History of Oakland County, Michigan, with illustrations descriptive of its scenery, palatial residences, public buildings, fine blocks, and important manufactories, Part 44

Author: Durant, Samuel W
Publication date: 1877
Publisher: Philadelphia, L. H. Everts & co.
Number of Pages: 553

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 44

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PRESENT BUSINESS-BUILDINGS, ETC.

Farmington village now contains three churches, the town hall, school building, one hotel, a market, three physicians,-two allopathic and one homoeopathic,-one insurance agency, four general stores, one drug-store, one millinery and fancy- goods store, one hardware-store and tin-shop, one shoe-store and manufactory, two jewelers, one cabinet-shop, two saddlery- and harness-shops, two shoe-shops, three blacksmith- and carriage-ironing shops, two wagon-shops, one foundry, one saw- mill, and one grist-mill.

THE TOWN-HALL.

The Farmington town-hall is a two-story brick building thirty by sixty feet in dimensions, which stands on the principal street, near the business centre of the village, and is an edifice which, in solidity and architectural beauty, is excelled by very few, if any, of similar character, in Michigan, remarkable as this State is for the superiority of its public buildings.

The lot-about five-eighths of an acre-was purchased of Mrs. Cynthia M. Col- lins for eight hundred dollars, of which five hundred dollars was subscribed in the village as an inducement to secure the location of the building t ore. It was erected in 1876, and was completed, ready for occupancy, in December of that year. The contract price was four thousand one hundred and fifty dollars, which by certain extra expenditures was increased to a total of four thousand three hundred dollars. Of this the Masonic lodge paid eleven hundred and fifty dollars for a perpetual lease of the upper portion of the building, which left the whole expense incurred by the township at three thousand four hundred and fifty dollars, including the lot.

Prior to the completion of the hall, the township-meetings had been held at the public-houses, since the days of Nathan S. Philbrick and Solomon Walker.

JOSHUA SIMMONS.

THE LOG SHANTY AS SHOWN ABOVE, WAS BUILT SEPT . 4TH 1826

MRS.JOSHUA SIMMONS.

XXXXX

( A. G.SNELL, DEL. )

"MEADOW BROOK FARM", RESIDENCE OF JOSHUA SIMMONS , NORTHVILLE, WAYNE CO, MICH. SITUATED ON THE TOWN LINE OF FARMINGTON, OAKLAND CO., MICH.

PUB. BY L.H. EVERTS & CO. 716 FILBERT ST, PHILA.

171

HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

THE FARMINGTON FOUNDRY,

located in Lapham's addition, was built and first operated by Joshua Simmons. From Mr. Simmons it passed into the hands of George Hilicker & Brother ; then to the proprietorship of Kent & Sprague, after whom it was carried on by Lapham & Wilber, who were succeeded in the business by the present proprietor, George M. Alfred.

The foundry was formerly used in the manufacture of stoves ; but at present its chief production is that of agricultural implement castings.

SHACKLETON'S MILLS.

The grist- and saw-mills of John H. Shackleton are located on the mill-stream a few rods below the centre of the village, but within the corporation limits.

The water-power at this point was first utilized by Samuel Mansfield, who built a saw mill here (the third in the township) about 1833. A grist-mill was afterwards built at the same dam by Samuel Power. At the raising of the frame of this mill an accident occurred by which Thaddeus Andrews sustained severe injury,- the breaking of both wrists. The mills have now a steam-engine, auxiliary to the water-power, which was rendered necessary both by increase of business to the grain-mill and by the steady decrease of water in the stream; a result which always follows the clearing of lands and demolition of the original forests.

THE LOVERIDGE MILL.

The Loveridge saw-mill, about half a mile below Shackleton's, on the same stream, occupies the seat of the old saw-mill built by Darius Lamson about 1833. He also kept a small tavern there, and the place was at that time generally known as "Slab City." Across the end of his stable he had painted, in conspicuous characters, " 18 miles to Detroit." The tavern was afterwards demolished, and Lamson removed to Grand Ledge, where he is still living. The mill was purchased and run by Pheroras I. Perrin and Henry Maxon. In the year 1874 it was destroyed by fire, and then the present mill was built in its place by A. N. Loveridge. Thaddeus Andrews was the millwright. A cider-mill, propelled by water from the same dam, was put in operation there by Louis Philbrick in 1876.

DELLING'S SAW-MILL.

The Delling saw-mill, on a more easterly branch of the Rouge, which flows into Southfield, and is known there as Lee's creek, is located at the town line, on the eastern edge of section 13. It was built in 1828, by George Tibbits. Like all similar mills, it formerly enjoyed a much larger and more profitable business than at present, when logs are comparatively scarce, and the volume of water in the stream much lessened by the clearing and draining of the country. It is now owned by Elijah Delling.

THE BIGELOW MILL.

The location of this mill is in the extreme northeastern corner of the township, on that branch of the Rouge river which flows through the village of Franklin, in Southfield. The first mill upon the Bigelow site was a saw-mill, erected in 1833, by Dorus Morton, who afterwards sold it to Edward Proctor and Francis Gurney. After them, the property was owned by William Adams and others, until it became the property of Mr. T. A. Bigelow, the present owner. The mill was destroyed by fire in the spring of 1873, and has not been rebuilt for sawing purposes ; the entire water-power being now used for the manufacture of drain-tile and pressed bricks, both of which had been manufactured to a considerable extent before the burning of the mill.

OTHER MILLS.

Several other mills have at various times been erected and operated in the town- ship, but have now passed out of existence. About the year 1835 a saw-mill was built near the centre of section 17, by Rev. Eri Prince, a Presbyterian clergyman, who was evidently a man of enterprise, and did not regard his sacred vocation as a bar to the exercise of another honest and honorable calling. His mill was above Steel's, on the same stream. Probably it never performed a very large amount of work, and a few years ago it ceased to be used for the manufacture of lumber. It was then fitted up by John E. Davis as a cider-mill, and is still in that use.

About the same time a saw-mill was built on the stream a few rods below the Steel grist-mill, by Edward Steel and Byro French,-the latter a young man who had worked for a considerable time in Steel's employ. This was destroyed by fire in 1837, and then the irons, gearing, and dam were purchased by Myra Gage, who, being himself a millwright, rebuilt the mill, and afterwards sold it to Collins Miller. He in turn sold it to Warren Serviss and Mark Arnold, who were both coopers, as before mentioned, and who carried on their trade in connection with the mill.

A saw-mill was built about 1831, by Dr. Ebenezer Raynale, in the northwest quarter of section 12, about a mile and a half above the Tibbets mill, and upon the same stream. The mill was sold by the doctor to John Wilcox. Its

history was that of nearly all small dry mills. It remained in operation for a time, and then fell into dilapidation and disuse.

A few years ago a steam saw-mill was built on the southeast corner of section 30, by - Corey. During its existence it passed through the hands of several, and was finally destroyed by fire.

THE FARMING INTEREST.

Agriculturally, the township stands high. The farmers, as a rule, are men of intelligence, and of advanced and liberal ideas, who readily adopt the most ap- proved methods of cultivation, and arm themselves in their calling with the best modern implements of husbandry. With these influences acting on a soil which the hand of nature left exceedingly fertile, it is not strange that Farmington has attained the high agricultural rank which she holds among her sister townships.

A marked characteristic is the great number of fine springs in nearly every part of the town, which are invaluable for stock and dairy purposes. Perhaps the most remarkable of these is at the house of Mr. Francis, on the gravel road, about a quarter of a mile east of the Novi line. Here, in excavating his cellar, there was struck, at the depth of a few feet from the surface, a spring of cold, clear water, with a rapid flow, and of sufficient volume to fill a pipe four inches in diameter, forming a rivulet which ripples along by the roadside, till it falls into the larger stream at the foot of the hill. Such a location as this could not be surpassed in its capabilities for the extensive manufacture of butter or cheese. A factory of either kind, and of the largest class, could here be more than sup- plied with the requisite cooling facilities.

Of butter, there is no manufacture in Farmington, except by hand-process, at the farm dairies ; but of cheese-factories there are several in the township, namely :

The Spring Brook cheese-factory, owned by a company of ten stockholders, is located a mile west of North Farmington post-office, and a quarter of a mile south of the line of West Bloomfield.

The South Farmington cheese-factory is one mile south and half a mile west from Farmington village, its site being on land now or formerly owned by J. Walton. This is the oldest factory in the township.

The Silver Creek cheese-factory is located two miles east and one mile north of Farmington village, nearly opposite the farm-house of Mr. David Smith.

The cheese-factory of A. D. Power is located near the southwest corner of the township, and is doing a large business. The manufacturing season at these establishments is from April to the last of November.

SOCIETIES.

Farmington Grange, No. 267, Patrons of Husbandry, was organized February 16, 1874, by C. L. Whitney, State deputy, with fifty-nine male and fifty-five female members. The following were elected and installed officers of the grange: Master, John H. Smith ; Overseer, Theodore C. Armstrong; Lecturer, James L. Wilber ; Steward, Charles Dingman ; Assistant Steward, Perry E. Smith ; Chap- lain, James M. Adams; Treasurer, L. W. Simmons ; Secretary, H. R. Mason ; Gate-keeper, Abraham Lapham ; Ceres, Ellen Lapham ; Pomona, Nellie Nichols ; Flora, S. Emma Wilber ; Lady Assistant Steward, Alice Thayer.

The officers for the year 1877 are : A. J. Crosby, Jr., Master ; Addis Emmett Green, Overseer; Rufus T. Courter, Lecturer; Frank McDermott, Steward; Charles W. Button, Assistant Steward ; William S. Beach, Chaplain; E. H. Roberts, Treas- urer; W. L. Coonley, Secretary ; James L. Wilber, Gate-keeper; Miss Mary Petti- bone, Ceres ; Miss Nellie Lapham, Pomona; Mrs. Cetella Murray, Flora; Mary B. Crosby, Lady Assistant Steward.

The meetings of the grange are held in Dorhany's brick building, in Farm- ington village.

Farmington Lodge, No. 151, F. and A. M., was chartered January 30, 1865. The first officers of the lodge were : Oliver B. Smith, Master ; Oliver P. Hazzard, Secretary ; H. H. Jackson, Senior Warden ; B. Weidrick, Junior Warden.

Their first place of meeting was the hall in the stone building of Oliver B. Smith, in Farmington village; and after its destruction by fire, in October, 1872, the lodge met for a time in the wooden building of Norman Lee, whence they removed to the hall in Warner's block, upon its completion, and this they occupied until December 27, 1876, when the new Masonic hall was dedicated. It embraces the entire upper story of the town-hall building, the lodge holding a lease of the premises for the term of nine hundred and ninety-nine years, for which was paid a cash consideration of eleven hundred and fifty dollars.

MILITARY.

At the present time there is no military organization in the township. In the war of the Rebellion, however, there was no lack of patriotism here, and the names of those who then went to the front, from Farmington, will be found on another page, with the general list of the brave volunteers from the county of Oakland.

172

HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

In the old times of military ardor, forty-five or fifty years ago, there existed in Farmington a fine independent military company, which was called the " Farm- ington Riflemen," in accordance with the prevailing taste of that day, which ran almost exclusively in favor of the sharp-shooting arm of the service.

The company was organized in 1831, their officers being : Captain, Warren Lee; First Lieutenant, George Brown ; Orderly Sergeant, Fitz Smith. Their uniform consisted of gray trousers and coat, with worsted on the shoulder, and chapeau surmounted by a green plume. Those who recollect the organization and uniform, remember both as being most creditable. They joined with the militia in the general trainings at Auburn or Walled Lake, and were regarded as " minute-men," to be called on to the northwestern frontier in case of sudden exigency. We have been unable to learn how long this company existed before its disbandment.

SCHOOLS.

The schools of the township are ten in number, and in excellent condition. The houses are good, several of them very noticeably so. In district No. 5 (Far- mington village) there are two departments, a higher and a lower, respectively in charge of a male and female teacher. The terms aggregate forty weeks per year. The annual salary of the male teacher in the village district is one thousand dol- lars, that of the lady teacher four hundred dollars. The other districts employ male teachers only in winter. the summer terms being taught by females ; the re- muneration of the former being from thirty-five to fifty dollars per month, and of the latter two dollars and fifty cents to three dollars and fifty cents per week.

The township school superintendent for the present year (1877) is Addis Em- mett Green, Esq. ; township school inspector, James L. Wilber, Esq.

THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

The first Presbyterian church in Farmington was organized at the house of Amos Mead, on the 13th of August, 1826. The original members were Seth A. L. Warner and wife, Mrs. Stevens and her daughter, Mrs. Charity Walker, Miss Polly Thayer,-afterwards Mrs. Francis Courter,-Deacon Erastus Ingersoll, Mrs. Cynthia M. Collins, wife of George W. Collins, Mrs. Gould, and Amos Mead, Esq.

Before this time the Rev. Isaac W. Ruggles, of Pontiac, had occasionally preached to them, sometimes at one and sometimes at another of their dwellings, and it was chiefly through his efforts and influence that the little band had crystallized into a church organization.

In the spring of 1827, Rev. E. Prince became their pastor, and labored with them for several years. About the time of his coming a Sabbath-school was commenced under the superintendency of Harman Steel, and proved to be a pow- erful auxiliary to the church. Worship continued to be held at private houses, or in the old log school-house on the northeast corner of section 18, until the year 1833, when they built and completed a neat frame church upon the extreme southeast corner of section 18. Deacon Ingersoll was very instrumental not only in procuring its erection, but in determining its location. It was dedicated in the autumn of that year with appropriate ceremonies, conducted by the pastor, Mr. Prince, assisted by Rev. Mr. Cleveland. Mr. Prince's successor in the pas- torate was Rev. George Eastman, after whom came Rev. Mr. Bridgman, under whose ministry the church saw prosperity and increase.

After some years the location of the church came to be regarded as incon- venient for a majority of the members, and so its removal to Farmington Centre was decided on and executed; its new location being at the upper end of the vil- lage, not a great way from the residence of one of its most influential members,- Amos Mead, Esq.

At this period the congregation was at its greatest numerical strength, and for a time all went well ; but the highest point of their prosperity as a church had been reached and passed; their numbers began to decrease, then dwindled away to such an extent that preaching could no longer be supported. It was finally discontinued, and this was followed by a complete disintegration of the church, some of the members going outside the township to attend Presbyterian services, and others distributing themselves according to inclination, and worshiping with some of the other denominations in Farmington. The church building was for a time leased to the Good Templars, and then sold to Mr. Fairchild for secular pur- poses. It is now used as a shop or out-building by Mr. L. Cowley. It would have caused great grief to Rev. Mr. Ruggles if, when he established the church, he could have foreseen the manner of its decadence and end !

THE BAPTIST CHURCH.

The organization of the Baptist church in Farmington was effected late in the year 1826. The original members were Deacon Samuel Mead and wife, Philip Marlatt and wife, Rev. Moses Clark and wife, and Mrs. S. W. Tibbets. That these were zealous and earnest worshipers is attested by the fact that prior to the

organization they had thought it no insuperable hardship to travel in ox-carts a distance of twelve or fourteen miles over the bad roads of that day to attend at the services of Rev. Elkanah Comstock, at Pontiac. After their organization they held their meetings in the old log school-house north of Thomas Johns' residence, or, in warm weather, in the commodious barn of Samuel Mead, where they wor- shiped under the ministration of Rev. Moses Clark, who, however, was not their settled pastor. He soon after moved to Northville, Wayne county, and the Rev. Nehemiah Lamb was regularly installed over the Farmington church, remaining with them until the year 1842.

As they grew in numbers they seemed to require a more convenient and per- manent place for holding their meetings, and, by strong and persistent effort in that direction, they were enabled, during the year 1835, to build and dedicate a frame church building of proper size for their worship. This was located in the northwest corner of section 17, opposite the present site of the school-house of fractional district No. 4.

In the year 1837 a remarkable series of protracted meetings was held in the new church, under the leadership of Reverends - Barrett and E. Wever, and so great was the awakening at that time that the membership of the church was increased to more than one hundred. Other revivals followed this, but none equaled it in the number of souls brought to the shelter of the Saviour's fold.

After many years of good service rendered by the old church building, it grad- ually became to be regarded by the worshipers as an undesirable place of meet- ing, on account of its remoteness from many of their residences and from the central viliage, and so, little by little, it fell into disuse, and was at last abandoned as a place of worship. It is now used as a barn, upon the farm of Alonzo Sprague.

The new organization of the Baptist church, at the village of Farmington, was effected August 19, 1857. The constituent members were J. M. Adams, Polly Adams, Jacob Loomis, Mrs. Therina Tibbets, N. J. Taylor, Celora Loomis, Rebecca Cater, Jane Allen, Lydia Andrews, John H. Rasco, Lucinda M. Rasco, Rosina T. Babcock, Parmela Pusey, and Elizabeth A. Green. Their first minister was Rev. John H. Rasco, at whose house the first meeting was held. For three years they met in private residences, school-houses, and the hall at Farmington village. In 1859 the subject of the erection of a church was agitated, and a lot, one hun- dred by one hundred and fifty feet, was purchased of John Thomas, for ninety-six dollars. A frame building, twenty-eight by forty feet, was built at a cost of six- teen hundred and eighty dollars, and dedicated in September, 1860. This edifice, their present place of worship, and the largest of the three churches in Farming- ton village, stands on the north side of the old Territorial, or " Shiawassee" road, which was once the main street of the village, and the church lot lies partially in each of the sections 27 and 28.

The pastors who came after Elder Rasco were Revs. David Loomis, N. East- wood, William B. Grow, W. W. Northrup, Elder Bulis, S. S. Wheeler, S. Boy- den, T. H. Carey, Elder Perry, Elder Bloomer, and G. Crocker. The present membership is forty-two. In connection with the church is a Sabbath-school, with an average attendance of twenty.

THE UNIVERSALIST CHURCH.

This church edifice, standing on Warner street, in Davis' addition to the village of Farmington, and known also as the " Union church," is in no small degree the result of the determined energy and zeal of Mr. Sergus P. Lyon, whose object in its erection was not only to secure a place wherein he and his fellow-worshipers might hold such service as their hearts and consciences approved, but to be able to offer the same privilege to other Christians of whatever creed; to be able, as Mr. Lyon himself says, to extend to others a courtesy which had been denied to themselves.

Before the building of the church, Universalist worship had been held in Farmington from time to time, whenever both a preacher and a place of meeting could be secured. Among the first of these ministers was Rev. Mr. Woolley, of Pontiac, who preached occasionally in a room over George Wright's wagon-shop, and afterwards in a room which Mr. Lyon had fitted up to be used by Henry P. Dailey for a school-room, but also with a view to its use for purposes of worship. This school- and preaching-room had been adapted from the old red store of George W. Collins.

At first the Universalists were very few, not more than five or six in number,- Messrs. Lyon, Philbrick, Green, Blakeslee, and two or three others,-and their commencement was extremely unpromising. At their first meeting, notwithstand- ing it was invested with the charm of novelty, there could not be seen the flutter of a solitary ribbon among the hearers,-not a female was present ; but in a very short time there were three ladies who attended regularly. From this beginning the numbers increased so much that after a while it became necessary to place props under the floor of the meeting-room to insure its safety.

RESIDENCE OF MARK HANCE. FARMINGTON. MICH.

.......

MAPLE GROVE FARM", RESIDENCE OF DANIEL LAPHAM, FARMINGTON, MICH.

173

HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

In the spring of 1853 it was thought that the time had arrived when they should have a more commodious and proper place of worship; but when a sub- scription was circulated for the purpose of raising the means, Mr. Lyon was told that his life would not be long enough to secure the necessary sum. The fallacy of this prediction was soon shown, for in nine weeks from that time the site, embracing nearly one acre upon the Delos Davis plat, had been purchased for two hundred dollars, and the building materials bought and delivered upon the ground ready for the commencement of the work of erection. During that summer the church was completed, and was dedicated and occupied the same season. That edifice is their present place of worship, being on the easterly side of Warner street, and the lot on which it stands extending on that street from Thomas to Third. The size of the church is thirty by forty feet, and its cost was nine hun- dred dollars. The society purchased and owns a share in the bell of the Meth- odist church (which stands near by), as their own tower was not built with view to such a use.

The parties who have served this congregation since Rev. Mr. Woolley have been Rev. Mr. Cook, now residing on his farm in Eaton county, between Delta and Grand Ledge, Rev. A. Knickerbocker, who remained ten years, and was suc- ceeded by Rev. H. Sisson, who was followed by Rev. A. M. Sowle, the present pastor. The congregation is now numerous and flourishing.

THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

There had been a few irregular services held by Methodist worshipers in Farmington prior to 1827 ; but it was not until the summer of that year that the first stated meetings were commenced by Rev. John A. Baughman, who preached once in every six weeks at the house of Samuel Mansfield, just east of where Farmington Centre now is. Regular meetings were also held by Rev. William T. Snow at the log house of Warren Lee, and a few months later at the residence of Amos Mead. The first class was organized in 1829 with about twenty mem- bers : John Gould (class-leader), Mrs. John Gould, Mrs. Samuel Mansfield, Mrs. Hiles, John Thayer, Leander Walker, Lucetta Walker, Samuel B. Mead, Wil- liam W. Mead, Fanny A. Mead, Caroline M. Mead, Seymour Newton and his wife, Matthew Van Amburgh, James Vanduyne, Calvin Ray, and four or five others, whose names are not recalled. Their meetings were then held at the log school-house on Solomon Walker's land, near where now stands the toll-gate, just east of the Wixom tavern. Afterwards they worshiped in some of the other school-houses, particularly that at Quakertown, now Farmington Centre, which, as the village grew to comparative importance, became their regular meeting- place.

After more than ten years of irregular gathering in school-houses and in the hall at Farmington, it was resolved that a larger and more appropriate house of worship was indispensable, and that such a one should be built. For that pur- pose a lot containing about three-quarters of an acre, upon the north side of the (then) main street of the village, was donated by Ebenezer Stewart ; timber was procured, and, on the 3d and 4th days of July, 1840, the frame was "raised." The work of building, however, seems to have been attended with some difficul- ties and delay, probably from the usual cause,-lack of funds,-so that four years had elapsed before the building-their present church-was completed; its size being forty-six by fifty six feet, and the total cost over three thousand dollars. It was dedicated in August, 1844, the services and ceremony on that occasion being conducted by the pastor, Rev. Oscar F. North, and Rev. James V. Watson, who died in Chicago, as editor of the Northwestern Christian.

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History of Oakland County, Michigan, with illustrations descriptive of its scenery, palatial residences, public buildings, fine blocks, and important manufactories, Part 44

Author: Durant, Samuel W Publication date: 1877 Publisher: Philadelphia, L. H. Everts & co. Number of Pages: 553

Author: Durant, Samuel W
Publication date: 1877
Publisher: Philadelphia, L. H. Everts & co.
Number of Pages: 553