USA > Michigan > Hillsdale County > History of Hillsdale county. Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 29
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FREEMASONRY IN HILLSDALE.
There is no record of a lodge having been formed in Hills- dale prior to 1848. In that year a petition was forwarded to the Grand Master of the State, signed by the following Masons : David Bagley, Salmon Sharp, Rockwell Manning, Haynes Johnson, James H. Lancaster, John Swegles, Jr., Elias Bennett, Delos Manning, A. S. Rockwell, and Geo. A. Spaulding, praying to be formed into a lodge. The application was endorsed by Lafayette Lodge, No. 16, of Jonesville. A dispensation was granted by the Grand Master, and Hills- dale Lodge, No. 32, was formed, with David Bagley as Master, Salmon Sharp as Senior Warden, and Elias Ben- nett as Junior Warden, the lodge having effected its orga- nization May 11, 1848. Haynes Johnson was, at its first meeting, elected Treasurer, and John Swegles, Jr., Secretary. The lodge having in due time received its charter, increased in number and became prosperous, when the following resolution was adopted, Jan. 6, 1852 :
Resolved, That we hereby surrender our present charter to the Grand Lodge, and an application be made for a new charter, provided the same can be done without any expense for the same.
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HISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
The application was favorably received, the new charter granted, Jan. 19, 1852, and the lodge organized under the name of Fidelity Lodge, No. 32. The officers were E. D. Cone, W. Master ; J. Van Denburgh, S. Warden ; J. C. Peck, J. Warden ; Wm. Potter, Treas. ; J. M. Mott, Sec. Since that time it has made steady progress in numbers and influence. Its present officers are M. M. Parsons, W. Master ; J. T. Crum, S. Warden ; George Card, J. Warden ; J. H. Armstrong, Treas. ; L. S. Ranney, Sec.
Hillsdale Lodge, No. 176 .- Hillsdale Lodge was organ- ized Jan. 6, 1866, the members who originally applied for the dispensation being H. T. Farnam, W. W. Donaghy, F. B. Cutler, Dr. J. B. Curtis, and Benjamin F. Halliday. These gentlemen were members of the Fidelity Lodge, but desiring to form a new association, obtained from the Grand Lodge the charter of the present Hillsdale Lodge. The first officers were H. T. Farnam, W. Master ; R. A. Everett, S. Warden ; W. W. Donaghy, J. Warden ; F. B. Cutler, Sec. ; B. F. Halliday, Treas. The lodge is one of the most flourishing in the county. Its present officers are D. A. Childs, W. Master; Wm. A. Carsen, S. Warden ; Geo. F. Gardner, J. Warden; C. S. Budd, Treas. ; Frank Evans, Sec.
Hillsdale Chapter, No. 18 .- Hillsdale Chapter, No. 18, was organized Jan. 14, 1858. The members who originally applied for a charter were Edward H. C. Wilson, J. H. Pratt, E. D. Cone, H. J. Farnam, J. O. Ames, John Mickle, George H. Bottsford, J. B. Wheaton, C. B. Smith, Wil- liam A. Lawrens, R. Rowe, and C. J. Dickenson. A dis- pensation having been granted, the following officers were chosen : E. H. C. Wilson, First High Priest; J. B. Wheaton, First King; J. O. Ames, First Scribe.
The chapter has since that time become strong and in- fluential, and now occupies a prominent place in the State organization. Its present officers are James W. McKee, H. P .; William H. Tallman, K .; Morris Lamb, S .; C. J. Molby, C. H .; O. H. Gilum, Sec. ; F. French, Treas.
Mount Ararat Council, No. 15, R. and S. M .- This council was instituted June 21, 1875. At its last election, held Dec. 9, 1878, the following officers were chosen : Z. R. Ashbough, T. I. G. M. ; L. S. Ranney, D. T. I. G. M .; M. Kochenthal, P. C. W .; J. B. Howe, C. of G .; E. T. Beckhardt, C. of C .; J. H. Armstrong, Treas .; A. C. Allen, Rec .; E. Walker, Sen.
Eureka Commandery, No. 3, Knights Templar .- Sir Knights E. D. Cone, D. Winchester, George C. Munro, Eutychus Champlin, A. Mooney, James A. Dyer, Wales Adam, R. S. Cheeney, and Sylvester Walker, being a con- stitutional number, and also desirous of advancing the in- terests of Templar Masonry, petitioned the General Grand Master of the General Grand Encampment of the United States for a dispensation to form and open an encampment of Knights Templar and appendant orders in the village of Hillsdale, Mich., to be known as Eureka Encampment.
In answer to the prayer of the petitioners, a dispensation was granted by the General Grand Master, W. B. Hub- bard, appointing as first officers of Eureka Encampment Sir Knight Elias D. Cone, E. G. C .; Sir Knight George C. Munro, G .; Sir Knight David Winchester, C. G .; authorizing them and others to form and open an encamp- ment of Knights Templar and appendant orders in the
village of Hillsdale, dated at Columbus, Ohio, Feb. 13, 1854.
At the next conclave of the General Grand Encamp- ment of the United States, which convened at Hartford, Conn., Sept. 10, 1856, the dispensation was returned, together with a report of the transactions of Eureka En- campment under and by authority of the dispensation (at this time there was a change in Templar nomenclature).
A charter was granted to Eureka Commandery, No. 3, dated at Hartford, Conn., Sept. 10, 1856, by the authority of which Eureka Commandery, No. 3, was regularly con- stituted and authorized to work by Sir Knight John Gil- bert, of Detroit Commandery, No. 1, as proxy for Most Eminent Grand Master.
Upon the formation of the Grand Commandery of the State of Michigan, April 7, 1857, Eureka Commandery, No. 3, enrolled itself under the jurisdiction and authority of the Grand Commandery by virtue of a dispensation granted April 7, 1857, followed by a charter granted June 8,1859.
Officers: Floyd J. Wilson, Em. Com. ; James W. McKee, Generalissimo ; Edwin J. March, Capt .- Gen .; Rev. Wil- liam W. Raymond, Prelate; Ovid W. Lamport, S. Warden ; Marshall M. Parsons, J. Warden ; Henry T. Farnam, Treas. ; M. M. McIntyre, Recorder.
INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD-FELLOWS.
Hillsdale Lodge, No. 17 .- This lodge was organized Oct. 14, 1842. The original members who applied for a charter to organize a lodge of Odd-Fellows in Hillsdale were William W. Owens, Joseph R. Thombs, Julius C. Cross, A. W. Budlong, and Henry Waldron. The lodge since that time has steadily grown and become prosperous. The hall in which the meetings are held is commodious and well appointed, and is occupied under a ninety-nine years' lease. The financial condition of the organization is excellent, there being no indebtedness against it. The present officers are H. Castele, N. G. ; Alpheus St. John, V. G .; Wm. M. Taylor, Permanent Sec .; Fred Stork, Re- cording Sec. ; A. C. Allen, Treas. The Trustees are A. C. Allen, Henry Brown, Job Reid.
THE PRESS.
The Hillsdale Standard .- The first number of the Hills- dale Whig Standard was issued June 30, 1846, the pub- lishers being S. D. Clark and H. B. Rowlson. About three years later Mr. Rowlson purchased the interest of Mr. Clark, and has since been its editor and proprietor. In politics it has always been Whig and Republican.
Hillsdale Democrat .- The Hillsdale Democrat was first published as the Hillsdale County Gazette, and after a brief suspension was reprinted under its present title. The pub- lisher and editor is W. H. Tallman, who has controlled it since June 15, 1866. It is, as its name would indicate, Democratic in politics. The press upon which the paper is printed is the first one brought into the county.
The Weekly Business .- The Weekly Business was first projected June 11, 1870, its proprietor and publisher being H. T. Farnam. It has been regarded as independent in politics, but during the last campaign advocated the cause
REA
Photo. by Carson & Graham, Hillsdale, Mich.
HARVEY B. ROWLSON was born at Duanesburg, Schen- ectady Co., N. Y., July 15, 1825, and is the son of Ambrose and Catharine (Briggs) Rowlson. He spent his early boyhood, while acquiring an education, with an uncle in Chenango Co., N. Y., and at Woodstock, Lenawee Co., Mich., working on farms during the summer months, and attending school in the winter. In the spring of 1843 he spent several months in the printing-office of the Adrian News, at Adrian, Mich. During the following June the office was removed to Hillsdale, and the Hillsdale Gazette was published. This was the first paper ever published in the village of Hillsdale, and Mr. Rowlson facetiously claims to be the first printer's devil of the place.
In 1846, Mr. Rowlson, in company with S. D. Clark, started the Hillsdale Whig Standard, which they published in partnership until 1851, when Mr. Rowlson purchased Mr. Clark's interest. Since that time he has been pro- prietor of the paper. The name Whig having been dropped from the heading after the dissolution of the Whig party, the Hillsdale Standard was devoted to the interests of the Republican party, always having had the largest circulation in the county. Mr. Rowlson performed the duties of county treasurer with great satisfaction to his constituents for a period of eight years. In 1869 he represented his
county in the State Legislature, being a member of the committee on ways and means, and chairman of the com- mittee on printing; but in May, 1869, he resigned his position to enter upon the duties of collector of internal revenue for the First District of Michigan. The First District was then composed of four counties, including Wayne County, and his office was in Detroit for a period of four years. In May, 1873, Wayne County was made a district by itself, and the Third District was formed by the addition of five counties to the remainder of the First District. Mr. Rowlson was made collector for the Third District, with his office at Hillsdale. In September, 1876, the Second District, which consisted of seven counties, was added to the Third, making fifteen counties under his charge as collector. He is a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, having been a member of Fidelity Lodge for sixteen years. He has passed all the chairs in Odd-Fellowship, and has held each of the principal offices. He is an attendant of the Episcopal Church.
Mr. Rowlson has been a radical Republican since the organization of that political party. He was married, July 31, 1848, to Amelia M. Vanderburg, daughter of one of the pioneers of the county. They have two sons and one daughter.
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HISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
of the Greenback party. A more extended notice of the press of the county will be found in the general history.
HILLSDALE COLLEGE.
The Hillsdale College is located on College Hill, and comprises a splendid suite of buildings overlooking the en- tire business portion of the city, and occupying the centre of a fine park of twenty-five acres, adorned with evergreens and shade-trees in abundance. The corner-stone of the college buildings was laid July 4, 1854, with appropriate ceremonies, and the structure on its completion comprised as complete an arrangement of buildings as is to be found in the country. The range of study in the institution is various, having in addition to the usual classical and scien- tific courses a preparatory department, where the student may lay the foundation for a course of study which ulti- mately leads to his graduation. There is at the head of the college a large and able faculty, presided over by Rev. Dewitt Clinton Durgan, D.D., whose wise counsels have greatly contributed to the prosperity of the institution. It is not our intention to make the notice of Hillsdale College as brief as this sketch would imply. A more extended review of the institution, its aims and facilities for instruc- tion, will be found in the general history of the county.
BANKS.
THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK.
The First National Bank of Hillsdale was organized Dec. 16, 1863, with a capital of $50,000, being the fifth national bank organized in the State of Michigan. The first Board of Directors, elected Jan. 17, 1864, consisted of the following-named gentlemen : William Waldron, James B. Baldy, Chauncey W. Ferris, David H. Lord, and Henry S. Hall, who, at a subsequent meeting, elected as the bank's first officers William Waldron, President, and James B. Baldy, Cashier. The bank opened for business Monday morning, Feb. 1, 1864, purchasing and occupying the banking-office formerly occupied by Waldron & Baldy, bankers. James B. Baldy resigned his position as cashier, Nov. 1, 1865, and Henry J. King was elected to fill the vacancy. Mr. King continued as cashier until May 1, 1869, when he resigned, and Mr. Frank Blackmar was elected. Mr. Blackmar filled the office until April 1, 1870, when he resigned, and Mr. H. J. King was again called to the position, holding it until April 1, 1874, when, upon his resignation, the present cashier, Frank M. Stewart, was elected to the position.
Mr. William Waldron continued as the trusted and suc- cessful president of the bank from the date of its organi- zation to the day of his death, which occurred Dec. 11, 1877, when Hon. Henry Waldron was elected to fill the vacancy. The Board of Directors at present consists of Henry Waldron, Charles W. Waldron, Edwin J. March, Charles H. Winchester, and John Miller; and the offi- cers are Henry Waldron, President; Edwin J. March, Vice-President ; and Frank M. Stewart, Cashier. The bank has a capital of $50,000, and a surplus of $30,000.
THE SECOND NATIONAL BANK.
The Second National Bank of Hillsdale was organized September, 1865, and was a growth of the private banking
firm of Mitchell, Waldron & Co., which was organized in 1855; the respective partners being Charles T. Mitchell, Henry Waldron, and John P. Cook. Mr. Cook withdrew in 1864, and the business was carried on by the remaining members of the firm until the organization of the present national institution in 1864. Its first officers were Henry Waldron, President ; Charles T. Mitchell, Vice-President ; and I. K. Fisher, Cashier. The capital stock of the bank was $100,000. Mr. Waldron remained president until 1870, when, his Congressional duties necessitating his ab- sence from the city, Mr. Mitchell became President, and Mr. Waldron, Vice-President. Mr. Fisher having resigned his position of cashier, was succeeded, in 1866, by R. M. Hubbard. In December of 1877, Mr. Mitchell purchased the interest of Mr. Waldron.
The present officers are Charles T. Mitchell, President ; E. L. Koon, Vice-President; R. M. Hubbard, Cashier. Its board of directors comprise the following gentlemen : Charles T. Mitchell, E. L. Koon, J. H. Galloway, H. B. Rowlson, F. French, and John Armstrong.
THE EXCHANGE BANK OF J. K. FISHER.
The Exchange Bank was organized Feb. 1, 1878, and is a private banking institution, owned entirely by J. K. Fisher. The business of the bank is managed personally by the proprietor, who acts as cashier, and M. D. Crane, who fills the office of assistant cashier.
HILLSDALE GAS COMPANY.
The Hillsdale Gas Company was incorporated July, 1871, the entire stock being owned by J. C. Hartshorn, of Provi- dence, and H. A. Branch, of Hillsdale. The gas-works are located on the north side of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad, in the western part of the city. They were constructed in 1872, having been begun in July of that year, and completed in December, the city being supplied with gas for the first time on the 2d of that month. The gas is manufactured after the ordinary method with coal, and the consumers bear testimony to its superior quality. When the company began furnishing gas to the city, they had ninety consumers ; they now number one hundred and ninety. The works of the Hillsdale Gas Company repre- sent an investment of thirty-four thousand dollars, and consist of a retort-house, a purifying-house, coal- and coke- sheds. They also make a specialty of crushing coke for use in self-feeding stoves, and have for this purpose an engine, boiler, and crusher ; the latter being an invention of Mr. Branch. The company also carry on the gas-pipe and fixture business, in rooms adjoining their office in Under- wood's Block, on Howell Street. Two men are employed at the works, and two in the fixtures department, while Mr. Branch gives his personal supervision to the business.
MANUFACTORIES.
HILLSDALE TABLE FACTORY.
This establishment was originally owned and managed by Horace Blackmar, who built it in 1873. After con- ducting it one year, he sold his interest in the manufactur- ing department (the building having been the property of
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HISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
the Cold Spring Cheese Company) to the firm of Bright- man Bros. They conducted the business from June, 1874, to September, 1877, when the present owner, F. M. Brightman, purchased the interest of his brother, and is sole proprietor. The establishment makes a specialty of extension tables, manufacturing them for the wholesale trade. These tables range in price from one dollar to three dollars and fifty cents per foot in the white, and are shipped to all parts of the United States and the Canadas, their prin- cipal market being San Francisco, where many car-loads are shipped annually. The manufactory is doing a large and prosperous business, Mr. Brightman having established a store in connection with the business, in which he is assisted by his son.
HILLSDALE CITY MILLS.
These mills are owned and personally managed by F. W. Stock, who came from the Rhine Province of Prussia in 1855, on a visit to the country.
Mr. Stock, after traveling for some time, finally engaged in milling enterprises in Iowa. On returning from a visit to his native country, he came direct to Hillsdale, and pur- chased the Hillsdale City Mills. After becoming the owner he remodeled them several times, the improvements in milling rendering this necessary. The old machinery was removed and replaced by new, the water-power improved, and four run of stone employed in the grinding process.
In 1873 a new patent process for making flour was introduced, and two more run of stone added, making in all six. A new engine and boiler was at the same time added. The engine-house was enlarged, and a side-track connecting with the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad, one- quarter of a mile long, was built, which makes it possible to load and unload flour and grain at the door of the mills. In 1877 three more run of stone were added, and another large boiler; this gave the mills a capacity for grinding fifteen hundred bushels a day. Mr. Stock purchases most of the wheat that comes to the market, besides buying largely in Minnesota, Kansas, Illinois, and Indiana, and a track-scale enables him to weigh accurately all the grain that comes by railroad.
The daily capacity of the mills is from two hundred and fifty to three hundred barrels of flour a day. Fifteen hands are employed in the various departments, and twenty coopers are constantly kept busy in making barrels for the shipment of flour, which soon finds its way to the Eastern market. This is the largest manufacturing enterprise in the city, and one of the largest of its kind in the State.
HILLSDALE FOUNDRY.
The Hillsdale Foundry was established in 1843 by Wal- ter Welsh, and after passing through several hands was finally purchased by its present proprietors, Messrs. Phelps & Pettis. It is a foundry established for the manufacture of steam-engines, edge-tools, and agricultural implements, and has a well-established trade. Connected with this estab- lishment, and owned by the same firm, is a grist-mill, which was built in 1875, and especially with a view to doing cus- tom work. The mill has three run of stone, and its prod- ucts are principally for the supply of home wants and the demands of the adjoining towns.
M'INTOSH, DUNTON & COMPANY'S FOUNDRY.
This foundry, though not imposing in its exterior, has established a reputation for the excellence of its work. Its products are principally axes, knives, chisels, and all simi- lar implements coming under the head of edge-tools. They lease their steam-power of Phelps & Pettis, whose foundry is adjacent to their own. They have been established since 1876, and have already increased their business to such an extent that their orders are in excess of their capacity to manufacture.
JAMES SMITH, COAL AND LIME DEALER.
Mr. Smith occupies, in a very desirable part of the city, one of the best-appointed warehouses to be found. At the front is a very neatly fitted up office, where orders are re- ceived and business transacted. Coal, lime, and cement are the principal commodities sold. Mr. Smith sells annually about fourteen hundred barrels of Genoa lime, and about one thousand tons of coal. He also deals largely in cement.
E. C. CAMPBELL & CO., BUILDERS.
About six years ago the old firm of Reeves & Campbell, manufacturers and builders, was terminated by the interest of Mr. Henry Reeves being purchased by Hon. John P. Cook, and the new firm took the name of E. C. Campbell & Co. Mr. Cook was largely engaged in the lumber and hardware trade, and the business of working up the lumber and making a market for the hardware by the use of intel- ligent skill and broad enterprise became the policy of the new firm. The mill and yard, which was ample at that time, as the business increased was found inadequate to the greater demands upon its capacity, and during the past winter the proprietors commenced and completed the erec- tion of a new factory, one of the best and most commodious in the West. It was built on the site and over the old mill, which, when the new one was completed, was removed from within it.
The building is three stories in height; the machine-shop is seventy-two by sixty-five feet in size; the finishing-shop is twenty-five by sixty-five feet; the fuel-room sixteen by twenty-eight feet; and the engine-room sixteen by thirty feet. All are inclosed in one building, with iron roof and sides, the engine-room being fire-proof, with cement floor, iron ceiling, and sides of brick wall.
The yard embraces five city lots, upon which are three sheds and other covered space for lumber of five thousand square feet. Improvements are going forward in the way of grading, leveling, and building.
The ground-floor is devoted to the long lines of shafting, nearly two hundred feet, and the heavy machinery, viz., one twenty-four-inch double surfacer and matcher, which planes the two sides and two edges of lumber at one motion, one twenty-four-inch surfacer, one resawing machine, which makes two boards of siding where was but one of inch stuff; one forty horse-power engine, and tubular boiler, forty-eight-inch shell, twelve feet in length, made by Mc- Gregors, of Detroit.
The second floor is reached by a stairway from the entrance at the corner, and also by a central and rear stair- way, all inside the building. This story is the scene
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HISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
of many and varied kinds of business. The machinery, which we could hardly name, and could never tell for what purpose constructed, comprises everything neces- . sary for carrying on the business in the most com- plete manner. Beyond and over the engine-room is the dry-room, which can be filled with steam, and lumber and work seasoned in a week.
The third story is fitted up with racks and frames for containing and holding all kinds of work, such as mould- ings, doors, sash, frames, and all articles which require storage.
Under the building is an excellent well, furnished with a Rowley pump, which forces a constant stream of pure water by means of pipes to a tank over the boiler, with faucets on each floor, which supply drinking water to the workmen.
Fifteen to twenty men find in this shop a demand for their services, and help by their citizenship the general good of the city.
PUBLIC HALLS.
Hillsdale boasts four public halls more or less commodi- ous. The largest of these is Underwood's Opera-House, located in the Underwood Block on Howell Street, which ranks among the leading opera-houses of the State for con- venience and excellence of design. It has spacious stage appointments, large dressing-rooms, and very perfect arrange- ments for seating one thousand people. Its chief claim to favor lies in the fact that its means of egress are almost per- fect, having two stairways leading to the street, and two wide doors leading from the auditorium. It has also an admirable apparatus for heating and lighting the building.
Besides this there is Sutton's Hall, the first public hall in the city, Liberty Hall, now used as a place of worship, and Waldron Hall, occupied by the Red Ribbon Club.
HILLSDALE BENEVOLENT SOCIETY.
This society is altogether of a benevolent character, as its name indicates, and is composed of such charitable ladies of the city as are moved by a desire to relieve the sufferings which cold, hunger, and disease entail upon the poorer classes. The funds of the society are obtained by an in- itiation fee of one dollar, together with such aid as may be afforded by those citizens who are in sympathy with the work. This aid is by no means inconsiderable, as was proved during the preceding winter, when the funds of the treasury were increased by about one hundred dollars, through the kindness of friends.
Measures are about being taken to make the present sea- son also, through the efforts of the society, one of comfort and aid to the poor. We have not space to detail all the workings of this charity band, or the methods they pursue in the distribution of their alms. It is sufficient to say that the discretion and judgment employed in disbursing their charities has met with general approval. The funds are apportioned by a distributing actuary, as are also any articles which may be donated. The officers of the society are Mrs. Keating, President; Mrs. Rogers, Vice-Presi- dent; Mrs. Jones, Secretary ; Mrs. Wm. Childs, Treas- urer.
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