USA > Michigan > Gazetteer of the State of Michigan, in three parts with a succinct history of the State, from the earliest period to the present time with an appendix, containing the usual statistical tables, and a directory for emigrants, &c > Part 29
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Mud creek, a trifling stream, rising near the central part of Ingham county, and discharging into Sycamore creek.
Muddy creek takes its rise in the township of Browns- town, flowing south-east, and emptying into the Huron river, with which it runs nearly parallel for the greater part of its course. It is about eight miles long, and enters the Huron about a mile from its mouth.
Muddy creek, a small stream, taking its origin in the north-east corner of Eaton, and flowing a south-westerly course into Barry county, and entering the Big Fork of the Thorn Apple, in township three north, range seven west.
Muddy Lake, called Lac Vaseau by the French, 12 miles long, and from two to three wide, enters the St. Mary's.
Mud Island, an islet in the Detroit strait, Wayne county, and west of the centre of Fighting island.
Mullet's creek post office, in Pitt township, Washtenaw county, located on a creek of the same name. Mail twice a week.
Mullet's creek, an insignificant stream, running through the townships of Lodi and Pitt, in Washtenaw county, and emptying into the Huron, three miles below the village of Ann Arbour.
Mundy township, Genesee county, consists of township six north, ranges five and six east. It is watered by Swartz's creek and the Mishtegayock river. Population, 234.
Muskrat Lake, a trifling body of water, near the centre of the county of Clinton, and drained into Maple river by Stony creek.
N.
Nankin township, Wayne county, consists of township two south, range nine east; watered by the West and South branches of the Rouge river. Population, 1,160.
Napoleon township, Jackson county, consists of town- ship four south, ranges one and two east, and the 12 south- ern sections each in township three south, ranges one and two east. Here is a post office, of the same name, on the Clinton and Kent post route.
Narrow Lake is situated on the southern boundary line of Eaton county. Its waters are exhausted by Battle creek, which conducts them into the Kalamazoo river.
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Neebish Island, St. Mary's strait, separates the ship and canoe channel.
Neebish rapids, in the ship channel, at the foot of Lake
George.
Neebittung. (Vide Little Rapids. ) [Indian, strong water. ]
Nekeep, (or Goose Island,) 9 miles north-east of Mack- inac.
Nepessing Lake is situated in the county of Lapeer, four miles south-west of the village of Lapeer, and is drained into Flint river by Farmer's creek.
Newark township, Allegan county, consists of townships one, two, three, and four north, ranges fifteen and sixteen west, and fractional townships one and two north, range seventeen west. Statistics as per census :- Population, 190. -7 saw mills ; 4 merchants.
Newark, (called Kalamazoo on the maps,) is a village and post office, in a township of the same name, in the county of Allegan. It is located about two miles from Lake Michigan, on the Kalamazoo river. There is a steam saw mill building, and a warehouse already constructed. It numbers perhaps 10 or 12 dwellings. The location of this place is eligible, and the harbor commodious; and there is a prospect of its becoming a place of importance. Distant 21 miles from Allegan, and 180 from Detroit.
New Buffalo township, Berrien county, consists of town- ships seven and eight south, ranges twenty and twenty-one west. Statistics as per census :- Population, 199 .- 3 saw mills ; a merchant ; 81 head neat stock, 25 horses, 185 hogs.
New Buffalo, a village and post office, in a township of the same name, in the county of Berrien, is situated on a point of land extending between an estuary made by the Galain river and Lake Michigan. Here are 4 stores, a for- warding and commission store, 2 physicians, and a num- ber of mechanics. Here is the termination of the State rail-road, from Monroe, across the southern part of the Peninsula. This place has much improved the two past years, and a number of buildings have been erected in it. It is believed to be susceptible of a good harbor. The present population does not exceed 400. Distant 26 miles south-west St. Joseph.
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Newburg is a new but flourishing village, in Bristol town- ship, Lapeer county, in the south-eastern part of the coun- ty, on a branch of the North Fork of the Clinton. Here are some few mechanics, 2 stores, and a physician. The Palmer and Romeo rail-road, it is expected, will be extend- ed to pass through it. Distant 20 miles from Lapeer, and 47 from Detroit.
Newport, a village and post office, St. Clair county, pleas- antly situated near the junction of the Belle river with the strait of St. Clair ; eligibly located for trade, on the main channel of the St. Clair strait. Here are 4 stores, a tan- nery, a steam saw mill, 2 physicians. The village is very flourishing. It has been a place of much ship building, and a considerable shipping is owned here at present. It is supported by a good farming country and the enterprize of its citizens. Distant S miles from Palmer, and 50 north- east Detroit.
Nidwany river rises in the eastern part of the Upper Peninsula, and flowing east discharges its waters into Nidwany bay, an inlet of the St. Mary's strait, south-west of Sailors Encampment island.
Niles township, Berrien county, is comprised in town- ship seven south, ranges seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen west. Statistics as per census :- Population 1,497 .- 2 grist mills, 6 saw mills, an iron foundery, carding machine, 2 distilleries ; 32 merchants ; 4,219 bushels wheat, 190 bushels rye, 13,110 bushels corn, 8,275 bushels oats, 620 bushels buckwheat ; 750 pounds flax ; 750 head neat stock, 314 horses, 370 sheep, 1199 hogs.
Niles, a small settlement, Troy township, County of Oak- land. Here are 2 stores, and 2 physicians. Distant 8 miles south-east of Pontiac.
Niles, a village and post office, in a township of the same name, in the county of Berrien, is pleasantly situated on the east bank of the river St. Joseph, in the south-east- ern part of the county. It contains 2 churches, one each for presbyterians and episcopalians, 2 banking associations, a cupella furnace, 8 dry goods stores, a book-store, a printing office that issues a weekly newspaper, 3 physicians, and 3 practicing attorneys. It has been made a location of a Branch of the University. Niles is a flourishing busi- ness village, second to none in the county but St. Joseph.
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It receives its principal support from the fine farming coun- try around it. Its population is estimated at 1,200. It is distant south-east from St. Joseph 25 miles, and south-west from Detroit 180.
North Monestee river, (vide Monestee, Upper Peninsula.) Northfield post office, Northfield township, Washtenaw county, on the Dexter and Plymouth post route.
Northfield township, Washtenaw county, consists of town- ship one south, of range six east. Population, 793.
North Black river. (See Black river North. )
North Branch of Raisin river. (See Raisin river, North Branch.)
North Cape, the most south-eastern point of the State of Michigan, and western cape of the Miami (or Maumee) Bay, lying immediately opposite Cedar Point, and two miles south-west of Turtle Island. It consists of the extremity of a narrow peninsula, on the south-east corner of Monroe county, extending between a considerable recess of the Miami Bay and Lake Erie. The peninsula is about four miles long, and on an average one-third of a mile wide.
North-west Cape, a projection of land into Saginaw Bay, situated at the entrance, and on its north-west side, and on the southern entrance to Thunder Bay.
Northville, a village lying near the north line of Wayne county, in the township of Plymouth, at the confluence of the West Branch of the Rouge and the outlet of Walled Lake. It contains a post office, one church each for pres- byterians, methodists, and baptists, four stores, two taverns, a flour mill with two run of stones, a saw mill, a furnace, a carding and cloth-dressing establishment, a chair factory, and one physician. There are great hydraulic advantages here and in the vicinity. At this place are 37 feet of water power, and 28 in occupation. It is well situated for manu- facturing, and considerable capital is enlisted. The road from Ann Arbour to Pontiac passes through it. Population estimated at 250. Distant 42 miles north of Plymouth, and 27 north-west of Detroit.
Nottawa township, St. Joseph county, consists of town- ship six south, of range ten west. Statistics as per census : -Population, 713 .- A grist mill, 2 saw mills; 6 mer- chants.
Nottawa Prairie is a rich prairie in the northern part of
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the township of Nottawa, in St. Joseph county, and partly embraced in the Nottawasepee reservation.
Nottawa post office is in Nottawa township, St. Joseph county. Mail received once a week.
Nottawasepee river, a stream rising south of the central part of Calhoun county, and meandering westerly and south- westerly through Calhoun and the north-east corner of St. Joseph counties, discharges into the St. Joseph at the Not- tawasepee reservation, mostly watering an open and prairie country. Its length is about 45 miles, and its course very serpentine.
Novi post office, Novi township, Oakland county, on the post route from Detroit to Howell. Mail arrives and de- parts once a week.
Novi township, Oakland county, consists of township one north, of range eight east. It is watered, principally, by the West Branch of the Rouge river. Population, 1,335.
0
Oak Point, strait of Mackinac, 15 miles from the Island. Oakland township, Oakland county, consists of town- ship four north, of range eleven east, watered by Paint creek and a branch of Stony creek. Population, 803.
Oakville, a village and post office, in the township of London, and county of Monroe, situated in the northern part of the county, near Stony creek. The settlement is small. It has one store, a lawyer, physician, and a few families. Distant 18 miles from Monroe, and (by way of Monroe) 58 from Detroit.
Ogden township, Lenawee county, consists of township eight south, of range four east. Statistics as per census :- Population, 193 .- 1,071 bushels wheat, 2,305 bushels corn, 610 bushels oats ; 76 head neat stock, 282 hogs.
Onion Lakes are in Van Buren county, near Four Mile lake. They are four in number, lying in the vicinity of each other, but inconsiderable in size.
Ontwa township, Cass county, consists of township eight south, ranges fifteen and sixteen west. Statistics as per census :- Population, 1,012 .- A grist mill, 2 saw mills ; 8 merchants.
Ontonagon (or Tenangon) river is the largest of thirty rivers which are tributary to Lake Superior, on its south- ern shore. It has its source in the Upper Peninsula, north
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and north-east of the lake of the Desert, and after flowing in a north-westerly course, breaks through the Porcupine Mountains, and running north with a rapid current, dis- . charges its waters into Lake Superior, in latitude 46º 52'. It is estimated to be 120 miles long and 200 yards wide, with 8 feet depth at the mouth. It is ascended in canoes 36 miles. The waters of this river have a reddish color. An abundance of pure, native copper has been discovered on it twenty miles from its mouth.
Orange township, Macomb county, is comprised in town- ship one north, of range thirteen east, together with sec- tions twelve, thirteen, twenty-four, and thirty-six, in town- ship one north, of range twelve east. Statistics as per cen- sus :- Population, 297 .- 533 bushels wheat, 87 bushels rye, 675 bushels corn, 1,115 bushels oats, 54 bushels buck- wheat ; 263 head neat stock, 93 horses, 95 sheep, 241 hogs.
Orchard Lake, one among a cluster of lakes situated in the township of West Bloomfield, in Oakland county, the waters of which are conducted into the Clinton river.
Ore creek, a stream rising in the south-eastern part of Livingston county, flowing across the north-east corner of the county into Genesee county, where it empties into the East Branch of the Shiawassee river. There is said to be a valuable bed of iron ore on its bank in Livingston county.
Orion township, Oakland county, consists of township four north, of range ten east. It is interspersed with a number of lakes, and watered by Paint creek. There is a post office here of the same name. Population, 593.
Oronoko township, Berrien county, is comprised in town- ship six south, of range eighteen west, and township six south, of range nineteen west. Statistics as per census :- Population, 246 .- A grist mill, a saw mill; 332 bushels wheat, 3,841 bushels corn, 2,050 bushels oats, 32 bush- els buckwheat ; 257 head neat stock, 43 horses, 13 sheep, 539 hogs.
Otsego, a village and post office, situated on the Kalama- zoo river, in the township of the same name, and in the county of Allegan. At present it is but a small settlement, containing two stores, a physician, a number of mechanics, and a few dwellings. The village is handsomely located about 30 feet above the river, and can command 8 feet of
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water power. It numbers about 150 inhabitants. Distant 10 miles from Allegan, and 150 west of Detroit.
Otsego township, Allegan county, consists of townships one, two, three, and four north, of range. twelve west .. Statistics as per census :- Population, 141 .- A grist mill, 3 saw mills ; 5 merchants.
Ottawa, a village recently laid out, in Ottawa county, on the south bank of the Grand river, 23 miles from its mouth, at the entrance of a small creek. The latter has eight feet of water power. Arrangements are making to improve it.
Ottawa river originates in the southern boundary of the county of Lenawee, and following this southern boundary in an easterly course to near the south-west corner of Mon- roe county, where it crosses into the State of Ohio, and continuing an easterly serpentine course on the northern border of that State, finally discharges its waters into an inlet of the Miami bay, lying in the State of Michigan. Its entire length is not short of 50 miles.
Ottawa Lake lies near the south-west corner of Monroe county, and is drained by a small creek, into the Ottawa river. It contains about 1,200 acres.
Otter creek, a rivulet rising in the south-western part of Monroe county, and flowing north-easterly and south- easterly, empties into Lake Erie between the R. aux Vase and Grandconille, and 5 miles south-west of the mouth of the River Raisin.
Ovid township, Branch county, is comprised in township seven and fractional township eight south, of range six west. Statistics as per census :- Population, 209 .- 614 bushels wheat, 1,594 bushels corn, 720 bushels oats, 65 bushels buckwheat, 65 lbs. flax ; 249 head neat stock, 28 horses, 22 sheep 118 hogs.
Owasso, a small settlement in Shiawassee county, on the Shiawassee river, in the northern part of the county, contains a banking association, a store, and a few mechan- ics. It is newly settled and flourishing.
Owasso township, Shiawassee county, is comprised in townships seven and eight north, of ranges one, two, three and four east.
Oxford township, Oakland county, consists of township five north, of range ten east. Population, 384.
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Paint creek post office is located on Paint creek, in the township of Ypsilanti.
Paint creek, a trifling stream, one of the head branches of Stony creek, originates and flows in the township of Ypsilanti, in the south-east corner of the county of Wash- tenaw.
Paint creek, one of the branches of the Clinton, rising in the north-east part of Oakland county, and flowing south- easterly across Orion, Oakland, and Avon townships. It is a good mill stream.
Painesville township, Oakland county, is comprised of township four north, of range eight east.
Palmyra township, Lenawee county, consists of town- ship seven south, of range four east, watered by the River Raisin and Bear creek. Statistics as per census :- Popu- lation, S98 .- A grist mill, 2 saw mills ; 2 merchants ; 3,207 bushels wheat, 55 bushels rye, 8,160 bushels corn ; 4,167 bushels oats ; 356 bushels buckwheat ; 638 head neat stock, 72 horses, 102 sheep, 1,020 hogs.
Palmyra village and post office, in a township of the same name, county of Lenawee, pleasantly situated on the River Raisin. It contains a banking association, a flouring mill with 4 run of stone, a saw mill, 2 stores, a lawyer and 2 physicians. This is a flourishing village of three years growth, and has considerable hydraulic power in its vicini- ty. The State road from Toledo to Adrian, and the rail- road connecting those two places, passes through it. Dis- tant 6 miles from Adrian, and 60 south-west Detroit.
PALMER village and post office, and capital of the county of St. Clair, pleasantly situated at the confluence of Pine river with the St. Clair strait, and opposite the village of Souther- land, in Canada-it contains a court house, jail, bank, with a capital of $100,000, a steam flouring mill, 2 steam saw mills within, 1 above and 2 below the village, 3 stores, a printing office, from which a weekly newspaper is issued, a lawyer, and 4 physicians. A Branch of the University is located here. Palmer is a thriving, healthy, and pleasant village, with fine scenery around it. It has a good harbor, and does considerable business. The manufacturing of lumber is carried on to a considerable extent. Here is the
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termination of the Romeo and St. Clair rail-road. Dis- tant 50 miles north-east Detroit, and 576 north-west Wash- ington city.
Parma township, Jackson county, is comprised in town- ship two south, of range three west.
Parke Lake lies in the south-east corner of Clinton county. It contains about 350 acres.
Partridge Branch, in Shelby township, Macomb county, a tributary of the middle branch of Clinton river.
Pavilion township, Kalamazoo county, consists of town- ship three south, of ranges ten and eleven west. Statistics as per census :- Population, 548 .- 2 saw mills ; 5,726 bushels wheat, 4,727 bushels corn, 9,295 bushels oats, 129 bushels buckwheat ; 516 head neat stock, 85 horses, 39 sheep, 797 hogs.
Pawpaw river, the most considerable tributary of the St. Joseph that empties into it on the northern side, rises in the eastern part of the county of Van Buren, and after flowing in a south-westerly direction through the counties of Van Buren and Berrien, discharges its waters into the St. Joseph river about one mile from its mouth. Its course is quite serpentine, and its entire length, by the windings, is uncertain, though it is navigated 75 miles from its mouth by keel boats ; but from its source to the mouth, in a direct line, it is about 40 miles. It affords, with its branches, many mill sites, a number of which are improved. On its intervals are occasionally found some excellent tracts of land, covered with heavy timber. Its name is supposed to originate from the pawpaw tree, growing on its banks.
Pawpaw township, Berrien county, is comprised in town- ship three south, of ranges seventeen and eighteen west.
Pawpaw village and post office, Van Buren county, situ- ated on the head branch of the Pawpaw river It has a church, a flouring mill, a saw mill, 3 stores and a physician. This place is new, having been but recently laid out, but is flourishing and pleasantly situated. The Territorial road from Detroit to St. Joseph passes through it.
Penn township, Cass county, is comprised in township six south, of ranges thirteen and fourteen west. Statistics as per census :- Population, 693 .- A grist mill, 2 saw mills ; 3 merchants ; 13,884 bushels wheat, 21,195 bushels corn,
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17,605 bushels oats, 100 bushels buckwheat, 100 lbs. flax ; 719 head neat stock, 224 horses, 598 sheep, 1,261 hogs.
Pent water river is a small stream that rises in the Penin- sula in the south-west part of the county of Mackinac, and flows in a westerly direction, and empties into Lake Michi- gan some 20 miles above the mouth of the White river.
Pere Marquette river, an inconsiderable stream that rises in the Peninsula, in the south-western part of Mackinac county, and flows in a south-western direction, and empties into Lake Michigan at a distance of perhaps 12 miles north of the mouth of the Pentwater river.
Petite Traverse Bay. (See " Little Traverse Bay.") Pesissinowing, a tributary of St. Mary's above the fall.
Pictured Rocks, a name given to an immense pile of sand rock, which extends a distance of 12 miles along the south- ern shore of Lake Superior, forming a perpendicular wall of 300 feet from the surface of the lake. This great curiosity of nature is situated immediately north of Great Bay de Noquet, and 50 miles west of St. Mary's strait. "This name has been given to them in consequence of the differ- ent appearances which they present to the traveller as he passes their base in a canoe. It requires little aid from the imagination, to discern in them the castellated tower, the lofty dome, spires and pinnacles, and every sublime, gro- tesque, or fastastic shape, which the genius of architecture has ever invented." They are apparently tinged with eve- ry variety of color, presenting numerous projections and in- dentations, and vast caverns, into which the entering waves from the lake make a jarring and tremendous sound. To the romantic voyager, as he wends his light canoe beneath their pointed cliffs, they exhibit a scene stupendous and beautiful in the highest degree. (See " Cascade La Por- taille," and " Doric Arch.")
Piana Island, one of the Chenoux cluster.
Pigeou river is a stream that rises west of Lake Superi- or, and empties into it on its western shore, in latitude 48° north, and forms the boundary line between the United States and Upper Canada.
Pigeon river, a considerable branch of the St. Joseph river, rising in the north-eastern corner of the State of In- diana, flowing first south-westerly, and then north-westerly, through the northern part of the county of Lagrange, where
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it passes into and crosses the corner of St. Joseph county into Cass county, and enters the St. Joseph river in the south-east corner of Porter township. Its entire length is not less than 80 miles, and only about 18 of the latter part of it in Michigan.
Pigeon creek, a stream rising in the western part of Ot- tawa county, flowing west and discharging into Lake Mich- igan nine miles north of the mouth of North Grand river. There is considerable low, marshy land on and in the vi- cinity of this stream.
Pigeon Lake is an expansion of Pigeon creek near its mouth.
Pigeon Prairie, in White Pigeon township, St. Joseph county, is a tract of some of the richest land in the State, and the best land in the county. It is densely- settled, and improved by wealthy and intelligent inhabitants.
Pine creek, a stream in Berrien county, having its ori- gin near the head waters of the Galain river, and flowing in a northerly course, empties into the St. Joseph river a mile below Royalton, and nearly two above St. Joseph. A portion of the country towards its head is swampy land of little value. Pine is the predominating timber.
Pine creek rises in the northern part of the county of Genesee, and after watering the northern part of Genesee, enters Saginaw and empties into Flint river three miles north of the southern boundary of Saginaw county. It de- rives its name from the pine timber on its banks.
Pine creek, a small stream rising in the western part of Cass county, and flowing southerly into the Nottawasepee.
Pine Lake, a small collection of water in the southern part of the county of St. Joseph, drained into the St. Joseph river.
Pine Lake, an inconsiderable body of water in Oakland county, one among a cluster of lakes in West Bloomfield township. Its waters empty into Clinton river.
Pine Lake, a body of water in the south-western part of Barry county, near the border of Allegan county, its waters passing into the Kalamazoo river.
Pine Lake, is a collection of water lying in the northern part of the county of Ingham, near the Red Cedar river, into which its waters are drained by a small creek.
Pine river, a considerable stream rising south of the
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central part of St. Clair county, between the mouth of Mill creek and the Belle river, and flowing south-easterly, emp- ties into St. Clair strait, at the village of Palmer. It is as- cended only a short distance in bateaux. Its banks abound with occasional groves of pine timber.
Pine river, a stream entering Lake Huron, 15 miles north- west of Mackinac.
Pine river is a considerable stream, originating on the eastern confines of Gratiot county, and pursuing an almost direct north-easterly course through the county of Gratiot and the southern part of Midland, discharges into the Titti- bawassee river. It has only one considerable branch, the Chippewa river, which empties into it near its mouth. The Pine river has considerable pine timber on its borders, which is understood to be of a valuable quality. Its length is about 50 miles.
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