History of Oakland County, Michigan, with illustrations descriptive of its scenery, palatial residences, public buildings, fine blocks, and important manufactories, Part 68

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 68

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J. W. MORSE.

ROLLIN J . MORSE.

MRS. J.W. MORSE.

RESIDENCE OF J. W. MORSE , (SEC. 5) NOVI TP, OAKLAND CO., MICHIGAN.

WHIPPLE BROS COOPERACE

O.M.WHIPPLE'S LUMBER YARD

RESIDENCE OF O.F. WHIPPLE, NOVI, MICH .

RESIDENCE OF WASHINGTON WEST, SEC. 24, NOVI TP., OAKLAND CO., MICH.

HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

233

TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION.

In the autumn of 1830 a meeting of the inhabitants was held to take the ini- tiatory steps towards the separation of the town from Farmington. In the discus- sion upon the matter of a name for the new town several different ones were proposed, but those of more than five or six letters seemed to find very little favor ; some of the speakers remarking that they had quite enough of long names, which were " bothersome" and difficult to write, like Farmington. In this di- lemma Dr. J. C. Emery, at the suggestion of his wife, proposed the name of Novi, which, being sufficiently brief and easily written, and yet by no means common- place or homely, found favor with the townspeople, and was agreed to with very „little opposition. It did not, however, pass the legislative council without objec- tion and very disparaging comment, particularly from Mr. James Kingsley, of Ann Arbor, who regarded it as a very unfit and inappropriate name, which he said meant " not known," " unknown," or " forgotten," if he rightly recollected his Latin,-as he felt pretty sure he did. Nevertheless it was finally adopted, and in the fall of 1832 towns 1 and 2, north of ranges 7 and 8 east, were detached from Farmington, and erected into the township of Novi, embracing not only the present township of the name but also those of Lyon, Milford, and Commerce. The township proper then contained between ninety and one hundred voters. The house of Cyrenius Sim- mons was appointed as the place of the first township-meeting, which was accord- ingly held there on the 1st day of April, in the year 1833, upon which occasion, as we find upon the record, " the house was called to order by William Yerkes, Esq., viva voce. Moses Bartow was appointed moderator, and Lyman W. Andrus clerk of the board. The board then proceeded to putting in overseers of high- ways. The following were nominated, seconded, and carried: Amerdon Aldrich, John Blain, John Mead, Israel Whipple, Benj. Hungerford, William Thompson, Dwight Hox, Silas Wilson, Henry Eddy, Peter Plowman, Merritt Randolph, Joseph Chambers, Joseph Eddy, Abraham Vanduyne, Henry Courter, Joab Giles, Edward Butterfield, Orange Van Amburgh, Brayton Flint, Horace W. Vaughn, Calvin Smith, Herman Pettibone, Sir Henry Herrington, Ransom W. Holly, William Tinney, Louis Norton, Abel Peck, Daniel Morgan, Daniel Luke, Henry Ruggles, Jeremiah Curtis, Henry Tuttle, Eliphalet Hungerford. The board then attended to receiving of votes for the following officers, who were separately chosen and appointed by a majority, viz. : for supervisor, Samuel Hungerford was duly appointed ; for clerk, Lyman W. Andrus was duly appointed. Benjamin Hungerford, Eleazer Ruggles, Asaph C. Smith, and Abel Peck were duly ap- pointed assessors ; Louis Vradenburgh, Joseph Blackwood, Russell Alvord, com- missioners of highways ; Samuel Hungerford, Asaph C. Smith, and Ransom W. Holly, school commissioners; Philip Burritt was elected constable and collector ; Saveril Aldrich, director of the poor; Philip Shaw, treasurer; James Wilkinson, Bela Chase, Eleazer Ruggles, and Ephraim Birch, fence-viewers.

After Colonel Hungerford, who was elected the first supervisor of Novi, the incumbents of that office have been as follows :

William Yerkes, in the years 1834, 1836, 1840-41-42, 1848, and 1849; Samuel White, in 1835, 1839, 1843, and 1844; Jacob B. Covert, 1837 and 1838; Samuel Rodgers, 1845, 1847, and 1855; John Bassett, in 1850 and 1854; Gideon Scott, 1851, 1852, 1853, and 1856; Jefferson C. Plumb, in 1857 and 1858; John C. Emery in 1859, 1860, 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865, and 1866 ; Benjamin P. Smith, 1867, 1871, 1872, 1873, and 1874; Austin N. Kimmis, in 1868; Samuel S. Coonley, 1869 and 1870 ; George E. Smith, 1875 and 1876; and George Yerkes, 1877.

The office of township clerk has been filled by the following gentlemen : Ly- man W. Andrus, 1833 and 1835; James Wilkinson, in 1834, 1836, 1837, 1838, and 1852; Asaph C. Smith, in 1839; William Hullinger, in 1840; Jacob B. Covert, in 1841, 1842, 1843, 1844, 1845, 1846, 1848, and 1849; William W. Rodgers, in 1847; Jefferson C. Plumb, in 1850; M. Augustus White, in 1851 and 1853; Benjamin P. Smith in 1854, 1855, 1856, 1859, 1860, 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865, 1866, 1869, 1870, 1876, and 1877; Amos A. Kaple, 1857, 1858, 1873, and 1874; Jesse S. Boyden, 1867 ; Ahijah Wixom, 1868; Isaac W. Lamb, in 1871; Norman H. Gage, 1872 ; and Richard M. Johnson in 1875.

The first justices of the peace were elected in 1836, at a special meeting held for the purpose, on the 22d of August. They were Jacob B. Covert, Samuel Hungerford, Stanton Hazzard, and Asaph Smith. Of these only Colonel Hun- gerford was afterwards elected to the office, viz., in 1842 for the full term, and same year to fill vacancy. The names of justices since elected for the full term are as follows : Avery Thomas, 1837 ; Philip Burritt, 1838; Carlos Harmon, 1839 and 1843; Stephen L. Gage, 1840 and 1844; William W. Rodgers, 1841; James Wilkinson, 1845, 1849; Daniel E. Matthews, 1846; Orange K. Van Amburgh, 1847, 1851, and 1855; John Bassett, 1848; James B. Pal- mer, 1850, 1854, 1859, and 1863; John J. Perkins, 1853; Brayton Flint, 1852, 1856, 1860, 1864, 1868, and 1872; John W. Morse, 1857; Robert Yerkes, 1858 and 1862; Moses G. Porter, 1861, 1865, and 1869; Aldrich

Knapp, 1866; Francis B. Owen, 1867; Samuel Rodgers, 1870; Thomas E. Bogert, 1871; Mark H. Furman, 1873; George Yerkes, 1874; Marvin Bogert, 1875 ; Andrew J. Crosby, Jr., 1876; Ansley W. Arms, 1877. The justices elected at various times to fill vacancies have been Stephen L. Gage, 1837 and 1844 ; John Bassett, 1845 ; James B. Palmer, 1847 ; Elias S. Woodman, 1856; Daniel Smoke, 1858; Dexter White, 1866 and 1868; John C. Emery, 1867; George Yerkes, 1871; Marvin Bogert, 1873; Andrew J. Crosby, 1875; and Cyrus E. Russell, 1877.

CONTRACTION OF BOUNDARIES.

It was but a short time that Novi held her extended territory, embracing as it did five townships, for on the 7th of March, 1834, town 1 north, of range 7 east, was detached by act of the legislative council, and named' Lyon, and towns 2 north, of ranges 7 and 8 east, were detached and called Commerce, and Novi then assumed her present boundaries.

ROADS.

At the time of the organization of the township, the only regularly laid out road in it was that running south from Walled lake, through the entire width of Novi, to Northville; but most of the sectional line roads were laid out in the year 1834, in pursuance of the general declaration to that effect. The main road arteries of the township are the Northville road, above mentioned, and the Grand river military road, or, more properly, the Detroit and Howell plank-road.

FIRST FRAME AND BRICK HOUSES-RAISINGS-DISTILLERY.

The first frame house in Novi was built by Saveril Aldrich. The exact date is not known, but it was about the year 1833. This, however, although the first dwelling-house of that construction, was not the first building erected with mor- tise and tendon, as several frame barns had been built before that time. There is some clashing of accounts as to the first "raising" which was conducted on temperance principles in the town, that honor being by different authorities , awarded to different individuals, but it seems quite probable that to William Yerkes, Esq., belongs the credit of first rearing a frame in Novi without the aid of ardent spirits.

But if there is a doubt as to the occasion of the first banishment of whisky, there seems to be none as to its first production. The first distillery was put in operation on the farm of Pitts Taft, near the spot where the first seeds of educa- tion were sown by Hiram Wilmarth. It is but just, however, to say that in those days it was considered as right and legitimate to manufacture corn or rye into whisky as to produce flour or meal from the same grain.

As to brick dwellings, there were none in Novi for nearly a quarter of a cen- tury after that time; the first having been built by Owen F. Whipple, a few rods west of Novi Corners, in the fall of 1856. The second was created by Richmond Simmons, and these are believed to be the only ones of the kind in the township at the present time.

PUBLIC-HOUSES.

The first tavern in Novi was opened by Samuel Blanchard, about 1835, in a very small frame house, attached to a log building, which stood upon a lot now embraced in the premises of Mr. A. Whipple, on the Walled lake road, some thirty or forty rods north of the point where it is intersected by the Detroit and Howell plank-road, at Novi Corners.

The next public-house was that which was opened by Ruel Sherman in 1835, in a log building which stood on the southwest quarter of section 15, in the south- eastern angle formed by the intersection of the gravel-road (then known as the Grand river military road) with the central longitudinal section road of the town- ship,-the same premises now occupied by Mr. Goodell. Sherman's house acquired rather more of trade and importance than was usual in those times for country inns situated at a distance from villages or populous points. It stood on the great thoroughfare from Detroit to the Grand river country, and received a share of the patronage of travelers over that route; and, besides this, being located only three-eighths of a mile from the geographical centre of the township, it was chosen as a proper and convenient place for the holding of the township-meetings. The first of these which was held there was the annual meeting for the year 1836, in the spring following the opening of the house, and it continued to be the regular place of holding town-elections for many years. They were occasionally held there as late as the year 1862, at which time Gerard Sessions was its landlord. Sher- man left it at the commencement of the year 1843, and afterwards engaged in a saw-mill business in Northville.

Opposite the Sherman tavern, in the northeastern angle of the roads, a frame house of good size was erected, and opened as a tavern by Isaac Carr about ten years later, though this was not as early as the opening of Holliday's house at Novi Corners, which we mention elsewhere. Carr's, being a larger and more pre- tentious house than Sherman's, took precedence of the latter to some extent as

234

HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

a stopping-place for stage-passengers and private travelers, as well as a place of holding township-meetings. The first of these which was held at Carr's was the annual meeting in the spring of 1846. A few years later the house was destroyed by fire, and afterwards Carr became for a short time landlord of the Sherman establishment, on the opposite side of the way.

MILITARY.

In Novi, as in most other localities, there was a considerable military spirit evinced some forty or forty-five years ago. The events of 1812-15 were not then forgotten, and the Black Hawk war and "Toledo war" reawakened the martial ardor. In 1835 an independent company of riflemen was formed in Novi, with Samuel Hungerford as captain, Dexter White first lieutenant, and Joseph Yerkes second lieutenant. The name of this organization was "The Novi Greens," the name denoting the color of their uniform, of which the principal garment was the rifle frock, then usually called the " Indian frock" (though why it was so called is a mystery).

There was also a militia company, of which Captain Stanton Hazzard was the commanding officer. These were subjected to draft for the Toledo war, the mem- bers of the independent company not being subjected to the chances of conscrip- tion, but held as " minute-men," to be called out in any sudden and bloody emergency, such as might arise at Toledo or other fields of danger.

In its day, Captain Hungerford's company of riflemen was considered an élite corps. An old resident, who well recollects them, says that upon occasions of " muster" or local " training," as they marched to the sound of drum and fife, their superb appearance and evolutions conveyed to his youthful mind the idea of absolute military perfection.

The trainings and musters of militia and independent companies are t1 gs of the past, but sober citizens are still living who look back with feelings of 'ıder regret to those days of their youth when they gazed upon, or took part in, the marchings and manœuvres of the " Novi Greens."

In 1861, and the succeeding years of the country's peril, Novi performed well her patriotic duty, and freely sent her young men to the field. On another page their names will be found recorded, with those of the other sons of Oakland County who left their homes to fight for the nation's life.

VILLAGES.

Upon the line of the Holly, Wayne and Monroe railroad are the villages of Novi Corners and Wixom, the former lying wholly and the latter in part within the boundaries of Novi. At these points are located the only two post-offices in the township. Some years ago the post-office of West Novi was established on the line of the Detroit and Howell plank-road, in the southeast quarter of section 7; but this has been discontinued for a considerable time. Its business, which was always very small, is now done chiefly at the newly-established office of Wixom, and at that of New Hudson, in the township of Lyon.

There was also a foundry built and put in operation at West Novi by N. G. Pinney, who afterwards sold the establishment to Daniel Smoke and C. P. Lar- cum. Not long after Larcum purchased Smoke's interest, and the latter removed to Holly, where he again engaged in the same business.

It was at one time believed that a considerable village might spring up around the foundry and post-office of West Novi, but these hopes were very slow of real- ization, and were finally completely blasted by the discontinuance of the post- office, and the opening of the railroad more than two miles away at its nearest point. A location on the line of the railroad was obviously the only eligible one for the transaction of the heavy business of a foundry, and so Mr. Larcum re moved his establishment to Wixom station, two miles north of his old location, and by this removal the village aspirations of West Novi were extinguished forever.

The village of Wixom, created by the establishment of a railroad station at that point, is situated on both sides of the town-line, at the cornering of sections 5 and 6 of Novi and sections 31 and 32 of Commerce township; most of the business, including the station, warehouse, shops, foundry, cooper-shop, shoe-shop, and works of Mr. Larcum, being in Commerce, while the post-office, store, and hotel -the " Kimble House"-are in Novi. Wixom has but recently sprung into being, and can hardly be said to have any history connected with its brief ex- istence. The residences of the citizens are new and handsome, and the village is evidently flourishing and prosperous.

NOVI CORNERS.

The designation of this village as " The Corners" is most appropriate, as it occupies not only the four corners formed by the intersection of the Walled lake, and Detroit and Howell roads, but also the corners of sections 14, 15, 22, and 23.

The first inhabitant at the Corners was John Elmore, who came in before 1830, and settled on the west half of the southwest quarter of section 14. Gage's hotel now stands on the extreme southwestern corner of his tract. Immediately after came Apollos Cudworth and Benjamin Brown, occupying respectively the corners of sections 23 and 15. Upon his corner Brown opened a general store,* which was the first in the township, as well as one of the two first business enter- prises (Blanchard's tavern being the other) which formed the nucleus of the vil- lage of Novi Corners. Soon after Brown's commencement another store was opened by Asaph C. Smith, or Clemendon Smith, as he was usually called, on the corner diagonally opposite to Brown's, upon the premises now owned by J. J. Perkins, Esq., and occupied as a millinery store. Then came the establishment of the post-office at the Corners, with Clemendon Smith as postmaster, and the opening of Holliday's hotel on the spot where the present hotel stands, this being, in fact, a continuation of the same business, though the buildings have been en- tirely changed by new erections since Holliday's time. Following Holliday the succession of landlords has been Rufus Wells, William Rodgers, Daniel S. Lee, William Hosner, D. S. Lee (again), John Fitch, Samuel Jones, William Rodgers (not he of the same name who had previously kept the house), Mr. Francisco, Benjamin H. Rubert, Eldad Smith, and C. C. Gage, the present pro- prietor. Of these the one who remained longest was Benjamin H. Rupert, who erected the front part of the present house, the rear portion having been built during the administration of Samuel Jones.

The village has continued to increase slowly, and now contains two churches,- Baptist and Methodist,-a fine school-house, post-office, town-hall, hotel, two gen- eral stores, one millinery store, three blacksmith-shops, one wagon-shop, and one cooperage, with a tile-works and steam saw-mill in its immediate vicinity, and the Novi station of the Holly, Wayne and Monroe railroad a few rods west of the Corners.

TOWN-HALL.

The town-hall at Novi Corners is a neat frame building, standing on a lot which was donated to the township by C. C. Gage, and adjoining that of the Baptist church. The hall was erected in 1876 at a cost of eight hundred dollars, and was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies on the 9th of September in that year. Until the building of this hall there had been no regular place for the holding of the township-meetings. For the first few years after the organization they were held at the private houses of Cyrenius Simmons, Miles Mansfield, and others ; afterwards at the different taverns,-Sherman's, Carr's, and at Novi Corners.

NOVI STEAM SAW-MILL,

owned and operated by John Vogt, and located half a mile south of the village, near the railway track, was built in the year 1873. Its power is twenty-five-horse, which is applied upon a circular saw, cutting chiefly bass, beech, oak, and black walnut lumber, of which its annual product is about three hundred thousand feet. It also runs a machine for the manufacture of staves and headings.

About the year 1850 a steam saw-mill was erected by Mr. Booth on land now owned by E. Woodruff, in the southeast corner of section 1. Its business was but small, and the mill was destroyed by fire a short time after its establishment.

NOVI TILE-WORKS.

These works were built and first carried on by Franklin Sackner. They were formerly employed in the manufacture of bricks, but this part of the business has been discontinued, and only drain-tile are now produced. These works are lo- cated just west of the Corners, and the present proprietor is Benjamin Cook.

Although the manufacturing and mechanical industries of Novi have never been numerous or extensive, yet it would seem that the township has, both in the past and the present, contained more than the average amount of inventive genius, for the statement is made (and it appears authentic) that Deacon Erastus Inger- soll, more than forty years ago, invented, constructed, and used upon his farm the first mowing-machine ever put in operation in the United States; and in later days the Rev. Isaac W. Lamb, who now resides at Novi Corners, invented and patented the well-known " Lamb knitting-machine," from which he realized a revenue of fully one hundred thousand dollars ; and still more recently he has made other inventions scarcely less valuable.

THE NOVI BAPTIST CHURCH.

This church was organized in February, 1846, with these ten constituent mem- bers : Deacon Loren Flint, his wife Betsey Flint, and their daughters Rachel and Catharine Flint, ; Loomis Thayer, Margaret Thayer, Moses Maxim, and Elizabeth Munn, from Walled lake, and Orrin N. Thayer and Harriet Thayer, from Nunda, New York. They at once took steps towards the building of a house

#Afterwards sold to William Barrett.

t Now Mrs. J. B. Leavenworth.

R. C. SHAW , SR.

RILEY C. SHAW, JR.

MRS. R.C.SHAW.

RESIDENCE OF RILEY C. SHAW, SEC. 21. NOVI TP, OAKLAND CO.,MICH.

HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

235

of worship, and proceeded with so much of earnestness and energy that in less than a year they had erected and finished a suitable edifice, thirty-four by forty feet in dimensions, at a cost of one thousand and eighty dollars. It stood on the west side of the Walled Lake and Northville road, at the southern end of the vil- lage of Novi Corners, on a lot of nearly an acre in area, donated by Daniel S. Lee. It was dedicated to God's service on the 3d of February, 1847, and was at that time the only church building in the township of Novi.

Up to that time, and from long before the date of their organization as a church, the little congregation had enjoyed divine worship in the old school-house (which is still standing, and occupied as a dwelling by George Wheeler), under the min- istration of Rev. Peter F. Jones, a licentiate, who was ordained over them on the 25th of May next following the dedication of their edifice.

The pastorate of Mr. Jones continued until the end of 1848. He was succeeded by Rev. E. Hodge, who remained until May, 1850. Next came Rev. Israel Fay, who broke the bread of life to them until November 4, 1852. In January, 1853, came Rev. John Booth, who remained less than three months, and was succeeded by Rev. Asael Keith, who preached from December, 1854, to May, 1856. He was followed by Rev. J. S. Boyden, who assumed charge on the 2d of August,

present house of worship, a commodious and symmetrical frame building, thirty- four by sixty feet in size, was erected under the supervision of Rev. Isaac W. Lamb, as architect, at a cost of thirty-eight hundred dollars, and was dedicated September 28, 1876.

From the ten earnest ones who constituted the original band of communicants, the church experienced a growth which brought its numbers to ninety-five in 1870 ; the increase by baptism being one hundred and twelve, and by letter one hundred and twenty ; decrease by letter, ninety-nine; by death, fourteen; by ex- clusion, fourteen; removed and erased, twenty. Since 1870 the increase by bap- tism has been sixty-six ; other additions, fourteen ; total, eighty. The decrease in the same time has been, by death, four; dismissed by letter, twenty-one; erased, fifteen ; excluded, one; total, forty-one. Net increase since 1870, thirty-nine. Present membership, one hundred and thirty-four.

A Sabbath-school was established in the old school-house at about the time of the church organization. Prior to 1873 it was suspended during each winter season, but from that time on its sessions have been continuous through the year. The average attendance is from eighty to one hundred. The present superinten- dent, Charles E. Goodell, has been in charge of the school since the year 1868,

NOVI BAPTIST CHURCH, AND TOWN HALL.

1856, and remained at his post until December 1, 1860. Through the year 1861 the flock had no one to lead them, but Elder Harris filled the sacred office during 1862 and a part of 1863. On the 3d of October in the last-named year the Rev. J. S. Boyden returned to them, and continued as their guide in the heaven- ward path until the spring of 1868. He is at present pastor of the Baptist church in Ypsilanti. After him, the Rev. B. H. Shepherd preached for the year ending in April, 1869. Through the succeeding six months they were as sheep without a shepherd; but in October, 1869, the, Rev. Isaac W. Lamb / grandson of the Rev. Nehemiah Lamb, the veteran Baptist organizer-came to the charge, and faithfully kept it for five years, until October, 1874, when he was succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. C. D. Gregory. ! It was during his pastorate that a new church edifice became necessary, and was erected on the site of the church of 1847. As mentioned above, the lot had been donated, or at least intended to be donated, by Daniel S. Lee, but the unrecorded deed of gift had been lost, and, as Mr. Lee had died in the mean time, a purchase of the ground from his heirs be- came unavoidable. This was effected at a cost to the society of one hundred dol- lars; and one hundred dollars more was paid to C. C. Gage for an additional area of two rods by sixteen rods of ground, which seemed to be absolutely necessary, on the rear of the lot purchased from the estate of Mr. Lee. The church, their

with the exception of one and a half years, during which he resided in Mil- ford.

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF NOVI.

Although there were Methodists in Novi many years ago, and their worship was the first in the township,-being held by Rev. John A. Baughman, at the house of John Gould, in the year 1828,-yet it was not until the winter of 1869- 70 that regular preaching was commenced, and a church organization effected, as a branch of Walled Lake circuit. The constituent members were fourteen in number, as follows: Susan Hulett, Harriet Pardee, Louisa Devereaux, Milla Kapel, Mary Chesebrough, Edwin Hazen, Libbie Hazen, Lucy Durfee, Sarah Bennett, Sarah Orton, Ephraim Groner, Esther Groner, Philip Plouse, and Mary Plouse.

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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 68

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