USA > Michigan > Bay County > History of Bay County, Michigan, and representative citizens > Part 28
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In July, 1839, Capt. Stephen Wolverton arrived to build for the government the first lighthouse, near the mouth of the river, on the west shore.
And on its outer point, some miles away, The Lighthouse lifts its massive masonry, A pillar of fire by night, of cloud by day.
And as the evening darkens, lo! how bright, Through the deep purple of the twilight air, Beams forth the sudden radiance of its light With strange, unearthly splendor in the glare!
And the great ships sail outward and return, Bending and bowing o'er the billowy swells, And ever joyful, as they see it burn, They wave their silent welcomes and farewells. -Longfellow.
This lighthouse, built more than 60 years ago, has ever been a conspicuous landmark at the harbor entrance. The snow-white, slanting sides reflect the rays of the sun, and are visible for miles by day. A more modern lighthouse with stronger reflectors was built some 20 years later, and guards to-day the entrance to the river, a little south by west of the original beacon light. The old house has since served as a home for the light-keeper. In March,
1905, an order came to demolish the old beacon light, and contracts have already been let for a more modern home for the light-keeper. Hardly did the remaining pioneers hear of the order for demolition, when they petitioned Congressman Loud, on the committee of naval affairs, to preserve the beloved old landmark, and efforts are now being made in Washington to save the structure. A buoy system was later introduced, so that deep-draught steamers would not go too far toward the Kawkawlin, which swift running stream is also ever busy carrying down the sediments gathered along its banks. The fact that not one single wreck with loss of life or property has taken place there for 30 years or more speaks well for the fine harbor facilities, and easy accessibility of Bay City by our lake craft. The "Sylvania," greatest craft of the Great Lakes, launched a few weeks ago by the West Bay City Ship Building Company, will have no trouble in sail- ing smoothly out of this natural harbor. A pity 'tis, that more ships of commerce are not made to find profitable the navigation of this harbor and river, so blessed by Nature.
One of the first results of the organization of Bay County in 1857, was the building of permanent roadways to the heart of the local timber belt, and the farm communities in the scattered clearings. Under the supervision of Gen. B. F. Partridge, James Fraser, William McEwan, and Christopher Heinzmann, this plank road was begun in 1859 and completed in 1860. Then the Bay City and Midland plank road was undertaken in 1866 and com- pleted to the county line in 1868. Mercer & Hotchkiss built a small sawmill at Spicer's Corners for cutting the plank for this road. The Kawkawlin plank road and the State road to Saginaw on the West Side opened up new territory for settlement, and proved a boon to the early settlers.
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On May 29, 1882, the electors of Bay County voted in favor of bonding for $100,- 000, at 5 per cent. interest, for building ma- cadamized stone roads. In 1883 the stone road committee had built two miles on the Kaw- kawlin road, two miles on the Frankenlust road, five miles of the Midland road, and five miles on the Cass River road. Since then these roads have been gradually extended in every direction, reaching the Saginaw County line both east and west of the river, Tuscola County to the east and southeast, Midland on the west, and the latest additions are to the north, toward Arenac.
There is not a county in Michigan that has done as much for permanent roadways as has Bay County, and the results have been com- mensurate. Farmers residing beyond the county lines to the east, west and south, bring their product to market in Bay City, because they find good roads, whatever the season. This has been an especial boon for the sugar beet and chicory industry, and the people have never regretted the money so spent. It costs considerable to keep these roads in good re- pair, and an immense stone roller was bought by the board in 1904 to crush the hardheads for resurfacing. Heretofore limestone has been used, but experience proves, that these soft stones are crushed into powder, which is blown away. The townships have caught the spirit of good roads, and one can now travel in any direction from Bay City over miles and miles of the best possible country roads. The floods of 1904 and the deep snow of last winter brought up some new problems. Open wire fences are recommended along public high- ways to avoid snow drifts, and the drainage system will be improved to meet even such high water marks as were reached in 1904. Much of Bay County's progress in agriculture
and land improvement is directly due to our fine stone road system.
By 1865 the fine waterway and planned roadways hardly sufficed to meet the growing demands of these booming lumber towns, and the citizens, headed again by James Fraser and Judge James Birney, moved to get railroad connection. The Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad Company was given a land grant of alternate sections by Congress, June 3, 1856, which action was ratified by Michigan Febru- ary 15, 1857, and in October, 1858, the first. grading was done below Flint.
In 1864 Judge Birney drafted, and had passed by the Legislature, an act authorizing Bay County to bond for $75,000 toward aiding the construction of a railroad between here and Saginaw on the east side of the river. The swamp extending from our southern city lim- its almost to the limits of Saginaw, seemed an impassible barrier, but Algernon S. Munger secured a dredge, made a canal along the route as now used, throwing the subsoil on the road- bed, which made a good surface and in that manner overcame Nature's worst obstacle to entering Bay City along the river front from the south.
On Saturday morning, November 23, 1867, the first excursion train came down from Saginaw and on November 26th the citizens celebrated the opening of the railroad with a big banquet at the Fraser, where Mr. Munger was presented with a $350 watch and chain, as a token of appreciation of his work in secur- ing the road.
On January 1, 1867, the Jackson Division of the Michigan Central Railroad was com- pleted as far as the West Side. Henry W. Sage, D. H. and Charles C. Fitzhugh were mainly instrumental in securing this road thus early for the West Side. As we view the great
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traffic yards, magnificent depots and busy roundhouses, with the hundreds of men find- ing employment on this road in 1905, we can not help but appreciate the good work of those early business men, and the good judgment of the railroad management in selecting this point for the southern terminal of the Mackinaw Di- vision and the Gladwin Branch, and for the northern terminal of the Detroit and Jackson divisions. The Detroit Division was com- pleted in 1873 and is 108 miles long.
The Michigan Central Railroad bridge was built across the river here in 1873, and in April, 1905, is being replaced by a more substantial and modern structure. The feat of placing the new structure without causing more than a few hours interruption of traffic was accom- plished by placing the new structure on pile frames to the right, with similar pile frames to the left of the piers. When everything was ready the old bridge was moved bodily onto the left piles, and the new structure moved bodily and speedily onto the permanent piers. But six hours were required to do this work, and it is considered quite an engineering feat.
Thus we find, that while the Pere Mar- quette has all its main depots, offices, shops and traffic yards in the city above the sand-bar, the Michigan Central has all similar institutions for employing labor and handling its traffic, in Bay City, East and West Side.
When things looked gloomiest for Bay County, the Michigan Central opened the Mid- land Branch, making a rich farming country tributary to this city. When the coal indus- try was being tried out, it was the same road that offered every encouragement to the oper- ators. This road has been instrumental in lo- cating more than one manufacturing institu- tion at this deep-water harbor, thereby increas- ing its own business, but incidentally also help- ing the development of the city and county.
For many years the Michigan Central Depot at Bay City has been one of the finest in the country, containing all the traffic offices for the several divisions centering here. The freight houses on the river bank, at the foot of First street, are most conveniently located and very spacious. The belt line is another great convenience for freight shippers, and offers some fine sites for new industries.
The Pere Marquette Railroad completed its handsome passenger station on Jefferson ave- nue in 1904, after compelling the city to close Fourth avenue from Adams street to Madi- son avenue. The old rookery across the way was used as a depot by Bay City for 30 years, during 20 of which the people insisted in vain that it was not in keeping with the other ad- vances in the city. The old freight sheds are still in use on Adams street, but these, too, are to be replaced this very year by new and mod- ern structures.
The shore line railroad, projected as early as 1882, became a reality in 1897, when the De- troit & Mackinac Railway was built from here to Alpena, via Pinconning, Turner, Twining, Omer, East Tawas, Tawas City, Au Sable, Harrisville and Black River. In 1904 this road was extended to Cheboygan, whose citizens cel- ebrated the event by a monster excursion to Bay City, and later entertained the business men of this city in a most hospitable manner in the city of the large pulp paper-mill and mam- moth tanneries. The road is steadily pushing northward to the Straits of Mackinac and will soon be in a position to handle much of the Upper Peninsula traffic. It connects with the Pere Marquette at Bay City, and another fine field has been opened for the enterprise of our local merchants and industries.
The Lake shore pine barrens have been found to possess many good qualities for graz- ing and orchards, and even good farms are
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springing up, where 10 years ago every one thought nothing but pine timber would grow. As this vast territory to the north becomes more thickly settled, electric inter-urban lines are sure to connect them still closer with the metropolis of Northern Michigan. Much along this line has already been done by the cheap ex- cursions of the Michigan Central and Detroit & Mackinac, and still more is promised in that line in 1905.
Bay City is the northern terminal of the Cincinnati, Saginaw & Mackinaw Railroad, now owned and controlled by the Grank Trunk system, thus offering ideal connections for Chi- cago, Canada and the East. For some years this road has been planning to enter the East Side, its depot now being situated on Williams and Midland streets, West Side, and is popularly known to the traveling public as the Grand Trunk road. Its lines extend to Wenona Beach, handling much of the coal output of the mines in that locality. The road is planning to run its tracks into the beautiful summer re- sort, whose enclosure they now skirt, and make a specialty of bringing excursions from all over the State to this "Little Coney Island" of Cen- tral Michigan.
Another new steam road is assured over the much desired "Thumb" route,-Bay City to Port Huron, via Caro and Cass City. An- other is being boomed from Bay City to De- troit, via Vassar, Lapeer and Pontiac. The vast amount of sugar beets shipped annually, and the bright prospects of the coal industry of the valley, offer splendid inducements for these additional transportation projects.
The inter-urban electric line from Bay City to Detroit, via Saginaw, Flint, Pontiac and Birmingham, will be completed this summer. The branch between here and Saginaw via Zilwaukee and Carrollton has been in opera-
tion for some years, and a splendid bridge takes it from the West Side to the East Side just south of the North American Chemical Com- pany's plant. In its official report to the Sec- retary of State, it reports 36 miles of track on this branch, much of it double, employs 220 men and carried 4,059,632 passengers in 1904, at 20 cents each way. It is controlled at pres- ent by the same syndicate that owns the local street railway system. In that same official report we find our street railway system owns nearly 18 miles of track, employs 125 men and carried 2,303,125 passengers in 1904. The fare to Detroit is now $3.26, but the electric line will carry passengers through, when com- pleted, in almost the same length of time, for $2. The value of these inter-urban lines to rural districts can not be overestimated, and Bay City does not want to stand idle while new lines are being projected and built. Efforts should speedily be made to open up the settled district to our north, not yet touched by any railroad, and let the motto be here, as in our fine stone road system, "THAT ALL GOOD ROADS LEAD TO BAY CITY."
The river is our natural highway, and in- dustries should be crowded on its entire 1.5 miles of deep-water channels and many docks, left by the desertion of the lumber industry. Railroad competition builds up communities, and should be encouraged. The coal industry should get better and cheaper car service. The Inter-State Commerce Commission might look into the charge of local railroad discrimination with profit to all concerned. Our fine stone road system must be sustained and enlarged continually, until not one mile of our fine farm- ing district is left untouched. New steam and electric roads should bear in mind that Bay City is by nature and endeavor the metropolis of Northern Michigan.
CHAPTER X.
SUGAR BEETS, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS, FISH AND VARIED INDUSTRIES.
Wheresoe'er they move, before them Swarms the stinging fly, the Ahmo, Swarms the bee, the honey-maker ; Wheresoe'er they tread, beneath them Springs a flower unknown among us, Springs the White-man's Foot in blossom. -Song of Hiawatha.
SUGAR BEETS.
The veteran chief of our national Depart- ment of Agriculture, Secretary James Wilson, during his personal visit to the sugar beet belt of Michigan in the fall of 1903, put his seal of approval upon Bay County's proud title, and any one with discerning eye need but look about, upon the cozy homes, the well-kept barns and storehouses, our rich farms of 1905, where stood three decades ago the giants of the virgin forest, to realize that this indeed is a garden spot.
Bay County first attracted the lumbermen. The farmers of the East preferred for many years the prairies of the West, to the wooded lowlands of Michigan. The pioneers who rushed past our southern border to people Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas did so be- cause they did not care to clear a farm, when there appeared so much rich soil all ready for the plow and harrow. But experience soon proved their calculations to have been in error. While the pioneer of the Dakotas shivered in his shack all winter for the want of firewood,
and burned his corn, because the price in the markets of the world did not warrant him to haul it over tedious courses to the nearest trad- ing center, the Michigan farmer was warmed by the hardwood that grew at his very doors, and his labor and income were continuous. The great trees on the lands of Bay County's pio- neers brought good prices in Bay City, and many of them were hauled by the farmers themselves to the sawmills. Those not re- quired for manufacture made good firewood, good fences, barns and even cozy homes. If he chose, the Bay County farmer could work his farm in summer, and go to the logging camps at good pay all winter. Where the pioneer on the Western prairies could hardly get lumber at any price, the Bay County farmer from the first could get all he wanted for the hauling and a song. Since farms and farm produce were scarce, prices were always good. In 1880 the government census showed that hay had brought $30 per ton, and potatoes $1.50 per bushel, during the early spring and late winter.
The soil in Bay County has been found to
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be uniformly a clay loam, rich and crummy withal. On the few ridges were found light warm soils, hence the county can produce any- thing from the finest table celery and sweet sugar beets to the ginseng root and tobacco.
When things looked gloomiest for the bus- iness interests of Bay City, owing to the kill- ing of the lumber industry by the $2 tariff on logs, we placed our faith and reliance in the productiveness of our soil, and the increasing importance of our agricultural resources, and we were not disappointed.
Upon the organization of Bay County in 1857, there were about 25 farms in process of creation in the wilderness of pine stumpage and swamps. It was the generally accepted notion of those times, that the lowlands near the mouth of the river were utterly worthless for farm purposes. But the success of our pioneer farmers disproved those notions by 1870, and from that year dates a decided boom in our rural properties. From mere pine barrens, our townships have blossomed into a veritable garden spot, through dint of industry and in- telligent cultivation.
In 1878 Judge Isaac Marston delivered an address before the State Agricultural Society, enumerating the rapid and rich development of Bay County's agricultural resources. In 1865 there were but 132 farms, and only 2,756 acres were improved. The crops for that year were estimated at 3,300 tons of hay, 4,500 bushels of oats, 4,950 bushels of corn and 5,600 bushels of wheat. In 1870 the Federal census showed 271 farms, 4,000 tons of hay, 26,000 bushels of potatoes, 73,000 bushels of oats, 84,000 bushels of corn, and 5,500 bushels of wheat, 50,000 bushels of wheat being imported for local grist- mills. Tuscola and Gratiot counties, with less population than Bay, raised four times as much wheat and other farm products. This was due to the slow development of Bay County's farm
districts. Settlers who came with the inten- tion of taking up farming were pressed into the sawmills, where the returns were quick. But many have lived to regret their action, for they spent all their wages, and at the end of 10 and 20 years were at exactly the same place where they started, while those who went into farm- ing at once had accumulated much valuable property and a competence. The wage earners as consumers of farm products contributed to the wealth of the food producers.
As late as 1870 good farm property within easy distance of Bay City could be bought for $10 to $15 per acre. During the winter when the mills were idle, laborers would contract to do the clearing for $15 per acre. The soil was. a rich black alluvial, with just enough admix- ture of sand to make it easily tilled and crummy. With the building of the plank roads, the farm lands became more desirable and were quickly taken up, so that the State census of 1874 showed 668 acres in wheat. In 1876, 1,410 acres were harvested and by 1880 this had grown to 5,624 acres, on 997 farms, with 29,279 improved acreage. These figures. are indicative of the progress made in the set- tlement and development of our despised low- lands.
In 1890 Bay ranked third as a wheat pro- ducing county and, best of all, ranked first in many of the farm products, in quality and quantity of production per acre. In that year wheat averaged nearly 25 bushels to the acre and corn, 94. The data of that Federal cen- sus proved conclusively, that the 6,000 square miles of territory drained by the Saginaw River and its tributaries were the most productive in all Michigan. Wheat, corn, barley, oats and rye were the leading products. The orchards had matured and multiplied to a point where there was no longer any doubt about this being also a great fruit belt.
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The chemists of the Department of Agri- culture gave the following instructive composi- tion of Bay County's soil: Sand and silica, 82.24; alumina, 4.60; oxide of iron, 2.42 ; lime, 1.18: magnesia, .46; potash, 1.18; soda, .54; sulphuric acid, .20; phosphoric acid, .38; or- ganic matter containing 17 per cent. nitrogen, 5.57 : water and loss, .25 ; total ash food, 3.94; capacity for water, 47.30. Comparing this com- position with that of the soil in Europe's fav- orite sugar beet belt, it was found to be as good, and in some respects even superior.
This led about 1895 to the first experiments with the sweet roots, which have since given Bay County its four monster sugar factories, opened a new and practically unlimited field for the ingenuity and industry of our farmers, and enhanced the value of all farm produce for the entire State. The deep, rich loam, with a subsoil of clay, with plenty of moisture, hot summers and late falls, presented ideal condi- tions for sugar beets, and the fact that many of our farmers came from the beet fields of Ger- many and Holland, assured the success of the venture from the first. Hon. Nathan B. Brad- ley. C. B. Chatfield, E. Y. Williams, Rev. William Reuther and others secured beet seed from Germany and also from the Department of Agriculture at Washington, Dr. H. W. Wiley furnishing willingly for these experi- me: ts, all the seed at the disposal of the de- partment for 1896 and 1897.
In the special report issued by Hon. James Wilson, March 2, 1898, on the beet sugar in- dustry, Michigan was given only secondary consideration, so little did the national depart- ment appreciate the resources and initiative of our farmers and manufacturers. Of Michigan the report merely said: "A large part of the Southern Peninsula, and especially the Sag- inaw Valley, of Michigan, is directly in the heart of the beet belt. The contour of the soil
is favorable, being reasonably level (!), with an average (?) fertility, and the data which have been secured in actual experiments in that valley are of the most encouraging nature. There seems to be no doubt of the fact, that this locality is among the best in the United States for beet culture, and the modifying in- fluence of the lake on the autumnal climate must not be lost sight of."
In the averages of the beet samples tested by Dr. Wiley in 1896, Bay does not show up as well as some of the other counties further south, counties which since then have proven in actual experience to be on the whole totally unfitted for sugar beet culture. In this very year 1905 the Rochester sugar factory near Detroit will not be operated, and the few beets raised in that locality will be shipped to other and better located factories. The owners as- cribe their failure to the poor, sandy soil of that vicinity. This proves the fallacy of building great enterprises on the strength of a few isolated experiments. The lack of enterprise and cultivation by the farmers of that vicinity is also remarked.
In the experiments of 1897 Bay presented nine samples ; sugar contents, 15.53 per cent., purity, 84 per cent.,-an average since steadily maintained in the cultivation of thousands of acres. Dr. Wiley praises the weight, about 20 ounces per beet, the long tapering root of the Bay County beets, with no bulging above ground, showing a well-worked subsoil, and his report in this respect proved quite encour- aging.
The test beets were planted on May 8th, and harvested October 6th. The government computed that Michigan's experimental station required the following expense in raising an acre of beets : Plowing and subsoiling, man and team, 12 hours; harrowing and planting, 31/2 hours ; cultivating, 15 hours; harvesting, 5
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hours; and man alone, thinning and hoeing, 76 hours ; harvesting, 131 hours, at a total cost of $29.60 per acre. The average yield per acre was aver 10 tons; sugar contents, 15.50 per cent, purity 84 per cent. The department also set forth that $100,000,000 was annually sent out of this country for sugar, and urged that American enterprise and industry ought to supply at least a portion of this home consump- tion. The value of beet pulp for cattle feeding was set forth, the 16 to 25 per cent. of sugar still remaining in the refuse molasses was ex- pected to be minimized by new processes, and the production of alcohol from this residium was forecasted.
The department recommended planting in rows 14 to 18 inches apart, and the thinning of the beets from six to 10 inches. Experience has since shown 20 to 21 inches to give best results in practice, with nine to 12 inches be- tween the beets. It is possible, however, that this practice has reduced the production per acre and resulted in a large beet, which has pos- sessed rather less than the average amount of sugar.
Three things enter primarily into the suc- cessful culture of sugar beets,-a rich soil, a moist, warm climate with late fall, and intelli- gent and industrious cultivation. Bay County has ever prided herself on having the soil and climate, and the stock of early settlers from the beet regions of Europe, was another favor- able factor in determining local capitalists in investing their money in the first beet sugar factory, the Michigan, in 1898.
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