History of Kalamazoo county, Michigan, Part 68

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

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Very much taste has been displayed in laying out the cemetery, and the plan is in conformation with the nature of the ground, from which fact the hard angles and un- sightly cuts and fills seen in many cemeteries which would otherwise be fine, are avoided. The number of lots in Mountain Home Cemetery is 555, of which number 139 remained unsold in January, 1878. All the lots not taken were between those numbered 147 and 555. The number of lots in the " improved ground" at the above date was 65.

Riverside Cemetery .- At the annual township meeting in April, 1861, the subject of a new cemetery for the use of the township was introduced, and N. A. Balch, James A. Walter, and Thomas R. Sherwood were appointed a committee to select and purchase the necessary site. At a meeting of the township board of health, held June 26, 1861, the committee reported in favor of purchasing 26 acres off the west part of the southwest quarter of section 11, of Jeremiah P. Woodbury, and this was accordingly done for $65.80 per acre, fenced. The ground was surveyed into lots, blocks, drives, etc., in 1861-62. The frame tenant-house at the southwest corner of the grounds was built in 1861, and is now occupied by the sexton, Dennis Coghan.

Catholic Cemetery .- Several petitions were sent to the board by the Catholics, asking that a small tract out of the northwest corner of Riverside Cemetery be sold to them for use as a Catholic burial-ground. At first the proposi- tion was rejected, but finally, in the spring of 1862, a piece of land containing 2.38 acres was sold to them for $100 an acre, at the location given, and this is now in use by them. It is the property of the parish of St. Augus- tine.

KALAMAZOO POST-OFFICE.

The following facts with reference to the post-office are from an excellent history of the institution compiled by Dr. Foster Pratt in the beginning of 1867, and from data fur- nished by the present postmaster, Lucius B. Kendall, Esq.

The pioneer settlement of Bronson was favored with a regular mail before it was honored with the presence of a post-office. From May, 1830, until July, 1832, the post- office department furnished mail westward from Detroit once a week, by coach or wagon as far as Jackson, and from thence westward, by horseback conveyance or on foot, through Marshall, Battle Creek, Gull Prairie, and School- craft to White Pigeon. From this mail the few settlers at

Bronson were supplied, as a special favor by the carrier, as he passed through on his way south.

It is said that the mails were so scanty, owing to the high rates of postage and a sparse population, that cumbersome mail-bags were dispensed with and the carrier stowed the mail matter in his pockets or hat. Among the earliest contractors between Jackson and White Pigeon was Hiram Blashfield, then of Jackson County. Another was said to have been a man named Darling, who lived at Marengo, beyond Marshall. One of the very earliest carriers was Martin Barrett, then a boy of thirteen or fourteen years, who carried the mail from Jackson to Gull Prairie, and from thence his father and brothers took it to Schoolcraft and White Pigeon.

On the 14th day of July, 1832, a post-office was first established at Kalamazoo (then Bronson), by order of Amos Kendall, then Postmaster-General, and Dr. Jonathan G. Abbott appointed the first postmaster. The commission bears the characteristic signature of Andrew Jackson.

The office was originally located by Dr. Abbott on the northeast corner of Main and Rose Streets, in a wooden building in which were the doctor's dwelling and medical office. At that time the location was considerably away from business, which centred about the Kalamazoo House, then in process of erection, and along East Main Street. The mails were small in amount, and, like angels' visits, " few and far between," only troubling the doctor once a week, so that he could give the greater share of his time to the duties of his profession. When the mail arrived, it was shaken out upon the floor, and a very few minutes sufficed to " distribute" it, which was done by placing what belonged to Bronson in a small basket, and returning the remainder to the bag or pockets of the carrier.

In the early summer of 1833, Dr. Abbott erected a frame dwelling on the southeast corner of South and Park Streets (now occupied by the dwelling of Hon. H. G. Wells), and thither his household effects and the parapher- nalia of his medical office and the post-office were removed. But this location was farther from the business of the place than the former one, and after remaining here about eighteen months it was removed to the lower end of Main Street, into a building occupied by the second merchant in the place, R. McIntosh, where it remained until the summer of 1835, when it was removed to a store-house built by Drs. Abbott and Starkweather, on the site of the present Bur- dick House. In this location it remained until the close of Dr. Abbott's term, April 20, 1836.

The removal of the land-office from White Pigeon to Bronson in 1834, and the consequent greatly-increased volume of business, and particularly correspondence, added largely to the labors and also to the income of the post- office. The increased emoluments of the office are said to have stirred up a jealousy among the aspiring men of the village which led to a change in the postmastership. During Dr. Abbott's administration the mails were carried by Lucius Barnes in a two-horse wagon or sleigh, according to the season.

On the 20th of April, 1836, Isaac W. Willard was ap- pointed postmaster, and, this occurring about five weeks subsequent to the change in the name of the township and

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HISTORY OF KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

village, the name of the office was also changed to Kala- mazoo. Whether the change in the name of the post-office was made in consequence of there being a " Bronson Prai- rie" in another county of the State, as suggested by Dr. Pratt as the true statement of the case, is perhaps ques- tionable, for it would seem to be a natural thing for the de- partment to do to make the name of the office correspond with that of the township and village; and certainly the changes made by the Legislature antedated the change in the name of the post-office by the difference between the 12th of March and the 20th of April.

The great increase of travel and general business incident to the location of the land-office made additional facilities a necessity, and about May, 1836, the new mail contractors, Messrs. Thompson & Wadsworth, placed upon the route between Marshall and Kalamazoo a line of coaches, and there was a general turn-out of the entire male population to welcome with cheers and shouts the first regular coach that ever entered Kalamazoo. How often these new ve- hicles arrived we are not informed, but probably twice or thrice per week. A daily line was not put in operation until two years later.

Soon after the inauguration of Mr. Willard the post-office was removed from its location in the Burdick House block to his store, then well known, and situated on the north- west side of Main Street, below and near the Kalamazoo House. This change of location from " up town" to " down town" created considerable feeling among the citizens of the important village.

At the new location the office remained for a period of more than five years. In the summer of 1837, when the place was having what in these " degenerate days" would be denominated a " business boom," it was considered justi- fiable by the postmaster to introduce "a new departure," and one day the astonished citizens who thronged into the office beheld additional accommodations in the shape of 75 boxes. This tremendous advance in the business facilities of the place assured the good people that Kalamazoo was indeed an important town.

In June, 1838, according to the columns of the old Gazette, the first daily mail was established upon the route between Detroit and Kalamazoo. The contrast between 1838 and 1880 is wonderful,-then 1 daily mail, now, 18 daily arrivals and as many dispatched.

In 1840, according to the postal records, Zenas Tillotson was contractor from Jackson to Kalamazoo, and Constant Cook, of Cohocton, N. Y., on the route from Kalamazoo to White Pigeon. The last-named individual also had the contract from Kalamazoo via Yankee Springs to Grand Rapids. This last contract was subsequently transferred to Withey & Lewis. Joseph Fisk had the contract on the route from Kalamazoo to Otsego and Allegan, and the route from Kalamazoo to St. Joseph was contracted to Messrs. Tillotson, Davis, and Patrick. The route for the accommodation of the southern portion of the county, from Battle Creek via Climax Prairie, Pavilion, Brady, School- craft, Little Prairie Ronde to Niles, was let to Luther Olds. Contracts for all these routes were let in 1840.

Kalamazoo was the terminus of five important mail routes, and mails were distributed at its office for a territory cover-

ing about ten thousand square miles. Mr. Willard remained in the office until Jan. 21, 1841, when he was succeeded by Anthony Cooley, Esq .; but the latter only continued until the 8th of May following, when he was succeeded by Dr. Edwin N. Colt, who removed the office from Willard's store, where it had remained during Mr. Cooley's short ad- ministration, to a store on the site of the present Taylor block, then occupied by Kidder & Bruen.

Dr. Colt was succeeded by Francis March, Oct. 14, 1842, who kept the office on the south side of Main Street, in the building known as " Old Brig, '97."

On the 14th of September, 1844, Alexis Ransom was appointed postmaster under the administration of James K. Polk. During his first year the office was located on the north side of Main Street, in the office of the Kalamazoo Mutual Insurance Company, west of the Burdick House. During 1844-45, Mr. Ransom built the brick structure situated on the east side of Burdick Street, and since occu- pied as a meat market, expressly for the use of the office. This was the first time it had a " local habitation" it might call its own. Here it was duly installed in September, 1845. It was neatly and conveniently arranged, and the number of boxes increased to two hundred.

During Mr. Ransom's term the Michigan Central Rail- way was completed to Kalamazoo (Feb. 2, 1846), and this added materially to the growth and business of the village. Another important event in postal matters was the introduction of a new system of rates.

From the time of the establishment of the office the rates of postage had been as follows: Established by Act of Congress, March 3, 1825. For every single letter (one sheet), not over thirty miles, 6 cents ; over thirty and not over eighty miles, 10 cents ; over eighty and not over one hundred and fifty miles, 12} cents ; over one hundred and fifty and not over four hundred miles, 182 cents; over four hundred miles, 25 cents; for every double letter, or letter composed of two pieces of paper, double rates. On the 3d of March, 1845, these rates and arrangements were radically changed. The standard was : for every letter of not over a half-ounce in weight, and for distances not ex- ceeding three hundred miles, 5 cents ; and for all distances over three hundred miles, 10 cents. The prepayment was optional.

In those days duplicate sets of books were kept for " mails sent" and " mails received," and all letters were accompanied by a " post-bill," whether paid or unpaid, giving a description of each letter, where mailed, and where sent. The methods of handling the postal business were then wonderfully complicated, and the postmaster who could send a clean quarterly return which would pass scrutiny by the department at Washington was a well- posted man. The items which it was necessary for him to lay up in his mind amounted to about 800.

Postage stamps were first provided for by an act passed March 3, 1847, but they did not come into general use for a considerable time thereafter.

Anthony Cooley was appointed postmaster a second time July 31, 1849, under the administration of President Tay- lor. His first term, in 1841, was very brief, but this was still more distinguished in that respect, for it only continued

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VILLAGE OF KALAMAZOO.

during two months and three days. During this period the office remained in Mr. Ransom's building.

On the 3d of October, 1849, David S. Walbridge was appointed to succeed Mr. Cooley, whose short continuance was, perhaps, owing in some measure to the sudden death of Gen. Taylor, in July of that year. Mr. Walbridge re- moved the office to a building adjoining his store on Main Street (south side), situated on ground now occupied by the banking-house of T. P. Shelden & Co.

During Mr. Walbridge's administration, drawers, or lock- boxes, were introduced to the number of about 25. The rates of postage were also further reduced during his term by an act passed March 3, 1851, single rates being fixed at three cents for all distances under three thousand miles, if prepaid, and to five cents, paid upon delivery. For dis- tances exceeding three thousand miles the rates were doubled, whether paid or unpaid. Under the same act stamped envelopes were authorized. During his term the business of the office had so increased that it was classed with the " Presidential" offices,-that is, the post- master was appointed directly by the President,-and on the 15th of July, 1852, Mr. Walbridge was nominated and confirmed by the Senate.

Upon a change in the administration there was a change of postmasters, and on the 29th of March, 1853, William H. De Yoe succeeded Mr. Walbridge, under President Pierce. The new incumbent soon removed the office into the old Firemen's Hall, where it still remains. About one- half the ground-floor on the north side of the building was at first occupied, and the number of boxes and drawers was increased to 500. During Mr. De Yoe's term the postal law was again changed so as to require prepayment in all cases. . The rates were changed to require 10 cents for all distances over three thousand miles.

On the 27th of March, 1857, under the administration of James Buchanan, another change occurred, Mr. N. A. Balch succeeding to the office of postmaster. The office was continued by him in the same location as under his predecessor, but additions were made to the boxes and drawers, bringing the number to 875.

Under the administration of Mr. Lincoln, March 27, 1861, James A. Walter was appointed to the office. In the summer of 1862 the entire hall was occupied, and the number of boxes and drawers increased to 1020. The postal law was once more changed March 3, 1863, estab- lishing a uniform system of postage throughout the Union. The postal money-order system was authorized by act of Congress passed May 17, 1864. The first money-order issued from the office was on Nov. 1, 1864. During Mr. Walter's term the system of paying postmasters by com- mission was abolished and that of salaries substituted, which materially simplifies the system of accounts.

The successor of Mr. Walter was Dr. Foster Pratt, appointed by President Andrew Johnson on the 15th of September, 1866. Soon after entering upon his duties Dr. Pratt made a systematic re-arrangement of the entire office, renumbered all the boxes uniformly, introduced a new case for the general delivery, and improved it in many respects.

Upon the assembling of Congress the Senate failed to confirm Dr. Pratt's nomination, and on the 22d of April,

1867, James A. Walter was reappointed and confirmed in his place.

With the exception of the six months' term of Dr. Pratt, Mr. Walter held the office for nine years, and until his decease, April 5, 1870. Immediately after the death of Mr. Walter, Dr. James A. B. Stone was appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, and entered upon the duties of the office May 1, 1870. During his term of office the number of boxes and drawers was increased to 1600. Being a strong advocate of female suffrage and the advancement of the sex to all fields of labor and trust to which it might seem peculiarly adapted, he changed the plan of his predecessors in the employment of male help exclusively to that of giving the greatest number of clerk- ships to females, and continued to do so during the four years of his term of office.

The next and present incumbent, Lucius B. Kendall, was appointed March 27, 1874, and entered upon the duties of the office May 1, 1874. During the first month the entire plan of the office was re-arranged and enlarged, a mailing-room was added, also a private office for the post- master, and the number of boxes and drawers increased to 2100. As the business of a post-office is a good indicator of the prosperity of the community in which it is located, we go back a few years and give some statistics from the records of the office. As will be seen from the figures given, the gross amount of business done has increased over fifty per cent. in the last decade, while the expenses were actually less in the year 1879 than they were in 1869, ten years ago. By doing a largely-increased business at a less ex- pense the net revenues to the government have increased from $7095 in 1869 to $14,112 in 1879. The figures speak for themselves, and we give them without further comment :

Receipts.

Expenses. Net Revenue.

No. Money- orders is- sued.

1867

$11,758

$6038

$5,721

818

1869

14,309

7214

7,095

1610

1874

19,100

8100

11,000

3988

1879.

21,163

7051

14,112

5425

At the present time there are 18 different mails received daily and the same number dispatched, and an average of over 7000 pieces of mail matter handled. The money-order business, in paid and issued, amounts to over $140,000 per annum, and is rapidly increasing. The system of register- ing letters, having been extended to include third- and fourth-class matter, has increased that branch enormously, and during the year 1879 over 20,000 were handled either in transit or originating in the Kalamazoo office, and not a single one lost. There are now employed in the office five clerks, as follows : E. T. Mills, Assistant Postmaster ; E. P. Walter, Mailing Clerk ; E. C. Dayton, Register and Dis- tributing Clerk ; I. Colby, Stamp and Money-order Clerk ; and E. C. Remington, General Delivery Clerk. The present incumbent has served nearly two years on his second term, having been re-commissioned by President Hayes in March, 1878.

EARLY HOTELS.

The first regular " tavern" erected in the village was the " Kalamazoo House," which was built by Gen. Justus Bur- dick in the summer of 1832. Cyren Burdick, a brother of

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HISTORY OF KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

the general, superintended the work, Mr. Foster (since Dr. Foster, of Otsego, Allegan Co., Mich.) taking the con- tract for building it. During the previous winter Titus Bronson had built a saw-mill on Portage Creek,* and made ready for business early in the spring. He employed Rod- ney Seymour, before mentioned, to run the mill, but within a short time Cyren Burdick purchased the property of Bronson, and here was sawed, under Seymour's hands, most of the lumber used in the construction of the new hotel.

Dr. Foster (the contractor on the building), Elisha Hall, and Smith L. Wood did most of the work. The building was a two-story frame structure, 30 by 40 feet in dimensions, adorned with a two-story veranda along its front, and in that day was the most pretentious build- ing in the country. About the middle of the summer work was so far along that Cyren Burdick moved his family in, and in the early part of September, 1832, it was formally opened to the public. It is said that when the frame was ready for "raising," which was on Saturday, there were not hands enough to do the work ; but on the following day (Sunday), when everybody was supposed to be resting, the able-bodied men were collected from far and near, and the frame went up. Mr. Burdick kept the house until 1834. Ira Burdick became associated with him in 1833. In 1834, Frederick Booher became the landlord, and kept the house through the busy years of the land ex- citement, 1835 and 1836.

Thomas C. Sheldon, who came to Kalamazoo with the land-office in 1834 (being its receiver), seems to have ac- quired an interest in the Kalamazoo House soon after. During the days of land speculation the house was a great centre for parties in search of land, and was continually crowded to its utmost capacity. It seems to have been a house which grew by degrees, and we find that in 1833, the next year after its erection, a large addition was made. In 1835 the house and lot were taxed to Burdick, Lyon & Sheldon (Justus Burdick, Lucius Lyon, and T. C. Sheldon) at a value of $2000.

Israel Kellogg was landlord of this house for ten years subsequent to 1842. He was also the contractor for the new brick structure.t

In 1838, according to the township records, the Kala- mazoo House was kept by Emmor Hawley, to whom the authorities issued a license to sell intoxicating liquors.

Frederick Booher, its former landlord, was in the same year in the mercantile business on the corner of Main and Edwards Streets, and had license also to sell liquors.

We have obtained from Mr. Glynn, one of the present proprietors, the following facts: Gen. Burdick sold his (half) interest in the Kalamazoo House, about 1840, to Caleb Sherman. T. C. Sheldon sold his (half ) interest about 1842 to Israel Kellogg. About 1850, Sherman & Kellogg sold the property to Messrs. Gleason & Smith, from Ohio, who owned it until about 1856-57, when they

sold to Orson Childs. About 1858, Childs sold to Phette- place & Downing. In 1860, J. R. Glynn purchased Down- ing's interest, and Messrs. Phetteplace & Glynn erected the present brick structure in 1861. The old frame structure, or a part of it, was sold and removed to its present location on Portage Street. The new hotel, with its large additions, covers an area of about 82 feet front on Main Street by about 135 depth, or 11,070 square feet. Subsequently Mr. Phetteplace sold his interest to A. G. Wells, and the latter, in 1876, disposed of his share in the house to Mr. J. B. Willard, of Three Rivers, Mich., and since that date the property has been owned by Messrs. Willard & Glynn. The present popular landlord is Mr. - Clark. The hotel is now one of the best in Western Michigan, both as regards its facilities for accommodating the traveling public and its able and thorough management.

In the spring of 1835, Johnson Patrick built and opened a formidable rival to the Kalamazoo House on the north- west corner of Main and Rose Streets, which he christened the " Exchange Hotel," and kept as a most popular resort for years. It was the headquarters of the Whig politi- cians during the famous "hard-cider" campaign of 1840, and bore the reputation, at least locally, of being the best hotel in the State. This was probably after Wilder left the " River House."

Its " dinners" and "suppers" were famous throughout the region ; in its " parlors" were held many important po- litical conclaves, and in its " bar-room" congregated the gossips and jokers of the ambitious village. But at length its reputation for some cause declined, its patronage of the better class departed, and its once jovial landlord left it by no means a wealthy man.

A famous ball was given in Patrick's new assembly-room, 60 by 30 feet, on the 8th of January, 1841; 100 couples were present.

In 1839, Warren M. Olmsted was licensed to " keep a tavern in the house now occupied by him as such, and known as the ‘ Sign of the Indian,'" which may have been the Exchange Hotel. In the same year Amos Brownson sold liquors under the sign of the "Spanish Hat."

Hotels and saloons seem to have been remarkably plenty in those days, and a large number of the business men sold liquors.

The " Kalamazoo River House" was erected in 1836, according to the old files of the Gazette published at the time. It stood near the river, on Main Street, and had the Portage Creek immediately in its rear. Authorities differ as to who was the original proprietor, some claiming that a man named Field was the owner, and others that Nathan Harrison was the man. From the Gazette it appears, at all events, that N. L. Stout was the first landlord, and may have been the owner. It was a noted tavern, and through its influence the lower part of Main Street threatened for a time to take the lead in business. It was on the greatest thoroughfare that entered the town, and caught both the travel on the road leading towards Comstock and Galesburg and that from the Gull Prairie region, then perhaps as well settled as any part of the county.

It appears that the priginal proprietor sold the property

* This mill was situated near the fair-grounds, and was built by M. B. Hounsom for Titus Bronson, who sold it to Cyrus Burdick.

t Upon the erection of the new brick structure the old frame build- ing was moved to lot No. 169 Portage Street, where it still stands in a good state of preservation.

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History of Kalamazoo county, Michigan, Part 68

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