History of Detroit and Wayne County and early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present, Vol. I, Part 16

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 16

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If any of the parties making a new deed are the heirs of parties who made the last conveyance, it should be so stated in the deed. The description of the property conveyed should be the same in each deed; or, at least, it should be carefully examined to see that it covers the same land. To make it certain that there are no tax titles on the land, the books of the county and city treasurers should be examined, or, as is usual, a certificate or statement should be obtained from each of these officers showing that nothing is due for taxes or special assessments. If the land has been sold for taxes, this is a cloud upon the title that needs to be removed, and the books in either office will show who has acquired the tax title.

A warranty deed from a responsible party is con- sidered to insure a perfect title, but as mistakes may happen in the making out of deeds, and parties may cease to be able to make good their warranty, the safe course is to make sure that the abstract of title shows the title to be vested in the party or parties who convey. A quit claim deed from parties in whom the title to land is clearly vested, is considered as good as a warranty deed. If any mortgages have been given covering the land, it should be seen that they are all discharged by the parties to whom they were given. A discharge may be made either by a written document, which should be placed on record,

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PAST AND PRESENT PRICES OF LANDS.

or by the mortgagee writing "Discharged " on the face of the original record, with the date and their name.

By law of March 9, 1844, deeds from the Gov- ernor and Judges were required to be recorded at length; and a transcript of the same was to be prima facie evidence in cases where the original deed would be evidence.

A further law of May 7, 1847, provided that it should not be necessary to have or prove the acknowledgments of the Mayor and Aldermen, in the case of deeds duly executed by them. An Act of April 1, 1850, provided that in the case of deeds and conveyances from the Governor and Judges heretofore recorded, but not acknowledged, the record of such deed, or a certified copy, should be evidence in case it is proved the original deed is lost.

In addition to the other records, in the office of the register of deeds, all subdivisions of property in the city or county, and all plats affecting the division of property, are required to be filed.

Up to January 1, 1881, the county register re- ceived no salary, hired his own clerks, and was paid solely by the fees of the office, which were estimated to amount to from ten to twelve thousand dollars yearly. By law of 1879, his salary is fixed by the county auditors at not less than twenty-five hundred dollars nor more than three thousand dollars per annum, and all the fees are required to be paid into the county treasury. The county registers have been as follows: 1835, R. S. Rice; 1836, C. W. Whipple; 1837-1841, George R. Griswold; 1841 and 1842, Josiah Snow; 1843-1847, Silas A. Bagg; 1847-1851, C. V. Selkrig; 1851-1855, Henry Cam- pau; 1855 and 1856, H. R. Nowland; 1857-1861, H. S. Roberts; 1861 and 1862, H. M. Whittlesey; 1863 and 1864, E. N. Lacroix; 1865-1869, W. E. Warner; 1869-1873, Alonzo Eaton; 1873 and 1874, John W. McMillan; 1875-1879, Charles Dupont ; 1879 and 1880, Henry Plass ; 1881-1883, J. I. Mitch- ell; 1883-1887, C. M. Rousseau ; 1887-, M. P. Roulo.

Under Act of July 28, 1818, the governor was authorized to appoint a city register for Detroit, to record all papers concerning real estate. A further law of March 27, 1820, provided that his compensa- tion should be the same as that of the register of probate; and all deeds and mortgages, in order to be valid as against any new purchaser, were re- quired to be recorded before December 1, 1821. A law of July 14, 1830, authorized the register to ap- point a deputy. By law of March 22, 1837, the office was abolished and its duties combined with those of the county register. The following persons served as city registers: 1798-1804, Peter Audrain; 1806-1818, Joseph Watson; 1818-1822, A. E. Wing; 1822 and 1823, A. G. Whitney; 1823-1825, E. A. Brush; 1825, P. Lecuyer; 1826-1830, John Whip-

ple; 1830-1835, Theodore Williams; 1836, C. W. Whipple.

PAST AND PRESENT PRICES OF LANDS.

In 1760 M. de Bellestre, the French commandant, paid M. Vernet a sum equal to $2,500 for two lots whose combined size was only 30x50 feet. In 1767, under English rule, {220, New York currency, was paid for a lot forty feet wide on St. James Street extending through to St. Ann's Street. These prices for that early period seem enor- mous; yet it is well known that such prices were frequently paid. Judge Woodward, in a letter dated March 6, 1806, states that property in the old town of Detroit bore so enormous a value that he "would not name it, as it would be deemed incredible."

The protection afforded by the stockade, and the privileges of trading, had much to do with the value put on lots within the pickets. After the town passed under the control of the United States, real estate resumed its normal value, and prices became more definite. According to the report of a com- mittee appointed by the proprietors of lots, after the fire of 1805, the value of lots 27x54 feet was $123.50, and of lots 161x175 feet, $614.50. The total value of all lots owned by the sixty-nine pro- prietors was $14,205.50.

After the fire, and the distribution of the lots, the highest sum paid for the excess was seven cents, and the average four cents per square foot.

On March 6, 1809, forty-one of the Park Lots, containing five and ten acres each, were sold at auc- tion, the auctioneer being paid one fourth of one per cent commission. The conditions of sale were one fourth cash, one fourth in six months, and the remain- ing half in twelve months from date of sale.

Upon these terms the following persons bought the lots indicated, at the prices named :

No. of Lot.

Price.

John Palmer

$55 00

Jacob Sanders

21 50

Daniel Stevens

51 and 52

27 13

William Scott

20 00

11, 12, 13, 14

195 62

Richard Smythe

72 and 73

23 78

53 and 54

30 50

Solomon Sibley

49 and 50

24 74

22 and 23

26 87

42 and 43

45 62

74, 75, 76, 77, and 78

123 52

8 and 9

115 00

B. Woodworth

24, 25, 26, 27

70 00

John R. Williams

12 55

47 and 48

31 37

. 44 and 45

45 62

1, 2, 3, and 4

188 75

John Whipple

68 and 69

22 20

Purchaser.

PAST AND PRESENT PRICES OF LANDS.

As late as 1817 the Park Lots were valued at only fifteen dollars per acre. In 1815 Governor Cass purchased five hundred acres of land, now known as the "Cass Farm," for $12,000. In 1816 the south- west corner of Jefferson and Woodward Avenues, with a frontage of forty feet on Jefferson Avenue by one hundred on Woodward Avenue, was sold for $2,010. In November, 1816, Lot 49, 40x80 feet, on the northwest corner of Griswold and Wood- bridge Streets, was sold to B. Stead for $11.90. In 1817 the University Lot, on the northwest corner of Bates and Larned Streets, eighty feet on Larned by two hundred and ten on Bates Street, sold for $80. On April 15, 1864, it was bought by Farrand, Sheley, & Co. for $22,010. In 1819 a large number of lots in the vicinity of the present City Hall were sold at auction by the Governor and Judges. Among the purchasers was Judge Sibley. After the sale Major Rowland said to C. C. Trowbridge, " A fool and his money are soon parted. Sibley has just been buy- ing about twenty lots at seven dollars each, and I would not give him seventy cents each."

In 1829 David Cooper bought the lot on Michigan Avenue, for many years occupied by his residence, for $200. On October 27, 1829, Robert Abbott reported that there were seventy-four city lots still unsold, which were then worth $5,000, or an average of less than seventy dollars each.

On June 10, 1835, the Journal and Courier con- tained the following :

Buying and selling is the order of the day. Our city is filled with speculators, who are all on tiptoe. Several snug fortunes of from ten to twenty thousand dollars have already been made. Governor Cass has disposed of the front part of his farm, as far back as Larned Street, for $100,000.

In January, 1836, real estate was very active, and over three hundred and fifty thousand dollars' worth of property changed hands. In February, 1836, one of the city papers said :

As proof of the rapidly increasing value of property in the city, ten acres of land, one mile from the river on the Pontiac Road, without any buildings, has been sold for $10,000.

On June 15, 1836, several lots on Jefferson Avenue, near Cass Street, were sold at auction, bringing from $300 to $450 per foot front.

On October 18, 1836, lots on the Cass front, to the amount of $190,000, were sold at auction, the water lots selling at from $146 to $220 per foot.

In January, 1843, the lot on the southeast corner of Griswold and Congress Streets was sold by the Bank of Michigan to the county for $1,800, and on July 25, 1859, it was sold at auction to C. H. Buhl for $12,550. The lot has a frontage of thirty-five feet on Griswold Street. In 1842 Colonel Winder bought ten acres of land on the northeast corner of Woodward Avenue and High Street for $1,500. On May 28, 1846, forty-two acres were purchased

for the proposed Elmwood Cemetery, for $1,858. A lot on Jefferson Avenue, nearly opposite the Ex- change, fifty-two feet front by seventy feet deep, was sold at auction, February 17, 1851, for $6,400, or about $123 per foot front. The same year St. Paul's Church Society sold sixty feet front by one hundred feet deep, on Woodward Avenue, where the church then stood, for $12,642, and four years later the adjoining property, on the south, was sold by the Presbyterian Church for $50,000.

In 1848 and 1850 H. R. Andrews bought the ground on which the Detroit Opera House is located for $6,500. In 1861 it was sold by the executors of his estate for $23,500. In 1867 it was sold for $50,000, and in 1868 Dr. E. M. Clark paid $55,000 for the property.

The ground and building occupied by the First National Bank were sold at auction October 4, 1855, for $24,000, one third cash, and the remainder in two years, without interest.

In February, 1860, the property on southwest cor- ner of Griswold and Congress Streets, eighty feet front on Griswold by one hundred feet on Congress Street, was sold to C. H. Buhl for $334 per foot front.

In 1862 Mr. E. S. Heineman bought the house and grounds on the north corner of Woodward Avenue and Adelaide Street for $20,000.

In 1863 the five lots now occupied by the Central M. E. Church were bought for $8,600. In October of the same year the lot on the northeast corner of Congress and Randolph Streets, with a frontage of fifty-four feet on Randolph Street by ninety feet on Congress Street, with the building, sold for $9,000. On November 11, 1863, two lots on the north side of Jefferson Avenue, near Wayne Street, twenty-five feet front each, sold for $83 per foot front.

On July 10, 1873, one hundred and fifty-two lots at the Grand Trunk Junction were sold for an aggre- gate of $55,455 ; and on July 18 ninety-two more lots were sold for the sum of $28, 110.

The lot on the northwest corner of Jefferson Avenue and Griswold Street was sold to Albert Ives in September, 1876, for $27,000.

The size of lots varies according to the fancy of those who make the subdivisions. The usual sizes are 30x100 and 50x150. According to the loca- tion, either business or residence lots sell at from $10 to $1, 500 per foot frontage. Among the many persons who have laid out large tracts into city lots, Messrs. F. J. B. Crane, W. B. Wesson, Walter Crane, John Gibson, and J. W. Johnston have been espe- cially prominent. They have enriched themselves, and promoted the interests of the city by their busi- ness sagacity, and it is largely owing to their efforts that so great a proportion of our inhabitants are freeholders.

PART II. HYGIENIC.

CHAPTER IX.

THE CLIMATE OF DETROIT.

THE climate of Detroit very favorably impressed the early travelers. M. de Bougainville, who was here in 1757, says: "The atmosphere is of great beauty and serenity. It is a magnificent climate, having almost no cold weather, and only a little snow. The cattle stay in the fields all winter and find their living there."

All investigations indicate that the climate is modified by the surrounding bodies of water. Of late it seems to be more variable than formerly, but it is seldom subject to such extremes of heat and cold as are common to the latitude. The mean of sum- mer temperature is 67°; in winter the mean is 26". A diary of the weather, kept in 1816, from the 24th of July to the 22d of October, or for eighty-nine days, showed that fifty-seven days were fair and twelve cloudy, and that on twenty days showers fell. A record kept at the fort for one hundred and five days, from November 15, 1818, to February 28, 1819, showed forty days clear, forty days cloudy, thirteen variable, and twelve cloudy, with rain and snow. In the winter of 1818-1819 the average tem- perature in November was 43°, in December 25°, in January 30°, and in February 33° Fahrenheit. Tak- ing the years together, the mean temperature is about the same as that of Elmira, Albany, Portland, Boston, Buffalo, and Rochester.

The uncommon beauty and serenity of the au- tumns and the usual mildness of our winters have often been the subject of remark. The increased temperature, due to the extensive and open-water surfaces of this region, causes the snow to melt almost as soon as it falls. In many winters the snow has been hardly sufficient for good sleighing. A mild and open winter is ordinarily succeeded by an early spring, the proportion as to cold or late springs being about two to one. Cold, snowy winters are always followed by cold and backward springs. Our deepest and longest lasting snow usually occurs in February, which is also the, coldest month. Winter often "lingers in the lap of Spring," and then, with a bound, leaps into the arms of Summer.

The region is noted for the clearness of its atmos- phere, the intense blue of its sky, the brilliancy of its moonlight, and the gorgeous and glowing colors of its sunsets. Indeed, in these particulars, it not

only excels the Eastern States, but rivals the far- famed skies of southern Italy. We have in a single month more clear firmament, and of an intenser blue, than that land has in half a year. The autumn here is one of the most enjoyable of the seasons, afford- ing a wonderful contrast to the dull, wet seasons of European countries in the same latitude. The latter part of November is usually so mild that it is known and enjoyed as the Indian Summer. True, the leaves are mostly gone from the trees, and nature would seem cheerless but for a dreamy haze and a springlike mildness in the atmosphere that more than atones for the lost glories of summer.

The climate is the driest in the United States, east of the head-waters of the Mississippi. The rains are quite equally distributed through all but the winter months, and they have only one sixth of the entire precipitation. Crops seldom suffer for want of moisture. About the end of September it is usual to expect a rainy period of some days' dura- tion, known as the "equinoctial storm," but often- times no such storm appears. During midsummer violent rains of brief duration frequently come to cool and clear the atmosphere, and a feature peculiar to this locality is the rains that so often occur during nights which are preceded and followed by cloudless days.

In the months of December and February there is the least rainfall. From February to June there is a gradual increase. The mean fall of the spring months is 2.8 inches. In June, the month of largest precipitation, it amounts to 3.9 inches, and the mean of the summer is 3.1 inches. The mean for Septem- ber reaches 3.3 inches; in the autumn it is 2.4 inches. The average yearly rainfall, for the period between 1840 and 1860, was 31/2 feet. The greatest fall of rain was 6 feet in 1855; the least was 234 feet in 1859.

As a rule, warm summers, if succeeded by dry, pleasant autumns, are followed by mild and open winters. Cold summers and autumns are ordinarily succeeded by cold winters, the exceptions being about one to two, and the probabilities are four to one that early springs will be followed by warm and pleasant summers.

In winter the prevailing winds are west or west-

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CLIMATE OF DETROIT.

erly. In the spring, for nearly half the time, east and northeast winds prevail. The winds vary from east to west and from northeast to south, seldom coming from the northwest. In summer southwest winds are most prevalent ; east and west winds are also frequent, but there are few northwest or southeast. Autumn brings westerly winds, varying from south- west to south. Taking the yearly average, probably two thirds of the winds are southwest, west, and northwest.

Of course there are exceptions to all the above general rules, and some of these exceptions, gleaned from old records and letters, will astonish the "old- est inhabitant." Jonathan Carver states that in October, 1762, dense black clouds hung over the city, from which fell rain of a sulphurous odor, and of such dark color that some was collected and used as ink. The winter of 1779-1780 was the most severe on record. Horses and cattle died from exposure to the cold, and in the spring hundreds of them were found dead in the woods. On May 16, 1780, Colonel De Peyster wrote to Colonel Bolton at Niagara, saying: "After the most severe winter ever remembered at Detroit, this is the earliest we think prudent to venture a vessel to Fort Erie." In the spring and summer of 1782 the rains, the most violent ever known, washed away a large portion of the embankment of Fort Lernoult. Early in 1784 an extraordinary frost set in, extending all over this region. The oldest resident could not remember any such deep snow as that of the succeeding win- ter; in some places it was five or six feet deep, and caused great distress. As late as March 6 the snow was four feet deep. In Lake St. Clair, a mile from the shore, the ice was three feet thick, and it did not disappear until May.

The winter of 1811-1812 brought an earthquake in place of storms. Its first and most destructive manifestations occurred at New Madrid on the Mis- sissippi. On December 16, 1811, it destroyed the entire village, which was located on a bluff, fifteen feet above high-water mark, sinking it five feet un- der water. Sand-bars and islands disappeared, lakes sixty miles long and one hundred feet deep were formed, and the air was full of sulphurous vapor. Up to December 21 shocks were of daily occurrence, and they were felt at intervals until late in February. They were especially severe about thirty miles below New Madrid, and were felt all over the valley of the Ohio as far east as Pittsburgh. They were especially noticeable at Detroit on Janu- ary 22 and 23, on the 24th, at 7 P. M., and also on February 7, 1812.

· In 1816, at Detroit, ice formed every month in the year. From the 14th to the 20th of April, 1821, eight inches of snow fell. The winter of 1823 was very mild. Flowers blossomed in the winter out of doors, and a vessel arrived from Sandusky on Janu-

ary 13. On May 1, 1824, there was a foot of snow on the ground. In 1826 the winter was so mild that grass is said to have grown a foot in January. November 12, 1827, was remarkable as being a very dark day. In October, 1828, there were extensive fires in the woods, caused by lack of rain, and last- ing for two weeks. They began on the Huron River, and ran over a large portion of the State. It was impossible to see houses along the road. Arti- cles exposed gathered a sticky residuum from the smoke. It was humorously said that a pig which one man killed became good bacon while he was dressing it. 1829 was a dry season, but the traditional "six weeks of sleighing in the month of February" were duly enjoyed. On December 4, 1833, there was no ice, and steamers and schooners were arriving and departing. February 22, 1834, there was a great gale of wind that blew down chimneys and unroofed houses. February 8, 1835, the mercury was below zero all over the country. The winter of 1838 was particularly mild. On January 8 the steamer Robert Fulton arrived from Buffalo. March 23, 1840, a snow-storm began which lasted eighteen hours, and eight inches of snow fell. In 1845 steamers arrived from Buffalo every month in the year.

In 1853, with the exception of a slight shower on September 14, there was no rain all the summer and autumn, up to October 21. Fires in the woods were numerous, and the fog in Detroit was disagreeable and dangerous, old citizens actually losing their way in the streets. The spring and summer of 1855 were rainy, and the wheat was generally damaged; the winter-was quite severe. In January and Febru- ary, 1856, there was continuous sleighing. In the fall of 1856 and the winter of 1857 the public were amused with the prophecies of W. W. Ryan in regard to the weather. On January 27 he gave a lecture at the City Hall. In 1859 there was frost every month, and especially heavy frosts on the 4th and roth of June and the 3d and 4th of July did great damage to fruits and vegetables. January I, 1864, there was a sudden fall in temperature from 10° above freezing point on December 31 to 20° below on January 1. The summer of 1865 was one of the hottest for many years, and much rain fell; the In- dian Summer, extending all through November, was particularly warm. From the 19th to the 20th of January, 1866, the temperature fell 60°. On the 2d and the 4th of May, 1867, there was a frost. On the Ist and the 2d of March, 1868, immense quan- tities of snow fell, almost stopping travel. Other snow-storms came on the 2d, 3d, 4th, 7th, 18th, and 25th of April; in fact, all through the month, and all through May, there were frosts, which were especially noticeable on the 18th. On April 12, 1869, there was a light fall of snow, and on the next day a heavy snow-storm. On October 23, while the trees were in full foliage, six inches of snow fell, and many trees

CLIMATE OF DETROIT.

were broken with its weight. On April 26, 1870, over one hundred vessels were waiting at the St. Clair Flats for the ice to move out of the channel, where it was fully ten feet in height.

On April 20, 1871, ice one fourth of an inch in thickness formed at night; and on August 17, 18, and 19 there were heavy frosts. No rain had fallen for a long time, and it was very dry. In September and October there were extensive fires in Michigan and the West, followed by the great fire in Chicago. December 23, 1871, there was a severe wind-storm. The winter which followed was very severe.

April 13, 1872, occurred a storm of wind, which did much damage to vessels and poorly built houses.

January 29, 1873, was the coldest day of the season, the mercury ranging from 18° to 35° below zero. April 3 two inches of snow fell. On December 4 a wind-storm did much damage, blowing down chimneys and signs and unroofing houses.

April 5, 1874, snow fell sufficient for good sleigh- ing, and on May 7 ice formed. The next month, on June 28, the mercury was 98' in the shade.

SPECIMEN OF TORNADO WORK. (From a photograph.)

On March 3, 1875, snow fell fifteen inches on a level. On June 27 there was an occurrence entirely unusual. About 6 P. M. a whirlwind commenced ncar the corner of Ash Street and Williams Avenue, and made its way across Grand River Avenue, a dis- tance of nearly a mile, sweeping a track fully one hundred and fifty feet wide, destroying thirty-three small buildings and injuring twenty-eight others. Two persons were killed and ten slightly injured.

March 20, 1876, there was a severe snow-storm. July 5, there was a very heavy wind; trees were

uprooted, carriages and wagons overturned, vessels dragged their anchors, and the ferry-boats were compelled to stop running. In December ice twelve inches in thickness was formed in the river. On the 15th and 16th, there was a very severe wind, and the snow and ice were piled up in great masses in front of the city.

On January 15, 1877, there was a heavy snow- storm, which for a time stopped all travel. Febru- ary 7 was extraordinarily warm, and on March 20 there was a sharp snow-storm, accompanied by thunder and lightning. It so affected the electrical apparatus in connection with the City Hall bell that at every flash the bell struck one.

In 1878 no ice formed until February 9. There was no snow until February II, and boats kept on running. For a week in the July following, the mercury ranged from 90° to 100°. On July I there was a very heavy thunder-storm and much rain.

In January and February, 1879, there were no frosts, but on the 6th and the 17th of June this remissness of the winter was atoned for. On July Io there was an immense fall of rain, flooding the - sewers and filling cellars. On August I hailstones as large as walnuts fell in great quantities; during the last week in January, 1881, and the first two weeks in the February following, we had clear weather and sunshine every day, and the ground was entirely free from snow.

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History of Detroit and Wayne County and early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present, Vol. I, Part 16

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