USA > Michigan > Ionia County > History of Ionia County, Michigan : her people, industries and institutions, Volume I > Part 3
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Another marked feature of Michigan climate is the fact that it is directly in the path of greatest storm frequency. A large majority of the great cyclones and anti-cyclones that cross the United States, or a part of them, move across the lake region. Some of these storms originate in the Canadian northwest and move eastward across the Lake Superior district to the St. Lawrence valley. Another class move from the Canadian northwest to the middle western portion of the United States and then northwestward across the lake region to the St. Lawrence valley. A third class either forms over the middle western portion of the United States or moves from the far south- west to that locality and then across the lake region to the St. Lawrence valley.
The cyclonic storms vary in size, their average width being about a thon- sand miles. Their advance is marked by comparatively higher temperatures, increasing cloudiness and precipitation. The anti-cyclonic storms, which are areas of high barometric pressure, are characterized in their advance by cokler. clearing weather. The circulation of the wind in a cyclone is spirally inward
40
IONIA COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
and in the direction opposite to the movement of the hands of the clock. The circulation of the air about an area of high barometric pressure, or an anti- cyclone, is outward circulatory and in the same direction as the movement of the hands of a clock. The intensity of these storms is largely dependent on the intensity of barometric gradient, which, in turn, is modified or increased by the proximity of other cyclones and anti-cyclones.
Michigan is seldom visited by tornadoes. The most destructive storm of this character occurred on May 25, 1896, in Oakland county, and at Omer, Arenac county, on May 24, 1897. In recent years, the most destructive tor- nado occurred at Owosso on November 11. 1911, and at the very unusual hour of about eleven P. M.
The mean annual temperature of lower Michigan, as a whole, is about forty-six degrees, ranging from forty-nine degrees in the extreme south- western part to forty-two degrees in the extreme northeasterly portion. The average maximum or day temperature ranges from about eighty-two degrees in summer to twenty-eight degrees in winter, while the average minimum of night temperature in summer is approximately fifty-seven degrees and twelve degrees in winter. Extreme temperatures of one hundred degrees or more are not of frequent occurrence, although they have been recorded on one or two days during a majority of the summers in the past twenty-five years. Zero temperatures are an invariable rule during most months in the winter in the northern half of the peninsula; in the south half of the peninsula, zero tem- peratures usually occur, although there have been some winters in the extreme southern counties when there has been an entire absence of zero temperature.
The mean temperature for January in lonia county, except for a small portion in the northeast portion and a small portion in the southwest portion. covering a period from 1886 to 1911, is between twenty-two and twenty-three degrees. The mean temperature for July in lonia county, covering the same period and excepting the two portions already named, varies from seventy- one to seventy-two degrees.
Long heated spells in summer or abnormally protracted cold ones in winter are very unusual. Historical ones occurred in the summer of 1911 and the winter of 1899. The continued high temperatures prevailing during the latter part of June and the early part of July in 1911 were phenomenal and had never before been equalled as far as length of time is concerned. On the other hand, the phenomenal cold weather which occurred during the sec- ond and third decades of February, 1899, marked the longest period of low temperatures known. A strong factor of determining the continued cold of
41
IONIA COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
February, 1899, was the freezing over or rather the covering with fields of rubble ice, of Lake Michigan, thus forming a bridge instead of a barrier for the advance of the northwestern cold wave that crossed the northern states that month. The highest known temperature in Ionia county, covering a period from 1886 to 1911, was one hundred and one degrees and the lowest known temperature covering the same period in Ionia county was twenty-five degrees below zero.
As a rule, destructive frosts do not occur after May 15 in the spring nor earlier than September 30 in the fall. Over a large part of the Southern Peninsula, killing frosts do not occur until October 1. This gives an average of one hundred and forty-five days, or nearly five months, when, under aver- age conditions, there will be no destructive frosts. The shortest crop period obtains over the extreme northeastern portion of the peninsula, where the average length of the season is one hundred and thirty days, while over the extreme southwest portion the average is one hundred and sixty days. The average date of the last killing frost in spring in the greater part of Ionia county is May 5. while the average date of the first killing frost in autumn is October 5. The average length of the crop growing season is about one hundred and fifty-five days.
Agriculture as adapted to almost any part of the United States requires from twenty to twenty-four inches of annual precipitation properly distrib- uted as a minimum amount to grow successful crops without irrigation. A well-distributed annual amount varying from twenty-six to thirty inches is ample for successful agriculture, while amounts exceeding thirty inches, if well distributed, are not injurious to the class of crops grown in Michigan, unless more than forty inches per year. The average annual precipitation, which includes melted snow, hail. sleet and rain, is greatest in the extreme southern part of the state and least in the northern part. The general average for the entire peninsula is approximately thirty inches. The summer precipi- tation is greater in the southern part of the state during the months of May, June and July than in the northerly portions. Snow has never been known to occur in July and August, rarely in June and September, but it usually occurs first during October, increasing in amount to the end of January. after which there is a decrease in amount, which practically ends in April. Light falls are quite usual during May. Nearly sixty inches of snow falls annually in all counties of the Lower Peninsula.
Short and irregular periods of drought over limited portions of the state have occurred from time to time, but long periods of difficult precipitation are
42
IONIA COUNTY, MICIIIGAN.
rare. An exact statement of the conditions which actually constitute a severe drought are hard to make, because much depends not only upon the length of time that there is an absence of rainfall, but also upon the condition of the soil when deficient periods of rainfall begin, the time of year when the deficiency actually occurs and, from an agricultural standpoint, the texture of the soil and other physical conditions also have a bearing. Professor Henry, in his "Climatology of the United States," notes that the greatest drought this country has ever experienced in the last one hundred years, both as to intensity and extent of territory covered, extended over the middle Mis- sissippi and Missouri valleys, the lake region and Atlantic coast districts from carly summer of 1894 until about the first of August, 1895, the precipitation deficiency being about ten inches. Since then there has been no general serious droughts in Michigan. Previous to 1894, moderately severe droughts had occurred in Michigan in 1881 and 1887.
So far as Ionia county is concerned, its annual precipitation is comparable with that of the southern section of the state, where rainfall is never less than two inches a month and where it rises to near three and one-half inches during May and June.
Sunshine, in the Lower Peninsula, will average somewhat over fifty per cent. of the possible amount. the percentage being much higher than the period extending from May to the middle of October than during the win- ter months. During December, January and February it sometimes falls as low as twenty per cent. of the possible amount, while during June. July. August and September it exceeds sixty and some times seventy per cent. of the possible amount. As a rule, July is the sunniest month and December the cloudiest.
The prevailing winds for the greater part of the year are from the west in Ionia county and the average hourly velocity ranges from twelve and one-half miles per hour, in March and April, to a minimum of about nine miles per hour in August and September. The wind is mostly from the west and southwest during the first three months of the year and from June to December: while the prevailing direction is mostly southwesterly during the months of April and May, quite a large period, but less than a majority of the time, the surface movement of the air is from the east and northeast.
Maximum velocities of short duration ranging from twenty-five to forty miles per hour occur during most months of the year and velocities of from forty to sixty miles an hour are not uncommon, but rather infrequent.
43
IONIA COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
Extreme velocities of sixty miles and over are of comparatively rare occur- rence ; at Grand Rapids the wind velocity has exceeded sixty miles but twice in the last nine years.
Winds are more variable during the cooler half of the year. At all seasons the southerly winds are usually warm and moist, the northerly winds cold and dry. The easterly winds usually herald unsettled weather, the westerly winds fair and settled conditions. Owing to the fact that the prevailing summer winds are southwesterly, the shore of Lake Michigan is rapidly becoming a far-famed summer resort, where relief may be had dur- ing the hot months. The water breezes are refreshing, especially at night. and insure greater comfort than can be obtained inland. While Ionia county lies inland, its numerous smaller lakes furnish refuge from the intense heat.
SOILS.
A complete series of glacial soils, under the classification adopted by the United States bureau of soils, embraces the following in order of grade from coarse to fine: Stony loam, gravel, gravelly loam, sand, fine sand. sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, siht loam and clay loam.
The sandy till of glacial deposits in lonia county embraces stony loam. gravel, gravelly loam and, to some extent, sand, fine sand and sandy loam. The clayey till embraces the loam, silt loam, clay loam and, in some cases, the fine sandy loam. The classifications of soil for lonia county, herewith presented, merely sets forth the general classes of glacial deposits, such as are evident without a close analysis. The classification is conformable to the mapping of the surface formations given in a glacial map issued by the state geologist. Observations have seemed sufficiently complete to form the basis for estimates of the relative amounts of sandy and gravelly land given in the tables. Stony loam is ordinarily found in moraines, while the gray- elly loam appears in river terraces and has been reworked by streams. The sand is found in both glacial areas and alluvial tracts. The sandy loam is in some cases glacial and more or less pebbly. The fine sand and silty loam is widely represented in the ordinary till plain, the silty phase being classed as clavey till.
In the table that follows, in the column for area, sections instead of square miles have been designated for the reason that sections often over- run or fall short of the square mile :
4-1
IONIA COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
Area
Section.
sections.
Swamp and lake. Secs.
Clayey till. Secs.
Sandy till. Secs.
Sandy. Secs.
T. 8 N. R. 5 W
36
1.5
28
6.5
T. 8 N. R. 6 W
36
I
30
5
T. 8 N. R. 7 W
36
2
20
--
14
T. 8. N. R. 8 W.
36
22
--
14
T. 7 N. R. 8 W
36
-
12
20
4
T. 7 N. R. 7 W
36
-
26
IO
T. 7 N. R. 5 W.
36
T. 6 N. R. 5 W
36
28
--
8
T. 6 N. R. 6 W.
36
3
32
--
1
T. 6 N. R. 7 W
36
I
33
--
2
T. 6 N. R. 8 W
36
2
15
13
6
T. 5 N. R. 8 W
36
I
33
2
T. 5 N. R. 7 W
36
8
26
2
T. 5 N. R. 6 W.
36
5
30
I
T. 5 N. R. 5 W.
1
36
34
-
2
Total
576
24.5
421
35
95.5
I
--
8
T. 7. N. R. 6 W 1 1 I
36
--
-
2.4
--
1
1
1
FARM LANDS.
The area of lonia county, comprising 576 sections, is 573 square miles and this includes a total of 3,602 farms, or 549.2 square miles. The average value of the land in farms, which is 94.6 per cent. of the whole, is $36.85 an acre. Of the total farm land in Ionia county, 79.1 per cent. is improved and of all the land, farmed or otherwise, 75.56 per cent. is improved.
The moraines in lonia county, as well as the till plains, are largely rich clay soil. The sandy land, chiefly along lines of glacial drainage, has usually a loam admixture or cover. The principal crops in lonia county, in order of their importance, are hay, corn, wheat, oats, beans, potatoes and rye.
STREAMS.
The three principal streams of fonia county are the Grand, Maple and Flat rivers. The Grand river enters the county on the cast line of Danby township and flows northwestward through the village of Portland in Port-
I
I I
1
1 J
1
I
28
12
-
-
45
IONIA COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
land township, through Lyons in Lyons township and is joined near the lonia-Lyons township line by the Maple river: thence. it flows southwest- ward south of the city of lonia and is the boundary line between Easton and Berlin townships, leaving the county through Boston township. The Looking Glass river, which enters fonia county in section i of Danby town- ship, empties into the Grand river at Portland.
The Maple river enters the county at the north line of North Plains township and flows southward to section 25, where it extends over into Clinton county and thence southwestward to section 9 in Lyons township where it is joined by Stony creek; thence, it flows southwestward to sec- tion 18 of Lyons township, where it empties into the Grand river. Stony creek enters lonia county through section 24 of Lyons township.
Flat river enters lonia county at the Montcalm-Ionia line and flows through section 2, making a loop east of Belling and flowing westward through Belding and south through Otisco township, leaving the county in section 6 of Keene township and returning through section 7. Thence, it makes a sharp loop and leaves the county again through section 18 of Keene township.
There are numerous smaller streams in the county, notably, Stoughton creek, which empties into Maple river in North Plains township, and Prairie creek, which empties into Grand river just cast of Ionia.
LAKES.
Ionia county abounds with numerous lakes, some of which are of con- siderable size. The largest are, Long lake, in Orleans township; Woodard lake, in Ronald township: Morrison lake, in Campbell and Boston town- ships; Pedler lake. in Campbell township: Peck lake, in Berlin township: Tupper lake. in Odessa township. and Jourdan lake, in Odessa township and Barry county.
Long lake is the largest of any in the county, being approximately a mile and three-quarters long by a mile wide. There are four platted resorts on shores of this lake, Reimer Park, on the south shore; Lakeview Park, on the southeast : Bricker Park, on the north, and Pleasant Park, on the west. The Y. M. C. A. camp is also located at the east end of the lake. The former three parks all contain cottages, but Pleasant Park is merely a paper town. Reimer Park is the larger of the three and contains about fifty cottages. The latter two each contain about eighteen cottages. In these several parks many people are accustomed to seek relief from the heat
46
IONIA COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
during the summer months. Many of the lakes and most of the streamis and rivers furnish splendid sport for the fisherman at all seasons of the year.
WATER POWER.
The Lyons dam was first completed in 1860, but various attempts at its construction were made between 1840 and 1860, during which period several companies failed in the enterprise. The first construction was a timber and brush dam, but this was reconstructed into a concrete dam some ten or twelve years ago. When the dam was first completed, a flour-mill, which previously had been operated by steam, was moved to the site of the dam. H. B. Lidhart, who operated one of the early saw-mills of the county and who manufactured most of the lumber for the pioneers, was interested in the dam for a time and owned altogether eight shares. The ownership changed from time to time until 1867, when J. Hale acquired twenty and one-half shares, the village of Lyons owning the remaining interest of thirteen and one-half shares.
In July, 1914, Mr. Hale sold his interest to the Commonwealth Power Company and since that date the mill which he owned on the site has been idle. The mill was operated with a sixty-six-inch New American wheel, generating about one hundred fifty-five horse-power. The light plant of the village of Lyons, which is operated by one thirty-two-inch Victor tur- bine and one forty-five-inch Sampson turbine, has available about one hun- dred sixty horse-power. The Lyons dam has a head of nine feet and a maximum capacity under present conditions of from one thousand five hun- dred to two thousand horse-power.
The smaller dams on the sites of the old foundry and casket factory have long since been abandoned. The former developed about twenty-five horse-power and the latter, thirty-five. The dam at the old village pumping station has also been abandoned, and water is now pumped by power gen- erated on the site of the present light plant.
The Wagar dam, located at what is known as Willing, in Lyons town- ship, and above the Lyons dam, has a nine-foot head and a capacity of six hundred horse-power. This power is used for generating electric cur- rent and power by the lonia Water Power Electric Company, of which II. R. Wagar is president, Fred J. Owens, vice-president and general man- ager, and E. T. Merrett, secretary. The Wagar, or Willing, dam has been constructed about sixteen years and is about nine miles, as the crow flies, from Ionia. Since the first construction, the dam has been rebuilt at least
47
IONIA COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
three different times. It is now made of concrete. The lonia Water Power Electric Company has three fifty-six-inch wheels used in the operation of three one hundred fifty-kilowatt, three-phase electric alternating current generators. All current generated at the Willing dam is sold in lonia, where the company has about six hundred customers.
Above the Willing dam is the dam of the Commonwealth Power Com- pany, which has a twenty-eight-foot head and a maximum capacity of per- haps four thousand horse-power.
CHAPTER II.
ORGANIZATION OF IONIA COUNTY.
The first official mention of the creation of Ionia county was in an act of the Legislature approved March 2, 1831. This was the initial step in the organization of the county, as before that time it had been attached, first to Oakland county, later was connected with Lenawee county, still later with St. Joseph county and finally, the year before it was organized into a separate body, it was attached to Kalamazoo county. The final separation came by "An act to provide for laying off into separate counties the district of country adjacent to Grand River, and for other purposes." The section in this act referring to lonia county says: "That the country included within the following limits, to-wit: west of the line between ranges 4 and 5 west of the meridian; east of the line between ranges 8 and 9 west ; south of the line between townships 8 and 9 north of the base line ; and north of the line between townships 4 and 5 north of the base line, containing sixteen townships-be, and the same is hereby, set off into a separate county by the name of Ionia." Thus Ionia county took on a semi- individual appearance.
On the 7th of March, 1834, the second act concerning the new ter- ritory was enacted providing "that the county of Ionia be a township by the name of Ionia, and the first township meeting therein shall be held at the house of Louis Genereaux, in said township." It was further provided that this act was to take effect on and after the first Monday in April, 1834. It seems that, although the people of lonia county were anxious to organ- ize their territory by the election of officers and the enactment of laws reg- ulating their own immediate affairs, nevertheless they were stopped by the existing laws of the territory, and could not find enough qualified voters among their number to organize a board of election, much less to fill the various township offices required ; consequently, no election was held.
The following year, however, their disabilities were removed by the passage of an act to amend, approved March 26, 1835. which read as fol- lows: "Section 2-It shall be and is hereby, declared to be lawful for the
IONIAN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
citizens of the township of Ionia, liable to the payment of county or town- ship tax. to meet at the dwelling house of Samuel Dexter, in said town- ship, and elect from their number all township officers, and transact all business which townships, by law, are authorized to transact : and the pro- ceedings of said meeting shall be valid and binding in all respects, as if the same had been held by the qualified electors of said township.
"Section 3 -. The inhabitants of said township are hereby authorized to hold their election for members to the convention to form a constitution and state government at the house aforesaid, on Saturday, the fourth day of .April."
As the township thus formed comprised the entire county, we here transcribe from the records the proceedings of the first township meeting : "At the first township meeting in the town and county, as above mentioned. held at the house of Antoine Campau & Co., on Monday, the sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty five, Mr. Alfred Cornell was chosen moderator and W. B. Lincoln, clerk. After the moderator and clerk were sworn by Samuel Dexter, esq., the electors proceeded to the election of township officers by ballot, which were elected as follows: For Supervisor, Erastus Yeomans; for township clerk. W. B. Lincoln: for assessors. Franklin Chubb. Gilbert Caswell, Henry V. Libhart : for commissioners of highway. Philip Bogue, John E. Morrison, Nathan Benjamin : directors of the poor, Samuel Dexter. John McKelvey: constable and collector. Asa Spencer : constable, Daniel MeKelvey. A division of the electors being called for, it was decided that the next township meeting, or that of 1836, should be held at the house occupied by A. Campau & Co .. in the said township of Ionia."
On the application of twelve electors, a special election was held. May 12, 1835. for the purpose of choosing commissioners and inspectors of com- mon schools. As a result. Alfred Cornell, George Case and John MeKelvey were chosen school commissioners, and William D. Moore, Alfred Cornell. Jr .. Erastus Yeomans, Nathaniel Sonles and William B. Lincoln, inspectors of schools. Thus a home civil government was fairly well established as far as the township was concerned. but it was still a part of Kalamazoo county.
But the next act of the Legislature, approved March 24. 1836, did not clo the county a great amount of good, although it brought about a great change in the government thereof, for, by it. Kent county was organized. and various unorganized counties were attached to it, as the following
(4)
50
IONIA COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
excerpt will show : "That the unorganized counties of Ottawa, Ionia and Clinton shall be attached to the county of Kent for judicial purposes."
Great as had been the efforts of the settlers in the township of Ionia to form a separate and individual county, they had not succeeded to any great extent. But with the influx of immigration from the Yankee states to Ionia county in 1836, it began to look as though the desires of those who had struggled so hard to have an independent county formed were going to materialize. At the close of the year the population of the county numbered one thousand souls. One thing that assisted in this increase in population was the location of a land office in the midst of the county, and there was enough business of a county nature, such as the transfer of deeds, etc., that the needs of an independent organization were felt by all. In accordance with the prevailing sentiment, a petition, signed by the majority of the citizens of the county, was presented in the winter of 1836-37 to the state legislative bodies, which were then in session, praying for such an organization. That the petition was promptly and favorably considered, the following extracts from "an act to organize the counties of Ionia and Van Buren" will show :
"Section I-Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the state of Michigan, That the county of Ionia be, and the same is hereby, organized, and the inhabitants thereof entitled to all the rights and privileges to which by law the inhabitants of the other counties of this state are entitled.
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