USA > Michigan > Genesee County > History of Genesee County, Michigan, Her People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I > Part 33
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Judges on above classes, James Faucett, of Bath, Steuben county, New York; Stephen Hillman, of Pontiac, Oakland county, and M. M. Hillman, of Tyrone, Livingston county, Michigan.
On ewes (pens of three), three years old and over, first premium to D. H. Stone, of Grand Blanc; second premium to Rising & Munger, of Rich- field.
On ewes (pens of three), two years old, first premium to Rising & Munger ; second premium to E. G. Gale, of Atlas.
Judges on two last-mentioned classes, Henry Schram, of Burton; Stephen Jordan, of Atlas, and Charles Bates, of Grand Blanc.
On ewes (pens of three), one year old, first premium to D. H. Stone; second premium to P. A. Montgomery, of Burton.
Judges on this class, S. Andrews, of Howell; Phineas Thompson, of Grand Blanc, and M. M. Hillman, of Tyrone, Livingston county.
The breeding of sheep still continues to be a leading industry of Gene- see county. The flocks of the county have been constantly improved by the
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importation of approved breeds from the most successful wool-growing states in the country. The present extent of the industry may be judged by the census of 1910 which shows the clip of that year to be 60,304 fleeces, valued at $125,476. Dr. B. F. Miller, of Flint, is known throughout Canada and the United States as one of the best breeders and judges of Oxfords, his sheep taking prizes in both countries.
The breeding of cattle for the market came somewhat later than sheep. The cow was an essential support of the pioneer household. Milk, butter and cheese added no small comfort to the settler's table. Gradually, how- ever, the settlers began to raise cattle to sell, and finally for the outside market. The first eastern market was Buffalo, New York. The beginning of this trade was when a drove of cattle were driven thither by Porter Hazelton and James Schram, of Flint. The first blooded animals brought into the county were Durhams and Devons; after them, the Ayrshires. Jona- than Dayton and Rowland B. Perry were among the first owners of Dur- hams in the county. The first full-blood Shorthorns were brought into the county by David Halsey, of Grand Blanc. At an early date they were brought into Fenton township, by Elisha Larned, and into Burton by Perus and Adonijah Atherton. These came from the Birney herd at Bay City. The first Herefords were brought to the county by Governor Henry H. Crapo, from Stone's herd at Guelph, Ontario. In later years the Holstein became a favorite and some of the best herds in America were owned in Genesee county, notably those of ex-Congressman D. D. Aitken, W. E. Fellows and J. Ed. Burroughs.
THE CRAPO FARM.
The farm of the late Governor Crapo, in Gaines township, may be taken as typical of the best stock farms of the county, indeed of the best farms in every way. In its origin it is remarkable; it comprises over a thou- sand acres, of which some six hundred acres were originally a malarious swamp considered by many quite worthless. These were reclaimed by Gov- ernor Crapo and brought to a state of high productiveness. These pro- ductive acres are commonly known as the "Crapo farm," a permanent monu- ment to Governor Crapo's far-seeing sagacity, his practical agricultural wis- dom and his vigorous business ability. Previous to the enactment of the drainage laws now in force he had frequently driven over the rough cordu- roy road crossing, the "Dead Man's Swamp," as it was locally called, on account of its miasma. The rank growth of wild grasses indicated a luxuri- ant soil, which he believed could be reclaimed by proper drainage. He set
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about the task and succeeded in having an outlet opened for the swamp waters into Swartz creek. A main ditch, four feet in width at the bottom and ten feet at the top, was made, nearly four miles in length. A descent of twelve feet from the marsh to the creek was secured, furnishing a reliable and rapid current. This scheme of drainage involved a large outlay, but an extensive acreage, before absolutely worthless, was reclaimed, and other lands which were more or less damaged by the dead water of the marsh were rendered capable of much higher cultivation. During his life-time Governor Crapo, and his son, William W. Crapo, after him, gave special attention to the raising of pure-blood Herefords.
On the death of Mr. Crapo the farm went to his grandson, also named Henry H. Crapo, of New Bedford, Connecticut. A brother, however, Stan- ford T. Crapo, of Detroit, whose tastes run more to agriculture, has had the active charge of the farm. The specialty of the farm is Hereford cattle raising. The grave of David Fisher, the last chief of the Chippewas, is on this place. The farm labor was done for years almost entirely by Indians of the Fisher and Chatfield families, allied by affinity, who moved in 1891 to Isabella county, where they have lands, but who came back to the old home in summer and find employment on the farm.
AGRICULTURAL, SOCIETY.
To encourage the agricultural interests of the county there was early formed the Genesee County Agricultural Society. For this purpose a pre- liminary meeting of prominent farmers of the county was held January 12, 1850, in Flint. At an adjoined meeting on February 15, a constitution was adopted and the following officers elected: President, Hon. Jeremiah R. Smith, of Grand Blanc; vice-presidents, Elbridge G. Gale, of Atlas, Isaac Middleworth, of Argentine, Alfred Pond, of Clayton, Daniel Dayton, of Davison, George W. Piper, of Forest, James Hosie, of Flushing, Benjamin Pearson, of Flint, William Tanner, of Fenton, E. Fletcher, of Gaines, Daniel H. Seeley, of Genesee, Rowland B. Perry, of Grand Blanc, John Farquhar- son, of Montrose, John Richards, of Mundy, Garret Zufelt, of Richfield, Richard Buel, of Thetford, and Daniel Montague, of Vienna; recording secretary, James B. Walker, of Flint; corresponding secretary, George M. Dewey, of Flint; treasurer, Augustus St. Amand, of Flint; executive com- mittee, Jonathan Dayton, of Grand Blanc, C. D. W. Gibson, of Grand Blanc, John L. Gage, of Flint, C. N. Beecher, of Genesee, and Peabody Pratt, of Flint.
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The object of the society, as set forth in the first article of the consti- tution, was "to promote agriculture, horticulture and mechanical arts in Genesee county, Michigan." The first fair of the society was held in Flint, October 2 and 3 of that year, in a grove near the Methodist church. In 1871 the society was legally incorporated, the corporators and trustees being Elijah W. Rising, Francis H. Rankin, Oren Stone, Charles C. Beahan, Charles Pettis, Henry Schram, William J. Phillips, Frederick H. Kellicutt, Jesse M. Davis, Grant Decker, Levi Walker and John L. Gage.
The fair-grounds of the society were from time to time enlarged and improved. In 1854, four acres known as the "Stockton tract," then recently added to the village plat of Flint, were purchased of Messrs. Fenton and Bishop, for about four hundred dollars, on which the annual fair was held in October of that year. The proceeds of the fair in 1855 enabled the society to pay in full for the grounds. Two years later this area was nearly doubled, by the purchase of an adjoining tract, from Hon. Artemas Thayer, at two hundred and twenty dollars an acre. Later a small tract was added by purchase from Colonel Fenton. These grounds were in the south part of the city near the Thread river. In 1870 new fair-grounds were selected. The society purchased of John Hamilton, for ten thousand dollars, tracts from the McNeil and Hamilton out-lots, to which the buildings of the society were removed. The old grounds were sold and platted as city lots. In 1877 the new grounds were enlarged by the purchase of two more lots from "John Hamilton's out-lots" for five hundred dollars.
Among the early presidents of the society were Jeremiah R. Smith, Benjamin Pearson, Grant Decker, Jonathan Dayton and Henry Schram. For many years F. H. Rankin, Jr., was the secretary and a leading spirit in keep- ing up interest in the annual fair. With the growth of the city of Flint, the lands of the society were sold for platting purposes, and the society disbanded.
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CHAPTER X.
FLINT RIVER VILLAGE, 1837-1855.
The progress of Flint in the years 1835-37 was typical of the progress in Genesee county and Michigan as a whole, a growth which was both cause and effect of the general mania of wild speculation in lands and village lots to which Flint and Genesee county were not exceptions. The story of wild- cat banking in the Michigan of this period has been told in the portion of this work devoted to the state's history; it was under the general banking law of March, 1837, that Genesee county began its lessons in financiering. The county then had a population of less than three thousand people, of whom about three hundred were in the Flint settlement at the Grand Traverse. Here were situated The Farmers' Bank of Genesee County and The Genesee County Bank. Both of them were banks of issue; officially connected with these and other banks of the county were Delos Davis, John Bartow, Charles C. Hascall, Robert F. Stage and Robert J. S. Page. The notes of these banks circulated, however, for but a short time; all banks in the county sus- pended payment in 1838, on the decision of the supreme court relieving the stockholders from any liability touching the redemption of the bills of the bank. Flint and Genesee county suffered their full share of the hard times which followed in the wake of this lamentable experiment in every settle- ment in Michigan.
A PERIOD OF ADVANCEMENT.
But the years following recovery from the financial panic of 1837 were a period of marked development in the history of Flint. The lands especially on its south and southeast were being rapidly settled and pioneers were push- ing northward to the Flint river and beyond. The establishment of the land office at Flint greatly promoted immigration to the vicinity. The beginnings of agriculture reflected upon the growth of trade in the village. The sur- plus of wheat and corn demanded better facilities for grinding and a market nearer than Pontiac or Detroit, and in 1837 a grist-mill was established in Flint where the Saginaw turnpike crossed the Thread river. For some years
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this was the only grist-mill within reach of settlers for many miles around Flint and was of vast importance in the development of the region. A saw- mill had been in operation since 1830. A second saw-mill was built by Stage and Wright in 1836 on the south bank of the Flint river near where the present Grand Trunk depot stands. Flint had become a little industrial center, destined to achieve a great future in manufacturing. The Hydraulic Association, in which Chauncey S. Payne was senior partner, followed soon with another mill. The Stage and Wright mill was sold about 1840 to Messrs. Stevens and Pearson, and when John Hamilton became sole pro- prietor, he added, about 1844, a grist-mill; in 1852 his son, William, became sole proprietor. In 1850 the Flint mills sawed 5,200,000 feet of lumber. By 1854 there were four steam mills and three water mills, with an aggregate capacity for cutting 16,800,000 feet of lumber, which established permanently Flint's reputation as a lumber market.
To facilitate communication and transportation to and from Flint, to stimulate trade, and to increase immigration to the neighborhood, increased attention was given to roads and railroads. In 1837 the Northern Railroad Company was chartered. Although this virgin effort was fated to end in little more than preliminary work for an indifferent wagon-road, it raised the hopes of pioneers who had already settled along its route and attracted the attention of others who were in search of new homes. In 1839 a stage line connected Flint with the new railroad from Detroit, at Birmingham. In 1843 the railroad reached Pontiac. Stages were run from Flint to Fenton- ville from 1856 on, to connect with the new railroad being built through there by the Detroit & Milwaukee Railway. The next year was organized a Flint company looking to a railroad through Saginaw to the northwest, which marked the beginning of the Flint & Pere Marquette. Previous to the completion of these hopeful projects the Indian trails furnished primitive passageways through the forests, and were soon improved to become the first new roads over which the pioneers from the outlying settlements journeyed to Flint for lumber, flour and other merchandise. A plank road was built south through Grand Blanc to connect with the northern terminus of the Holly, Wayne & Monroe railroad, at Holly. Another was laid to Fenton to connect with the Detroit & Milwaukee railroad. A third was built to Saginaw. The river also furnished an outlet to some degree. In a local paper of March 27, 1852, appears the following item :
"Port of Flint -- Arrivals and Departures.
Departed, scow 'Kate Hayes', Captain Charles Mather."
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THE FIRST BRICK BUILDING.
It was in this period that the first brick building was erected in Flint. In 1844, Alexander Ward, a brick maker, came to Flint. His operations and those of his sons and others associated with them have made a continuous record in that industry down to the present time. John Zimmerman was one of Ward's apprentices, who at the start was just a German lad, unable to speak a word of English. They first used clay along the borders of Thread creek at the head of Church street, but later worked over many blocks on both sides of Saginaw street, from Eighth street south. This industry has played a very significant part in the history of Flint. It has for its monument many large stores, schools, churches, homes and factories. The story of the two first brick buildings for business in Flint has been well told by Mr. M. S. Elmore :
"With one's municipal pride stimulated anew almost any day when one walks abroad in our fair city, to discover new structures not before seen, lofty, imposing, picturesque or pretentious, the homes of vast enterprises, or the dwellings of contented citizens, one who has noted through develop- ing decades this evolution in architecture is apt to remember the distant days when brick and stone were less in evidence in building, and but little appeal was made to the aesthetic fancy of the beholder. Nor does it seem so long ago that this condition obtained in the future Vehicle City.
"There seems to be a diversity of opinion regarding the priority of two brick buildings, each thought by some to have been the first structure of brick for business purposes in the place-the Cumings or Crapo store, on north Saginaw street, and the building once known as the Hazelton store, on south Saginaw street, west side near First street. This building, now three stories high, and occupied by Campbell & Ingersoll, music dealers, and George E. Childs, jeweler, was originally built with steep gable roofs, pitching to front and rear, above a second story and big attic. I remember it well, although both this and the Cumings buildings were built before I came to Flint. Various authorities agree that the 'Scotch store' of Cumings & Cur- ren was built in 1851-2, while I have been informed by an old citizen familiar with the event, Hon. Jerome Eddy, that the Hazelton stores were built in 1854; the building was thought to be quite a marvel in architecture. It has been said that George Hazelton and George W. Hill joined in its construc- tion ; but this I do not find substantiated. The stores were originally occu- pied by the Hazelton brothers; the south store for dry-goods, by George;
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the north store by Homer and Porter, with hardware. George W. Hill afterward occupied the stores with furniture and undertakers' wares for many years, before being improved by an additional story and modern roof.
"The corner, or north part of the 'Scotch store,' as it was known, was occupied by Cumings & Curren as a general store in the fifties; and some- one else, probably Jerome Eddy, was selling goods in the south half of the building.
"It should not be forgotten that, at the time of which I write, the north side of the river was the popular side, and was confidently expected to remain the principal section for business in the hopeful hamlet and future city. Real estate controversies, familiar to the citizens of that time who remain, were regarded the unhappy and effectual means of driving business and building to the south side. This will account for the existence, during the earliest history of the town, of thriving shops on the north side, when D. S. Fox, W. O'Donoghue, the Deweys, Witherbee, Jerome Eddy, William Stevenson, Cumings & Curren, O. F. Forsyth, and others, as also for two taverns, believed to have selected the best locations in the town for future success and prosperity.
"The 'Scotch store' was sold to Hon. H. H. Crapo, proprietor of the Crapo lumber mills and business, and was for many years conducted in its interest and for its benefit.
"Capt Damon Stewart, too well known as a native to require an intro- duction, talked with me entertainingly of this old building when asked for data, saying 'I ought to know, for I helped to carry the brick,' and he seems to have been generally useful for so young a lad. An experience of the builder that could scarcely be had in this day, was to discover, when ready for it, that he could find no timber long enough for so big a roof, and the completion of the building as planned was achieved only after men had gone into the woods, far up the river. Young Stewart ('Damon' will make his recognition easy ) was one of the 'gang' on a job that proved 'strenuous.' The time was in January and the water was low in the streams, so that often dredging had to be resorted to, to float the logs to deeper water. Much of this cold work was done while wading; yet it was more comfortable, he declared, than working in the cold on land.
"Captain Stewart tells of an incident which occurred while the walls were being built, wherein one of the bricklayers, an unpopular fellow, was one day late, and . one of the men seeing him coming, mischievously or viciously threw the mason's trowel into the space between the outer and inner layers of brick, emptying a full trowel of mortar on the tool; and, added
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Captain Stewart, 'today it might be found in the south wall, near the three windows, which were not there at that time.' Interest has been added to the foregoing story by a fortunate statement of George C. Willson, that this trowel was found in the wall, during recent changes in the building, as Mr. Stewart predicted, and, I believe, is now in Mr. Willson's possession. (A Free and Accepted Mason might fear that the symbolical uses of the trowel had hardly been exemplified in this incident. )
"But I think the strangest story in connection with the Cumings-Crapo store comes from George C. Willson, under whose management the building is, and is yet to be told. It now appears that during all this half-century of momentous years, the prosaic and plain structure we have thought of, and spoken of, as the 'Scotch store' or the 'Crapo store,' had secreted from the ken of mortals, a romance. While men did come and men did go, during the years when lovers have had time to be born, to have found their affinity, wed, divorced, and died; when passers-by have daily looked upon the severe and angular aspect of this familiar pile; this act in an unpublished drama was waiting for its recall. Hidden, irrecoverably, it was believed, in the fastnesses of a rude and narrow sepulchre, was found a small box in the wall, containing numerous letters, written in a style of chirography that indi- cates the writer to have been an accomplished lady; the composition of the letters in language one might expect from the pen of a school teacher, which she evidently was. These epistles tell us only one side of a story, the fair writer often complaining that she had received no replies to her letters. They were written from Hampton, Michigan, and Mount Morris, New York, under date of 1849 and 1850 to James Curren, who was at that time asso- ciated with his brother-in-law, Mr. Cumings, in the mercantile business in Flint. Cumings & Curren were then erecting the brick building at the corner of North Saginaw street and Second avenue, which was for years familiarly known as the Crapo Variety Store, and later occupied as a 'general store' by Pomeroy Brothers. While remodeling the building in the fall of 1898 for the manufacturing plant of the Flint Gear and Top Company, the letters above referred to were found in the west wall, in a round wooden box, together with a lock of hair, and a card on which two hands were clasped, entwined with ribbons with the inscription: "True Friendship," and date June 10, 1849. On placing these letters between walls of brick and mortar, Mr. Curren undoubtedly sought to hide forever all traces of a sweeter senti- ment which he wished to banish from his future life. Shortly afterward he sailed for Australia, where, we understand, he met with reverses, returning home to die. George Willson had the peculiar pleasure, during the fall of
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1905, of delivering the box with letters enclosed to the original writer, a resident of Flint, and an interesting invalid of advanced years. These inci- dents invest the ancient Cumings-Crapo-Durant & Dort buildings with more than a cold commercial atmosphere for future dwellers of the north side when passing by it.
"The patronage enjoyed by these first stores in Flint was not limited to the radius of a few miles, between county towns, or less, but trade invited the sparse population from long distances every way, when days were required to come and return. Produce, furs, butter and eggs, maple sugar and berries were brought to exchange for goods, and the stores on the north side of the river did a thriving business.
"The Brent family, whose great farm was located three or four miles below Flushing, were quite distinguished for their wealth and position. It is said that they and their neighbors were accustomed to come to 'the Flint' by boat on Flint river, propelled by Indians, to exchange produce, furs and Spanish dollars for goods, which being loaded into their boats, they could return to their homes with less effort, by the helpful course of the current. It is likewise currently believed that these native boatmen loaded themselves with fire-water, sometimes, imbibing with the fluid a sportive disposition to tint the little town a warm Indian red; but they were usually peaceable, sturdy and skillful men with oar or paddle."
EARLY INDUSTRIES.
About this time began the manufacture of boots and shoes in Flint. Reuben McCreery, Augustus Knight, Abram Barker, Royal C. Ripley, John Quigley and John Delbridge were the most prominent men early in this industry. The needs of the pioneer settlers were cared for in a different manner then than are the needs of our citizens today. A recent writer remarks :
"In 1840 and 1850 shoe stores did not keep a record of the sizes of their customers' feet and shoe them on a telephone order by a uniformed delivery service. In those days boots and shoes were not articles of com- merce, but of manufacture, and the stores could not supply the call for foot- wear. The customer was sent to the neighboring shoe shop to leave an order and a measure. For men, the product would be cowhide or calfskin boots. and for women, bootees. As the population of the village and county grew, so grew the boot factories until at the height of the industry this village had five or six shops, not then dignified by the name of factories, and from fifty
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to seventy-five employees steadily occupied in the making of boots and shoes to measure. Akin to this production was that of the leather from which the boots were made, and, while not a Flint industry, it was installed by Flint capital and directed by Flint energy. The greater part of the leather for all the boot work of this section was made by Barker & Ripley in a tannery which they operated at Vassar, in the heart of the hemlock territory. Their product was largely cowhide and calfskin for the factory purpose, but there was a surplus over local demands left in the rough and shipped East from Flint after there were shipping facilities. This industry contributed to Flint's material prosperity and figured in the volume of its output."
The Genesee iron works were built in 1847, by William Gough, and among their early products was the mowing machine. They made agricul- tural implements of a primitive kind and cared for such machine work as the few mills then in operation required. In 1848 a steam engine was started in this plant; prior to this time there was only one steam engine in this region, which ran a pail and tub factory operated by Elias Williams near the river bank about where the Crapo saw-mill was afterwards located. These works were allied to the lumbering activities of Flint and played a vastly important part in pioneer development. With them may be classed another shop, that of A. Culver. Rev. John McAlester's wagon-shop began its valuable service at an early day. Over the Genesee Iron works, Merriman & Abernathy started in 1846 a pioneer effort in the nature of carpenter shop work. This was a planing-mill to dress lumber and to make sash, doors and blinds, turning, cabinet work, frames and scroll work. Thomas Newell later became interested in this venture. Mr. Newell was for many years a partner of S. C. Randall, founder of the Randall Lumber and Coal Company, which is the successor of this pioneer industry.
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