H., 375 Morton, Henry C., 291 Morton, J. Stanley, 293 Moser, Charles, 9II Moulton, L. G., 551 Moyer, Henry J., 786 Mulcahy, Dennis O., 609 Mulholland, Joseph, 454 Mulliken, G. F., 630 Murphy, Erastus, 926 Murphy, Harvey R., 928 Murphy, John J., 920
Murphy, J. M., 924 Murphy, M. T., 936 Musil, Karel, 991 Mutchler, Charles F., 805 Mutchler, W. E., 507 Myers, Calvin, 879
Nichols, Charles D., 943 Nixon, John B., 303
Newman, Wingate W., 731
Newton, Albert, 327 Noble, George W., 359
Nold, Henry K., 880
Nothdurft, John J., 825
Nott, Carrie, 81I Nowlen, Albert R., 707
Olmstead, Melbourne H., 1004 Olsen, George, 594 Ormsbee, Charles W., 602 Otwell, George N., 315
Palmer, W. A., 430
Parker, Bascom, 854
Parker, Reuben D., 652
Parren, George A., 556
Parrish, William M., 432
Parsons, George, 929
Patterson, Charles L., 871
Paul, Jacob M., 916
Pearl, Irving R., 776
Pearl, Warren S., 410
Pears, Charles F., 352
Peck, L. E., 571
Pennell, Byron, 845
Pennell, Edgar S., 820
Pennell. R. Smith, 971
Peo, John, 817
Perry, Theodore N., 670
Peters, Henry, 707
Phelps, Chester P., 585
Phillips, John V., 440 Platt, Edwin F., 405
Platt, Frank H., 364
Platt, James D., 785
Platt, Leslie W., 646 Platt, Lester G., 646
Plummer, Zachariah, 573 Pratt, Wilmer M., 677
Preston, Milton, 980
Preston, Wallace A., 948 Price, Moses A., 736
Price, Thomas W., 813
Pullen, Frank, 533
Pullen, George P., 780
Pullen, Robert, 532
Quade, Samuel J., 536 Quimby, Charles S., 728
Randall, Allen M., 668
Ranft, Ernest L., 340
Ransom. Theron T., 717
Rau, John P., 498 Reams, S. C., 973
Rector, Charles H., 958
Rector, D. Sidney, Jr., 960 Rector, Samuel J., 885 Redden, Samuel W., 490
Reese, Chauncey B., 870 Reese, Reuben W., 857 Rhoades, Frank, 320 Richards, J. L., 564 Richards, Joseph, 537 Richter, Frederick W., 989 Rickert, Louis, 869 Ricketts, Albert S., 1006
Ridenour, Eli, 932 Rinkenberger, A. C., 942 Rist, Mathias, 793 Robinson, O. A., 954
Rodgers, John H., 838
Roe, Ellis S., 508 Rohde, John H., 446 Rose, W. A. D., 464
Rouch, John M., 349 Rough, George W., 482 Rouse, Elmer E., 362 Rush, Henry J., 478
Rynearson, Isaiah, 484 Ryno, Wakeman, 421 Ryther, Hale E., 839
Sabin, Charles E., 477
Sattler, George P., 867 Sattler, Lewis, 867
Savage, Daniel S., 844
Sawin, Judson, 559
Schairer, John, 387
Schaus, Charles G., 899
Schaus, Jacob L., 907 Schell, Albert, 959
Scherer, David, 347
Schiller, John D., 414 Schmitt, Joseph, 992 Schopbach, Henry, 832
Schultz, Carl J., 897
Schultz, Claus H .. 514
Schwenk, Jacob M., 500
Schwenk, John C., 451
Scofield, A. J., 627 Scott, Alexander H., Jr., 476
Scott, Stephen, 796
Seegmiller, Abbie, 964.
Seitz, William H., 613 Sells, Bernard T., 629
Shafer, John, 303 Shafer, William. 506
Sharai, Alfred J .. 963
Sharai, Edwin, 962 Sharai, John W .. 964 Sharp, George. 983 Shearer, William, 583 Shedd, Sylvester, 882 SI- field, William E., 716 Sherwood, Alva. 996 Sherwood, Alonzo, 939 Sherwood, Robert H., 895 Shippy, Charles D., 826 Sisson, Edward C., 556 Skalla, John, 737 Skalla, Joseph, 737 Skinner, James F., 337 Smith, Carmi R., 742 Smith, Chauncey, 793 Smith, George E., 673 Smith, Isaac M., 753 Smith, James, 754
X
INDEX
Smith, Warren A., 307 Smith, Washington A., 510 Smith, Washington B., 944 Snavely, Solomon L., 918 Snuff, Edgar L., 584 Snyder, Oscar D., 544 Snyder, Sherwood, 605 Sonner, George F., 610 Sorrell, E., 956 Sovereign, Frederick F., 503 Sowers, Charles N., 367 Spading, Theodore, 446 Sparks, John H., 314
Sparks, Spencer F., 569 Sparks, William D., 577 Spaulding, Elmore C., 798 Spencer, Benajah H., 434 Spencer, Charles A., 542 Spink, Andrew M., 400 Stafford, Theo N., 779 Starkweather, Frank, 316 Starr, John V., 616 Stemm, Ira R., 804 Stevens, George L., 499 Stevens, J. E., 520 Stewart, George F., 789 Stewart, Murray, 861
Stoll, Matthew, 696 Storms, Edmund B., 745 Stouffer, John B., 547 Stover, John H., 470 Strickland, Edward F., 710 Strong, George, 329 Stryker, Frank A., 479 Stuart, Charles D., 409 Stuck. John, 452 Sumrill, John J., 352
Sutherland, Darwin B., 325
Sutherland, John R., 977
Sutherland, Lewis, 618
Sutherland, Lott F., 529 Sutherland, Sterling L., 530
Taber, Roland B., 865 Taber, Roland F., 619 Tabor, Carleton E., 966 Tabor, Ernest, 961 Taube, Charles H., 322 Taylor, Thomas, 874
Teetzel, Charles W., 953
Tennant, Joseph, 461
Thayer, Robert C., 561 Thomas, Victor H., 766 Thompson, Frank, 771 Thomson, James B., 344 Thurston, Henry E., 334 Tibbs, Jacob, 981 Tichenor, Fred A., 775 Timm, Christian, 445 Trowbridge, Udorus E., 884 Tutton, Henry V., 442
Ullrey, Arthur O., 748 Ullrey, David H., 987 Umphrey, Lewis, 902
Vail, Helen, 305 Valentine, George M., 721
Valentine, Lewis, 682 Vanderveer, Ernest, 539 Vanderveer, John T., 803
Vanderveer, William N., 540
Van Horn, Spencer B., 389
Van Namee, William P., 538 Van Vranken, Urias, 90I
Versaw, James P., 965 Vetterly, August, 73I
Vetterley, Edward, 588 Vincent, Alonzo, 834
Vinton. Charles A., 773
Vite, Jacob E., 759
Vollmann, Charles, 887
Walker, Joseph, 819
Wallace, Dudley B., 332 Wallace, John R., 330
Walton, Richard, 877
Walton, Robert A., 582
Walton, William, 877
Waltz, Samuel Z., 917
Wangerin, William F., 840 Ward, Lyman M., 5II
Ward, W. A., 849 Warren, Dwight, 402
Warren, Edward K., 100I
Warren, Frank J., 724 Warren, George L., 724
Warren & Company, 724 Watson, Alec, 833
Watson, Berton G., 386
Watson, William H., 834 Weber, Willianı H., 740 Wees, William, 703 Weir, James J., 552 Wellington, Oliver F., 872 Wells, Abel W., 318 West, Thomas J., 709 Wetzer, Rudolph, 868
Wells, William H., 595 Whalen, Henry E., 850 Whalen, James, 580 Whetstone, Carl F., 727 Whipple, Frank H., 861 Whitcomb, Charles H., 602 White, Charles E., 729
Whitehead, W. K., 456 Whitney, Harris S., 555 Whitten, Charles E., 497 Wilkinson, Thomas L., 557 Willard, Levi, 832 Willming, Joseph, 902 Wilson, Hiram, 468 Wilson, John F., 712 Wilson, William L., 734
Winchester, Amandus O., 1000
Winn, John J., Jr., 333 Wise, Horace M., 912
Wissing, William M., 750 Witbeck, F. M., 626
Witt. Edward J., 617
Wolf, David, 354
Womer, Peter, 829 Womer, William A., 830
Wood. Bradford H., 919 Woodworth, O. P., 522
Worthington, Albert A., . 429
Wright, Elmer H., 308
Wright, George, 512
Wyant, John F., 918 Wyant, Oscar, 1005
Wyant, William, 819 Wynn, Thomas B., 932
1
Yates, Abram, 893 Yerington, George W., 358 Yerington, Polly, 358 Yetter, George T., 95I
Young, A. D., 343 Young, Edwin W., 39I
HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY
CHAPTER I
NATURE AND TOPOGRAPHY.
"Like orchards of forgotten times, Like pleasure parks of Eastern climes, The 'openings' of the West appear, The paradise of fallow deer."
Berrien county is the extreme south- west county of the State, being bounded on the north by Van Buren county, on the east by Van Buren and Cass counties, on the south by the State of Indiana and on the west by Lake Michigan. The area of the county is approximately 600 square miles or about 385,000 acres. The surface is diversified. The larger portion of the soil was originally covered with forests of val- uable growing timber, consisting mainly of white and red oak, hickory, whitewood, maple, beech, black walnut, elm, ash, and basswood. The land adjoining Lake Mich- igan is generally sandy, but has been culti- vated for fruit and made highly remuner- ative.
Many of the townships were originally almost covered with immense forests of tall, thick timber. The most profitable, probably on account of its abundance and adaptation for all kinds of building purposes, was the whitewood. The tree grew to a large size, often three to four feet in diameter, and was
remarkably free from knots or defects be- low the branches. Its diameter from the ground to the first branch varied slightly. Single trees often produced 6,000 to 8,000 feet of lumber, which to-day would be very valuable in the lumber market. It is now known commercially as the white poplar. This, however, is a gross misnomer, as it does not belong to the poplar family. It is sometimes called the tulip tree, from the large, handsome golden blossoms which come out in the spring, resembling the tulip, and belongs to the magnolia family.
The black walnut tree became the most- valuable individually on account of its hand- some grain and color, and its use for choice furniture. The trees were much scarcer, however, than the whitewood. They often grew to an enormous size, trees being fre- quently found which measured fifteen feet in circumference.
The early settlers in their eagerness to clear the land, burned up enormous quanti- ties of valuable timber. Subsequently the:
2
HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY
saw-mill industries rapidly denuded the country of the remainder, and very little of choice timbered tracts are now in existence. The policy of extinction of this class of trees was a wasteful and injurious one, and their wholesale destruction is greatly to be regretted.
Less prairie land exists in Berrien county than in the southern counties of the State lying immediately east of us. There are however, two prairies which lie wholly or in part within the limits of this county. Wolf's prairie upon which the village of Berrien Springs is located, has an area of about 1,000 acres. It is an elevated plateau, delightfully situated, adjoining the high bluffs of the St. Joseph river.
Portage prairie is located in Bertrand township. A portion of it lies in this state and a portion in the state of Indiana. That portion which lies in this state has an area of about 3,000 acres. A narrow streak of timber land runs into the prairie, and the sinaller portion is sometimes called "Little Portage."
The soil of these prairies is exceedingly rich and consists of a black, vegetable mould, intermixed with small quantities of clay, sand or gravel.
Adjoining these prairies in the southern part of the county are the burr oak lands. The trees are small and scraggy. The soil is composed of a mixture of the earth of the prairies and of the white oak openings. On account of the intermixture of lime, which makes up a considerable pro- portion of the soil, the burr oak lands are ex- tremely productive, and are regarded by many farmers as superior to all other classes of soil.
The so-called "Barrens" which occupy a small portion of many townships, consists of sandy soil, covered with stunted trees and vegetation. The soil is poor, although by the use of fertilizers, and careful husbandry, much of it has been made capable of raising crops fairly remunerative. It has been
found that these lands are capable of raising certain kinds of fruit, and in this way much of the poorest land lying near Lake Michi- gan has been made highly profitable.
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