History of Kalamazoo county, Michigan, Part 44

Author: Durant, Samuel W. comp
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia. Everts & Abbott
Number of Pages: 761

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t In the hyperbolical language of those days, when describing the terrible condition of the roads, it was the custom to say, " If you ride in the stage, you will have to go on foot and carry a rail."

* By A. D. P. Van Buren.

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INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.

sengers, and to hear the news from the outer world con- tained in the old padlocked leathern mail-bag.

The stage-coach of forty-five years ago was an impor- tant institution. Its coming was always an interesting event. It had all the enchantment about it that distance lends. The settlement or village hailed its advent as a ship returning from a long cruise bringing relatives, friends, and news from a foreign land. It linked the woodland villages with each other, and kept them all in communication with the outside world. But those little four-nooked missives, coming from long distances, whether billet-doux or business notes, had each a postal charge of one-quarter of a dollar. Correspondence cost something in those days. Deacon William McClary, of Charleston, not having the money to pay the postmaster, Ambrose Cock, for a letter, split fifty oak rails for him, which he took in lieu of the postage. Gilbert Cranmer, now of Comstock, informed the writer that he once mowed four acres of marsh grass to pay a Western postmaster the twenty-five cents charge on a letter.

The stage-coach, so familiar to the first generation of the present century, was familiarly known as the " Concord coach ;" and this no doubt originated from the fact that the original pattern was built in Concord, N. H., which in fact is the habitat of this kind of vehicle, and the manu- facture is carried on there to the present time.

The common style of coach cost probably from two hundred to three hundred dollars, and had as many kinds of running and standing rigging as a rebel wagon or an average lake schooner. On a rough road the middle seat was preferable, because, being placed "amidship," the mo- tion was a minimum one, while the forward, and particu- larly the rear seats, swung up and down like the bow and stern of a sea-going ship in a heavy sea " bows on." On a smooth road the " back seat" was the ne plus ultra of com- fort, and the first passengers were sure to secure it. With a coach full of jolly passengers in pleasant weather, and the curtains close drawn, it was really a luxurious mode of traveling, only excelled on land by the "palace car" of after-days.

A line of stage-coaches was put in operation in 1833 be- tween Kalamazoo and the Grand River country by one Sargent, and about the same time Lucius Barnes opened a line from Marshall to Bronson via Gull Prairie, and the Territorial road was in operation in this year from Detroit to Kalamazoo. In 1834, S. B. Davis & Co. put a line upon this road.

Among the early lines of stages in this region was one, or rather several, from Detroit west, owned and run by Tillotson, Brown & Davis, Gen. Bissell Humphrey, and others.

The lines between Grand Rapids and Three Rivers were owned and operated by Pattison & Wood for some years.

Among the famous drivers may be mentioned Samuel T. Brown, of Gull Prairie ;* a man named Hill, afterwards sheriff of Van Buren County ; Bill Bliss, who died at Paw Paw; Loren and Hiram Gay, who subsequently went to California ; John Morgan, - Green, who died in Kala-

mazoo ; Samuel and John Carver, brothers, of Marshall ; and a man named Lewis.

Apropos of old roads and " taverns," the following frag- ments by George Torrey, Sr., then one of the editors of the Telegraph, published in 1844, is interesting :

" Did you ever go out to Grand River, From Detroit to Kalamazoo,

In a wagon without any kiver, Through a country that looks very new?

" If you're hungry, and wish for a dinner, Breakfast, supper, and lodgings to boot,

If you're a Turk, a Christian, or sinner, Yankee Springs is the place that will suit.

" The landlord's a prince of his order,- Yankee Lewis, whose fame and renown, Far and near throughout Michigan's border, Is noised about country and town."

After enumerating the variety in the bill of fare at this log tavern, the poet assures us :

"'Tis here the alimentative passion Will be tickled in every part."

CANALS.

Although no canal was ever actually constructed in Kala- mazoo County, except for milling purposes, yet the subject of a ship canal was discussed at various times, and pre- liminary surveys, or at least examinations, of the Kalamazoo River were made with a view to determine the feasibility of such a work.

We believe the first project of this kind which either directly or indirectly interested or concerned the county of Kalamazoo was the scheme to connect Lake Michigan and Lake St. Clair by what was known as the " Clinton and Kalamazoo Navigation Company," which was chartered about 1827. Its ostensible object was to construct a canal from Lake St. Clair via the Little Clinton River, which heads in the multitudinous lakes of Oakland County, and thence across the country west to the Kalamazoo River, at the most eligible point, and down that stream to its mouth. The Clinton River was actually improved and made naviga- ble as far as the village of Rochester, the first settled place in Oakland County, and business was carried on upon it for several years, until the advent of railways rendered it unprofitable.

A careful survey of the Kalamazoo River was made, and the distance between the termini was found to be two hun- dred and sixteen miles and seventy-nine chains. The sum- mit level was in the village of Pontiac, 344-61 feet above the level of Lake St. Clair, and 336-11 feet above Lake Michigan.

The report of the survey in 1838, made by James Hurd, showed that there would be six levels of forty-three, twenty- nine, twenty-eight, fifteen, seventeen, and twelve miles re- quired, with a lockage upon the eastern slope of 349-61 feet, and upon the western of 341-11 feet.

Another project was for a canal from the mouth of the Kalamazoo River to a point in the Detroit River, an esti- mated distance of one hundred and ninety miles. This would follow the valley of the Kalamazoo to Battle Creek ; thence up the last-named stream to section 15 in the town of Walton, in Eaton County; thence in an easterly course

# Mr. Brown drove the first coach through to Bronson. He forded the river, and in many places was compelled to " work the road" be- fore he could get through.

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HISTORY OF KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

up one of the tributaries of Battle Creek to near its head ; thence in nearly a direct line to Grand River, in the town- ship of Brookfield, Eaton County ; from there following Grand River into Ingham County, and passing to the level of Portage marsh and the lakes of Jackson and Ingham Counties, near the base line, striking the head-waters of the Huron and Rouge Rivers, and thence to the Detroit River.

The old estimate of the cost of the Clinton and Kalama- zoo Canal was two million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars; of the Kalamazoo and Detroit River Canal, about ten million dollars. The last named was found to be the shortest of any route surveyed or proposed across the pen- insula, and, with the exception of the Saginaw route, the cheapest of construction.

This subject has been considerably agitated within the past three years, and in view of its feasibility and ultimate benefit to the community of the Northwest, its position relatively to the two greatest primary grain markets in the world,-Chicago and Milwaukee,-and the severe losses in life and property on Lakes Huron and Michigan during the season of 1879, its probable construction at no distant day is certainly among the probabilities. The visible supply of water for feeding purposes upon the summit was estimated at one hundred and sixty-four thousand six hundred and forty cubic feet per minute; the estimated amount required, forty thousand feet.

RIVER NAVIGATION.

The Kalamazoo was a great thoroughfare for the Indians before the advent of the white race, and many a great war party has filled its quiet channel with swarming canoes, no doubt, as nation warred with nation, for war might almost be said to have been a chronic condition of Indian life. After the appearance of the whites and the institution of the annual " trade sales," the river was covered with canoes filled with savages coming to exchange their furs and pel- tries, their maple-sugar, put up in "mococks," and the handiwork of their squaws, for the powder and lead and gewgaws and finery of the white man, and last, though by no means least in the estimation of the savage, the deadly " fire-water," which wrought such ruin to the race.

During the continuance of the fur trade Robinson, Hub- bard, and others transported their goods and peltries be- tween their various stations and Mackinac in Mackinac boats, or the regular bateaux of the early Canadian voy- ageurs. This traffic continued as late as 1837.

Previous to the advent of railways, in 1846, great trouble was experienced in procuring goods from the East, and in transporting thither the products of the country. The old territorial roads leading from Detroit and Monroe were at certain seasons of the year practically impassable, and al- together so for loaded teams. Considerable quantities of merchandise were shipped by water from Buffalo and De- troit around through Lakes Huron and Michigan to the mouth of the St. Joseph River, and sometimes the Kal- amazoo was navigable for twenty or thirty miles for small vessels.

In order to remedy the existing evils and provide means for permanent transportation, a company was formed at Kalamazoo in 1836, consisting of Lucius Lyon, T. C.

Sheldon, Justus and Cyren Burdick, Hosea B. Houston, and Messrs. Sherman & Winslow. They turned their attention to the navigation of the river, and built a large flat-boat, which was expected to make regular trips, during the season of navigation, between Kalamazoo and the mouth of the river, touching at intermediate points, and in favorable weather it was hoped it might safely go as far as Port Sheldon.

In due time the new craft was completed and launched, and soon had a cargo safely stowed on board ready for the trip. Capt. Albert Saxton was in command, and George W. Winslow accompanied him as supercargo.

One successful trip was made, but on a second voyage the craft, venturing upon the waters of the treacherous Lake Michigan, was totally wrecked between the mouth of the Kalamazoo and North Black River.

This costly experiment terminated river navigation for a number of years, and trade and commerce reverted to the old channels running overland across the peninsula.

In 1841, D. S. Walbridge settled in Kalamazoo and en- gaged in the business of buying and shipping wheat, of which commodity the western portion of Michigan had begun to produce a large surplus, and of such excellent quality that it was soon in demand for export. Mr. Wal- bridge soon after rented the grist-mill built by Mr. Walter, on Portage Creek, and, removing his family from Buffalo to Kalamazoo in 1842, became a permanent resident and a prominent business man. He purchased large quantities of surplus produce, and in those times, when the farmers were not as now independent, advanced them money upon their growing crops, and was in many ways a valuable citizen.

In 1842, under the firm-name of D. S. Walbridge & Co., a line of scows, or flat-boats, was put in operation on the Kalamazoo River, running from Kalamazoo to its mouth, but risking nothing in the uncertain waters of the great lake. The boats were built on the bank of the river, east of the second bridge over the race, near where now stand "The Occidental Plane-trees," and thence, when completed and launched, they were floated around the great bend in the river to the mouth of the Portage Creek, where they were tied up and loaded, sometimes with flour from teams, and sometimes from lighters, which brought it down the creek from the mill when there was plenty of water. The boats were of such capacity that it required several days to load one of them, and when the cargo was complete, and they were fairly launched forth upon the stream, it generally re- quired about three days to make the trip to the mouth of the river. The return-voyage occupied about seven days. This line proved eminently successful and continued in operation until the completion of the Michigan Central Railway, which reached Kalamazoo in February, 1846. The pro- duce thus taken down the river was transhipped at its mouth into sail-vessels or steamers, and thence carried to the Eastern ports, mostly to Buffalo.

This was the last of any regular navigation upon the Kalamazoo River. There was frequent talk of making the river navigable for large craft by means of a system of slack-water navigation, but the advent of railways made the scheme impracticable, and, beyond preliminary surveys and estimates, nothing was attempted.

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INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.

PLANK-ROADS.

The experiment of building and using roads covered with a layer of wood in the form (generally) of plank, from two to four inches in thickness, laid upon timbers placed longitudinally upon a graded road-bed, has been tried in a large number of the States of the American Union. Ex- tensive corporations were created with heavy capital and many lines of road constructed in nearly every part of the West, beginning, perhaps, a few years previous to 1850. Their continuance was generally determined either by the durability of the timber made use of in their construction or the competition of one or more railway lines.

In the absence of the substantial turnpike and the rail- way, they answered, during their brief existence, a most excellent purpose, and particularly in a country like the lower peninsula of Michigan, where the sandy character of the surface-formation rendered a solid road-bed a question to be decided by a more dense and wealthy population than was to be found in the State at the time of their inaugura- tion.

There were two plank-road corporations chartered and put in operation which were either wholly or partly within the limits of Kalamazoo County, and there were perhaps other charters obtained which were never utilized.

The earliest of these was the " Kalamazoo and Three Rivers Plank-Road Company," chartered by an act ap- proved by the Governor on the 17th of March, 1848. The incorporators named in the act were Evert B. Dyckman, Daniel L. Kimberly, D. S. Walbridge, Hiram Arnold, Edward S. Moore. The capital stock authorized by the act was fifty thousand dollars.

The intention was to connect the termini mentioned,- Kalamazoo and Three Rivers,-but this was not entirely consummated. The road was constructed between Kala- mazoo and the village of Schoolcraft, and extended some three miles south of the north line of St. Joseph County. There was also a short section constructed from the village of Three Rivers north ; but there was probably about six miles upon which there was no plank laid. This road, in connection with the one from Kalamazoo to Grand Rapids, was of almost incalculable benefit to the farmers, merchants, and manufacturers of the productive region through which it passed, and until the advent of railways it did a very exten- sive business. The completion of the Kalamazoo and White Pigeon Railway, now the Kalamazoo division of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, in 1871, virtually terminated its existence, and it became one of the institu- tions of the past. After its abandonment for the original purposes of its construction, portions of its graded bed were converted into a part of the common highway system of the county, the labor bestowed upon the grading and the culverts and bridges being valuable and readily avail- able for the uses of a common road. In some portions of the country the abandoned plank-road beds were graveled and converted into solid turnpikes, but this occurred prin- cipally where there was no railway competition.

Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids Plank-Road Company. -This company was chartered by an act approved March 25, 1850. The original incorporators were F. I. Tanner, Theodore P. Sheldon, George W. Barnes, Isaac Moffatt, J.

P. Woodbury, George Kendall, Charles H. Taylor, A. J. Deiderick. The authorized capital stock was seventy thou- sand dollars, and was issued in twenty-eight hundred shares of twenty-five dollars each.

No steps were taken towards the actual construction of this company's road until March, 1852, when Mr. L. H. Trask surveyed and located it to the north line of Allegan County. The total distance from Kalamazoo to Grand Rapids was forty-eight miles. It was located partly on the common roads of the country (along the margin) and partly on a new line, the company purchasing the right of way. It was constructed in the years 1852 and 1853. The por- tion lying in Kent County was surveyed and constructed by parties belonging at Grand Rapids.

Governor Epaphroditus Ransom and other prominent men were connected with the company for a number of years, the Governor being its president. L. H. Trask was the company's secretary for two years.

The management changed hands a number of times. The control fell into the hands of Leverett Whitcomb within a few years, and he in turn transferred it to Mr. N. A. Balch and William H. De Yoe, in 1854. Mr. De Yoe died, and Mr. Balch managed its affairs until 1870, when the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railway superseded it as a means of travel and commerce, and Mr. Balch closed up its affairs under an act of the Legislature." *.

During its existence it was the principal outlet for the traffic and travel of the lower Grand River and Kalamazoo valleys, and was thronged with an immense business. It is probable that the two great plank-roads centering at Kalamazoo were among the most important factors in the upbuilding of the town. The charter of the Kalamazoo and Three Rivers Company was limited to thirty years, and that of the Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids Company to sixty years. The stock in both corporations was largely taken in Kalamazoo, though Grand Rapids, Three Rivers, and many parties living along the line of the two roads, were interested.

Graveled turnpikes are rapidly taking the place of com- mon roads and the short-lived plank-roads, and in the course of a few years much of the southern portion of Michigan will be supplied with them. At first they are generally constructed by corporations, who keep them in good condition, and charge a nominal toll for all vehicles passing over them; but they will eventually be kept in repair by the various townships, from the proceeds of a general tax on property. Gravel beds are generally abun- dant and conveniently distributed, and as the population - increases in density and wealth better improvements of every kind will naturally succeed those of the earlier years of settlement.

RAILWAYS.

Upon the admission of Michigan into the Union, in 1837, the new State launched out into a grand system of internal improvements, to include the improvement of rivers, the construction of canals, and the building and operating of three trunk lines of railway-a Southern, a Central, and a Northern.

A loan of $5,000,000 was provided for, and great ex- pectations were indulged for the future of the young and

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HISTORY OF KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

ambitious State; but the scheme, however correct in prin- ciple, was impracticable for a new-fledged commonwealth.

However, the Southern line, commencing at Monroe, was constructed by the State as far as Hillsdale, a distance of sixty-six miles, and completed to that point in 1843. In 1846 the State sold the road to a company which completed it to Chicago.

The Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad .- The earliest rail- road looking towards Kalamazoo was the old Erie and Kalamazoo, which was chartered by the Territorial Legis- lature on the 22d of April, 1833. The road was to run from Port Lawrence (now Toledo, Ohio) to the head-waters of the Kalamazoo River, with a prospective continuation, in time, down the valley of that stream. It was built and opened to Adrian in 1837. As a matter of curiosity, we present below the original advertisement of the opening of this road, with a fac-simile representation of the engine and passenger-coach then in use:

(Item from the Toledo Blade, Jan. 20, 1837.)

"It affords us pleasure to announce the arrival of the long-expected locomotive (Adrian Baldwin, No. 80) for the Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad. The business of our place has been embarrassed for want of it; goods have accumulated at our wharves faster than we could transport them into the interior on cars drawn by horses, and, as a nat- ural consequence, several of our warehouses are now crowded to their utmost capacity. It is expected that the engine will be in operation in a few days, and then, we trust, goods and merchandise will be for- warded as fast as they arrive. A little allowance, however, must be made for the time necessary to disencumber our warehouses of the large stock already on hand.

" ADVERTISEMENT.

"TO EMIGRANTS AND TRAVELERS.

"The Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad is now in full operation between "TOLEDO AND ADRIAN.

"During the ensuing season trains of cars will run daily to Adrian, there connecting with a line of stages for the West, Michigan City, Chicago, and Wisconsin Territory.

"Emigrants and others destined for Indiana, Illinois, and the Western part of Michigan

" Je Will save two days

and the corresponding expense, by taking this route in preference to the more lengthened, tedious, and expensive route heretofore traveled. " All baggage at the risk of the owners.

"EDWARD BISSELL, "W. P. DANIELS, " GEORGE CRANE,

Commissioners E. & K. R. R. Co.

" A. HUGHES, Superintendent Western Stage Company."

The owners of this pioneer line constructed and opened the Palmyra and Jacksonburg Railroad (now the Jackson branch of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern road) in 1838 as far as Tecumseh, which remained its terminus for twenty years.

In 1844, the company becoming heavily involved, the road was purchased by the State, which united it with the Southern road and sold it to a company, along with the main line, as before stated, in 1846.

The first. project for a railroad actually connecting with Kalamazoo was made tangible by an act passed by the State Legislature on the 28th of March, 1836, incorporating the Kalamazoo and Lake Michigan Railroad Company. The incorporators were. Epaphroditus Ransom, Charles E. Stuart, Edwin H. Lothrop, Horace H. Comstock, and Isaac W. Willard, and they were authorized by the terms of the act to construct a railroad " from the mouth of the South Black River, in the county of Van Buren, to the county of Kalamazoo." This, like many another similar transaction, eventuated in nothing important. The country was altogether too new to build the road without the aid of outside capital, and the inducements and prospects were not flattering enough to induce any investment by capitalists.

The Michigan Central Railway .- This road was begun by the Detroit and St. Joseph Railroad Company in 1836,* but before any considerable amount of work had been done that company sold to the State, April 22, 1837. The State completed in sections, as follows : From Detroit to Ypsi- lanti, Feb. 5, 1838; to Ann Arbor, Oct. 17, 1839; to Dexter, June 30, 1841; to Jackson, Dec. 29, 1841; to Albion, Jan. 25, 1844 ; to Marshall, Aug. 12, 1844; to Battle Creek, Nov. 25, 1845 ; to Kalamazoo, Feb. 2, 1846.

Under an act of the Legislature the State sold the road to the Michigan Central Company, Sept. 24, 1846. That company completed the road : From Kalamazoo to Niles, 1848; to New Buffalo, in the spring of 1849 ; to Michigan City, autumn of 1850; to Chicago, May, 1852.

This is the most important line passing through Kala- mazoo County, and it does a very heavy business, both through and local.

The total length of this line is two hundred and seventy miles, of which two hundred and twenty-one miles are in the State of Michigan, the balance in Indiana and Illinois. The track is of the new steel pattern, and it is in every re- spect a first-class road.

The capital stock of this company is about $19,000,000; cost of construction and equipment, $27,898,052.88.

The Central and its branch has stations in Kalamazoo County at Oshtemo, Kalamazoo, Comstock, Galesburg, Augusta, and Alamo.

Kalamazoo and White Pigeon Railroad .- This line was constructed from White Pigeon to Constantine in 1852, from Constantine to Three Rivers in 1855, and from Three Rivers to Kalamazoo (completed) in May, 1867. The road is thirty-eight miles in length. Soon after the consolida- tion of the lines now constituting the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Road, the same company purchased the Kalamazoo and White Pigeon line, which now forms an important feeder of the main line.

The capital stock of this company was $230,900; total cost of construction, $610,000.

The stations on this line within the county are School- craft, Portage, and Kalamazoo.

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History of Kalamazoo county, Michigan, Part 44

Author: Durant, Samuel W. comp Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Philadelphia. Everts & Abbott Number of Pages: 761

Author: Durant, Samuel W. comp
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia. Everts & Abbott
Number of Pages: 761