USA > Michigan > Montcalm County > History of Montcalm County, Michigan its people, industries and institutions...with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families Volume I > Part 10
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MONTCALM COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
religious meeting in the township, which was held at the house of John Smith in September following. Mrs. Smith invited Mr. Evarts to come and hold meetings there whenever convenient, but being at the time a resi- dent of Bloomer and engaged in farming, the distance, the almost impass- able condition of the roads at certain times, and other duties prevented him making any permanent arrangements at Crystal, although he conducted services there several times subsequently. The next year Peter Burke, a member of the United Brethren church, preached in the same place.
The first frame building in the township was a small barn built by John W. Smith in the fall of 1854. ITis house was among the first frame struc- tures in the township.
On Christmas eve of 1856 the first wedding in Crystal was celebrated, the contracting parties being Henry 1 .. Parker and Sarah Jane Davis. Justice Smith performed the ceremony. Henry Parker had come to the township in 1853 and devoted much of his time to hunting. His skill with the rifle was proverbial, and by means of it supplied the little settlement with venison. Once, in company with another hunter on the shore of a small lake between Crystal and Evergreen townships, he made an extraordinary shot and killed a loon far out in the water. From this incident the lake known as Loon lake took its name. Te pre-empted land in the south part of the township, but sold subsequently and removed to Isabelle county. Eli Davis, father of the bride, settled on section 9 in 1854.
The night of the wedding the ground was covered deep with snow, and the roads being passable, several sled loads from Ionia came to the ball which lasted until the "wee sina" hours. The justice and his wife came on a sled made of planks and drawn by a yoke of oxen. Music for the occa- sion was furnished by A. A. Proctor and his brother, F. J. Proctor, who had previously settled on section 16. The large log house just built by Mr. Davis had not yet been partitioned, and furnished a good room for the ball, which was one long remembered. The Proctor boys opened the first black- smith shop in the township.
The first death was that of Eli Davis. He was buried near his house on section 16, but his remains have since been removed. The funeral ser- mon was preached by Peter Schlappie, of Ferris. At the town meeting of 1857 it was decided to raise twenty-five dollars for the purpose of buying or leasing suitable grounds for burial purposes, these grounds not to exceed four acres in extent; and the town board was authorized to select and pay for the same. The committee selected four cemeteries, but only two were (8)
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MONTCALM COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
put in use, and at the town meeting held at the house of A. A. Proctor the work of clearing the one on section 18 was given to Asa Ward, and the other, on section 30, was left to William B. Gambie. These were bought and put in order at a cost of fifteen dollars each.
At the time of the settlement of Crystal, Hubbardston was the nearest postoffice. On July 4, 1857, Alanson Snow, after whom Snow's Corners, in Ronald township, Ionia county, was named, took the contract for carrying the mail from lonia to a station in Isabella county then known as New Albany, and later called Salt River. ITe followed this route nearly four years, most of which time he carried the mail himself, but was occasionally relieved by his son. Richard Snow. The trip was made on foot, the impassa- bility of the roads rendering it impossible to use a horse. He left Ionia with the mail Tuesday afternoon and reached Snow's Corners the same night. He took dinner with John W. Smith on Wednesday, and finished the trip to New Albany and returned home by the next Saturday.
The first postoffice in the township was kept by A. A. Proctor in his house When Mr. Proctor removed it was kept by his brother. Fernando Proctor.
CRYSTAL VILLAGE.
The village of Crystal is situated near the east shore of the lake. The first settlement in this vicinity was made by Enos P. Drake who in the year 1857 built a small dwelling house and saw-mill, the latter on the outlet of Mud lake. Drake built the first mill. The first framed building was the Eagle hotel. The village was laid out by Asa Ward on land owned by Mr. Burtch and Mr. Drake.
Beautifully situated in the northeastern part of Montcalm county in a very picturesque valley is a lake called by the people in that part of Michigan, Crystal lake. As the name implies, the lake is like a crystal, and as the sun shines on its pretty waters it acts more as a mirror. On the southeast shores of this body of water, which is considered small in comparison with some of the lakes of which Michigan boasts, although it covers about 1,000 acres, is the village of Crystal, the seat of a thriving, hustling, agricultural section.
Crystal has about 500 inhabitants, possesses practically everything a city of ten times its size has, but it is not incorporated and progresses famously with the administration of its affairs by some real live boosters of which a much larger community might well be proud. Farming and the . summer resort is what makes the village, and those who call Crystal their
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MONTCALM COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
home are ever alert to take advantage of any opportunity which presents itself to further civic interest.
Since Crystal was founded on April 1, 1868, there have been at least a dozen surveys into the village by various steam and electric roads, and each time just when the fond hopes seem about to be realized, negotiations are declared off. The townspeople do not sit down and wait, praying for another survey, but with renewed vigor direct their efforts to make the vil- lage a magnet that will eventually attract some promoters to come through there with the necessary railroad to the larger state cities. Just at the present time a survey is being made, possibly the thirteenth, maybe the fif- teenth, but the fact remains one is going through now and within a very short time it is believed that the road will be constructed.
To the visitor it seems a wonder that someone has not as yet awakened to the possibilities of developing that rich agricultural district in and around Crystal. True there is a road at Butternut, five and a half miles away, but this makes it more difficult for the farmers and villagers to market their products and secure their shipments. The automobile is meeting the long felt want in some respects as the hotel in Crystal, and it boasts of three, which provide auto bus service to and from Butternut by all trains and to V'estaburg by appointment, so the village is not so isolated as one might sup- pose. Then, too, prosperity has smiled upon the townspeople and the farmers, so many have automobiles for pleasure and business. Travel is not difficult over the country roads; a liberal supply of gravel has made the highways excellent.
To get to the story of the village proper, Crystal is not incorporated, the citizens enjoying the freedom of their own government, and meeting en masse when the occasion arises for whatever seems the betterment of affairs. For the guest Crystal has three hotels, the Park, on a bluff over- looking the lake; the Lakeside, only a stone's throw from the shore line, and the Shaffer House, on Lake street. The latter is open the year around, but the two former close with the resort season some time in September.
Naturally in a place of this class, banking takes a prominent part, the State Bank of Crystal recently occupying its new home on Main street, serves the community well. It began as a private institution under the management of honest and capable officials, and has recently been incor- porated a state institution.
The postmaster, J. M. Lascelle, under recent legislation enacted by Congress, holds his position on a life tenure. No political changes can retire him. Rural free delivery routes supply the rural communities with mail.
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MONTCALM COUNTY, MICIIIGAN.
The necessity of walks a few years ago was the bone of contention among the villagers and at a mass meeting it was decided to construct cement walks, and now Crystal has two miles of cement walks, an excellent showing for a village of half a thousand people.
There are many forms of business enterprises in Crystal, and each offers a complete stock in the particular branch it represents. There are three groceries, one drug store, one jewelry store, two hardware stores, a bazaar, garage, photo studio, confectionery, two blacksmith shops, wagon shop, flour and two feed mills, cheese factory, electric light plant, telephone company, a live weekly paper-the Crystal Mail, published by C. W. La Du. ex-state oil inspector.
Educationally the people of Crystal have not overlooked the welfare of their children. There is a full twelfth grade school, a diploma from which admits to the smaller colleges of the state. Crystal has four churches, the Congregational, Baptist, Methodist and United Brethren. Fraternally, one can find as much of a diversity as in the religious field. There is a Masonic lodge, and a chapter of the Eastern Star, the Farmers' Grange, Gleaners, Odd Fellows and Rebekahs and Maccabees.
A booster of the village is Otis A. Sanford, and it was mainly through him that many of the improvements of the village were brought to a suc- cessful culmination. Mr. Sanford is too modest to take any credit for the work, and when asked who it was who put through the many improve- ments, he says "the boosters of Crystal." But Mr. Sanford has many friends in the village who are willing to give him the credit deserved. Mr. Sanford organized the Crystal Telephone Company, with a capital stock of $2.500. It serves nearly two hundred subscribers. Work is now going on to increase this number, and the Crystal boosters who have secured the right to connect with the Valley Home Telephone Company for state service are not going to quit until they have secured the same privileges with the Michi- gan State Telephone Company.
One great asset which the village has is the self-sustained lighting plant. Crystal has twenty-four-hour electric service. The plant is operated with steam power, is not surpassed in the state, and as far as can be ascer- tained, in the United States. Where water power is used the case is differ- ent, but at Crystal generators are operated with steam. At ten o'clock at night the power is furnished with storage batteries, and they are also used after the plant closes Saturday night and until it opens Monday morning.
Leaving the main street of Crystal and turning on to Lake street it is but a short distance down the side of the hill before one has a glimpse of the
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MONTCALM COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
lake. It is a pretty body of water, fed from springs which are distributed all around the lake bed. The lake has a sandy bottom, affording delightful bathing. One may wade a great distance before reaching a depth greater than six feet. The lake is comparatively shallow, but there is one place about three-fourths of a mile from the resort where they never have been able to locate bottom. This may be just a myth, but you will have to take it for what it is worth.
On the southeast and northeast shores of the lake are very fine summer cottages, nothing special but very cozy, providing the usual comforts of a summer resort. On the southeast shore many of the cottages are owned by people who occupy their own during the warm months. On the northeast shore is a group of cottages, possibly two hundred, known as Crystal Heights. It is an association and has been incorporated. The Park hotel is situated among the cottages at the end of Lake street near the lake shore. .At the end of Lake street, near the lake shore, there are a number of pavil- ions. Some are operated by residents of Crystal, while others are leased to parties who have made their summer homes in Crystal for the past fifteen to twenty years.
BUSINESS MEN OF CRYSTAL.
B. F. Smith, proprietor Lakeside hotel; O. A. Sanford, manager Main Street garage; W. Y. Beard; proprietor Park hotel; Bert Silver, manager Silver Family theater; Edward Nolty, boat livery; R. H. Radcliff, ice cream pavilian; Peterman Brothers, proprietors bathing beach; B. F. Shaffer, proprietor Shaffer hotel; F. T. Kimball, general merchandise; C. De Young, hardware and supplies: Z. D. Rule, dry goods and groceries; J. D. Smith, pure drugs and chemicals; Sturgis & Son, meats and general merchandise; George Holcomb, manager Crystal Cheese Company; William S. George, manager Crystal Telephone Company; R. B. Smith, physician and sur- geon; Blackaller & Bennett, opera company; Orcutt & Son, general hard- ware; F. H. Marcy, furniture and funeral director ; W. J. Reed, boats and cottages; Frank Morgan, barber shop; V. C. Canouts, jeweler; E. A. Dur- kee, Lakeside Park; Oscar Shives, well drilling and repairing; J. M. Lascelle, postmaster, insurance; Bank of Crystal, general banking business; Lee Ter- williger, blacksmithing and repairing; L. H. Gearhart, cement blocks and tile ; J. C. Sigsbce, carriage painting and repairing; J. S. Parker, blacksmith- ing and repairing; C. W. LaDu, editor Crystal Mail; H. S. Preston, photog- rapher; Charles Woodbury, cottages and boats; Carl Benthine, ice and drayage; Thomas Young, proprietor opera house; Louis Steele, variety store.
CHAPTER VIII.
DAY TOWNSHIP.
Day township is located in the central part of the county and is desig- nated on the government survey as town II north, range 6 west. It is bounded on the north by Home township, on the east by Ferris, on the south by Evergreen and on the west by Douglass.
The erection of this township, which comprises congressional township Il north, range 6 west, was brought about through the presentation of a petition signed by the following: Alonzo Darling, H. E. W. Palmer, Sam- uel Butts, Fared Strong, Jr., R. Rawson, D. S. West, Sebastian Martin, Win Armstrong, Conrad Rough, J. J. Mounton, Alexander Oneal, Henry Kretzinger, Egbert L. Heath, Christopher Hare, David Buck, John S. Ford. Albert Ferris, Wibber E. Roby, John M. Hancock, Isaac Tillne, E. B. Hare, Andrew Zuner, J. G. Garrison and David Shaffer. This petition was passed upon by the board of supervisors, and the township was duly created on October 12, 1864. The first election was held at the house of Henry Kret- zinger on the first Monday in April, 1865. and H. E. W. Palmer, John A. Dyer and Jared Strong acted as election judges.
The name for this township was selected by a mere accident. While a number of its citizens were debating on the question of a name and unable to select one from the many proposed, some one suggested that action in regard to it be postponed until another day. It was then proposed that all the other names be dropped and the name "Day" inserted in the petition, which was accordingly done. The first meeting was held in compliance with the appoint- ment made by the board of supervisors. The meeting was called to order by H. E. W. Palmer, one of the inspectors appointed by the board. The other two inspectors chosen by the board were absent, and George F. Case and John D. Herrington were appointed by the electors present to fill their vacancy. George F. Case was chosen chairman, and H. E. W. Palmer was chosen clerk. The following persons were elected to offices in the township: Supervisor, Sylvester Derby; clerk, Edwin K. Wood; H. E. W. Palmer, treasurer ; G. F. Case and H. E. W. Palmer, school inspectors; John D. Her- rington, John K. Marston and Henry Kretzinger, commissioners of high-
MONTCALM COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
ways; George F. Case, John D. Herrington, Samuel Butts and Albert Reg- ister, justices of the peace; Aaron F. Lee, Phipps Waldo, H. F. W. Palmer and John J. Owen, constables.
LAND ENTRIES.
Section 1-Byron G. Stout, William Green, Freeman Rice, Byron Stout. Section 2-Samuel S. Woodworth, James Cisco, Gamaliel Waldo, Phipps Waldo, William S. Post. Section 3-Elias Hardy, James Eakright, John Rash, Aaron Grash. Section 4-John J. Mountain, Henry Kretzinger. Section 6-Julia A. Clark, Sebastian Martin, Alpheus Brown, Jared Strong, Jr., Luther Hardy, Stephen F. Page, Edmund Hall. Section 7-William and Cornelius Van Name, Jacob Lemasters, William P. Baker, James Knox, Conrad Roosh, John J. Owen, Erastus P. Brown, Alonzo Darling. Section 8-Jacob Lemasters. James Knox, Alonzo Darling, Frederick Hayland. David H. Thomas. Norman Webber, A. Darling. Section 9-David Jacobs, Frederick Hayland, Daniel S. Simes, Peter H. Watson. Section 10-L. B. Townsend, Peter II. Watson, Sylvester Parsons, William H. Stanfield. Section 11-John G. Williams, Thomas P. Bennett, Peter H. Watson, Gama- liel Waldo, Oliver Rutherford. Benjamin P. Boskin. Section 12-John A. Dyer, John G. Williams, Albert E. Regista. Moses A. Dyer, Solomon Rash, Russel E. Dyer, Henry O. Corroll. Section 13-Alexander Fraser, Clark- sen S. Hance, John W. Tate, Cyrus Rutherford. Section 14-Moses C. Grey, Peter H. Watsen, George Sapp, Peter Seyo, William Knott, Cyrus Rutherford, Amos S. Pennington, E. K. Wood. Section 15-William Beaty, William Waldo, Alexander Fraser, George O. Taylor, Henry G. Johnson. Section 16-Marcellus Palmer, Andrew B. Nevins, Norman Webber, Oscar R. Wilmarth, Marcellus Palmer, H. H. Belding. Section 17-William Cor- nell, Henry M. Tupper, Mary S. Palmer, P. R. Howe, George Isham, Syl- vanus Taylor, Hampton Rich, A. S. Johnson. Section 18-Charles B. Wil- sen. Section 19-Charles B. Wilsen, William and Cornelius Van Name, Stephen McNeil, William J. Cornell, Benedict Brooks, Steven Shephard, Josiah J. Morris, John D. Harrington, William Armstrong, Edwin B. Moore. Section 20-William J. Cornell, Hugh T. Brooks, James M. Soverhill, Cor- nelius Van Allen, P. R. Howe, George B. Isham, N. Webber, D. Chase, Hampton Rich. Section 21-William J. Cornell, William Beaty, Larmon B. Townsend, Cornelius Van Allen. Section 22-William Beaty, Thomas J. Bargar, William Beaty, Alexander Fraser. Section 23-Thomas J. Bar- gar, Larmon B. Townsend, Daniel Buckley, David Stewart. Section 24-
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Wilsen Lee. William P'. Partello, John Barrett, Edwin A. Moffatt, Josephus Dasef. Section 25-Charles B. Wilsen. Henry H. Crapo. Section 26- L. M. Bennett. Albert Cisco, Smith Felton. Section 27-Larmon B. Town- send. Section 28-Larmon B. Townsend, Samuel Mead, Edwin D. Finch, Samuel Lett. Section 29-Hngh T. Brooks, Benedict Brooks, Larmon B. Townsend, Charles A. Brown. Section 30-William J. Cornell, Benedict Brooks, Michael Mead, William Dunham, Larmon B. Townsend, Isaiah J. Morris. Section 31 -- Evrand H. King. Michael Mead. William L. Tanner, Michael Mead. Section 32-John Waite, Frederick Hall. Section 33- Ambrose L. Soule, Larmon B. Townsend. Alexander Fraser, Stephen F. Shortep. Samuel Mead. Section 34 --- Ambrose L. Soule, Henry H. Crapo. Jacob Wagner. Alexander Fraser, Edwin A. Moffat, Rudolph Wagner. Sec- tion 35- Henry Crapo. John W. Osborn, Alexander Fraser, Stephen F. Johnson. Section 36-Loren M. Barrett. Henry Sisco.
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
The first settler of the township was John A. Dyer, later a resident of Ferris, who came in in 1854 and settled on the southeast quarter of section 12. He built a good log house, set out an orchard, planted the first crops. and made the first improvements of note long before any other settler came in. His wife, who died subsequently, is regarded to be the first death in Day township.
About the year 1862 several families came to the township and entered small tracts on section 8. They all built small cabins, but soon after, selling their claims, removed. The next settler and the first permanent one in that vicinity. was Alonzo Darling, who, under the state homestead law. entered one hundred and twenty acres, principally on section 8. He made some permanent improvements, conspicuous among which was building a large barn and clearing forty acres.
Sebastian Martin was the first settler in the west part of the town, hav- ing entered land and built a cabin on section 6 as early as 1862. With his wife he lived here for a time, making shingles by hand; but at length he, too, sold for one thousand dollars and moved. His wife was subsequently drowned in Grand river.
In May, 1864, accompanied by his cousin, Marcellus Palmer, came in, and with him purchased two hundred acres of Jacob Lemasters for three dollars and fifty cents per acre. H. F. W. Palmer was formerly a regular minister of the Baptist church, but his health failing, he sought the pine
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MONTCALM COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
lands of Michigan in hopes of restoring it. After purchasing, Marcellus returned to Tonia and in about eight months brought his family to Day. In 1865 Conrad Rouash settled on section 7, where he remained a number of years, when he moved to Douglass.
Some time after the settlement of the Palmers, Norman Webster came in and bought the northeast quarter of section 8, for which he paid a team of horses, a wagon, and some minor consideration. He also sold out and moved to Kent county, thence to Texas. John Harrington came from Hillsdale county, Michigan, in 1864, and settled on section 19.
In the spring of 1866 the school board formed the northwest quarter of the township into a school district. The first school meeting was held at the house of H. E. W. Palmer, he being chosen director, and Samuel Butts, moderator. Marcellus Palmer, assessor. The first school was taught by Mrs. H. E. W. Palmer in an unoccupied room in her dwelling. Arrange- ments were made to build a log school house, but the motion was recon- sidered by a vote of the district, and it was decided to erect a frame one, which was accordingly done. The second term, however, was taught by Lodema Palmer in the log house of Samuel Butts, before the school house was completed. She became the wife of E. M. Mallet. The second school was taught in the northeastern part of the township; but, as the inhabitants mostly soon after removed, the district formation was dropped.
The first public religious meeting in Day, so far as is known, was con- ducted by Rev. H. E. W. Palmer in his house in 1864. The first Sabbath school was organized by Marcellus Palmer at his house, and of which he was elected first superintendent.
These settlements above referred to were all in the west and southwest portions of the township. One of the earliest settlers in the east part of the township was Smith Felton, who located the north half of the northeast ‹quarter of section 26 soon after the Civil War, from whence he came as a soldier. ITe made a small clearing and built a log house on the high south bank of Hooker branch of Fish creek, where he lived until his death, in the carly nineties. Another old settler of that locality was Josephus Dasef. who settled on section 25 soon after Felton came in. He built a frame house on his homestead, about the first in the township, and early engaged in the lum- bering business. He cut the pine timber from his homestead and from other lands which he purchased, drew them to the banks of Fish creek, but a short distance away, and in the spring of the years he was in business floated them down to Grand Haven, where they were manufactured into lumber. He closed out his business in 1872 and moved to Stanton, where
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he remained until 1876, when he purchased a farm in Bushnell township, which he developed and lived thereon until old age and ill health compelled him to sell, when he moved to Stanton in 1907, where he and his wife lived until their deaths, in July, 1915. They died within two weeks of each other.
VILLAGE OF M'BRIDE.
The village is named after Alexander McBride, a native of Wayne county, New York, who came to Day township and in 1874 purchased the saw-mill built by Emery Mallet the year previous. The following year it burned, being a total loss, but it was at once rebuilt by him, and from that time the locality was known as McBride's Mill. When the railroad com- pany established its station near by it adopted the name which has accord- ingly been applied to the village. It is situated principally upon the south- west quarter of section 9. It was platted by D. L. Jacobs in 1877. About the same time Phipps Waldo laid out the cast half of the northeast quarter of section 8 in village lots, which he named Custer. Several lots were sold and a number of buildings erected; the first completed was the blacksmith and wagon shop of Dean Wilber, being the first business place in the village of Custer, which is now properly considered a part of McBride.
Phipps Waldo came to Day township in 1864, and entered the south- east quarter of section 2, where he resided until February, 1872. C. A. Chillson opened the first store in the village. The sales for the first six months amounted to eight or ten thousand dollars.
Soon after J. A. Waldeon opened a stock of ready-made clothing, being the second in the village. The sales amounted on an average to ten thou- sand dollars per year. The growth and prosperity of McBride continued unchecked with one exception.
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