History of Detroit and Wayne County and early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present, Vol. I, Part 127

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Detroit, Pub. by S. Farmer & co., for Munsell & co., New York
Number of Pages: 1094

USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > History of Detroit and Wayne County and early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present, Vol. I > Part 127

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

At $6.00 per 100 pounds, a loaf of 4 pounds 4 ounces was to be sold for 25 cents.

At $5.00 per 100 pounds, a loaf of 5 pounds 4 ounces was to be sold for 25 cents.

At $4.00 per 100 pounds, a loaf of 3 pounds was to be sold for 121/2 cents.

At $3.00 per 100 pounds, a loaf of 3 pounds 10 ounces was to be sold for 12/2 cents.

At $3.00 per 100 pounds, a loaf of 1 pound 13 ounces was to be sold for 644 cents.

The market price of flour was fixed by the trus- tees on the first Monday of each month, and oftener if necessary. On May 24, 1821, they fixed the price of a five-pound loaf of bread at 1212 cents, and of a loaf weighing 2 pounds 8 ounces at 644 cents. By ordinance of 1824, the weight of bread was to be in accordance with the price of flour. A barrel of flour was estimated to produce 3,920 ounces of bread ; the baker was to be allowed twenty shillings per barrel for baking; this, added to the cost of the flour and divided by the number of ounces, was to deter- mine the weight of a shilling loaf. The council, from time to time, established the assize or regu- lation amount that a loaf must weigh. All "loaf bread" was required to be marked with the initial letters or the christian and surname of the baker; and if not so marked was liable to forfeiture ; and one or more inspectors were appointed to see that the

regulations were observed. On January 15, 1842, the ordinance prescribing the price of a loaf of bread was displaced by an ordinance prescribing the weight only of loaves. With this ordinance the last relic of the ancient regime passed away, and no further attempt has been made by the council to determine the price of bread or of any other article.

Under ordinance of 1871, bakers are required to obtain a permit, and are allowed to make only loaves of one, two, or four pounds weight.

Sealer of Weights and Measures.

This office was created in 1839, but no definite provision was made for it in the charter until 1857. On April 18, 1861, provision was made for city inspection and gauging of oils and liquids, and N. B. Rowley, who was then city sealer, was appointed inspector and gauger, but none were afterwards ap- pointed. In 1867 the inspection of weights and measures was transferred to the police, and since then the work has been performed by a policeman. During 1886 he approved 5,085 wine measures, and condemned 914; he also approved 3,099 dry meas- ures and condemned 733; during the same year he tested 2,909 scales and condemned 484.

The following persons served as sealers of weights and measures : 1839-1842, John Farmer; 1842- 1844, A. H. Dodge; 1844-1846, A. A. Wilder; 1846, J. N. McFarlane, Russell Robinson ; 1847, Isaac Warren; 1848-1850, Abijah Joy ; 1851, John Koehler; 1852, David Esdell. Jr. ; 1853-1857, City Clerk er-officio; 1857, William Sales; 1858, B. McDonald ; 1859, J. M. Holbrook ; 1860-1862, N. B. Rowley ; 1862-1864, William A. Henry ; 1864- 1866, A. Holdereid ; 1866, M. Mclaughlin.

Wood Markets.

The first ordinance concerning the inspection of wood was passed on January 11, 1826. Under this ordinance, and a subsequent one of July 2, 1834, one or more inspectors were appointed by the coun- cil each year. They measured all wood brought to the city for sale, and were paid six and one fourth cents for each certificate of measurement. After the Act of February 21, 1849, the inspectors were elected by the people, but in 1857 the council was again given the power of appointment. By ordi- nance of March 4, 1858, and amended ordinances of March 7, 1859, and November 29, 1869, the city was divided into four districts, and four inspectors were appointed, whose fees were : for measuring a one-horse load, five cents; a two-horse load, ten cents ; for wood arriving in boats, ten cords or less, ten cents a cord; and for all over ten cords, five cents a cord.

An amended ordinance of February 23, 1872, provided that only two inspectors should be ap-

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pointed. By an ordinance of 1836 all wagons with wood for sale were to stand on the Campus Martius; but since 1849 the wood and hay markets have been united, and located elsewhere; the wood for the poor is stored at the market-grounds, and formerly the wood inspectors were paid $40 a year for filling orders given on them, reporting weekly in detail all orders thus filled. They received all the fees, but were required to report on oath, quarterly, on the first of January, April, July, and October, the amount of fees received the previous quarter. In 1881 the salary was fixed at $528 a year, and since then all fees have been paid into the city treasury. These fees for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1883, amounted to only $631.70, By ordinance of Feb- ruary 20, 1884, this office and its duties were merged with those of the poundmaster's, and all appoint- ments of wood inspectors as such ceased with 1 883.

The following persons served as inspectors : 1834-1836, James H. Cook; 1836, J. H. Cook, Israel Noble; 1837, R. Chamberlain, Versal Rice, John Brunson; 1838, J. W. Hinchman, F. Borchardt ; 1839, J. H. Cook, F. Borchardt ; 1840 and 1841, J. J. Cicotte, F. Borchardt ; 1842, N. Greusel, Jr., F. L'Esperance ; 1843, N. Greusel, Jr., A. H. Dodge, M. Gooding; 1844, N. Greusel, Jr., Henry Carrol ; 1845, J. A. Stephens, H. Carroll, N. Greusel, Jr., S. C. Webster; 1846, S. C. Webster, J. A. Stephens ; 1847, N. Greusel, Jr., J. A. Stephens, J. P. Hopkins ; 1848-1850, T. S. Sprague, David Weeks; 1850, John Phillips, F. L'Esperance, O. McDermott ; 1851, J. W. Daly, J. Phillips, F. L'Esperance, E. S. Morse ; 1852, F. L'Esperance, O. Donnell, M. Schrick; 1853, F. L'Esperance, M. Schrick, J. Northrup ; 1854, F. L'Esperance, D. Lanigan, Charles Lappen ; 1855, F. L'Esperance, H. Decker, A. Wing ; 1858, F. L'Esperance, Wil- liam Barry ; 1859, James Henry, C. A. Minard, C. F. Kull.

EAST DISTRICT, ON DOCK .- 1860-1862, J. H. Smith ; 1862-1863, Charles Jepkins ; 1864, Robert Reaume ; 1865-1866, John Pratt; 1867-1868, Louis Lebot ; 1869-1870, J. Caspary ; 1871, Louis Lebot.

EAST DISTRICT, ON MARKET .- 1860, W. Pen- field, G. Bolio ; 1861, Charles Kamminski; 1862- 1863, Michael Schrick ; 1864-1865, N. Christa ; 1866-1867, Caspar Geist ; 1868, John Huber ; 1869, Chas. H. Damm ; 1870, Andrew Huber ; 1871, Geo. O. Walker.

WEST DISTRICT, ON DOCK .- 1860, J. Henry ; 1861, F. Funke; 1862, Geo. Weber; 1863-1864, Jas. Shields; 1865-1866, Thos. Halloran; 1867, M. Lentz; 1868, J. Neuschafer; 1869, Michael Hays; 1870, D. Donovan; 1871, Luke Crossly.

WEST DISTRICT, ON MARKET .- 1860, C. Min- ard; 1861, Wm. Ball; 1862, Mathias Lentz; 1863-

1866, John O'Connell; 1867, Charles Dougherty ; 1868, Alexander Paton ; 1869-1870, Michael Nolan ; 1871, F. C. Niepoth.

EAST DISTRICT .- 1872, Geo. O. Walker ; 1873, F. Vermeulen ; 1874-1875, Harris Jacobs ; 1876, F. Vermeulen ; 1877, J. Lemkie; 1878, J. Muer ; 1879, C. Hatie ; 1880, E. Fiertz; 1881, J. Eipper ; 1882-1883, H. Strubel.

WEST DISTRICT .- 1872, F. C. Niepoth ; 1873- 1875, Robert Hamilton ; 1876, J. Zimmerman ; 1877- 1878, Peter Zens ; 1879-1883, J. Zimmerman.

Hay Markets.

The office of weighmaster dates from April I, 1818. The first scales were located on the north side of Jefferson Avenue near the corner of Ran- dolph Street. The old blockhouse, with second story projecting over the first, afforded a shelter for the scales, which consisted of an immense pair of steelyards, the wagon and hay being lifted bodily by means of an iron chain passed around them. Three shillings a load were allowed for weighing. The scales remained at the old blockhouse until April, 1827, when they were moved to the northeast corner of Larned and Wayne Streets, in front of the lot afterwards occupied by the Washington Market. In 1833 they were sold, and in November of the same year scales were located on the corner of Bates and Larned Streets. In November, 1835, their use was discontinued, and the council contracted with William Grist to erect hay-scales on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street, and at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Wayne Street. Mr. Grist erected the scales, and owned them until March 27, 1849, when they were bought by the council. The upper ones were then rented for $140, and the lower, on the corner Wayne Street, for $60 a year. In April, 1850, the hay-scales were removed from the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street to Michigan Grand Avenue, at its junction with Randolph Street. In June, 1855, they were removed from the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Wayne Street, and located on the north side of Grand River Avenue on the Cass Farm. The same year the scales were moved from Michigan Avenue to Hastings Street, south of and near the Gratiot Road. In May, 1860, the Western District scales were removed from the Grand River Road to the north side of Michigan Avenue between Third and Fourth Streets; and in November, 1868, the city rented about three hundred feet square of Mr. Beecher, on the south side of Michigan Avenue, between Tenth and Twelfth Streets, for a hay and wood market. In 1875 these markets were moved to their present location, on the northwest corner of Michigan and Trumbull Avenues, the city paying an annual rent of $500 for use of the grounds.

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MARKETS, MARKETING, AND PRICES.

In the spring of 1870 the Eastern District hay and wood market was moved from Hastings Street to its present location on Russell Street, near the House of Correction, where it occupies part of the old City Cemetery.

During a portion of the years prior to 1850, while the scales were owned by the weighmaster, he was continued in office either by an implied agreement or a definite contract. By the charter of 1849, weighmasters were elected directly by the people. In 1857 the power of appointment was again lodged with the council. In 1881 the fees were one and a half cents a hundred for weighing hay, straw, and coal; ten cents per head for cattle, and five cents for sheep.

Prior to 1879 the weighmasters paid a rental of from $75 to $150 a year for the scales, and were entitled to all the fees collected. Since the year named, the weighmasters have been paid a salary. All the fees now go to the city, and for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1887, they amounted to $3,805.20.

The weighmasters have been: 1818, D. C. Mc- Kinstry; 1819, S. Blackmar; 1820, Asa Partridge; 1821, Robert Garratt ; 1829-1835, Francis Rugard ; 1835, James H. Hawley; 1836-1842, C. M. Bull ; 1842-1849, William Grist.

UPPER .- 1849, A. W. Sprague; 1850, Louis Du- pont ; 1851-1852, C. H. Damm; 1853, A. A. Bur- hans; 1854, L. Dupont ; 1855-1857, E. Lebot.

LOWER .- 1849, C. G. Blindbury ; 1850, P. Mc- Ginnis ; 1851, J. Northrup ; O. B. Wilmarth ; 1852, O. B. Wilmarth ; 1854-1855, C. H. Damm ; 1856- John Lane.

EAST DISTRICT .- 1858, Peter Campau ; 1859- 1860, E. Benoit ; 1861, J. McGrath ; 1862-1864, C. Dubois ; 1864-1865, John André; 1866-1867, J. Dederichs ; 1868, C. H. Damm ; 1869, N. Schwartz ; 1870, A. Kremer; 1871-1872, D. Sheehan; 1873- 1874, G. O. Walker; 1875, A. O'Keefe ; 1876, P. A. Rowland ; 1877, J. Erhard ; 1878-1879, P. Dunn ; 1880, J. Clemens ; 1881, J. Clements ; 1882-1884, J. Clements ; 1884-1886, Henry Lemmer.

WEST DISTRICT .- 1858, John Lane; 1839, R. Gibbings ; 1860, T. Maybury ; 1861, Russell Gage; 1862-1864, D. Donovan ; 1865-1869, J. L. Matthews; 1867-1868, John Walsh ; 1869-1870, P. Shanahan : 1871, J. Love ; 1872-1873, D. Dickson ; 1873-1875, George Baker ; 1876, H. Smith ; 1877, D. Shanahan ; 1878, T. Mahoney ; 1879, D. E. Noonan ; 1880, Robert Knox; 1881, C. Lynch; 1882-1884, Robert Knox; 1884, Peter Ohlert,

Prices of Different Articles at Various Times,

The prices of articles at different times afford a fair index of the growth of population and produc- tion, and of the increase in facilities for transporta-

tion. Under the practically mercantile rule of the first colony of 1701, the price of almost everything was determined by the few traders licensed by the company, and the measure of the ability of the people to pay was the principal factor in the fixing of prices. The prices of products of the soil were, of course, determined solely by the amount raised and needed for home consumption. In 1726 wheat was from ten shillings to twelve shillings per bushel ; Indian corn, seven shillings to nine shillings per bushel ; eggs, twenty to twenty-five cents per dozen; onions, one dollar a hundred ; cows, $18 to $20, and calves $5.00 to $6.00. There was but little varia- tion m these prices up to the time of the coming of the English in 1760. Sailing vessels were then introduced, and there was more competition among the merchants. The account-book of Thomas Smith, of 1778, shows that coffee was thirty-eight cents and tea two dollars per pound ; calico, six shillings a yard ; flour, {10, and pork £15 per barrel ; apples, sixty shillings per bushel, and tobacco sixteen shillings per pound. Slaves were worth from £180 to £260 New York currency. In an old Macomb ledger of 1780 to 1783, charges are made at the following rates : brown sheeting and bed- ticking, each five shillings a yard ; molasses, twenty shillings to thirty-two shillings; vinegar, sixteen shillings, and rum forty shillings per gallon ; salt, £4 to £10 per barrel; almonds, six shillings ; cheese, whiting, soap, and butter, four shillings per pound each; starch, six shillings; shot, two shillings; coffee, twelve shillings ; nails, two shillings and six- pence ; candles, five shillings ; pig-tail tobacco, six- teen shillings ; and sugar, three shillings per pound ; cinnamon, four shillings an ounce ; eggs, four shil- lings, and nutmegs, six shillings per dozen ; flour, £5 per hundred weight ; corn, twenty shillings to twenty-four shillings, and oats sixteen shillings per bushel; smoothing irons were six shillings each ; slate-pencils one shilling each, and slates twelve ·shillings ; bread was three shillings a loaf. In 1784 the winter was so severe that bakers charged a Spanish dollar per pound for bread. Board was charged at £3 per month.

Mr. Weld, who traveled through this region in 1796, said :

The stores and shops of the town are well furnished, and you may buy fine cloth, linen, &c., and every article of wearing ap- parel, as good of their kind, and on nearly as reasonable terms, as you can purchase in New York or Philadelphia.

At this time salt was very scarce, and the inhabi- tants were frequently distressed for want of it. Coffee was five shillings and starch four shillings per pound, and cotton cloth six shillings a yard. Two years later, in 1798, alum, chalk, putty, and loaf-sugar were each four shillings a pound ; bricks,

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six dollars a thousand, and wood six shillings a cord. In 1803 and 1805 prices were as follows : fine-tooth combs, five shillings each ; calico, six shillings a yard ; shot and lead, two shillings a pound ; powder, eight shillings, coffee six shillings, white sugar five shil- lings, cheese two shillings and sixpence, pepper six shillings, and soap four shillings to eight shillings per pound ; candles were one shilling each ; corn, eight shillings, and salt four dollars to six dollars a bushel; labor, two shillings a day. In 1807 nails were two shillings a pound, and iron pots were sold at eighteen and three fourths cents per pound.

Ordinary laborers were paid three shillings per day for twelve hours. work; the ten-hour system began in 1833. In 1808 the following prices ob- tained : tallow candles were four shillings and butter and cheese each two shillings a pound ; whiskey, eight shillings a gallon ; oats, four shillings, and corn six shillings per bushel; bearskins sold at twenty-four shillings, mink at three shillings, otter at twenty shillings, and raccoon and muskrat at two shillings and sixpence each. In 1809 flour was $5.50 and in 1810, $12 per barrel.

The War of 1812 made all articles scarce and dear. Nails were thirty-one and one fourth cents a pound; corn, $1.00 and $2.00, and potatoes $2.00 a bushel; hay, $1.00 a hundredweight ; flour, $12.00 a barrel ; butter, seventy-five cents, cheese sixty cents, and beef twenty-four cents a pound ; eggs, four shillings per dozen ; whiskey, $4.00 per gallon ; turkeys were $3.00 apiece ; pork, $35.00 a barrel ; wood, on account of the scarcity of labor, $5.50 a cord. In 1814 flour was $8.00, and in 1816 and 1817, $14.00 per barrel. In the years last named, potatoes were $2.00 a bushel, or two shillings a dozen ; beef and pork, $18.00 per barrel; and corn, $1.62 per bushel. In January, 1819, butter was forty-four cents per pound; hyson tea, $3.00 per pound ; milk, twelve cents a quart ; eggs, fifty cents a dozen; wood, $4.00 per cord. For one turkey, two pigs, or two bushels of potatoes, an acre of land could be bought. Mutton at this time was one shilling, and beef cight cents to ten cents a pound ; pork, $20.00 to $25.00 per barrel. In 1820 flour was down to $5.00 ; beef and pork, to $7.00 per barrel. In 1821 wood was $2.50 a cord, and wool three shillings per pound. In February, 1823, beef and pork were each $4.00 per hundred; venison, two cents a pound ; turkeys, six shillings, geese four shillings, ducks three shillings, and chickens nine- teen cents a pair ; apples five shillings, wheat four shillings and sixpence, corn three shillings, oats two shillings, beans $1.00, and potatoes three shillings per bushel; maple-sugar five cents, cheese ten cents, and beeswax twenty-six cents per pound ; whiskey, two shillings a gallon ; pine boards, $3.00 to $12.00, shingles $1.75, and laths $10.00 per thousand ; lime,

seventy-five cents a barrel ; and cotton stockings ten shillings per pair. In 1825 flour sold as low as $3.00 per barrel ; quails for one shilling, and eggs for six cents a dozen. In 1830 flour was $4.50 per barrel, and pure cider $2.00. 1837 was the year of high prices. Flour was from $11.00 to $16.00 per barrel, potatoes $2.00, and cornmeal twelve shillings per bushel, but these prices were not of long con- tinuance. The panic and scarcity of money soon caused a reduction, and in 1838 flour was down to $8.00 per barrel, and sugar was fourteen cents per pound. In 1839 corn was so scarce that it com- manded $4.00 per bushel, but in 1840 it sold for eighty-five cents. In 1842 flour was very low, the best selling for $2.25 per barrel. In 1844 quota- tions were as follows : wheat seventy cents, corn thirty-one cents, oats two shillings, and potatoes twenty cents per bushel; flour, $3.82 ; mess pork, $10.00, and salt $1.38 per barrel; hickory wood, $1.75 a cord ; hay, $5.00 per ton ; fresh butter, two shillings, lard and cheese six cents, and tallow seven cents a pound; dressed chickens, two shillings a pair ; green hides, three and one half cents, and dry seven cents a pound ; beef and pork, $2.50 to $3.00 per hundred ; nails, $5.00 a keg ; buckwheat flour, $1.00 a hundred.

A Detroit daily of August 5, 1847, thus complains :

HIGH MARKET PRICES .- Why is it that the citizens of this city should be taxed so high for every delicacy of the season, when it is surrounded, as it is, by hardy and industrious farmers? Think of it, ye men with families to support, ye Hotel and Tavern keepers all,- one dollar a bushel for potatoes ! And in the city of New York they are selling for seventy-five cents! Ten to twelve cents a dozen for green corn ; three shillings a dozen for tomatoes; fourteen cents a pounds for butter ; twelve cents and a half per dozen for eggs; eighteen and three fourths to twenty- five cents a pair for young spring chickens ; seven cents a pound for beef; five cents for veal and mutton, and thirty-one and a fourth or thirty-seven and a half cents for a quarter of a lamb.

In 1854 railroad connections were made with the East, and prices have been more equal since that time.

The prices, in 1854, were : butter, twenty-four cents, brown sugar six cents, coffee sugar nine cents, tallow candles sixteen cents, Rio coffee eighteen cents, and lard twelve cents per pound; oats were forty cents, onions fifty cents, potatoes seventy-five cents, and apples seven shillings per bushel ; bread was nine cents a loaf, and flour $9.00 a barrel.

In 1861, on account of the war, brown sugar ad- vanced from six and seven cents to eleven cents and twelve cents, and all kinds of spices from fifty to one hundred per cent. In November, 1862, prices were : beech and maple wood, $3.25 per cord ; flour two and a half cents to three cents, cornmeal one and a half cents, mess pork six to seven cents, butter twelve to fourteen cents, coffee twenty-five cents, and brown sugar ten cents per pound ; potatoes, five shillings per bushel.

MARKETS, MARKETING, AND PRICES.

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Between March and December, 1864, the same quality of brown sugar advanced from sixteen to twenty-six cents per pound.

With the close of the war, prices began to decline, in most cases reaching ante-war prices about 1876.

CHAPTER LXXIX.

MANUFACTURING ADVANTAGES-ARTICLES PRODUCED-LEADING ESTABLISHMENTS.

THE advantages of Detroit as a manufacturing center have never received the attention that their number and importance demand. No city in America is more favorably situated, and few cities possess so many necessary and desirable conditions for successful manufacturing. In considering its resources and facilities, there is no occasion for far- fetched reasoning or exaggerated representation : the mere recital of the facts will amply prove the claim of superior advantages. It is well known that iron, copper, lead, and wood enter largely into the composition of all articles manufactured, and the location of Detroit in the midst of the chief sources of supply of these materials gives it unequalled manufacturing facilities. Lake Superior iron, a pro- duct of our own State, is proved by actual test to be equal to any. The State produces more iron ore than any other, and the product is more valuable than that of any other State. The largest iron mine in the world is in Michigan; and during 1886 the several furnaces of Detroit turned out 30,658 tons of pig-iron. Our copper yield is famed for its purity, and supplies almost the entire world.

The largest copper smelting works in the United States are located at Detroit and Hancock. The lead mines of the adjacent States are celebrated, and their products are easily obtained. The grind- stone quarries, just above Detroit, are famous the world over, and within forty miles of the city superior sand for glass is found and successfully employed.

Michigan produces more lumber than any other State. Pine, walnut, oak, maple, hickory, butter- nut, and ash are relatively cheap and abundant, and other kinds of wood are so plentiful that charcoal is cheaply made. Boxes and barrels for packing pur- poses can be made at a price that admits of no competition. The soil and climate are especially favorable for the growth of willows, and the finest qualities, tougher than those of Europe, are grown in this vicinity.

Plaster for manufacturing use is obtained in quan- tities from native beds in Michigan, and a large supply of the best brick-clay is found near Detroit. Immense supplies of limestone and sand exist in the county, and these, with home-made lumber, give unusual building facilities.

Manufacturing sites can be purchased at lower rates than near other cities of the same size. At any time during the five years preceding 1883, in either large or small quantities, and both inside and outside of the city, lands could be bought for from $300 to $600 per acre, with every facility in the way of side tracks or proximity to railroad lines.

The city fronts on a river with which few streams in the world compare either in volume or rapidity, and it is especially noteworthy that the river never dries up, or injures by overflow the property on its margin. Either by direct individual connection or through the immense pumping works of the city, it affords at low cost a supply of water in unlimited quantity that is always pure and the supply certain.

Michigan coal is mined almost at our doors, and the coal regions of the Buckeye and Keystone States are within easy reach.

Cord-wood is obtained in any quantity at reason- able rates from Northern Michigan and Canada. The average prices of various articles during the five years from 1875 to 1880 were : flat-bar, round, and square iron, $2.25 per one hundred pounds ; copper, 20 cents per pound ; lead, 6 cents ; plaster, per barrel, $1.75 ; lime, 75 cents per barrel ; stone, $13.00 per toise ; brick, common, $5.00, and stock, $6.50 per thousand ; good common lumber, $15.00 per thousand; lump-coal for stationary engines, $3.65 ; nut-coal, $2.65 ; hard cord-wood, $5.00, soft, $3.50 per cord; charcoal, 8 cents per bushel of twenty pounds; hard-wood lumber: black walnut, $60; cherry, $35 ; white-ash, $22; oak, $18; maple, $16, and butternut, $50. These figures give a fair indication of later and present prices.

Located on the lakes, and yet far east on the line of water communication, Detroit has a more favored position than any other western city ; it is below the line of the excessive cold of Mackinaw and Lake Superior, therefore vessels can and do run to and from this port several weeks earlier and later than from points farther west. The railroad connections and facilities are abundant and growing. That we possess favorable opportunities for shipping is evi- denced by the fact that large quantities of goods are exported to every country on the globe.

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History of Detroit and Wayne County and early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present, Vol. I, Part 127

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902 Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Detroit, Pub. by S. Farmer & co., for Munsell & co., New York Number of Pages: 1094

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Detroit, Pub. by S. Farmer & co., for Munsell & co., New York
Number of Pages: 1094