USA > Michigan > Van Buren County > A history of Van Buren County, Michigan a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests Volume I > Part 16
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no books different from those studied by his scholars, no maps, no globes, no apparatus, no aids of any sort, but was thrown en- tirely on his own resources. What wonder that so many failed to make a success of the work they had undertaken. An abundance of books of reference, convenient rooms, suitable seats and desks, maps, globes and scientific apparatus, together with an enlight- ened public sentiment to support him, make the profession of a present day teacher altogether different from those days in the little old log schoolhouse, and although a much more efficient equip- ment is required at the present time, the work is not as difficult as it was seventy-five or even fifty years ago.
THE OLD AND THE NEW
It is doubtful, however, if the scholars or the parents of these modern days enjoy themselves any better or are any happier than they were in those primitive times. Who that ever participated in them will ever forget the old fashioned spelling schools, the singing schools and the debating schools-they would be termed "lyceums" in modern parlance-when, packed closely in the box of the big sled half filled with straw, wrapped in blankets and robes, hitched behind old "Buck and Bright" the family ox team, they traveled miles over the sparkling snow, with the mercury down to the zero mark (they knew nothing about zero in those days and cared less) to attend a spelling school? How eagerly they looked forward to the longed-for victory in the final "spelling down," a victory that was the source of as great degree of satis- faction to the victors as the winning of the game is to a lot of mod- ern baseball fans! In nothing are the wonderful changes that have taken place within the past seventy-five years more marked or more strongly emphasized than in the progress made by the com- mon schools of the county.
As the first settlers began to overcome the difficulties incident to converting the wilderness into productive farms, the primitive. structures of logs and shakes gave way to the "little red school- house," and as the people increased in prosperity and financial ability, these in turn, were superseded by the present modern schoolhouse, with all of its up-to-date equipment and appliances to aid both teacher and pupil in their labors-buildings which, in many instances well deserve the honorable distinction of being "temples of education." At the present time there are 149 school districts in the county and the number of school children, which in- cludes all persons between the ages of five and twenty, at the school census of 1911 was 9,065.
The number of school houses is 154, and, with very few excep-
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tions, they are all modern buildings, fully equipped with every- thing needful to assist the student in acquiring a knowledge of the arts and sciences, beginning at the kindergarten and end- ing with his graduation from the high school, with a diploma en- titling its owner to enter into the Michigan University at Ann Arbor, an institution conceded to be the peer of any educational institution in America, upon presentation of his certificate of graduation, without further examination or other condition.
These schoolhouses are so plentifully scattered throughout the county that a person passing through it scarcely leaves one out of sight before another comes within the range of his vision. And some of these school buildings are among the finest buildings in the county, costing thousands of dollars. There are eleven "high schools," from five of which the graduates are entitled to enter the university on presentation of diploma of graduation.
Almost every school district in the county maintains a district library. These various libraries contain about 24,000 volumes, thus giving pupils easy access to much of the first class literature of the world and aiding them greatly along the pathway of knowl- edge.
The value of the school property, as returned by the various school boards in reports for 1911, is $343,475.
During the school year ending on the tenth day of July, 1911, there were 269 teachers employed in the schools of the county, 35 men and 235 women. There was paid for teachers' wages dur- ing the past school year the sum of $111,985.25. The salaries ranged from $30 to $166.66 per month. The average salary of the teachers in the country schools was about $40 per month, the higher salaries being paid to superintendents and principal teach- ers in the city and village schools. The aggregate number of months taught in the various schools was 2,219.
The ordinary English branches, reading, writing, orthography, grammar, arithmetic, geography, physiology, civil government and United States history, were taught in all the country schools, with an occasional class in agriculture, algebra and music. The cur- riculum of the high schools embraced all the foregoing studies and, in addition thereto, higher mathematics, languages (ancient and modern), botany, manual training, physics, astronomy, domestic science, agriculture and all other studies required to prepare the student for a course in the university.
Van Buren county has just reason to be proud of her school system. The graduates of her schools are filling many important positions in the business world. They are doctors, lawyers, merchants, divines, agriculturists, horticulturists, insurance men, bankers, public officials, journalists and other equally honorable
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and responsible positions, and few, very few indeed, have been the instances in which they did not "make good." They are scattered all over this broad land, from the far east to the distant west, from the frozen north to the sunny south ; perhaps not a single state in the Union where some of them may not be found, and in foreign countries as well.
The Peninsular state has certainly obeyed the injunction of the famous old ordinance of 1787, that "schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged" and Van Buren county has kept fully abreast of her sister counties in carrying on this grand work of educating the generations that have been born within her jurisdiction, or that have sought her hospitable bord- ers from other counties, states and nations.
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3
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VAN BUREN COUNTY COURT HOUSE, PAW PAW
CHAPTER VI
THE COUNTY SEAT
LAWRENCE AS THE COUNTY SEAT-PAW PAW DISPLACES LAWRENCE -PROPOSED COUNTY BUILDINGS-OLD COURT HOUSE COM- PLETED-SOUTH HAVEN BIDS FOR COUNTY SEAT-POPULAR VOTE FOR PAW PAW-NEW COUNTY BUILDINGS-COURT HOUSE CORNER- STONE LAID-COST OF PRESENT COUNTY BUILDINGS.
As hereinbefore intimated, there was much contention and con- troversy over the location of the county seat of Van Buren county. The county was not organized until the spring of 1837, although it had been set off and named nearly eight years before. As has been said: "The formation of a county at that period, by no means necessitated the exercise of the usual functions pertaining to a county, nor even made it certain that there were any people within the designated boundaries. It merely indicated that, in the opinion of the state authorities, the territory described in the act would, at some future time, make a good county." No mistake in that regard was made in organizing Van Buren county.
LAWRENCE AS THE COUNTY SEAT
The citizens of the village of Lawrence, nine miles west of the village of Paw Paw, claimed strenuously and vigorously that there was the proper place for the location of the seat of justice of the county, a claim not without reasonable foundation and not en- tirely abandoned for a period of sixty years. When that pretty and pleasant village was platted, in 1846, an entire block in the center of the plat was set apart and dedicated as a public square, upon which for many years the people of that town and vicinity fondly hoped some day to see the county buildings erected. The town was centrally located and, in those early days, was the most prominent village in the county except Paw Paw. It is, perhaps, not generally known that the county seat was originally located at Lawrence, although that claim has often been made and as often denied, but such was the fact.
In 1835, a year before the organization of the county, the gov- Vol. J -9
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ernor of the territory, acting under the provisions of a general statute, appointed three commissioners-Charles Hascall, Still- man Blanchard and John W. Strong-to locate the county seat. These commissioners selected Lawrence as the proper place and stuck the stake that designated the site in the center of the block subsequently designated as the "public square."
On the 28th day of March, 1836, the following statute was passed : "Be it enacted, that the governor be and he is hereby authorized to issue his proclamation confirming and establishing the seat of justice for the county of Van Buren at the point fixed for the said seat of justice in said county by Charles Hascall, Still- man Blanchard and John W. Strong, commissioners appointed for that purpose, as appears by their report on file in the office of the secretary of state; provided, that the proprietors of said seat of justice for said county shall pay into the treasury of this state the amount advanced from the territorial treasury for said location, with interest. thereon from the date of such advance and shall produce the certificate of the said payment to the governor within sixty days."
But, as hereinbefore noted, the legislature authorized the board of supervisors of the county to designate for a limited period the place where the circuit courts should be held and at the first meet- ing of that body, held in 1837, the village of Paw Paw was so designated.
The legislature of 1838 again directed that "all circuit courts to be held in and for the county of Van Buren, previous to the first day of January, 1840, shall be held at such place within said county as the board of supervisors shall direct." (Laws of Michi- gan, 1838, p. 99.)
Acting under authority of this statute, the board of supervisors, at their annual meeting in October, 1838, adopted the following resolution : "The supervisors of the county of Van Buren direct that the circuit court for said county shall be held at the school- house in the village of Paw Paw."
It is a fair presumption, perhaps, that Paw Paw was selected by the board because the accommodations were better there than at Lawrence, although they were meager enough in either place.
PAW PAW DISPLACES LAWRENCE
Previous to this action, however, at a special meeting held on the twenty-third day of June, 1838, the board of supervisors had directed "That the sheriff be authorized to build a suitable build- ing to serve as a jail for said county, the expense of said building not to exceed four hundred dollars. That the said jail shall be
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built on the ground appropriated for that purpose by the pro- prietors of the village of Paw Paw in said county."
That the legally established county seat was understood as be. ing at the village of Lawrence is evidenced by the fact that in 1840, the legislature passed the following act entitled "An act to provide for the vacation of the present seat of justice of Van Buren county, and to locate the same in the village of Paw Paw, in said county.
"Section 1-Be it enacted by the senate and house of represent- atives of the state of Michigan that the county seat of Van Buren county be and the same is hereby vacated and removed to the village of Paw Paw in said county, upon such land as shall be deeded to the county for that purpose: Provided, that the quan- tity of land shall not be less than one acre, to be located under the direction of a majority of the county commissioners, or board of supervisors, as the case may be, who are hereby required to make such location and fix the site for such county seat in said village, within one year from the passage of this law, and to take a deed of the land aforesaid to them and their successors in office for the use and purpose of the county of Van Buren, and shall have the deed recorded in the register's office in that county; And provided further, that the title to said land so conveyed shall be good, absolute and indefeasible and the premises free from all legal incumbrances.
"Section 2-All writs which have been or may be issued out of the circuit court of said county since the last term thereof, whether the same were made returnable at the village of Paw Paw or at the present county seat, shall be returned to, and heard and tried at the village of Paw Paw aforesaid, at the time they were made returnable." (Laws of Michigan, 1840, pp. 36-37. )
By this act of the legislature, Paw Paw became the legal, as it had previously been the actual seat of justice for the county. No session of the circuit court was ever held elsewhere and no county buildings were ever erected at any other place.
But it did not follow, by any manner of means, that the ques- tion was settled beyond all controversy by the enactment of the foregoing statute. The citizens of Lawrence were not disposed to abandon the fight. They believed that they had been unjustly deprived of that which rightfully belonged to them, and the ques- tion of the removal of the county seat from the village of Paw Paw became a vital one, and many unsuccessful efforts were made to have such removal submitted to a vote of the people. In order to secure such submission, the law required a two-thirds vote of the board of supervisors in favor of such proposition, and although this was frequently attempted every such effort met with failure
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until the lapse of sixty years after its location at Paw Paw. It is a matter of much uncertainty as to what would have been the result if the question of the removal of the county seat from Paw Paw to Lawrence had been submitted to a vote. Only a majority vote would have been necessary to decide the matter, and there were times very probably, when a majority in favor of such removal might have been obtained, but the electors of the county never had an opportunity to express their choice as between those two villages.
PROPOSED COUNTY BUILDINGS
Immediate steps were taken after the above noted action of the legislature, looking to the erection of county buildings at the newly established county seat. At a meeting of the board of county commissioners held at the office of the county clerk on the first day of April, 1840, the following resolutions were adopted, to-wit : "Resolved, that the site for the seat of justice for the county of Van Buren be and the same is hereby located and fixed on that portion of block number eleven known and described as lots num- her one, two, three, four, five, six, seven and eight, in the village of Paw Paw, being the same land appropriated for that purpose by the proprietors of said village, the aforesaid location being made agreeable and in conformity with the act of the legislature of the State of Michigan, approved March 6, 1840.
"Resolved, that the clerk of said county be and he is hereby required to procure a quit claim deed from the proprietors of said village for the land mentioned in the foregoing resolution and cause the same to be recorded in the register's office of this coun- ty."
However, the county buildings were not erected on the site so designated, although the present court house and jail now occupy the same.
At a special meeting of the board of county commissioners held on the 30th day of January, 1841, the following action was taken : "It appearing that the title for the county seat, as located and fixed by the board of commissioners on the first day of April, 1840, not having been perfected, therefore it is
"Resolved, that the act or resolution of the commissioners lo- cating and fixing the site for the seat of justice in the county of Van Buren on block number eleven in the village of Paw Paw is hereby annulled and vacated.
"Then, resolved and determined that the site for the seat of justice for said county of Van Buren (title having been given) be and the same is hereby located and fixed on block number forty in the village of Paw Paw, in this county."
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But neither were the proposed county buildings ever erected on this site which for many years has been occupied by the Free Will Baptist church of Paw Paw and private residences.
On March 6, 1841, the board of county commissioners passed the following resolution : "Resolved, that the sum of four thou- sand dollars be and the same is hereby appropriated for the pur- pose of building a court house in and for the county of Van Buren. "The board directed W. Mason to draft or cause to be drafted a plan for a court house."
This action of the county commissioners seems to have accom- plished nothing, except to make an appropriation of funds, and at a meeting held April 3, 1842, the same body, having ap- parently come to the conclusion that four thousand dollars for a court house was a piece of unwarranted extravagance, adopted another resolution in reference to the matter, as follows: "Re- solved by the board of commissioners to contract for the building a court house, provided that some responsible person or persons contract to furnish materials, build and furnish a good and sub- stantial house for a sum not to exceed three thousand dollars.
"The board directed R. E. Churchill to make a draft, etc."
Four days later the board gave notice that the "county board will continue to receive proposals for building a court house until twelve o'clock noon, on the 8th inst."
On the afternoon of that day, the following entries appear on the official record, to-wit: "On examination of the several pro- posals for building the court house, it was ascertained that Reuben E. Churchill and Stafford Godfrey had proposed to furnish mate- rials, build and finish the woodwork of said house for the lowest sum-that is, for the sum of $2,410, and that Henry W. Rhodes had proposed to furnish materials and do the mason work for the low- est sum-that is, for $494.
"Whereupon, Reuben E. Churchill and Stafford Godfrey en- tered into a stipulation or agreement, with a penal sum of five thousand dollars with approved security, to build said court house and complete the same (agreeably to draft and specifications lodged in the county clerk's office) in eighteen months from this date; for which an order on the treasury was given to said Churchill and Godfrey for two thousand four hundred and ten dollars to be paid out of the money appropriated by the county board of commis- sioners at their meeting at the clerk's office, March 1, 1841, for the building of a court house."
Also Henry W. Rhodes gave a bond, with approved surety, to furnish materials and finish the mason work of said house in eighteen months from date, for which an order on the treasury was given for four hundred and ninety-four dollars, to be paid out of
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the money appropriated for building a court house, March 1, 1841, by the county board of commissioners.
"The county board then procured a warranty deed of I. W. Willard to the county of Van Buren for lots 5, 6, 7, and 8, in block No. 12, in the village of Paw Paw, on which to build said court house, and in consideration thereof quit claimed to said Wil- lard, block 40, the present site; also gave an order on the county treasury for $331 to J. F. Noye to clear the above lots from in- cumbrance, and received the security of Willard, Gremps & Com- pany for the repayment of the same to the treasury. (It was on this site that the court house and jail were built.)
"The county board then appointed Josiah Andrews to oversee (on the part of the county) the building of said court house."
After allowing a few miscellaneous claims, the board of county commissioners adjourned "never to meet again," having been legislated out of existence by an act passed by the legislature of 1842, which took effect on the second Monday of April of that year, the duties theretofore devolving on such board being con- ferred upon the board of supervisors.
The first meeting of the board of supervisors under the new regime was held at the office of the county clerk in the village of Paw Paw, on the fourth day of July, 1842, as required by the new statute, and was organized by choosing Gen. Benj. F. Chadwick as chairman. The only action taken at that meeting relative to the building of the court house was as follows: "Resolved, that this board call upon the county treasurer for a statement of the financial concerns of the county, information respecting the eree- tion of the court house, the amount of funds paid out, and all other information relative to the office and that the treasurer report to this board at their next meeting."
The next entry on the records relative to the new building ap- pears at the meeting of the board of supervisors on the 13th day of October, 1842, at which time Theodore E. Phelps, Philotus Hay- don and Joshua Bangs were appointed as a committee "to paint the court house, the same to be painted when the outside is finished, ready to receive the paint, also for the building a fence or yard around the court house when the said committee in their opinion deem it necessary."
OLD COURT HOUSE COMPLETED
The contractors, evidently, did not get their job completed in the stipulated eighteen months, as on the 14th day of August, 1844, considerably more than two years after the date of their contract, we find the following entries on the proceedings of the board for
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that year: "Resolved, that we will appoint a committee to ex- amine the work which Messrs. Churchill & Godfrey have done on the court house and report to the board relative to the materials and workmanship of the same, and that T. E. Phelps and George A. Bentley be appointed said committee.
"The committee appointed to examine the court house reported the workmanship and materials on the house was according to contract, as far as it had progressed, which report was received by the board.
"Resolved, that there shall be a gallery built in the south end of the court house and that Mr. Godfrey and Mr. Mason be re- quested to draft a plan for the same."
On the 7th day of January, 1845, almost three years after the contract for building the court house was entered into another committee consisting of Messrs. Humphrey P. Barnum, Jonathan N. Hinckley and George A. Bentley were appointed to examine the building.
After receiving the report of this committee, the board adopted the following resolution: "Resolved, that the report of the com- mittee on examination of the finishing of the court house be re- ceived, which is as follows, viz: That the finishing of the joiner work of the court house be accepted from the hands of Stafford Godfrey and Reuben E. Churchill as finishel agreeable to their contract and the committee be discharged."
With the exception of some of the inside work and the building of the gallery, the house at this time appears to have been finished. The board, however, apparently had some difficulty in getting the plastering all completed. Several times attention was called to the matter at different sessions of the board. Finally, on the 7th day of March, 1845, the official record shows that the following action was taken: "On motion, Resolved, that Joseph B. Barnes be appointed a committee to see H. W. Rhodes and inform him that he must have the remainder of the court house finished-that is, the plastering-by the first of May next or suffer damage for the same."
It is impossible to ascertain from the records when the first term of court was held in the new court house, but it is probable that it was at the June term, 1845.
This court house served the county for fifty-five years before any action was taken looking to new county buildings. There had been kept up, however, a constant agitation for the removal of the county seat from Paw Paw to some other place, Lawrence be- ing the point generally under consideration, although some of the other villages of the county that had outstripped that place in growth began to have aspirations to become the favored site.
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Meantime the population of the county had increased from less than 2,000 in 1845 to more than 33,000 in 1900, the county build- ings which had served for more than half a century had become old and entirely inadequate for the needs of the people, and the board of supervisors realized, as did the citizens of the county in general, that new and more commodious accommodations for the transaction of the public business had become an absolute neces- sity and that action looking to a new and modern court house and jail could not longer be delayed.
SOUTH HAVEN BIDS FOR COUNTY SEAT
In the meantime the village of South Haven had become the largest town in the county and was about ready to don city garb, and her people thought that her importance as a thriving manu- facturing town and as a lake port, entitled her to be considered as in the running for the proposed new location of the county seat of justice.
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