USA > Michigan > Berrien County > Benton Harbor > Polk Benton Harbor-St. Joseph, Michigan city directory, 1878 > Part 1
USA > Michigan > Berrien County > St Joseph > Polk Benton Harbor-St. Joseph, Michigan city directory, 1878 > Part 1
USA > Michigan > Berrien County > St Joseph > Polk Benton Harbor-St. Joseph, Michigan city directory, 1878 > Part 1
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PON
1878 1719284
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
GEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02631 6486
Gc 977.402 B44p 1878 Benton Harbor - St. Joseph, Michigan, city directory
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2013
http://archive.org/details/polkbentonharbor00unse
ROLLINS
PUBLISHING COMPANY'S
ST. JOSEPH
AND
BENTON HARBOR
DIRECTORY
Containing Historical and Descriptive Sketches of both places, and a full list of the Residents, together with a Business Directory, and a full record of Fruit Growers and Shippers.
CHICAGO: ROLLINS PUBLISHING COMPANY .. 161 LASALLE STREET. 1878.
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Allen County Public Library 900 Webster Street PO Box 2270 Fort Wayne, IN 46801-2270
953
1719284
ST. JOSEPH.
DESCRIPTIVE.
St. Joseph, one of the most important commercial points in the state of Michigan, and as well one of the most attractive summer resorts of the lake region, is situated at the mouth of the St. Joseph river, on Lake Michigan in latitude 42 degrees north. Placed upon nearly the same parallel with Boston, the climate of St. Joseph and its neighborhood is much more mild and equable than that of New England, or any part of the north Atlantic coast, owing to causes of a local character. It is distant from Chicago sixty-two miles, from Racine seventy-five miles, and from Milwaukee one hundred miles. With all of these, and other prominent over-lake ports, daily steamer communication is maintained during the entire season of navigation. Ample rail communication with all christendom is also enjoyed by means of the facilities furnished by the Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railway.
The county is traversed by the St. Joseph river, from the south-east, passing through the city of Niles and the villages of Buchanan and Berrien ; the Paw Paw river crosses it from the north-east, flowing through the village of Watervliet and not far from Coloma. Near the mouth of the former the two rivers unite, forming, with the lake, two peninsulas. Steamer navigation is practicable on the St. Joseph river for a distance of one hundred miles from its mouth, and on the Paw Paw for about thirty miles. The Harbor of St. Joseph is one of the finest in the state, and it
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ROLLINS PUBLISHING COMPANY'S
lacks nothing to make it one of the best on the great lakes, but the expenditure of a moderate sum of money, which it is believed the general government will soon see the justice and expediency of appropriating, in view of the already considerable and rapidly ac- creting commercial importance of the place.
The beautiful village of St. Joseph is located upon a plateau fifty feet above the level of the lake and river, and on the peninsula between those waters. The site, whether considered from the practical or æsthetic point of view, is one of the most attractive in the north- west, combining as it does, all the advantages of situation neces- sary for the material well being of a thriving manufacturing and trading town, with the charms of rare scenery and delightful sur- roundings. To the sportsman, the locality offers an additional attraction, in being one of the finest and most accessible fishing and shooting grounds in the country. Without aspiring to the possession of immense public edifices, like the great cities, St. Joseph's citisens have nevertheless displayed a public spirit in this direction, of which much larger and more pretentious towns might well be proud. Among the prominent buildings of the village a substantial and handsome Union School, enjoying merited pros- perity, is especially noticable. There are, also, several churches, four of which are attractive and commodious brick structures ; and one of these, the M. E. Church edifice, is acknowledged to be one of the finest in the state, west of Detroit.
At the present time the population of St. Joseph is about 3,000, a noticable gain since the date of the last census, which placed it at 2,718. The township is a small one geographically speaking, as it contains only seven sections of land, some portions of which are at present uninhabited owing to the swampy nature of the ground. In 1864 the population was only 1,681, which number has been in- creased to about 3,500, that figuring closely approximate the present number of inhabitants.
The soil of the neighborhood is extremely fertile, consisting of a rich sandy loam, with occasional clay outcroppings. Formerly it was heavily timbered, having been well covered with oak, and less generally, but to a considerable extent, in places, with maple, beech, whitewood, black walnut, ash, butternut, hickory, together with some pine. The land in this locality is eminently adapted to successful agriculture, and yields prolific crops of the cereals and
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ST. JOSEPH AND BENTON HARBOR DIRECTORY.
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other products common to favored sections of the temperate zone. The wheat grown in the country is not excelled in the west. But since Nature has specially endowed this part of her garden with a golden capability to produce the most delicious fruits of the plant, vine, and tree, in such excellence and abundance as to supply the markets of Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and other Western states, the ordinary avocations of the farm have been to a great extent abandoned "for the more glorious purpose," as the Free Masons say, of fruit growing ; hence fruit is the principal export of St. Joseph, and the basis of many of its most successful man- ufactures.
The neighborhood of St. Joseph has the deserved reputation of being the best fruit growing region in the north-west. In the au- tumn the prevailing lake winds check the growth of the trees, in consequence of which their wood is more thoroughly matured than would otherwise happen, and they are in better condition to resist the attacks of winter storms and frosts. Again, during the coldest season of the year, the winds blowing from over the open waters of Lake Michigan, which are far milder than those which sweep over frost bound and snow covered regions, so modify the climate, that the thermometer very rarely registers a temperature below zero. If we wanted to ascend into the realm of poetry, we might excusably call St. Joseph "the child of the Lake Wind," for its benefits and support come largely from that important influence, whose benig- nity lasts the year around. Again in the spring its helpful presence is felt, when by its aid the fruit trees' growth is retarded, and the fruit thus insured against destruction by late frosts. The en- vironment of the vicinity also, in respect of the lake and rivers, is an additional protection against the frosts of spring. So mild in- deed is the climate of this enviable place, that garden vegetables frequently remain green until the first of December.
HISTORICAL.
Prior to the year 1822, the valley of the St. Joseph was a wil- derness, and from one end to the other, without a white settler. In the year named, Rev. Isaac McCoy, a Baptist missionary, es- tablished a mission, one mile east of the place where the present city of Niles is located. This enterprise was under the denomina- tional board of missions, who christened it the "Carey Mission," in
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ROLLINS PUBLISHING COMPANY'S
honor of a noted missionary to India, of their faith. At this time there were a few half-breeds at St. Joseph, and Pere Aux Vaches, who traded with the Indians and cultivated a few patches of ground ; otherwise the nomadic red-man was the sole occupant of the entire region.
Properly speaking, the settlement of St. Joseph dates from the year 1829. In 1828 a treaty was made, at Carey mission, with the Pottawotomie Indians, by which they ceded to the United States, a considerable tract of land, a portion of which is now known as Berrien County. Calvin Britain and Augustus P. Newell pre- empted the land upon which the village of St. Joseph now stands, in 1829. These lands were surveyed by the government in the following year, and were purchased by the pre-empters. Major Britain laid the village out in 1831, and March 7, 1834, it was in- corporated by act of the territorial legislature, as the village of St. Joseph ; although when first laid out, it had been called New- buryport.
Of the early settlers-those who came here prior to 1830-very few are known to be living, and of these, the larger proportion still cling to the scenes and associations of their early pioneer days. In 1831, the first marriage occurred in the little community, and Mr. Bartlett was joined in wedlock to Miss Pamelia Ives. The first white child born in the settlement, came to this couple in the person of Calvin Bartlett, now living and known as one of the most popular steamboat captains on the lakes. The first ware- house, a log structure, was erected by Amos B. Hinckley, in 1830. The first saw mill was started two years later by Deacon & Mc- Kaleb ; it stood about midway between the foot of Main street and the bayou bridge. The first steamboat whose paddles ever scared the fish in the St. Joseph river, was built by the same parties in 1833, and called the Matilda Barney; its first commander was Captain Daniel Wilson. A. E. Draper edited and published the first newspaper, the St. Joseph Herald, in 1833, but the venture was not a paying one, and was abandoned before long.
In 1836, under an appropriation made under General Jackson's administration, work was commenced on the harbor piers. Before the piers were built and the channel of the river changed, the mouth of the St. Joseph was opposite the lighthouse. At that time it was a difficult river to enter, especially in rough weather,
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ST. JOSEFH AND BENTON HARBOR DIRECTORY.
and many valuable lives had been lost in the attempt before the present harbor protections were constructed. In 1831 the old lighthouse was commenced; the keeper's house occupied the site, of the present one, and the tower was on the brow of the hill in front of it.
From the time of its settlement up to 1846 St. Joseph increased rapidly in population and business importance, and a considerable trade was established between the village and river points as far up as Three Rivers, and Chicago. The trade with the latter, in- deed, was important enough to employ several large steamers. In those days it was the intention of the state government to make St. Joseph the terminus of the Michigan Central Railroad, and this prospective aggrandisement for the town had the effect of starting a wild speculation in real estate, which was held at enor- mous prices, much to the detriment of solid prosperity and normal progress. The sale of the Central road by the state to the Michi- gan Central Railroad Company, practically put a period to these ambitious anticipations, for, although in the original draft of the charter, the company was obliged to make its terminus at St. Jo- seph, by representing that it might find it more to its advantage to make it at South Haven or at some point farther north, the char- ter was amended so as to oblige the company to build their road to some point in the state on Lake Michigan feasible for steam- boats. Mr. Brooks the astute manager of the road complied with the requirements of the charter by building the line to New Buffalo, where a temporary harbor "feasible for steamboats" was con- structed at considerable expense ; but this was allowed to go to decay and the road was continued around the head of the lake to Chicago. By this sharp, though perhaps questionable move, Chicago gained one of her most important railway connections and St. Jo- seph lost the opportunity of becoming one of the great cities of the West, at least for the succeeding generation or so. What the fu- ture may have in store for it as a result of the steadily growing im- portance of its valuable productions, trade, and manufactures, is yet to be seen. One thing is very certain that at present St. Jo- seph is only second to Detroit in commercial importance in the state, and its prosperity stands upon the most solid founda- tion.
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ROLLINS PUBLISHING COMPANY'S
BUSINESS ENTERPRISES.
It may not be improper in a work of this kind to give a brief description of persons, firms and corporations upon the results of whose enterprise the wealth and standing of St. Joseph rests. It may be further remarked en passant that among the professional and busines men of the town, not a few are notables of more than local reputation in the fields of commerce, politics and the arts and sciences.
Among the leading men not only of St. Joseph, but of the State of Michigan, one man is noteworthy as being an influence to which his section stands indebted for much of its later progress and wealth. Since the sketch of the gentleman we refer to in the his- tory of Michigan could not be improved upon by us, we reproduce it :
"Alexander Hamilton Morrison, of St. Joseph, Michigan, pro- jector and builder of the Michigan Lake Shore Railroad and its vice-president and general manager, was born in the Province of Quebec, Canada, February 22, 1822. At the age of fifteen he was engaged as clerk for B. W. Smith, now sheriff of Simcoe, On- tario, and with him came West in 1838, arriving at Chicago in October of that year, when Chicago contained less than four thou- sand inhabitants. Here he entered the employ of David Ballen- tine, Esq., then a contractor on the Illinois and Michigan canal and remained with him as clerk for several years. At the age of nineteen he engaged in active business on his own account. In 1847, 1848 and 1849 Mr. Morrison was engaged as a contractor on public works in Illinois and Iowa. In 1850 he came to St. Joseph, where he has since resided and has been connected in extensive business as a merchant and lumberman, until he engaged in the railroad enterprise which now occupies his attention.
The Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad, of which Mr. Morrison is the projector, builder and successful general manager extends from New Buffalo on the Michigan Central to Pentwater, which is the main line, a distance of one hundred and seventy miles, with a branch of twenty miles from Holland to Grand Rapids and another branch from Muskegon to Big Rapids of fifty- five miles, making in all two hundred and fifty miles of road. Con-
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ST. JOSEPH AND BENTON HARBOR DIRECTORY.
sidering the difficulties encountered in consequence of the decision of the Supreme court declaring void all municipal aid voted to help construct railways together with the fact that the road was built through a new country sparsely populated and which would not have been undertaken without the encouragement the law of 1869, op- posed the success of the enterprise in both its completion and management entitles to the projector and builder to an amount of praise for commercial sagacity, foresight and economy in all the details of construction and management seldom awarded to men of these times, and which to him in his declining years will be a great source of consolation and pride. Mr. Morrison while en- gaged in extensive business has at the same time given some at- tention to politics and been the recipient of political honors and seen much of public life for a man of his years, now only fifty-two. In 1851 he was chairman of the board of supervisors of Berrien county. In 1852 he was a candidate for presidential elector on the Whig ticket. In 1856 he was elected to the Senate of this State. In 1860 he was elected to the House of Representatives, and was chairman of the committee on state affairs for three sessions and during that time was one of the special joint committee on war matters of which Hons. Jas. F. Joy, H. P. Baldwin and Thomas D. Gilbert, were members. To the members of that committee must be awarded the honor of successfully projecting that policy which at the end of the war found the State unincumbered with a war debt. The individual members of that committee were also foremost in sustaining a policy not less important, inaugurated by Mr. Joy at the first session of the Legislature of 1861, for the es- tablishment of a sinking fund which in 1881 will find the state en- tirely out of debt. In 1862 Mr. Morrison was appointed by Presi- dent Lincoln collector of internal revenue for the Second district of Michigan, and 1867 assessor of internal revenue for the same district which office he held until June 1869, when he resigned to enter upon the railroad project of which mention is made above. Mr. Morrison belongs to one of the pioneer families of the West- ern country, who were Indian traders in the Lake Superior coun- try in the latter part of last century, and the first part of this. His father was a member of the old Northwestern Fur Company, and one of the few partners in that company that refused to surrender to and successfully resisted Lord Selkirk in his war made upon it
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in the interest of the Hudson Bay Company, immediately after the late war with great Britain. His guardian in his boyhood and under whose care he was educated was his friend and relative the late William Morrison, the discoverer of the source of the Missis- sippi river, from whom he obtained a knowledge of pioneer life in the beginning of this century by hearing him relate adventures that, to the young, have a charm that is irresistible. Mr. Morri- son ascribes his late success to his business connection with the Hon. James F. Joy, the great railroad magnate of the Northwest, to whom he always gives the entire praise. Be that as it may the people of Michigan will always remember the subject of this sketch as one of her distinguished characters and the people of the town of St. Joseph and Berrien county as its most prominent, widely known and ambitious business man, who for nearly twenty-five years has maintained a spotless reputation as a merchant and railroad manager."
One of the most prosperous financial institutions in western Michigan is the First National Bank of St. Joseph, which was or- ganized in 1871, with a cash capital of $50,000. This bank trans- acts a large business with fruit growers, manufacturers and mer- chants and with their connections in Chicago and other markets. It is a great convenience, especially to Chicago. commission mer- chants, who save a great deal of trouble and expense by transact- ing their business through this institution. The officers are W. E. Higman, president ; James Baley, cashier, and O. O. Jordan, assistant cashier.
The carriage and wagon factory of Sam Hannon, on State street, is a prominent and successful manufacturing enterprise. The proprietor has established a reputation for making durable, strong and elegant wagons and carriages of all descriptions, and has established a large trade with the surrounding country, and other parts of the state as well as with more distant points.
Messrs Wallace & Barnes, on Water street at the foot of State, do an extensive business in lumber, lath, shingles, fencing, building material and so forth. They also deal largely in lime, salt, cement and land plaster. The house is well established and ranks high in its particular line among the leading firms of the section.
The news of the day is furnished to the people of St. Joseph by the St. Joseph Republican, an excellent weekly democratic paper
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ST. JOSEPH AND BENTON HARBOR DIRECTORY.
published by Wm. Ricaby & Son, No. 44 State street. The Re- publican is widely circulated in Berrien and adjacent counties and is a well conducted and ably edited journal. A first class job office · with all the necessary facilities for a large business is attached to to the paper.
The stove, tinware, copper and sheet iron ware establishment of Charles H. Moulton, No. 42 State street, supplies the town and country about to a large extent. Mr. Moulton is a successful mer- chant, and has a business that is growing rapidly in volume and profit.
The leading drug and grocery house of the village is owned and managed by E. Palmer at Nos. 44 and 46 State street, who also keeps a heavy stock of wall papers. The business of this house is large and increasing with the growth of the locality.
The leading livery and sale stable of St. Joseph is the establish- ment of J. C. Caldwell, on State street, south of Broad and oppo- site the Park Hotel. Mr. Caldwell owns a number of fine carriage and draught horses and furnishes teams and carriages at the short- est notice. This stable is well known and popular, and deserves an excellent run of custom from citizens and visitors.
William Ricaby, in addition to his connection with the Repub- lican conducts the largest business in St. Joseph in the line of watches, jewelry, books, stationery, music, musical instruments, fancy goods, etc., No. 48 State street, corner Pleasant. This house carries a large, varied and elegant stock of everything included in the above branches, and is a museum of bijouterie music, art and literature.
Frederick Sauerbier has a large grocery and provision house on · Main street, and deals in choice family groceries, provisions, crock- ery, woodware, green and dried fruits, &c., &c.
C. C. Sweet & Bros., are the leading commercial firm of St. Joseph. They own and run an extensive general store at the cor- ner of State and Ship streets and conduct one of the heaviest trad- ing enterprises in this part of Michigan.
The most important manufacture of St. Joseph is that of fruit packages, to which business the labor and capital of several firms is devoted. Of the leading houses in this line, Messrs. A. W. Wells & Co., manufacture a vast amount of all kinds of fruit pack-
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ROLLINS PUBLISHING COMPANY'S
ages and have markets for their wares at home, in Chicago and . other large cities. The firm composed is of young men, active en- ergetic, enterprising and popular, is regarded as one of the most solid institutions of the town.
Another house in the same interest and equal to the first in commercial importance is the fruit package manufacturing estab- lishment of Messrs. W. R. Wilcox & Co. This house has an exten- sive home trade and ships its product to all parts of the United States.
St. Joseph counts among its important industrial enterprises the extensive sash, door and blind factory of W. A. Preston, in con- nection with which there is a large planing mill. Mr. Preston enjoys a profitable trade, dealing heavily with his own people and surround- ing counties and shipping to distant points to a considerable extent.
Among the leading members of the Michigan bar, the law firm of Potter & Potter, St. Joseph, are prominently known. Mr. C. B. Potter was democratic candidate for Congress during the last campaign, and made a fine run notwithstanding the fact that the district was overwhelmingly republican. The other notable coun- sellors of the locality are Messrs. Clapp & Fyfe, N. A. Hamilton and Thomas J. DePuy.
The medical profession is ably represented in the persons of Doctors A. K. Webster, A. H. Scott and L. J. McLin ; and the lead- ing dentist is Dr. H. C. Rockwell.
In respect of hotel facilities St. Joseph is far in advance of any town in Western Michigan. The leading house, the Park Hotel, is known everywhere as one of the most popular and comfortable resorts in the county. The buildings once constituted one of the handsomest private mansions in the state, and in the remodeling necessary for hotel purposes care was taken that the air of home comfort should not be lost. The grounds surrounding the house are beautifully laid out and are thoroughly shaded in summer by magnificent forest trees. The proprietor, Mr. Sam Brown is wide- ly known as a genial and attentive host and the Park Hotel under his supervision has grown to be considered the ideal of a public house. The cuisine is unexceptionable, the rooms large, airy and furnished with taste and elegance, and the situation charming as to surroundings and central as to business requirements. Hundreds of sportsmen from the great cities make the Park Hotel their re-
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sort during the fishing and shooting seasons, and it is needless to say that their every want is anticipated and provided for by this jolliest Boniface in Michigan-Sam Brown. There are several other hotels in St. Joseph of lesser note ; they are the Guernsey, National and Hoyt houses.
CHICAGO AND MICHIGAN LAKE SHORE RAILROAD.
Almost, if not quite, first among the influences that unite to. give St. Joseph, its neighboring town, Benton Horbor, and the locality generally, whatever of commercial advantage and pros- perity now enjoyed by them, the railroad interest is worthy of attention. The great iron line which connects the section over- land with Chicago and the other markets of the country, is the Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad, mention of which has been made elsewhere in connection with a sketch of the Hon .. Alexander H. Morrison.
Its main line extends from New Buffalo to Pentwater, 170 miles, with a branch from Holland to Grand Rapids, 25 miles, and another from Muskegon to Big Rapids, 55 miles. Trains.
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