USA > Michigan > Van Buren County > A History of Van Buren County, Michigan: A Narrative Account of Its Historical Progress, Its. > Part 59
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If they warmed their cabins by huge fireplaces and cooked their frugal meals over a blazing fire, the food was just as tasty as if cooked on a forty dollar range. If the kitchen had to answer the purpose of a parlor and often a sleeping room, it was a necessity and was satisfactory. Our musical instruments were of God's own invention, our wives and children, and their music was the most cheering within the hearing of those early pioneers. If their children were rocked in home-made cradles, or toted about in a vehicle costing a couple of hours' labor, they were fully up to those of the present day in intelligence and far ahead in vigor. The wives of the pioneers were their own cooks, chambermaids, dress-makers and milliners; they did their own laundering, were proficient in the use of the spinning wheel, loom and other house- hold utensils of that early day.
"If it was necessary for the wife or daughter to walk four or five miles to do shopping, visit neighbors or attend Divine wor- ship, they were both ready and willing to perform the task. Al- though the pioneer schoolhouse might be a log cabin, situated in the forest or on the plain, the pupils made good progress in their studies, and, although those rude structures were used as houses of worship, no doubt the worship was just as acceptable to the Heavenly Father as that from gilded pulpits accompanied by the melodious sound of organs, horns and fiddles. It was a common practice for some Christian families in the township to go five miles or more with ox teams to attend Sunday worship.
"Previous to the completion of the Paw Paw mills in 1839, Flow- erfield, Comstock and then Kalamazoo were the nearest grist mills. I often went to the old current wheel mill located on the east side of the Kalamazoo river, in the then little village of Bronson, usually making the trip with oxen in two days. The mill with its splashing wheel disappeared more than fifty years ago.
"The sickly season of 1838 was the severest ordeal the early settlers had to endure. Sickness prevailed to an alarming extent, until there were not enough well people to properly care for the suffering ones, and one after another was gathered in by the grim reaper. It was during that year that the land for the 'Old Cemetery' in the north part of the village was purchased and pre- pared for the reception of those who had finished their labors in this then wilderness country. I recognize a few persons in this audience who passed through that trying season. Though young then, they are old now, for that was sixty-one years ago, and the youth of that period-the few that remain-are the old pioneers of today."
Mr. Woodman was one of the most prominent farmers of Van Buren county and at one time, when the Greenback party
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was in the zenith of its strength, he was chosen as its candidate for governor of the state of Michigan, but, as a matter of course, failed of an election, Michigan Republicans being too strongly entrenched to be ousted.
Jason Woodman, one of the associate editors of this work, a son of David Woodman, is prominent in the order of Patrons of Hus- bandry and was a member of the state senate for four years. He is a graduate of the Michigan Agricultural College and is a scien- tific and successful agriculturist. His elder brother, Edson Wood- man, is a Civil war veteran, and has been a noted breeder of Per- cheron horses.
Others who were not among the earliest settlers, but yet came early enough to be called pioneers were John Sherrod, Jonas Har- rison, Henry Wilson, Philip Sherrod, and probably others whose names are not now recalled.
THE PAW PAW IRREVOCABLY CROOKED
Before the days of railroads the subject of water transportation between Paw Paw and Lake Michigan was a matter of importance. The Paw Paw river was utilized for this purpose after a fashion and different plans and schemes were devised to make that stream a navigable river. Early settlers eventually went so far as to dream of some day seeing the river made a highway for steam- boats. The legislative council of 1833 for the purpose of promot- ing access to the "forks of the river" between the villages of Paw Paw and Lawrence, which was then supposed to be the head of navigation, authorized the construction of roads from that point to different places in Van Buren, Cass, Kalamazoo and Barry coun- ties. The "landing" in the township of Lawrence afterward be- came a place from which considerable freight was shipped down the river to St. Joseph. Probably there is not a more crooked stream in the state of Michigan than the Paw Paw river, and while it is but thirty-five miles by rail to that city from Paw Paw, it is probably more than three times that distance by way of the river. Feeble efforts were at one time made to straighten the stream, but nothing was of importance accomplished except to use up the appropriation of public lands made for that purpose.
In 1840 Isaac W. Willard built two large flatboats and loaded them with flour at Paw Paw and sent them down the river. One of these boats was named the "Daniel Buckley" and was com- manded by Capt. A. R. Wildey, the other was called the "Wave" and was placed in charge of William H. Hurlbut. They succeeded in making the trip, but the difficulties encountered and the time occupied made the venture an unremunerative one. Other sim-
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ilar attempts were made from time to time, but the traffic was eventually abandoned as being unprofitable. It may well be imagined that the journey down the stream when there was a fair stage of water could be made with comparative ease, but the labor of poling the heavy boats back to Paw Paw against the swift cur- rent must have been exceedingly tedious and severe. And so the crooked Paw Paw remains and is likely to remain, a beautiful, meandering stream bordered with forests and fertile fields, with vineyards and orchards and an occasional water power. The writer speaks with knowledge of its beauties, as he has traversed it from Paw Paw to its mouth, where it empties into the St. Joe river, almost at the shore of Michigan's great lake.
STATISTICAL, POLITICAL, HORTICULTURAL
The amount of taxes spread upon the roll of the township in 1839 was $530.98. The entire valuation of the township, includ- ing the village, was the sum of $53,540.
This valuation was divided as follows: Resident farm and per- sonal, $15,091; village property, $9,914; non-resident realty, $27,725.
In 1911 the assessed valuation of the township, including the village, was $1,555,800. Paw Paw stands at the head of the list of townships in the county, not including the city of South Haven, in point of wealth, being assessed at $358,000 more than the town- ship. of Hartford which ranks as second. The taxes spread on the roll for the same year were $32,793.81. These figures show that while the valuation of the township has increased almost thirty- fold in the last seventy-two years, the taxes have increased sixty- fold. In other words, the tax rate, in proportion to valuation, has doubled. This is accounted for in some degree by reason of the liberal sums voted by the people for public improvements for which they are now paying.
According to the census of 1910, the township also stands at the head of the list as to population, the number of its inhabitants being given as 2,779; Bangor being second with 2,424.
Since its organization the following named gentlemen have served the township in the capacity of supervisor: D. O. Dodge, Peter Gremps, Joshua Bangs, J. H. Simmons, S. J. Foote, J. B. Barnes, J. K. Pugsley, I. W. Willard, Loren Darling, Benoni Hall, F. H. Stevens, G. B. Sherrod, Elisha Durkee, Edwin Barnum, R. Avery, Charles Selleck, L. B. Sheldon, G. J. Hudson, Loyal Crane, E. M. Glidden, O. D. Glidden, Thomas L. Ross, E. O. Briggs, John W. Free, David Woodman, Chas. W. Young, E. A. Wildey, William Killefer, J. C. Warner, W. C. Wildey, L. E. Shepard and Merle H.
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Young. Of the foregoing those who officiated for more than two years were Selleck, Free and Killefer, each four years; Barnum and C. W. Young, each five years; W. C. Wildey, six years; Briggs, seven years, and Warner, nine years. Merle H. Young, the present incumbent of the office, is now serving his third consecutive year.
At the first general election, held in the county after the ad- mission of the state into the Union, there were 181 votes polled, of which thirty-three were polled in the township of La Fayette (Paw Paw). The returns on governor for that year are missing from the official files, but the congressional return is still preserved. That shows that the vote was practically all Democratic. At the presi- dential election of 1840, seventy-one voters cast their ballots, forty- three being for Van Buren, Democrat, and twenty-eight for Har- rison, Whig.
At the last presidential election 689 electors registered their choice at the ballot box, as follows: 450 for Taft, Republican ; 215 for Bryan, Democrat; twelve for Chafin, Prohibitionist; nine for Debs, Socialist; and three for Hisgen, Independent.
Formerly the citizens of the township were very largely en- gaged in the raising of grain, hay and stock, but in recent years the fruit industry, especially the culture of the grape, largely pre- dominates. There are few places in the township, outside the limits of the village, where one can travel along any highway and be out of sight of a vineyard. There are thousands of acres of that delectable fruit and the quality produced is unsurpassed. The principal varieties grown are the Concord, Delaware, Worden, Moore's Early and Niagara, but the Concord largely exceeds all other varieties combined.
Other fruits, such as cherries, apples, pears, plums, peaches and small fruits are cultivated, some of them being produced in great abundance.
Some of the more progressive farmers have made a specialty of growing potatoes for a few years past and have met with good success. Indications are that the cultivation of this tuber will as- sume a prominent place in the agriculture of the township in the near future.
VILLAGE OF PAW PAW
The village of Paw Paw, the county seat of Van Buren and the only village within the limits of the township, is situated on the "Fruit Belt line," four miles from the Michigan Central. It was first surveyed and platted by Peter Gremps, Isaac W. Wil- lard and Lyman I. Daniels, in the spring of 1838. This plat was located on sections twelve and thirteen, on the east side of the
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NORTH KALAMAZOO STREET, PAW PAW
GRAPE SHIPPERS OF PAW PAW
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Paw Paw river just below the confluence of the east and west branches of that stream. It was quite an ambitious village in its inception and contained fifty-one blocks.
In 1846 Judge Evert B. Dyckman and Rev. Joseph Woodman platted an addition of sixteen blocks adjoining this original plat on the east. In the spring of 1848, the village was resurveyed with some additions to the original plat, the principal one of which was Willard's addition on section eleven on the west side of the river. Other minor additions have since been platted and the village is now a mile and a half in extent from east to west and a mile in width from north to south.
The village was first incorporated by act of the legislature of the state in 1859 (S. L. 1859, p. 292). This act of incorporation was repealed in 1863 (S. L. 1863, p. 65). Another act of incor- poration was enacted by the legislature of 1867 (S. L. 1867, Vol 2, p. 1115). This act was amended in 1869; also in 1873.
The first settlement in the township of Paw Paw was made within the limits of the present village in 1832, when Rodney Hinck- ley located on a piece of land that is within the northern part of the town. In that same year Pierce Barber of Prairie Ronde began the erection of a saw mill on the river in what is now the western part of the village. In 1833 this property passed into the posses- sion of Peter Gremps and Lyman I. Daniels. These gentlemen, who had come to Paw Paw on a prospecting tour, bought the mill and a considerable tract of land adjoining, upon which, in conjunc- tion with Isaac W. Willard, they platted the village as above noted. Daniels never became a resident of Paw Paw. Gremps, who came from the Mohawk valley, returned east, but came back in 1835, became a permanent settler on his Paw Paw property, and lived the remainder of his life in the village, dying at his home in 1874 at the age of seventy-three years.
Shortly after his return from the east in 1835, he sent to Stone Arabia, in the state of New York, and induced Dr. Barrett to come west and settle in Paw Paw. He was the first physician in the place. He remained about four years and then removed to Kalamazoo, where he ended his days not long afterward.
It was early evident to Mr. Gremps that the Territorial road would pass through Paw Paw, and, recognizing that that route would become a great thoroughfare across the state, he wanted a public house-a tavern-established in his new village. Meeting Daniel O. Dodge at Schoolcraft one day in 1834, prior to his re- turn east, he offered to give him an entire block and build a board house upon it if he would come and "keep tavern" in the place. Dodge accepted the offer and opened an inn which became one of the most noted public houses in southwest Michigan. "Dodge's
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Tavern" was known far and wide, it being one of the principal stopping places along the whole line of that famous thoroughfare, which is known to this day as the "Territorial road." This tavern was a board shanty containing four rooms and measured about sixteen by twenty-four feet. It was enlarged in 1835 and rebuilt in 1836. Travel by stage along the route was very brisk. It is said that sometimes Dodge had as many as a hundred people to entertain and Mrs. Dodge did the cooking for all of them. The tavern stood on what is now the south side of Main street and was nearly hidden by trees. Indeed, trees were so abundant in Paw Paw, that even after the village was platted travelers often passed through it without knowing there was any village there, and frequently inquired at the tavern for the location of the town.
During Dodge's career as a landlord, Dr. Warner opened an- other public house in the village, but it had only a brief exist- ence. James Crane put up the Exchange Hotel on the site of the present Dyckman House, which latter was built by Judge E. B. Dyckman and John Smolk, after the destruction of the Exchange by a disastrous conflagration that burned a number of the busi- ness places of the village.
Judge Evart Brown Dyckman, from whom the hotel, the prin- cipal public house in the village, takes its name, who was of the old Knickerbocker stock, was born on the 25th day of September, 1799. He assisted in the construction of the Erie canal, and when that work was completed he established a boat yard and carried on the business of boating and an extensive coopering establish- ment for a number of years. He came to Detroit in 1836, where he purchased a pony and rode across the state on the Territorial road to St. Joseph. Receiving discouraging reports of the country beyond the lake, he concluded to settle in Michigan, buying about a thousand acres of land in Van Buren county. His wife died in 1838, and the following autumn, with his seven children, his father and mother, two nephews and two nieces, he settled on lands near Paw Paw, where he began farming operations. He was elected an associate judge of the circuit court in 1841. He married his sec- ond wife in 1839, who lived less than a year. In 1841 he was again married, and changed his residence to Schoolcraft, in the county of Kalamazoo, where he died at a ripe old age. Judge Dyckman was the grandfather of Evert S. Dyckman, who was the first mayor of the city of South Haven and who is one of the leading citizens of that prosperous "City by the Lake."
Another improvement that Mr. Gremps desired to have was a store, and so he procured the services of Williamson Mason, a young man from Wayne county, New York, who had been working in
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the west at his trade as a carpenter, to build him a store. Mason at once proceeded to erect a substantial building, which stood just west of Dodge's tavern on the corner of what is now Main and Gremps streets. Mr. Gremps occupied a part of the building as a residence and opened a store, the first one in the place, and be- gan business with Edward Shultz as his clerk.
Mason took up his residence in the village where he became one of its business men. He died at his Paw Paw home on the 18th day of September, 1890. Rodney Hinckley had built a black- smith shop, but there was little work done in it and so Gremps got Craig Buys, a brother-in-law of Hinckley's, to come and open a shop. Buys occupied a shop which Gremps had Mason build for him. He plied his trade there for about six years and then moved to Ohio.
The first shoeshop was opened in 1836 by Charles G. Harring- ton, who subsequently removed to Lawton where he followed his trade for many years.
Madison Eastman, a carpenter, came to the village in 1835. He afterward removed to Decatur, but returned to Paw Paw, where he died.
Myron Hoskins came to Paw Paw in 1836. He afterward became a resident of the northern part of the county, but returned to Paw Paw where he died, November 7, 1900, aged eighty-nine years.
The second store in the village ,was opened by Nathan Mears, who afterward became a merchant in Chicago. Edwin Mears and James Crane were also among the earlier ones to engage in the mercantile business.
Mr. Gremps, in company with Isaac W. Willard, opened a store in 1838 on Main street. Willard afterward bought out Gremps' interest and took in Edward Shultz as a partner. Later the firm was Willard & Moffat. Willard was one of the founders of the village of Paw Paw, and was a man of note, not only in the im- mediate community, but had a wide reputation both in the county and state. He was chosen as a member of the second "convention ยท of assent" which met at Ann Arbor in December, 1836, to take ac- tion on the admission of Michigan into the Union. He was also a member of the constitutional convention of 1850. Mr. Willard was a very peculiar man and many anecdotes are related of his eccentricities. He was a friend to a man whom he liked, but wanted nothing to do with a person to whom he took a dislike. The writer is glad that he bore very friendly relations with Mr. Wil- lard after forming his acquaintance several years prior to his death. Mr. Willard was a bachelor, which may, to some extent, account for his personal peculiarities. He was closely identified with the interests of Paw Paw up to the time of his death. He was the
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moving spirit in the organization of the Prospect Hill Cemetery Association and was its first president. This cemetery is located about a half mile south of the village and is one of the finest ceme- teries to be found in the state of Michigan, consisting of a series of hills rising one above another. A fine view of the town can be obtained from the summit of some of these hills. During the lat- ter years of Mr. Willard's life this cemetery was his especial care and pride. He erected a wooden tower on its topmost pinnacle, one hundred and twenty-five feet in height, which was visible for many miles around. This tower was christened by some irreverent ones as "Willard's folly." It stood as a landmark for several years, and until its builder was laid to rest almost at its foot, when one morning. the elements having weakened its foundation, it fell to the ground with a mighty crash.
Other early business men of the village were Alonzo Sherman, E. J. House. H. L. Dickinson, F. H. Stevens, Loren Darling, Capt. Edmund Smith and William R. Hawkins. Mr. Hawkins was an- other somewhat eccentric man. He was for a time engaged in the mercantile business, but eventually became a broker and built up a very successful and profitable business in that line. He was familiarly known as Colonel Hawkins. He died at his Paw Paw home on the 21st day of February, 1895, aged eighty-seven years.
Captain Smith. who came to the village in 1843, built one of the most successful mercantile establishments in Van Buren county. Starting a general store, he converted it into a gentlemen's fur- nishing establishment, and E. Smith & Company's "Long Brick Store" was well known throughout the county. It is still con- ducted under the same firm name, although its founder has been dead for nearly eighteen years.
Peter Gremps was the first postmaster of Paw Paw, his appoint- ment dating from 1835. He was succeeded in 1842 by George L. Gale, who was followed successively by John McKinney, John Smolk, A. J. Goodrich, F. H. Stevens, James M. Longwell. Joseph W. Huston, E. J. House, A. J. Sortore, O. F. Parker, Thomas B. Irwin, George W. Matthews, Dr. L. K. Woodman, Robert O. Beebe, Peter Mackellar, Kirk W. Noyes, William Killefer and Bangs F. Warner, who is now rounding out his third consecutive four years term.
It is usually considered that the postoffice receipts are a fair indication of the prosperity of the community. Judging by this standard, the residents of Paw Paw have little reason for com- plaint. A communication received by the compiler from the auditor of the postoffice department at Washington says: "The earliest record of business transacted at Paw Paw is that of the quarter ending September 30, 1836, in which the gross postal receipts were
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$31.21. The gross receipts of each decennial year from 1840 to 1910 are as follows : 1840, $261.28; 1850, $807.42; 1860, $1,131.60; 1870, $2,504.05; 1880, $3,219.96; 1890, $3,502.37; 1900, $4,068.70; 1910, $8,647.64." The receipts of the office for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1911, amounted to $9,256.
The lawyers and doctors of the village are mentioned in the chapters of this work devoted to the Bench and Bar and the Med- ical Profession. The various newspapers that have been pub- lished in the town and that are now in existence will be found in their appropriate place in the chapter dedicated to the Press.
The first flouring mill of the town was built for Willard & Gremps in 1838, and called the Paw Paw Mills, which are still doing business, having been thoroughly remodeled and converted into a modern plant in all respects. It was built by Stafford God- frey, a millwright, together with R. E. Churchill, the same par- ties who built Van Buren county's first courthouse. Mr. Godfrey continued to make Paw Paw his home until his decease which oc- curred November 2, 1889, at the age of eighty-two years.
The first wedding in Paw Paw was that of Miss Hannah Mead and one Bellfontaine, in 1833. The bride was a "hired girl" in the employ of John Thomas and the groom was one of the sawmill "hands," an employe at Job Davis' sawmill. There was neither minister nor civil magistrate to be had to perform the marriage ceremony, but Davis declared that he had once been a justice of the peace and thought it would be all right if he mar- ried them, and, as they agreed with him, he married them. They afterward removed to Indiana, and for aught that is known, they lived as happily, or unhappily, as the case may be, as though there had been pronounced over them a legalized ministerial or judicial ceremony.
The first death was that of the wife of Daniel O. Dodge who died in 1837. She was buried in the tavern garden, but her body was afterward removed to the cemetery in the north part of the vil- lage.
On the last day of December, 1835, Peter Gremps moved into his new house, which is still known as the Gremps house. That evening he was informed by his clerk, Shultz, who had learned something of Indian customs, that the red men would make him and his family a New Year's call the next day, and, somewhat to the trepidation of the ladies, a delegation of some twenty-five Indians, decked out in paint and feathers, made the promised call. It was their manner of ratifying friendship with the whites for another year. The braves insisted on kissing the women, despite the violent protests they made. It was rather a jolly affair, notwith- standing the kissing; but Mrs. Dodge donned her war paint when
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the visitors called on her and offered to kiss her, and drove them from the house at the point of the rolling pin.
The first fourth of July celebration was held in 1836. The ceremonies of the day included a patriotic oration by Hon. F. C. Annable, of Almena; a written address to the three veterans of the War of 1812 who were present, which was presented by a daughter of Peter Gremps, afterward Mrs. Alonzo Shultz; anvil salutes fired by Rodney Hinckley, and a banquet to everybody. The affair took place in an open space in the woods just west of the old courthouse grounds, which was then dignified with the name of "Public square."
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