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 43
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The first framed dwelling-house in the town was built by Timothy Tolman, at Buckhorn Corners, in the year 1828. Being himself a carpenter, doubtless Timothy wished to set such an example to his neighbors as would prove in the end beneficial to them as well as to his own calling.
Mr. David Smith thinks that the frame house built by Arthur Power, on the spot where is now the house of his son, William Power, may have been earlier than Tolman's, but from a comparison of other information, it seems certain that Mr. Power's house must have been erected fully two years later. It stood, as has been said, on the present site of William Power's dwelling-house; and it was destroyed by fire in the year 1851, when the present house was commenced at once on the same spot.
Tolman's house, however, was not the first building of any kind which was framed in Farmington. That precedence belonged to the frame barn which Samuel Mansfield built in 1826. Next was Arthur Power's saw-mill, and then, in the next season, a barn was framed and erected by Solomon Walker, and a third-date not precisely known-by George W. Collins, on his farm, a mile and a half southwest from Quakertown.
In Farmington as in most other towns there are several conflicting accounts of the first barn-raising carried through without the use of intoxicating liquor, and it is wholly impossible to say who was really the first to accomplish the end so
worthy and much to be desired ; but the accounts seem pretty clearly to establish the fact that it was neither George Tibbets nor Chauncey D. Wolcott, as has been supposed by some to be the case. At Mr. Wolcott's " raising," which occurred in 1836, and at which he proposed to raise his barn-frame without whisky, the work, after proceeding to a certain stage, encountered an obstacle which appeared to be absolutely insurmountable without further strength and assistance ; which Orange Culver then at once dispatched himself to procure. He soon returned with a strong reinforcement, namely, four men and a stone jug, by the aid of which the heavy frame was soon reared and every pin driven home. At the raising of Mr. Tibbets' barn (the date being considerably earlier than that of Mr. Wolcott) there appeared to be an abundance of strength present; rather too much, it would seem, than too little, for in "plowing the plates," an operation which required the combined force of several men, the tool became clogged fast in the wood, and the power of the human team being irresistible, the timber itself was in a twinkling carried out of sight into the neighboring brushwood, from which it was found impossible to recover it without recourse to an expedient similar to that which was found so effectual at Mr. Wolcott's. It must be said, however, of Mr. Tibbets and Mr. Wolcott, that in the matter of excellent and wholesome cheer, both solid and fluid, to stand instead of the alcoholic auxiliary, they had provided most amply; and having done their best to accomplish the desired end, the failure could in no manner be laid to their charge.
Distilleries have never flourished in the township of Farmington. The first one was established about 1830, by Seymour Newton, on the stream in the north- west corner of section 33, opposite George W. Collins' store and potashery. Another was started on the mill stream below Slab city, by a Mr. Teas, from Pennsylvania ; and another, on the creek in the village, by Elijah F. Cook, who came there a tailor, then became lawyer, and member of the constitutional convention of 1835. He is now established in law in the city of Milwaukee. His distillery was discontinued in 1842. These comprise the whole list of distilleries which have been run in the township.
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The first tannery was put in operation by David Wilcox, on the stream in the northwest quarter of section 12, probably about the year 1835. Another was by - Lewis, on a little stream near the present school-house, in district No. 1.
Potash-works were started at several points in the township at a very early day. The first of these was by Arthur Power, at Quakertown, in 1825. Another was built by Samuel Mansfield about the same time, near where Shackleton's mill now is ; and still another, not long after, by George W. Collins, at his farm, a mile north of the base-line.
The first to embark in the business of merchandising in Farmington was Lyman Boughton, before the year 1830. His store was located one mile north and one mile west from the territorial centre of the township. Another very early store was that opened by George W. Collins, in the southwest corner of section 28, before his removal to the village. Another store (but not one of the earliest) was John T. Little, at his Pernambuco mill. This was destroyed by fire during his proprietorship, and was not rebuilt.
THE FIRST TAVERNS.
The openings of early public-houses are usually regarded as events of some importance in new settlements. In after-years, the sight or mention of these old houses, gray and dilapidated, or perhaps utterly wrecked and abandoned, often brings thronging recollections to the minds of those who, in their youth, knew them as resorts of pleasure, and welcome havens of shelter and refreshment to the traveler ; as places of exciting military or political gathering, or perhaps as centres which brought those first small beginnings of travel and trade which afterwards caused villages or towns to spring up around them.
The first tavern in Farmington was opened by Solomon Walker, in the year of the township organization, 1827. It was an unpretending log structure, that stood on the north line of section 30, in its northeast quarter. It was completed and opened towards the last of the year, so that a dedicatory new year's festival was held there at the commencement of 1828, on which occasion there was a very large attendance of young people, and perhaps some who could hardly be termed young, except in their perennial fondness for dancing and festivity. The revel- ers came from near and from far off. Their conveyances were exclusively drawn by oxen, with the single exception of a horse-team which brought its load from Bloomfield. No doubt their enjoyment that night was as keen as if their teams had been fleeter, and their hall accommodations more spacious and splendid.
Small as it was, Walker's tavern soon became a place of some note, and in 1829 the annual township-meeting was first held there, though its location was by no means a central one, being only a mile from the western line of the town. It was not long before Mr. Walker built a frame tavern building, a little east of the old log house, and this he sold to Nathan S. Philbrick. He in turn sold it to Robert Wixom, Jr., who increased its size by building to it, and it remained a
Store
ENANT
HOUSE
C.J. SPRAGUE.
MRS.C.J.SPRAGUE.
" FAIR SITE FARM," RESIDENCE OF C. J. SPRAGUE, FARMINGTON, MICH.
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HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
prosperous place for a long time under his proprietorship. It became a stopping- place for the stage-coaches of Hibbard & Burrill's line, and during their day was well known to travelers. Though now no longer a public-house, it remains with its low porch and ample barn, suggesting, in spite of its deserted aspect, thoughts of the bustle and cheerfulness which once reigned there.
Another tavern was opened by Nathan S. Philbrick in the southeast corner of the southwest quarter of section 15, now Fisher Chamberlin's place of residence. The precise date we are unable to give. Some of the old residents think it was in the same year in which Walker opened ; others date it later. The township-meeting in the spring of 1828 was held at Philbrick's house, but that is not conclusive evi- dence that it had been then opened as a hotel ; for, as it stood only half a mile away from the territorial centre of the township, this may have been the reason of its selection as a place of meeting, though not a public-house, just as the meeting had been held at the private house of Robert Wixom the preceding year.
But whichever may be the correct date of its opening, it is certain that Phil- brick's tavern, although not so located as to secure the trade of a great thorough- fare, yet became well known through a large section of country, and was highly regarded for the abundance and excellence of its entertainment. Mr. Philbrick was also for a short time proprietor of the Solomon Walker House before Wixom, as has already been mentioned. He filled several public offices, among them that of justice of the peace, and he was a most respected and esteemed citizen.
TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION.
For three years after its first settlement, township 1, of range 9, was for all political purposes and intents a part of Bloomfield, under which name had been comprehended the two southern tiers of townships in the county. But in the spring of 1827 several new townships were formed, and among them was that of Farmington, which, at its erection, included not only its present territory but also that now embraced in the four southwestern towns of the county, Commerce, Milford, Lyon, and Novi.
An act of the legislative council, approved April 12, 1827, provided and directed that the townships above mentioned " be a township by the name of Farmington, and that the first township-meeting be held at the house of Robert Wixom in said township;" and accordingly the first meeting was duly held at Mr. Wixom's house, on the last Monday in May of that year. An account of the proceedings at that meeting cannot be given, because of the total destruction of the township records on the morning of the 9th of October, 1872. We know, however, that Amos Mead was chosen supervisor, and Robert Wixom clerk, and that William Yerkes, Seth A. L. Warner, and Amos Mead at that time held the office of justice of the peace, under appointment by the governor, and that the assessors elected at that first meeting were William Yerkes, Samuel Mead, and Philip Marlatt; Amos Mead being elected supervisor. He also filled that office for the years 1828 and 1833. Following are the names of some of those who held the position of supervisor after him : Edward Steel, 1829, 1832, 1834, 1835; Loring Doney, 1836; Daniel S. Lee, 1837; Benjamin P. Wixom, 1838; Eri Prince, 1842-1844; John H. Button, 1845, 1853; Samuel T. Bryan, 1854- 1859; Henry F. Cobb, 1860; Jesse B. Aldrich, 1861; P. Dean Warner, 1862- 1866; Henry R. Mason, 1867-1869; Ahijah J. Wixom, 1870; Oscar S. Harger, 1871; Jas. L. Wilber, 1872; Hix Horton, 1873-1875; B. F. Grace, 1876-1877.
Among the incumbents of the office of justice of the peace are found the fol- lowing: by appointment from the governor, under the Territorial form, George Brownell, commissioned September 19, 1833; Elijah F. Cook, February 24, 1834; Amos Mead, August 12, 1833; Nathan S. Philbrick, February 14, 1834. . And the following, among others, have been elected to the office since the adop- tion of the State constitution : Nathan S. Philbrick, 1838 and 1840; Amos Mead, 1836 and 1838 ; Isaac Wixom, 1837; Benjamin P. Wixom, 1836 and 1857; George Brownell, 1836 and 1848; John Hovey, 1839; E. G. Stevens, 1841, 1847, and 1862; Charles K. Nichols, 1842; Warren Serviss, 1843 and 1850; Levi W. Rodgers, 1844; George W. Collins, 1845; Samuel T. Bryan, 1846, 1852, and 1853; Simeon Gage, 1849; Mark Arnold, 1851, 1856, 1860; An- drew C. Walker, 1854, 1862 ; Isaac Placey, 1861; William L. Coonley, 1861, 1877; Andrew J. Crosby, 1862 ; Jacob A. Drake, 1863; J. W. Crandall, 1865; Eber Durham, 1856 and 1866; John A. Fairfield, 1867; Thomas Russell, 1870 and 1875; Horace A. Green, 1871; Dexter W. Green, 1876; John N. Power, 1876; P. Dean Warner, 1855 to 1863, and 1867 to 1875.
Among those who have filled the office of town clerk since the organization we mention : Lyman Boughton, 1829 to 1833; H. Miller, 1835; John McCarthy, 1841; John Stewart, 1842; E. G. Stevens, 1843; John T. Little, 1844; Henry F. Walker, 1845, 1847, and 1850 ; P. Dean Warner, 1846, 1858, 1859; Samuel S. Gale, 1851; Harley Ingersoll, 1852; M. Augustus White, 1857 and 1860- 69; H. G. Saxton, 1870-71; Frank D. Clark, 1872; and he is the present in- cumbent.
CLARENCEVILLE.
In the extreme southeastern corner of the township is a small cluster of build- ings known as Clarenceville. It lies on the line of the Detroit and Howell plank- road, and it was to this thoroughfare, known in the early days as the Grand river military road, that the hamlet owes its existence. Its commencement was the building of a tavern at that point by Stephen Jennings, in the year 1836, for the accommodation of the travel over the road. He also opened a store there soon after. During all the days of staging over this road Jennings' tavern was a regular and favorite stopping-place,-the sixteen-mile station out from Detroit.
Clarenceville contains one general store, one wagon-shop, and two blacksmith- shops, and the hotel now kept by Milton G. Botsford; but the travel which sup- ported it in the old time is no longer there, and its consideration as a public-house has departed with the stage-lines which created it.
NORTH FARMINGTON.
Although the neighborhood known as North Farmington does not reach the importance of a village, yet as the location of a post-office it may be proper to mention it in that connection.
The establishment of the post-office of North Farmington was in the year 1850, with Chauncey D. Wolcott as the first postmaster. The first location of the office was at Wolcott's Corners, one mile south of the town line. Mr. Wolcott was succeeded as postmaster by Nathaniel Thompson. At his death, about 1865, Thomas Marston was appointed postmaster, and the office was moved up to the town line, in the northeast quarter of section 4. The successor of Marston was John H. Button, who, on his removal from Farmington, was in turn succeeded by Theodore C. Armstrong, the present incumbent, who removed the office to his house upon the north side of the road, this being in the township of West Bloomfield.
Hon. John H. Button, the last resident postmaster of North Farmington, located his lands upon the northeast quarter of section 4, May 19, 1828, and settled on them in the year 1831. He resided there until 1872, when he removed to Flushing, Genesee county, Michigan, and died there December 1, 1876, having reached a good old age. During his residence in Farmington he filled many important and honorable offices, and stood high in the esteem of his fellow-townsmen.
FARMINGTON VILLAGE.
The village of Farmington embraces within its corporate limits a territory one mile square, being the west half of section 27 and the east half of section 28. The business centre of the village is one and a quarter miles south of the geo- graphical centre of the township. The creek, which furnishes water-power to the Hardenberg, the Shackleton, and the Loveridge mills, flows diagonally through the northeast quarter of the corporation.
We have seen how its first commencement was made by Arthur Power, in the building of his large log house on the left bank of the creek, and how its first claim to comparative importance was created by the settlement of Dr. Webb, the first and only physician of the township, and still further advanced by the establishment of the post-office, and the erection of Mr. Power's mill; and we have seen how, because it owed its settlement and progress chiefly to these two men, and in less degree to others of the Friends who had settled in and near it, it came to receive the distinctive name of Quakertown. This name, however, although not objected to by them on account of its reference to their sect, was not favored by Dr. Webb and Mr. Power, who desired instead that it should be named in honor of the old home which they had left, in Ontario county, New York. This purpose had been in a great measure accomplished by them when the post- office was established by the name of Farmington ; for, from being first given to the office, it gradually displaced that of Quakertown, and then, naturally enough, came to be applied to the whole township, and finally was officially adopted in the organization.
In or about the year 1830, Arthur Power added a grist-mill to the list of his real estate at Farmington. It was built upon a new dam which he threw across the stream some distance below the leaky one which he had built for the saw-mill, and by the new arrangement both the saw- and grist-mill took their water from the new dam, and the first one, as well as the canal which led from it, were discon- tinued. This mill continued in operation there for many years, but it never attained as high a standing as that enjoyed by the Steel mill. The dam and the wreck of the mill building may still be seen just above the upper road leading from the village across the stream to the northward.
Before 1830 another physician came to Farmington, in the person of Dr. Isaac Wixom. He located not far from the Quaker meeting-house, just outside the village, but within the present limits of the corporation. Not long after came Dr. Hudson, a bachelor, who first took board in the village, but soon married.
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HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
He afterwards removed to Lansing, where he died. With three resident physi- cians the people of the village and of the township had no longer any lack of medical advice and treatment ; and not only had they these three, but also Drs. Ebenezer Raynale-just across the town line, in Southfield-on the one hand, and Dr. J. C. Emery on the other, in the eastern edge of Novi; both excellent physicians, and both of whom practiced considerably in Farmington. Dr. Webb had, however, at this time, in a great degree withdrawn from practice, and (chiefly in consequence of a disagreement in matters of property between himself and Arthur Power) was preparing to remove from Farmington, which he did soon after; disposing of his property to George W. Collins.
There had been no public-house in the village until about 1830, when one was opened on the north side of the Detroit, or Shiawassee road, as it was often called, then the main street of the village. This tavern (there were no hotels in those days) stood a little east of where the Baptist church now is, and but a short dis- tance from the bank of the creek. We are not able to state positively whether it was the same building which was erected in 1826 by Constantine Wood, for upon this point the opinions of those who remember the house are about equally divided, some being positive that it was the Wood house, and others asserting with equal earnestness that it was not. But whoever may have been the builder of the house, it seems to be quite certain that Dr. Isaac Wixom was its first landlord. After Dr. Wixom it was kept by Myra Gage, who was followed by several other land- lords during the time of its existence, which was about twenty years.
Among the first of the village mechanics was Ebenezer G. Stevens, who opened the business of shoemaker in 1830, in a shop built for him by Arthur Power, on the north side of the road (or main street ), and just east of the tavern, while nearly opposite to him a blacksmith-shop was opened about the same time, by two brothers named Dutcher.
In the business of merchandising at Farmington village Stephen Page was the pioneer. His store was opened in a dwelling-house which stood on the north side of the main road, west of the present location of the Baptist church. Another store was opened soon after near Page's, by Henry Miller, who is now living in Califor- nia. His store was also built for him by Arthur Power, who seems to have been foremost in the encouragement of all enterprises calculated to promote the growth and prosperity of the village. Whether the stores of Page and Miller proved profitable to their proprietors is not known.
Among the other early stores in the village were those of Wells (who died by suicide upon the bank of the creek, at Farmington, in 1836), James I. Mead, and George W. Collins. Mr. Collins had moved from his farm into the village, and succeeded Dr. Webb as postmaster when the latter removed from town. He also purchased the property of the doctor, and opened his store in a small red building at the corner, west of the tavern. This red store was afterwards removed, and changed into a school-room for Mr. H. P. Daily, then again moved and trans- formed into a tin-shop, and finally destroyed in the fire of October 9, 1872.
John Thomas and Daniel S. Lee were also early merchants of Farmington.
PLATS AND ADDITIONS.
The dates and locations of the various plats and additions of the village of Farmington are found recorded as follows :
Ebenezer Stewart's plat, eastern part, located on section 28, March 8, 1841.
W. D. Power's plat, located on northeast quarter of section 28, December 8, 1846.
Henry P. Daily's plat, located on northeast quarter section 28, April 30, 1850. Davis' addition, located on the Davis farm, by Henry N. Walker, proprietor, September 3, 1850.
Abraham Lapham's addition, located on section 27, May 2, 1867.
Gardurus Webster's addition, located on section 28, October 10, 1870.
FARMINGTON HOTEL-STAGE-LINES.
In 1850 the old tavern which stood on the Territorial road, near the creek, was consumed by fire. At the time of its destruction it was kept by Horace Swan, who then at once set about the erection of the present Farmington hotel. It was completed in due time, and was opened as a public-house by Mr. Swan in 1851. Its location was a favorable one, being on the Grand river road, which had then passed into the hands of the plank-road company, and had become the main street of the town, and the stage-route from Detroit to Lansing, which had then recently been established as the State capital. This, and the planking of the road to Lansing, which was finished in the following year, gave a great impetus to the stage traffic, for which the new hotel became (that which the old one never had been) a stopping-place and a station. The travel required two four-horse stage-coaches each way daily, with frequent extras as far as the Farmington hotel or the Wixom tavern, and often the extras were obliged to continue as far as Brighton, and even to Howell. Twenty-four passengers were carried by each
coach, and they almost always ran with a full freight both ways. It was a usual thing to see nine passengers riding upon the top, so great was the travel at that time.
These coaches were owned by Hibbard & Burrill, of Detroit, though at various times during the days of staging Hibbard had other partners ; as, for instance, Mr. Rose, of Mount Clemens, who died in Pontiac, proprietor of the Rose hotel at that place.
The stage-lines flourished until the opening of the Detroit, Lansing and Lake Michigan railroad, after which they declined, first reducing their capacity to a single daily stage, and finally disappearing entirely; and with them departed the days of prosperity to the public-houses along their former route. The Farming- ton mail now comes and goes via Fisher's, and the passenger travel by way of Novi; both stations are on the Holly, Wayne and Monroe railroad.
INCORPORATION.
The village of Farmington was incorporated, with boundaries as above men- tioned, in the winter of 1866-67.
The first charter election was held, in accordance with a provision of the act of incorporation, on the 6th of May, 1867, and resulted in the election of Justus B. Webster, Anson J. Cloyse, and George Matthews as trustees ; P. Dean War- ner, president ; and John A. Fairfield, recorder. At the first meeting of the council, held on the 9th of the same month, it was "resolved that Mortimer Serviss be appointed marshal for the village of Farmington. Adopted,-yeas, Cloyse, Warner, Fairfield; nay, Webster," and Henry Riley was appointed pound- master.
The present officers of the village are : P. Dean Warner, president ; Frank D. Clark, recorder ; Gardurus Webster, treasurer; Louis Philbrick, John Jackson, Abraham L. Power, trustees.
THE FIRE OF 1872.
On the morning of October 9, 1872, there occurred a fire which destroyed several of the business structures in the heart of the village, and which was quite a severe blow to Farmington ; more disastrous than any of the kind which she ever experienced. The buildings destroyed were a dwelling and shoe-shop, owned by Miss Lester, the shop being occupied by - Saxton ; a store, owned by P. Dean Warner, and occupied by Porter Shepherd : a small wooden building, owned and occupied by Miss Pierman as a millinery-store; the stone stores of W. B. Selby and Oliver B. Smith, the latter being occupied by Wesley Horton, and a hall over the store by the Masonic lodge; a drug-store, owned and occupied by Dr. E. Woodman ; a blacksmith-shop, and a barn and carriage-house in the rear. The stores of Selby and of O. B. Smith were joined as a block, and were the same which were erected in 1850 by Warren E. Selby and Joshua Simmons. Mr. Warner at once rebuilt upon his lots the substantial and most creditable building known as Warner's block, and good buildings have been erected on nearly all the area which was devastated by the fire. It was in this conflagration that the township records were consumed.
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