USA > Michigan > Kent County > Grand Rapids > Grand Rapids and Kent County, Michigan: History and Account of Their Progress from First. Vol. I > Part 17
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Capt. Wright L. Coffinbury was another valuable addition to the village. He was born in Ohio in 1807, and was educated as a civil engineer. His first work in Michigan was at St. Joseph, in 1844, and he came to Grand Rapids two years later, buying the jewelry shop of Aaron Dikeman. He was the first city surveyor and, later, and until the Civil War, his services were in great demand as a surveyor throughout northern Michigan. An intense Union man, he was one of the first to answer the call of Father Abraham, and his war rec- ord, as captain of Company C of the First Michigan Engineers and Mechanics, stands as one of the best parts of Grand Rapids' war an- nals. He was known as a student and a scientist. In the early days he was prominent in temperance work and in the Lyceum. Later he was one of the ardent supporters of the young Republican party. He was one of the founders of the Kent Museum and was known for his honesty and kindheartedness. His sudden death on a street car in Grand Rapids, in 1889, was the cause of profound grief throughout the community. His wife, Jane Beach Coffinbury, to whom he was married in 1831, and who survived him until 1895, also made an in- dependent impression upon the community as a woman of great liter- ary ability.
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Still another was Charles C. Rood, who was born in Vermont in 1815, came to Michigan with his parents in 1821, and arrived in Grand Rapids as a young lawyer in 1846. Within a year of his coming he was elected a justice of the peace, and he was known as a successful lawyer and business man and was one of the enterprising citizens who, in 1856, established the Grand Rapids Gas Light Company, of which he was superintendent.
Judah Gray opened a wagon shop, using the power of what was later known as Kusterer Springs. He came with a record as a fighter in the Seminole War. Martin L. Sweet, a New Yorker by birth, came with John L. Clements and purchased the Big Mill and was perhaps the most prominent miller in the valley until after the Civil War. He built Sweet's Hotel in 1868, and was one of the early and successful bankers and largely interested in the lumbering business. He was one of the first directors of the Old National Bank and became one of Grand Rapids' wealthiest citizens. George Kendall came as a mer- chant, after having lived ten years in other parts of Michigan. He platted Kendall's addition, became prominent in municipal affairs and was a banker and man of great enterprise. He was one of the first directors of the City National Bank and one of the organizers of the Gas Light Company.
The great event of the year 1847 for the Grand River Valley was the coming of the Holland colony, the Dutch settlers. They did not at first settle at Grand Rapids, but this was the main trading point and the largest village, and as they came to trade many remained to live, and the large Dutch population of Grand Rapids came about through attrition, rather than through settlement en masse.
The great local issue was the building of the canal. No sooner had the Legislature convened than petitions were presented by citi- zens of Kent and Ionia Counties asking that an appropriation be made for the improvement of Grand River, and, as a part of the ef- fort to obtain the appropriation, members from this region united with those who favored the removal of the capital from Detroit to Lansing. The bill granting 25,000 acres for the construction of a canal finally passed both houses, but the Governor hesitated to sign it. This caused much anxiety and the "Enquirer" frantically urged its approval, saying that the canal would afford uninterrupted pas- sage of the rapids to Ionia and would add greatly to the value of crops. The Governor finally signed the bill, the provisions of which were for the construction of a canal with sufficient locks for the pas- sage of boats and other water craft around the rapids of Grand River, for which purpose 25,000 acres of internal improvement lands were appropriated. The supervisors of Kent County were to select the lands and withhold them from sale. The canal was to be 45 feet on the water line and 4 feet deep, at all seasons, with locks 135 feet in length and 30 feet wide in the clear, to receive boats 20 feet wide, 30 feet long and 30 inches in draft, in slack water below the foot of the rapids and pass them to slack water above at all stages. The su- pervisors were empowered to build a dam, or wing dam, but with suitable provisions for the passage of boats. After completion, and the right-of-way being secured to the state, the judges of Kent and Ionia Counties, or a majority of them, were to certify to the commis-
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sion to issue land certificates to the extent of the actual cost, at the rate of $1.25 per acre. The canal was to be finished in three years. The supervisors were also empowered to charge tolls in order to keep up repairs and the canal was placed in their charge. They were em- powered to advertise for bids conditioned on completion in three years and provided, further, that grants of the right-of-way and a re- lease of all damages against the State of Michigan should be executed by the owners of the land through which the canal passed, so that the right-of-way should be secured to the State free from all incumbrance, leaving to the owner of the land on either side of the canal the use of the water for hydraulic purposes, so as not to interfere with naviga- tion. Lands were to be selected within the Ionia land district. This act was approved Feb. 20, 1847. While the passage of this law was the occasion of much rejoicing in Grand Rapids, it was also the occa- sion of much discussion, and the columns of the papers were filled with long letters of advice.
William T. Powers came to Grand Rapids in June, 1847, and opened a small shop on the corner of Fountain and Ionia streets, as a cabinetmaker. His business increased in importance and, by 1852, he had established something of an export furniture trade. He then became connected with the lumber trade, was interested in the con- struction of the west side water-power canal and was noted as a build- er, the best known of the structures built by him being the Powers Opera House. He held a number of city offices and was one of Grand Rapids' foremost and most enterprising citizens. With him, as a boy, came his son, William H. Powers, who became one of the leaders of Grand Rapids' business world in manufacturing and lumbering, and who was honored by election to the Legislature of the State. The large part which this father and son played in the history of Grand Rapids will be told as the story of the city unfolds in these pages.
Among other arrivals were John McConnell, who was known for the next twenty years as a merchant and dealer in hardware. He served as supervisor, was prominent as a mason and was a leader in the Episcopal Church. He was also one of the first directors of the Grand Rapids & Holland Railway Company. John Kendall came to join his brother George in a store which they conducted at Campau Square, and his career as a business man was highly successful. He also was a strong supporter of the Episcopalian Church and took in- terest, as an alderman, in the city affairs.
Another newcomer was James H. Brown, familiarly called "Jock- ey Brown." He was known as a shrewd trader and was able to amass a considerable estate. Another arrival was Miss Mary J. Webster, who came upon the invitation of John Ball to teach and remained to marry him. This wedding occurred in 1849, and Mrs. Ball proved a splendid helpmeet to her husband and an active aid to him in his not- able career.
The year 1849 was the last year that Grand Rapids was to be known as a village, and it was a year full of important happenings. The people were wide awake and this led to many demands upon the Legislature for action relative to Kent County. It was found that the commissioners who first located the court house square, finding no provision for payment, did not report their proceedings, and it was
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held that the county seat had never been officially located. This opened up the question and Plainfield, Ada, and Cannonsburg became appli- cants for the county seat. Commissioners were appointed by act of the Legislature, and they met and formally ratified acts of the former commission. It was felt that some action must be taken, as the county was in need of a central seat of government, the county offices being scattered throughout the village. The supervisors also petitioned the Legislature to restore the system by which each town should care for its own paupers. The most vexed question was that concerning the canal, the contractors wishing better provisions for payment as the work progressed.
In March, 1849, there was the greatest flood the village had known for a number of years. The stage from Battle Creek was com- pelled to take the Cascade road, as the Thornapple bridge was partly submerged. Machinery on the mill race was stopped and but a small tip of Island No. 1 could be seen, while Island No. 2 was completely under water. Wharves along the river were several feet under water and the cellars in the lower part of town were flooded. The "En- quirer" said that the flood extended as far back as the Grandville road, cutting off communication with the inhabitants of "Dublin" and "Frenchtown," except by boat. This high water delayed canal con- struction until the middle of July, when work was begun along the foot of Monroe street, and water was shut off from the branch of the river east of the islands. Scores of laborers were busy excavating that portion of the river bed which was to be used as a part of the canal, and what was known as the old Campau blockhouse was re- moved. The dam was soon commenced, being based on solid rock with frame work of heavy timbers with stone between. The upper side had a slope of thirty degrees, and was about five feet high. The dam was completed in October, and all that remained was to finish the lock-pit and the lock. The work continued until the latter part of November, when the weather became too severe.
Senator Robinson introduced a bill, which became a law, vacat- ing a portion of the plat of Grand Rapids. This excluded what was known as the Campau and Morrison forties, being all east of the Bostwick addition and south of Fulton street, and east of the Dexter fraction.
Appropriations had been made, in 1848, for the construction of a road to the Holland Colony, with Mr. Littlejohn as commissioner. This was amended to provide for three commissioners and, there- after, the work was pushed. In this connection the "Enquirer" said : "The trade of the colony is worth something to this village, but will never come here through impassable woods and unfordable rivers." There were petitions before the Legislature for a road from Allegan to Grand Rapids, for improvement of the Rouge River, for a dam across the Flat River and that sessions of the supreme court might be held at Grand Rapids. Governor Ransom vetoed bills for the im- provement of the Kalamazoo and Flat Rivers, but an important meas- ure that passed was for the incorporation of the Kalamazoo & Grand Rapids plank road. Another project which received much considera- tion was for a plank road from Galesburg to Grand Rapids. W. A. Richmond was one of the commissioners of the proposed Ottawa &
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Grand Rapids railroad, for which stock subscriptions were secured and the commissioner of the Galesburg plank road also visited Grand Rapids for three days to secure subscriptions. A plank road meet- ing, held in August, was well attended at the schoolhouse in Gaines township, and Messrs. Taylor, Gray and Tanner were appointed as a committee to solicit subscriptions and to report on the location. There was much discusssion of the best routes and the newspapers were filled with communications. At Battle Creek, $20,000 in stock was subscribed and the commissioners of Kalamazoo were active, al- though that line met with some opposition locally. Governor Ransom headed a committee from Kalamazoo, which met with the people of Grand Rapids at Irving Hall, in September, and on motion of Daniel Ball a committee, consisting of George Kendall, David Burnett, Joshua Boyer, Amos Rathbone, and Daniel Ball was appointed to re- ceive stock subscriptions. Charles Rathbun was made the director of the Galesburg plank road and work on this line proceeded so far that, in October, the first assessment of 10 per cent. was called. There was a meeting in Kalamazoo late in October, at which time Charles H. Taylor and George Kendall were made commissioners from Grand Rapids and Timothy I. Tanner from Paris, and soon the engineer, Mr. Traver, was able to report on the preliminary survey. The 'En- quirer" said, in December, however, that, although there had been much talk of plank roads, but little had been accomplished.
The year 1850 is one of the milestones in Grand Rapids' history, for the village then became a city with a new charter and an entirely different system of city government. This was not accomplished without an effort, or with unanimous consent. By some it was re- garded as a political move by the Whigs, and there were the usual conservatives who preferred the old ways to any innovations. Early in January, after much agitation, a public meeting was held at which Charles H. Taylor, Julius C. Abel, George Martin, E. E. Sargeant and Alfred D. Rathbone were appointed as a committee to draft a charter, to include sections 19 and 30, town 7, range 11, and sections 24 and 25, of town 7, range 12. This committee reported to an ad- journed meeting, held in February, at the Public Hall, with James Scribner as chairman and Wm. H. McConnell as secretary. The com- mittee had previously reported a charter, but the conservative element had ordered it recommitted, with instructions to amend, by adapting its provisions to those of a village incorporation. The committee re- ported that it could not carry out these instructions without funda- mental changes which were deemed inadvisable, and, on motion, the charter as first drawn was adopted and Harvey P. Yale was appointed to proceed to Lansing with the charter and secure the necessary leg- islation. This meeting was largely attended and there was much warm debate. The situation was complicated by the introduction of a bill by Philo Beers for the removal of the county seat, which was very naturally opposed by Grand Rapids people. The charter was, how- ever, approved by the Legislature on April 2, 1850, with the limits as proposed.
In December, 1849, the home of Mrs. Luce was destroyed by fire. The first week in January of the new year fire destroyed the dry kiln of David Caswell, the pail maker, and threatened the destruction of
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the new bridge. Just a few days later occurred the greatest fire trag- edy Grand Rapids had known, when two women lost their lives in the burning of the Catholic Parochial House. The account of this fire as given by the "Enquirer" is as follows: "Monday about 3 o'clock the building situated upon Monroe street, once occupied by Rev. Godwin as a dwelling, and recently by the Catholic Church, in part as a chapel and in part as the residence of the priests here, was consumed by fire. The flames made rapid progress, destroying the entire contents of the house, and involving in their deadly embrace Mrs. Kilroy, an aged lady, and her daughter, Miss Catherine Kilroy. That these females were in the building was not known to the multitude assembled, until the fire had nearly exhausted itself. Yet it is almost certain that they must have perished before any assistance arrived upon the spot that could have been effectual. The house was not very valuable, the chief loss being the furniture of the chapel, the books and papers of the priests, and in other personal property. The cause of the fire is not known, and there was no insurance. At the fire, it became necessary to form two lines of men from the engine to the river, a distance of about forty rods. Numbers were standing about gazing stupidly upon the flames, who could not be persuaded to contribute so much bodily labor towards the extinction of the fire, even after it was proclaimed that two females had perished, and that their bodies might, by great exertion, be saved from entire destruction. At this time, several la- dies, who had previously been spectators, volunteered their services and, notwithstanding the exposure to wet and the stinging cold of the night, maintained their places in the ranks for a long time, thus re- proaching in something louder than words the abominable laziness of the men. We saw ladies of delicate health thus engaged. We hope that on another occasion like that of Sunday night, there will be no ne- cessity for the women to work that men may have the privilege of 'seeing the fire.'"
Early in February, 1851, Grand Rapids people were urged to build a plank road to Ada to hold the trade of Ionia County, and ulti- mately to connect with the Battle Creek & Hastings plank road. A bill by Philo Beers, changing the State road in Montcalm and Kent Counties, was passed by the Legislature, and bills were introduced for plank roads from Grand Rapids to Plainfield, and also in Walker and Vergennes townships. The Kalamazoo & Grand Rapids Plank Road Company was incorporated in March, and a short time later Rix Rob- inson opened subscription books for the stock of the Saginaw & Grand River Canal Company. In September, stock was offered in the Battle Creek & Grand Rapids Plank Road Company, but it was stated in Oc- tober that nothing had been accomplished by this company, and a plank road to Ada was again urged. Still another move was for a plank road to Holland, and it was said: "A foundation has been laid for a large and prosperous settlement in Holland. The immigration expected will be possessed of greater means, and a heavy population will fill the region. Shall Kalamazoo, Otsego and Allegan get the trade? The government will soon make appropriations for the Black River harbor, and the Dutch will make it go far." The "Enquirer" urged that the Dutch would prefer a plank road to a railroad, on ac- count of the expense, as they could drive their oxen and carry their own supplies, without a high charge for railroad fares.
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Kent County interests, in 1851, centered about the completion of the canal, the organization of the Kalamazoo plank road, the location of the court house, and the untanglement of city affairs, and with these came the delights of politics and the ordinary development of community affairs. Nothing had been done on the canal for a num- ber of months, and up-river people stormed ; and another break in the banks, early in January, made some action urgent. There was a flood in February, which the "oldest inhabitant" said had been equaled but once. There was considerable loss to the lumbering interests and much fear for the canal banks, the water rising within four inches of the top. Volunteer workmen, by the use of slabs and boards, man- aged to save the embankments, but there was enough water in old Canal street, opposite the postoffice, to float logs. The worst break, however, was not with the canal banks, but with the canal contractor, James Davis, who had become bankrupt and was unable to complete his contract. In March his sureties, S. O. Kingsbury, J. M. Fox, Wil- liam Haldane, John Ball, W. D. Foster, Amos Roberts and Z. G. Win- sor, petitioned the Legislature for relief, reciting that the original contract expired Dec. 1, 1849; that the time had been extended by the Legislature to Feb. 20, 1851, whereupon Davis entered into a new con- tract and the above had signed his bonds for $20,000. Davis later abandoned the work and publicly declared his inability to proceed. The contract never was pushed to completion, the State did not exact from the bonds, and it became, to the regret of Grand Rapids people, an abandoned and closed incident.
The subject of land transportation was growing more important as the increasing production of the valley demanded better markets. A daily stage line was run to Lansing during the Legislative session at express speed, leaving Grand Rapids at 4 A. M. and reaching Lan- sing at 7 P. M., but this wild ride over the roughest of roads only em- phasized the need of improved highways, and the local newspaper said: "The great hope of this section of the state is the completion of the plank road to Lansing from Detroit, and its extension through the valley of the Grand River. We shall then be independent of the Central Railroad monopoly, the section between us and the Central will have a choice to which great avenue to resort and thus be able to beat down the high rates of freight the Central Railroad would undoubtedly charge."
The agricultural fair in the fall of 1851 was said to have sur- passed all previous efforts; an address being delivered by the newly arrived Rev. Hammond; premiums being awarded, not only for ag- ricultural products, but for farm implements, and to Blain & Cook, for edged tools ; to Kinger and Tusch, for saddlery ; to D. Schemer- horn for full cloth, and to Jonathan F. Chubb for cotton 'and wool flannel. Kendall's addition received a large part of the growth of the city and became dotted with houses. Census returns of the number of dwelling houses in the principal cities of Michigan were published in November. According to this, Detroit contained 3,144 dwelling houses, or about as many as the total of the five next cities. Those containing more dwellings than Grand Rapids were, in the order named, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Jackson, Flint, Plymouth, Ypsilanti, Ad-
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rian, Tecumseh, and Marshall, Grand Rapids being the tenth city, with 489 residences, beating Pontiac by just one house, and having forty-eight more than Kalamazoo.
The great sensation of the latter part of the year was the incen- diary fire by which the tannery of C. W. Taylor was burned, with a loss of $10,000. The miscreant left a note saying: "Damn you, you have got it at last. I told you I would have revenge. Yours truly, In Trouble." Just a few weeks before, Mr. Taylor's store on Monroe street had been set on fire, and this loss of the tannery was a hard blow to him. There was universal indignation, and when it was de- cided that the city could not offer a reward for the arrest of the fire- bug, H. R. Williams personally offered $1,000. C. W. Taylor added $300, and the reward offer was finally brought up to $1,600 for the conviction of the "pirate." It was thought not to have been a coin- cidence that the engine house on Prospect Hill was burned the same morning.
Early in January, Eleazer Donnelly, G. M. Mills, C. J. Burnham, and G. W. Fox were arrested, charged with the crime, and soon after- ward were placed in the county jail, which was completed by the mid- dle of the month, and of which they were the first occupants. G. M. Mills was placed on trial in April, and there was a great array of counsel on both sides. The prosecution was conducted by E. E. Sar- geant, T. B. Church, of Grand Rapids, and J. Van Arman, of Mar- shall, while, for the defense, appeared Judge Goodwin, of Detroit; S. Clark, of Kalamazoo; A. F. Bell, of Ionia, and A. D. Rathbone and A. Williams, of Grand Rapids. Later, Lewis Patterson was added to the prosecution and J. C. Blanchard to the defense. The trial was a matter of interest not only in Kent, but the surrounding counties, and upon the conviction of Mills and his sentence for fifteen years, the Ionia Gazette declared that he had not had a fair trial on account of the prejudice against him. The sympathy of Grand Rapids people was undoubtedly with Mr. Taylor, and this feeling was strengthened when, in June, on account of his losses, he was obliged to offer his grist-mill and his tract of ten acres at Coldbrook, with a good house, for sale at a low price. In July, Donnelly and Fox, who had been in- dicted with Mills, and S. H. Matteson, who was held as a witness, es- caped from the county jail, thus strengthening the belief in their guilt. In October, Matteson was arrested in Detroit, under the name of John Short, and was brought back to Grand Rapids. This arson trial attracted the more attention because Grand Rapids was remark- ably free from major crimes, the only other criminal sensation of this year being the burglary of Aaron Dikeman's jewelry store, when some $600 worth of goods and money were taken, and the thief es- caped.
The more serious attention of the public was directed to improv- ing the methods of transportation and to the affairs of the city. By the middle of January, the plank road to Kalamazoo had been located for a distance of forty-seven miles, and it was announced that work would be commenced at once. The route was as follows: From Kala- mazoo to Harker's steam mill by the ravine on the Cooper road, to Anderson bridge, to Bronson, and thence to Grand Rapids, coming into the village near the plaster mill. The work was pushed, and in
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