USA > Michigan > Van Buren County > History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 94
USA > Michigan > Berrien County > History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 94
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The homoeopathic physicians now in practice are Dr. West, of Lawton; Dr. H. M. Brodick, of Decatur ; Dr. A. M. Hendrick, of Paw Paw; Dr. C. D. Gibson, of Ban- gor ; and Dr. J. W. Megan, of Pine Grove.
373
COUNTY SOCIETIES.
CHAPTER L. COUNTY SOCIETIES.
Van Buren County Agricultural Society-Paw Paw Valley Agricul- tural Society-Van Buren County Pomona Grange, P. of H .- Van Buren County Pioneer Association-Farmers' Mutual Fire Insur- ance Company of Van Buren County.
VAN BUREN COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
THE early records of this society, if there were any such, are not to be found, but the following facts concerning it have been obtained from some of its early members.
The society was organized in the summer of 1850, with Jay R. Monroe as president. The first fair was held in the court-house square, the stock being tied to the trees and the court-room being used as a floral hall. The fair was held in the same place in 1851. In 1852 it was held in the village of Lawrence, south of where the Methodist church now stands. In 1853-55 the annual expositions were held at Paw Paw.
In 1855 the people of the western part of the county furnished lumber, and built sheds, stalls, and stands on the public square at Lawrence, and the fair of that year was held at that place.
In 1856 the lumber was taken down and removed to Paw Paw. The society leased of Peter Gremps lands west of the river, which were fenced, and on which the neces- sary buildings were erected with the lumber brought from Lawrence.
From that time the fairs of the society were held on the leased grounds until 1870, when the directors purchased twenty acres of land half a mile west of the village of Paw Paw. The grounds were fenced, and a floral hall and com- modious stalls were erected that year. In 1872 a judges' stand and grand stand were erected. The society is now in a prosperous condition, and the property is valued at $10,000.
The officers of the society for 1879 are as follows : David Woodman (2d), President; Joseph Kilburn, Vice- President ; C. A. Harrison, Secretary; N. M. Pugsley, Treasurer. Directors for two years : O. P. Morton, J. T. Bangs, Aaron Van Auken, E. P. Mills, C. W. Youngs, T. W. Vallean.
The following is from a report of the secretary, and is a comparative statement of the society :
INDEBTEDNESS OF THE VAN BUREN COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY, OCT. 10, 1878.
Mortgage on grounds. $1500
Notes held by N. M. Pugsley .. 1025
Notes held by bank
630
Interest on same ..
300
Total
$3455
INDEBTEDNESS, OCTOBER, 1879.
Mortgage notes. "
$1500
" upon which all interest is paid. 1115
$2615
Reduction.
$840
RECEIPTS AND EXPENSES SINCE 1870.
1870 .- Receipts (in this is included from county, $340 ; life members, $207-$547) $1627.93
1643.48
1871 .- Receipts
1180.35
Expenses
1198.82
1872 .- Receipts (county, $250; life members, $113
-$363)
$1629.30
Expenses (in hands of treasurer, $143.13) ... 1486.15
1873 .- Receipts (life members, $200) .. 1524.65
Expenses
1664.54
1874 .- Receipts (appropriated from county, $168 .- 75) Expenses
1670.75
1899.14
1875 .- Receipts (appropriated from county, $133 .- 33)
1589.77
Expenses .. 1596.72
1876 .- Receipts (appropriated from county, $133 .- 33) Expenses
1238.02
1235.36
1877 .- Receipts (appropriated from county, $100) Expenses.
1687.66
1878 .-- Receipts
2505.49
Expenses
2138.21
1879 .-- Receipts
1649.84
Expenses
1340.20
NUMBER OF EXHIBITORS AND ENTRIES SINCE 1874.
1874. 1875. 1876. 1877. 1878. 1879.
Exhibitors.
353
429
400
377
434
380
Horses
128
152
166
152
231
218
Cattle
52
50
47
33
82
49
Sheep
52
49
57
51
59
47
Swine.
18
16
41
54
57
48
Poultry
9
16
31
18
19
37
Totals
259
283
342 308
448
394
PAW PAW VALLEY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
In 1863, on account of the disaffection occasioned by the continuance of the fair-grounds of the county society at Paw Paw, a Horse-Fair Association was organized at Law- rence, and a tract of twenty-five acres of ground was leased of Holland B. Clark for its use. The grounds were fenced, a track was graded, and stands, stalls, and a floral hall erected, at a cost of nine thousand dollars. E. O. Briggs was elected president, and J. R. Baker secretary.
Fairs were held in 1864-66, but the receipts were not sufficient to meet the expenses, and they were therefore dis- continued.
In 1871, pursuant to call, a large number of the citizens of Van Buren County met at Chadwick's Hall, in the vil- lage of Lawrence, on the 7th day of January, 1871, and formed themselves into an association " for the encourage- ment and advancement of agriculture, manufactures, and mechanic arts," under the name of the Paw Paw Valley Agricultural, Society, it being intended to embrace the townships of the western and central portions of Van Bu- ren County. The following officers were duly elected : President, Samuel Hoppin ; Treasurer, Isaac C. Bunnell ; Secretary, John B. Potter; Directors, Eaton Branch, Os- car M. Southard, Samuel Hoppin, Holland B. Clark, Rufus Tillon, Jay R. Monroe, Alvin Sturtevant, Samuel G. Mather, James M. Blowers, Chandler Richards, John B. Potter, Fabius Miles, Newell Crussey.
The grounds of the Horse-Fair Association were occu- pied by the society, under the leave of that association, and the first fair was held Oct. 11-13, 1871.
At a meeting of the society in 1877 its scope was ex- tended so as to include the townships of Watervliet, Pipe- stone, and Bainbridge, in Berrien County, and of Volinia, Wayne, and Silver Creek, in Cass County.
The officers for 1880 are Erastus Osborne, of Hamilton, President; Amos Dopp, of Lawrence, Vice-President ; Robert L. Warren, of Lawrence, Secretary ; Charles Rock- well, of Lawrence, Treasurer.
Expenses
1636.22
374
HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
VAN BUREN COUNTY POMONA GRANGE, No. 13, PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY.
This society was organized at Lawrence, on the 26th of October, 1876, by C. L. Whitney, State Lecturer, and J. J. Woodman, Master of the State Grange, with sixty con- stituent members. The first officers were David Woodman (2d), Master; Oscar Caldwell, Overseer ; Arthur Hayden, Lecturer ; Henry Goss, Secretary.
David Woodman (2d) was the Master till October, 1878, when Oscar Caldwell was elected. In October, 1879, Da- vid Woodman (2d) was again elected to the chief position. The society now contains about one hundred and twenty-five members.
All Patrons of Husbandry who have attained the fourth degree, and are in good standing in the subordinate granges, are eligible to the county grange.
VAN BUREN COUNTY PIONEER ASSOCIATION.
Pursuant to call, a large number of the old settlers of Van Buren County met at Chadwick's Hall, in the village of Lawrence, on the 22d day of February, 1872. Gen. B. F. Chadwick was chosen chairman, Hon. M. L. Fitch was assistant chairman, and S. T. Conway secretary. A com- mittee was appointed to draft a constitution and by-laws, which were adopted by the meeting, and an association was then organized under the above name, with the following officers :
President, Jay R. Monroe; Vice-President, E. Barnum; Secretary, S. T. Conway ; Executive Committee, David Wise, Pine Grove; Silas Breed, Almena ; C. M. Merrill, Antwerp; S. Corey, Porter; Ashbel H. Herron, Bloom- ingdale; R. J. Myers, Waverly ; N. M. Pugsley, Paw Paw ; Elijah Goble, Decatur; J. A. Howard, Columbia ; D. D. Briggs, Arlington ; Eaton Branch, Lawrence; Calvin Field, Hamilton ; Clark Pierce, Geneva; Charles U. Cross, Bangor ; Lewis Miller, Hartford ; R. Irish, Keeler ; D. T. Pierce, South Haven ; Myron Fish, Deerfield. Speeches were delivered by Jay R. Monroe, Joseph Woodman, Dr. J. Andrews, and J. R. Hendryx.
The fourth annual meeting was held in Decatur. The town hall was decorated with evergreens and pictures. Upon the wall, behind the president's desk, hung 'a portrait of Adolphus Morris, the first pioneer of Van Buren County, above which were the words " Decatur, the pioneer town, welcomes her friends." A call was made by the president for all who came into the country between 1827 and 1835 to take the stand. About fifteen responded.
Jay R. Monroe was the president of the society until his death, in 1877, when Eaton Branch, of Lawrence, was elected, and still holds the position. Meetings are held annually in different parts of the county. The society has a present membership of five hundred and seventy-six.
The records, kept by Dr. J. Andrews, contain numerous interesting reminiscences of the early days, many of which will be found in the different township histories.
FARMERS' MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY.
This company was organized Sept. 12, 1863, with the following constituent members : T. R. Harrison, Myron Plumb, Joshua Bangs, A. M. Hanselman, Samuel Hayden,
Jehial Glidden, N. M. Pugsley, Jesse Wilson, Philip N. Teed, J. J. Woodman, Joseph Luce, P. I. Bragg, Edwin D. Whitney, Lyman Tuttle, James Bale, and S. W. Man- ning. The company was incorporated the same year, the first president being Jason A. Sheldon, and the first secre- tary William P. Stocking.
The business of the company is confined to Van Buren County. It insures all farm buildings and all personal property on farms against fire and lightning. The number of policies in force Jan. 1, 1880, was 865, covering property to the amount of $1,189,975. The losses for 1878 were $1850; those for 1879 were $3633.42. The increase during the latter year is due to the extremely dry period which occurred in May of that year. Average cost of in- surance for the past six years, about one-fourth of one per cent.
The salaries paid to officers in 1879 amounted to three hundred and seventy-five dollars and forty cents. The officers for 1880 are David Woodman, President ; Chandler Richards, Secretary and Treasurer. The office of the com- pany is at Paw Paw.
CHAPTER LI.
ANTWERP TOWNSHIP .*
Boundaries and General Description-Pioneers of Antwerp-Antwerp Post-Office-Early Roads-Wayside Taverns-Mills and Millers- Township Organization and List of Officers-Lawton Village-Mat- tawan Village-Schools of the Township-Churches-Fruit Cul- ture-Railways in Antwerp.
ANTWERP, lying on the eastern boundary of Van Buren County, is one of the seven townships formed from Lafay- ette, on the 11th of March, 1837, just before the organi- zation of Van Buren County. In the United States survey it is designated as township 3 south, range 13 west, and is bounded as follows : on the north by Almena, on the south by Porter, on the east by the Kalamazoo County line, and west by Paw Paw.
Antwerp is a rich agricultural district, and within the past five years has been rapidly and profitably developing as an important fruit-raising region, especially in the vicin- ity of Lawton village, where the culture of the peach and the grape, already attended with gratifying results, promises something extraordinary for the near future. Manufactures are chiefly confined to flour-mills, of which there are four in the township. that produce largely for Eastern shipment. An extensive industry, known as the Michigan Central Iron Company, was carried on at Lawton village between the years 1867 and 1875, and inspired that town with a very lively activity, to which it has since been a stranger.
Lawton and Mattawan are the two villages of the town- ship, the former being incorporated. Both are stations on the Michigan Central Railway, and both are important wheat-shipping points, Lawton being also one of the termini of the Paw Paw Railway. The east branch of the Paw Paw River, passing through the township in a northwest- erly direction from the southeast, furnishes excellent water-
* By David Schwartz.
BUILT, MAY, 10, 1835.
J. J . WOODMAN.
MRS. J.J. WOODMAN.
RESIDENCE OF HON. J.J. WOODMAN, ANTWERP, MICHIGAN. - ADJOINING PAW PAW ON THE EAST.
375
TOWNSHIP OF ANTWERP.
power for four large grist-mills. Generally, the soil is a sandy loam, although in some portions clay and gravel pre- vail. The surface of the country is strikingly even, and what few elevations there are are of but little prominence, the most conspicuous being one south of Mattawan and one in the northeast, which afford picturesque views of the surrounding country.
The population of Antwerp in 1874 was 2209, and its assessed value in 1879 was $465,000.
PIONEERS OF ANTWERP.
The present township of Antwerp invited the attention of the Western pioneer, for the special reason that its terri- tory was largely composed of " oak openings," while it was remarkably free from swampy or low land. The soil, a fine sandy loam, promised ready cultivation, and when the in- ducements to settlers began to disclose themselves, the tide of migration westward brought settlers into Antwerp in considerable numbers, so that at a comparatively early day the township was generally given over to the hardy pioneers.
Even before roads were laid out, traveling through the township was no difficult matter, since there was little or no underbrush in the forests, and these latter were so open that the settler could drive through them anywhere without having to cut his road before him. Old settlers in Antwerp now living say that when they came into the country they were charmed with it. The woods were like vast orchards, in that one could see round about anywhere for the space of a quarter of a mile.
The early settlers found here and there clearly-defined traces of what have been termed prehistoric garden-beds. In the northern part of the township especially were these old beds discovered, grown over with giant timber, but marked by regular lines easily traced, and entirely convincing as to their earlier uses. On the farm of Nathaniel Bangs, on sections 4 and 9, one may yet see, in a piece of timber- land, positive signs of the remote existence on that spot of these so-called garden-beds.
Opinions seem to be divided as to the identity of the first white settler in Antwerp. It was either Joel Tomlin- son, who, according to the recollection of his daughter, settled upon section 22, Dec. 11, 1834, or Joseph Woodman, who settled on section 7 on the 10th of May, 1835. In the spring of 1836 a Mr. Bishop erected the framework of a mill, and had a dam nearly completed across the stream, but Mr. Tomlinson would not allow him to complete it, as the back water from the dam would overflow a very valuable spring of his. Mr. Tomlinson lives now in Ohio, at the advanced age of eighty-three, but cannot recollect whether he settled in the township in 1834 or 1835.
Mrs. Peter Moon, of Porter, a daughter of Mr. Tomlin- son, says that after her father had been settled some time, she, with two sisters, started out with horses and wagon to discover whether there were any neighbors. In due time they reached a clearing on the Territorial road, and there were surprised to see old Jesse Abbe and his daughter hard at work plowing,-the young lady driving the oxen, and driving them, too, with a good deal of vigor .*
Settlements in the southern portion of the township, although first tending that way, were far from rapid. The incoming pioneer tide followed more generally the line of the Territorial road, and during 1835, 1836, and 1837 by far the greatest number of settlements in Antwerp were made on or near that important highway. With Antwerp, as with many towns in Michigan, it appeared to be the rule that nearly all the early settlers came from New York State, and in Antwerp's especial case, Monroe Co., N. Y., fur- nished a large majority of the first comers. The reason for this latter was that the Wadsworth family, of Monroe Co., N. Y., owned considerable land in Antwerp, and sent many settlers thither.
Joseph Woodman, one of the pioneers of Antwerp, died in April, 1879, at the age of eighty-nine, upon the farm (near Paw Paw village) which became his home in May, 1835, and remained his home until he died. In an address delivered by Mr. Woodman before the Van Buren County Pioneer Association in 1872, he thus graphically recited his experiences in 1835 :
" I came to this country in the spring of 1835, landed at Detroit, and made my way to Kalamazoo through mud and mire with two teams,-a horse-team and an ox-team. The mud was terrible, and I had frequently to double up my teams to get through. I frequently met stages, with pas- sengers on foot carrying rails or poles. They said it was hard fare, and that the driver wanted them to carry two rails apiece, but they couldn't see it. I had my family with me,-wife and six children,-and after much difficulty reached Kalamazoo, and succeeded in getting them into an old log house. I started alone then from Kalamazoo for Paw Paw, and was told at Grand Prairie that I could not get through that night, that I would be eaten by the wolves, but being young and vigorous I pushed on, and without mishap reached a cabin known as Dodge's tavern, standing upon the site of the now flourishing village of Paw Paw. On Saturday, in company with Silas Breed, I went land-viewing, and returned to Dodge's that evening. I asked Dodge if they had any meetings, and was answered in the negative. I told him we had a ministert in our party, and we would like to have a meeting on the Sab- bath, which we accordingly did, holding it in a slab shanty. On Monday, in company with Joshua Bangs, I went out on the Territorial road to locate land, and each selected a piece. I brought my family from Kalamazoo, and estab- lished them in Paw Paw in a blacksmith's shop.} I built a log house on my land, and moved my family into it on the 10th day of May, 1835. I went to clearing land, plowed seven acres with a wooden plow, and raised a fine crop of corn, potatoes, turnips, pumpkins, melons, etc."
When Mr. Woodman settled with his family upon his Antwerp farm, Paw Paw village contained one very small
* As the Territorial road was not opened until the summer of 1835, and Abbe did, not settle upon his land until the middle of May of
that year, it would seem improbable that Tomlinson could live six months, and through one winter, within three miles of their only neighbor without knowing it. It seems quite certain that Mrs. Moon is mistaken in the time her father settled in the township, and that Joseph Woodman and his family are correct in their recollection and belief that they were the first settlers in the township.
+ Mr. Woodman was himself an ordained Methodist Protestant minister.
# Rodney Hinckley's shop.
376
HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
frame house, three log cabins, and a saw-mill. Upon the old homestead now lives his son, Jonathan J. Woodman (Master of the State Grange and Master also of the Na- tional Grange). Another son, David, lives in the southern portion of Paw Paw township, where he became a settler at an early day.
In the spring of 1835, Joshua Bangs, Silas Breed, and Elder Jonathan Hinckley, of Monroe Co., N. Y., started from there with Breed's team to look for land in Michigan, purposing to make Grand Rapids their objective point. They journeyed as far as Silver Creek, Ohio, by road, and found the travel so bad that -- to use Mr. Bangs' words- "One of us drove the team while the other two footed behind, carrying rails with which to pry the wagon out of the mud-holes, and I tell you we had to do a heap of pry- ing." They continued by way of the lake from Silver Creek to Detroit, and there, resuming their team, pushed on for Grand Rapids. At Marshall they overtook Joseph Woodman and his family, of Monroe Co., N. Y., bound also for Grand Rapids, and so they journeyed westward in company. Learning that the land-office was at Kalamazoo they halted there, and being persuaded to locate in Van Buren County, Woodman and Bangs made a land-looking tour through the present town of Antwerp. They were so well pleased that they selected land without delay, Bangs entering four 80-acre lots on section 5 and one on section 7, on the latter of which he put up a log shanty at once, as did Woodman, who had selected a farm adjoining Bangs on the west.
Bangs was then ready to go back to New York for his family, and as Woodman had also to return to that State, they, in company with Silas Breed, bound also eastward, started from Dodge's tavern, in Paw Paw, and traveled to Detroit, where they arrived just four days and a half later. Bangs got his family ready, and in the fall of 1835, when he made the start for Michigan, he was accompanied by the families of Dr. Levi Warner, Joseph Luce (both of whom settled in Paw Paw township), Theophilus Bangs, and John Hill. Joshua Bangs lived upon his Antwerp farm until he was chosen county treasurer, in 1837, at a special election, -D. O. Dodge, the first county treasurer elected, failing to act,-and then he removed his residence to Paw Paw. Mr. Bangs was thus the first actual county treasurer of Van Buren, although nominally the second. He held the office four years, when he resumed his residence in Ant- werp, which has since been his home.
Theophilus Bangs, his brother, who came to Antwerp with him, settled upon section 19, where he lived about thirty years, and then removing to Paw Paw village, died there. John Hill, who also accompanied Joshua Bangs westward in 1835, located upon section 7. . He got home- sick in about three years, returned to Monroe County, and sold his Michigan farm to Jason A. Sheldon, who came out and settled upon it. Sheldon sold it to the present occupant, G. B. Chapin, and moved to the village of Paw Paw, where he resided several years, and then to a farm on section 5, where he now resides.
Philip Moon, of New York, settled upon section 5 in 1835. He died on the place in 1856. His son, Horace W. (who came out with Joshua Bangs), now lives on sec-
tion 16. Elder Samuel Gilman, father of Joseph Gilman, bought out E. H. Niles on section 5, and settled there in the fall of 1838. He afterwards sold his farm to J. R. Bangs, and moved to a farm on section 6, where he died, and where his daughter, Mrs. William Clark, is now living. A. F. Moon, now living in Georgia, settled in Antwerp, on section 17. Peter Moon, now of Porter, was a settler in Antwerp in 1835.
Among the land-lookers in Michigan in 1835 was John Hunt, of Vermont, who, being pleased with the land in the northern portion of Antwerp, entered 160 acres on section 1. He returned to Vermont, and in 1836 came again to Michigan to buy more land, but just at that time the land- office, overrun with applications for farming territory, was closed, and Hunt had to go back to Vermont without making additional purchases.
When he reached his Vermont home he began to make preparations for a move, with his family, to his Michigan farm, and May 1, 1837, he set out with his wife and four children. They proceeded by canal to Buffalo, where, finding the harbor so full of ice that vessels could not get in, they engaged a man to carry them and their goods in a wagon to Silver Creek,-thirty-six miles away,-where they were told they would find a steamer for Detroit. The rain poured down in torrents, the roads were knee-deep with mud, the man who drove for them was drunk, and the result was that after floundering two days through the rain and mire they were abandoned by the drunken Jehu in the woods when not much more than half-way to Silver Creek. They succeeded, however, in finding a party to carry them to their journey's end, and thus, after a three days' trip, they made the thirty-six miles, and reached the steamer. They left the boat at Toledo, went by horse- railway to Adrian, and there engaged a team at $5 a day to convey them to Kalamazoo, which they reached at last, three weeks after their departure from Vermont. Leaving his family at the house of his brother Ormon, in Kalama- zoo, Mr. Hunt went up to Samuel Wells' saw-mill in Antwerp, bought a lot of boards, and hired Jesse Abbe (who owned about the only pair of horses in the township) to haul them for him and put up his house. As an evidence of the high cost of life's necessaries there at that time it may be mentioned that Mr. Hunt paid $55 at Kalamazoo for a cook-stove (second-hand at that), "about as big," he says, " as a warming-pan." " When I started from Ver- mont," says Mr. Hunt, " I had $800 in money, but when I got to Michigan I had $300 less,-a pretty steep price for a trip that you can make now in thirty-six hours." Mr. Hunt still lives on the farm he bought in 1835, and is always glad to relate the stirring experiences of his pioneer days. Mr. and Mrs. Hunt, Mr. and Mrs. Morgan L. Fitch, Mr. and Mrs. Ezra Gates, and Mr. and Mrs. N. L. Surdam were married before they came to Antwerp in 1837, and of the married couples who came into the township at that early period are the only ones living in Antwerp.
Mr. Hunt was the first to build a barn in his neighbor- hood, and its completion was an event of no little impor- tance in the locality, chiefly for the reason that Mr. Hunt showed his slow neighbors how much better it was to thrash on a barn floor than in the open air and on the
LOG CABIN HOME.
MRS. PETER HARWICK.
PETER HARWICK.
RESIDENCE OF. PETER HARWICK, ANTWERP TP., VAN BUREN CO., MICH.
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