USA > Michigan > Muskegon County > History of Muskegon County, Michigan: with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 27
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J. B. RHODES was born in Tioga County, N. Y., in 1841. After living in various states he finally settled down in the village of Holton in 1876 and purchased property. On Sept. 10, 1872, he married Miss Helen Fogg, of Whitehall, formerly of Wyoming Co., N. Y., by whom he had three children, one only surviving. In 1861 he enlisted in the 3d Mich. Infantry, served to the end of the war and was honorably discharged, after being engaged in many battles.
RUFUS W. SKEELS was born in Ohio in 1836. He went to Iowa in 1852, where he stayed two years, and then came to Muskegon County. At this time there were no roads and the settlers widely scattered, and markets distant. He cut a road twenty-two miles to what is now Muskegon City. For five years he lived alone, and in 1859 he married Miss Louisa Ball, of Ohio, from whom he was di- vorced in 1870. He afterwards married Miss Frances Curtis, of Holton. He has two children by his first wife. He owns at the
present time 320 acres of choice land beside property in the village of Holton. He enlisted in the 3d Mich. Infantry and served three years and two months; was in fifty-three hard battles and was wounded seven times. He went out as a private and returned a commissioned officer.
HERBERT THOMPSON was born in Macomb County, Mich., in 1853 and served his apprenticeship to the blacksmith trade. In 1877 he took up a farm in Section 21, of Cedar Creek, and also worked at his trade. In the spring of 1879 he moved to the village of Holton, and established a wagon and carriage shop in connection with blacksmithing. He also manufactures agricultural imple- ments. In 1876 he married Miss Frederica C. Hartwig, of the town of Romeo, where he had served his apprenticeship, and their union has been blessed with two children. Mr. Thompson and his broth- er are in co-partnership in their business and are doing well.
CYRUS A. WELTON was born in the town of Avon, Livingston County, in 1839. In 1859 he married Miss Carrie M. Chapman, of Lima, Livingston County, N. Y., by whom he has two children. Eight years afterward he moved to Genesee County, Mich., and after various moves he came in 1880 to Holton, and purchased a farm in Section 27, and in 1881 traded with William Badeaux for 120 acres in the same and adjoining section. The soil is heavy sand loam of good quality.
MARTIN WILTSE, farmer, Section 12, town of Holton, was born in the state of New York in 1838. After an exciting career as a backwoodsman and raftsman, in which he suffered many privations, he married in 1866 Miss Celia Smith, of Dayton, by whom he has four children. Mr. Wiltse can relate many incidents of his experi- ence of an interesting character, and is deservedly highly esteemed. He received a title to his homestead in Section 12 in 1878.
BLUE LAKE TOWNSHIP.
This township is of regulation size, a square of six miles each side, and is on the northern tier of townships, with Whitehall and Montague on the west, Holton on the east, and Dalton on the south, with Otto on the north in Oceana County. It is range 16 west, and township 12 north, and is named from a good-sized lake -Blue Lake-about a mile and a half long. The whole township drains into the White River, which crosses the northwest corner, and it is full of little lakes, among which may be noticed Little Black Lake in the south. Indeed the town of Blue Lake with the north of Dalton, and the southeast of Holton is all a lake country, which a quarter of a century ago obtained the name of the Thousand Lakes. The most of the township is sandy loam, and will be good for the raising of fruit, the only objection will be the want of facilities for shipping as compared with those on the lake shores.
The first supervisor was Austin P. Ware, born in 1818 in New
York State, and a settler since 1864, settling on Sections 20 and 29. He held the Supervisorship from the time the town was organized in 1865 to 1869, when Jas. P. Utter held it one year, then the late Alden J. Nash, then Ware again, then Utter for four years, then N. R. Dryer one year, then Franklin Scott two terms, then Francis Hiscutt since 1879. P. J. Martin is Clerk.
The elections are held on the first Monday in April, and there is no debt, and they have never borrowed. There are no churches or villages in the town, the preaching being done in school houses; the first preaching was in District school No. 2, by a Baptist, Rev. George Irving.
The first white child was probably Hattie, daughter of Alfred Tyndall, born in 1864, although some claim that Edward, son of Jas. Doherty, now of North Muskegon, was born a year or two be- fore. Messrs. Hayes, Doherty and Brown worked for Daltons and
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HISTORY OF MUSKEGON COUNTY.
were among the first settlers. The northeast corner seems to have been settled first. About 1862, on the Weigant place, came in a Mr. Andrews from near Grand Rapids, and remained until 1867. One of the first schools was that known as the Block School. Lars Jensen and the Andersens, Danes, came in 1863 into the southwest corner; B. F. Aldrich in the fall of 1863, and in the following spring A. P. Ware, his brother-in-law. C. H. Chatfield, Dr. Kingsley, now removed, came in 1864; J. M. Crawford, A. Tyndall, M. D. Drake, and Mr. Warren are old settlers.
Many settlers easily obtained land under homestead and other laws, but knowing nothing of farming, after using up all the pine, and the ties, they sold out for a small price or abandoned their claims, and some have been tried and relinquished three times. Since lumbering has been dying out, the population is not in- creasing, but those who have devoted themselves to farming are doing fairly. The pine is sound but mostly rough and knotty. Be- tween Silver Creek and Cleveland Creek is perhaps the finest land. Cleveland Creek is a fine stream, a south branch of White River and traverses the centre of the town; running chiefly north with an
inclination to the west. Silver Creek runs across Whitehall and strikes White River four miles from its mouth, at Dalton's old wa- ter mill. The first settlers were chiefly lumbermen, but those who turned their attention to farming have done. best. The township has never been much run over by fires. The taxes are low; for in- stance, one farm of 320 acres, improved, is valued at $400, and pays $16 to $18 a year. Land can be bought cheaply lately, a few transactions show what the cash value is: the Doherty place, 30 acres, cleared, 160 acres in all, bought for $600; the Kaiser
place, 80 acres, sold for $300, with 30 acres of cleared and a frame house. But little of the town is under cultivation, much being still forest.
The first saw mill was in 1856, the "Brown" mill in the south- east corner of Section 6. There is now but one saw mill in opera- tion, a water mill owned by Widow Jensen at the head of Silver Creek. There was a steam mill in the southeast of Section 25, be- longing to F. H. Sturtevant, of Whitehall, and another on Section 29, operated by Dr. Kingsley.
The township was organized in 1865, out of Dalton, and in 1870 Fruitland was formed of the same township. In 1873 this town by removals became almost disorganized and a new election for most of the offices was held on November 4, at Diedrich's school house. Geo. Mudge the only Justice of the Peace had removed.
OPHELIA PARKS, sister of Mrs. F. D. Glazier, of Whitehall, who died in 1878, was the first school teacher, in May, 1866, and the Block school house was the first school house. The first Sunday school was organized in April, 1866, in the house of Henry F. Parks.
ROBERT NESBET, farmer, born in Canada in 1845; after various removes came to Blue Lake in 1866, having been married the pre- vious February. He has two children living, Eliza, and Robert Austin, and one dead. He served from 1863 to the close of the war as a volunteer.
FRANCIS HISCUTT, farmer, born in Monroe county, N. Y., Mar. 2, 1839, enlisted in Co. A 108th N. Y. Vols. in July, 1862, serving three years. Came to Blue Lake in 1867, married in 1861 to Cath- erine A. Witbeck at Webster, N. Y., who died in 1870.
DALTON TOWNSHIP.
The Town of Dalton was organized the 18th of April, 1859, at the house of Edwin Nichols, P. Dalton, Moderator; N. Cunningham, Inspector; C. C. Thompson, Clerk, and M. Hall, Poll Clerk. The whole number of votes cast was 58, of which P. Dalton had 39 and C. C. Thompson, 18. G. Nichols was elected Treasurer, M. Hall, Clerk. Andrew Todd, E. Collins, D. P. Sherman and Moses Hall, were the first Justices of the Peace. C. Odell, Commissioner of Highways; J. P. Brown, School Inspector; O. W. Califf, A. J. Covell, W. Jones, A. Ketchum, were elected Constables.
At first the town included Fruitland, Whitehall, Dalton, Cedar Creek, Blue Lake and Holton.
The soil for eighteen sections in the north and west is light and sandy; the rest is somewhat sandy but lower and better adapted for agriculture, such as for wheat and grass. There is some light soil in the southeast. There is no debt on the town, and no State or United States lands in it.
Probably the best farm in the town is that of B. F. Dow on section 30, on which he raises great quantities of apples and other
fruit. John W. Reside, on section 17, has also a good fruit farm. Lorenzo Pelham on section 23, has the best grass farm.
The first real settler who really came to stay was B. F. Dow. Before him was Gale Nichols, who made no improvements but kept a tavern and dealt with the Indians. His residence was on town line north, section three.
A. B. Buel was the first about Twin Lake, coming in 1865, and platted the village.
Wm. Maltby was the first in the southeast in 1863. Charles Buzzell, the present Supervisor came in 1867, settling on section 1. Henry Lyman, the present Town Clerk, settled near Twin Lake in April 1869.
The first school was on Section 5, known at first as the Fox Lake school, and afterwards as the Knapp school, erected in 1867. Miss Etta Odion, (Mrs. James Hiscutt, of New York) was the first teacher.
Feb. 17, 1866 a meeting was held at J. B. Lewis' and it was resolved to petition to set apart District No. 1, which was done
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HISTORY OF MUSKEGON COUNTY.
April 13, 1867. There are now five districts. No. 2 is at Twin Lake, and is under the efficient management of N. R. Dryer.
As to religious services, there is no church edifice. The Ad- ventists have services occasionally; the Methodist Episcopal have service by the Holton minister. The Rev. Mr. Carlstead, Adventist, used to preach regularly. The first preacher was Rev. Mr. Pearson, Methodist Episcopal, in 1866.
There have been saw mills in Dalton for about fourteen years. A. Clug's was the first mill at Dalton Station. The "Old Reliable" saw mill of Campbell & Armstrong was the first at Twin Lake, in 1867. At present I. E. Latimer's and E. R. Ford's steam saw mills with a capacity of 25,000 feet a day each, are the only mills at Twin Lake. The latter mill was built in the Fall of 1881.
We give below the list of Supervisors and Clerks.
SUPERVISORS.
P. Dalton, 1859 to 61; S. C. Hall, 62 to 64; Hiram Stearns, 65; H. S. Tyler, 66 to 69; B. F. Dow, 70 to 74; Geo. McMillan, 75 to 80; C. L. Buzzell, 81.
CLERKS.
Moses Hall, 59, 60; O. F. Pear, 61; A. Mears, 62, 63; J. D. Sturtevant, 64; A. B. Speed, 65; R. N. Poulson, 66; G. W. Cowen, 67 to 72; Ira D. Trumbull, 73; Geo. McMillan, 74; C. L. Buzzell, 75 to 80; Henry Lyman, 81.
In 1876 this Township had a population of 425; 239 males and 186 females. It is Township 11 north, range 16 west, form- ing a full township of 36 square miles. It is bounded on the north by Blue Lake, east by Cedar Creek, south by Muskegon, and Lake- ton on the southwest, west by Fruitland. It is traversed by two lines of railway which branch off in the southwest quarter; the Big Rapids branch from Big Rapids Junction to the northeast and so on through Holton, with Twin Lake postoffice near the Cedar Creek town line.
TWIN LAKE.
This little village in the northeast corner of the Town of Dal- ton, was originally platted by A. B. Buel in the spring of 1873, the railway to Big Rapids having been put through the year before. The area platted for the village is 40 acres in extent, and the popula- tion at present approaches 150. The land in the vicinity is gener- ally rolling and has been well timbered, although the main portion of the pine has been removed by the lumbermen. There are now two mills on the lake, Latimer's and E. R. Ford's each with a ca- pacity of about 25,000 feet per day. The latter gentleman, Mr. Ford, is the grocer of this city, and the mill is managed by Mr. Steinburg. His mill was put up last year. There have been saw- mills at Twin Lake for over fourteen years. The "Old Reliable" mill of Campbell & Armstrong was the first, having been built in 1867. The railway station is under the careful charge of Mr. Put- nam, who has, in addition, the duties of telegraph operator and deputy postmaster, the postmaster, Mr. Warren Odion, living at some distance off, and leaving the whole charge to Mr. Putnam. The school is under the charge of experienced teacher, Mr. N. R. Dryer, who is also Clerk of Holton Township. He has about thirty-five children under his care, and some of them are well advanced. There are two stores in the village and it is likely it will become a good agricultural center in time.
The other railroad is the Chicago & Michigan, in its course from Muskegon to Whitehall, passing from the Big Rapids Junction
through the southwestern quarter about a mile to Dalton station, thence one and a half miles to Califf station, both in Dalton.
The northern portion is full of lakes, and is of the same nature as much of Blue Lake. The largest of these lakes is Twin Lake, about one and a half miles long; and to the west Goose Egg Lake and Fox Lake. The chief stream is Bear Creek, emptying into Bear Lake. The Duck River also rises near Califf station.
Dalton was named in honor of Capt. Peter Dalton, the early pioneer, who died in 1879 in Chicago, and enjoyed the respect and esteem of all who knew him.
Of the early settlers may be named B. F. Dow, on section 30, who came in 1862; W. A. Hanchett, near B. R. Junction, in 1865; A. Clug, 1866; H. Thompson, 1869; W. Maltby, on section 34, in 1863.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
WILLIAM MOORE was born in Summit Co., Ohio, Oct. 5, 1818. When 23 years of age he moved to Ft. Wayne, Ind. After living in Lafayette, South Bend, and other places in Indiana, he served in the army, and was discharged in 1865. He then settled on a farm in section 31, Dalton. About 1838 he married Miss Charity Eliza- beth Williams, of Summit County, by whom he had three children. He had been a Constable for many years. He died in November, 1881.
JAMES H. GARDNER, farmer, was born in Troy, N. Y., in 1818, and after a number of changes he came to Dalton in 1867. He married in 1841 Miss Elmira Sellen, and has four children.
WILLIAM STEINBURG, lumberman, is a native of Clinton Co., N. Y., who came to Muskegon County in 1868, and has resided at Twin Lake ever since. The county when he arrived was fast set- tling up by homesteaders, and Holton was then an Indian reser- vation.
ALONZO YAGER, an extensive farmer in section 17, was born in Schoharie County, N. Y., May 7, 1826, and moved thence to Boone County, and thence to Muskegon County in 1865.
JASPER CASE, lumberer, of section 17, was born in Loraine Co., Ohio, in 1845, came to this county in 1880. Has followed the lake for years, but now runs a portable saw mill.
CHARLES NORD, farmer, was born in Sweden in 1839, and came direct to Dalton, and took up land in 1870.
SAMUEL D. BAKER, farmer, was born in Ohio in 1841, moved to Clinton Co., Mich., in 1855, thence to Dalton in 1878.
WILLIS F. STONE, farmer, was born in Whiting, Vermont, in 1817, moved to Niagara Co., N. Y., in 1821, thence to Erie Co., Pa., and thence to Dalton-in 1870.
JAMES E. GARDNER, farmer, was born in Allen Co., Ind,, in 1847, came to Dalton in 1867.
WILLIAM MALTBY, farmer, was born in Gananoque, Ontario, in 1841, moved to Newaygo Co., Mich., in 1856, to Muskegon Co., in 1857, and to Dalton in 1863.
JAMES ARMSTRONG, farmer, born in England in 1824, and emi- grated in 1850, came first to Brockport, came to this State the same year, and to Dalton in 1868, enlisted in Co. G, 11th Mich. Infantry Aug. 24, 1861, honorably discharged Sept. 30, 1864.
ASAHEL FOWLER, in section 35, was born in Steuben Co., N. Y., in 1829, removed with his parents to Indiana in 1837, where his father died in 1841, when he moved to Michigan, and thence to Wis- consin in 1846, thence to Michigan in 1850, thence to California in 1852, back to Michigan in 1855. He was married at Hillsdale, Oct. 23, 1856. and came to Dalton in 1869.
4
FRUITLAND TOWNSHIP.
This fine township, which is an off-shoot from Dalton Town- ship, was organized by the Board of Supervisors of Muskegon County, in October, 1869, and derives its name from the successful culture of fruits of all kinds. Rightly it is named a "land of fruit," as the soil along the White Lake on the northeast quarter, and Lake Michigan on the west is admirably adapted to the culture of grapes and peaches, of which there are some fine farms, notably that of Charles N. Merriman, between Duck Lake and Lake Michigan, Jos. Hagreen, south of White Lake, and Messrs. Kelly and Braman of the same place. The soil along the lake is, of course, sandy and somewhat light, but in the interior 'and towards the southeast it be- comes a heavy clay loam mixed with gravel and sand, and the soil is well adapted for apples, plums, pears, etc. The whole township is indeed fine land and will shortly be a garden. It was all covered with a heavy growth of timber, chiefly pine, and this was mainly taken up by non-residents, and thousands of acres are still held in this way by G. B. Slocum, C. Mears and others. The pine has nearly disappeared, and fruit growing has taken its place. Wheat and corn also flourish, for instance, there are few finer farms in the county than that of Ole. E. Gordon in the east of the township.
This township is he first of the second tier of towns reckoning from the north, on the west side of the county, and is Township 11, north, Ranges 17 and 18 west. Range 17 is full, but 18 is simply a gore, which was until recently attached to White River. The town- ship is bounded on the north by Whitehall, on the east half of its boundary and on the northwest by a line continued straight on from the Whitehall boundary across the southwest portion of White Lake to the new channel or harbor. On the west, Lake Michigan is the boundary, trending to the northwest. On the east Dalton, on the south Laketon. It is six miles from north to south and varies from seven to five miles across from east to west. There are two small lakes on the west, of which the northern one, two miles south of White Lake on the Lake Michigan shore, is called Duck Lake, about two miles long and half a mile wide. It was here that the first settle- ment was made by Chas. Mears, near its mouth; and here he erected a sawmill about 1840, C. Mears being one of the first purchasers of pine lands here. Below Duck Lake is Muskrat Lake, which is very small. Duck river comes winding across this flat township by a quiet course and by several branches, watering the whole center of the township, and is the only stream of any consequence.
ORGANIZATION.
The township was organized in October, 1869, and the first election was held on April 4, 1870, at which fifty-two voters were present. There being a tie for Supervisor between H. S. Tyler and Ezra Stearns, on drawing lots it was given to the former. `J. S. Taylor was the first Clerk; O. E. Gordon, Treasurer; D. E. Califf and Jno. Dorman, Justices of the Peace; Webster Thompson, Com- missioner of Highways; C. E. Califf, Thos. Dorman and E. Saens, Constables; H. R. Newlun, Inspector of Schools; C. E. Califf, Over- seer road district No. 2, H. Marvin for No. 1, and M. Speed for No. 3.
Successive elections have been held each year. At that of 1881 there were only fifty-four voters, no more than ten years before; for, since lumbering is over, the population is not increasing. John F. Culver was elected Supervisor, as he has been almost yearly since 1877. He is a fine sturdy specimen of the stalwart American, and gives good satisfaction in his office. He is a veteran of the last war, and came with his aged parents here from Wisconsin in 1864. H. R. Newlun is Clerk, and is struggling with a new farm on the South- east. E. Stearns is Treasurer; Jas. D. Depue and Joseph Hagreen Justices; R. N. Poulin Commissioner of Highways and of Drainage; J. A. McMillan, Superintendent of Schools, and C. E. Califf, In- spector of Schools; Frank Jones, O. E. Gordon, J. W. Krupp and R. Robison, Constables; Z. Bates, Overseer for Road Dist. No. 1, T. Keiller for No. 2, C. E. Califf for No. 3, L. Cole for No. 4, J. F. Culver for No. 5, D. F. Depue for No. 6, and C. A. Wickstrom for No. 7. J. F. Culver has also been town clerk, as has also J. A. McMillan. There is no debt on the township, and they have never borrowed.
SAWMILLS
The sawmills are two in number. The first, that of Duck Lake, built in 1840, by C. Mears, was a water mill; afterwards, to increase his lumbering, a large steam mill was built, but fire consumed both mills, and only the water mill is now operated. The other sawmill is that owned since 1879 by Capt. James Dalton, and built by Geo. Rodgers at an early day on the south shore of White Lake. This Rodgers was from near Grand Rapids, and had previously built the mill at Long Point on White River.
Just across from Dalton's mill, and now operated by Weston & Hafer, Mr. Rodgers was drowned in crossing White Lake, and Cohn & O'Brien had his mill, afterwards Kelsey & Green, then Major George Green alone, and last Capt. Dalton. Rodgers bought the site from one Barnhart, a clever young fellow who had worked for C. Mears, and had married an Indian woman.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
CHAS. MEARS was the first settler in Fruitland, and purchased over 2,000 acres of pine land, chiefly around Duck Lake, at the gov- ernment price of $1.25 an acre, and some for scrip at even less. Mr. Mears, who bought in 1843, still has the greater portion of this, although it is nearly stripped of timber, and is interested with Mr. Merriman in fruit growing on a large scale. When he came to this region there were 3,000 Ottawas, who have since moved to the Pere Marquette region. They were a quiet, peaceable race, and well liked by the Whites. C. Mears' men were among the first settlers. J. Philbrick was one of his foremen. About the first house built was that of Mr. Doan, which was on the Pick place on Whitehall town line. This was probably the only house outside of Duck Lake in 1850. Next a Mr. Dexter, now deceased, built a log house south of White Lake, but left before 1850. Seever, a German, took his place. Joseph Hagreen, south of White Lake, has a fine fruit farm. He came in 1850, and his daughter, Maggie, born in 1858, is prob-
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HISTORY OF MUSKEGON COUNTY.
115
ably the first white child born in Fruitland. M. Adolph Friday, German, settled at the same time, but was killed in the fifth Michi- igan Cavalry service, as was Mr. A. Todd, whose family live in the east of Fruitland. David Traverse Depue is an old settler, having come from Indiana in 1863.
There are no villages and no churches here. The preaching is done in school houses. The first preaching was in the Sprague school house, in the northeast by Methodists.
The name of part of Fruitland, in early days, was Cork Point, and the little settlement that sprang up near the sawmills south of White Lake was named the village of Mar.
In 1859 the now dilapidated hamlet of Duck Lake was the only village for miles around.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
SAMUEL BRONER was born in Sweden in 1836, and emigrated to America in 1854. He settled in Whitehall in 1855, and worked for John D. Hanson. In 1860 he purchased a farm in section 23 of Whitehall, and in 1861 purchased 80 acres in section 3, Fruitland. In 1862 he married Miss Caroline Remer, of Wisconsin, by whom he had four children, three of whom survive. His farm is one of the best in the county.
DAVID E. CALIFF was born in Smithfield, Bradford Co., Penn., in 1825. After living in several places, he came in 1858 to what is now Muskegon Co. In 1844 he married Miss Harriet Knicker- bocker, of Smithfield, Penn,, by whom he had nine children, seven of whom lived to be men and women. He took a homestead in sec- tion 13 of Fruitland. When the war broke out he sent two of his sons to do battle for the right. He has held office as Justice or Col- lector for several years. After enduring the hardships of clearing up the forest, he has secured a good home, and every comfort. He follows fruit growing with great success.
ORLANDO CHAMBERLIN was born in Tioga Co., N. Y., in 1830, but early removed to Iowa with his parents. In 1852 he went to California, and after traveling for a number of years over many of the States of the Union, with pleasure and profit, he settled down to fruit farming in section 29, Fruitland. In 1858 he married Miss Emily Wilson, Scott Co., Ia., by whom he had eight children, five of whom survive. He served during the war in the 26th Michigan. In 1864 he was wounded in the left shoulder and disabled three months, and was on detached service until the close of the war.
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