USA > Michigan > Kalamazoo County > History of Kalamazoo county, Michigan > Part 133
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Section 33 .- The southeast quarter of the northeast quarter by R. P. Marvin, Dec. 9, 1836; the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter by Salmon King, June 6, 1834; the northeast quarter of the southeast quarter by Daniel C. Kingsland, Dec. 8, 1836.
Section 34 .- The southeast quarter of the northwest quarter by Martin McKain, May 27, 1833; the southwest quarter of the northwest quarter by Gardner Scott, Sept. 12, 1835; the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter by E. Cravath and E. S. Alvord, Oct. 12, 1833; the southwest quarter of the northeast quarter by Sal- mon King, June 6, 1834; the southwest quarter of the south west quarter by Salmon King, June 6, 1834; the northwest quarter of the south west quarter by Salmon King, April 9, 1835 ; the north fraction of the southeast quarter and the east half of the south- west quarter by Martin McKain, May 27, 1833; the northwest fraction of section 3 of the township of Charleston by Salmon King, 1834.
It does not appear that either of these gentlemen, with the exception of Dr. Salmon King, retained his purchase or became interested in the later project of founding a village on the spot. Whether the remainder of the land passed directly from the original purchasers into the hands of Dr. Salmon King, we have not been able to determine. The southeast quarter of the northwest quarter of section 34 came into the possession of Ruel Starr, a speculator, prob- ably, by purchase from Martin McKain, who entered it in 1833, and was by him deeded to Dr. King in 1836. This gentleman owned, in 1836, substantially all the land covered by the village of Augusta, as is indicated by the following bond from the Augusta Company to Salmon King :
" Know all men by these presents, That we, Ezra Convis and Sands McCamly, of Calhoun County, Michigan, and Epaphroditus Ransom, of Kalamazoo County, of the said Michigan, are held and firmly bound unto Salmon King, of said Kalamazoo County aforesaid, in the sum of Twelve Thousand dollars, current money of the United States, to be paid to the said Salmon King, his executors, administrators, or assigns, for which payment to be well and truly made we jointly and severally bind ourselves, one and each of our heirs, executors, and administrators, firmly by these presents, signed with our hands, and sealed with our seals, and dated this ninth day of September, 1836. The condition of this obligation is such that if the above-bound Convis, McCamly, and Ransom, or either of them or either of their heirs, executors, or administrators, do well and truly pay or cause to be paid unto the said Salmon King, his executors, administrators, or assigns, the full sum of twelve thousand dollars, one thousand dollars on the first day of January next, and one thousand dollars in each and every year thereafter until the said sum of twelve thousand dol- lars be fully paid, then this obligation to be void, or otherwise to re- main in full form and virtue.
" In presence of Moses Hall and Harry A. King.
(Signed)
"EZRA CONVIS. [L. s.]
"SANDS MCCAMLY. [L. s.]
" EPAPHRO' RANSOM. [L. s.]
" The within and foregoing bond was given for the purchase of 615 acres of land, of which the village of Augusta, in said Kalamazoo County, is a part, of which land the said Ezra Convis bought and took the title to an equal undivided one-half part, the said McCamly the one-fourth part, and the said Ransom the undivided one-fourth part, and they were to pay the said King the said $12,000 in the propor- tions above mentioned,-viz., the said Convis, his heirs or assigns, the one-half part thereof, the said McCamly the equal one-fourth part, and the said Ransom, his heirs or assigns, the one-fourth part thereof, anything in the original bond and mortgage to the said King to the contrary notwithstanding.
"EPAPHRO. RANSOM, " ISAAC E. CRARY, " As Executors of Estate of Ezra Convis.
"June 13, 1839."
It will be readily seen from the foregoing document that Dr. Salmon King was the owner of the land covered by the village and the party from whom the Augusta Company made their purchase. He may justly be regarded as the first settler, and practically as the founder, of Augusta. He erected the first log house within the village boundaries, and from that date until his death his energy, enterprise, and liberality contributed greatly to the growth and ad- vancement of the place.
THE AUGUSTA COMPANY.
Enterprise in Augusta may be said to have had its in- ception in the formation of the Augusta Company, which was originally composed of three gentlemen,-Epaphroditus Ransom, of Kalamazoo, afterwards Governor of the State, Gen. Ezra Convis, and Judge Sands McCamly, of Battle Creek. Moses and Tolman W. Hall, of Battle Creek, and George Rigby, of Maine, later became members of the company. These gentlemen, discerning the importance of the site for manufacturing purposes, and the probable growth of a village, purchased the land above described, and procured the services of a surveyor named Moore to plat it, the various blocks and streets being designated by wooden stakes. George Rigby, who from this time made the place his residence, represented the interests of the company, and had the general direction of their property. To him was accorded the privilege of naming the village, which, in honor of his former home, the capital of Maine, he called Augusta.
After the platting of the village the company directed their energies to the building of a saw-mill, anticipating the demand which might arise for its products with the growth of the place, and the additional demand when the State should make its survey for a railroad running through the township. The preliminary steps in this enterprise in- volved the excavation of a mill-race, the contract for which was awarded to George Rigby. As it forms an important item in the early history of the company, as well as the early settlement of the village, the terms of the contract are given, together with the various payments made during the progress of the work :
" Articles of agreement made this 1st day of November, A.D. 1836, between George Rigby, of Augusta, Kalamazoo Co., Mich., of the first part, and Epaphroditus Ransom, of the same county, and Ezra Convis, Sands McCamly, and M. and T. W. Hall, of the county of Calhoun, Mich., of the second part, witnesseth, That the said party of the first part, for and in consideration of the sum to be paid to him or his heirs or assigns, as hereinafter specified, by the parties of the second part, has and doth hereby agree with the said parties of second part to do
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Photos. by Packard, Kalamazoo.
SIMPSON HOWLAND.
MRS. SIMPSON HOWLAND.
HON. SIMPSON HOWLAND
was born in Stillwater, Saratoga Co., N. Y., May 18, 1822. He was the eldest son in the family of Edward K. and Margaret (Simpson) Howland. The elder Howland was also a native of Saratoga, and was born in the town of Old Saratoga in the year 1800. When Simpson was fourteen years of age the family emigrated to Michigan, and settled upon lands located the previous year by the elder Howland, who, in company with Powell Howland, a cousin, made an extended tour of observation throughout the State; the latter settled near Indian- apolis, Indiana, while the former located two sec- tions of land in the town of Ross. At this time (1836) Ross was a wilderness, and the nearest neigh- bors were Dr. Upjohn, on the northwest, and Dr. King, at what is now Augusta village. Soon after their arrival Mr. Howland built a saw-mill, and subsequently erected a grist-mill, which was the pioneer mill in that section.
In 1842, Simpson purchased his father's prop- erty, including the mills and the farm of four hundred acres, and commenced business for him- self. In 1848 he married Miss Sarah, daughter of Henry Berger, one of the prominent pioneers of Battle Creek. Mrs. Howland was born in the town of Henrietta, Monroe Co., N. Y., Feb. 15, 1830.
Mr. Howland has been prominently identified with the political history of the county, and has filled many positions of trust, the duties of which he has discharged to the satisfaction of his constitu- ents.
In 1875 he was elected to the representative branch of the Legislature, serving on the import- ant committees of fisheries and municipal corpora- tions. In 1877 he was re-elected. He is a staunch Republican, and an earnest exponent of the princi- ples of that party.
493
TOWNSHIP OF ROSS.
and perform certain jobs of work, viz .: to excavate a certain mill- canal at Augusta aforesaid, on the Kalamazoo River, at the place of said Rigby's present residence ; said canal to be of an average width of twenty-seven feet, with a foot and a half slope to one foot in depth on each side, to be dug agreeable to the stakes now stuck, and agree- able to a late admeasurement, about one hundred and eighty rods in length, the dirt of said excavation to be left at least four feet from the place where the ground is first broken on the banks, and with the ex- cavation the said party of the first part agrees to do all the grubbing and mucking for the banks, and also the grading, so as to leave them on the top and on the sides well shaped, the banks to be six feet in width on the top, and to correspond in shape with the excavation, and in all cases to be at least three feet high above the common height of water in said canal.
" The said party of the first part agrees to put in at its proper place, near or adjoining the mill, a head bent one hundred feet long, with sixteen-feet posts of timber of suitable size, to be planked from bot- tom to top, and put up in a permanent and proper manner to receive the flume of a saw-mill in a place to be named by the said parties of the second part; and also to put up and erect, in a permanent and durable manner, a waste-floom, to be at least thirty-six feet long and twenty feet in width, with a centre bent forty-eight feet long, so as to have wings planked on each side fourteen feet ; said centre bent to be set deep and planked from bottom to top. The said party of the first part also agrees to grub, muck, and excavate and embank, and build a certain dam at the head of said mill-canal in the following manner and of the following dimensions, viz.,-to remove the muck or allu- vial soil in the centre of the embankment down to solid bottom or gravel to the width of fifteen feet, and cast the soil below so as to come under the lower edge of the bank, and to fill the space or ditch with . clear sand or gravel, and make the dam or embankment thirty feet wide on the bottom and ten feet wide on the top, and sufficiently high to raise the water four feet above its common height, and so calcu- lated that when there is four feet of water in the dam the embank- ment of the dam shall be three feet above the top of the water and well shaped. The said party of the first part also agrees to excavate, dig, and finish a pit or foundation at the south end of said canal for a saw- mill, of sufficient size and dimensions, said foundation to be laid down of good oak timber of such size and length as the said party of the second part shall direct, and complete the same ready to receive the mudsills of said mill. The size of said mill is to be thirty-six by forty-eight feet, the foundation to consist of four rows or lengths of timber hewn on two sides, each length to extend the whole length of the mill at equal distances apart, and on them to be placed square timbers laid close under the whole of said mill, so as to cover the whole surface of the ground and timber of said foundation. The said party of the first part also agrees to excavate a tail-race, or ditch, of suffi- cient size to discharge all the water from the wheel of said mill into the river, and to level the earth excavated from said canal so as to make it level on the top and smooth on the sides; and said Rigby agrees to erect, build, and put up, at a place designated by the parties of the second part, a guard-lock or head-gate of the following dimen- sions, and in the manner following, to wit : to consist of five bents of caps, posts, and sills of square timber, say ten by twelve inches, four of said bents to be thirty-three feet wide, the posts to be seven feet high, and the sills to be settled in the bottom of the canal two inches more than the thickness, the centre bent to consist of three timbers forty-five feet long, to extend into the banks of the canal, the posts of the same to be eleven feet long, and one of the sills to be settled in the bottom of the canal four feet below the surface, so that the second sill in said bent may be two inches below the bottom of said canal; the bottom sills and wings of said lock to be planked with two-inch plank and put down in a workmanlike manner, the whole to be well studded and level on the top, fourteen feet wide, and planked for a bridge.
" Also the said Rigby agrees to put up and erect a bridge across said canal, said bridge to be forty feet long by eighteen wide, with seven- feet posts, seven stringers abreast, one bent in the centre of the canal, the whole to be built of square timbers twelve by twelve inches, well studded and braced, with railing well studded and braced, and planked with two-inch plank, and finished throughout for passing. The said parties of the second part agree to pay six hundred dollars cash down, four hundred dollars the first day of March, 1837, provided that the work progresses in proportionate ratio, and the further sum of nine hundred and fifty dollars on the completion of the work, which is to
be completed on the first day of May, 1837, rejecting and excepting from the several payments above mentioned the one-fourth part (the said Rigby being considered the one-fourth owner of said improve- ment). Now, with full intention of keeping and observing each and every of the above agreements, the parties have hereto set their hands and seals on the day and year first above written.
" GEO. RIGBY, [SEAL]
" E. CONVIS, [SEAL]
" SANDS MCCAMLY, [SEAL]
" M. & T. W. HALL." [SEAL]
The following indorsements were made upon this bond :
"$150. Received of Ezra Convis one hundred and fifty dollars on the within bond.
"$150. Received of Sands McCamly and M. & T. W. Hall one hundred and fifty dollars, being the within-mentioned first payment. " GEO. RIGBY.
"Nov. 1, 1836."
" Received of Sands McCamly and M. & T. W. Hall one hundred and one dollars, being the within-mentioned second payment.
" March 29, 1837."
" Received of M. & T. W. Hall $312.50 in full for their liability to me in the within agreement, and for all extra charges up to this date. " GEO. RIGBY.
"July 11, 1837."
" Received July 11, 1837, of Sands McCamly One Dollar in full of the one-eighth part of the within-stipulated sum, and all other work done at or about Augusta to this date.
" GEO. RIGBY."
" Received of Isaac E. Crary, executor of the estate of E. Convis, Two Hundred and Forty and 700 dollars in full for the one-eighth of the within, and all work done at or about Augusta to this 11th of July, 1837.
" GEO. RIGBY."
The company, after the building of the saw-mill, turned their attention to the sale of lots in the projected village. Most of these sales were effected through their agent, George Rigby, but the demand for lots was not so active as to encourage the hope that Augusta would rival other thriving villages of the county in growth and population.
In March, 1839, the following lots had been purchased by the parties named :
Dr. S. King, 2 blocks, lots 23, 24, 29.
M. Pool, 3 blocks, lot 34, $50.
M. White, 3 blocks, lot 31, $50.
A. Barney, 3 blocks, lots 26, 27, $200.
Gilbert Higgins, 3 blocks, lot 25, $50.
Gilbert Higgins, 5 blocks, lots 27, 28, 31, 32, $200.
H. H. Worden, 6 blocks, lot 29, $175.
J. A. Jacobs, 6 blocks, lot 24, $175. James Streeter, 5 blocks, lots 17, 21, $150.
A. Cody, 3 blocks, lots 49, 50, 51, 53, 54, 55, $175.
Charles Peck, 7 blocks, lot 41, $150.
Isaac Bodine, 5 blocks, lots 23, 24, $75.
A. D. Smith, 5 blocks, lot 16, $60.
Z. Adams, 6 blocks, lot 12, $100.
W. Watrous, 2 blocks, lot 21, $70.
I. Hill, 2 blocks, lot 22, $50. Samuel Wilkinson, 3 blocks, lots 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, $200. Samuel Wilkinson, 3 blocks, lots 39, 40, 45, $300.
Samuel Johnson, 2 blocks, lots 50, 51, 52, 53, 56, 57, $150.
J. Van Doozen, 4 blocks, lot 39, $75.
W. Waterberry, 5 blocks, lots 9, 13, $200.
Lyman Ford, 6 blocks, lot 26, $100.
I. Fairchild, 8 blocks, lot 26, $75.
N. D. Sweet, 8 blocks, lots 29, 30, $150.
James Fuller, 3 blocks, lots 56, 57, 60, 61, $100.
M. White, 4 blocks, lot 41, $51.
Charles McMurray, 5 blocks, lots 18, 22, $150.
George Townsend, 5 blocks, lots 38, 40, $100.
. Verona Company, 5 blocks.
Mr. Rhodes, 6 blocks, lots 18, 19, $225.
494
HISTORY OF KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
M. Cooper, 6 blocks, lot 25. Verona Company, 6 blocks. Mr. Misner, 8 blocks, lot 25, $75. L. Ford, 2 blocks, lots 54, 55, $50. George Rigby, 2 blocks, lots 27, 28, 30, 32.
- McCrery, 7 blocks, lots 27, 28, 31, 32, $160. Mr. Barber, 4 blocks, lot 39, $75.
Mr. King, 2 blocks, lot 32, $50. Luman Fox, 1 block, lot 32, $15.
REMINISCENCES.
The first settler in Augusta of whom we have any knowl- edge was Dr Salmon King, a native of Vermont, born in Bennington County in 1784. He came of patriotic stock, his father having served as a Revolutionary soldier. At the age of fifteen the boy, finding the rigid discipline of the parent irksome, left his home, and ultimately found his way to the house of his uncle, in New Haven, Conn., in whose store he secured a position as clerk, though un- recognized by him as a relative. The boy's father apprised his brother of the flight of his son, and made inquiries con- cerning him. He finally confessed his identity to his uncle, and at the close of a year of service departed for fresh fields of adventure. He was next found in Columbia Co., N. Y., pursuing the study of medicine. Having finished his course, he married, and in the war of 1812 entered the service as an army surgeon. He then located in Genesee Co., N. Y., and from there migrated to the wilds of Canada, and in 1833 determined to make Michigan his home, choos- ing the site of the village of Augusta, where he built the first log house. This house, which was the abode of hos- pitality under Dr. King, was afterwards remodeled and con- verted into a tavern. Dr. King, in 1842, built the first frame hotel, in which, for years after, either he or one of his sons presided as landlord and dispensed good cheer to the weary traveler.
In his professional capacity Dr. King was greatly be- loved. He was the first physician in Augusta, and one of the first in that portion of the county, his reputation for skill and experience being in nowise circumscribed by his immediate field of usefulness. His practice was extensive and his charges exceedingly liberal. When remonstrated with by his family for his generosity, the kindly old gen- tleman would espouse the cause of his patients, and protest that the burden of illness was sufficiently hard to bear, without the addition of a heavy fee. During the sickly season his services were in great demand, and even with his moderate charges the result of a day's labor was surprisingly large. It is said that there was not a settler's cabin in the region of his home, during the first two decades of its his- tory, that he had not entered. His visits were no less social than professional, and more cordial than the greeting to the family doctor was the welcome to the old and valued friend. Dr. King died in 1855, sincerely mourned by a devoted family circle and every individual who enjoyed his acquaint- ance.
Three sons and a daughter came with him to Michigan, the former taking an active part in the settlement of the village. Harry A. King, in connection with a Mr. Breck, established the first store, in 1835, near the present resi- dence of Frank B. Hall, corner of Webster and Washing- ton Streets. Mr. King afterwards built a store, and may
be considered the pioneer merchant of Augusta. He also, in connection with Messrs. Sprague and Crosby, erected the first frame block, located on Canal Street, and was a leading spirit in all business enterprises. Later he removed to In- dependence, Iowa, where he was a successful merchant. His brothers, De Witt C. and Chauncey P., both died after leaving Augusta.
A Mr. Wood was the earliest public host of Augusta, and kept as a tavern the log house built by Dr. King. It was familiarly known as the " Castle," and George Townsend afterwards became the landlord. Milo Foote was also one of the early proprietors.
Samuel Wilkinson made the village his residence in 1836. He was the first blacksmith in the place, and a prominent character in the early days of Augusta.
After the Augusta Company platted the village, his name appears as the purchaser of several desirable lots.
Gilbert Higgins, who has already been mentioned in con- nection with the building of the saw-mill, followed his trade of millwright in other parts of the State until 1836, when he removed to Augusta. On his arrival the village was being surveyed, and the company made overtures to him to construct the mill, which he accepted. Mr. Higgins erected, the same year, a very substantial frame house, which was the first frame structure in the place, and very much more pre- tentious than any buildings yet constructed. After the mill was completed other frame buildings speedily followed. Mr. Higgins became a large purchaser of land soon after, and still resides in the village, occupying the house which he built in his youthful days.
The residents of the hamlet were not called upon to con- secrate a spot for purposes of burial until 1837. During that year a Mr. Anderson died, and was interred in the Augusta cemetery. The coffin was made by Casey Mckay and Gilbert Higgins, and was the first one used in the place.
Casey Mckay removed from Allegany Co., N. Y., to Augusta, in 1837. Being the first carpenter who had yet appeared upon the scene, he found immediate employment in the construction of the saw-mill of the Augusta Com- pany. He speedily found other demands upon his skill in the construction of houses for the early settlers. His son Chauncey, who still resides in the village, came with him, and for a while resided with Capt. E. K. Howland, at How- landsburg. Augusta was at this time somewhat cut off from the main route of travel upon which the daily stages passed, the nearest point of connection being upon Ambrose Cock's farm, two miles distant, which was reached by private conveyance. A man named John Beach ran an express from Detroit to Kalamazoo, and stopped at the village to receive orders. He transported all the wares ordered from these places by the inhabitants, and one of the surviving settlers frankly acknowledged that the orders for whisky exceeded all others. The journey from one point to the other occupied a period of ten days.
In the early days of the village one Peter Fisher Wambo became one of the residents. His pretentious bearing and air of superiority rendered him extremely unpopular among the townspeople, who on frequent occasions made him the victim of practical jokes. In one instance, after ren- dering himself particularly offensive, he was seized by the
TOWNSHIP OF ROSS.
495
boys and thrust into a pit that had been excavated to mend a break in the race. Over this they placed a board kept firmly in its place by a heavy log. Within this narrow compass they confined him for a night, while his captors sang improvised rhymes over their victim. It is needless to say that this summary discipline was most salutary in its effect upon Peter Fisher Wambo.
Asa Marvin made the village his home in 1838, and followed his trade of carpenter and joiner. In 1841 he removed to Illinois.
William Griswold and Horace Cross became residents in 1838, and followed their calling as cobblers. They found many demands upon their skill, and did a thriving busi- ness.
Horace Hadley came somewhat later, and established himself as a wagon-maker. The first wagon made in the place was the work of his hands. Mr. Hadley afterwards removed to Minnesota, and died in the army.
Isaac Hill came to the village as the earliest miller, when a grist-mill was added to the old saw-mill. He ground the first flour, and its quality was highly extolled by the pa- trons of the mill.
In addition to Dr. King, who was in active practice as a physician, was Dr. Martin Mason, who came from Orleans Co., N. Y., in 1846, and located in Augusta. His widow still resides in the village. Among other names identified with the early history of the village are those of Ford, Smith, Wyman, Lyons, Stone, Goodrich, Shepherd, McAllister, Johnson, Conway, and Hewitt. All of these gentlemen by their labor and energy aided in the growth of the place, and laid the foundation upon which future capital and enterprise have reared an enduring business structure. Nearly all branches of trade are represented in the village, and the business street at times presents a scene of activity worthy a place of much larger dimensions. With its fine advantages of water-power offered by the Kalamazoo River, flowing on its southern border, and the Michigan Central Railroad furnishing a market for its produce, there are very encouraging indications for its future growth and prosperity.
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