History of Detroit and Wayne County and early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present, Vol. I, Part 46

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 46

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After the fire of 1805 an old blockhouse, located on the present line of Jefferson Avenue, and between Cass and Wayne Streets, was fitted up as a jail by James May, territorial marshal.

The last record that can be found indicating the exercise of any authority after the fire by the old trustees of the town is dated October 6, 1805, and is as follows :

It was agreed by the Board of Trustees that the blockhouse should be used as a jail until end of year 1806, and then it is to become the property of the marshal, for $250, $175 having already

been paid. If the public use the blockhouse for a jail during 1807, all is to be considered paid, and if the public use it longer, they are to pay $75 per year rent.

On May 5, 1807, William McD. Scott, marshal, wrote to the District Court that he could no longer be responsible for prisoners confined in this jail, as it was "insufficient."

In 1808 a new marshal was appointed, and the records of the Governor and Judges contain the fol- lowing :

October 28, 1808, on the representation of the marshal of the Territory that he has no jail wherein to keep his prisoners, the following resolution was unanimously passed :

Resolved, that the marshal of the Territory be authorized to hire from James May, Esq., a building which he owns in the city of Detroit for a jail, for the term of three years, in conjunction with the District Court for the District of Huron and Detroit, and to pay for the same $75 per year.

Further information concerning this lease, given in the records of the Governor and Judges, is as fol- lows :

May 27, 1811, on the representation of James May,

Resolved, that the secretary of the Legislative Board be directed to furnish the treasurer of the Territory with a copy of the reso- lution empowering the marshal of the Territory to hire a building of James May for a public jail, passed the 28th October, 1808, and that the said treasurer do audit the said May's account, as as- sumed by the Territory, for that part of the jail which was hired for the District of Huron and Detroit from the 16th of September, 1810, to the fifth day of July, 1811.

The records for Monday, February 17, 1812, con- tain the following :

James May, Esq., having made proposals to sell the house now made use of as a jail, and the building adjoining thereto, for the purpose of a temporary court-house and jail, the Governor and Judges have agreed to give him fourteen hundred acres of land, out of the donation of ten thousand acres of land, on his crediting the sum of $100 on account of jail hire.

On February 26, 1812, on motion of Judge With- erell, it was,

Resolved, that the Governor and Judges, on or before July 1, 1812, execute to James May a deed of one thousand three hundred and seventy-two acres, of the ten thousand acres of land appro- priated by Congress for the purpose of building a jail and court- house in Detroit.

The resolution was adopted, and James May signed an agreement in accordance with the resolu- tion.

Notwithstanding these agreements and resolu- tions, the bargain does not seem to have been con- summated, for in Judge May's bill against the United

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THE JAILS.

States for damages during the War of 1812, he charged, under date of October 2, 1813, for "one year's rent of two buildings in the city of Detroit. leased to the Governor and Judges of the Territory, for court-house and jail, taken possession of by General Brock after the capitulation, and applied to his Majesty's use for gaol, and barracks for militia."

The rent and damages were estimated at $400.

This jail was an old stone building, located on what is now the northwest corner of Jefferson Avenue and Cass Street. It afterwards became the property of Judge Woodward, and then of General J. E. Schwartz, and eventually was widely known as the Mansion House Hotel. In 1815, the jail, an old wooden building, was on the north side of Jeffer- son Avenue, the second or third house east of Shelby Street, and on November 4 the Governor and Judges appropriated $238.20 to John W. Tyler for furnishing and setting around it two hundred and fifty-four pickets. This building was used until about 1817.

The jail was next established in an old two-story blockhouse, located on Jefferson Avenue near the corner of Randolph Street. This building ceased to be used as : jail after the spring of 1819, and the house itself was torn down in the fall of 1826.

Proposals for the construction of the jail on the public square bounded by Farmer, Farrar, and Gratiot Streets were invited on July 25, 1817, and on December 24 of the same year James May was "appointed superintendent of the jail about to be erected," and was to be paid $500 for his services. The jail was built by Mack & Conant, and the final settlement was made with Amos Lawrence of Bos- ton, to whom the contract was assigned. The jail was completed in the spring of 1819, at a cost of $4,700. It was forty-four by eighty-eight feet, sur- rounded by a picket fence, which cost $62.

On June 24, 1824, the remarkable circumstance is noted that there was not a single person in the whole Territory in prison for crime or debt. When we remember that Michigan then included all of her present domain, and also the region now known as the State of Wisconsin, it is evident either that the laws or the officials were very lax, or that the inhab- itants were a remarkably law-abiding people. Ten years later, on June 17, 1834, the same state of affairs existed ; there was not a person in the jail, but evidently it was not long unoccupied, for on December 30 the jail was broken open, and all the prisoners escaped. The building was occasionally repaired, but it became increasingly insecure.

On March 28, 1845, H. R. Andrews, the sheriff, was authorized to purchase materials and repair the jail; and on the following day the county auditors contracted with S. Vanderhoof to repair the build-

ing and the fence for $549. While the repairs were going on, the sheriff was authorized by the Legisla- ture to keep the prisoners in other counties. The repairs failed to make the building either trustworthy

OLD BLOCKHOUSE, JEFFERSON AVENUE.

or beautiful in appearance, and a suit was instituted against the county, by citizens residing in the vicin- ity, to compel its removal. In the spring of 1847 the Supreme Court decided that the county had no title to the public square whereon the jail was lo- cated, and that the building was a public nuisance. A contract was then made on February 10, 1848, with Thomas Palmer, to tear it down, and on June 8, 1848, the work of removal began.

OLD JAIL, ON THE SITE NOW OCCUPIED BY PUBLIC LIBRARY.

As soon as the court had decided that the old jail must be removed, steps were taken towards erecting a new one, and on April 20, 1847, the county audit- ors resolved to purchase suitable grounds, and erect a jail thereon. On May 14, 1847, they agreed to purchase Lot 155, on northeast corner of Beaubien and Clinton Streets, on Beaubien Farm, for $600, and Lot 156 for $400. Lots 157 and 158 were sub-

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THE JAILS AND THE HOUSE OF CORRECTION.

sequently purchased at an additional cost of $3,550. On May 26, 1847, the proposal of William Burnell to erect a jail and sheriff's residence for $10,650 was accepted. On October 14, 1847, arrangements were nearly completed, and on May 3, 1848, a final set- tlement was made for erecting the same. On July 7 Mr. Burnell contracted to build a stone wall about the jail for $1,010.

The dwelling, erected in 1847, still remains, but the jail in the rear, becoming unsafe, was torn down. In the fall of 1861 the House of Correction, and an old engine-house on the west corner of Bates and Larned Streets (the latter of which was fitted up for the purpose), were designated as temporary jails by the county auditors.

In 1856 the question of building a new jail was agitated, and on April 1, 1857, the matter was sub- mitted to the voters of the county, and a majority of four hundred and forty-five decided against the proposition.

The question was again voted on in the fall of 1859, and also in 1860, when there was a majority of seventy-eight against the erection of a jail; but on November 14, 1860, the Board of Supervisors decided the vote carried, and appointed a commit- tee to co-operate with the Board of Auditors in erecting a jail, to cost $30,000. Work was soon begun, and the jail was completed in 1862, opened for inspec- tion December 26, and first used January 1, 1863.

SHERIFF'S RESIDENCE, JAIL, AND POLICE COURT ROOM.

The building contains six wards, each ward having fourteen cells, seven feet long and five wide.

The walls of the prison are of solid block stone, many of the stones weighing from two to four tons.

The total number of prisoners received for the year ending September 30, 1883, was one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, there being an average of forty-two persons constantly in durance. The sheriff is allowed sixty cents per day for boarding the prisoners. The total amount paid for their board in 1883 was $7,809. The city pays for the board of all persons arrested for violation of city ordinances, and the county pays the rest of the expenses.

There are four employés at the jail, three of whom are paid by the sheriff, the county paying for one deputy sheriff. The jailer or turnkey receives sev- enty-six cents for each prisoner received and dis-

charged; he is appointed by the sheriff, and is held responsible for the safe keeping of the prisoners.

No systematic and continuous effort for the moral and religious benefit of the inmates was made until 1866, since which time the Young Men's Christian Association have held religious services in the wards every Sabbath, and reading matter is supplied weekly. These services are always appreciated, and upon one occasion gave rise to the following bon- mot : Little hymn-books were being passed to the persons behind the bars, preparatory to a service of song; taking one of the books, a great, burly desperado, with a twinkle in his eye, exclaimed, "I can't sing much, but I will say over the words, and you can get the air outside."

THE DETROIT HOUSE OF CORRECTION.

The origin of this institution dates from the year 1856, when several editorials appeared in the daily papers, advocating the building of a workhouse for the confinement of certain criminals then sent to the county jail. The suggestion met with favor, and on April 24, 1857, Mayor O. M. Hyde sent a communication to the Common Council, recommending the building of a work- house, almshouse, and city hospital; submitting, at the same time, extracts from the reports of the Monroe County Penitentiary, at Rochester, New York, then super- intended by Z. R. Brockway. A letter subsequently received from Mr. Brockway suggested that the criminal laws of the State be examined, to deter- mine what classes of criminals could be sentenced to such an institution, and also that an estimate be made of the probable number that would be con- fined therein.

Soon after this, by resolution of the council, Mr. Brockway was invited to visit Detroit for consulta- tion. Meantime various locations were examined, and on August 12 the comptroller submitted to the council twenty-four proposals for sites, and the matter of location was referred to a committee.

On November 11, on motion of Alderman Marsh, the council,

Resolved, that the comptroller be requested to prepare an estimate for a site for an almshouse and workhouse, together with the necessary cost of suitable buildings therefor, and, further, that the mayor be directed, when the same is prepared, to call a public meeting of the citizens to take the same into consideration.

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THE HOUSE OF CORRECTION.

The public meeting was held at the City Hall on December 3, 1857, but no conclusive action was reached, though the meeting seemed opposed to the project. On December 9 the comptroller was again directed to advertise for proposals for a site, but none were received. In January, 1859, the gover- nor, in his message to the Legislature, recommended the building of a House of Correction, and urged the council to give attention to the matter. Mayor Patton seconded the recommendation, and on Janu- ary 15 the council appointed a committee to secure a legislative appropriation. This plan did not meet with favor, and on receiving the report of its com- mittee, the council requested the mayor to call a citizens' meeting to further consider the subject. The meeting was held on January 30, and the fol- lowing resolution passed :

Resolved, that this meeting authorize the Common Council to borrow money and issue bonds for a sum not exceeding $50,000, for the purpose of erecting a workhouse.

dent reported to the council that there was a surplus of funds, amounting to $25,000, which could be returned to the city ; and this amount, together with an old claim against the county for board, subse- quently collected, made up the handsome sum of $63,810 returned to the city during the fiscal year of 1880. In 1881 $35,000 was returned, and in 1883 $40,000, and up to May, 1887, a total of $199,810 had been returned to the city. The institution has ample means to liquidate every obligation, and in addition has maintained over twenty thousand city prisoners, without pay from the city, and has ac- cumulated property to the value of $200.000 over and above the total amount received from the city. Its management has been several times impugned, but on investigation it has always been found to be almost without fault.

For many years prior to 1885, United States pris- oners and criminals from the Territories had been sentenced to this place as a prison ; and during 1883

On March 6, 1860, Sheldon Smith, architect, presented plans and drawing for the proposed buildings, which were ac- cepted, and on April 9 following proposals for construction were adver- .tised for. On the 24th the contract was award- ed to Richard Gibbings, for $66,230. A Building Committee, consisting of C. H. Buhl, J. J. Bagley, E. Le Favour, F. B. Phelps, and J. M. Ed- munds, was then ap- pointed, and on March 15, 1861, the Legislature passed an Act establishing the Detroit House of Correction.

On June 25 the mayor nominated Z. R. Brock- way as superintendent, and he was unanimously con- firmed, and on July 6 the Committee on Public Buildings reported that the buildings were com- pleted and accepted.

The buildings are located on a part of the old City Cemetery, and are bounded by Division, Wil- kins, Russell, and Riopelle Streets, the site embrac- ing three blocks. The original buildings, with the additions, have cost about $150,000. The inventory of December, 1886, gave the value of the stock, material, and bills receivable, as $219,748, the land and buildings are estimated to be worth $200,000.

From its inception up to 1887 the House of Cor- rection has received from the city, for all purposes, a total of $189,841.36. So successful has been the management that in January, 1879, the superinten-

DETROIT HOUSE OF CORRECTION.

one hundred and fifty-four such persons were con- fined here. In 1885 a State law was passed which forbade the receiving of prisoners from any other State or Territory, or from any other U. S. court than those sitting in Michigan. Under State law of March 16, 1861, prisoners are received from vari- ous counties in Michigan, other than Wayne, and the number so received in 1886 was four hundred and fifty-two. The average number of prisoners in 1886 was five hundred and eighty-five, of whom one seventh were females.

The city pays no board for the prisoners it sends, but counties pay according to contracts made with them, the amount averaging about one dollar and twenty-five cents per week. The cost to the city, in 1882, of the food of the prisoners, was fifteen and one tenth cents each per day.

The prisoners work ten hours a day, and are chiefly employed in the manufacture of furniture.

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THE HOUSE OF CORRECTION.

In 1883 they manufactured 310,790 chairs, 5,715 beds, and 1,353 cradles.

Until 1879 the women were largely occupied in the manufacture of coarse clothing ; since then they have been mainly employed in chair-making. Com- petent teachers selected from the officers, aided by other persons, conduct an evening school five even- ings in a week, and all prisoners sentenced for three + months or over are required to attend. Not more than six are allowed in a class. Candles are pro- vided, that they may pursue their studies in the cells. . During Mr. Brockway's administration, lectures, readings, or musical entertainments were given in the chapel, on Saturday afternoons at five o'clock, by ladies and gentlemen who from time to time were invited. Similar exercises are still continued at such intervals as are deemed best ; and on every Sabbath, at 9 A. M., service is conducted in the chapel by clergymen and laymen.

Visitors are receiv- ed from 9 A. M. to 12 M., and from 2 to 5 P. M.

Under Mr. Brock- way's superintend- ence, a House of Shel- ter, costing $12,000, was erected opposite the main building, on grounds belonging to the city, with the hope of establishing a permanent reform- atory for unfortunate women. It was open- ed October 22, 1868, closed two years lat- er, and again opened May 1, 1871, and continued to be used until May, 1874. The effort was supervised in the most careful and thoroughly Christian manner, and undoubtedly accomplished some good, but the uncertainty of its results, together with the additional expense involved, finally led to its abandonment. The building is now occupied by the superinten- dent.

Very much of the credit for the good manage- ment of the institution is due to its organizer and first superintendent, Z. R. Brockway; later superin- tendents have proved most admirable successors, and have fully maintained the deservedly high char- acter of the institution. Up to Act of 1881, the superintendent was appointed by the council, on

nomination of the mayor, for terms of three years, with a salary of $3,000 per year. He is now ap- pointed by the inspectors. He is furnished with a house and servants, and all expenses for the board of himself and family are paid by the institution. The pay is liberal, but in no other department in the city government, probably, is the same amount of expenditure productive of as much benefit. In every way, the House of Correction is a model.

The superintendents have been as follows: Z. R. Brockway, June, 1861, to January, 1873; Anthony Lederle, January, 1873, to November, 1873 ; M. V. Borgman, November, 1873, to April, 1879; Joseph Nicholson, from April, 1879.

Under the original Act of Incorporation, the mayor, and three inspectors appointed by the coun- cil on his nomination, constituted a Board of Inspec- tors, and served with- out compensation. Under Act of June 2, 1881, the board con- sists of four inspect- ors, the first four chosen for terms of from one to four years each ; since 1881 one has been chosen yearly.

HOUSE OF CORRECTION-SUPERINTENDENT'S HOUSE.

The following is a list of the inspectors :

John J. Bagley, May, 1861, to May, 1862; H. P. Bridge, May, 1861, to May, 1862; Anthony Dud- geon, May, 1861, to May, 1864; L. M. Mason, May, 1862, to May, 1872 ; G. B. Russel, May, 1862, to May, 1864; G. V. N. Lo- throp, July, 1863, to May, 1872 ; Morse Stewart, May, 1854, to November, 1866; N. W. Brooks, May, 1867, to February, 1872; Jefferson Wiley, June, 1872, to February, 1875 ; J. E. Pittman, June, 1872, to February, 1873; E. Kanter, June, 1872, to February, 1877; A. S. Bagg, June, 1873, to Feb- ruary, 1876; Francis Palms, June, 1875, to Septem- ber, 187.8; William Foxen, May, 1877, to July, 1881 ; W. C. Colburn, June, 1875, to July, 1885; Don M. Dickinson, September, 1873, to July, 1885 ; J. V. Moran, July, 1881, to July, 1886; F. W. Lichten- berg, from July, 1880 ; W. J. Chittenden, from July, 1885: Stephen Baldwin, from July, 1885; A. Ives, Jr., from July, 1886.

PART V. MILITARY.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

FORTS AND DEFENSES .- PENSIONS AND PENSION AGENTS .- MILITARY OFFICERS IN COMMAND AT DETROIT.

FORTS AND DEFENSES.

IN importance as a military post, Detroit is hardly second to any place in the United States. All of its early history is connected with scenes of strife ; and in every American war its soldiers have borne a part. Its first settlers came with a military colony, British soldiers received it from the French, and when the city was yielded to the Americans, a com- pany of soldiers were the first to enter. Under the Northwest Territory, its governor was General St. Clair ; under Indiana Territory, General Harrison was the only governor ; and the first two governors of Michigan Territory were Generals Hull and Cass.

Fort Detroit.

The desirability of locating a fort at or near De- troit was perceived at an early date. In no other way could the French secure the control of the river and the fur trade of the Northwest ; and only by its possession could they prevent the English from gaining access to, and trafficking with, the western tribes. A fort was also necessary as a substantial evidence of the French occupancy of the soil, and to protect the various tribes of friendly Indians from the Iroquois, who constantly warred against them. It was intended to concentrate the French soldiers, traders, and friendly Indians at one place, and thus establish a permanent post. In pursuance of this general policy a rude fort had been erected at Mack- inaw in, or prior to, 1671 ; and in June, 1686, M. du Luth, then in command at Fort Mackinaw, received orders from M. de Nonville, the Governor of New France, to establish a fort on the Detroit of Lake Erie. In accordance with these orders, Fort St. Joseph, also called Fort du Luth, was built near what is now Fort Gratiot. The fort was abandoned within two years after its erection, and the passage between Lakes Erie and Huron was left undefended until 1701.

The ambition of the French, changes in govern- ment, and various exigencies caused the erection of no less than four different forts under six different names in or near the present city of Detroit. The first was named Fort Pontchartrain in honor of the French Colonial Minister of Marine. The stockade

was hardly deserving of so formidable a title, being intended to overawe rather than to defend. It was located on the first rise of ground from the river, · and, using the present names of streets, was between Jefferson Avenue and Woodbridge Street, occupy- ing the western half of the block between Griswold and Shelby Streets, probably including also Shelby Street, and a part of the ground now occupied by the Michigan Exchange. This space was inclosed by wooden pickets, or sharp pointed logs, driven into the ground as closely as possible, forming a very substantial fence, ten feet high. At the four corners were bastions, but these were of irregular shape, and the angles of two of them were so small that they were of little value. Further particulars as to this fort are contained in a letter of the Cheva- lier de Calliere, Governor of New France, dated October 4, 1701, which tells of the arrival of Lieu- tenant Chacornacle from Detroit with five men, and letters from Cadillac, one of which letters showed that he had

built a fort with four bastions of good oak pickets fifteen feet long, sunk three feet in the ground. * * * That he placed this fort three leagues from Lake Erie, and two from Lake St. Clair, in the narrowest part of the river, to the west southwest.

He commenced by making a storehouse to put his effects under cover ; that he had worked at the necessary lodgings, which were not yet very far advanced, which obliged him to keep almost all his people at work trying to finish them before winter.

A street, averaging twelve feet in width, sur- rounded the buildings just inside the line of pick- ets. If the pickets needed renewing at any time, the inhabitants whose premises reached to the line were required to supply them, and when the houses were sold the pickets were sold with them.

In 1703 the fort was set on fire by the Indians and partially destroyed. In 1716 and 1717 it was in very poor condition, and in 1718 Tonty rebuilt the fort, making it one of the strongest in the country. In 1748 it was repaired with oak pickets fifteen feet long, with a diameter of at least six inches at the small end. One picket was allowed for each foot of ground. In 1749 a number of immigrants arrived from France ; and soon after the stockade for the first time was enlarged.

In 1751 additional troops came, and from this

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FORTS AND DEFENSES.

time the post was known as Fort Detroit. In 1754, 1755, and 1758 the stockade was extended and ad- ditional ground enclosed. On November 29, 1760, it was surrendered to the English, and soon after was enlarged to include about eighty houses. The pickets at this time were round, and about twenty- five feet high. There were bastions at each corner ; and over the two gates on the east and west sides blockhouses were built for observation and defense. Each of the large wooden gates had a wicket gate to allow single persons to pass through. The main gates were opened at sunrise and closed at sunset ; the wickets were open till nine o'clock.

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History of Detroit and Wayne County and early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present, Vol. I, Part 46

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