History of Mason County, Michigan, Part 57

Author: H. R. Page & Co.
Publication date: 1882
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 373

USA > Michigan > Mason County > History of Mason County, Michigan > Part 57

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

The salt production of the state has increased from 10,722 bar- rels, in 1860, to 2,677,000 barrels in 1880.

According to Prof. Alexander Winchell's geological map of Michigan, Manistee is near the centre of the Saline group, form- erly the Onondaga group. The formation consists of argillaceous magnesium, limestone, and marls, embracing beds and masses of gypsum in some places, and in other regions strata of rock salt. In sinking an artesian well at Caseville, and at Alpena, a heavy body of rock salt was struck, which was pronounced by Prof. Winchell to be undoubtedly the equivalent of the vein worked at Goderich, on the other side of Lake Huron. According to the same distinguished authority, the Manistee salt deposit belongs to the same groups, and the absence of any considerable quantity of gypsum improves the quality of the salt and removes the difficulty the Goderich people labor under.

THE START IN MANISTEE.

In 1872 a company of United States coast surveyors visited Manistee, and in conversation with Mr. Charles Rietz told him that, in their opinion, salt could be had here in paying quantities by going deep enough. He was so impressed with the idea that he deter- mined to make the experiment. Time passed on, however, without anything in particular being done, until the Winter of 1879, when the subject revived and he determined to go at work. Some of the leading citizens of Manistee interested themselves in the enterprise, and in February, 1879, the following subscription paper was circu- lated and signed :

" We, the undersigned, citizens of Manistee, being desirous of developing the mineral resources of this vicinity, hereby subscribe for that purpose, and agree to pay the amount set opposite our res- pective names to the Charles Rietz & Bros. Lumber Company, of the City of Manistee, the same to be used by it in prospecting for salt or other minerals on its premises in said city, to be paid by us to said company as fast as the work progresses; and, if salt or other mineral be discovered in paying quantities, said company hereby agree to pay to the subscribers hereto 80 per cent of the amount of their subscription which they have paid, or assist any of said sub- scribers who may thereafter desire to engage in a like enterprise in the City of Manistee, if said subscribers so prefer.

Chas. Rietz & Bros. .$2,000

John Canfield.

1,000

Louis Sands

1,500

M. Engelmann

1,000

E. G. Filer.

500

Stronach Lumber Company

500

Joseph Baur.

500

R. G. Peters

300

James Dempsey

300

S. Babcock & Co

200

Horace Taber

200

John Mee

100

E. N. Salling

100

T. J. Ramsdell

100-$8,900"

Digitized by

Google

HISTORY OF MANISTEE COUNTY.

The well was begun and worked to a depth of nearly 500 feet, and then had to be re-worked, but salt was found, and a block built. The cost of the block was about $22,000.

The following analysis was taken before the well was fairly in working trim :

CHICAGO, Ill., Dec. 16, 1881.

MESSRS. CHAS. RIETZ & BROS :

Gentlemen-In compliance with your request, I have analyzed a sample of salt, and find the same to contain in 100 parts :

Chloride of sodium

. 95.748

Chloride of magnesium

197

Chloride of calcium.

231

Sulphate of lime

1.573

Carbonate of lime.

016

Carbonate of iron

004

Silica

007

Organic matter.

006

Water.

2.218-100,000

Respectfully submitted, Signed, J. E. SIEBEL.

A more recent analysis shows less than .002 organic matter, which proves it to be the purest salt known.

The Rietz block is now in successful operation, and produces upward of 200 barrels a day. The capacity of the block is 400 bar- rels. The size of the pump is 22 inches.

The next experiment was made by Mr. M. Engelmann, who sunk a well at his mill, and also found salt. The well is 2,032 feet deep. The block was finished early the present season, and some salt has already been made. This is a pan block, with a capacity of 150 barrels a day.

Canfield & Wheeler have just gone through ten feet of salt, (Sept. 25,) and will begin the construction of a block at once. A 3} inch pump will be required for their well.

R. G. Peters has the largest salt block in the state, at Eastlake. When finished it will have a capacity of 600 barrels a day. It will be a steam block. He has met with various hindrances in boring, and has abandoned two wells. He is now down about 250 feet in the third.

The Stronach Lumber Company are all ready to commence boring, and others are arranging their plans to do so.

That salt can be produced here in paying quantities, has already been thoroughly and satisfactorily demonstrated, and it is equally doubtless that Manistee capital and enterprise will rally promptly to the development of this industry, which promises so brilliant a future for this region.

Mr. Clark F. Johnson, the deputy salt inspector, for this coun- ty, is a native of Canada, but most of his life has been spent in Michigan. He helped build the first salt works in the Saginaw Val- ley, in 1860, and has been connected with the salt interests of the state ever since. He has superintended nearly all the work that has been done here.

MANISTEE HARBOR.

The work is located in the Michigan collection district, Mich- igan. The nearest port of entry is Grand Haven, Mich. The nearest lighthouse is the Manistee light (discontinued October 15, 1876). A light is shown near the head of the south pier.

A history of the work upon the harbor appears in the annual report of the Chief of Engineers for 1879, and from that most excel- lent authority we gather the following:

The survey of 1861 shows the harbor to be barred about 600 feet out from the outer end of south slab pier, the water on this bar (250 feet in width), being from five to eight feet. From the bar to the entrance, the water varied from seven to nine feet; between the piers from the entrance inward, a distance of 800 feet, was an avail- able channel of ten feet. The survey of September, 1866, fails to show the existence of this bar above-mentioned, and indicates three

twelve-foot curves, the first 960 feet out from the lake-end of south slab pier, the second beyond this 190 feet, and the third ninety feet still further out. Beyond this last-mentioned curve 140 feet ran the general eighteen foot water line.

After the survey of 1866, 180 feet of north pier was washed away. This caused a slight change in the plans, the north pier be- ing thrown twenty feet further to the north, and the work upon it commenced at the end of the old pier.

In 1867, (September), the bar in front of the entrance had eight and a half feet of water on it, and between the piers, the chan- nel had a depth of from nine and a half to ten feet, and in the river above the piers from seven and a half to eight feet.

The first appropriation was made by act of March 2, 1867, of $60,000.

Work began in July, 1867, under the surpervision of Mr. John Canfield, harbor inspector.

Original cost of work 1866, amended 1875, $284,000.

Whole amount appropriated from 1866 to 1882, inclusive, $218,000.

Amount expended, $201,000.

The amount of the appropriation of 1882 is $15,000.

Available water-way between the piers, nine and a half feet . in October, 1875.

In 1875-'76 each pier was extended 150 feet, (six cribs, each fifty feet by twenty-four feet.

Soundings May 12, and 13,'1876, show an available channel between the piers of ten feet, with a strong current running in the river. North pier end rested in fifteen feet, and south pier end in thirteen feet of water. .

In 1876-'77 the south pier was raised an additional course of timber for a length of 450 feet, and slight repairs were made, as re- quired.

Also an obstruction of sand at the bend of the river was re- moved, affording temporary relief for navigation. Soundings of May 3, 1877, showed an available channel-way of ten feet between the piers.

In 1877-'78 the point of sand in the bend of the river on north side was dredged away, and the exposed bank faced with a pile re- vetment for a length of 420 feet, and thirty-two cords of stone were put into the pier as ballast.

December 18, 1877, the channel soundings showed not less than nine feet of water available, and this depth only at one point about 450 feet inward from the end of north pier.

In the Spring of 1878 a bar with but eight feet of water over it obstructed the entrance to the harbor. With the small balance of funds on hand, a channel was dredged through it, leaving a channel of good width and with a depth of fourteen feet.

Since 1878 about $30,000 has been expended in dredging the channel and sinking new piers.

In his report of 1881 the chief of engineers says:

"To complete the projects for this season, curtailed by rise in prices, I shall require next for 1882-'83:

For dredging $ 3,000

To complete unfinished superstructure 6,000

And it only remains under the existing project to add

for two hundred feet pier extension 25,000

Total. $34,000

"Or, taking into consideration all contingencies of engineering, repair, and protection, I shall require to continue the improvement during the years 1882-'83, $40,000."

The highest number of vessels entered and cleared during any one year from July 1, 1868 to June 30, 1881, 3,488, between June

Digitized by

Google

HISTORY OF MANISTEE . COUNTY.

80, 1874, and June 30, 1875. The lowest number was 2,382, between July 1, 1868, and June 30, 1869.

Capt. W. R. Laird, United States harbor inspector, has had charge of the work since 1869. In May of that year he came to Manistee from Milwaukee, and has resided here since that time. Capt. Laird was born in England and is of Scotch extraction. He was brought up a mechanical engineer, and in 1858 went to Canada, where he studied civil engineering. In 1863 he came to the States. He has been in the service of the Government since 1866, and has earned the reputation of being a reliable and efficient officer.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

THOMAS J. RAMSDELL.

Late one Winter's afternoon, nearly twenty-three years ago, a young man about twenty-seven years of age drove up to the little cluster of buildings near the Canfield mill, at the mouth of the river, and inquired for accommodations for himself and horse, both of which were well worn with the toil of a long, hard journey. The load of law books which his sleigh contained indicated the advent of a lawyer into this region, that hitherto had known neither law nor lawyer.

The hotel accommodations of the place were confined to a boarding house, and porters and hostlers were not as numerous as in these latter days, and the new arrival found a place for his horse by hunting around until he found vacant room in a shed.

The young man was Thomas J. Ramsdell, who has come from that Winter's afternoon in 1860 to occupy a distinguished place among the lawyers of Michigan.

Mr. Ramsdell was born in Plymouth, Wayne Co., N. Y., July 29, 1833. His parents were natives of the State of Massachusetts, and were of good old New England stock. There were four brothers, W. A. Ramsdell, a farmer, D. E. Ramsdell, also a farmer, the well known Judge Ramsdell, of Traverse City, and the subject of this sketch.

While a boy, Mr. Ramsdell worked on the farm Summers and attended district school Winters. In 1851 he went to Plymouth Seminary and graduated in 1856, having taught school some during the time. In 1858 he graduated at the National Law School in Poughkeepsie and was admitted to practice in the State of New York. In the Fall of that year he came to Michigan, and being admitted to the bar of this state, began practice in Lansing. He was clerk of the supreme court in 1859.

One day, while in conversation with Chief Justice Martin, of the supreme bench, that gentleman, who had become interested in Mr. Ramsdell, advised him to go up on the east shore and open an office at Manistee, at the same time offering to make a selection of books for him. The advice was adopted, and with his law books packed in a sleigh and a young horse, he set out from Lansing to make the journey through the woods. There was no highway this side of Whitehall,-only a blaze trail. It was a tedious journey. Some- times his young horse would give out and he would be obliged to stop and rest. He traveled one entire night and progressed only five miles, but his grit was good and at last he reached Manistee, as already mentioned.

He opened an office in a little shanty near the Canfield mill, and very soon had a lucrative business. There were a good many men here at that time, who needed the assistance of a lawyer, especially to draw contracts and other papers. There were plenty of retainers offered him, but at that time he made it a rule never to accept a retainer, but hold himself free to take any cause.

Strange as it may now appear, there was here just at that time a most excellent field for the right kind of a lawyer, and Mr. Ramsdell possessed just those qualities to an eminent degree. His ability as a lawyer was very soon demonstrated, and as a man among men, he was the one to succeed. Those were wild times in this region, and whisky was a staple article, and yet while on the best of terms with all classes of men, he was able to command their respect, and was never even asked to drink.

For a long time he rode the circuit with Judge Littlejohn, and was known in those days as the father of the circuit.

In the Fall of 1860 he was elected to the Legislature and served one term. He was county treasurer one term and prosecuting attorney several terms.

September 7, 1861, he was married at Manistee, to Miss Nettie L. Stanton, a native of Wayne County, and who came to Man- istee to teach. She was a young lady of rare culture, and a fitting companion to share her husband's experiences in their pioneer life and the fortune and honors of later days. For a short time after marriage they boarded, but soon tired of that, and went to house- keeping in the building which is now the Boom Company's office. His office had been there and he removed that to a new building, that is now Dr. Ellis' residence.

In 1865 he built a residence at the corner of Second and Cedar Streets, and in 1876 was built the costly and elegant residence which has since been their home. They have eight children, five boys and three girls.

Mr. Ramsdell's success as a lawyer has been very marked. His judgment is clear and correct, and his opinions not only upon ques- tions of law, but of business, have great weight. In 1867 the pres- ent law firm of Ramsdell & Benedict was established.

Mr. Ramsdell's financial success has also been such as to place him upon the list of the wealthy men of Manistee. He has acquired large property interests both in the city and county. The brick block at the corner of River and Oak Streets was built by him in 1879, and the one next to it on Oak Street he built in 1880. He has been connected with the banking business of Manistee ever since that business was first started. He is the father of the First Na- tional Bank, and has always been its president. He started the first hardware store in Manistee, and was instrumental in the estab- lishment of the first newspaper. As contractor he built the Central School building at a time and under circumstances when the under- taking was one of great magnitude. There were no local improve- ments, especially for many years, that Le did not have an active part in advancing, and so his history is a part of the history of the city and county of Manistee. His interest in local improvements is still unabated, and whatever is for the welfare of the place is sure to re- ceive his co-operation.

As a thorough gentleman, Mr. Ramsdell has few superiors. His devotion to his family and uniform courtesy to all are distin- guishing traits of his character. A very fine steel portrait of Mr. Ramsdell appears upon another page.

GEN. BYRON M. CUTCHEON.

The subjet of this sketch is, in the truest and best sense, one of the representative men of Michigan. His ancestors came to this country more than a hundred and fifty years ago. They participa- ted in the Revolutionary war, and were true and earnest patriots of the olden time.

General Cutcheon was born in the state of New Hampshire, in 1836. His parents were rich in the elements of sterling worth, but poor in purse. His earliest ambition was to secure a good education, and though left an orphan at an early age, he went to work in & cotton mill at Pembroke, N. H., to earn for himself the means of enabling him to go to school. At the age of thirteen years

Digitized by

Google

J.f. Ramsdell

Digitized by Google

Digitized by

Google

- -

HISTORY OF MANISTEE COUNTY.

he commenced his schooling at the Pembroke Academy. At the age of seventeen years, only four years after, he was a school teacher in the same place, earning money by which to enable him to pro- ceed still further in his studies. Shortly after this, however, he "pulled up stakes " and came to Michigan, locating himself at Ypsilanti, where he commenced a preparatory course, teaching school during Winter and studying whenever he had means to allow him to do so. His fine natural abilities soon became apparent to those by whom he found himself surrounded, and as early as 1857 he was invited to take charge of the Birmingham Academy, in Oakland County, as principal, intending only to remain long enough to secure means to further progress in his own education. The following Spring he entered the University of Michigan, as a member of the class of 1861. In the Fall of 1859 he again had to go out and ac- cept the principalship of the Oak Grove Academy, in Lenawee County, succeeding the Hon. O. L. Spalding. As soon as he had acquired sufficient means, he again entered the university, and grad- uated in the class of 1861. All through these varying contests and struggles for an education, he demonstrated to all who knew him a fixed determination and purity of character which challenged admir- ation on all sides and from all with whom he came in contact.

Before graduating he had already secured, in prospective, the position of principal and professor of ancient languages, higher mathematics and mental and moral philosophy, in the high school department of the Ypsilanti school. Here he remained, doing excel- lent work, and attracting much attention from educators for his efficiency and thoroughness, until the war broke out, when he resigned, in 1862, and raised a company for the Twentieth Michigan Infantry, under the call for three hundred thousand. On the same day the call was issued he was mustered into the service as second lieutenant, and from the time he entered the service until he came out his career was one of brilliant success and meritorious deeds.

On July 29, 1862, he was made captain of his company. Octo- ber 14, 1862, he was made major of the Twentieth Regiment; Novem- ber 16, 1863, promoted to lieutenant colonel, and by order of the War Department he was made colonel, November 21, 1863. He was transferred and made colonel of the Twenty-seventh Michigan Infantry, November 12, 1864. He was mustered into the United States service as colonel, December 19, 1864. He was breveted colonel of U. S. Volunteers, August 18, 1864, for gallant services at the battles of the Wilderness and Spottsylvania Court House. He was breveted brigadier general of U. S. Volunteers, March 14, 1865, for conspicuous gallantry on the field of battle. On October 16, 1864, he was assigned the command of the Second Brigade, Fif- teenth Division Ninth Army Corps, and remained in command of that brigade until March 6, 1865, when he resigned on account of sickness in his family. During his service he was in the battles of Fredericsburg, Va .; Horse Shoe Bend, Ky .; siege of Vicksburg, Miss .; assault on Jackson, Miss .; battles of Blue Springs, Tenn .; London, Tenn .; Campbell Station, Tenn .; siege of Knoxville, Tenn .; assault on Fort Saunders, at Knoxville; Thurley's Ford, Tenn .; Strawberry Plains, Tenn .; Chuckey Bend, Wilderness; Ny River; Spottsylvania Court House (in which he was wounded, while lead- ing a charge of the Twentieth Michigan and Fifty-first Pennsylva- nia.) He remained at the hospital about two months. For gallant conduct on this occasion he received a commission as brevet colonel U. S. V., as mentioned above. He was next in the siege at Peters- burg, July, 1864, the Weldon Railroad, Reams Station, Va .; Poplar Spring Church, Va .; Boydton Road, Hatchers Run, and siege of Petersburg, from November, 1864, to March, 1865.

At the close of the war he came home and immediately entered the law office of Hon. Sullivan M. Cutcheon, his brother, at Ypsilanti. That gentleman was at the time speaker of the Michigan House of

Representatives, and has since been well known as the U. S. dis- trict attorney of the eastern district of Michigan. He was admitted to practice at the bar of Washtenaw County, January, 1866, entered the law school of the Michigan University, in 1865, and graduated in the degree of B. L. in March, 1866. In the Spring of 1866 he was appointed the state agent of the Michigan Soldiers' Monumental Association. When the association was inaugurated, in 1865, addresses were made on that occasion by Gen. Cutcheon, Hon. Aus- tin Blair, (Michigan's famous war governor), Hon. Jacob M. Howard and Gen. O. B. Wilcox. The general's address at this time was pronounced by the press and by such men as Mr. Howard, one of the finest and most polished orations ever listened to. It was through this that he was requested to take the position as agent for the association, as the success of it depended somewhat upon a proper and eloquent presentation of the subject to the people. In this work he traveled all over the state, making appeals to the peo- ple and securing their aid in this grand undertaking, giving his services freely to the noble enterprise. It was during this work that Gen. Cutcheon, in company with Gen. R. A. Alger, and Gen. John Robinson, met at Detroit and organized the famous " Boys in Blue," of which association the general was the first president. In Sep- tember, 1866, he was honored with an invitation from the Repub- lican State Central Committee, under the chairmanship of the lamented Hon. John J. Bagley, to canvass the state in behalf of the party. Although he had previously gone on the stump in behalf of his party, and manifested especial ability and efficiency in this kind of work, he had never before made a general canvass. In the Fall of 1866 he removed to Ionia, where he settled down to the practice of law. The fine talent which he had shown in his efforts before the public soon began to bring him a good class of business, and he immediately became prominent in the affairs of the section in which he was known. His name was brought forward in the Fall of 1866 for secretary of state, and without his consent or knowledge, but he failed of the nomination by a few votes. He continued in the practice of law at Ionia until July, 1867, when he removed to Manistee. Previous to his removal here, however, he was appointed member of the State Board of Railroad Commissioners, which office he has held ever since, having been from time to time re-appointed by the governor of the state. In 1866 he was also appointed presi- dent of the Michigan Soldiers' Home Commission, by the governor. He conducted the investigation of that commission, and made a full and satisfactory report to the Legislature, and received a vote of thanks from that body highly complimentary of the manner in which he had performed the duties of the position. In 1868 he was nominated and elected one of the presidential electors from this state, and was secretary of the electoral college. In that campaign and, also, in about all of the campaigns in this state, the general has taken an active and prominent part, and in every such campaign his reception by the people, wherever he has spoken, has been one series of successive ovations.

In 1875 he was nominated and elected regent of the State Uni- versity, for the term of eight years, and has been an active and lead- ing member of the board ever since. For the past four years he has been chairman of the executive committee, and has also had charge of the committee on literary department. He has also been on the committee on the law department and on the library.

The positions of trust and usefulness that he has held at home are even more numerous than those he has held at large. In the early organization of the city of Manistee, he was a member of the first city council, and as chairman of the ordinance committee drafted all the ordinances under which the city was controlled. In 1870 he was chosen city attorney by a Democratic council, though he was, and always has been, an outspoken Republican. He was -

Digitized by

Google

HISTORY OF MANISTEE COUNTY.

on the committee that drew up the old charter of Manistee City, has been a member of our board of education, prosecuting attorney of the county, and has been postmaster since February, 1877. He has been chairman of the county Republican committee for six years, captain of the Light Guards, president of our political clubs, member of the board of trustees of the church to which he belongs, and in addition to all this has been an active and energetic business man, with his hands always full. His law practice has been large and lucrative. Going back to the early days of Manistee. he was asso- ciated with the prosecution in the noted Vanderpool trial, and his work upon that case, in company with such lawyers as G. V. N. Lathrop and Dwight May, was commended and admired throughout the state. And still, outside of his law business, he is secretary of the Manistee River Improvement Company, a director in the Man- istee National Bank, and a stockholder in the Manistee Water Com- pany. In all these varied and arduous duties we find no chaos, no disorder-every paper, every letter in his office is filed away in its place and can be picked up at a moment's notice.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Mason County, Michigan, Part 57

Author: H. R. Page & Co. Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Number of Pages: 373

Author: H. R. Page & Co.
Publication date: 1882
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 373