History of Detroit and Wayne County and early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present, Vol. I, Part 76

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

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tions, was patented by William A. Burt on Febru- ary 25, 1836, and fully perfected in 1850. It was ex- amined and commended by Sir John Herschel in 1851, and received a prize medal at the World's Fair of that year. It is called a solar compass because, by an ingenious arrangement, the rays of the sun are utilized by the instrument, which enables the surveyor to determine exactly the position of a due north and south line. By its use surveys can be accurately made in mineral districts where the old style of compass would be almost useless. Its value is so thoroughly appreciated by the Government that it is required to be used in government surveys; and without it a large amount of government land could have been properly surveyed only by the out- lay of more money than the land was worth. The Calumet and Hecla Mine of Lake Superior, the largest and most productive copper mine in the world, was discovered through the use of this instru- ment.

In connection with the subject of inventions, it is of interest to note that from 1860 to 1863 Thomas A. Edison, while a train-boy on the Grand Trunk Railroad, was frequently in Detroit, and divided his time between the Telegraph and Free Press offices and the Public Library. While here he formed the idea of reading all the books in the library, and be- ginning with those on a lower shelf, he actually read a row of books occupying a shelf fifteen feet in length before other plans and duties caused him to desist. Among the books on that lower shelf were Newton's "Principia," Ure's Dictionary, and Bur- ton's " Anatomy of Melancholy."

With his name that of Charles J. Van Depoele should be mentioned; his electric light was first publicly exhibited on July 6, 1879.

The astronomical clock invented by Felix Meier is worthy of special mention, as in many respects it is the superior of all others. It was first exhibited in 1879. It is eighteen feet high, eight feet wide, and five feet thick, and weighs four thousand pounds. It is run by weights weighing seven hundred pounds, and is wound up once in twelve days. The case is of black walnut, elegantly carved, and engraved with symbols of the United States. At the top is a marble dome, with a figure of Washington in his chair of state, protected by a canopy surmounted by a gilded statue of Columbia; on either side of the figure of Washington are colored servants in livery, guarding the doors between the pillars that support the canopy ; on the four corners of the clock are figures emblematic of the march of life; the two lower corners are supported by female figures with flaming torches, one that of an infant, the second a youth, the third a man in middle life, and the fourth an aged man ; still another figure, directly over the center, represents Death. All of these figures are

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furnished with bells and hammers, and at the end of every quarter of an hour the infant strikes its bell, at the end of the half hour the youth strikes, the man strikes every three quarters of an hour, the old man strikes the hour, and the figure of Death gives the appropriate number of strokes for the hour.

and extends the right hand, presenting the Declara- tion of Independence; the door on the left is opened by the servant, and all the Presidents from Wash- ington to Hayes enter in procession, dressed each in the costume of his time. Passing before Washing- ton, they raise their hands as they approach him,

AI . S . SMITH & CO.

NEW JEWELRY STORE OF M. S. SMITH & Co., COR. WOODWARD AVE. AND STATE ST. Built in 1883.

SMITH'S CORNER, COR. OF JEFFERSON AND WOODWARD AVES. Built in 1839-68. Occupied for twenty years preceding 1883 by M. S. Smith & Co., Jewelers.

The infant's bell is small and sweet-toned; the youth's bell larger and louder; the bell of manhood strong and resonant ; that of old age diminishes in strength, while the bell of the skeleton has a deep, sad tone. When Death strikes the hour, a music- box concealed within the clock begins to play; the figure of Washington slowly rises from the chair,

walk across the platform, and disappear through the opposite door, which is promptly closed by the second servant. Washington then resumes his chair, and all is again quiet, save the measured tick of the huge pendulum. Figures of William Cullen Bryant and of Professor Morse, inventor of tele- graphy, rest upon the pillars that support the

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INVENTORS AND INVENTIONS.

planetary system. The astronomical and mathe- matical calculation, if kept up, would show the cor- rect movement of the planets for two hundred years. When the clock is in operation it shows local time in hours, minutes, and seconds; also the time at New York, Washington, San Francisco, Melbourne, Pekin, Cairo, Constantinople, St. Petersburgh, Vienna, London, Berlin, and Paris; the day of the week, calendar day of the month, month of the year, and seasons of the year; the signs of the zodiac, the revolutions of the earth on its axis and also around the sun; the revolutions of the moon around the earth, and with it around the sun; also, the moon's changes from the quarter to the half, three quarters, and full; and the movement of the planets around the sun.

In connection with this clock, mention may be appropriately made of the clock set up by the firm of M. S. Smith & Co. on the outside of their store, on the corner of Woodward Avenue and State Street. It occupies the front of the second story and is both a curiosity and a public convenience ; the dials are five feet in diameter and are illumi- nated at night. There are two life-size figures in connection with the works, one representing a smith with his hammer, and the other the emblematic Father Time, the figures together symbolizing "Smith's Time." Upon bells hung in full view both figures, in quick succession, give one stroke every quarter of an hour, two every half-hour, and

three strokes a quarter of an hour before every full hour ; four strokes are given every hour, and imme- diately thereafter an appropriate number for the particular hour. The clock and its fittings cost $6,000, and was first publicly shown on February 27, 1884. It is the only one of the kind in the United States, and there is but one similar to it in the world.

The first successful gold pens were made by Lovi Brown about 1840. He then lived in Detroit, but subsequently moved to New York.

An invention of practical importance is the street- railway track-cleaner and snow-plough of Augustus Day. It is used in many States by several roads, and is prized for its simplicity and efficiency. The planing machine of A. A. Wilder was at one time highly appreciated. He also invented a propeller wheel, still in general use. The patent refrigerators and freezing processes invented by William Davis have revolutionized the business of transporting flesh and fish. The use of kerosene to increase the illuminating power of coal gas, invented by F. H. Eichbaum, has come into general use. E. Fon- taine's locomotive had trial trips on December 3, 1880, and May 5, 1881, on the Canada Southern, where it made one hundred and eleven miles in ninety-eight minutes. The patent double-faced valves of James Flower, for water, steam, and gas connections, are in use all over the United States, as are also the seamless copper and brass tubes invented by John Bailey.

PART VII. ARCHITECTURAL.

CHAPTER LI.

HOUSES AND HOMES. -- STORES AND BUSINESS BUILDINGS. - HOUSE AND STORE NUMBERS .- LIGHTING AND HEATING.

HOUSES AND HOMES.

THE houses of the first colonists were few and simple in construction. Less than a score of log huts, covered with birch bark or thatched with grass, within a stockade of wooden pickets, made up the embryo city.

It is safe to say that a more perfect "scene of quiet beauty " could nowhere else be found; the

commodate them; in 1708 buildings were erected outside, and from time to time, as grants of land were made, or permits given, log houses in increas- ing numbers dotted the banks of the Detroit. They were scattered along at intervals of from a quarter to a half mile, and finally reached from the Rouge to Lake St. Clair, on both sides of the Strait. The growth, however, was slow; after the lapse of fifty

VIEW OF DETROIT IN 1796, FROM THE ORIGINAL PAINTING IN PARIS.

Citadel. Present Wayne St. St. Anne's Church. Brig Gen. Gage.

Griswold St.

Old Council House.

gray and brown of the roof, the rugged layers of unhewn logs, the whitewashed chimneys, the green of the surrounding forests, and the sheen of the placid river, afforded a rare combination of colors and a view that an artist might covet to portray.

As the years went on and the number of houses increased, the stockade became too narrow to ac-

years there were only from seventy-five to one hun- dred houses within the stockade, which was several times enlarged. The houses were usually built of oak or cedar logs. In 1749, and probably before that time, stone for chimneys and ovens was ob- tained from Monguagon and Stony Island. In 1763 there were lime-kilns near, and several stone build-

L367]

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ings inside the stockade. In 1870, while workmen were laying water pipes in front of the Cooper Block on Jefferson Avenue, they found between the curbstone and street-car track, at a depth of about four feet, the remains of an old chimney, with the iron crane still fast in the wall. Judging from its

The chart is entitled " Topographical Plan of Detroit and of the Waters which form the junction of Lake Erie with Lake St. Clair. Prepared to illustrate the travels by General Collot in this part of the con- tinent in 1796." The picture is of special interest because it marks the year when Detroit came into

noinng ann onnjon tengo enn inn nnnl ??

RIVER FRONT OF JONES AND CASS FARMS IN 1819.

De Garmo Jones House. Mouth of Savoyard. Cass House in original location.

location, it was probably part of the cellar-kitchen of a house within the original stockade.

In 1766 there were over a hundred houses in addition to the quarters for the troops. Three years later the stockade enclosed one hundred and twenty buildings, nearly all of them one story high, with a

possession of the United States. It was made by a French spy. (See " French and Spanish Intrigues.") Some accounts state that at the time the Americans took possession, Detroit had three hundred houses. This number evidently included those outside the stockade, as in 1805 there were only about two hun-

PART OF ST. ANNE'S STREET (NOW JEFFERSON AVENUE) IN 1800.

few of a story and a half. One house, near the present south side of Jefferson Avenue and a little west of Griswold Street, occupied in 1778 by Gov- ernor Hamilton, was two stories high. In 1773 the settlement included two hundred and eighty houses and one hundred and fifty-seven barns.

The appearance of the river front of the town in 1796 is shown in a painting occupying one corner of a large chart in the Department of Marine in Paris.

dred inside of the pickets. The accompanying en- graving of a street in 1800 is thoroughly charac- teristic. The original sketch was made by Lieuten- ant Jacob Kingsbury, and is said to represent a part of St. Anne Street. The large house on the right was occupied by one of the officers.

The house first occupied by Governor Cass was located on the north side of Larned, between First and Second Streets. Governor Cass bought it of

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369

the Macombs, and while he resided there a soldier with fixed bayonet was usually pacing to and fro in front. It next became the property of O. New- berry, and subsequently had several different own- ers. It was originally located quite near the river, and in 1836, when the front of the Cass Farm was graded down, the house was left twelve feet above the street. It was then cut in twain, removed to its recent location, and repaired. There is some ground for believing that it was originally built in 1703.

Mrs. Sheldon, in her History of Michigan, quotes a letter from Cadillac, in which he says he has built a house for the chief of the Hurons on a little emi- nence which overlooks their village, situated on the Canada shore. It was forty feet long and twenty- four feet wide and built of oak. The original site

But straight its roof, its frame was sound From gable peak to level ground, Of sturdy beams so square and stout

That time could never wear them out ; For many a frigate safely rides With lighter keel and frailer sides. Strangers would pause to ponder o'er The low browed eaves and deep set door, And wondering ask what freakish fate Had saved that homely pile so late, When all beside was new and strange And change had oft succeeded change. But men are hurrying to and fro, Intent to lay its glories low ; Thick through the air the shingles fly, The roof no more shuts out the sky, But vain each furious effort seems To wrench apart the seasoned beams, The oaks that lent them largest stood Of all the giants of the wood,

STREETPLO

THE OLD CASS HOUSE ON LARNED STREET, JUST PRIOR TO ITS DEMOLITION.

of the Cass House fulfills these conditions. and as to the house itself, Governor Cass said to Mr. McKenney in 1826, "it is anterior to the time of Pontiac's war, there being on it now the marks of the bullets which were shot into it then." The house was demolished in August, 1882.

The memories and romance that clustered about its oaken beams and rafters of fine-grained pine are admirably preserved in a historic poem by Judge Campbell, which, though not written for the public eye, has been kindly granted for this work.

CASSINA.

Half hid beside the noisy street, Gray with old storms and summer's heat, The ancient house seemed all alone,

Hemmed in by walls of brick and stone,

That towered aloft, serenely great, When bold Champlain sailed down the strait And not a withered bough was seen Or blemish on their crowns of green, When the shrewd lord of Mont Desert First spoiled them of their branches fair, And bade his artisans to bring And shape them for the Huron King. Well mortised joints with bolt and brace Held the broad timbers in their place, Unmoved by storm or earthquake shock As buttresses of living rock. Now axe and lever, day by day, Wear slow the stubborn logs away; And deep-sunk balls and hatchet scars Give token of long ended wars, When rival tribes came prowling round, And made each spot a battle ground. And day by day a curious throng Marks the dull task, and tarries long,

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Well pleased to find some relic slight Memorial of its former plight,- Perchance a hammered bolt or key Brought hither from beyond the sea When great King Louis held the throne, And claimed this region as his own. One stands aloof whose earnest face Bears witness to his Gallic race, With shoulders bent, and feeble frame, But eyes that glow like burning flame, He sees among that rubbish cast The records of a glorious past,- Of brave explorers, on their quest To open wide the fabled west ; Of fearless nobles, trained to know All haps that fortune can bestow ; Of men of war and men of state, Who there were born or bowed to fate, And now beneath the clover lie, But leave a fame that cannot die. Those eyes look backward through the gloom, And see within the generous room Gay crowds of fair and joyous guests, With cheerful words and harmless jests, And pleasant songs of old romance,- Their heritage from beauteous France ; While music sounds, and dancing feet The solid floor in cadence beat, Or circle round in merry games, Lit by the chimney's crackling flames.

There gathering with the closing year Old friends rejoice with Christmas cheer, While youths no more the past review, But turn impatient towards the new. And old and young observe the rite When crowns are worn but one brief night, And all the pomp of king and queen Hangs on the fortune of the bean.

The past goes by him as a stream That flows in some enchanting dream, And in that waking dream he stands With smiling lips and folded hands, Serene as in his youthful prime, While fancy triumphs over time. He hears all tuneful sounds that lie Within the sphere of harmony, While in his fragile hand is skill To summon music at his will. He knows the wood whose even grain Will echo back the sweetest strain, And whence the subtle charm is lent To the great master's instrument. With anxious care his eye explores

The rafters broad and well laid floors, And in a narrow plank of pine He finds the riches of a mine ; For deftly carven, smooth and thin, Set in a shapely violin, In sweet accord its shell will ring A clear response to every string. So, gaining sweetness evermore, 'T will charm him with the sounds of yore, And make him lord, while life shall last, Of all the treasures of the past. Roused by that spell, his spirit woke, And plain before his sight there stood, Surrounded by a spreading wood, The new raised frame of jointed oak. Behind a murmuring river flowed, And sheltered in the low ravine Along its grassy banks were seen

In every clear and sunny spot The lodges where the Wyandot Had found at last a safe abode. But fairer seems the view before The spacious mansion's open door. The bluff, a few short steps away, Looks down upon a tranquil bay, Through terraced trees that spread between An amphitheatre of green. The elm tree waves its drooping plume, The dark acacia wastes perfume That mingles in the dewy morn With fresher fragrance of the thorn ; And emerald grass and blossoms sweet Reach the still waters at its feet. A deep ship-channel skirts the bay

Southward a furlong stretch away, And eastward at the early gun The fort's broad standard greets the sun, While, loudly pealing, as it floats, They hear the mellow bugle notes.

His fancy sees the changes wrought By age to age in deed and thought,- The woodland vanished with the stream, Within the bay no waters gleam, The verdant slope a level made . For populous thoroughfares of trade, And all things modern in the town, But those old timbers scarred and brown. So homeward plodding, sad and still, His thoughts go wandering at their will, Till, murmuring gently as they throng, They prompt him to a homely song.

The Englishmen of Orange With promises and bribes Are sending out their runners To reach the northern tribes, And the chiefs of the great Five Nations Think fiercely of the day

When the Frenchmen sacked their strongholds And spoiled them of their prey. And they long for the beaver meadows They won from the Huron braves, And the land of deer and bison Beyond Lake Erie's waves. But they shrink from the rough bushlopers, Who heed no forest law, And they fear the Lord of Cadillac, Who rules at Mackinaw.

But the Fathers of the Black Robe Strove sharply with Lamothe, And the greedy horde of traders Would bring him fain to nought. For he deemed a land well peopled, A land of Christian men, Was better far than all the spoil That ever paid the hunter's toil, Or all the beasts that roam the wood, Or feed in trackless solitude Or lurk in rocky den. And he sued before King Louis On Erie's pleasant strait To plant a town and build a fort, Where all the nations might resort, And in their children's days might see In peace and true prosperity The founding of a State.

His foes were strong and cunning While he stood all alone,

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HOUSES AND HOMES.

But he pleaded true and fearless Before the monarch's throne ; And when his boon was granted, In triumph o'er the sea He hasted to lead westward His gallant company. Down the broad channel swift they flew In roomy barge and light canoe, And landed at the middle gate, The narrowest pass of all the strait Where the great Idol met its fate Beneath the waters blue.

The tribes of the northern rivers, The tribes of the western plain, Came near, and built their wigwams Beside the fort domain. The warriors of the Mohawk No more the path beset And the Seneca came suing To smoke the calumet. While the great king Sastaretsi Chief of the Huron clan Close by his good French brother To raise his fort began. He begged Lamothe to teach him In all the Frenchman's ways, That his children might grow wiser And live in peaceful days. And so in the coming ages Their races should combine, And plant their corn and till their land, And fight beneath the same command, And bow in one cathedral grand Before a common shrine.

Then quick made friendly answer The valiant chevalier,- The Huron's soul is honest, The Huron's eye is clear, And gladly will I listen To hear in the cabin's gloom The humming of the spindle, The rattling of the loom. No softer fleece is gathered, To card, or weave, or spin, Than the dusky wool of the bison Or the fur of the beaver skin ; And the low-voiced Huron women, As they sing in an undertone, Have fingers strong and supple As the maids that spin by the Rhone. And in the Huron clearings The corn grows tall and green, And the mats that deck their wigwam Are fit for a weary queen.

Lamothe employed his craftsmen To build a house of frame, Where tall king Sastaretsi First lit the chimney flame. There oft in peace together The white chief and the red Were joined in friendly council Or broke as friends their bread, Till, restless at the malice Of knaves, who grudged his place, And smirched his name with slander, He won a further grace. Then from his western seigneurie He homeward sailed across the sea,

And other chiefs with other thought Confounded all the work he wrought, And right was sold, and wrong was bought, With treachery bold and base.

The Hurons left their village, And sought the Isle of the Lynn, But the house was all too pleasant That none should dwell therein ; And threescore years were ended, And the lily flag was down When Pontiac and his allies Encamped before the town. But safely stood the mansion, Unspoiled of bolt or bar, For the Indians loved St. Martin, And the gray hairs of Navarre. Sprung from an old and kingly race, The glory of his dwelling place Came from his honored children more Than from his ancestry of yore Bedecked with cross and star.

Behind the dormer windows That open on the strait First cradled were the Anthons, Renowned in church and state. The good and wise physician, Of all the red men known, Had lore of the German forest, Of star and mine and stone ; And the slender, dark-eyed mother That held them on her knees, Sang songs of the Spanish border, The land of the Pyrenees. Who knows what golden threads of thought Before the infant memory brought, In manly eloquence were wrought Beneath those waving trees ?

There on the New Years gathered, Within the largest room, Around the roaring chimney, The household of Macomb. Straight sat the keen De Peyster, With learning quaint in store, But first, at sound of the fiddle, To dance on the well-rubbed floor. And there were the great fur traders, Whose will in the woods was law, With heart of a Highland chieftain, And grip of a lion's paw. And all were gay together With New Year's mirth and glee, While the children romped with the elders Or teased the grave Pani. And little they dreamed, in childish sport, Of high command in field and fort, And brilliant scenes in hall and court, At home and o'er the sea.

The hale old house had flourished A hundred years and ten,- Above the fort was floating The flag of stars again. A brave and honored soldier Came up to hold the town,-

A wise and manly ruler, A scholar of renown. And here he made his homestead And lived in quiet state,

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HOUSES AND HOMES.

Before the wandering emigrants Began to crowd the strait. Along the sloping bank side, In front of his open door, The tents of the forest chieftains Are mustered as of yore. And painted warriors, as they pass, Or smoke in groups upon the grass, Smile grim applause when stately Cass Moves downward to the shore.

The spreading town has shouldered The useless fort away, The grasping hands of Commerce Are closing on the bay, The garden and the orchard No ripened fruit retain, And idlers cross the wheat-fields And trample down the grain. Alas for the brave old mansion ! Alas for its ancient fame ! Old things make room for the present As ashes follow the flame. But all of the massy timbers Are sound and stiff and strong, And in their seasoned fibre lies A store of precious memories, That, wakened by the sounding bow, May murmur music sweet and low, Or quiver into song.

The old Moran House, built about 1734, was still standing in 1883, on Woodbridge Street, between St. Antoine and Hastings Streets. The Lafferty House was on the river, between what are now Twelfth and Thirteenth Streets. The main portion of this building was erected in 1747; an addition was built in 1815. The house was burned or demolished in 1861.

In 1807 Governor Hull built a brick residence fifty feet square, on the southeast corner of Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street. It was the first brick house in the town, and, up to

THE OLD LAFFERTY HOUSE.

THE OLD MORAN HOUSE.

After the fire of 1805 the first house built inside the limits of the old stockade was owned by Peter Audrain. It was on the north side of Jefferson Avenue, just below the Michigan Exchange.

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History of Detroit and Wayne County and early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present, Vol. I, Part 76

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