USA > Michigan > Berrien County > A twentieth century history of Berrien County, Michigan > Part 6
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The first election for county officers was held at Niles, April 2, 1832. Augustus
Newell was elected sheriff, Titus B. Willard, county clerk, Obed P. Lacey, register of deeds, and Jacob Beeson, county treasurer. Cogswell K. Green was appointed judge of probate.
The county seat remained at Niles till October, 1832, when it was removed to the village of Newburyport (now St. Joseph).
The first court established in the county was the probate court. The first term of that court was held at Niles by Judge C. K. Green, December 27, 1831. The first will probated was that of Ephraim Lacey, which occurred September 24, 1832, and Elijah Lacey and Obed P. Lacey were appointed executors.
The first term of the county court was held at Niles July 3, 1832, Daniel Olds pre- siding. The first case called was a slander suit of Daniel Wilson, Jr. vs. Garrett Shuert and Elizabeth Shuert, which appears afterwards to have been dismissed. The county court was abolished in 1833. It was re-established in 1847 and again abolished in 1853.
The first term of the circuit court for Berrien county was held at Newburyport (St. Joseph) in October, 1833. Wm. A. Fletcher, a very able and learned lawyer of Detroit, was president judge, Tolman Wheeler and Amos S. Amsden, associate judges. The associate judges at this time were not generally lawyers and were called "side judges." Their services were usually perfunctory as they generally nodded a silent acquiescence to every decision of the circuit judge. The first case was that of Calvin Bartlett vs. Benj. Chandler, parties living at St. Joseph. The first chancery case was that of Job Brookfield vs. Bacon Wheeler, prominent residents of Niles.
The first meeting of the board of super- visors, so far as appears of record was on October 2, 1832, when they met at the council house in Niles. The county then consisted of three townships, Niles, Bar-
32
HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY
rien and St. Joseph. Jacob Beeson repre- sented Niles, Pitt Brown, Berrien and Amos S. Amsden, St. Joseph.
In 1838 the state adopted a plan of vest- ing the powers of the board of supervisors in a board of county commissioners. Eras- mus Winslow of Niles, John F. Porter of St. Joseph and Jos. G. Ames of Bertrand were appointed commissioners. This office was abolished in 1842 and the old New England and New York plan resumed.
In 1837 the county seat was removed to Berrien (Berrien Springs). While it re- mained at St. Joseph no court house was erected and courts were held first in a log school house and subsequently in what was known as the "old White school house," still standing in St. Joseph. In 1834 Fow- ler Preston was appointed county agent to construct a jail. Mr. Preston constructed one of logs for the sum of $191.56 in that year.
A court house was built at Berrien in 1839, which still remain standing. Brick buildings for offices were erected in 1873.
In 1893, at an election called for the pur- pose of considering the question of removal of the county seat to St. Joseph, the measure was carried by a majority of 240. The actual removal was made in December, 1894. Courts were held and county offices carried on till 1896 in Martin's Academy of Music. The new court house was first occupied in February, 1896.
The primary school system of Michi- gan by which each township is divided into school districts supported by public taxation and the primary school fund, was inaugu- rated by the ordinance of 1787 creating the Northwest Territory, by which one section of land in each township was reserved for public school purposes.
These lands have been sold by the state and a fund thus created for the support of schools. A law was enacted by the Legis- lature in 1838 providing for the organiza- tion of school districts. The most sweep-
ing and comprehensive law, however, was enacted in 1855 by which education in the primary schools was made free to all pupils resident in the district. There was consider- able opposition to this species of legislation at the time, as being highly socialistic, but public sentiment supported it and our sys- tem of primary schools has become the pride of the state. In the administration of this system throughout our county and state, character and intelligence have been recog- nized as essential qualifications of official position, and it has been removed to a large cxtent from the domain of partisan politics. This atmosphere of freedom from contact with practical politics has allowed unob- structed passage for pure air and sunlight, to this beneficent branch of our govern- mental institutions.
In 1847 by resolution of the board of supervisors a site for a county poor farm and buildings was purchased. The farm was located in sections 16 and 17 of Berrien township and a house 18 feet by 26 feet was built the same year. The farm consisted of 160 acres. To this 32 acres have since been added. In 1867 the building was burned down and in 1869 a large brick building was erected. Considerable addi- tions and improvements have been made. The poor farm is under the supervision of a board of superintendents. The present board consists of C. N. Moulton, J. L. Bishop, Chester Badger. The manager is Charles Miller. At present there are 47 in- mates.
LIST OF COUNTY OFFICERS.
The following tables contain a list of the names of persons who have filled the principal county offices since Berrien was organized as a county in 1831 :
Judges of Probate.
Cogswell K. Green.
1831-1833
Francis B. Murdock 1833-
33'
HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY
Thos. Conger 1834-1836
N. H. Bacon
1837-1839
Geo. H. Murdock 1859-1861
Geo. W. Hoffman
1841-1845
Dan'l. Terriere 1861-1863
Jas. Brown
1845-1853
Geo. H. Murdock
1863-1869
Thos. Fitsgerald 1853-1855
E. McIlvaine
1855-1857
B. F. Fish
1857-1861
Chas. Jewett
1861-1865
W. S. Merrill
1865-1869
Dan'l Chapman
1869-1877
Alex. B. Leeds
1877-1885
D. E. Hinman
1885-1893
J. J. Van Riper 1893-1901
Frank H. Ellsworth. 1901-
(Present Incumbent )
Sheriffs.
Augustus Newell 1831-1835
Fowler Preston
1835-1837
E. S. Chapman 1837-1839
A. B. Munger 1839-1843
J. B. Wittenmeyer 1843-1847
O. B. Willard
1847-1851
Thos. Conger
1851-1855
Nathan Fitch
1855-1859
Jas. Graham 1859-1863
Chas. Nichols
1863-1865
J. M. Seward
1865-1869
L. F. Warner
1869-1873
J. W. Weimer
1873-1877
R. A. De Mont.
1877-188I
J. R. Clark
1881-1885
Wallace Peck
1885-1887
B. R. Stearns. 1887-1891
John Johnson 1891-1893
Chas. Whitcomb 1893-1895
E. H. Ferguson 1897-1901
Fred B. Collins 1901-1905
Jos. Tennant 1905-
(Present Incumbent).
County Clerks.
-
C. K. Green 1831-1833
B. C. Hoyt 1833-1835
Jas. Randles 1835-1837
Edw. Richardson 1837-1839
Alonzo R. Bennett . 1839-1843
Thos. Love 1843-1847
E. McIlvaine 3
1847-1853
Prosecuting Attorneys.
W. H. Welch 1832-1836
Chas. Jewett 1836-1839
J. S. Chipman 1839-1842
Jas. Brown 1842-1844
J. N. Chipman 1846-1848
J. B. Fitzgerald 1849-
J. A. Thompson 1850-
Levi Taft 1851-
Jas. Brown 1853-1855
David Bacon
1855-1857
E. M. Plimpton
1857-1859
F. O. Rogers
1859-1863
H. H. Coolidge 1863-1865
Geo. S. Clapp 1865-1871
O. W. Coolidge 1871-1873
N. A. Hamilton 1873-1875
WV. H. Breese 1875-1877
J. J. Van Riper
1877-1881
J. A. Kellogg 1881-1885
A. C. Roe 1885-1887
G. W. Bridgman 1887-1893
N. A. Hamilton 1893-1897
G. M. Valentine 1897-1901
Ira W. Riford
1901-1905
Chas. E. White 1905-
( Present Incumbent ).
1
Registers of Deeds.
Obed P. Lacey 1831-
S. E. Mason .. 1833-1837
A. J. F. Phelan. 1837-1839
Ed. Richardson
1839-1843
Chas. E. Howe
1869-1873
D. E. Hinman 1873-1877
E. D. Cook.
1877-188I
WV. I. Himes 1881-1883, Thos. O'Hara 1883-1887 H. L. Potter 1887-1891
John Carmody 1891-1893.
F. A. Woodruff 1893-1897
Jno. W. Needham 1897-1901
A. L. Church 1901-1905
S. B. Miners
1905-
( Present Incumbent) .
W. S. Merrill 1853-1859
34
HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY
Thos. Conger 1843-1845
F. D. Johnson
1845-1847
Chas. F. Howe.
1847-1853
Warren Chapman 1853-1859
A. B. Leeds 1859-1865
R. D. Dix
1865-187I
Frank N. Dix
1871-1873
R. D. Dix
1873-1877
W. H. Marston
1877-1881
Ed. R. Haven
1881-1885
A. B. Bisbee
1885-1887
W. P. Harmon. 1887-1891
W. H. Sylvester 1891-1893
Joel H. Gillette 1893-1897
A. O. French
1897-1901
H. A. Rackliffe 1901-1905
I. L. H. Dodd. 1905-
(Present Incumbent ).
County Treasurers.
Jacob Beeson 1833-1835
B. C. Hoyt 1835-1837
R. C. Paine 1837-1839
Wm. Lemon 1839-1841
Thos. Love 1841-1843
R. W. Landon 1843-185I
Calvin Britain
C. D. Nichols 1851-1853
1855-1859
T. F. Glenn
1859-1861
B. F. Pennell 1861-1869
Sam'1. Hess 1869-1875
Jno. Tate 1875-1879
Geo. W. Rough 1879-1883
:S. L. Van Camp 1883-1887 E. B. Storms 1887-1891
J. E. Babcock
1891-1893
F. A. Treat 1893-1897
John Clark 1897-190I
John F. Gard 1901-
(Died in office).
IV. \V. McCracken 1902-1905
Alva Sherwood 1905
(Died in office).
C. H. Schultz 1905 (Present Incumbent) .
County Surveyors.
J. Wittenmeyer 1837-1841;
Jehiel Enos 1841-1845
A. B. Staples 1845-1849
F. R. Pinnell 1849-1851
J. L. Parent 1851-1855
Amos Gray 1855-1857
J. L. Parent
1857-1859
Robt. Eaton
1861-1865
O. D. Parsons 1865-1867
J. F. Miller
1867-1871
A. J. Nowlen
1871-1875
Thos. Love
1875-1877
J. M. Glavin 1877-188I
It has been practically impossible to ob- tain the dates of service of these surveyors who succeeded Mr. Glavin. Their names, however, are as follows: Luther Heming- way, A. L. Drew, W. W. Graves, Ernest Bacon, C. B. Pratt, and W. J. Cleary, who is the present incumbent.
County Judges. ..
This office lasted but two years during the territorial period and five years after Michigan became a State.
Dan'1. Olds
1831-1833
Chas. Jewett 1847-1851
Thos. Fitzgerald 1851
Senators of the State Legislature.
Calvin Britain, St. Joseph. 1835-1837
Vincent L. Bradford, Niles 1838-1839
Elijah Lacey, Niles 1840
J. N. Chapman, Niles 1845
J. B. Fitzgerald, St. Joseph 1847
R. T. Twombly, Niles 1853
R. C. Paine, Niles .. 1855
A. H. Morrison, St. Joseph 1857 1859
F. L. Muzzy, Niles
R. W. Landon, Niles
I863
Warren Chapman. St. Joseph.
1865-1867
E. J. Bonine, Niles. .
1869
L. P. Alexander, Buchanan 1871-1873
Levi Sparks, Buchanan 1873
F. H. Berrick, Buchanan. 1875 WVm. Chamberlain, Three Oaks Thos. Marrs, Berrien Center. . L. A. Duncan, Niles. I881 1883
1877-1879
H. M. Sherwood, Watervliet. . 1885
WV. I. Babcock, Niles. 1887-1889
J. S. Beers, Stevensville . 1891
35
1480966 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY
E. A. Blakeslee, Galien. 1897-1899
Fred T. Sovereign, Three Oaks 1901-1903
The Seventh Senatorial District of the state now embraces the counties of Berrien and of Cass. J. G. Hayden of Cassopolis is the present Senator. In the above list I have given only those who were residents of Berrien County.
Representatives in the State Legislature.
Cogswell K. Green, Niles. 1835-1836
Robt. E. Ward 1837
Elijah Lacey, Niles .. 1838
Thos. Fitzgerald, St. Joseph. 1839
J. B. La Rue, St. Joseph 1840-184I
Alonzo Bennett, New Buffalo. 1842
J. G. Ames, New Buffalo 1844
John Groves, Buchanan. . 1845
Calvin Britain, St. Joseph
1847-1850
R. P. Barker, Niles. 1857
Jehiel Enos, Benton. . 1848
Andrew Murray, Benton 1848
A. L. Burke, Berrien Springs .. 1849 Henry Chamberlain, Three Oaks 1849 Calvin Britain, St. Joseph 1851
Sam'l. Street, Niles. . 1851
J. W. Buterfield, Niles 1851
H. W. Griswold, Niles. 1853 Michael Hand, Berrien Springs 1853 J. B. Sutherland 1855
J. D. Ross, Buchanan 1855 Jehiel Enos, Benton 1857 Nate E. Crosby, New Buffalo. 1857 Wm. B. Beeson, Niles. 1859
Morgan Enos, Pipestone 1859
A. H. Morrison, St. Joseph ... 1861 L. P. Alexander, Buchanan .... 1861 Nathan Fitch, Berrien Springs 1863 Henry C. Morton, Benton Har- bor 1863
John C. Miller, Union Pier 1863 E. J. Bonine, Niles 1865-1867 Newton E. Woodruff 1865 Jas. Graham, Berrien Springs. . 1865
Chas. R. Brown, St. Joseph ..
1867
E. M. Plimpton, Buchanan. 1869 A. B. Riford, Benton Harbor .. 1869-1871
J. M. Seward, Niles. 1869 W. J. Edwards, Niles 1871
W. H. Chamberlain. 1871-1873
T. J. West, Bainbridge 1873-1875 E. J. Bonine, Niles. 1873
E. A. Brown, Berrien Springs 1874
C. B. Potter, St. Joseph N. A. Hamilton, St. Joseph 1875 1877 1877
Geo. F. Edwards, Niles.
Silas Ireland, Berrien Tp 1877 1879
B. R. Stearns, Galien .
L. M. Ward, Benton Harbor 1879-1881
Alonzo Sherwood, Troy 1879 W. S. Millard, Niles. 1881
L. C. Fyfe, St. Joseph. 1881-1883 1883 WV. A. Keith, Chikaming 1885
A. N. Woodruff, Watervliet .. A. J. L. McKee, Three Oaks. . 1885-1887
W. A. Baker, Coloma. .
1887-1889
O. E. Aleshire, Buchanan, . . H. C. Rockwell, Benton Harbor G. A. Lambert, Niles.
1889 1891 1891 1893
J. B. Thompson, Niles.
E. L. Kingsland, Hagar Tp. 1893-1895
E. D. Williams, Niles 1895-1897 S. L. Van Camp, Benton Harbor 1897-1899 1899
C. R. Smith, Niles
Joel Gillette, Niles. 1901-1903
N. V. Lovell, Eau Claire. 1903-1905
S. H. Kelly, Benton Harbor 1905
John Lane, St. Joseph. 1901-1903
From 1863 to 1883 Berrien county was divided into three legislative Districts for the lower house. In 1883 the representa- tion was reduced to two members.
County Superintendents and Commissioners of Schools. .
'The records of these offices have been lost, and the dates of the incumbency of most of these officers cannot be given. The first office created was county superin- tendent. Subsequently a board of three ex- aminers was chosen, of which the secre- tary was the chief officer. Finally an office was created called the commissioner of schools. The duties of these various of- ficers were practically the same. The names of the officers are as follows: Henry A. Ford, Niles, served 1868 to 1872; E. L. Kingsland, Hagar, served 1872 to 1876; C.
1867 J. M. Glavin, New Buffalo.
36
HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY
B. Groat, Berrien Tp .; Miss Rachael Tate, Berrien Tp .; John C. Lawrence, Benton; E. P. Clarke, St. Joseph; C. D. Jennings, Pipestone, present incumbent.
County Agents of the State Board of Cor- rections and Charities.
No early record is preserved of this im- portant office. The names of the officers are given. The duties of the office have been greatly extended during recent years. Thos. Marrs, Berrien, served 9 years; Wm. Jones; Levi Sparks; Geo. A. Correll, Niles; Chas. W. Whitehead, Benton Har- bor, from 1892 to present time, except an interregnum of five months.
The following tables contain a list of important state officials who were residents of Berrien county and of the judges of the second judicial circuit of the State and cir- cuit court stenographer.
Calvin Brittain, Member of Leg.
Council of Mich. Territory. . 1835 Calvin Brittain, Lieut. Gov- ernor 1852-1853
Wm. Graves, Sec'y. of State .. 1853-1855 R. D. Dix, Auditor General. .. 1897-190I J. J. Van Riper, Attorney Gen- eral 1881-1885
R. D. Dix, Commissioner of Land Office 1887-1891
J. J. Van Riper, Regent of Uni- versity 1880-1886 Wm. Chamberlain, Warden of State Penitentiary 1893
Alonzo Vincent, Warden of State Penitentiary
Judges of Second Judicial Circuit of Michigan.
WVm. A. Fletcher, Detroit .... 1833-1836 Epaphroditus Ransom, Kala- mazoo 1836-1848 Chas. W. Whipple, Niles. 1848-1855 Nathaniel Bacon, Niles. 1856-1864 Perrin M. Smith, Centreville, St.
Joseph Co. 1864-1866
Nathaniel Bacon, Niles 1866-1869,
Daniel Blackman, Cassopolis, removed to Niles, 1869-1872 Henry H. Coolidge, Niles 1872-1878 Andrew J. Smith, Cassopolis. . 1878-1888. Thomas O'Hara, Berrien
Springs 1888-1894
Orville W. Coolidge, Niles. 1894
and since.
The Second Judicial Circuit of the state originally embraced a large number of counties. For a number of years it em- braced Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties. About 1868 it was reduced to Berrien and Cass counties. In 1899 Ber- rien county was erected into a separate circuit, the number of the circuit not being changed.
Circuit court stenographers : E. Day, 1869; E. L. Knapp, 1881; James J. Atkin- son, 1902, present incumbent.
The following named residents of Ber- rien county have held important federal posi- tions as designated :
Thos. Fitzgerald, of St. Joseph, U. S. Senator 1848-1849 John S. Chipman of Niles, Rep-
resentative to Congress ..... 1845-1847 Edward La Rue Hamilton, Niles, Representative to Con- gress 1897- (Re-elected for '99, '01, '03, '05 and '07).
The Foutrh Congressional District, rep- resented by Mr. Hamilton, embraces the counties of Barrien. Cass, St. Joseph, Van Buren, Allegan and Barry.
Only three residents of Barrien county have been members of Congress. These were Col. Thos. Fitzgerald, John S. Chip- man and Edward L. Hamilton, as appears in the foregoing list of federal officers.
Col. Fitzgerald was appointed United State Senator in 1848 to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Gen. Cass,
37
HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY
then a candidate for the presidency. He held the position till 1850, when Gen. Cass was re-elected. At the time of his appoint- ment, Col. Fitzgerald was a resident of St. Joseph, where he settled in 1832. He is referred to elsewhere in the chapter on "St. Joseph."
John S. Chipman was elected a member of the lower house of Congress in 1844. He was then a resident of Niles, where he had settled in 1838. He was a brilliant and able lawyer, ranking among the best in the state. He removed to California in 1851, where he died many years since.
Edward L. Hamilton, a native of Niles township and now a resident of the city of Niles, was first elected to Congress in 1896, after an exciting nominating convention which lasted three days, and has been re- nominated five successive times without the least opposition, having made a record in his Congressional career which has been a source of pride to his constituency. He is now chairman of one of the most important committees in the House of Representatives, the committee on territories, and is recog- nized as a forceful and brilliant orator, a hard student and one of the foremost leaders of the house. His constituency recognizing the importance of having the continued ser- vices of an able and experienced leader to represent them in Congress, will undoubted- ly keep him in his present position, so long as he may consent, unless he should be the future recipient of higher honors, which now appears probable.
ROADS AND RAILROADS.
The earliest road which led into Berrien county was the road from Fort Wayne via the trading stations at South Bend and Bert- rand to the Carey mission. The road was however, rough and almost dangerous. It followed an Indian trail. This was the route used by the earliest settlers of Ber- rien county.
The principal Indian trail in Michigan,
however, was the continuation of a trail which started from Green Bay, ran south- ward through the present site of Chicago, passed around the head of Lake Michigan, reached the Pottawatomie villages near the present site of Bertrand, crossed the river at Bertrand and went eastward through the present site of Edwardsburg, White Pigeon, Jonesville, Tecumseh and Ypsilanti to the Detroit river.
In 1825, by authority of an act of Con- gress, the old Chicago road was commenced. This was the first throughfare laid out which traversed the territory of Michigan. It followed, nearly the whole distance from Detroit to Chicago, the old Indian trail used for over a century by the Pottawatomies and other Indian tribes. For the survey the government appropriated $10,000.00. The survey in Berrien county was not fin- ished till 1833 and the road was not com- pleted to Chicago till 1836. The survey at the western end was made by Daniel G. Garnsey, one of the proprietors who laid out the once famous village of Bertrand.
The territorial legislature in 1832 es- tablished two territorial roads which ran to the mouth of the St. Joseph river, one run- ning from Coldwater via Niles and the other from Jackson. The commissioners of the former road were Squire Thompson, Alex- ander H. Redfield and Cogswell K. Green. Squire Thompson was the first settler in Berrien county and the first settler of western Michigan. Redfield was a wealthy land owner in Cass county, and Green the first attorney who settled in Niles.
A mania for establishing territorial roads seems to have raged in the legislature and council between the years 1833 and 1838. An enormous emigration to Michigan had set in from the Empire state. and new set- tlements rapidly developing, demanded the building of roads. Nearly thirty roads lead- ing into Berrien county were ordered and surveyed. Some of them were never built and others were not built until many years
38
HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY
afterwards. The "Wild Cat Bank" col- lapse of 1838 and 1839 seriously crippled the finances of the young state and retarded the development of intended. improvements.
Commissioners were generally appointed consisting of prominent men living in the locality of the projected road to establish and lay out these roads.
Among these commissioners appointed by the territorial government were the fol- lowing prominent early settlers of Berrien county : Jehiel Enos, Fowler Preston, John Wittenmyer, Lemuel L. Johnson, Elijah Lacey, Erasmus Winslow, Jacob Beeson, Benj. Redding, Jno. F. Porter, Wessel Whittaker, R. E. Ward, H. W. Griswold, R. S. Griffin, J. P. Davis, Eleazer Morton, Pitt Brown, Wm. Huff, E. P. Deacon, Jos. Bertrand (son of the old Indian trader), Dr. John K. Finley, Wm. F. St. John.
In 1836 the so-called territorial road was surveyed and opened the next year. It came into Berrien county in Bainbridge town- ship, ran through Millburg and the pres- ent site of Benton Harbor into St. Joseph. The stage lines connected at St. Joseph with lake boats for Chicago. The business done by these stage coaches for many years was immense. Often as many as fifteen Con- cord coaches drawn by four horses came into St. Joseph daily, loaded with passeng- ers for Chicago and points in northern and central Illinois.
These two roads, the Chicago road pass- ing through Niles and the Territorial road, were the pricipal highways between the east and west in the early settlemen. In 1831 a road was built from Saranac (St. Joseph) through Wolf's Prairie ( Barrien Springs) to Niles.
In 1831, the first stage line into the county was conducted by Col. Amanson Huston, who lived at Niles and kept a tavern known by the name of the Council House. The road ran from Detroit through Ypsil- anti, Jonesville, White Pigeon and Edwards
Prairie, to Niles, following the old Indian trail, to a short distance east of Niles.
In 1833, the stage line was carried to Chicago. In 1835 daily stages were placed on the route, the road was divided into sec- tions and that part of the road west of Jones- ville was placed under the charge of Maj- Wm. Graves. The company conducting the stage line was known as the "Western Stage- Line."
This road for several years was the only stage route through the state from east to ivest.
The stage line diverged from the old Chicago road four or five miles east of Niles, and re-entered it about the same dis- tance west of Niles.
As business increased, several stages were put on daily. They consisted of large handsome Concord coaches drawn by four horses. The arrival of a stage was an- nounced by the blowing of a horn by the driver, who was perched on top of the coach.
In 1828 the mail was carried by David Hunter, a soldier in the regular army, from Detroit to Chicago on horseback. Hunter became a leading general in the Civil war.
In 1830 Thomas Huston, a boy, carried the mail between Niles and Saranac (St. Joseph).
RAILROADS.
The first railroad which was built in the county was the Michigan Central. The work of constructing railroads was first undertaken by the state itself and originated even before the admission of the state into the Union.
In 1832 the territorial legislature in- corporated the Detroit and St. Joseph R. R. Co. Twenty commissioners were appointed among whom were Calvin Britain and Tal- man Wheeler of St. Joseph. The line was shortly after surveyed by Lieut. Berrien of the regular army.
In 1837, the legislature passsd an act
1
39
HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY
authorizing the construction of three rail- roads, the Northern, Central and Southern railroads, all starting from Detroit. The western terminus of the Central was to be at St. Joseph. The construction of the Southern and Central proceeded first, and for this purpose a loan of $5,000,000 was made by the state. The Central road was finished as far as Kalamazoo in February, 1846. The state in the meantime had be- come exhausted financially and found the railroad business conducted by politicians, often incompetent and wasteful, unprofit- able. The legislature concluded to sell out its railroad properties.
In March, 1846, a corporation was or- ganized under the name of the Michigan Central Railroad composed mainly of wealthy Boston capitalists, and the State sold the Central railroad to this corporation for $2,000,000. In the contract between the state and the corporation, the latter was not obliged to make its western terminus at St. Joseph. The only condition was that the road should go to some point on Lake Michigan accessible to steamboats and thence to some point on the southern bound- ary of Lake Michigan. The company then changed the route from Kalamazoo and directed it via Niles to New Buffalo.
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