USA > Michigan > Oakland County > History of Oakland County, Michigan, with illustrations descriptive of its scenery, palatial residences, public buildings, fine blocks, and important manufactories > Part 102
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119
SUCCEEDING TOWNSHIP OFFICERS.
Following is a list of the persons who have filled the office of supervisor of the township of Bloomfield from its organization until the present time :
Lemuel Castle, elected in the years 1827, 1828, 1829, and 1831 to 1835 in- clusive ; John W. Hunter, in 1830 and 1836; John Davis, in 1837, 1838, and 1840 ; Isaac L. Smith, in 1839; Sullivan R. Kelsey, in 1841; Rial Irish, in 1842 ; Ransom R. Belding, in 1843; James G. Hunter, in 1844, 1845, 1850, and 1856 ; Peter Dox, in 1846, 1847, 1848, 1849, 1852, and 1853; Harvey Lee, in 1851 ; James Fitzpatrick, in 1854 ; Rowland E. Trowbridge, in 1855; George Blakeslee, in 1857 and 1858; Luther Stanley, from 1859 to 1862 in- clusive, and in 1876 and 1877 ; Robert F. Opdyke, in 1863 and 1864; William Satterlee, from 1865 to 1868 inclusive ; Charles E. Cantine, in 1869; and Alan- son Partridge, from 1870 to 1875 inclusive.
The incumbents of the office of township clerk during the same time have been : Ezra S. Parke, from 1827 to 1834, both inclusive, and also in 1836; and from that time, continuously until and including 1844; William G. Stone, in 1835 ; Ziba Swan, Jr., in 1845; Henry S. Fish, in 1846, 1847, and 1851; John T. Raynor, in 1848; Denison R. Tucker, in 1849, 1850, 1853, 1854, and 1859; George H. Satterlee, in 1852; Spencer B. Raynale, in 1855 and 1856; Edmond R. Post, in 1857 and 1858; John Fitzpatrick, in 1860, 1861, and 1862; Adin A. Burhans, in 1863; George W. Mitchell, in 1864; Orson W. Peck, in 1865; Benjamin H. Warren, in 1866; James G. Hunter, from 1867 to 1872 inclusive; Joseph S. Stockwell, in 1873; Frank Hagerman, in 1874 ; and Almeron White- head, Jr., in 1875, 1876, and 1877.
Among the persons who held the office of justice of the peace, by appointment from the governor, prior to 1836, were Samuel Satterlee, Laban Jenks, Ziba Swan, Jr., Elijah S. Fish, and John Ellenwood (of West Bloomfield, but then included with Bloomfield). The first election of justices in Bloomfield was at a special election called for that purpose, and held at the public-house of Isaac W. Taylor, at Bloomfield Centre, August 22, 1836, and the persons elected to the office at that time were Roswell T. Merrill, Ziba Swan, Jr., Samuel Satterlee, and John T. Raynor.
322
HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
The gentlemen elected to the office from that time until the present have been as follows: Ziba Swan, jr., elected in 1837, in 1851, and 1855; William G. Stone, elected to fill vacancy, in 1837; John T. Raynor, in 1839; John B. Com- stock, in 1839, to fill vacancy; Franklin Patrick, in 1840; Rial Irish, in 1841; James Gow, in 1842; Solomon Whitney, in 1842, to fill vacancy; George W. Morris, in 1843 and 1848; Ransom R. Belding, in 1844; Peter Stiles, in 1845; Ezra P. Baldwin, in 1845 and 1846, both elections being to fill vacancy, and to the full term in 1849; Harvey Lee, in 1846, 1850, and 1854; Wellington Willetts, in 1847; William Patrick, to vacancy, in 1850; John Daines, in 1852; Alva Stockwell, in 1853; Hugh MeCurday, to vacancy, in 1854; Rozelle P. Bateman, to vacancy, in 1845; Elbert Crofoot, in 1856; Mason I. James, in 1857, and in 1867; Albert N. Sloat, to vacancy, in 1857, and to full term in 1860; Stephen Durkee, in 1858; John Bodine, in 1859 and 1863; James Van Every, to vacancy, in 1859, and to full term in 1862 and 1866; David C. Toms, in 1861; Benjamin H. Warren, in 1864; James Grinley, in 1865; Wells Kinney, in 1865, to fill vacancy; Freeman M. Sibley, in 1868; Alanson Partridge, to fill vacancy, in 1868, and to the full term in 1871 and 1875; Levi B. Taft, in 1869; Ben- jamin Daniels, to vacancy, in 1869, and again to a vacancy in 1873; George Cars- well, elected in 1870; Albert H. Washburn, to vacancy, in 1871, and to full term in 1874; Josiah Alger, in 1872; Emery Ferguson, in 1873; Lucius A. Ran- dall, in 1876; Edward Fosdick, to fill a vacancy, in 1876; and John T. Midgely, also elected to fill vacancy, in the same year.
The township organization of 1827 continued until 1830, in which year town 1, of range 10, was attached from Bloomfield, and named Ossowa, which was very soon changed to Southfield; and in 1833, town 2 north, of range 9, was detached, and named West Bloomfield.
EARLY STORES AND INDUSTRIES.
Mercantile enterprises were commenced at several points in the township some years earlier than any were established at Piety Hill, and before its inhabitants had taken a step towards transforming it into a village, or of giving it the name of Birmingham.
The first store in Bloomfield was opened about the year 1826 by Mr. Doo- little, in a small frame building at Fairbanks' Corners, as the locality was then called, which was the point in the northwest quarter of section 24 where the Ball line road was intersected by the road leading east into the township of Troy. We are unable to say definitely how long this establishment continued in opera- tion. It was at one time kept by - Kidd.
Doolittle also started a potash-works at the same place, and about the same time, and there was a hatter's shop put in operation there by a Mr. Wells, of De- troit, who employed George K. Dunks to work in the shop and carry on the busi- ness. The old shop is still in existence.
At the same place a fanning-mill manufactory was built, and put in operation about 1829, by Zeba Rice, who employed several men in this business; producing a large number of the machines, traveling through the country far and near to effect sales of them to farmers, and altogether doing a large and flourishing busi- ness. There was also a public-house kept at Fairbanks' Corners by David Stan- nard.
About three-fourths of a mile southeast from these corners, near the house of Asa Castle, where the Ball line road crosses the Rouge, upon land now embraced in the J. Caswell farm, the first distillery of the township commenced operations in 1826 or 1827, under the proprietorship of Ralph Chittenden, who lived near Fairbanks'. The business was undoubtedly prosperous, as distilleries usually were in the early days. A pottery-manufactory was also established there by Mr. Barmore; and about the year 1827 Mr. Culver started a cabinet-shop and fanning-mill works.
One of the earliest stores in Bloomfield was opened by William Morris, at his grist-mill. Soon after that was started, an extensive pot- and pearl-ash establish- ment was put in operation there by William and .Benjamin B. Morris, as was also a distillery ; both of which were prosperous. The distillery remained in blast until near the year 1850; the store was finally closed about 1838.
THE INCORPORATED VILLAGE OF BIRMINGHAM.
This is the only village, large or small, within the township of Bloomfield. Its age is half a century as near as may be, reckoning from the commencement of its first business establishment, not including as such the two or three wayside log taverns which had been opened there by the first comers. During these fifty years there was a period in which it was considered a place of importance and one destined to experience a large and rapid increase ; and though this expectation has not been fully realized, yet it can to-day be claimed for Birmingham that it is a village of solid wealth and conservatism, as well as a healthy and most agree- able place of residence.
The first industrial enterprise commenced at Piety Hill-as the place was then still called-was the tannery built by Elijah Willets in 1827, and which stood on the west side of the Pontiac road, near the north end of the present village. This was some years afterwards succeeded by another one, standing to the rear of this, farther away from the road; this also being owned by Mr. Willets. In the same year in which the first tannery was built, John Hamilton erected the first frame tavern in the township, which is now the north wing of the National hotel in Birmingham.
In or about the year 1828, John W. Hunter built and put in operation a foun- dry, worked by horse-power, and which stood a little back from the main street, nearly in the rear of the store of F. Blakeslee. Some five years later this was purchased by Roswell T. Merrill and George Allen, who carried on the business for some time in partnership; then Allen retired, and Isaac Smith took his place in the partnership ; this continued for nine months, when Smith retired, and Mer- rell remained alone in the business, but not long after obtained new partners, one of whom was Mr. Wells, the cashier of a bank in Detroit; and in this partner- ship they built a new foundry and machine-shop on Saginaw street, where the store of Stockwell & Co. now stands, and extending for a considerable distance farther south on the same street, and also occupying the entire space on Mill street, from Saginaw to Pierce street, the moulding-room being on Saginaw street, and the blacksmith-shop on Pierce street.
Here they entered extensively into the manufacture of mill-work, agricultural castings, stoves, and similar articles ; and besides these they erected a shop for the manufacture of thrashing-machines, this last-named being located on the west side of Pierce street, where the post-office building now is. This was a large frame building, forty by eighty feet in dimensions, which years afterwards became known as the " Old Academy," from the fact that after it had ceased to be used for manufacturing purposes, not far from the year 1860, a private school was taught in it by Rev. S. N. Hill, at that time the pastor of the Presbyterian church. This old building was itself destroyed by fire in the fall of 1871.
The extensive business of the foundry and machine-shop went on in apparent prosperity under the management of Merrill and his partners for a number of years ; but the partners finally withdrew, leaving the concern exclusively in the hands of Merrill ; afterwards it was carried on by him in company with his son, George W. Merrill, and then by the son alone ; and, finally, the entire establishment, with the exception of the thrasher-shop, which was afterwards the academy, was consumed by fire on the 28th of May, 1854.
The business of merchandising was first commenced in the village by Dennis and Sullivan R. Kelsey,* in partnership, in the year 1833, their place of business being a store then just erected by R. T. Merrill, on the main street, directly in front of the Hunter foundry, the same store which is now owned and occupied by F. Blakeslee. Dennis continued with Kelsey for some time, then withdrew from the partnership, and removed to Boston. Kelsey remained there alone in the business until 1841.
The second merchant in the village was - Clock, who opened in the build- ing on Saginaw street which is now owned by Mr. Hoffman, and occupied as a shoe-shop by Mr. Crum, and as the residence of Mr. Mitchell. Clock did not remain very long, and from here he removed to Ohio.
The third merchant was Orrin Poppleton, who opened his stock of goods in August, 1840, in the store where Clock had been, and which had remained vacant since Clock's departure. Here he remained until June, 1841, when he moved to the store which had hitherto been occupied by Kelsey, the latter at the same time removing to the store vacated by Poppleton, in which he remained while engaged in building a new store upon the opposite side of the street, into which he removed in the autumn of 1842.
In the fall of 1843, Mr. Kelsey sold his new store to Poppleton, having. occu- pied it less than a year, and removed to Shiawasse county, where he has since re- sided. Mr. Poppleton at once removed to his new purchase, which has continued to be his place of business until the present time. The success which has at- tended him there is well known to all who are acquainted in the village of Birmingham.
About 1840, J. B. Simonson came from Royal Oak, where he had been engaged in merchandising, and, in partnership with R. T. Merrill, opened a general store in Birmingham, in the building (then owned by Merrill) where Lamb's harness- shop now is. They went on in company for a short time, then dissolved, and Simonson removed to Springfield, Oakland County. Merrill continued in the business alone, and in the fall of 1843 removed into his store at the corner of Saginaw and Mill streets, upon its being vacated by Poppleton. It was kept by him for a few years, and since then has been constantly occupied as a store until the present time.
# Now Judge Kelsey, of Shiawasse county.
CHY
MRS
LLY ROBINSO
AUSTIN N. ROBINSON.
-MRS. ANNA ROBINSON
"THE OLD HOMESTEAD, TROY TP, OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
RESIDENCE OF MRS. POLLY ROBINSON , BIRMINGHAM, OAKLAND Co., MICH.
RESIDENCE OF HUGH IRVING, BIRMINGHAM
2
RESIDENCE OF JOHN IRVING, BIRMINGHAM, OAKLAND CO., MICH.
32
HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
In the fall of 1842, T. A. Flower opened with a stock of goods in the new brick store built by Merrill in 1841. This was the first brick store, and, indeed, the first brick building of any kind erected in Birmingham, and is the same now owned by E. L. Jennings, on the west side of Saginaw street. Flower remained in this but a short time, then removed into the store where Simonson & Merrill had been,-the same building now owned by Mrs. Rogers, on Saginaw street. Flower afterwards engaged in the milling business with William Brown, but this was in addition to his merchandising, which he continued until his removal from Birmingham, about 1852. He is now a hardware-dealer in Pontiac.
Thus we have traced the first commencement and earliest changes of the mer- cantile business of the village. It would, of course, be impracticable to follow it through all its mutations down to the present time.
THE VILLAGE PLATS AND ADDITIONS.
The original plat of the village was surveyed and dated August 25, 1836, and recorded the same day. Location, on the northwest quarter of section 36; pro- prietor, Rosewell T. Merrill.
Willets' plat was laid out on the southwest quarter of section 25, December 20, 1837. Proprietor, Elijah Willets.
Hunter's, south part of eastern addition was laid out on the northeast quarter of section 36, January 31, 1840 ; and his second plat, on the same quarter, June 21, 1842. Proprietor, John W. Hunter.
John Hamilton's plat was laid out on the southeast quarter of section 25, October 7, 1846.
William Torrey's plat was laid out December 30, 1856, on section 36.
Heman A. Castle's addition was laid out on the northwest quarter of section 36, April 20, 1867.
William Brown's first addition was laid out March 23, 1872, and his second addition April 2, 1872 ; both on northeast quarter of section 36.
George Blakeslee's addition, laid out on northeast quarter of section 36, March 22, 1875.
Bird and Stanley's addition, located on the west half of northwest quarter of section 36, July 4, 1876.
The laying out of the village in 1836 and 1837 was in anticipation of the completion of the Detroit and Pontiac railroad, and great expectations were based on the prospective opening of travel over its line to this point. These expecta- tions seemed in a fair way of realization when the trains commenced running to and from Birmingham, in 1840; for, during the succeeding short period in which the railway terminus was here, the prosperity and growth of the village was promoted to a degree which can Ldly be said to have been realized since that time.
REMOVAL OF POST-OFFICE TO BIRMINGHAM.
About this time it became evident that the public interest and opinion required the removal of the post-office from the point where Dr. Parke had established it to the new village, and accordingly, in 1836 or 1837, it was so removed, and the appointment of postmaster was given to Sullivan R. Kelsey, who located the office in his store at the corner of Saginaw and Mill streets. In 1846 he was succeeded by T. A. Flower, who kept it where E. Lamb's harness-shop now is until 1849, when H. W. Botsford was made postmaster, and removed the office to his store on the main street,-the same now occupied by Peabody. In 1857 the appointment was given to Orrin Poppleton, who, for eight years, kept the office in his present store on Saginaw street. His successor as postmaster was George L. Lee, who, in 1865, moved the office to his store in the corner of the National hotel building. Lee was succeeded by J. A. Bigelow, the present incumbent, under whom the office remained for a time in the same store where his predecessor had located it (but which had been purchased from Lee by F. Hagerman), whence, after a short time, it was removed to the store of Stock- well & Co., on Saginaw street, from which place it was removed, in 1873, to the new brick building of Mr. Bigelow on Mill street.
LATER MANUFACTURING INTERESTS.
About the year 1845, Jerome Walton commenced the manufacture of fanning- mills and milk-safes, his establishment being located on Mill street just west of the present site of the post-office building. This business during its continuance was large, and probably profitable. It was prosecuted by Nathan Walton, a brother of Jerome, after the removal of the latter to Ypsilanti. Nathan remained in Birmingham until his death.
A fanning-mill manufactory had been established here by John W. Hunter at an earlier period, but the date of its commencement and duration of its existence have not been ascertained. A plow and cultivator manufactory was also started about the year 1847 by D. B. Fox. The first wagon-shop was put in operation in Birmingham by Alonzo Snow, who had first moved to the village to be em-
ployed in the fanning-mill establishment of J. W. Hunter. The next wagon-shop was started by - Stevens not far from the year 1845.
After the destruction of the Merrill foundry by fire, in 1854, a new foundry was built and put in blast by the Jenks brothers, William, Cornelius, and Nathan. The works were located on Troy street, where Robbins' wagen shop now is. They were kept in operation for two or three years, and then the business was removed to Port Huron.
Of all the iron-working and kindred manufacturing establishments which have at different times been started in Birmingham only one.now remains in existence, the Smith foundry on Troy street, and even that is not now in operation. It is owned by Mortimer Smith, whose father, Aaron Smith, moved hither from Au- burn, in 1834, to take employment in Merrill's blacksmith and machine-shop. Withdrawing from Merrill's employ in 1841, he, with his sons Gustavus and Mortimer, under the style of A. Smith & Sons, commenced the foundry and ma- chine business in the brick building which is still standing and used as a black- smith-shop, on Saginaw, south of Troy street, and in a large: wooden building which stood in the rear of the other, and partially on the ground now occupied by the brick foundry.
Their business was the fitting-up of mills, manufacture of agricultural and mill castings, smut-mills, patent separators, thrashing-machines, hand cider-mills, culti- vators, and-plows. The elder Smith was the inventor of a subsoil plow, which, in its day, became quite famous, and this was one part of their manufacture; and another of his inventions was that of a drag-saw, which they found very salable. They also at one time engaged in the manufacture of shelf-hardware.
The present brick foundry, which is a substantial and well-appointed establish- ment, was built in 1853. It is now idle, as already mentioned, but in the times of its activity and prosperity it gave constant employment throughout the year to about twelve men.
HOTELS.
About 1834, Roswell T. Merrill, in addition to.the other enterprises which he had in hand"or in contemplation, opened a public-house in a building which he had erected for a dwelling, on the main street, being. the same now occupied by Hugh Irving. After keeping it for a time, the duration of which we are unable to give, he was followed as its landlord by James Hall. Among the .proprietors who succeeded Mr. Hall were .John Davis, Jeremiah Chase, Charles Beardsley, Peter Dox, Frank Curtis, and David Curtis. No public-house has now been kept there for many years. This old hotel is the last one of Mr. Merrill's many busi- ness projects in Birmingham village which we shall have occasion to mention. He is now living, at very advanced age, in Indianola, Iowa.
Not long after 1850 a hotel was opened in the building where Lamb's harness- shop now is, on Saginaw street. The first and only landlord of that house was Benjamin P. Ackerman.
We have already seen that the National hotel, the only public-house now re- maining on the main street of the village, was commenced in 1827 by the building of the north wing by John Hamilton, as a successor to his log tavern, which stood farther to the north and east. It was not many years before John Davis succeeded him as landlord of the house, and about 1842 Mr. Hamilton left Birmingham to engage in the milling business at Flint, where he died only a few years ago. After Mr. Davis, as proprietor of the hotel, came Luman Fuller, who kept it for a con- siderable time, and removed to Milford, where he erected the first mill in the vil- lage. Among his successors were Peter Dox, Frank and David Curtis, Taylor, and King & Valentine. It was during the last-named proprietorship that the southern portion of the house was erected. At present the hotel is carried on by G. E. Daines ..
The hotel near the railroad station was first opened in the dwelling-house of George Blumburg by William Ives. It is now owned and carried on by A. C. Ellis. Soon after the establishment came in his possession the old house was de- stroyed by fire, and the present hotel was built by him in its place.
INCORPORATION OF THE VILLAGE-1864.
The board of county supervisors, at a meeting of that body held in Pontiac in January, 1864, resolved that a certain tract of country situated in the township of Bloomfield "be, and the same is hereby constituted a village corporate, under the name of the village of Birmingham," the boundaries of the said village cor- porate being described as follows: "Commencing at the quarter-stake in the east section-line of section 25, town 2, north of range 10 east; running south along the section-line to the quarter-line of section 36; thence west along said quarter- line to the west side of said section 36; thence north along said section-line to the quarter-line of said section 25; thence east along said quarter-line to the place of beginning,"-thus including the north half of section 36 and the south half of section 25 in the corporate limits.
It was ordered that the first village election be held at the house of James
324
HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
Grinley, in said village, on the first Tuesday of March, 1864, for the purpose of electing village officers, and John Bodine, James M. Hunt, and John Fitzpatrick were appointed inspectors for the said election.
The election was held on Tuesday, March 1, 1864, and resulted in the election of the following board of trustees, viz. : J. C. K. Crooks, George L. Lee, Robert J. Mitchell, S. N. Hill, Hugh Irving, John Bodine, and C. W. Jenks. J. C. K. Crooks was elected president of the board, and S. N. Hill village clerk.
At a meeting of the trustees, held May 9, 1864, Alanson Partridge was ap- pointed marshal of the village, and John Bodine treasurer.
A loan of three hundred dollars was obtained in April, and another of like amount in May, for making the village improvements usual in similar cases, and these were duly made during the succeeding summer.
In 1864 and 1865 the question of the establishment of a village fire depart- ment was brought up, but has never been affirmatively acted on, and at the present time the only fire apparatus in Birmingham consists of a few ladders and two or three " Babcock fire-extinguishers."
The village officers for 1877 are: Trustees, Frank Hagerman (president), Hugh Irving, Thomas Hanks, William W. Martin, John Bodine, Israel Bick- ford, Lewis Converse; Treasurer, Hugh Irving; Marshal, John F. Durkee; Clerk, George E. Daines ; Street Commissioner, Thomas Hanks.
Birmingham at present contains three churches, the Union school-house, the post-office, the ladies' library hall, two hotels, the railway buildings, one foundry, one repairing-shop of agricultural implements, one wagon-shop, one furniture- shop, one harness-shop, three blacksmith-shops, one boot and shoe store, one notion and hardware store, four general stores, one grocery, one drug-store, and one agricultural implement and hardware store.
BIRMINGHAM LODGE, NO. 44, F. AND A. M.
This lodge was organized by dispensation of Jeremiah Moors, Grand Master, April 25, 1850 ; chartered January 9, 1851. Following are the names of its first officers : William Brown, W. M .; Friend Belding, S. W .; Scriba Blakeslee, J. W .; Ebenezer Raynale, Treasurer ; George W. Merrill, Secretary ; Josephus Young. S. D. ; Leman Case, J. D. ; Joseph Park, Tyler. Number of members at organization, fifteen. Their first place of meeting was in the brick building now owned by E. G. Jennings, on Saginaw street. Next they met in the hall occupied by the Patrons of Husbandry, on Saginaw street, from which they re- moved to their own hall, which was dedicated December 23, 1873. Its location is in the second story of the post-office building, on Mill street.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.