USA > Michigan > Van Buren County > History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 36
USA > Michigan > Berrien County > History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 36
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COURTS AND COUNTY BUILDINGS.
house, and also to superintend the erection of said court- house."
The board examined and adopted the plans offered by M. Avery, for a building sixty feet in length by forty feet in width, and twenty-four feet in height, "with a belfry sixteen feet in height above the edge of the roof." Con- tracts for furnishing lumber were awarded to Peter Rug- gles, J. E. Munger, and Hiram Gould. A contract (dated Aug. 10, 1838) was made with James Lewis to " frame, raise, inclose, and in all respects to finish the carpenter and joiner work, in accordance with the plans and specifications, ready for plastering, on or before the 10th of November, and the whole building to be completed on or before the first of April, 1839;" the amount of this contract being two thousand five hundred dollars. The building was completed and occupied in 1839, and has remained in use until the present time as the court-house of Berrien County.
THE PRESENT JAIL.
The jail, which was completed in 1838, proved inade- quate to the requirements of the court. Reports were made from time to time by the county buildings committee of the Board of Supervisors, representing that the jail was insufficient, unsafe, and constantly out of repair, and urging the necessity of erecting a new one; but no definite action was taken in reference to building a new county prison until 1868, when it was resolved, at a meeting of the Board of Supervisors, that the sum of thirty thousand dollars was necessary for the purpose of building a jail and county poor-house, and that this sum should be raised upon the taxable property of the county. On the 3d of February, 1869, the board resolved to submit the question of raising money by tax for the erection of county buildings to the people. The question was so submitted, and the result was three thousand and twenty-six votes for and thirteen hun- dred and ninety-seven against the tax. In April, 1869, the committee on county buildings were empowered to purchase part of a lot opposite the court-house for a sum not exceeding three hundred dollars, and to erect a jail upon it. This vote was, however, reconsidered by the board, and it was then voted to build on land owned by the county. This was carried into effect, and the brick building-the present jail and sheriff's residence-was erected during the summer and autumn of 1869. On the 6th of January, 1870, the committee reported a total ex- penditure of twenty-six thousand seven hundred and twenty dollars and thirty-four cents, of which eight hundred and five dollars and fifty-one cents was for labor and material not embraced in the original estimate. The report was ac- cepted, and the committee was charged with the duty of selling the old jail building. .
COUNTY OFFICE BUILDINGS.
The offices of the county were first kept at Niles, after- wards at St. Joseph, and in 1838 they were located at Ber- rien Springs, where office rooms for the county clerk, regis- ter of deeds, treasurer, and supervisors were fitted up in the basement of the court-house, and were kept there until 1861.
The first step towards the erection of safe offices for the
keeping of the public records of the county, was taken in January, 1859, when the Board of Supervisors "resolved that we deem it expedient that prompt measures be taken by this board to erect a place of safe-keeping for the records of this county, and for the necessary repairs of the court- house and jail." N. W. Thompson, Thomas Love, Jehial Enos, William S. Maynard, and R. L. Dudley were ap- pointed a committee to ascertain the probable expense of fire-proof offices for the use of the county.
The committee reported Jan. 5, 1859, and recommended repairs on court-house, and asked for time to perfect speci- fications of office buildings. A committee of three was then appointed, with authority to advertise for proposals and plans in the papers of the county. Thomas Love, Jehial Enos, and William S. Maynard were made such committee. They reported on March 15th of the same year, and on that date the contract for the office build- ing was let to George H. Murdock for three thousand dollars. The building (which is the brick building now occupied by the abstract and treasurer's offices) was erected on lots Nos. 299 and 300, at the corner of Kimmel and Madison Streets, Berrien Springs village. The offices of the county clerk, register of deeds, and treasurer were re- moved to this building in 1861, as before mentioned.
The fire-proof brick building standing on the east side of, and attached to, the brick office-building erected in 1860, was built in 1873, at a cost (as reported by the building committee) of five thousand six hundred and nine dollars and fifty-two cents, and has since that time been occupied by the county clerk, register of deeds, judge of probate, and Board of Supervisors.
COUNTY POOR-HOUSE AND FARM.
The first official action of the supervisors of Berrien County in reference to the support of paupers is recorded under date of Oct. 27, 1837, at which time it was by the board " resolved that no accounts presented to the board for the support of paupers should be allowed, unless their form of presentment is such as is prescribed by law." At the same time Mr. Josiah Pidge's bill for support of a pauper was presented, and after some discussion disallowed, by a vote of seven to two.
The first step towards providing a farm for the county poor was taken at a meeting of the supervisors, Oct. 4, 1838, when Pitt Brown and Darius Jennings were chosen a com- mittee to examine a farm belonging to A. Chapman, with a view to its purchase for poor-house purposes. They re- ported the title insecure, and advised against purchase.
At a later meeting of the board, in the same month, it was " resolved that in future town paupers should be county paupers, and recommended that the proper authorities take legal steps to cause such change." John F. Porter, of St. Joseph, Frederick Howe, of Bertrand, and Pitt Brown, of Berrien, were appointed superintendents of the poor of the county, according to the revised laws of the State, and di- rected to report to the county commissioners at their meet- ing the best mode of taking care of the county paupers.
On the 19th of November, 1838, the question of the purchase of a poor-house farm was again brought up before the Board of Supervisors, who then took this action :
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HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
" Whereas the opinion of the county commissioners, as by them expressed, is unfavorable to the purchase of a farm, and a large share of the business attending the purchase of said farm would devolve upon said commissioners, as suc- cessors to this board, it is resolved that the said question be indefinitely postponed."
While the county commissioners were in power no steps were taken towards the purchase of a farm or erection of buildings. Later, in 1847, the supervisors passed a resolu- tion instructing the superintendents of the poor to pur- chase the east half of the northeast quarter of section 17, township 6 south, in range 17 west, of Richard McOmber, on the terms offered by him, viz., nine hundred dollars ; also the west half of the northwest quarter of section 16, township 6 south, in range 17 west, eighty acres, provided it could be purchased for four dollars per acre; to make such repairs on the buildings as were necessary for imme- diate occupancy and use, and to draft plans and prepare an estimate for a suitable building for the use of the county poor. Proposals were received for the erection of a house on the poor-farm, 18 by 26 feet in dimensions, and a con- tract was made with George R. L. Baker to build it for one hundred and thirty dollars. On July 11, 1847, W. F. St. John and James F. Lord, of the superintendents of the poor, examined and accepted the house then just finished.
It had been the custom prior to 1851 to contract the keeping of the poor to some person giving good security for its faithful performance. John Tate had this contract from May 26, 1847, to April 1, 1848, for the sum of two hundred and ninety-five dollars.
On the first day of February, 1851, the superintendents of the poor resolved to change the system of keeping the county paupers, and to hire a man and family to take charge of the farm and all paupers for whose support the county was liable.
The new system went into effect on the first day of April, 1851, at which time Mr. H. W. Hawley took charge of the farm, under supervision of the superintendents of the poor.
The county poor-house was destroyed by fire in 1867. At a meeting of the supervisors held Dec. 31, 1868, it was "resolved that the requirements of the poor are so urgent that immediate action is demanded ;" and "resolved, further, that the sum of two thousand dollars of the gen- eral fund and three thousand dollars of the poor-fund be set apart and placed at the disposal of the building com- mittee for the object above specified." At a meeting held on the following day, a committee was appointed " to ob- tain a plan for a poor-house combining the qualities of economy, durability, convenience, and future necessity, to- gether with the estimated cost of building the same." A plan was reported and adopted Feb. 4, 1869, and it was resolved by the board " that the sum of three thousand dollars, taken from the county poor-house fund, and two thousand from the general fund, be replaced from the building-fund raised from tax." The superintendents of the poor were constituted the building committee for building the poor-house by contract, at a cost not to ex- ceed ten thousand dollars. The building erected was a fine brick structure, two stories in height, and is still in use. It occupies a commanding eminence on the poor-house
farm, which consists of one hundred and sixty acres, lo- cated on the northeast quarter of section 17, in Berrien township. The estimated value of the farm, with build- ings, furniture, stock, and farm implements, is eighteen thousand dollars. The farm is in charge of Capt. T. Brad- ley as superintendent.
The amount expended in maintaining the poor-house and farm for the year ending Sept. 30, 1879, is three thousand three hundred and fifty-eight dollars and twelve cents. The number of male persons maintained within the poor- house within the year is fifty-nine, and females thirty-eight, a total of ninety-seven, and an average for the year of fifty- six. Of this number twenty-three were under sixteen years of age; eight insane, six idiotic, two blind, two deaf and dumb. Temporary relief has been furnished by the county to seven hundred and thirty-one persons during the year.
CHAPTER XXII.
THE PRESS OF BERRIEN COUNTY.
The Earliest Journals of the County-The Niles " Gazette and Ad- vertiser"-The St. Joseph " Herald"-Other Early Newspapers at Niles and St. Joseph-Journalism at Buchanan, Berrien Springs, Benton Harbor, New Buffalo, and Watervliet-Newspaper Enter- prises in the County during the past Forty-five Years.
NILES GAZETTE AND ADVERTISER.
THE first newspaper published in Berrien County was the Niles Gazette and Advertiser, the first number of which was issued on the 5th of September, 1835. The proprietor was Henry Barns; the price was two dollars per annum ; and the motto was " For the Public Good." The office was at the corner of Second and Main Streets, Niles. An almost complete file of the Gazette and Advertiser is to be found in the office of the recorder of that city.
The first number is absent, but the second one, dated Sept. 12, 1835, shows the character of the paper. It was a four-page, six-column sheet, each page being 18 inches by 24. The salutatory, which was reprinted from the first number, commented on the remarkable prosperity and rapid increase of Michigan, and declared that it would sustain the principles of Thomas Jefferson, the administration of An- drew Jackson, and the nomination of Martin Van Bureu. We infer that the Gazette and Advertiser was decidedly Democratic. The publisher also mentioned that he had begun with three hundred subscribers, but that he had sold all of the six hundred copies which he had printed.
Even at this early period in Berrien County journalism the proverbial hot water of controversy had begun to rise around the editorial chair. The second number of the Gazette and Advertiser strenuously denied a report, started since the appearance of the first one, that " we" had been bought up and were under the control of certain young " aristocrats" of the village. Who would have thought there were aristocrats in Berrien County in the good old days of 1835 ?
Besides the salutatory, this number of the Gazette and Advertiser contained the message of Acting Governor Stevens T. Mason to the Territorial Legislature, mostly
137
THE PRESS OF BERRIEN COUNTY.
relating to the far-famed controversy with Ohio, commonly known as the " Toledo war;" also the letter of the Dem- ocratic Committee informing Mr. Van Buren of his nomi- nation for the Presidency, and his reply, accepting the nomination. This, it will be observed, was over a year before the election, which occurred in the fall of 1836.
There were also a few items of distant news, and a goodly array of advertisements. Of that which constitutes so prom- inent a feature of the newspapers of the present days-local news -- there was not a vestige. The local itemizer was de- veloped some twenty years later.
On the 6th of July, 1836, William Singer and Chauncey C. Britt purchased the office from Mr. Barns, but under- took to publish the paper for him until the end of that volume. On the 7th of September, Mr. Singer withdrew from the firm for causes, as he stated in his valedictory, " not precogitated by me" at the time of purchase. J. N. Chipman took his place, and on the 28th of September, Britt and Chipman began publishing the paper for them- selves. They dropped the second name, calling the paper the Niles Gazette.
On the 27th of December, 1836, it was again purchased by Mr. Barns, who sold it to Orris Curtis, in February, 1837. Mr. Curtis conducted the Gazette until the winter of 1837-38, when the publication ceased, the accounts being transferred to Britt & Brown, the proprietors of the paper next named.
NILES INTELLIGENCER.
On the 21st of February, 1838, after the collapse of the Niles Gazette, and probably on the same press, Henry Barns, who had been the founder of that paper, issued the first number of a new journal at Niles, called the Niles Intelligencer. In two weeks, however, he disposed of his venture to Chauncey C. Britt and John A. Brown, and the third number, dated March 7, 1838, was published in their name. They published it jointly until the 19th of August, 1840, when John A. Brown became the sole proprietor. About 1844 the Intelligencer was discontinued, but it was revived in 1845 or 1846 by William P. Abeel. Mr. Abeel carried it on four or five years, but it finally ceased to exist about 1850.
NILES REPUBLICAN.
This paper began its career as an exponent of Whig principles, on the 18th of October, 1839, being owned and edited by Van Vliet & Miller. It soon became the prop- erty of H. B. Miller, who employed Thomas H. Bassett as editor. In 1842, D. B. Cook entered into partnership with Mr. Miller, and the politics of the paper were changed from Whig to Democratic. In 1844, Mr. Cook became the sole owner, and continued so for no less than eighteen years,- an extraordinarily long period, considering the changeful nature of early Michigan journalism. In April, 1862, Mr. Cook sold the Republican to A. J. Shakespeare, who con- tinued its publication by the old name until the spring of 1868. He then changed the name to Niles Democrat,-a sketch of which is given below.
NILES DEMOCRAT.
This paper, the legitimate successor of the Niles Repub- lican (established in 1839), was baptized by its new name in
the spring of 1868. A. J. Shakespeare, who had been for six years the proprietor of the Republican, continued the publication of the Democrat until the 10th of September, 1870. He then sold it to O. P. Horn. The latter gentleman enlarged the paper from seven columns per page to eight, and it still flourishes under his ownership and direction.
A LIBERTY PAPER.
For a short time in 1845 a paper was published which advocated the principles of the " Liberty" or " Abolition" party, but it received so little support that it expired the same year. It is remembered that the editor was Miss Jane Van Vliet, but the name of the paper itself has escaped the recollection of the surviving citizens of that period.
NILES COURIER.
This paper (weekly) was established by Thomas W. Free- land on the 1st of January, 1845. In 1846, Mr. Freeland sold it to Charles Jewett and E. A. Graves, and went as an officer to the Mexican war. In 1847 or 1848 the name was changed to the one given below.
NILES EXPRESS.
This paper, the successor of the Courier, was published a little over a year, when it was sold to Isaiah McCollum, who discontinued it, removing the material to Hillsdale, in this State.
BERRIEN COUNTY FREEMAN.
This paper was established at Niles, about the beginning of 1856, by John M. Farquhar, as an advocate of the prin- ciples of the Republican party. It warmly supported the election of Fremont and Dayton in the campaign of that year, and was subsequently continued as a Republican weekly until 1866, when it was absorbed in the Niles Times.
NILES ENQUIRER.
In 1856 or 1857, Monroe G. Carleton published the first number of a weekly paper bearing the above name. It was Republican in politics, and for ten years faithfully ad- vocated the principles of that party. Mr. Carleton left it in 1859. In 1866 it was united with the Berrien County Freeman to form the Niles Times.
NILES TIMES.
The first number of the Niles Times was issued on the 1st of March, 1866, by Duncan & Dana. The Times was the result of the consolidation of the Berrien County Free- man with the Niles Enquirer. The new journal-which, like its predecessors, was decidedly Republican-was pub- lished weekly by Messrs. Duncan & Dana, until March, 1868, when Mr. Dana retired, and the name of the paper was changed to Niles Republican.
NILES REPUBLICAN (No. 2).
This continuation of the Niles Times, when it took its new name in March, 1868, was enlarged from seven col- umns per page to eight, and during the twelve succeeding years has steadfastly and successfully upheld the banner of Republicanism. In 1873 it was again enlarged from eight to nine columns per page. The Republican is still con- ducted by Maj. L. A. Duncan.
18
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HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
NILES WEEKLY MIRROR.
The first number of this paper was issued on the 22d day of March, 1876, by D. B. Cook, who still publishes it. It is a Democratic eight-page sheet, and has a good circula- tion. Although this is the last paper started in Niles, yet Mr. Cook, its editor and proprietor, is the earliest editor there, and is said to be the oldest living member of the pro- fession who has followed the business continuously in this State, he having begun his editorial duties in 1837, on the Kalamazoo Gazette, and having become connected with the Niles Republican in 1842.
ST. JOSEPH HERALD.
The second paper published in the county, and the first one at St. Joseph, began its existence under the above name on the first day of August, 1836, the editor and pub- lisher being A. E. Draper. In a few months Mr. Draper sold the Herald to N. W. Fuller, who published it under that name until October, 1837.
The only copy of the Herald which we have been able to discover is No. 36, Vol. I., dated April 22, 1837, which is now in the possession of M. D. Gragg, Esq., of Niles. It is a four-page, six-column sheet, each page being sixteen inches by twenty-two. Like the Niles Gazette and Adver- tiser, it has the broad-faced print and the numerous " black- letter" capitals common at that day, and like it is almost devoid of local news. It does mention, however, that the steamer " Matilda Barney" has been making regular trips to Niles for three or four weeks, and also notices the recent organization of Van Buren County.
In October, 1837, Mr. Fuller gave his journal a new name, ---
ST. JOSEPH DEMOCRAT.
.
The first number of this paper, the successor of the Herald, was issued on the 14th day of October, 1837, by N. W. Fuller, editor and proprietor. The fourteenth num- ber, for an examination of which we are also indebted to Mr. Gragg, shows it to have been of the same size and gen- eral appearance as its predecessor. The depressed condition of business was clearly shown by the numerous advertise- ments of mortgage sales, which covered a large part of the space of the number first mentioned. It contained also an essay on slander and a speech delivered by Hon. Vincent L. Bradford, of Niles, then State senator from this district, which was pronounced by the Detroit Post to be " unan- swerable." The only paragraph with even the semblance of a local item about it, was one which gave notice of the meeting of the St. Joseph Lyceum. The question for dis- cussion was one which had aroused the feelings of Ameri- cans on the northern frontier to an extraordinary degree, it being expressed in the following language :
" Are the patriots of the Canadas entitled to the sympa- thies of the people of the United States in their present struggle for constitutional liberty ?"
It is not known what the decision was, but it is safe to presume that the Canadian patriots were awarded a victory on the field of debate, if on no other.
A Democrat of a few weeks' later date contains a report of a public meeting of the citizens of Cass County in oppo- sition to the location of the Michigan Southern Railroad ;
also a letter from Senator Bradford to the electors of St. Joseph County, vindicating himself from the charge of being unfriendly to the internal improvements of the State. The Democrat continued in existence but a little over six months.
THE WESTERN POST.
At the time of the suspension of the Democrat, the press and type with which it was printed were purchased by A. Peabody, and a new paper was issued at St. Joseph called the Western Post. The first number was published on the 28th day of April, 1838. It was of the same size as the Herald and the Democrat, and, like all the other papers of that day, had a fine motto at the top of its col- umns, viz., " The Rights of the People."
We have examined the fourth number of the first volume of the Post, and there appears to have been no change in the character of the journal on account of the change of name. Its principal editorial in that number was entitled " A Protest against Panic,"-a pretty sure indication that those were panicky times. There were also several puffs of the "corporation scrip" of St. Joseph, issued to pay for public improvements, which the Post declared to be " better than wild-cat money," a very doubtful compli- ment.
The Post struggled with the " hard times" for a short period and then collapsed.
ST. JOSEPH COMMERCIAL BULLETIN.
In the latter part of April, 1844, Chauncey C. Britt es- tablished a newspaper at St. Joseph, entitled the St. Joseph Commercial Bulletin. It was a staunch Democratic sheet, and during the political campaign of that year warmly ad- vocated the election of James K. Polk and George M. Dal- las as President and Vice-President of the United States. It was a four-page sheet, of the same size as its predecessors at St. Joseph, and probably printed on the same press. Its motto was " Principles, not Men." There being then no paper published in Van Buren County, the Bulletin was se- lected to publish the tax sales of that county. Mr. Britt con- tinued the publication of the Bulletin until the spring of 1845, when the prosperity of St. Joseph was suddenly and severely checked by the diversion of the proposed Chicago and St. Joseph Railroad to Niles and Chicago. Mr. Britt found that he would be unable to continue his paper under the changed circumstances, and he accordingly sold it to the late Judge Henry Fuller. The latter published the Bulletin a short time and then discontinued it, removing the press and type to Chicago.
ST. JOSEPH TRAVELER.
St. Joseph was then without a newspaper until January, 1859, when Monroe G. Carlton established the St. Joseph Traveler, a weekly paper, which earnestly supported the principles of the Republican party. At the end of about three years Mr. Carlton sold the Traveler to Charles R. Brown, Esq., now of Port Huron, who published it about a year, and then transferred it to Almond L. Aldrich, now of Flint. Mr. Aldrich published the paper, always as an exponent of the Republican cause, until the summer of 1868, when he sold it to the late Theodore L. Reynolds.
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THE PRESS OF BERRIEN COUNTY.
That gentleman conducted it until 1875, when it was con- solidated with the St. Joseph Herald.
ST. JOSEPH HERALD (No. 2).
In May, 1866, the St. Joseph Herald was established by Albert H. Potter. It was a very decided Democratic paper, and for nearly two years made things as warm as it was able for its political opponents. In February, 1868, it was purchased by Horace W. Guernsey, who conducted it in a somewhat more conservative manner, though still as a Dem- ocratic sheet. It supported Seymour and Blair for President and Vice-President in 1868. In 1872 it supported Greeley and Brown. In 1874 it was consolidated with the St. Jo- seph Traveler, as before mentioned, and its fortunes have since been merged in those of the Traveler and Herald.
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