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 45
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Among the mien most prominent in bringing about unity of action in this regard were John Smith, of Crystal; William Castel, of Bushnell; Aaron Lyon, of Bloomer, and George F. Case, of Evergreen.
At several meetings of the board of supervisors the subject of removal was discussed and voted upon, but the west half of the county having a majority in the board. all efforts for the time were unavailing. In 1857 the township of Pierson, then comprising towns II and 12 north, ranges 9 and Io west, was severed from Mecosta county and annexed to Montcalm, with the ostensible reason, as is asserted by old settlers, of favoring Green- ville. While the inhabitants of the eastern part of the county looked with exceeding disfavor upon this act of the Legislature, by which it broke the outline of counties to favor a particular locality, apparently for political purposes, they endeavored to counterbalance it by organizing new town- ships. In this, however, they, as well as the west part of the county, were unsuccessful, for the rival factions each held the other in check.
At the meeting of the board of supervisors in 1860 a petition was presented to divide the township of Pierson and organize two new town- ships. The members from the eastern townships persistently refused to favor this petition unless the supervisor of Pierson should vote to remove the capital to the geographical center of the "old county." To this he finally consented; at least, with this understanding that the proposed new town- ships should be considered favorably. The board, however, still refused to remove the county seat unless a deed first be executed conveying to the county the northwest quarter of the northeast quarter of section I, in Sid- ney, which Fred Hall, of Ionia, had agreed to donate should the seat of justice be located here. John Smith, the member from Crystal, declared that the board should have the deed before sunrise, and forthwith set out, in company with Aaron Lyon, of Bloomer, for Ionia, reaching the resi- dence of Fred Hall about eleven o'clock at night. He was roused from his
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bed, and the deed properly made out. At an early hour the following morn- ing the board convened, the deed was read and their votes claimed. There was no chance for evasion now. The supervisor of Pierson, however, refused. The board immediately reconsidered its action in regard to the new townships. He then promised to vote for the measure if his townships would again be organized. The motion for removal was this time first presented, and having passed, new townships were erected without any ser- ious inconvenience.
The county seat by this action was established in a forest of pine four miles from the nearest white habitation, the nearest being probably the log cabin of Hiram Amsburg in Sidney. Capt. J. P. Beers, a veteran of Com- pany A, Eighty-eighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, was made agent for the sale of lots. Whatever means may have been resorted to to bring about this removal. the benefit to the county on the whole cannot be questioned. At the next meeting of the board the new capital was called "Fred," in honor of Fred Hall, of Ionia. In compliance with his earnest solicitation, however, the name was changed to Stanton, in honor of the secretary of war during the Rebellion.
A NIGHT SESSION OF THE COUNTY BOARD.
After the new location was decided upon the contract for felling the timber on twenty acres was let to John Wilson, of Fairplain, and a contract to build a court house was entered into with M. P. Follett, of Amsden. The clearing was at once begun and the court house was soon completed. At the first meeting of the board in the new building the members brought provisions and blankets with them, as there was at that time in the county seat no other building or accommodations whatever. But M. P. Follett had foreseen this emergency and had taken some steps to provide for the board. He had secured the services of Dr. Sylvester Derby and wife, who lived near Derby lake, in Sidney township. Rooms were temporarily fitted up for them in the court house and necessary arrangements for cooking intro- duced. But there were no beds, and at night the members arranged them- selves in two rows on the floor. But the slumber did not visit them readily, and Westbrook Devine, who was a large, heavy man, rolled himself over the entire line of prostrate and half-sleeping forms. This he called "equaliz- ing the roll." As he continued in this equalizing process, M. P. Follett, the chairman of the board, requested the clerk to call the roll. As he pro- ceeded to fulfill this duty every member, thinking it only a continuation of
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the order already observed, answered promptly to his name, expecting to be called to a sham session of the board. In this, however, they were disap- pointed; the session was called, but for a different purpose. When the roll was called, Mr. Follett, bringing his gavel down heavily on the table, said: "Now come to Limerick." They roused up by degrees, and when in their order the usual formalities were duly observed, the regular business com- menced. After a session, lasting from one o'clock until three in the morn- ing, they adjourned, and entirely exhausted, betook themselves quietly to sleep. At this meeting it was decided to remove the county offices. Levi Camburn, the county treasurer, thought the prospect of living here very lim- ited.
To obtain material for building purposes was next to impossible. Ryder's saw-mill, in Evergreen, which was the nearest. was four miles dis- tant, but the only route was by way of Sheridan, and the road north from that village was scarcely passable more than half of the distance. The weather was extremely cold, and the action of the board seemed to be very premature. They voted, however, to allow Mr. Camburn the use of part of the court house for a dwelling. This avoided present difficulties, and the offices were soon tranferred. The family of Levi Camburn was, therefore, the first to settle in Stanton, or. as it was then called. "Fred." The first business place was opened by Abram Roosa, who, in the summer of 1862, built a log house one story and a half and twenty-six by thirty feet, in which he commenced keeping hotel. This having received a number of addi- tions, was lost in the Stanton House, of which it formed a part.
THE OWL'S NEST.
In the Stanton Weekly Clipper. for December 26, 1884, there may be found the folowing interesting account of the house built by Abram Roosa : "The recent fire (December 18, 1884), wiped out one of the oldest landmarks of Stanton -- the Central House. About the year 1862 Abram Roosa came into this neck of the woods, soon after the board of supervi- sors had decided to locate the county seat here, and early in the season put up a one-and-a-half-story, twenty-six by thirty log house on a considerable hill well back from where the corner of Main and Camburn streets was supposed to be -- quite a supposition in those days from the fact that neither street had then been chopped or logged off-for the purpose of accommo- dating the 'traveling public,' which. by the way, was at that time largely
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MONTCALM COUNTY COURT HOUSE.
STANTON, THIRTY YEARS AGO. FROM STEEPLE OF OLD COURT HOUSE.
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Indian and the public highways were winding Indian trails through unbro- ken forests of towering pine.
"This log building was the first hotel in Stanton and only two build- ings preceded it in point of time, and probably none in importance, as it was around its old-fashioned open fireplace that the future city was dis- cussed. The building now standing on Main street on what is known as the 'Rice lot,' the only one of the three now left standing, and the court house, removed some years ago to make room for the new, were the only buildings that were built before the hotel. Mr. Roosa conducted the hotel but a short time and then sold it to Henry L. Parker, who, in turn, disposed of it to C. M. Newcomb, under whose management the house attained most of its early fame. It became known the country over as 'The Owl's Nest,' and even on the night of the fire it was frequently remarked, 'that is the last of the Owl's Nest.' Whether it got its name from the sign or whether the name suggested the sign we do not know, but on the peak of the roof a solenin, lonely-looking, wooden owl sat for years in grim silence. Guests came and went and the business of the house increased. Addition after addition was built on here and there around the main building to accommo- date the public. Finally, Newcomb died and the property passed into the hands of his wife and children, who continued the business and kept the owl on the roof. An addition was built on the front and the owl was provided a new porch on its front. The house finally came under the management of Calvin Newcomb, a son of his eccentric father, who built on a three-story front-part of the building just destroyed-and perched the owl on its front battlement. In the meantime the house had been designated as the Stanton House, but its first name was always preserved in the memory of old settlers. "Some five or six years ago the Newcombs disposed of the property to Buckalew & Crippen, and the owl disappeared from its battlement. Bucka- lew conducted the house for a short time and was succeeded by C. H. Kenny, as landlord, and he by E. A. Vaughn. J. Q. Crippen had, in the meantime, succeeded to Buckalew's interest in the property. During his ownership. the city cut away the hill in front of the house and to get even with the city he graded out from under the building and put in another story -without raising the old building up any-making the hotel four stories high in front. Last summer Mr. Crippen sold the property to P. H. McGarry. who has been at work upon it ever since his purchase, for the purpose of making it a first-class house and had just got it in good condition at the time of the fire. He had built on a splendid dining room, with a number of fine rooms over it and new sample rooms. He had also put in gas fixtures and
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lighted the house by gas. Water was supplied by windmill power. The house was painted up nicely-in short everything had been done to make the house attractive in appearance and pleasant for guests. His work for the season was just about completed when destruction came. All regret the misfortune but hope to see a fine structure arise from the ashes."
TURNER'S OPERA HOUSE.
Besides the Central House, Turner's opera house and George Brown's saloon and billiard hall burned on December 18, 1884, the loss aggregating about $25,000. The Stevens block was also badly damaged, and what was then the building occupied by the First National Bank was on fire for a time. McGarry's loss was $11,000, with $6,000 insurance; the Turners' loss $10,000, with insurance of $5,000, and Brown's loss $4,500, with insurance of $2,800.
In this connection, it may be said that Turner's opera house was built in 1873-74 by N. M. Turner and A. Vinecore. When W. F. Turner acquired the west half of the block, the building was remodeled, the second and third floors "were transferred into as fine a little opera house as could be found in northern Michigan." The scenery was ample, elegant and com- plete. The room was finished in great taste in every respect, and not a resi- dent of the city ever entered the room but with a feeling of pride. It was completed and opened on November 15, 1883, by Minnie Maddern in "The Puritan Maid."
In 1865-66 Alexander Vinecore built the Bailey House. The first dwelling house was that Levi Camburn built in August, 1862. In 1863 E. K. Wood opened the first stock of groceries, and soon afterwards D. M. Gardner opened the first stock of dry-goods. A man by the name of Stark- weather built a small saw-mill about this time, and it was a most valued addition to the enterprises of the village, furnishing, as it did, an abundant supply of lumber for building. From this time the development of the lumber industry and the business interests of the village was rapid. .
Although the date of the incorporation of the village by the Legisla- ture is given as 1869. an election of village officials was held as early as November. 1867.
COUNTY SEAT DISCUSSION.
The locating of the county seat at Stanton did not settle the question permanently. Greenville, in the meantime, had grown rapidly in wealth
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and population, and certain prominent men from that part of the county earnestly advocated it as the only proper location. At the meetings of the board of supervisors, this question was not infrequently the cause of excit- ing debate. It is probable, in view of the favorable inducements offered by that village, that action adverse to Stanton would have sooner or later been taken had it not been for the magnanimous conduct of her leading citizens and taxpayers. By special act of the Legislaure, the village was permitted to issue bonds to the amount of $10,000, in order to secure the requisite loan. Accordingly, on May 20, 1879. in compliance with a petition, a town meeting was held and the loan decided upon by a vote of one hundred and twenty-six in the affirmative to three in the negative. The action of the vil- lage in this respect and in the matter of issuing its bonds and raising the money was prompt. The court house was completed and dedicated in the summer of 1880, at a cost of $22,000.
In this connection, it may be said that the bond issue of 1879, by which the people of Stanton had invested $10,000 in the old court house and for which, after the court house burned, there was the proceeds of the insurance available, to some extent effected the proposed removal of the court house to Greenville after the 1905 fire. The people of Stanton argued, and to good effect, that the removal of the county seat virtually would amount to using money they, themselves, had raised to build a court house in Greenville.
THE FIRE OF 1880.
The city of Stanton suffered the effects of a very severe fire which broke ont October 12, 1880, and which destroyed about $60,000 worth of property. An entire business block of sixteen buildings was destroyed in but two hours and a half.
The fire was discovered in Mr. Allen's saloon by Mr. Gideon Dingman, the night watch, and immediately he roused the whole town. The fire depart- ment soon arrived on the scene, but in spite of their brave efforts the fire made rapid headway. It spread from the saloon to Harm Smith's new build- ing, and from there it leaped to J. N. Zinkhan's store. The next building, occupied by John Rogers, was partly torn down in an effort to check the fire. When this failed many more buildings were torn down with the same hope, and it was even tried to blow some of them up in order to save some of the goods, but the flames soon drove the men away. However, the mighty efforts put forth could not help but have some effect on the flames.
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and to this is due the fact that not all of the town was burned. The loss in the aggregate was very great and could illy be borne by many upon whom it fell. The Herald office, including presses and other valuable machinery, type, stock of stationery, etc., was almost a total loss, only a small quantity of job type, a few cases and two job presses being saved. A Miss Lewis, who had just returned from Chicago. with a $1,000 stock of millinery and fancy goods and placed them in the shop the night before, only saved about $400 worth of goods. J. M. Zinkham & Company saved most of their stock. The contents of Gardner's safe when opened was all right, but that of M. C. Palmer's was badly damaged. The postoffice, which was also burned, was again established on the south side of Main street, and not a mail was skipped. About one-fifth of J. W. S. Pierson's hardware stock was saved. The bank building was burned, but little was destroyed besides the building. The books and papers were as fresh as if there had been no fire. The bank soon found a new location for its office, as did all the rest who suffered ill effects from the fire. The debris of the burnt district was rapidly removed and building was soon the order of the day. An almost solid brick block was soon erected and now forms one of the finest squares in Stanton.
On February 22, 1885, fire broke out in the rear of the saloon of Seth Reynolds and before it was stopped caused a loss of more than $30,000 upon which there was nearly $20,000 insurance. Property owned by J. M. Weatherwax, Mrs. Calleghan, E. K. Wood, J. W. S. Pierson, C. B. Nye, L. Corey, D. L. McFadden, G. N. Lunn, IT. H. Hinds, Francis Murta, Mrs. Richardson, J. C. Bradford & Company, F. Kaltenbeck, S. F. Slade & Com- pany, George Moss, C. S. Weatherwax & Company and I. Lang was destroyed. On April 7, 1885, fire broke out in the rear of the M. I. Thomas & Company grocery store and before extinguished had destroyed property valued at $12,000 belonging to (). Fenn, George Howorth, J. C. Bradford, J. Phipps, J. N. Voorheis, C. Chapin. W. R. Beardsley and M. I. Thomas & Company. The loss of the last named amounted to $4,000 covered by insur- ance of $3,000.
Stanton has had other fires since the one of 1885, but none of them has attained the serious proportions of those fires from 1880 to 1885, inclusive. The plant of Libby, McNeill & Libby, which burned during the winter of 1914-1915, has since been rebuilt, but is operated now only as a salting station, the process plant connected with the old building having been removed to Alma.
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STANTON MARINE BAND.
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PUBLIC UTILITIES AT STANTON.
Water and light are furnished to the citizens of Stanton from municipal plants, both of which are now worth approximately $20,000. The water plant was established in 1886 and consists of two large reservoirs into which water flows from driven wells thirty-six feet deep. The pumps of the plant have a capacity of 1,000,000 gallons every twenty-four hours. Water is furnished for domestic use at the rate of $4 a year. A charge of $3 a year is made for each toilet and $3 a year for lawn sprinkling.
The lighting plant was established in 1896 and has a capacity of 100 kilowatts. The charge for light is ten cents for each kilowatt. Both water and light service are exceptionally good. The water and light plants are under the supervision of the city engincer who is at present H. F. Busch.
Few cities of the same population as Stanton have an equal amount of good cement sidewalks. Altogether, there is probably in excess of five miles of sidewalks.
The Stanton fire department consists of a hose wagon and a hook and ladder wagon. The department is a volunteer organization in which the members of the department are paid by the "run." George E. Miller is the present chief of the department.
Forest Hill cemetery, located southwest of Stanton, is owned by the city and managed by a special committee of the board of aldermen, consisting at the present time of Dr. George E. Dakin. C. D. Blumberg and Robert C. Dales. The cemetery is located on a beautiful eminence and is well kept.
The Stanton Forestry Association, organized on January 22, 1909, to co-operate with the Michigan Forestry Association, has worked to promote, encourage and develop the love of trees and tree planting in Stanton and the surrounding country. It seeks to protect young and growing trees, to encourage the farmer to set aside ground for a wood lot and to prevent the needless waste in cutting second growth trees and the careless starting of fires. It also emphasizes the importance of Arbor Day as a notable event. The present officers of the association are as follow: John W. S. Pierson, president; Delos A. Towle, secretary-treasurer; Mrs. Jessie Thomas, vice- president. Other officials are Eugene C. Lowry, George W. Thurber, James De Young, Joseph C. Hillis and James H. Steerc.
STANTON MARINE BAND.
The organization now known as Stanton Marine Band made its first appearance in public on the first Sunday in August, 1901, in connection with
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the Knights of the Maccabees memorial services. Following this they were organized under the auspices of Marine Tent No. 49, Knights of the Macca- bees, which was the name of the local Maccabec Tent, as Marine Band No. 49, Knights of the Maccabees, with J. C. Hartman as manager and Ray M. King as musical director. The Maccabees bought the band uniform coats and caps and the band agreed to play a concert in front of the hall every meeting night for a year. At the close of their contract with the Maccabees all of the former name was dropped except "Marine" and it has since that time been known as Stanton Marine Band. In the fall of 1902 Mr. King moved to Chicago and Dr. Thomas D. Dow was elected musical director in his stead and has held that position up to the present time. The following were the charter members: John C. Hartman, Ray M. King. Thomas D. Dow, Arthur Smith, J. Edgar Brooks, B. E. Cadwell, C. T. Cadwell, Ray Beers, Ray Dakin, F. Arthur Stronse, O. E. Buccanning, Curtis Ball, Ed. L. Stevenson, C. H. Bachman and Frank E. Joy. The first six are still members. It is now an organization of twenty-five members, owning a full set of first-class instruments, and a library of music worth over three hun- dred dollars.
Since the records of the city of Stanton are not available prior to 1883 and since one of the journals of the board of aldermen for the period from 1901 to 1907 is not available, a complete list of the public officials of Stanton cannot be given.
The following is a list of the officials of Stanton elected from time to time for the periods from 1883 to 1901, and from 1907 to the present date :
MAYORS.
Oscar Fenn, April 2, 1883; Daniel M. Gardner, April 10, 1884; Alonzo. Gilbert, April 9, 1885; Peter F. Clark, April 5, 1886; M. A. Reynolds, April 4, 1887; Gideon A. Hendrick, April 2, 1888; Dora H. Briant, April 1, 1889; Harlow H. Howe, April 7, 1890; James L. Wickes, April 6, 1891; Dr. Norman F. Bachman, April 4, 1892, April 3, 1893; James W. Willett, April 2, 1894; Dr. Norman F. Bachman, April 1. 1895; Patrick J. Devine, April 6, 1896; Levi Camburn, April 5, 1897, April 4. 1898; Frank A. Miller, April 3, 1899, April 2. 1900; Morris W. Stevenson. April 1, 1907, April 6, 1908. April 5, 1909, April 4, 1910 April 1, 1912; Elmer S. Stebbins, April 7, 1913, April 6, 1914; and Christopher C. Messenger. April 5, 1915.
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CLERKS.
Gideon A. Hendrick, April 2, 1883, April 10, 1884, April 9, 1885; Jud- son F. Miller, April 5, 1886, April 4, 1887; Frederick Lagrange, April 2, 1888; Ashley J. Miller, April 1, 1880; Gideon A. Hendrick, April 4, 1890; William A. Briggs, April 6, 1891; William T. Mummery, April 4, 1892; Elmer S. Stebbins. April 3. 1893: Zenos Y. Coleman, April 2, 1894, April 1, 1895. April 6, 1806; David H. Briant, April 5, 1897, April 4, 1898; Frank E. Joy, April 3, 1899. April 2, 1900; Thomas D. Dow, April 1, 1907; Reuben W. Rhoades, April 6, 1908: April 6, 1909: Clyde II. Lee. April 4, 1910. April 3. 1911 : James W. Phillips, April 1, 1912, April 7, 1913; H. W. Wiedenhoeft. April 6. 1914; Reuben W. Rhoades, April 5, 1915.
PROMINENT EARLY CITIZENS.
Perhaps the most prominent of the earlier citizens of Stanton was the late Frank Wayland Higgins, one time governor of New York. But he had not been thus honored by the people of the Empire state at the time of his residence in Stanton. Then he was just out of a commercial school and came west to make his first venture in business. In 1876 he opened a shoe store near the corner where Smith Brothers are now located and later embarked in the general mercantile business in the Palace block. Frank W. Higgins was born at Rushford, Allegany county, New York, August 18, 1856, of English stock that traced its ancestry back to the time of Edward I. He was the son of Orrin Thrall and Lucia Cornelia ( Hapgood) Hig- gins, the former of whom was a prosperous business man. Frank Way- land Higgins was educated at Rushford Academy, Riverview Military Academy and at a commercial college. Having traveled extensively, young Higgins had a brief experience in business at Chicago and Denver and then settled down at Stanton, Michigan. His father induced him to leave Stanton in 1879 and he then entered his father's office at Olean, New York. Governor Higgins was not quite twenty years old when he arrived in Stanton and he was only twenty-three when he left the village. He made a large success in business. In 1893, he was elected a state senator from the fiftieth New York district and continued to serve as a state senator until 1902 when he was elected lieutenant-governor. In 1904, he was elected to the highest office within the gift of the people of New York state, that of governor and served one term. Governor Higgins died at Olean, New York, February
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