History of Bay County, Michigan, and representative citizens, Part 20

Author: Gansser, Augustus H., 1872-
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Chicago : Richmond & Arnold
Number of Pages: 738

USA > Michigan > Bay County > History of Bay County, Michigan, and representative citizens > Part 20

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Just at Joseph Trombley and Michael Daily were the walking marvels of Michigan in their day, just so James Fraser was the premier horseman. With the land office at Detroit, or later at Flint, as a goal, and a choice parcel of

land at stake, there was none who would dare to compete with James Fraser for the prize. At Cass Crossing there lived for years a soli- tary settler. Often in the dead of night he would hear a horse and rider go thundering by and cross the bridge at top speed, and in the morning he would tell travelers that "James Fraser passed last night."

Horse and rider have long since halted at the end of life's journey. The wilderness through which they journeyed by day and by night is no more. The trails they followed have become the highways of commerce, where the iron horse and the electric spark have been harnessed to serve humanity. The solitary cabins they passed in the stillness of the night have grown to be large cities, alive with indus- try and enjoying the comforts of a civilization for which pioneers like James Fraser blazed the way.

In 1834 the second of the trio who really called the first community into being, Dr. Dan- iel Hughes Fitzhugh, came into the valley to buy the land which he wisely calculated would soon be the El Dorado of the Northwest. He joined forces with Mr. Fraser, and while not a permanent resident here still contributed much to the early development of the settlement and future Bay City. His son, Charles C. Fitz- hugh, came in 1841 to look after the large landed interests of his father, and in this year of grace, 1905, is still a resident of the city which he has seen grow from the humblest be- ginnings to a hive of varied industries with nigh unto half a hundred thousand souls.

Judge Albert Miller lived for some years at Saginaw City, but he realized the difficulty of moving heavy-laden vessels over the Carroll- ton sand-bar, and therefore concluded that the harbor city would have to be built nearer the mouth of the river. His judgment has been amply verified by subsequent events. He bought

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a large tract of land from the Trombleys in July, 1836, and at once laid out and platted the village of Portsmouth, now the south side of Greater Bay City. He built and operated the first sawmill, securing the machinery at an enor- mous cost of time and money. It proved to be the corner-stone of the industry, which for 30 years was the mainstay and wealth producer for the people of Bay City. He taught the first school here in 1835, was judge of probate of this county from 1835 until 1844, and repre- sented this county in the Legislature, 1847-51. He continued in the lumber and real estate busi- ness to the end. He was one of the promoters of the first salt-well, and took an active part in securing the first railway for Bay City.

The fourth and most illustrious of the pro- jectors and creators of Bay City came some- what later than his business associates, but Hon. James G. Birney had behind him such a distinguished career, that the mere fact of his removing to this wilderness in search of soli- tude and to start life anew attracted attention. From the day in 1841 when with Dr. Fitzhugh and James Fraser he visited Bay City for the first time, this far-off nook of the universe be- came a familiar spot to the outside world. Mr. Birney was a scion of one of Kentucky's most illustrious families. Born at Danville, he was surrounded by all the comfort and luxury of the paternal plantation. Educated at Prince- ton College from which he graduated in 1810, the world looked bright indeed to the young lawyer, then on the threshold of his noble ca- reer. He began the practice of the law at Dan- ville, was elected Representative to the Legis- lature of Kentucky, and later removed to Huntsville, Alabama, where a broader field opened for his professional career. In 1828 he was presidential elector of the Whig party for Alabama. At this time he owned a cotton plan- tation with a large number of slaves. He was

a devout Presbyterian, and the agitation against slavery impressed him keenly. He was soon at the parting of the ways. He must chose be- tween his principles and his fortune, and he bravely sacrificed everything for the cause of liberty and equality. To preach emancipation was not enough. He must practice what he preached. So he gave each of his slaves deeds of manumission, gave up his plantation and be- gan the battle for the down-trodden black race. Unlaunted by the sneers and insults of his rela- tives, friends and neighbors, in great personal danger, he carried on his good work. Cursed at home, he was eulogized the world over for his fearless self-sacrifice. Dr. Cox wrote at the time: "A Birney has shaken the continent by putting down his foot! His fame will be envied before his arguments are answered, or their force forgotten !

A poor old slave, infirm and lame ; Great scars deformed his face! On his forehead he bore the brand of shame,

And the rags that hid his mangled frame

Were the livery of disgrace !

But alas! What holy angel Brings the slave this glad evangel? And what earthquake's arm of might Breaks his dungeon gates at night? 'Twas a "Birney !"

His father died in 1839, leaving a large es- tate in land, money and slaves. Judge Birney requested his sister to compute all the slaves at their market value as part of his half share. This done, he immediately emancipated all of them. In 1840 he was at London, England, be- ing vice-president of the World's Liberty Con- vention, and that same year he was nominated for the presidency by the Liberty party, receiv- ing 7,000 votes that were counted, and other thousands that were ignored by the powers that were.

The liberation of his slaves, and the loss of

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his estates, together with his other large ex- penses in his fight against a great but popular wrong, had greatly reduced his fortune. Hence he listened willingly enough to Dr. Fitzhugh's invitation to "come West," invest what he had left at the mouth of the Saginaw River, and rest up. So in 1841 James G. Birney brought his family to the wilds of Michigan. The Webster House in Saginaw City had been idle since the panic swept the country in 1837, and here the Birneys started life anew, until their quaint little cottage could be made habitable at Bay City. On July 4, 1842, Judge Birney was the orator of the little settlement. He said he could never celebrate "Independence Day" properly, until the four million slaves of the South had been released from bondage! For 15 years thereafter he wrote and preached the gospel of human liberty and equality. He was again nominated for the presidency in 1844, receiving 62,300 votes, and in 1845 received 3,023 votes for Governor of Michigan.

When the last summons reached him on November 23, 1857, at Eagleswood, New Jer- sey, the good cause seemed as far off as ever. In a few years, however, his countrymen by the blood of thousands of heroes purchased the freedom of the slaves, and brought victory for the good cause. Foremost among the great leaders of that movement will ever stand the name of one of the founders of Bay City, im- perishable as the human liberty for which he dared all : James G. Birney. And one of his greatest attributes was this: "He spake evil of no man !" His only sin was this, that he was a generation in advance of his day. Much of the early development of this community was brought about under his leadership of this great and good man. He shared with the other settlers all the dangers and privations of their frontier life. He hewed down the timber for the rail fence that kept his fine herd of blooded

cattle from wandering into the vast forest be- yond. The fine dairies of today owe much to this importation of blooded stock by Mr. Bir- ney. As trustee of the reorganized Saginaw Bay Company, together with James Fraser and Dr. Fitzhugh, he planned and worked for the development of the natural resources of Bay City, and to attract settlers. Here his wishes were partly realized, when in 1855 ill health compelled him to give up the rigors of pioneer life for the balmy airs of the Atlantic.

It will require no great flight of imagina- tion to understand what it meant for James G. Birney to leave behind him all the comforts of life, to begin life anew in the malaria and mos- quito breeding lowlands of Bay City during those early years. There was nothing in the settlement to attract him, save solitude, work and future prospects.

With his coming a new spark of life ani- mated Bay City, or Lower Saginaw as it was still called. The McCormicks came and oper- ated the Miller mill in the South End; Judge Campbell conducted the Globe Hotel; Captain Marsac and Captain Wilson made their homes here, and slowly but surely the population in- creased, and the wilderness vanished before the pioneer's axe. During the winter of 1850, Judge Miller, C. L. Russell and Capt. Lyman Crowl erected a much more modern and capa- cious mill in the South End, with houses for their employees, and a small building for church and school purposes. The first school house was built in 1844 on First street and Washing- ton avenue, in which Mr. Birney held religious services for the handful of neighbors. In 1847, James Fraser, Hopkins and Pomeroy built a sawmill, J. B. and B. B. Hart went extensively into the fish business and Henry W. Sage in- spected the valley for which in later years he was destined to do so much.

By 1848 both the villages of Portsmouth

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and Lower Saginaw had assumed definite pro- portions. Among the South End pioneers we find the Trombleys, Miller, McCormick, Mar- sac, Wilson, Braddock, Stevens, Daglish, Southworth, Beckwith, Wilmot, Watrous and Ira Kinney, the last named still living on the old homestead on Cass avenue. O. A. Marsac, city recorder for 12 years, O. A. Watrous and H. N. Watrous are sons of those pioneers. Curtis Munger and Ed. Park opened a store in 1848, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Carney opened the boarding house for the Fraser mill, while Dr. Daniel Hughes Fitzhugh, Alexander McKay and family and J. W. Putnam erected cozy homes. Among the other permanent arrivals were Clark Moulthrop, Thomas Whitney, John Drake, S. Drake, and George Carpenter, whose descendants still honor the community their fathers helped to establish.

In 1850-51 another group of enterprising pioneers was added by the arrival of William John and Alexander McEwan, who built and operated a sawmill; Henry Raymond, James Watson and Charles E. Jennison came and en- terel the mercantile business. Mr. Jennison is the only survivor, and the business he estab- lished 55 years ago is being continued to this day by his sons, only on a much larger scale. Dr. George E. Smith was the first permanent medical practitioner here, while James Fox opened the first law office. Jonathan S. Bar- clay was then building the Wolverton House, which was the post office, theater, town hall and ballroom combined for the little settlement for many years.

The tug "Lathrop," owned and sailed by Capt. Benjamin Pierce, was the forerunner of that vast fleet that in after years handled the immense log rafts and lumber barges that com- pletely covered the great river. Capt. Darius Cole also became interested in river navigation, and soon crafts of all descriptions were fulfill-

ing the fondest expectations of the projectors of this community at the mouth of the river.

Ere James G. Birney bade farewell to the settlement he helped to create, he witnessed the erection of the Catholic Church on Washington avenue, between Second and Third streets, in 1851 ; the Fay mill, William Peters' mill, H. M. Bradley's mill, in 1852 ; the Methodist Epis- copal Church, on Washington avenue, between Seventh and Eighth streets, in 1855. All these buildings and industries brought mechanics and laboring men, and the village was growing apace. In 1854 the first ship was built here by George Carpenter and J. A. Weed, a fishing schooner named "Java."

In 1855 Tom Dodge built a hotel on Third and Saginaw streets, which then as now was a favorite resort for the lumber jacks and dock wallopers. The buildings here and on Wash- ington avenue were in a little swamp, and dur- ing spring freshets could only be reached by boat. The young folks in the settlement held cances at Dodge's hotel, with a usual scarcity of girls, but the old settlers tell us gleefully that even a blanketed Indian would be pressed into service on such jolly occasions.

In 1856, Hon. James Birney came to take the place of his distinguished father in the wilds of Michigan, and he immediately agitated changing the name of the village. Accordingly he drew up a bill which was passed by the State Legislature in February, 1857, providing "That the name of the village of Lower Sagi- naw, in the township of Hampton, be. and the same is, hereby changed to Bay City." James Fraser and Charles B. Cottrell came in 1856 to reside here permanently. In 1857 the glory of the tallow candle vanished before the kero- sene oil lamps, first exhibited as a curiosity to the villagers at Cottrell's store on Water and Second streets! About this time "Deacon" J. H. Little tried his luck in this lumber town,

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later going into the grocery business. In the year of grace 1905 he bobs up serenely as a supervisor from the 13th Ward of Greater Bay City! In 1852 an epidemic of cholera swept over the valley, Thomas Rogers, first black- smith, justice and mail carrier of this settle- ment, being among the first victims. His wife, daughter of Dr. Wilcox, of Watertown, New York, had studied medicine in her youth, and for many years was the only medical adviser in the village. During this epidemic she did he- roic work, being among the sick and dying at all hours of the day and night. She is one of the heroic figures in the pages of our pioneer history.

During these years Hon. James Birney bought considerable property in Bay City, which he added to his father's former estate, and share in the original Saginaw Bay Com- pany. He was for years the leading spirit in matters of education, public improvements, and the promotion of the community's welfare. He was for years the most prominent citizen of Bay City, serving his constituency in the State Senate, 1858-59; was lieutenant-Gov- ernor, 1860-61; circuit judge, 1861-65; Uni- ted States commissioner for the Centennial at Philadelphia in 1876, and later United States Minister to the Netherlands, 1876-81. He es- tablished the Chronicle as a weekly in 1871, and in 1873 as a daily. His eldest son, named after his illustrious grandfather, James G. Bir- ney, served with distinction through the Civil War, as captain of the Seventh Michigan In- fantry, and died while serving with the regular army in 1869. Just as the grandsire planned and planted the first rugged settlement, just so his son planned and worked for the rapidly growing young city. He, more than any other perhaps assisted in securing the first railroad, the State roads and the public libraries. He was a firm believer in booming the city, and

never lost an opportunity to praise its superb qualities as a place for business, health and rec- reation. His example can be followed with profit by generations yet to come.

With the organization of Bay County in 1857, and its entry into the official world upon the decision of the Supreme Court in May, 1858, the village of Bay City assumed new dig- nity, and the county-seat residents felt the im- petus of new vitality. The projectors of the little community provided land for the county buildings, for parks and for churches. The site for the Court House and Jail, with the ad- joining parks, proved a particularly happy se- lection. But the first county officials met in a building owned by James Fraser, located on the river bank at the foot of Fourth avenue, until 1868, when the present Court House was built at a cost of $40,000. The little wooden Jail on Sixth street, between Water and Sagi- naw streets, was wiped out in the great fire of 1863, and was replaced by another wooden building on Seventh and Monroe streets, which was used until 1870, when the present commo- dious County Jail and sheriff's residence was erected. This building is a two-story structure, of white brick, with iron-lined Jail, the cells of boiler iron being two stories high in the center of the main room, with large corridors between the gratings and the outer wall. The upper story has apartments for female prisoners and fraudulent debtors. The whole structure is fur- nished with all modern appliances assuring the health and comfort of the prisoners. The Jail building also cost originally $40,000.

In this year of grace 1905 the Court House hardly suffices for the protection of the county records and the housing of the county officials. Thousands of dollars have been spent on the building in past years, and again within the last year for a new heating apparatus and other renovations. The county at the time it was

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built had about 15,000 inhabitants; in 1905, with an influx of farmers and settlers, it has nearly 70,000, and an effort is again being made to secure a more modern Court House. Twice before, the proposition to bond the county to replace this landmark of pioneer days has been decisively voted down by the citizens, but each time with less opposition, and the time is not far distant when Bay County will have to se- cure a larger and more modern Court House. In its day it was the model adopted by many of the younger surrounding counties.

While speaking of the county's public build- ings and comparative growth, a review of the last State tax statistics will be opportune. The valuation estimated by the State Board of Tax commissioners was $26,077,673; the valuation by the Board of Supervisors was $23,312,308. The valuation as equalized by the Board of Equalization, $32,000,000; the aggregate of State tax paid, $54,139.91, the percentage ac- cording to equalization being .02027. The as- sessed valuation of Bay County, then mainly the city of Bay City, at the time the Old Court House was built was $1, 166,475. The assessed valuation in 1871 was $2,725,600, amount of tax, $3, 141 ; assessed valuation in 1881, $II,- 000,000, amount of tax, $25,394.10. These figures carry with them a comparison of the growth of city and county values as the forest has been gradually replaced by farms, villages and an enterprising united city.

The availability of Bay City as a manufac- turing and shipping point was first appreciated by the men in the lumber industry. The vast forest on both sides of the river, the 12 miles of river front with the deep-water channel, and the cheap and convenient means of securing a seemingly inexhaustible log supply and equally easy and cheap access to the markets of the world, brought into life the greatest lumbering community the world had ever seen. In 1859,

when Bay City began its corporate existence as a village, there were but half a dozen sawmills, but from that time forth they sprang up all along the river front, as well as on adjacent streams. The fishing industry furnished em- ployment to many men and furnished a good share of the exports from this frontier village. Then came the discovery of the vast salt basin, and the success of these salt-wells can be under- stood when we note that in 1865 the salt pro- duction of Bay City alone amounted to 259,061 barrels. That same year the sawmills cut 154,- 727,945 feet of lumber. The rapid develop- ment of these kindred industries brought with them a growth of wealth and population during the next 15 years, almost unprecedented in the annals of our country.

The city of Bay City was chartered in 1865, and the days of the pioneer were done. From that eventful year, when peace again came to bless our land, and thousands of the veteran soldiers took up government lands here and elsewhere, or entered into the promising mer- cantile field, this community not only turned over a new leaf in its municipal history but also began to mutliply its industries and population at a rate that attracted the attention of the world. From that time the records of the com- munity are no longer the personal reminiscen- ces of the hardy pioneers, but rather the record of collective effort, mammoth business enter- prises, and advancement in every line. Bay City had become almost at a bound a booming frontier lumber town! The open- ing of the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad to Detroit in 1867, marks an- other epoch in the city's growth and develop- ment. In 1868 the village of Wenona across the river, now the West Side of the united city, came to the front through the building of the Jackson-Chicago branch of the Michigan Cen- tral, and in 1871 the Bay City-Detroit Branch

SAWMILL OF THE KERN MANUFACTURING COMPANY, Bay City, W. S.

PLANT OF THE HANSON-WARD VENEER COMPANY, Bay City, E. S.

TRAIN OF LOGS LOADED FOR BAY CITY

SALT BLOCK OF THE KERN MANUFACTURING COMPANY, Bay City, W. S.

LUMBER YARD OF E. B. FOSS & COMPANY, On the River Front, Bay City, E. S.

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of the Michigan Central opened up new fields of trade and commerce to the growing com- munities.

It will be interesting here to recall that Bay City had 810 people in 1860; 3,359 in 1865; 7,064 in 1870; 13,676 in 1874 and 17,003 in 1876. In 1880, through the national census, the city was heralded far and wide as having a greater percentage of increase in the decade 1870 to 1880 than any other city in the country, and but two at all approached the ratio. The next 10 years showed a healthy growth, but as every available site along the river front was taken up by sawmills and lumber yards, and as the supply of logs was giving out under the buzz of countless saws, there was no longer room for the rapid multiplication of mills and population that had marked the preceding 10 years. Bay City, East Side, had 27,839 people in 1890, an increase of 7,146 during that de- cade, being an increase of 34.5 per cent. Dur- ing the first four years of the next decade the city continued its steady growth, the State census of 1894 showing a population of 30,042. Then came the fatal blunder at Washington, by which Congress raised the import duty on Canadian lumber to $2 from $1. The log supply which during those years had been grad- ually receding further north, and since 1890 was largely coming from the Georgian Bay region in Canada, was at once shut off by the retaliatory measures of the Canadian govern- ment, and with one stroke of the pen the flour- ishing lumber industry of Bay City and the west shore of Lake Huron was doomed. Hence we find that the Federal census of 1900 shows a loss for Bay City, as compared to the State census of 1894, being only 27,628, a loss of 0.8 per cent. These figures indicate the growth, boom and decline of the lumber industry, which laid the foundation of the city.

Equally instructive are the assessment val-

ues of these several periods: The valuation in 1860 was $530,589; in 1865, $663,000; in 1870, $1,166, 475; in 1874, $1,700,250; in 1880, $7,722,310; in 1882, $9,084,436. This is the high mark reached during the days of the lumber and salt booms. During this year of 1882 there were shipped from this port 582,- 147,000 feet of lumber, 112,281,000 shingles, 22,000,000 lath, 440,000 barrels of salt, besides staves, hoops, shooks, railroad ties, cedar posts, pickets, barrels and 7,853,032 feet of pine and oak timber! The growth of the lumber in- dustry to these magnificent dimensions is illus- trated in the comparative figures of lumber ex- perts. In 1863 there were shipped 25,730,889 feet of lumber ; in 1868, 217, 165,340; and 252,- 862,785 feet were exported in 1870. While these figures are from the customs office on the East Side, they include the shipments from the West Side as well, and a review of the share taken in developing this city by the "fair bride" of 1905 will be in order.

The proud citizens of the new city of Bay City in 1865 could not see much with which to consolidate on the west bank of the river. To the north was the village of Banks, now in the 12th Ward, with sawmills, salt-blocks, and fish houses; then came a long stretch of primeval forest, where stand today the industries and homes of the 13th Ward; then another strag- gling village just building up around the mam- moth new Sage sawmill, now the 14th Ward; again two miles of wooded ridge, now the 15th Ward; and then the hamlet of Salzburg, now the 16th Ward, with its still independent neigh- bor, Portsmouth, now the Seventh Ward, on the east bank of the river.

Each of these four villages had aspirations and municipal governments of its own, and watched with jealous eye the growth and am- bitious of their little neighboring communities. Joseph Trombley's 2,000 acres at Banks in-

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cluded the village which contained Whitney's mill, Moore, Smith & Company's mill, George Lord's mill, each having salt works in connec- tion, while Beckwith & Sinclair and Leng & Bradfield operated large salt-blocks. Crosth- waite's shipyard began the industry there, that since has grown to mammoth proportions on the West Side. John Weed also built boats in Banks for the lake trade. Two taverns, four cooper shops, one general store and several fish houses are enumerated as the business places of Banks in 1865. W. F. Benson opened the first post office in 1864, serving a village popu- lation of 511, beside a few scattered farmers. Wenona, today the heart of the West Side, did not become settled until the Henry W. Sage sawmill, originally known as the Sage & Mc- Graw mill, was erected. The village plat of 1 16 acres cost that firm $21,000, and its excel- lent location at once brought it into prominence.

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History of Bay County, Michigan, and representative citizens, Part 20

Author: Gansser, Augustus H., 1872- Publication date: 1905 Publisher: Chicago : Richmond & Arnold Number of Pages: 738

Author: Gansser, Augustus H., 1872-
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Chicago : Richmond & Arnold
Number of Pages: 738