USA > Michigan > Wexford County > History of Wexford County, Michigan, embracing a concise review of its early settlement, industrial development and present conditions > Part 34
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spread through the village like wildfire and a throng of people hastened to the store to see for themselves if the report was true. The shock was great to the community, and the loss equally so. The remains were sent to New York for burial, and as a mark of respect and keen sorrow, nearly the whole village followed the hearse to Manton, six- teen miles distant, where his lifeless form was taken on its last journey eastward.
In 1887 an act was passed by the legis- lature granting a charter to the village, and the first village election was held on the 5th day of May, 1887. One of the principal objects in securing the charter was to enable the village to issue bonds for the purpose of securing the Toledo, Ann Arbor & Northern Michigan Railroad, which was then being pushed from Harrietta on to Frankfort. The bonds were issued and delivered to the railroad company, but owing to a decision of the supreme court of the state just prior to that time it found difficulties in negotiat- ing them, and they were finally returned to the village authorities. The result was that the proposed "spur" was never built, al- though it has appeared on the county atlas for the past twelve years. The failure to get this railroad connection was another se- vere blow to Sherman, as it made possible the building up of another trading point, the village of Mesick, thus dividing the business which should have all gone to one town to have made it grow and prosper.
By a recent action of the village it has again voted to issue its bonds for five thion- sand dollars with which to grade a street through the village. This has been done in the interests of the Manistee & North- eastern Railroad, which now proposes to build a line running within the corporate
limits of the village. If this plan succeeds Sherman will continue to be the largest village in the northwestern part of the coun- ty, but will never be what it would have been had it secured connection with the Ann Arbor Railroad when that road first passed through the county.
After the county seat left Sherman the court house was purchased by the school dis- trict and by a few changes was converted into a very convenient school building. The school attendance had increased to such an extent that it became necessary as early as 1887 to employ three teachers, and in 1896 it was formally made a graded school. The village now has a population of about five hundred, has three large general stores, three hotels, two hardware stores, two drug stores, two blacksmith shops, two churches, one large flouring-mill, two grocery stores, besides a bank, a millinery store, saw and planing mill, saloon and other necessary adjuncts to a modern village. It is situated on the table land, some eighty or a hundred feet above the Manistee river, and is sur- rounded by one of the very best agricultural districts in the country.
In 1897 the Ann Arbor Railroad built a spur (or rather the people of Sherman built it and presented it to the railroad com- pany ) which came within a mile of Sherman to the west, where a little burg has sprung up sometimes called West Sherman, and sometimes Claggetville, from Claggett, the name of the man in whose interests the spur was built, and who erected a large stave and heading mill, with dry kiln and storing sheds, the entire plant and yards covering several acres of ground. This plant has al- ways been operated from Sherman, the pro- prietors and many of the laborers living in
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that village. The place has grown to be a great shipping point for potatoes, wheat. lumber and logs, and all freight for Sher- man in car lots is unloaded at this point. The officials of the railroad are now contem- plating the erection of a station on this spur. so that all freight and railroad business for Sherman may be done there instead of go- ing to Mesick, nearly three miles distant.
The first secret society organized in Sherman was Powhattan Tribe No. 12, Im- proved Order of Red Men. This was a be- nevolent and social organization, after- wards taking up the life insurance idea so prevalent now with nearly all secret orders. This tribe was instituted through the efforts of C. S. Marr, a young attorney who had then just entered upon the practice of law and had located in Sherman in the spring of 1876. The organization was perfected in May of that year and flourished for a number of years, some of its members be- ing prominently identified with the great council of the state and the United States. One of its members, J. H. Wheeler, served one term as great sachem of the great coun- cil of the state and was representative of the state in the great council of the United States at three of its annual sessions, one at Philadelphia, one at .Atlantic City and one at Springfield, Ilinois.
This order took its name and much of its ritualistic work from the aborigines of the country, its officers being sachem, prophet, sagamore, chief of records, keeper of wam- pum, etc .. its candidates for admission, pale faces, and its members, warriors. Its ceremonial work was unique and impressive, and was pronounced by those competent to judge as superior to that of many of the older orders. It is a little strange that a
branch of such an order should not have succeeded in Sherman when the order at large has been constantly growing and counts its membership in the United States by the tens of thousands, but the average American is always looking for something new and novel and with the coming of the Grange, the Odd Fellows, the Masons and other secret orders the old love was cast off for the new in many instances, and this, with the death and removal of some of the prom- inent workers in the tribe, caused its ranks to grow so thin that at last it resolved to surrender its charter, which it did in 1888.
The Patrons of Husbandry was the next order to establish a branch in Sherman, which was done in February, 1877. This branch was known as Sherman Grange No. 632, and also had a large membership and regular attendance for a number of years. but at last, like its predecessor, the Red Men. it "fokled its tents" and disappeared.
Next came the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, under the title of Sherman Lodge No. 336, which was instituted in March, 1880. This lodge is still in a flour- ishing condition, and now has its auxiliary Rebekahs. The lodge owns its own hall and has a good membership.
T. A. Ferguson Post No. 226, Grand Army of the Republic, was the next to per- fect an organization in Sherman, the date being March 4. 188.4. The name has since been changed to "Abram Finch Post." in honor of an old soldier who located a home- stead on section 12, in Springville township. and who died about the time the county was organized. As none but ex-soldiers of the war of the Rebellion can belong to this order its ranks are yearly growing thinner and
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it too will ere long be but a memory. It has been the inspiration of many observations of the beautiful Memorial day exercises of the order and for this alone its passing will sadden the hearts of the many who have wit- nessed these heart-felt tributes to fallen comrades in arms.
The work of instituting a lodge of Free and Accepted Masons was undertaken in 1884 and a dispensation secured as the pre- liminary step to organization, which in due course of time was effected. It has had a steady and continuous growth, notwith- standing the fact that the charter mem- bership was that much tabooed number thir- teen, and now has one hundred members in good standing. It owns the entire second story of the E. Gilbert store building, which is divided into lodge rooms, ante rooms, kitchen and dining room, all tastily fitted and well furnished. An auxiliary Eastern Star was organized several years ago and now has a membership of eiglity-one.
As the years passed organizations mul- tiplied and there is now Maqueston Tent No. 654. Knights of the Maccabees; Our Choice Hive, Ladies of the Maccabees : Sherman Lodge No. 212. Knights of Pythias; Sherman Camp No. 5514. Mod- ern Woodmen of America. For a number of years the Good Templars kept up an or- ganization, and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union have for many years had an organization in the village and also a county organization.
An old saying that "blessed be nothing" can well be quoted by Sherman just now. as it has no lawyer. While the county seat re- mained there it always had one, generally two and sometimes three lawyers, and they all lived, therefore the people had to sup-
port them. Since the county seat was re- moved, the village has been without a law- yer most of the time, and there was very lit- tle litigation. for it took money and time to go to Cadillac to see a lawyer, and the time nearly always had such a cooling effect on the angry, would-be litigant, that his bet- ter manhood asserted itself, and thus many a law-suit was avoided and much useless ex- pense prevented.
Of doctors there have nearly always been two for the past twenty years, and sometimes three or four ; at the present time there are two: Dr. E. A. McManus and Dr. D. L. Rose. In other professional call- ings may be found S. Gasser, real estate dealer ; R. D. Frederick, insurance agent : J. H. Glover, photographer, and A. S. Moreland & Son, bankers.
VILLAGE OF CLAM LIKE.
The second village to be started in the county was the village of Clam Lake. As previously stated. it was . situated at the eastern end of Little Clam lake, from which it derived its name. The name of this lake has but recently been changed to Lake Cad- illac by act of the legislature. The village of Clam Lake was platted in July, 1872, since which time there have been many addi- tions and subdivisions platted until now the city of Cadillac, a name adopted when the village became a city, covers nearly ten times as much territory as did the orignal plat. In fact if the lands attached to the city in 1895 to enable it to build and control a road way or boulevard around the lake were tak- en into consideration, the area of the pres- ent city would be more than twenty-five times as great as was the original plat.
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In 1879 an addition was platted, called sub-division of outlots 5 and 6. Cobb and Mitchell platted their first addition in .Att- gust, 1880, and their second and third addi- tions in September, 1881. May and Mitch- ell's addition was platted in November, 1881, and in May Cummer and Haynes platted an addition. The next month three other plats were recorded, viz: A plat of the northwest quarter of section 3. township 21 north, range 9 west ; a plat of the south- west quarter of section 3. township 21 north, range 9 west, and a plat of the north- east quarter of section 33, township 22 north, range 9 west.
J. Cummer & Sons platted their first ad- dition in October, 1882, and in November, 1883. an addition was platted by Cummer and Gerish. Cobb and Mitchell platted a fourth addition in April. 1884, and a year from that time a plat of the subdivision of block F in the original plat was recorded. This block F had been left entire when the village was first platted and it was to be donated to the county, provided the county seat was removed to Cadillac. This was the same block so often mentioned in resolu- tions presented to the board of supervisors. as will be seen by consulting the proceedings of that body.
In 1886 another plat, subdividing block 105 of the Cummer and Haynes addition. was filed. In July, 1888, C. K. Russell filed the plat of the subdivision of outlot 14. and a couple of months later J. Cummer & Sons filed a plat of their second addition. In 1801 Johnson's addition was platted and in 1892 the plat of the southeast quarter of section 33. township 22 north, range 9 west. was filed. In June, 1893. the Improvement addition was platted and in August of the
same year S. W. Kramer's addition was re- corded. In November, 1893, another plat was recorded called Crawford's subdivision of block 7 of May and Mitchell's addition.
Jannary 30, 1894. J. Cummer & Sons platted their third addition. In March, 1809. Pollard's subdivision of parts of blocks E and F of Cobb and Mitchell's sec- ond addition was platted and in the same month there was a plat filed called "AAssess- ment Plat Number One." covering a large number of lots that had been sold by metes and hounds, not being in any of the numer- ous plats theretofore made. The plat of Diggins' first addition was filed in April. 1902, and in December of that year Chit- tenden and Wheeler platted an addition con- taining about one hundred and twenty lots, making twenty-six additions and subdivis- ions since the original plat was made, be- sides the addition secured through the leg- islature extending the city limits around the lake.
The first effort to clear away any portion of the forests which covered the ground where the city of Cadillac now stands was for the building of camps used in the con- struction of the extension of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad. Col. J. C. Hudnutt was the railroad company's civil engineer at that time and when he was or- dered to swing around the eastern end of Little Clam lake, instead of passing between the two lakes, as was first intended, he con- cluded that it meant the building of a town at that point. With this idea in view, he decided to buy any or all land bordering on the eastern shore of the lake and for this purpose he started for the government land office, then located at Traverse City, in the fall of 1871, to ascertain what there was
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in that locality that could be purchased. The only road to Traverse City then was the State road, running through Sherman, and as the stage was the only conveyance it took two days to make the trip from the northern end of the railroad, which was then just this side of Big Rapids, to the land office.
The Colonel stopped over night in Sher- man and in conversation with some of the business men of that village casually re- marked that he was on his way to the United States land office "to buy a city." I. Il. Mequeston, one of Sher- man's first merchants, boarded at the hotel and, overhearing this remark of the Colonel's, adroitly drew out the facts that the "city" was yet in embryo, but that it was to be built on the eastern shore of the Little Clam lake, so while the Colonel was enjoying a much needed night's rest, Mr. Maqueston started for Traverse City, where he arrived in the middle of the night. How he found the residence of the register of the land office or how much he gave him to leave his warm bed and go to the land office at that unseemly hour of the night will probably always remain a mystery, as both have been dead for many years, but certain it is that when Col. Hndnutt reached the land office the next day he discovered the fact that government lots 1, 3 and 5 of sec- tion 4, in Clam Lake township, or rather what is now Clam Lake township, had been sold to L. J. Clark and I. H. Maqueston. of Sherman. This was the land upon which the original village of Clam Lake was plat- ted. The village has now become the city of Cadillac, so that Mr. Hudnutt's facetious remark about buying a city, proved the truth of the old adage that "many a truth is spok- en in jest." Messrs. Clark and Maqueston
sold their "city" purchase to George .I. Mitchell, who soon after platted it into the village of Clam Lake.
Even before the arrival of the first regu- lar train, which was on February 20, 1872. and months before the village was platted. there began to be evidences of a village. Rude log houses and hotels were constructed, the first hotel being the Clam Lake House, sit- uated near where the Ann Arbor depot now stands. Another large log hotel, known as the Mason House, was commenced late in the fall of 1871 and was nightly filled with travelers before the cracks between the logs had been sufficiently "chinked" and "mossed" to keep out the snow. Beds and even cots for the nightly crowds were out of the question, and it was sometimes hard to secure room to lie on the floor and sleep.
It is said that with the crowds came the saloon and that the first establishment of the kind consisted of a barrel of whisky and the top of a pine stump sawed off square on which to set the glasses and bottles, but when it is remembered that there was then a prohibitory liquor law upon our statute books, it is quite doubtful that the law was so openly defied as this would indicate.
The writer drove over from Sherman to make the first arrests in the new burg for violation of the liquor law. This was early in 1872, when the Mason House was yet unfinished, and he had to sleep on its bare floor. In the morning he looked up the two places complained of, one of which stood on the ground now included in the city park and the other near the present site of the Michigan Iron Works. He found 110 evidences of liquor selling, yet the parties were convicted of the offense, the proof showing that the work of selling had been
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slyly instead of openly done, which leads him to believe that the "pine stump and bar- rel of whisky" story is considerably over- drawn.
The first saw-mill was built by a Mr. Yale in the fall of 1871, the site being near- ly the same as that now occupied by what is designated as Cobbs and Mitchell's little mill.
A postoffice was established in January, 1872. with John S. McClain as postmaster. His successors have been as follows, in the order named: H. F. May, Byron Ballon, J. A. Whitmore, J. Nixon, James Crowley. Byron Ballon, L. J. Law and S. J. Wall, who is now serving his second term. The office passed into the presidential class in 1878 and become a second-class office in 1881. Free delivery service was inaugu- rated in 1901. The present force in the em- ploy of the government in the office is Post- master Wall, Assistant A. V. Harmer, who fills the position of money order and regis- try clerk, Mailing Clerk Judd Miller, a de- livery and stamp clerk, an assorting and sep- arating clerk and three carriers, besides one substitute carrier whose work depends upon the sickness or disability of the regular car- riers. The salaries paid are as follows : Postmaster, $2.400, assistant postmaster, $1,000, mailing clerk. $900, delivery and separating clerks. $700 each, carriers, $850 each, making a total of $8,250, besides the extra compensation to the substitute car- rier. The total receipts of the office for the (quarter ending March 31, 1903. was $3 .- 890.56. Under directions from the post- office department, all mails received and dis- patched for seventy days ending May 12. 1903. were weighed. the total weight for that time being 67,947 pounds, which did
not include the mail deposited for local de- livery or that sent out on the daily and tri- weekly star routes which run out from the city in three different directions.
In giving the history of the early days of Clam Lake (now Cadillac) no more re- liable source of information can be found than the files of the local newspaper, there- fore we shall quote liberally from the first issue of the Clam Lake News, the first news- paper to be published in the village. The paper was founded in 1872 by C. L. Frazier. Later S. S. Fallass became interested finan- cially in the paper and was an editorial con- tributor. It was afterwards sold to J. A. & O. Whittemore. In 1878 it was under the management of Rice & Chapin and in 1881 Mr. Terwilliger took Mr. Rice's place as one of the managers and in the latter part of that year it was entirely under the man- agement of Mr. Chapin. In 1882 J. W. Giddings succeeded to the management of the paper. Mr. Giddings having been elected to the state senate, the ownership of the News went into the hands of the News Publishing Company. C. T. Chapin, after severing his connection with the News, formed a partnership with Mr. Sill and started the Saturday Express, the first mim- ber appearing in December, 1886. In the following May this paper consolidated with the News and the paper was thenceforth known as the News and Express. The new paper remained in the hands of the News Publishing Company until December 1, 1897, when the present publisher, Hon. Perry F. Powers, became the owner. It was started as a six-column folio, later en- larged to a six-column quarto and is now a seven-column quarto and has a daily edi- tion in its second volume. It has always
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been a strong advocate of Republican prin- ciples and a supporter of Republican candi- dates, except on one occasion when it sup- ported the nominee of the Demo-Greenback party for member of the house of represent- atives in the state legislature, but as this was solely on account of county-seat matters, the candidate being a resident of the village of Clam Lake, it had some excuse for the position it took in that campaign.
It may be well in this connection to briefly note the other newspaper ventures that have been started in the village and city since the starting of the News in 1872. The first to make its appearance was the Daily Enterprise. launched in the summer of 1880. It had not much excuse for an exist- ence at that time except the one object of creating sentiment favorable to the removal of the county seat to Cadillac, but it soon found that a newspaper of one idea was a difficult thing to interest the people with and consequently it was not very long lived.
The next paper to make its appearance was the Cadillac Weekly Times, which made its first bow to the people of Wexford county in June, 1882, under the manage- ment of .\. Rindge. At first it was a seven- column folio, but in a few months was en- larged to a seven-column quarto. The paper was soon afterwards merged into the Mich- igan State Democrat, a paper that had been started in Detroit by M. T. Woodruff, who transferred it to Cadillac. In December, 1891, it was purchased by its present owner, George S. Stanley. As its name indicates, it has always been Democratic in politics and has labored zealously for its party. Its owner has been nominated for various conn- ty and city offices and was once elected may- or of the city. He is thoroughly alive to the
interests of his home city and is an earnest and active worker in everything that tends to its growth and prosperity.
The Wexford County Citizen made its appearance in August, 1884. It was edited and published by H. M. Enos and printed in the job office of C. T. Chapin. It only lived about nine months and was not much missed when it was discontinued.
The Arbitaren made its advent in March, 1890. It was a weekly paper pub- lished exclusively for Scandinavian readers by C. E. Thornmark and printed in the State Democrat office. After about four years of existence in Cadillac it was re- moved to Grand Rapids, but still supplied its Cadillac readers for some time after its removal.
The Cadillac Globe was launched in the newspaper field in September, 1898, by J. M. Terwilliger. Two years later Mr. Ter- williger took in a partner, R. W. Craw- ford, and the paper is still managed by them. In the spring of 1901 they started a daily edition, which they continued to publish for about a year, finally selling their interests in the daily to the publishers of the Daily News. The Globe has never taken a very active part in politics, being rather neutral in that line, though leaning to the Demo- cratic side of the fence. It has a good cir- culation and a good advertising patronage and is no small factor in the upbuilding and onward progress of the city.
We will go back now to the first issue of the Clam Lake News, which was on the first day of June, 1872. The village was very new then, which may have had some- thing to do wit's the naming of the paper the News, for there was not a superabundance of matter out of which to put up a good
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newsy paper; nevertheless its first issue was a notable one, being the initiatory step in a career that has brought success to its pub- lisher and a worthy record for itself. In that first issue its editor gave an extended review and summary of the village, which we quote at length :
"But little more than seven months since. the place where the village of Clam Lake now stands was but a dense forest and the voice of a human being was seldom heard. The site being on the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad, upon the banks of one of the most beautiful lakes in Michigan and a proper distance from large places on either side, the spot was selected as a desir- able place for a town. George A. Mitchell, the original prime mover and proprietor of the village plat, commenced operating here sometime in October last. Since that time he has been an earnest and faithful worker in the interests of the place. The liberal spirit which he has manifested in all his dealings has won for him many warm friends. The village plat covers about eigh- ty acres of ground. It borders on the west and commands a beautiful view of Little Clam lake. The railroad divides the town into two nearly equal parts and the depot is situated in the most central portion.
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