History of Monroe County, Michigan, Part 29

Author: Wing, Talcott Enoch, 1819-1890, ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: New York, Munsell & company
Number of Pages: 882


USA > Michigan > Monroe County > History of Monroe County, Michigan > Part 29


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In April, 1869, Major Walter McFarland, of the Corps of Engineers, was assigned to the charge of this harbor, and he recommended that the bar at the entrance to the harbor


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HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.


should be dredged. During the year 38,000 cubic yards of sand were removed from the channel, and a depth of 12 feet obtained over the bar and through the United States canal into the river. The shore of the lake at the inner end of the north pier was protected by a revetment to prevent the waters of the lake from breaking through into the canal.


In April, 1871, Major McFarland was relieved by Captain and Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel G. L. Gillespie, of the Corps of Engineers. An elaborate survey of the harbor was made in September, and Colonel Gillespie presented a plan for obtaining a depth of 11 feet up to the docks at Monroe at a cost of $15,600.


An appropriation of $10,000 was made by the act of June 10, 1872, and in August the work of dredging was commenced; 31,029 cubic yards of mud, etc., were removed, and a depth of 11 feet up obtained, except in the vicinity of the docks at Monroe, where rock was found. At Cooley's Bar stiff clay was en- countered.


Colonel Gillespie was relieved by Major and Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Harwood in April, 1873. An appropriation of $15,000 was made by the act of March 3, 1873. The piers were put in complete order and the renewal of the canal revetment was commenced. Colonel Harwood asked for $50,000 for completing the revetment.


An appropriation of $10,000 was made by the act of June 23, 1874. Operations were con- tinued upon the canal revetment, and 2,710 linear feet of it was rebuilt.


Colonel Harwood was relieved in June, 1874, by Lieutenant-Colonel and Brevet Colonel Blunt, of the Corps of Engineers. An appro- priation of $10,000 was made by the act of March 3, 1875. During this year work was continued renewing the canal revetment, and a channel was dredged through the outer bar ; 1,669 linear feet of revetment was renewed, and 18,676 cubic yards of sand removed from the channel at the entrance to the piers.


An appropriation of $5,000 was made by the act of Angust 14, 1876. Lieutenant-Colonel and Brevet Brigadier-General Michler relieved Colonel Blunt of the charge of the harbor in December, 1876. Operations were continned during the season of 1877, renewing the canal revetment, and 1,905 linear feet were rebuilt. Some minor repairs were made to the piers.


An appropriation of $2,500 was made by the act of June 18, 1878. A survey of the channel was made between the lake and the docks at Monroe, which showed that it had shoaled very much, and that a depth of S feet could not be carried up to the docks. General Michler was relieved by Major and Brevet Colonel John M. Wilson, of the Corps of Engineers, in Decem- ber, 1878.


Operations were commenced in March, 1879, and by June both piers had been repaired and 612 linear feet of the canal revetment renewed. An appropriation of $2,000 was made by the act of March 3, 1879. It was determined to apply it to dredging and to endeavor to make a clear channel 100 feet wide and 9g feet deep up to the docks at Monroe. A contract was made at 11 cents per cubic yard, and the work car- ried on in August and September; in the progress of operations 12,370 cubic yards of mud, sand, etc., 33 logs, 3 snags and 10 stumps were removed, a depth of 11 fcet gained up to the inner end of the piers and of 10 feet from thence up to the upper end of Willow Island, a short distance below the docks at Monroe.


Early in September the dredge was moved up near the docks at Monroe in order to exca- vate to a depth of 10 feet within 50 feet of them, but encountered rock, and after removing 472 yards the work was found to be impracticable without blasting .*


Major Wilson continued in charge of the work until 1882, and from 1882 to the present time the work has been in charge of L. Cooper Overman, Major of Engineers, United States Army. Appropriations have been made since 1879 as follows :


Appropriated by act of June 14, 1880 $2,000


Appropriated by act of March 3, 1881 1,000


Appropriated by act of August 2, 1882 1,000 Appropriated by act of August 5, 1886 2,000


These appropriations were expended in minor repairs on the piers and canal revet- ment.


The commerce at Monroe harbor by reason of the competition of the railroads had become so small that an appropriation was not strongly advocated by the United States Government Engineer in charge, and he seems to have been in doubt as to the best policy to be pur-


#The foregoing accounts of Monroe and La Plai- sance Harbor improvements are taken from the Gov- ernment Report of ISS0.


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HARBOR IMPROVEMENTS.


sued by the Government : To let the Govern_ ment works here go to decay and ruin, or keep them in repair for some future development at this point. The returns of the customs collec- tor of arrivals and clearances of vessels at this port showed that the amount of commerce to be benefited was very small and certainly justified the United States Engineer's position. But in 1887 the commerce at Monroe harbor suddenly largely increased, the Western Union Tele- graph Company having make this port the distributing point for telegraph poles for the greater part of the United States, and F. S. Sterling & Co. having also established a large business of the same character at the docks. Vessels arriving with cargoes of poles fre- quently stranded on the bars in the river, and a survey showed that bars had formed at sev- eral points, and that Monroe harbor was fast coming into disrepute with lake captains. The citizens and common council, recognizing the importance of having the obstruction in the harbor removed to accommodate the new and increasing business, sent General George Spalding, Hon. Harry A. Conant and Major George R. Hurd, as a committee to Washington, D. C., to procure an appropriation for the im- provement of the harbor, and to have the same inserted in the river and harbor bill then pending. The committee, with the assistance of Mr. J. C. Sterling, who accompanied them, were successful in their efforts, and an appro- priation of $5,000 was made by the act of August 11, 1888.


The total amount appropriated by the Gen- eral Government for the Monroe harbor and United States ship canal (including the $5,000 appropriation obtained by the committee) is $222,515.27.


THE CITY CANAL.


In 1838 considerable damage was done to the harbor at La Plaisance by a storm, and the work commenced by the General Government at Monroe harbor and the United States ship canal progressed slowly. The citizens, desir- ing that the work should be pushed more vig- orously on the Government work, and that the channel of the River Raisin should be short- ened and straightened at what is called Fisher- men's Bend, by the building of the city canal across the bend, a distance of about 1,300 feet, procured through the legislature an amend-


ment to the city charter entitled "An act to amend au act to incorporate the city of Mon- roe," approved April 6, A. D. 1838 :


" The common council of the city of Monroe are authorized to finish and complete the canal and piers already commenced by the Govern- ment of the United States, connecting the waters of the River Raisin with Lake Erie, together with proper piers and basins for said canal within the limits of said city, and also to improve the navigation of said river within the limits of said city by entting through the bends of said river, and for that purpose are anthorized to raise a sum not exceeding fifty thousand dollars by a direct tax upon the real estate situate within the limits of said city, or by a loan for that purpose to be effected, or by both or either of said ways. The moneys so raised to be expended by five commissioners. The said commissioners to be assessors and sworn to assess the real estate in proportion as in their opinion the same will be benefited by the expenditure of said money, who shall be chosen by the freemen of said city in legal meeting assembled, provided that no such tax be levied or loan effected unless a majority of the taxable inhabitants of said city owning lands in fee simple therein shall vote for or assent to the levying of such tax or for effect- ing such loan at a special meeting to be called for such purpose by the clerk of said city, by giving sixty days' previous notice of the time and place of holding such meeting in the public newspaper printed in said city."


On the 29th day of August, 1838, a poll of the taxable inhabitants owning real estate in fee simple in the city was taken at a public meeting to ascertain the will of the taxable in- habitants as to making a loan of $25,000 for the purpose of completing the Government harbor and canal, and improving the navigation of the river by cutting a channel through the bend of the river. The whole number of votes cast was 157, with 142 votes in favor of a loan and 15 votes against it. It would appear from the returns that the real estate owners of the city were almost unanimous for the loan and the canal. But the records show that the oppo- sition was quite strong, and that the parties who were deeply interested in the project had to resort to the expedient of conveying small parcels of land to numerous persons who were


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HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.


in favor of the loan and wanted employment on the canal, making them holders of real estate in fee simple, and so qualified them to vote, who otherwise would not have been entitled to a vote on the question.


In September, 1838, the common council appointed David A. Noble financial agent to go to some of the Eastern cities for the purpose of negotiating a loan of $25,000 on bonds to be issued by the city, with full power to negotiate the loan with any company, person or institu- tion, in such manner as should appear to him most for the advantage of the city. Mr. Noble proceeded to the East immediately, and in Octo- ber reported to the council as follows :


To the Honorable the Common Council of the City of Monroe-


GENTLEMEN : In pursuance of the authority conferred on me by a resolution of your board empowering me to negotiate a loan of $25,000 to complete the ship canal and improve the navigation of the River Raisin, I proceeded to Albany and New York for the purpose of effecting a loan for the city, and after spending several days in those cities in endeavoring to accomplish the object of my visit there, I found that the situation of the money market was such that to effect a loan directly on any Western securities was entirely impossible ; that while for all the legitimate purposes of commercial business money was abundant and obtained with the greatest facility, yet that there was still an entire want of confidence in all securities of the Western country generally, and that money could not be raised upon them directly without the greatest and most ruinous sacrifices, even if at all. Under the circum- stances, I deemed any further exertions to effect a loan direct, as futile, and turned my efforts to making an exchange of stocks, on such favorable terms as I thought would be acceptable to your board, and I found that I could exchange the bonds of this city for the stock of the North American Trust and Bank- ing Company in the city of New York. The stock of the institution, as stock, I knew this city did not wish, and before completing any arrangement with that institution, I proceeded again to Albany and found that the Farmers and Mechanics' Bank, of the city of Albany, would take the stock of the North American Trust and Banking Company at par, and place


to the credit of this city $25,000, to be drawn for as fast as the money should be needed for the progress of the work, allowing ten per cent. interest on the balances from time to time not drawn from the bank. The arrangement with this institution was upon the condition that Austin E. Wing, Esq., for himself, and as trustee and agent for John P. Cushman, Jacob D. Lansing, Lewis Cass, Job Pierson, Stephen Warren, Thomas W. Olcott, George R. Davis, William Porter and Edwin Croswell, should enter into a guarantee to the Farmers and Mechanics' Bank, of Albany, to make up to that institution any deficiency that there might be on the sale, within a reasonable time, of the stock of the North American Trust and Bank- ing Company below par, and those gentlemen, with a promptness and public spirit which cannot be too highly appreciated, came for- ward and gave the bank assurances that such guarantee should be given, and immediately wrote to Austin E. Wing, Esq., who is jointly interested with them in the purchase of lands near the contemplated basin of the ship canal, and their agent in reference to such lands, to give on behalf of themselves and their com- pany the required guarantee, and Mr. Wing has executed the proper papers to complete the arrangement with the Farmers and Mechanics' Bank. Upon the basis above referred to, I made an arrangement with those institutions, respectively, and all that remains now to be done to perfect the arrangement and to realize the money is to enclose the bonds of the city, a form for which is hereunto submitted, with the coupons thereto annexed, to Joseph D. Beirs, Esq., the president of the North American Trust and Banking Company, and that insti- tution will issue stock to an equal amount, and this stock to the amount of $25,000 will be re- ceived by assignment by the Farmers and Mechanics' Bank at Albany, and that institu- tion will place to the credit of this city that amount of money to be drawn for.


Respectfully, D. A. NOBLE.


In pursuance of the plan presented, the city issued $25,000 in bonds, payable in twenty years, with interest at seven per cent., payable semi- annually, and the city undertook to guarantee Austin E. Wing and others from any loss on account of their guarantee in behalf of the city.


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HARBOR IMPROVEMENTS.


A large part of the money raised by the city on its bonds was expended in completing the Government canal. The citizens hoped that Congress could be prevailed upon to refund to the city the money so expended, but all efforts to get a bill through Congress for that purpose were unavailing. Taxes were levied to pay the interest on the bonds, the assessments being made on the real estate in the city in propor- tion as it was supposed it would be benefited by the building of the canal. Money was very scarce, and a great deal of real estate in the city, especially that near the docks which had been assessed very heavily, was leased to pay the canal tax - the bidder who would pay the canal tax for a lease of the property for the shortest term of years receiving a lease from the city for the term bid. Some of these leases run for ninety-nine years, and considerable property is beld under these canal tax leases at the present time. The commissioners were unable to raise sufficient funds to meet the in- terest on the bonds, and the common council was compelled to issue new bonds for the semi- annual interest as it matured, and to petition the bondholders for leniency, and finally the bondholders, believing that the citizens were unable to meet their obligations and did not possess sufficient resources to pay the bonds in full, offered a compromise. General Lewis Cass, who held a large amount of the bonds, took the lead in the matter, and a compromise was effected at 62} cents on the dollar.


In April, 1840, the canal commissioners made a report to the council showing that at the commencement of the work it was estimated that the amount of excavation necessary to construct a channel of suitable dimensions to correspond with the canal constructed by the United States, was computed at 55,000 cubic yards, exclusive of the dams at either end of the canal, necessary to preserve the work from inundations during the progress of excava- tions. The expense of excavation in the body of the work was estimated at thirty cents per yard, and removing the dams by dredging $1,500, and that the commissioners believed that the object of the commission would be more fully secured by conducting the work under their own supervision by the appoint- ment of an acting commissioner, than by accepting any proposals that were offered to take the work by contract. The work was


accordingly commenced, and for some time pro- gressed with a reasonable prospect of an early completion according to the original plan, and at an expense somewhat within the estimate. Their operations were suddenly arrested by the failure of the banks which had on deposit the unexpended portion of the fund which had come into the hands of the commissioners, and by the withholding of $2,000 of the loan by the Farmers and Mechanics' Bank, of Albany, New York. At this time the whole of the timber dams had been completed, and some- thing more than 45,000 cubic yards of earth had been excavated. The amount of money expended by the commission for materials, im- provements, provisions and labor, was $20,600.


The commission being without funds were compelled to abandon the further prosecution of the work, and they accepted the proposal of George W. Strong of October 2, 1839, to take the work by contract and complete the chan- nel to the depth of eleven feet from the top of the capping for $4,636.92, to be paid as follows : Upon the execution of the contract, $1,411.78, in property belonging to the fund and demands due the fund from sundry individuals for pork sold ; and upon the completion of the work a draft upon the Bank of River Raisin for $670.69, and upon the Merchants and Mechan- ics' Bank of the city of Monroe for $2,535.45, in full. The drafts and demands were to be taken without any recourse whatever to the commissioners of the canal fund or the city of Monroe. The work was to be completed by the 15th of May following.


Little was accomplished for the next two years for the want of funds to carry on the work. Petitions and memorials were sent to the House and Senate frequently from Monroe, Adrian and surrounding towns, asking for an appropriation. But the General Government refused or neglected to make any further appro- priation, and in 1842 the work was still un- completed, and the harbor at La Plaisance in a very bad condition. The city, feeling the neces- sity of sufficient harbor improvements, decided to bond the city for $10,000 to complete the work. But the credit of the city was so poor in the East that it was evident that the loan could not be made in the money market and must be taken at home, and $1,000 of the bonds were issued in denominations as small as $5.00 and taken up by persons of small means.


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HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.


Finally several patriotic citizens, David A. Noble, Thomas G. Cole, Harry Conant, Dan. B. Miller, William V. Studdeford, James Armi- tage and Levi S. Humphrey came forward and provided for the balance of the loan, $10,000, and gave their personal obligation for $9,000.


The commissioners made a contract in Angust, 1842, with Henry W. Campbell and George W. Strong for the completion of the canal, Henry V. Disbrow acting as treasurer of the canal fund and superintendent and sur- veyor of the improvements. The canals were completed in 1843; but from that time to the present frequent dredging at certain points in the channel has been necessary to keep it clear and of sufficient depth for navigation.


Many attempts since then have been made to increase the depth of water in the river and canals. At one time the legislature made a land grant of 5,000 acres for that purpose, and in 1849 the plan of confining all the water in the river to the canals and that part of the river channel connecting them, by damming the old river channels at the head of the canals, and a wing dam at Barn Island to narrow the channel and make the water cut its way through Barn Island Bar, was adopted. A con- tract was made with J. M. Sterling and William A. Noble to construct four dams in accordance with this plan, for which they were to receive 2,500 acres of the land grant. The dams were built of spiles and plank, but did not remain long enough to test the merits of the plan. The ice raised them and they were carried out with the first spring freshet. Isaac P. Chris- tiancy, for 320 acres of land, offered the hull of the old steamer Constitution to be used for a dam. Judging from the records it would seem that most of the schemes were proposed for the purpose of obtaining the remainder of the land grant, and that numerous patriotic citizens were as much if not more interested in that than in the improvement of the shipping facilities and navigation. Finally Dan. B. Miller got the remainder of the land grant for building dams in the river at the points where the railroad crossed the old channel.


There were five commissioners of the canal fund elected every fall, and the contests were at times quite spirited. As high as twenty of the leading citizens were in the field at one time as candidates. The five candidates re- ceiving the highest vote were elected and con-


stituted the commissioners of the canal fund for the year. The following is a list of the names of persons who held the office of canal com- missioners :


1838-John Burch, Gershom Bulkley, Moses B. Savage, James Hervey Miller, Chester Stewart.


1839-Gershom Bulkley, John Burch, Moses B. Savage, James Hervey Miller, George W. Strong.


1840 -Harry V. Man, Alpheus Felch, Charles M. Humphrey, Luther Harvey, Jacob W. Alexander.


1841-Charles M. Humphrey, Wolcott Law- rence, James Armitage, Enos Jackson, Walter W. Prentice.


1842-James J. Godfroy, Wolcott Lawrence, Warner Wing, Carlos Colton, Henry Disbrow.


1843-James J. Godfroy, Henry Disbrow, Carlos Colton, Warner Wing, James Armitage.


1844-James Armitage, Jefferson S. Bond, Titus Babcock, James E. Skinner, Obadiah Spalding.


1845 -James E. Skinner, Titus Babcock, Jefferson S. Bond, Obadiah Spalding, Norman D. Curtis.


1846-Hiram Stone, John Burch, Charles Noble, Charles G. Johnson, Harry Conant.


John Mulhollen acted as collector of the canal fund, and for several years his whole time was occupied in collecting the canal tax and selling lots and land returned as delinquent for non-payment of the tax.


With all the modern appliances, the exca- vating of a canal is a very simple matter; but at that early day, with the primitive methods then in vogue, it was a great undertaking. The greater part of the excavating was accom- plished with the spade, shovel and wheelbar- row, operated by the sons of the Emerald Isle, a large number of whom were imported for the express purpose from "York State." Bulk- heads or dams were built at each end of the canal, and earth partitions or bulkheads were left at different points as long as possible. The sections so divided off were kept free from water by horse-power pumps, as the work progressed. After all the earth possible had been removed from between the two dams at the end of the canal, they were broken through and the water let in, and the re- mainder was excavated by means of a horse-


ARY.I


VALLEY CITY ENG .- PRINT. CO. Grand Rapids, Mich/i


Dredge used in Constructing City Canal at Monroe.


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HARBOR IMPROVEMENTS.


power dredge. The horse-power dredge com- plete consisted of two scows, one abont 50 feet long and 25 foot beam, with an opening similar to a center board box about 6 feet wide and 25 feet long, and a little aft of the middle of the scow. Through this opening a large seraper- shaped excavator with long arms was operated. The arms were secured at the after end of the opening with pins, and were of sufficient length so that the scraper could be let down to the bottom of the canal to a depth of 12 or 14 feet in a position to scrape; the scraper was connected with chains to a crank at the for- ward part of the opening.


The other scow was improvised from an old scow that bad been used in the coasting trade to Toledo and Sandusky. A capstan was set up in it so that it extended from the bottom of the boat np through the deck. The drum, or part around which the line wound, was on deck. The four sweeps to operate it were in the hole, and were arranged so that a horse could be hitched to each sweep, and the horses moving around in a circle turned the drum on deck. This scow was anchored securely in the canal, and a line made fast to it passed over a sheave on the dredge scow a short distance off, and back around the drum, so as to give a double purchase in towing the dredge scow.


When everything was in readiness, the scraper was let down to the bottom of the canal, the dredge scow made fast to the other scow by passing a line over the sheave and around the drum, the horses hitched to the sweeps in the hole of the scow. The horses then walked around with the sweeps and wound up the line about the drum, steadily drawing the dredge scow forward and cansing the scraper to scrape along the bottom of the canal and fill itself with dirt. When the crew on the dredge scow thought the scraper was full enough, they took hold of the crank and with the chains attached to the scraper hoisted it up into the opening, as a center board is raised in a sailing vessel, and then with long poles poled the dredge scow off into the "old river" channel, opened a dump or door in the scraper and let the dirt ont, then poled her back again to the canal in position ready to scrape up another load. A horse-power dredge of another patron was used for a while, but the one above described, invented by H. W. Camp- bell and used by Messrs. Campbell and Strong




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