USA > Michigan > Wexford County > History of Wexford County, Michigan, embracing a concise review of its early settlement, industrial development and present conditions > Part 37
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71
while running his mill, which is only a part of the year, on account of the difficulty in getting logs in the summer time. The Man- ton flour-mill, owned by Phelps & Baker, has a capacity of ninety barrels of flour and twenty tons of feed per day. They employ five to seven men. The Manton Produce Company have a grain elevator and produce warehouse and also a mill for grinding feed. They have storage room for ten thousand bushels of grain and produce, and employ from five to ten men. The Rotary Seed Planter Manufacturing Company is of re- cent origin, and is composed of Orson D. Park and H. G. Hutzler. They are the patentees and are just commencing to manu- facture the machines for the market. They are very sanguine that they have an article that will find a ready sale when once put on the market, and its merits thoroughly tested.
The Manton Tribune was established in October. 1879, but for some time the press work was done in Cadillac. The first edi- tor and publisher was Marshal MeLure, but in a short time it passed into the hands of A. J. Teed, of Cadillac. Mr. Teed kept it but a short time, selling out to C. E. Cooper, formerly owner of the Wexford County Pioneer, and a practical newspaper man, who soon made the paper worthy of a liberal support, which the people of Manton have ever since given it. In September, 1883, it was purchased by H. F. Campbell. Mr. Campbeil was postmaster at that time and upon the expiration of his term of of- fiee sold the paper back to Mr. Cooper, who was also Mr. Campbell's successor as post- master. Mr. Cooper continued in control of the paper until August, 1893, when he sold it to H. G. Hutzler, its present owner. It was started as a five-column folio, but has
296
IVEXFORD COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
been enlarged two or three times, being now a six-column quarto. It has always been Republican in politics except the last few years it was in Mr. Cooper's hands, when it was Demo-Greenback. Its present owner is deputy state oil inspector for the district to which Wexford county belongs.
Early in 1873 a postoffice was estab- lished at Manton with O. P. Carver as the first postmaster. His successors have been II. M. Billings, 11. Brandenburg, M. P. Gilbert, H. F. Campbell, C. E. Cooper, Frank . Weaver, C. E. Cooper and V. F. Huntley, the present incumbent, who is now serving his second term. The office passed into the presidential class in February, 1899. The salary of the postmaster is fourteen hundred dollars per year, with six hundred and twenty-six dollars for his assistant and three hundred dollars for one clerk.
There is a rural delivery route starting from the office and covering twenty-three miles in its rounds. The carrier is H. C. Forworthy. This is the only rural delivery route in the county.
There has been considerable agitation over the subject of building a beet-sugar factory at Manton, but nothing definite has yet been done. Several experiments in the matter of raising sugar beets have been tried with very satisfactory results, and a beet- sugar factory for the village is more than a probability.
HARRIETTA VILLAGE.
The village of Ilarrietta was platted in April, 1889, by the Ashleys, who were build- ing the Toledo & Ann Arbor Railroad. Gaston and Campbell platted an addition in April, 1890, and a year later the Ogden ad-
dition was platted. The first "boom" the town had was upon the arrival of Gaston and Campbell, who built a saw-mill and manu- facturing establishment for the purpose of making novelties from the hardwood with which the village was surrounded. They bought expensive machinery and quite large tracts of land and started out with every prospect of success but the hard times over- took them and failure followed. Had they waited four years longer their enterprise would doubtless have proved a success and the village of Harrietta would no doubt have been double its present size.
Harrietta, like all villages of any pre- tensions, had to have a newspaper, and one was started in IS91. Its life was of but short duration, however, and in less than two years the village was without an "organ." Another attempt in this line was made in 1893, but, like the first effort, this also proved a failure. Sometime in 1894, Sam O. Coo- ley started a newspaper in the village, but he soon left the place for a more sympathetic community. Soon after this John C. Stone started the Harrietta News, which he con- tinued to publish until 1897, when he sud- denly disappeared and of course the paper was discontinued.
For something like a year the Harrietta Messenger has now been running under the management of Tom R. Campbell. There is every indication that this last newspaper effort will be more successful than its pred- ecessors, and that the citizens of Harrietta and the surrounding towns will have a home paper that they can feel a pride in. The local newspaper is something that a thriving village can ill afford to be without, and, though the calling is not a very lucrative one in small villages, there are always those
297
Il'EXFORD COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
ready and willing to undertake the task of running a country paper, and, when properly managed, nothing does more for the pros- perity of a village than the village newspaper.
Soon after the coming of the railroad a set of charcoal kilns were built and a chemi- cal plant for the manufacture of wood alco- lol erected, and for several years these were kept in active operation, day and night. These were finally removed to Yuma, six miles further north, and this, too, was a se- vere blow to the village. A shingle mill was built and kept in operation for several years until the timber for that product had be- come exhausted, when it moved away.
With all of these discouragements, the village has still held its own and now it is promised a brighter future.
There is a fine trout stream, the Slagle creek, running through the edge of the vil- lage, and two years ago the state fish com -- missioners decided that it was just the place for a fish hatchery. The necessary land was accordingly purchased and last year the work of clearing out the stream, building the nec- essary dams and chutes, and erecting build- ings was begun. The work is now well un- der way, the state having expended some five thousand dollars last year, with a proba- ble expenditure of three or four thousand dollars the present year. It is proposed to make this one of the best fish hatcheries in the state, which will call for a yearly out- lay of several thousand dollars, all of which tends to brighten the future prospects of the village.
Soon after the starting of the village the Springdale postoffice, which for years had been kept at a private house about a mile north of the site of the village, to accommo- date the farming community in that vicin-
ity, was moved to the new village and its name changed to that of the village, Harri- etta.
The village was incorporated in 1891, under the name of Gaston. This so vexed the railroad officials that they threatened to take up the station unless the name was changed back to Harrietta. Accordingly in 1893 an act was passed by the legislature changing the name to Harrietta. At the first election after the passage of the act incor- porating the village, the following officers were elected, viz: President, John A. Bar- ry; clerk, Thomas H. Jackson; treasurer, J. Stewart Hood; assessor, Joseph Z. Stan- ley. The present village officers are Will C. Barry, president; Charles S. Ogden, clerk ; H. J. VanAuken, treasurer ; John A. Barry, assessor.
Among the industries of the village are the following: The Harrietta Stove Com- pany, established in 1891 by Ben F. Craig as manager, who has since become sole own- er of the plant. He pays out a large sum each year for stock and in wages, thus con- tributing in no small degree to the prosperity of the village.
The Fellers Brothers have a saw-mill and also a stave-mill. They are now putting a planer and matcher in the mill, something the village has long felt the need of. This concern commenced operations in 1897 and have run almost constantly since that time. Their pay-roll each month contributes a large amount to the business volume of the village.
The Harrietta Brick Company was or- ganized in 1893 by Frank D. Gaston and S. P. Millard. Mr. Gaston soon after retired and Robert Wilson, of Cadillac, became a member of the company. After a few years
298
WEXFORD COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
Mr. Millard sold out to William Heath, so that the firm now is Wilson & Heath.
The village has a lodge of Independent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 186, a Rebekah Lodge, No. 253. a tent of the Knights of the Modern Maccabees, and a hive of the Ladies of the Modern Maccabees. The population of the village is nearly six hundred.
The village of Boon was platted in Ap- ril, 1880, and in August, 1893. a plat of Bennett's addition was filed. The village was never incorporated. It has two saw- mills and a bowl factory, and the usual places of business found in all small villages.
In February, 1800, the village of Mes- ick was platted. This village now has one saw-mill and a handle factory. For sev- eral years the Williams Brothers operated a branch of their last-block business at this point, but last year the equipment of their plant in Mesick was moved to their new scene of operations in Cadillac. The village now has a weekly newspaper, the Sun, which is in the fourth year of its existence. One or two former efforts in the newspaper busi- ness had failed, but the Sun seems to be still shining as invigoratingly as ever. This place, since its birth, has been the railroad station at which has been done all the rail- road business for the village of Sherman. situated two and a half miles northeasterly from the station, except bulk freight, which has been loaded and unloaded at the Clog- gett spur, a mile and a half north of the sta- tion. A little over a year ago the inhabi- tants of the village petitioned the board of supervisors to be incorporated, and the board granted the petition. The first village elec- tion was held on the 5th day of March, 1902, at which the following officers were elected, viz: President, R. M. Harry; clerk, F. E.
Rice; treasurer, W. W. Galloway; assessor, B. C. Halstead. The same officers were re-elected at last spring's election, except that J. M. Donnelly was elected treasurer in place of W. W. Galloway.
The village has a nice, large school build- ing, in which two teachers are employed for nine months of the year. The Seventh-Day Advent society have a good church build- ing in which regular services are held. There is also a tent of the Knights of the Modern Maccabees, a hive of the Ladies of the Mod- ern Maccabees and a camp of the Modern Woodmen of America, all in a flourishing condition.
In June, 1893, the village of Yuma was platted. This village is about half way be- tween Harrietta and Mesick. The village was the outgrowth of the removal of the Jenney coal kilns and chemical plant from Harrietta to this point. The proprietors of these plants had made a purchase of a large tract of land, heavily timbered with hard- wood near the railroad at this point, and de- cided that is would be cheaper to move the plant to the timber than the timber to the plant. For a few years succeeding the start- ing of the village a saw-mill was in opera- tion, but that ceased to do business some seven or eight years ago, since which time the plants above mentioned have constituted the only manufacturing business in the place. The lumber camps in the vicinity and the farming interests have afforded a fairly good trade to the stores of the place, and, being surrounded by a good farming country, it will always be a market and shipping point for farm products, even after the charcoal and chemical business, which brought it into existence, ceases to exist.
The village of Wexford never had a vil-
299
WEXFORD COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
lage plat. From time to time building lots were sold by metes and bounds, and in this way it has slowly but surely grown in busi- ness importance until it has become an in- despensable trading point for the surround- ing community. It has never had any manu- facturing industry except a small saw-mill located about half a mile south of the center of the village. A part of the village is in Grand Traverse county, the main street east and west through the village being the county line. In 1878 the Methodist Episcopal so- ciety built a church building in which regu- lar services have been heldl most of the time since.
I. Foust was the first merchant in the place, having commenced the grocery busi- ness, in a small way, back in the 'seventies. He kept adding to his stock little by little until finally he carried quite a full stock of- general merchandise with his groceries. He held the postoffice for about twelve years. lle was quite a musician and organized a
martial band and for many years "Foust's Band" could be seen at all the gatherings where outdoor music was needed. He died about fifteen years ago and his son "Collie" succeeded to the business. The place has several secret societies, as follows: Fort- ney Tent No. 565, Knights of the Modern Maccabees ; Murrea Hive No. 263, Ladies of the Modern Maccabees; Wexford Camp No. 8647, Modern Woodmen of America, and A. P. Earl Post, Grand Army of the Republic.
There is a small cluster of buildings sev- en miles south of Cadillac and it was given the name of Hobart many years ago, and is still called the village of Hobart. For a good many years there was a custom grist- mill in the village, but last year it ceased to do business and was moved out of the county. There is at present no manufacturing indus- try there and the only places of business are the postoffice and a country store.
CHAPTER XI.
OUR HONORED DEAD PIONEERS.
B. W. Hall, as heretofore noted, was the first settler in Wexford county. He was born in Steuben county, New York. His father removed to Cattaraugus county, New York, in 1856, where he died soon after locating in his new home, leaving a widow, two sons and a daughter, the children all under eighteen years of age. Benjamin, the
subject of this sketch, was of a roving dis- position and soon left home to seek his for- tune in the west. He settled first in south- ern Michigan, where he lived until after the breaking out of the war of the Rebel -. lion, and after the passage of the pre-emption law he came to the wildls of Wexford coun- ty, arriving in the fall of 1863. It was
18
300
WEXFORD COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
then out of the question to get lumber with which to build a house, and it was equally difficult to build a log house, as there were not enough men within twelve miles of his homestead to roll the logs into a house, so he built a shanty with elm bark, where he and his wife lived for nearly two years. His wife then ran away with a Mr. Anise, and Mr. Hall rented his farm and went east to visit relatives, where he remained for nearly two years. Soon after his return he mar- ried again, but this union was not pleasant and after a few years a separation was se- cured through divorce proceedings. A few years later a third matrimonial venture was made, which proved more lasting than either of the others, the death of Mr. Hall in 1894 alone causing the separation. Mr. Hall, like many a lad of that period had meager opportunities for gaining an education, yet in his later years he was honored with near- ly all the offices in the gift of his townsmen at different times. He was industrious and frugal, and left his family a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, eighty of which were under cultivation.
Dr. John Perry was another early pi- oneer in Wexford county, arriving almost simultaneously with Mr. Hall. He, like Mr. Hall, was a native of New York state, and migrated to southern Michigan when the tide of emigration set in to the new states and territories of the west, a term given all the country west of the great lakes. He lived a year or two in Grand Traverse county before coming to Wexford county. Ile lo- cated a homestead in Antioch township, on section 6, a part of which is now included in the village of Sherman. He died in 1875 at the age of eighty-two years.
Robert Myhill was a son-in-law of Dr.
Perry, and came to the county soon after the arrival of Mr. Hall and Mr. Perry. He set- tled on section 24 in Wexford township, where he remained until his accidental death in the spring of 1868. He had donated a site for a school house in the northeast cor- ner of his farm and the neighbors had set a day for cutting away the timber, prepara- tory to erecting a school-house. At this "bee" Mr. Myhill was struck by the limb of a falling tree, crushing his skull, causing death, though he lived for over twelve hours after the injury.
William Masters was another early set- tler in the county, arriving in the autumn of 1863. He came from Steuben county. New York, and settled on section 12, in what is now Wexford township. He was noted for his hospitality, and many an early settler found food and shelter beneath his roof, "without money and without price." His home was headquarters for mail to and from Traverse City, and when the postoffice department was prevailed upon to establish the first postoffice in the county he was ap- pointed the first postmaster. He served one term as county treasurer, and filled various township offices in his township. Largely with his own hands he felled and cleared the heavy timber from over a hundred acres of his homestead. For a number of years he kept a small grocery, which was of the greatest value to those of the settlers who were without teams, as most of them were, thus enabling them to get the necessaries of life near enough so that they could pack them to their homes. He died in 1887, at the ripe age of eighty-three years, and was sincerely mourned by all the early settlers in the northwest part of the county.
William E. Dean was one of the early
301
IVEXFORD COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
pioneers in the county, coming from Chan- tauqua county, New York. He located à homestead on section 2, in the present town- ship of Springville, in 1865. He was the second supervisor from that township, which then consisted of six surveyed townships, Antioch, Boon, Henderson, Slagle and South Branch having been organized out of the territory originally comprising the township of Springville. Mr. Dean served as supervisor many years in succession, and undoubtedly held that office more terms than any other person has held a similar of- fice in the county. He was prominent in the order of Patrons of Husbandry, when that order was in its palmy days in the country. He was twice nominated for the office of county treasurer by the Democratic party, but was both times defeated. His death oc- curred at his home on the old homestead in June, 1903.
Harmony J. Carpenter came to the county in 1865, and settled on section 6, in what is now Antioch township. He also came from Chautauqua county, New York, where he had lived for many years. He was in feeble health and well on in years when he came to the county, so that clear- ing away the forests to make a farm was slow work for him, but by perseverance lie at length succeeded in making a good sized clearing on his homestead. He was one of the early members of the Congregational church at Sherman, and served the church many years as deacon and trustee. He died in 1889 and his wife, who married several years after his death, died in 1898.
Andrew Anderson came to Wexford county from Canada in 1886, settling 01 section 10, in what is now Hanover town- ship. He was the first shoemaker to arrive
in the county, and the work he did in that line helped him greatly in clearing up his farm. After the village of Sherman got well started he removed to that place and worked at his trade, keping a few goods in his line on sale, his wife at the same time running a little millinery store. Later he purchased an interest in a saw-mill at Sher- man, which however burned down in a short time after his purchase. He then purchased an interest in what was known as the Wheel- er mill in Hanover township, which he held for a few years. He also bought forty acres of railroad land adjoining the mill property for a home, the burning of the saw-mill having caused him to lose his old home, obliging him to start anew. Mr. Anderson was of Scotch descent and when the First Congregational church of Sherman was or- ganized he and his wife were charter mem- bers. He represented his township on the board of supervisors several years and held various other township offices at different times. He died in 1895, his widow sur- viving him only about a year and a half.
S. C. Worth came to the county in 1866, taking up a homestead on section 20, in the present township of Hanover. He was a candidate for judge of probate at the first election for county officers in the county, but from the fact that some of the ballots were written (there was no printing press in the county in those days) with the full name and some with the initials only, he was defeated. He was afterwards appointed to the office of superintendent of the poor, serv- ing several years. He also served a number of years as supervisor and several terms as town treasurer and justice of the peace. He was among the early California gold seekers, and made the trip overland before the trans-
-
302
WEXFORD COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
continental railroads were thought of. Some seven or eight years ago he moved to En- inet county, this state, where he died in 1901.
Charles Dalchow was a native of Ber- lin, Prussia, where he was born in 1825. He emigrated to America in 1857 in conse- quence of one of those political upheavals that were of such frequent occurrence, half a century ago, in some of those petty coun- tries that now constitute the German en- pire. He first settled in St. Joseph county, this state, coming to this county in 1871. He was a farmer by occupation, though fre- quently elected to different offices. His (leath occurred in 1896 at the age of seventy- one years.
II. D. Griswold was the first practic- ing physician in the county. He was born in Jackson county, Michigan, in 1840. He commenced the practice of medicine in his native county soon after graduating from the State University at Ann Arbor in 1865. For several years he was connected with the newspaper business, having been a reporter for several different papers, and in widely separated fields, working in Detroit, St. Louis and Chicago. He came to Wexford county in 1872, and for many years was the only physician in the northwestern part of the county. He was an uncompromising Democrat and was always one of the coun- cilors of his party, and for many years chair- man of the party's county committee. His death occurred in 1899.
Ezra Harger was born in Portage coun- ty, Ohio, in 1838. When the President mnade the call for seventy-five thousand three-months men to put down the rebellion, in April, 1861, he enlisted in the Fourteenth Ohio Infantry. Some three months after
the expiration of his three months service he enlisted in the Fifteenth United States Infantry. He was discharged in 1864, and soon after re-enlisted for three years and served until February, 1867. He came to Wexford county in 1872, locating a home- stead and also platting a piece of land which is now a part of the village of Manton. In 1874 he was elected county treasurer and hield that office for four terms during his life. He was chairman of the Soldiers' Relief Commission several years ; served as supervisor, clerk and treasurer of his town- ship at different times and was chairman of the Republican county committee several years. He was a member of the Free & Accepted Masons and at his death, which occurred in 1899, was buried under the aus- pices of that order.
Isaac N. Carpenter, Wexford county's first judge of probate, was born in Chautau- qua county, New York, in 1838. He came to Wexford county in the fall of 1865, lo- cating a homestead on section 26, in what is now Wexford township. Besides his serv- ice as probate judge, he was several years supervisor of his township, and also heki the office of justice of the peace many years, and township clerk several times. He was appointed postmaster at Sherman during President Cleveland's first administration, serving four years, after which he removed with his family to the new state of Washı- ington, where he died several years ago, the exact date of his death not being obtaina- ble
I. H. Maqueston, the county's first gen- eral merchant, was born in Rockland coun- ty. New York, in 1847. He came to the county in the spring of 1869, soon after the county was organized, remaining a citizen
-
303
WEXFORD COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
of the county until the time of his death, ex- cept one year which he spent in New York city. He was a successful merchant, a lover of fishing and hunting, and fully alive to everything that tended to benefit his home village. He rebuilt the Sherman grist-mill after its destruction by fire, and for several years did a successful milling business. His death occurred in March, 1886, from heart failure, he being in the prime of life and apparently in the best of health up to an hour or two before his death. He was somewhat of a land dealer, at one time owning a part of the site of the present city of Cadillac, and owned sev- eral hundred acres of land in the county at the time of his death.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.