History of Kalamazoo county, Michigan, Part 59

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

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During the height of the excitement the village was like a town in the Desert of Sahara, covered with tents and camping caravans. We can give no better idea of the con- dition of affairs at this time than by quoting a few descriptive passages from George Torrey's history, published in 1869 :

"During the season of land speculation, the entire square in front of the Kalamazoo House, extending almost to South Street, was white with the tents of the land-lookers; the two offices were encompassed round about with them, and even in Willard's deer-park their canvas homes were seen.

"To feed this vast host was more than the hotels could do, and hungry men were turned away by hundreds. A daughter of one of the hotel-keepers told the writer that for weeks together there would not be another foot of sleeping room left in the house unoccupied ; while from morning till night one table followed another with a ra- pidity equal to the ratio of culinary capacities.

" The doors were guarded by determined men, who had a great task to perform in keeping back the crowd, and the windows, too, were watched ; but frequently some man more bold and sage would jump the sill, and beg to remain until his appetite might be appeased.

"Every house became a hostelry, and every cabin had 'a stranger within its gates.'

" Pie- and cake-venders throve abundantly on the necessities of the multitude, and a shilling for a ' quarter-section' of these viands found ready takers. It was the best of times to one class, if it was

# See Chapter XIX.

+ See Chapter IX.

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VILLAGE OF KALAMAZOO.

the worst to another; and it is pleasant and refreshing in these latter days, when the ear is vexed and the heart sickened by the daily tale of wrong, robbery, and perfidy, to contemplate the simple trust and confidence on the one side, and the unconscious honor and unpretend- ing honesty on the part of the other, which is revealed in the history of those times. Strangers would leave their money in their leather satchels or saddle-bags with the clerk or mine host of the inn, or with members of the family with whom he might for the time live, taking no voucher or other evidence of deposit, and sometimes go away for weeks looking out land.

" When the saddle-bags or canvas-bags, plethoric and ponderous with the precious, shining ore; were wanted, it was only necessary to describe them to get them, or, if there was any doubt in regard to the proper ' satchel,' the matter was left for the applicant to decide. Mrs. Patrick often had her room crowded with an apparently indis- criminate mass of these money-bags, and never a word of difficulty occurred in regard to them, each owner getting his own. One of Mr. Hays' daughters relates numerous instances of such trusts in her father's house in those days; often has she taken charge of packages for boarders that taxed her strength to carry.

"It is related that entire strangers would step into Sherman & Winslow's store (corner now occupied by the Humphrey block), and say ' Will you take charge of these bags till I call again ?' The ar- ticle would be taken without questioning, be thrown under the counter, and perhaps forgotten. After a time the person would call for his property, when he would be directed to a promiscuous pile of that sort of property, with the mandate to 'look it out among the others there,' and no mistakes or losses ever occurred.

" Another instance in point : In 1836, Mr. Hammond, cashier of the Bronson branch of the Bank of Michigan, wishing to send some specie to Detroit, learned that Mr. E. Ransom was going to that city with a team, and prevailed upon him to take charge of the money. Accordingly, six kegs of silver, mostly half-dollars, were loaded into the wagon, and Ransom's trip out occupied some twelve days, the route taken being through Schoolcraft and on to the Chicago ' turn- pike.' At night he would stop at the log taverns found along the way, leaving the treasure in the wagon by the roadside.

" Mr. Ransom had insisted upon the money being put into some old nail kegs, with a layer of nails to cover the silver, and he felt no uneasiness during the whole journey to Detroit."

The most noted event in 1835 was the establishment of a newspaper. In October the Michigan Statesman, before published at White Pigeon, was removed to Bronson, and published by Messrs. Gilbert & Chandler, who soon after changed its name to Kalamazoo Gazette .*

Another important item was the building of the first bridge across the Kalamazoo River at this point, which was accomplished in the spring of 1835. A grist-mill was also commenced in the fall, and finished the next season. It was built by Mr. E. Bailey, of New York, and a saw-mill adjoining this was also erected about the same time. A distillery was subsequently added.

The new bridge (a trestle structure) was built by John Moore. The subject of a bridge had been discussed for a considerable time, but the expense seemed too great to be borne by the scattered population. Finally (according to Mr. Torrey) the United States government furnished one- half the funds, and the remainder was raised after a deal of effort in the north half of the county, and the bridge was at length an accomplished fact. Its total cost is given at $400, of which the people paid $200.

Everybody, except Uncle Nate. Harrison, rejoiced ; but the completion of the bridge destroyed his occupation, and he soon after left the place and settled in Illinois, where there were fewer people to the square mile .; He belonged to

that class of men of whom Col. Daniel Boone and Cooper's " Pathfinder" were illustrious examples,-men who, when the clearing around their cabins became so extensive that they could not fell a tree within ten rods of it, abandoned the country, and sought a region where they were not likely to be crowded by neighbors.

The number of names of tax-payers on the assessment rolls of 1835, in Bronson and its vicinity, was about 150. Of these Titus Bronson paid taxes on 390 acres of land, assessed at $1320; Bronson, Burdick, and Huston, 80 acres, at $1200 ; Cyren and Justus Burdick were taxed on $1350; Frederick Booher, 253 acres, at $200 (this must have been swamp- or marsh-land) ; H. H. Com- stock, 1260 acres, valued at $3200; H. B. Huston, 207 acres, valued at $685 ; Nathan Harrison, 425 acres, valued at $1000; Elisha Hall, 306 acres, at $650 ; Thomas C. Sheldon & Co., 350 acres, at $1700, and for 250 village lots, at $4500 ; C. Burdick, Lyon & Sheldon, one lot (Kal- amazoo House), at $2000; Johnson Patrick, five lots, at $600; Epaphroditus Ransom, two lots, at $600; Theodore P. Sheldon, one lot, at $400; S. H. Ransom, 120 acres, at $360 ; Ebenezer Walter was assessed upon two horses ; Dr. Horace Starkweather, one lot, valued at $250; Silas Hub- bard was assessed upon 160 acres in Cooper township (town 1 south, range 11 west). The live-stock numbered 123 horses, 156 oxen, 171 cows, and 300 swine; quite a re- spectable showing. There were no sheep in the township.

An institution known as the " Kalamazoo Lyceum" was established in 1835, or previously, and was an important item in the history of the place. Alexander Cameron was its secretary, and it held regular meetings, at which im- portant questions were discussed, after the manner of simi- lar institutions throughout the land. A select school was also in operation, under the tutelage of Rev. Jeremiah Hall. With its land-office, bank, newspaper, schools, etc., the place was assuming metropolitan airs.

A new mercantile firm also opened a stock of goods at some period during the year. This was the firm of George Winslow and Caleb Sherman, who had started from the East with the design of locating in Chicago, then just be- ginning to be heard of. Their goods had been shipped around the lakes to St. Joseph ; but in the mean time, on their way across the Territory, they had stopped at Bronson, and being well pleased with the place and its surroundings concluded to settle here, and accordingly hauled the goods up from St. Joseph, and opened a store in the building formerly used by H. B. Huston, which had been moved to the corner now occupied by the Humphrey block.

The merchants and business men, besides the above firm, at that time were John Winslow and Amos Brownson, dry goods, on ground where the Burdick House stands ; H. J. H. Edwards, a sort of restaurant, near the land-office ; Deacon Porter, in similar business, corner of Main and Porter Streets ; Frederick Booher, landlord of the Kala- mazoo House, and livery-stable keeper; A. T. Prouty, in the furniture and cabinet-ware business, on South Street ; Joseph Hutchins, dry goods, on Portage Street. Among those who came to Bronson in 1835. not already mentioned, were Hon. Charles E. Stuart and wife, L. H. Trask and family, Daniel Fisher, O. S. Case (a printer), Rensselaer

# See history of newspapers, farther on.

t He is now living in Wisconsin, from which State he came to at- tend his father's (Bazel Harrison) funeral.

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Evits (a jeweler), Simeon Newman ; Mrs. Porter, widow of Dr. Porter, with her sons, James B. and Edwin H .; Wm. H. Stuart, Nathan L. Stout, Allen L. Goodridge and family, Emmor Hawley and family, Joseph Miller, Jr., and Samuel W. Bryan, who opened a wagon-shop, the first in town, on the corner of Cherry and Portage Streets.

The following list of property-owners in Bronson in 1835, published in the county directory for 1869, by George Torrey, is claimed to be a correct one, and we copy the paragraph verbatim :

"Ira W. Bird, east side of the river ; Wm. Martin, north side of Main St., west bank of the river; Benj. Harrison, Harrison St .; Ebenezer Stone, opposite Martin's; A. B. Gray, n. side Main St., corner Kalamazoo Avenue. A. Cahill's tannery, next west of Gray's blacksmith-shop, residence opposite side; west and south was the residence of John A. Hayes ; E. Belcher lived on n. e. corner Main and Porter Streets; Albert A. Smith, on the site of the old American hotel ; Stephen Vickery's office and residence, nearly oppo- site Smith's; Isaac Vickery's cabinet manufactory was near Stephen's residence ; Major Edwards' residence has been described ; A. II. Ed- wards, on the corner west of the major. Also, Henry Edwards' grocery-store ; A. Cooley, south of the old Davenport block ; west of A. H. Edwards, on Main St., lived Cyren Burdick; opposite (next west of Cooley), lived Edmund La Grave, and close by was A. & A. Buell's boot- and shoe-store; west of this, McIntosh had a variety- store ; next came Huston's store, and on the corner Winslow & Sher- man's store. Willard's store was the same now (1869) occupied by G. W. Fish. Hutchin's store, on site of Moore's, Portage st. ; nearly opposite lived Allen Goodridge ; next south, David Hubbard ; next south of Hutchin's was the residence of Mrs. Porter; then Frederick Booher's residence; and next, on the n. e. corner of Portage and Cherry Sts., Ira Burdick lived; below the opposite corner, south, was the domicile of Col. Huston ; Elisha Hall lived on the site of the present (1869) handsome residence of J. A. Walter, Esq. ; next, north of Hall, was Bryan ; north of the latter and south of Hubbard lived James Losey.

"Coming back to Main St., and following west of the Kalamazoo House, same side, we meet Judge Ransom's new residence; then Cahill's furniture-shop and residence; next Dr. Starkweather's resi- dence and the store of Winslow & Brownson (the Gazette was then published in the second story) ; still west, the office of Pierce Barber (justice, surveyor, etc.) ; and on the corner of Main and Rose Sts., the Bronson branch of the Bank of Michigan and the residence of its cashier, Geo. F. Porter; on the corner west, Patrick's hotel; next, Brownson's hotel. T. P. Sheldon lived then near his present (1869) residence; and upon the corner of Park and Water Sts., Samuel Board- man lived. Rev. Jeremiah Hall lived on Main street, nearly opposite Wm. B. Clark's present (1869) residence (then the site of George Pat- terson's house). Wm. A. Welsh lived on West St., a little west of Dillie's. Erastus Smith lived on the s. w. corner of Main and Park sts. South of Smith was L. H. Trask's residence. On the north corner of the next block S. L. Wood lived ; A. T. Prouty on the south corner. Dr. Abbott lived on the southeast corner of South and Park sts. Next, on the east corner of Church st., M. Heydenburk lived, and with him, J. P. Warner. On the site of N. A. Balch's palatial residence Cyrus Lovell dwelt; on the opposite corner, east, Henry Gilbert lived. On the west corner of Walnut and West Streets lived David S. Dillie; near the Union school-house, Roswell Crane; on the site of the horse- fair ground, Henry Mower. Rodney Seymour lived on Portage Creek, near the old saw-mill. Robert Hall had a smithy on the corner where Israel Kellogg lives (1869). Rensselaer Evits' house was between the stores of Huston and McIntosh. Mrs. Weaver lived in the house with Mrs. Dr. Porter. Lot North resided with Seymour ; Ethan French on Portage street, opposite where Walter now (1869) lives. Charles E. Stuart and family boarded at the Kalamazoo House."

CHANGING NAMES.

In the winter of 1835-36 a movement was set on foot, for some good reason, we presume, to change the name of Bronson village and the township of Arcadia to Kalama- 700. It is understood that the parties through whose in-

fluence, mainly, the change was brought about were Messrs. Burdick, Sheldon, and Lyon, and it is probable that Anthony Cooley was also interested, for his name appears as a pro- prietor of the village in 1844. Be this matter as it may, the influence brought to bear upon the Legislature pro- duced the desired result, and the following act was passed :

" Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Michigan," That from and after the thirty-first day of March, instant, the name of the township of Arcadia, in the county of Kala- mazoo, shall be changed and altered to that of Kalamazoo; and also the name of the village of Bronson shall be changed and hereafter known and called Kalamazoo, any law to the contrary notwith- standing.

" Approved March 2d, 1836."

By these proceedings Titus Bronson felt that he had been deeply wronged, and he only remained for a short time subsequent to the change. The blow fell heavily upon him, and from that time he seems to have lost cour- age, and in the course of a few years, during which he wandered over many of the States, his property passed from his possession, and he is said to have died in strait- ened circumstances.

His memory seems to have been brushed away, and about the only remembrance of the pioneer who founded this beautiful village is the somewhat uncertain appellation bestowed upon the park. Not even a street bears his name, though nearly every one of the early settlers are honored in this regard. The name Kalamazoo is more musical and pleasing than Bronson ; but, though we may acquiesce in the change, it cannot be denied that it was doing him an injustice to make it.

A notable improvement of 1836 was the building of a solid road from the east end of the bridge on Main Street to the hard land beyond the marsh, or slough, which was overflowed in time of high water, so that a scow ferry-boat was used for crossing, Ira W. Bird managing the same, and propelling it by means of poles or hauling it over with an ox-team.

Epaphroditus Ransom was in 1836 one of the "path- masters," or overseers of the road district in which this piece of road was situated, and he determined to take advantage of the dry weather and make it passable. He accomplished the work in a very unique and permanent manner. Near by, along the bank of the river, was a fine growth of sycamores, "the Occidental plane-trees," and these Ransom cut down, and, dividing the trimmed bodies into logs of about sixteen to twenty feet each, he placed them in regular " corduroy" order in the bed of his new road, and then covered them heavily with a stratum of gravel from the bluffs near by. This coating has been added to from time to time, and to-day this section of road, where used to be a low, soft, marshy piece of ground, is firm and solid. A curious result of burying the logs now stands on either side of the causeway, in the shape of a stately growth of young sycamores, which have sprung

# It has been stated that this act was passed by the Territorial Legislature, but the Session Laws show to the contrary. It is true that the State had not yet been admitted into the Federal Union, but a full set of State officers had been elected in 1835, and the State gov- ernment was in full operation after its organization, in the winter of 1835-36.

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up from either end of their buried progenitors, forming, in the heated days of summer, a most welcome and refreshing shade to travelers on this dusty highway.

It is probable that the year 1836 witnessed as great an amount of speculation in all parts of the country, in pro- portion to its population, as any year in the history of the republic. This spirit of speculation was manifested in the newer regions of the Union to a most remarkable degree, especially in connection with government lands, and new villages, cities, and railways, upon paper.

Kalamazoo was continually filled with men looking for land and speculators watching for the unwary. A quarter- section would sometimes be sold in the morning for $200, which before night would be again sold for double that sum. Everybody was frantic to get hold of land, and men seemed to think that there was untold wealth in crazy speculation. Many bought land without examining it, and others, after weeks of traveling and examining, would purchase 160 acres and return to the East, and perhaps never give any further attention to it, allowing it finally to be sold for taxes.

The demand was so incessant, and the amount of money received at the land-office so large, that at times the offi- cers were compelled to close up for weeks, in order to get the books written up. It is said that the sales for May, 1836, reached a half-million dollars, but this is certainly an exaggeration, unless one-fourth of the business of the whole year was transacted in that month, for the entire sales for the year were only $2,043,866.87. This was the culminating year for business at the Kalamazoo land- office. In 1837 the sales only aggregated $394,316.77.

During the days of the land excitement, the Indians (Ottawas and Pottawattomies) drove a thriving trade in the early summer, at the annual " trade sales," when they would assemble by thousands from the four quarters of the compass, bringing their furs and peltries, their venison and mococks of maple-sugar, and the handiwork of their squaws, to exchange for the goods and trinkets, the guns, powder, and lead, and the deadly "fire-water" of the white man; and many were the midnight orgies that waked the echoes of the broad valley of the Kalamazoo. The principal pur- chasers of Indian commodities were Col. H. B. Huston, and Sherman & Brownson.

Kalamazoo made considerable additions to its population, and quite a number of substantial buildings were erected during the year. The grist-mill on the river was completed and put in operation ;* Willard & Cooley completed build- ings already commenced ; Brownson & Winslow built a new store; Hiram Owen, Silas Trowbridge, and Warren Burrill built dwellings; and Joseph Hutchins and Rensse- laer Evits erected two new stores on the corner of Main and Edwards Streets. William Clark and George Thomas Clark settled in the place in the spring of the year, and William erected a distillery on the west bank of the river, near the Michigan Central Railway crossing, and a dwelling on West Street.

Among the new-comers of the year were Asa Fitch and family ; A. G. Hammond, cashier of the branch Bank of Michigan ; George A. and Richard O'Brien and families ; - - Hale and family ; O. Underwood and family (who

possibly came in 1835) ; James Taylor, the At Lees, Zepha- niah Platt, W. Birch, Dr. Reuben Barrett and family, Eben- ezer Durkee and family, Rev. Silas Woodbury and family, Joseph B. Daniels and family, Deacon Barrows and family, Henry M. Rice, Levi Krause, Amos Knerr, Clement March, Lyman Tuttle, Oliver Davenport, Azro Healy, Nat. Holman, and William G. and F. Dewing.

Dr. Barrett practiced medicine and kept a boarding- house. Subsequently, his health failing, he gave up active practice and engaged in trade on Main Street. Eben- ezer Durkee kept a small grocery-store on the east side of the river. Henry M. Rice subsequently removed to Min- nesota, where he became a distinguished politician and office- holder, including the position of United States senator.

Dr. Browning, Elias Whitcomb, and Philip Vredenburg were also settlers in 1836. Dr. Browning opened the first regular drug-store in the place; Whitcomb purchased a share in the grist-mill built by Bailey.

In the winter of 1836-37 there occurred a famous wolf- hunt, which for a couple of days made rare sport for the " mighty hunters" of those days. It was one of the real genuine genus Lupus, a member of the fierce family de- scribed by Byron in " Mazeppa,"

" With their long gallop, which can tire The hounds' deep hate and hunter's fire."

But this one was a poor lone specimen, who, prowling around the hen-roost of farmer Sutherland, in Cooper town- ship, put his foot into a steel-trap which that gentleman had prepared for a red fox. Not fancying the thought of remaining until the morning light should bring the venge- ful farmer upon him with dogs and gun, the powerful animal pulled up the fastenings of the trap, and with the jaws fast shut around his forefoot, departed for " tall timber."

The next morning a great " hue and cry" was raised in Kalamazoo village, and

" There was mounting in hot haste,"

as the sportsmen of the place shouldered their deadly weapons and mustered for the chase. David Hubbard hitched his fine team, which he had a few years before driven all the way from Vermont, and took a load of eager hunters towards the north, whither the game was supposed to have fled. Among those who occupied Hubbard's sleigh were S. W. Bryan, Levi Krause, and William Murphy ; while Henry M. Rice, George W. Winslow, R. C. Hub- bard, Johnson Patrick, and others, " took horse," and col- lecting all the dogs to be found, including Willard's famous pack of hounds, pushed on for the scene of strife.

The force divided, one-half, with half the dogs, taking the east bank of the river, and the others with their quota of dogs proceeding down the west bank. The wolf was in the big marsh bordering the river, but he had no idea of giving up without a gallant push for his life, and when aroused from his hiding-place, encumbered as he was with a heavy trap and chain, he boldly struck out, crossing and recrossing

* This was the first grist-mill erected in Kalamazoo, and it stood on the site of the present flouring-mill, at the east end of the river bridge. It was built and owned by Mr. E. Bailey, of New York. See history of manufactures, farther on.

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the river as many as seven times when hard pressed, and giving the dogs and hunters a deal of trouble.

The horses were soon found to be only incumbrances in the swampy bottom among brush and heavy timber, and they were sent back to the village, under the escort of R. C. Hubbard, with the single exception of Johnson Patrick's pony, who seemed able to go where a dog or man could find footing.

Late in the afternoon the game was brought to bay, under the branches of a fallen tree on the back part of the Dan Arnold farm. Here two of Willard's most famous dogs, " Job" and " Pete," who had until this time been absent on a little hunt of their own, joined the remainder of the pack. Immediately the hunters hurried to the scene of conflict, and just as they were approaching the spot, the wolf dashed from his cover and attempted to make for the half-frozen river once more, but an old dog detained him a moment by a sudden flank attack, until S. W. Bryan could creep up and seize the chain and drag him from the ice to a bunch of alders on the bank. Here the party managed to over- power the terribly exhausted beast, and tying him securely, they hung him upon a pole, and borne in triumph upon the shoulders of two men, the grim, defiant captive was taken to the farm-house of Mr. Arnold, where, after a bountiful supper and a joyous evening, they retired about midnight.

The next morning, after a warm breakfast had been stowed away, the worst used up man of the party, George W. Wins- low, was placed upon Patrick's pony, and taking the wolf on in front he proceeded slowly towards the village. The balance of the party started on foot, but finally got a ride on a farmer's sled, and soon after the whole band-men, dogs, pony, and wolf-reached the Kalamazoo House.

On the following day a grand wolf- and dog-fight was arranged, and an eager crowd assembled to see it come off. It took place upon a vacant piece of ground south of Main, east of Burdick Street, and west of the alley. Here, after a terrific combat, lasting for three-quarters of an hour, the . wolf gave up the ghost. The venerable Dr. Abbott played coroner and announced the death of the animal, and then in the evening there was a grand gathering at Patrick's Inn, where the company of hunters and their friends partook of one of mine host's famous suppers, and thus ended the memorable wolf-hunt of the Kalamazoo.

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History of Kalamazoo county, Michigan, Part 59

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