USA > Michigan > Jackson County > Jackson > Jackson city directory, with a complete portrait of Jackson. Statistical tables, &c., &c., for 1871 > Part 1
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Burgerluther
7CR
E. B. SMITH & CO.,
9
STATIONERY AND
WALL PAPER,
HURD HOUSE BLOCK,
JACKSON,
MICH.
GEORGE LAKE & SONS,
WHOLESALE DEALERS IN
WHITE LIME,
ouisbille, kron
swego Cements,
Plastering Hair, Salt and Calcine Plaster.
Agents for Jackson Stone Lime.
105 MAIN ST.
2250
$
4.00
WM. J. CALVERT, M. D. HOMEOPATHIC Physician & Surgeon
PHARMACEUTIST, AND MANUFACTURER OF SUGAR COATED PILLS, FROM & OF A GRAIN TO 2 GRAIN PILLS, OF MORPHINE, QUININE, STRYCHNINE, PODOPHYLLIN, &c.
OFFICE - 296, MAIN STREET, { OPPOSITE
RESIDENCE 294, S
COURT HOUSE,
JACKSON, MICH.
Office hours from 9 to 10 A. M., and from 2 to 3 and 7 to 8 P. M. Sundays 3 to 4 P. M. P. O. Lock Box 290, Jackson, Mich.
W. H. Dorrance,
DEN FIST,
Sangre Luther
E. M. EVANS,
PROPRIETOR
1
People's Market,
DEALER IN -
.
novely
Kelly & Deasy,
DEALERS IN
BOOTS &
SHOES.
The best of Custom Work made to or- der, on Short Notice.
NO. 194 MAIN ST., HURD HOUSE BLOCK,
JACKSON, MICHIGAN.
WITHINGTON, COOLEY & CO.,
MANUFACTURERS OF
arming
Cools,
Office and Warehouse, Corner Main and Milwaukee Sts.
C. D. BROWN, (Successor to Brown & Carter) DEALER IN BOOKS AND STATIONERY,
Wall Paper, Window Shades, &c., Wholesale and Retail.
250 MAIN STREET.
JAS. B. HARRISON,
Manufacturer and Dealer in
Boots and
Shoes,
No. 94 Main St.
Austin, Tomlinson & Webster,
Manufacturers of
Wagons and Sleighs
Office No. 2 Marion House Block.
CLEMENT, BROWN & CO., DEALERS IN
Choice Groceries, Oysters, Vegetables, Fruits, &c., &c., NO. 6 LATHROP BLOCK.
VANDERCOOK BROS., FOUNDRY AND MACHINE SHOP. Manufacturers of Agricultural Implements. Forging, General Jobbing, and Repairing Done on Short Notice. 120 PARK AVENUE, (Near Ætna Mills,)
A. E. VANDERCOOK, O. VANDERCOOK, Jackson, Mich.
E. PRICE, M. D., GENERAL AGENT
N. American Life Ins, Con,
OF NEW YORK.
All Policies registered in the State Depart- ment, and secured by Special Deposit.
280 MAIN STREET.
GEORGEJ. BAILEY, Manufacturer and Dealer in
pots and
Shoes.
REPAIRING NEATLY DONE. No. 227 South Side Main Street, JACKSON, MICH.
JACKSON
CITY DIRECTORY,
For 1871,
WITH
A Complete Portrait of Jackson.
STATISTICAL TABLES, &c., &c.
COMPILED AND PUBLISHED
BY JAMES M. THOMAS,
JACKSON, MICHIGAN.
BATTLE CREEK, MICH. : REVIEW & HERALD STEAM BOOK AND JOB PRINTING HOUSE. 1871.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, BY JAMES M. THOMAS, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.
vii
ADVERTISEMENT.
Son,
- WHOLESALE
GROCERS,
0. 232 MAIN STREET.
Will Remove the First of September to No. 22 Luther St.
viii
ADVERTISEMENTS.
HOLLAND & CHAPMAN, Successors to S. Holland & Son, Druggists & Apothecaries No. 213 Main St., Jackson. S. HOLLAND, G. A. CHAPMAN.
WARREN J. BRONSON,
No. 216 Main Street, JACKSON.
J. WEEKS & SON,
AND Ertakers
NO. 260 MAIN STREET, JACKSON, MICH. DEALERS IN ALL KINDS OF Metallic Burial Cases and Caskets, Wood Coffins, Silver Plated and White Metal Coffin Trimmings, Inside Linings, Shrouds, etc. JOHN WEEKS, City Sexton. J. C. WEEKS.
W. A. GIBSON, M. D. HOMEOPATHIC
PHYSICIAN & SURGEON, NO. 280 MAIN ST. GOR. JACKSON.
JACKSON-ITS PRESENT AND FUTURE.
THE publisher after an interval of two years presents his third di- rectory of the city of Jackson. The rapid progress of the city in wealth and population suggests some considerations which may be of interest to those who consult our book.
The tendency of men's opinions is like that of travel upon earth roads, to form ruts which direct the courses of thought, and influ- ence greatly the development of both mind and matter. Among the deep grooves worn before the invention of railroads and the perfect- ing of the steam engine, are those which limit the sites of large cities to the margins of navigable waters, and the development of manufacturing industry to localities having the advantage of im- mense water power. It is as hard to run counter to a prejudice as to sail against a head wind. It requires some risk and exertion to get out of a deep rut, and more than common boldness to mark out and keep a new course either upon land or water ; but when it comes to riding the waves of public opinion, he is deemed audacious or de- mented who pursues any course where his eye is not constantly stead- ied by old landmarks, or who makes an original and independent judgment the compass by which he steers. We thus suggest the dif- ficulty which lies in the way of building interior cities. Were all men now to commence thinking and observing anew, and the facts granted that except for wide tracts of ocean, carriage by land has be- come cheaper than carriage by water, and the production of power with cheap coal more economical than with dams, races, and water wheels, then the considerations that twice the tributary territory and population can be reached with the same radius, and that a coal field is worth more than a cataract, would establish it as a received opinion among men that the best site for a city is away from the in- land sea or the foreign frontier, and at a point where an abundance
10
HISTORY OF JACKSON.
of cheap fuel may be obtained. The independent searcher for a combination of advantages would find, where Jackson is located, val- leys extending in all directions (seven of which are already occupied by railroads), a fertile surrounding country, and underlying beds of sandstone, slate, fireclay, and lime, as well as of bituminous coal. He might look around him and see that here also the horizon is equally distant in all directions, and above him to perceive that he is ex- actly beneath the center of the great blue vault which covers the earth. If he challenges comparison, he will find that competitors will lack-some the fertile country, some the cheap coal and other mineral products, all or nearly all the facilities afforded by radiating valleys for railroad building and communication, some the opportu- nities for business in all directions, and some we may add the intelli- gent and combined efforts of leading citizens to develop the advan- tages given by nature.
If such an observer comes from the vantage ground where we have placed him to intercourse with the men who ordinarily have lived in cities, or who contemplate doing so, he will find their ideas still mov- ing in the old ruts of opinion, the assumed facts as to railways and the steam engine challenged, and himself perhaps regarded as wild and visionary in his conclusions. He can compare steam machin- ery and railroads now with what they were twenty years ago; he can mention the reduced numbers of vessels on the Hudson, the Mississ- ippi, and the inland lakes in the face of a quadrupled business ; he can instance Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, as deriving ten times the advantages from cheap coal which any towns in the coun- try do from water power, or he can analyze the causes of the mod- ern growth of all cities, and prove it to be almost entirely occasioned by causes of which a town like Jackson can get a larger benefit than any town upon the margin of a lake, or on a frontier, or at a distance from coal beds, or without natural facilities for railway traffic ; but however clear his proof, a majority of men will continue to act upon their convictions rather than cordially to adopt the conclusions justi- fied by modern inventions and by local advantages.
It is no impeachment of an individuals good sense that he has not' familiarized himself with all the conditions relating to the problem of city growth. It would be almost a study by itself: all inventions which come into general use, and especially such as affect commerce
1
11
HISTORY OF JACKSON.
or manufacturing operations, vary these conditions. Such things as the distribution of gas and water, means for the prevention of fire, the advertising facilities of daily papers, the good reputation of a town for business, and the advantages of churches and school-houses, are also important, and at Jackson they already exist; but there are things occasioned by the wants of a city and not original causes of its growth. It is always a significant fact for a town where many men become rich, and few become bankrupt by a connection with its business ; and it is this fact perhaps as much as the eminent natural advantages or acquired facilities which has attracted business men to this point, and been the reason of its unusual prosperity. Success forms the measure of the common estimate of the relative advan- tages of cities, and the general public is no more inclined to excuse or forgive a failure than the French national assembly in its conduct with its generals who preceded the first Napoleon.
It is fortunate for Jackson that among its citizens have been men who comprehended its natural advantages, and who have spared nei- ther time nor money in their efforts to develop them. The results of their persistent work are now only beginning to be seen. The foundation is laid for a city, while if their anticipations prove true will eventually contain several times its present population. We are trying to make this book a faithful record of what the city now is rather than a representation of what it is to be. An architect can give an opinion as to the magnitude and cost of a house as soon as the foundation is laid, and it is common from similar data to express opinions as to the prospective population, wealth, and business, of growing cities. Jackson people are rarely heard to make such esti- mates, and seem to be dreading the sneers of their neighbors when- ever called upon to exercise their judgment as to the future of their city. Strangers are, perhaps, better qualified to form opinions, and frequently talk of fifty, seventy, or one hundred thousand population before the close of this century. They sometimes insist that a point which is the only one between New England and New York and the northern Mississippi on main railroad lines where cheap coal abounds and other mineral products are valuable, the only city between Chi- cago and the ocean to which a million and a half of people can con- veniently come, do their business, and return on the same day, the best representative in the union, except Indianapolis and Atlanta, of
12
HISTORY OF JACKSON.
interior cities not dependent upon water communications, and hav- ing the advantages over the Indiana city of cheap fuel and of near- ness to the great lumber district of Michigan, and over the Georgia city of a country capable of sustaining a denser population, and al- ready inhabited by men possessing northern character and enterprise, a town which, without having any help from outside speculation or outside capital (except upon good securities), more than doubled its population between June 1, 1864, and the same date in 1870, and withal a place where the natural development of its business and industry have already brought it to intimate relations with the entire peninsula and with parts of several other States, does not thus far exist by accident, but rather as the legitimate outgrowth of elements which are permanent as causes of prosperity and cannot fail to pro- duce greater efforts as their importance should be more widely recog- nized as new capital should be attracted by them, and experience shall teach the best ways of rendering them available. Till within a recent period, Jackson has had many rivals; hearafter, in the race for superiority it can have but few. Jackson must either be a large city or fail to become so by the influence of causes which are not now apparent. Railroads will only become useless when persons, lumber, furniture, and groceries, can be more safely and economically transported through the air, bituminous coal valueless when some ar- tificial combination of water, or the gases shall supercede the con- centrated carbon of the mine, lime worthless when the world and all things in it lose their acidity, and fireclay unimportant with the dis- covery of something better than silex to resist fire, but when all these things shall happen, Jackson will still have the advantage of a wide area for business, and the lines of cities and villages to be reached by aerial trains will continue to converge to this as a convenient start- ing and distributing point. More violent suppositions than these we suggest will be necessary to those who argue against the future of Jackson, but it will do to admit that when every man has his balloon, with capacity to carry a ship load, and when means shall be devised to so far outspeed the wind that a thousand miles may be accom- plished in an hour, and at an expense too small for separate contem- plation, and men and women shall do all their shopping at some other city, the period will have arrived which is to terminate the remark- ble prosperity of this inland city.
13
HISTORY OF JACKSON:
.
JACKSON IN 1871.
CHANGES THAT TWO YEARS HAVE WROUGHT.
In the two years which have elapsed since the last Directory was published, wherein was described the growth, importance, and pros- perity, of this city, great changes have taken place. The most liberal predictions of the most sanguine Jacksonians, in regard to the im- mediate future of the Central city have been far exceeded by the reality ; and, to-day, Jackson, in wealth, population, development, and greatness, is where no one would have dared predict she would advance to in five years, out-stripping all anticipations, and placing her name -all things considered-only one degree below the first city in popu- lation and industrial wealth and resources in Michigan. No city in the State, in fact, has shown such proportionate rate of increase as Jackson during the past year. All her activities, her resources, her population, her improvements, having been stimulated in a surprising manner, making her the marvel in history of Peninsular cities, and securing her position as a leader beyond any contingency that can occur.
It is our purpose in this sketch to briefly allude to some of the improvements that have been made in this city within a few months. They tell the story of our swift progress, and are as sure harbingers of our brilliant future as the sunny days and opening flowers of the vernal equinox are the beautiful heralds of the glorious Summer and the ripening, golden Autumn.
Among the most important public works created for Jackson du- - ring the year 1870, the Holly Water Works must claim the highest place. This system of water supply for protection against fire, and domestic supply, is the best that has ever been invented by the ingenuity of man. Every hydrant is equal in extinguishing power to the best steam fire engine, and is always ready for its saving work. But it is needless to enlarge upon the effectiveness of the system. Suf- fice it to say that it meets the entire satisfaction of every one, and is among the most valuable institutions of Jackson. The works which
1
14
HISTORY OF JACKSON.
are on Water street are a model of the kind, and have elicited the ad- miration of thousands of visitors. Over eight miles of water pipe have been laid, and nearly all parts of the city are supplied with ,0 water-and the supply is unlimited. The following statement will show the extent and cost of this improvement:
Engine building and coal house, $14,000
Machinery, 40,000
Eight and one-half miles of pipe,
60,000
Seventy-five hydrants,
4,000
And there is now pipe on hand sufficient to lay two and a half miles additional. The system has been in operation over eight months, and no breakage or defect has been discovered. The running ex- penses of the works, including everything, will not exceed $4,500 a year, which is much less than any similar works of the kind in the country, as a comparison will clearly demonstrate. In the matter of street-making and improvements, an immense work has been accom- plished, and it is of the best character. The Nicholson pavement has been laid upon several streets, and we challenge any city of the size of Jackson to show handsomer avenues. On Main street a splen- did change has been wrought. The unsightly depression which has existed on that street has been overcome, and the Nicholson affords a smooth and elegant roadway from Mill street to the Railroad. This pavement has also been laid on Cortland street from Jackson street to Francis, and on Luther street from Jackson street to Mechanic street. This has cost, exclusive of grading and filling, about $3 per yard.
Other streets have also been graded, graveled, and otherwise im- proved.
There has been a great distance of sidewalks, of plank and stone, laid down. On both sides of Main street, from Jackson to Mill street, admirable walks, sixteen feet wide, have been put down, of sawed flagging (Berea stone) costing twenty-two cents a foot, exclu- sive of curb-stone. There have also been laid sixteen miles of two- inch plank walk, and a great number of substantial crossings. Be- sides the stone sidewalks, on Main street (136 rods), there are sixty- eight rods around the ward school houses, and about one hundred and ten rods in front of the residences of citizens in different parts of the city. The credit of this series of great public improvements is due, in a great measure, to the public spirit, liberality, and far-seeing wis-
15
HISTORY OF JACKSON.
dom, of Mayor Bennett and his coadjutors, the Common Council of Jackson, (As the names of the Aldermen for the year 1869 appear in a former Directory, we give below only those of 1870), aided as they have been by the enlightened and enterprising citizens of Jack- son who, having confidence in those officers, were ready and willing, and ungrudgingly gave them material "aid, and comfort."
Mayor-W. M. Bennett.
Recorder-T. A. Wilson. Marshal-D. W. Shaw.
Treasurer-H. K. Thompson.
Justices of the Peace-Jas. A. Dyer, L. D. Welling, A. S. Cush- man, J. F. Sammons.
School Inspectors-Jno. L. Mitchell, W. Irving Bennett.
City Attorney-James W. Bennett.
City Sexton-John Weeks.
City Surveyor-John L. Mitchell.
City Physician-R. H. Davis, M. D.
Aldermen-First Ward, John F. Coots, Wm. L. Seaton.
Aldermen-Second Ward, James Gould, George Lake.
Aldermen-Third Ward, Patrick Downey, Alfred Vandercook.
Aldermen-Fourth Ward, Wm. R. Palmer, Peter B. Loomis.
Constable-First Ward, C. C. Hines.
Constable-Second Ward, B. H. Spencer.
Constable-Third Ward, T. Sharpsteen.
Constable-Fourth Ward, H. Wakeman.
The administration of the Mayor and Common Council of Jackson, for the years 1869 and 1870, must ever stand on the records as the most valuable, effective, and efficient, that this city has ever had. Verily, their works do praise them. It is proper to say that Mayor Bennett, as Superintendent, has given his best efforts to the manage- ment of the Water Works, and the result is the most judicious and economical administration. The present city council, elected in the Spring of 1871, have increased, under the provisions of the amended charter, the number of wards in the city from four . to eight, four being the number under the charter before it was amended. We now have sixteen aldermen instead of eight, among whom are some of our best business men. We predict this council will do a great work for the city.
16
HISTORY OF JACKSON.
NEW BUILDINGS.
Jackson is evidently destined to be a city of more than the usual proportion of handsome and substantial buildings. The number of new dwellings, business houses, and manufactories, erected of late, show a progress that is wonderful. On all sides, buildings have risen, as it were, in a day, from the ground. The east and west hills are literally covered with them, and the northern and southern limits of the city tell the same story. And what is better still, the greater number of these edifices are of a superior character. Great credit is due to the following-named gentlemen, who have with great liberality and public spirit erected a large number of very beautiful, substan- tial, and even elegant, houses for rent and sale, thus meeting a want that has long been felt. Mr. E. A. Webster has erected thirty-six houses at an average value of four thousand dollars each, and is now engaged in completing a magnificent residence for himself on one of the most sightly and most beautiful lots on North Main street. When completed, this dwelling and its lawns and surroundings will not suf- fer by comparison with the most beautiful homes in the State. Mr. Silas Heyser has built twenty-four houses at an average value of $1,- 800 each. Mr. Wilcox has built twenty-one houses at an average value of $2.000. Mr. Rufus Heaton has erected nine houses valued at $2.500 each. I. N. Harwood has built seven houses worth on an average $2.000 each. Dr. Palmer has built five houses worth on an average $1.200. Dr. M. A. McNaughton is entitled to credit for placing within the reach of people of limited means, material and ground for building many houses, aiding and encouraging the provid- ing of comfortable homes. Mr. B. C. Harris has also done a good work in this direction. He has made an advance of money to aid in building some twenty-one houses at an average value of $2,000. and he has furnished the ground upon which to place them. This is upon Harris street, on the East Hill, so called. This street is fifty rods long, and has been made one of the best built streets in the city. There are quite a number of other builders and real estate owners who have erected three, four, and five houses each, also a number of citizens who have built for themselves splendid homes. The houses are admirably adapted for the purposes for which they are designed.
17
HISTORY OF JACKSON.
They are not "tenant houses" as that word is generally under- stood, but well built, thoroughly comfortable, convenient, spacious, handsome dwellings.
BUSINESS BLOCKS, PUBLIC BUILDINGS, &c.
The following are the names of those liberal and " live " business men who have erected stores, business blocks, and other buildings, during the past two years. They are substantial, handsome edifices, all of brick except one, modern in style of architecture and finish, and a great additon to the city.
Bumpus, Woodsum & Co., block, 299 Main street.
Benj. J. Mosher & Wm. Jackson, 253 & 254 Main street (Crystal Palace Block).
Rufus Heaton, store, 250 Main street.
Harrison & Pratt, store, 216 Main street.
Merriman & Ford, store, 214 Main street.
Patton Morrison, store, 212 Main street (and two stores on Mechanic street).
W. R. Reynolds' Block north-east corner of Main and Mechanic streets (also a magnificent residence on North Main street on site of the house burned).
E. P. Baker, store, 205 Main street.
Chas. Ford, stores, 203, 201 and 193 Main street. (Mr. Ford has also remodeled and greatly improved a number of buildings and stores, much to the advantage and appearance of the city.)
C. M. Bridgman, store, 202 Main street.
Mrs. A. H. Warner, store, 200 Main street.
Alfred Baily, store, 198 Main street.
W. H. Withington, store, 196 Main street.
S. J. Hobbs, store, 124 Main street.
Smith & Hurd, Hurd House, 186 Main street.
M. A. McNaughton, store, 166 Main street (also a store on Liberty street).
S. Seney, Seney House, 145 Main street.
Chas. N. Lewis, block, 80} Main street.
Stone & Rugg, store, 75 Main street.
Mark Butcher, store, 63 Main street.
Martin Mosher, Mosher House, 60 Jackson street.
2
18
HISTORY OF JACKSON.
Watts & Hood, block of two stores, corner of Jackson and Luther streets.
Henry Hague, block of three stores, on Jackson street north of Main street.
Baptist Church edifice, corner of Jackson and Cortland streets.
P. E. Pierce, C. L. Pierce and Mrs. H. Dusenbery, block of three stores, on Francis street.
G. H. Lathrop, Keystone block, junction of Luther and Mill streets (contains a number of stores, offices, &c. The Masonic Hall is also in this fine block).
P. Averill, store, on Luther street.
James McCray, block of two stores, on Mechanic street.
Jackson Gaslight Company, works on Clinton street, two large brick buildings and gasometer (a decided and long-needed improve- ment).
Water Works building and machinery, near L. S. & M. S. R. R. Depot on the river. Splendid building and appointments. Model works throughout.
Wilcox' Planing Mill, Milwaukee street.
PROJECTED BUILDINGS.
Plans have been adopted for new county buildings and Michigan Central Railroad car shops and round house. The work has com- menced on county building, and when completed, it will be the handsomest and most complete of any west of Detroit.
In this connection, it is proper to refer to some of the prominent promoters of the prosperity of Jackson. We have alluded to those who were foremost in railroad enterprises ; the names we give below (to- gether with those more closely identified, with railroad matters al- ready mentioned) are of persons who have aided, as capitalists, many of the prominent enterprises of Jackson. W. D. Thompson, Allen Bennett, Wiley R. Reynolds, Alonzo Bennett, E. A. Webster, Dwight Merriman, G. H. Lathrop, and Daniel B. Hibbard.
1
19
HISTORY OF JACKSON.
JACKSON AS A RAILROAD CENTER.
THE railroad system of Jackson is one of its most prominent and effective features, and the enterprise, vigor, and comprehensive fore- sight, of the leading citizens of this city, is perhaps more clearly ex- hibited in this great work than in all others. In a former work, as well as in another article of this volume, the extent of this develop- ment of our wealth is portrayed, and the part performed by our cap- italists in the earlier road, detailed. Beginning with the steps taken to finish the Central Railroad to this point, and the great value that enterprise was to us, as well as the great amount of traffic and busi- ness upon that magnificent iron highway, we passed to a review of the other roads which connect with it, and which so stimulated the growth of Jackson. These roads we shall mention in detail, as well as those others which have been more recently added, and which have made this city the greatest railroad center in Michigan.
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