USA > Michigan > St Clair County > History of the St. Clair County, Michigan, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources.. > Part 16
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 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126 | Part 127 | Part 128 | Part 129 | Part 130 | Part 131 | Part 132 | Part 133 | Part 134 | Part 135 | Part 136 | Part 137 | Part 138 | Part 139
Claude Allonez traveled by the Ottawa, Lake Nipissing and French River to the Georgian Bay, and is supposed to have traversed the eastern shore of Lake Huron, as far south as the first Mesnard mission on that shore, and perhaps to the point which Nicolet suggested for a trading post, if not to the very sito selected by Du Inth, twenty-one years later. In the Jes. nit Relations, 1667. the following references to this journey of Pere Allouez are made: " During the two years that Father Allouez has remained among the Indians, he has observed the cus- toms of all the nations that he has seen, and carefully studied the means that may facilitate their conversion. There is employment for a good number of missionaries, but there is noth- ing for them to subsist upon; one part of the year they live upon the bark of trees, another part on pulverized fish bones, and the balance of the time on fish, or on Indian corn, which sometimes is very scarce, and sometimes sufficiently abundant. The Father has learned by ex- perience, that, the fatigues being great, the labors continual and the nourishment light, a body
139
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
even of bronze could not withstand it. consequently it is necessary to have at the missions, men of courage and piety, to labor for the subsistence of the missionaries, either by cultivating the earth, by fishing, or in following the chase; who wonkl construet lodgings and erect some chapels to excite the veneration of these people, who have never seen anything finer than their birch-bark cabins. With theso views, the Father resolved to come to Quebec himself, and labor to carry these designs into execution. He arrived there on the 3d day of August, of the year 1667. and after remaining two days only. his diligence was so great that he was prepared to set out from Montreal with a score of canoes of savages, with whom he had come down, and who awaited him at that island with a great deal of impatience; his equipage was composed of sevon persons: Father Louis Nicholas, to labor conjointly with him, for the conversion of these people, and one of our brothers, with four men. to be employed at the stations in securing a subsistence for them. But it has pleased God that the success of this enterprise should not correspond with their good intentions. for when there was a question of entering the canoes, the savages became so ill-humored that the two fathers only, with one of their men. could ob- tain places in them."
The progress of exploration and discovery since 1667 is regarded in the historical sketeh of the State, given as an introduction to the history of this county.
Military posts were for years the only habitations to be found on the frontiers, save the wigwams of the savage, and the only inhabitants the soktiers and officers who fraternized with the foe, or aided in the efforts employed to accomplish their departure before the advance of a progressive civilization.
The civilizers came when the soldiers had left the frontier posts, when the block-house fastnesses of Gael or Briton were deserted. The people of the Eastern States turned their thoughts Westward, and ultimately came hither to plant the seeds of enterprise, which have since borne such great fruits.
After them came the refugees, the emigrants. These men and women sought an escape from the tyrannies of the Old World, to which they had been subjected for generations, rather than to encounter others of which they were ignorant. Their coming hither was delayed until a time when necessity or inclination, prompted by the glowing accounts of life in the New World, led them to embark their hopes on a tide which, as the sequel in many instances has proved, led on to glory and to fortune.
ORIGIN OF THE NAME ST CLAIR.
The origin of the name is a subject of interest, and there are several theories and state- ments in that behalf which will be referred to in the order of date, as they occurred. The first is a tradition to the effect that Catholic missionaries, at an early day, erected a cedar cross near the banks of the river, on which a erneifix was placed at the intersection of the cross-bar. or below it, protected by a pane of glass held in place by wax. The date of locating the cross, or its location. of course is mere conjecture. As is known, the Spaniards introduced the custom of setting up a eross upon their first discovery or landing, thus signifying to all comers that the land was claimed by Spain, which derived its title direct from the Holy Seo. This custom also obtained with the adventurous, self-denying missionaries of the Catholic Church, who by this means indicated that the land was dedicated to the service of Christ. It is not statod what name was bestowed upon the country bordering on the strait or river connecting the Huron with the St. Clair.
In 1679, the crew of the Gritlin landed on the shores of what is now known as Lake St. Clair. It is said that they named the lake in honor of the saint on whose fete day they first saw this body of water. Beyond the speculative assertions of Messrs. Hubbard and Judge Campbell on this subject, the writer cannot find an authority to warrant an acceptance of the statement. The name given to the river by the aborigines was Otsi-keta-sippi, and to the lake St. Clair, Otsi-keta.
Of the scenery, Hennepin remarks: "The country between the two lakes (Erie and Huron) is very well situated, and the soil very fertile. The banks of the strait (Detroit) are vast meadows, and the prospect is terminated with some hills covered with vineyards, trees bearing
140
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
good fruit, groves and forests so well disposed that one would think nature alone could not have made, without the help of art, so charming a prospect. That country is stocked with stags, wild goats and bears, which are good for food, and not fierce as in other countries; some think they are better than our pork. Turkey cocks and swans are there very common; and our men brought several other beasts and birds, whose names are unknown to us, but they are extraor- dinary relishing. The forests are chiefly made up of walnut, chestnut, plum and pear trees, loaded with their own fruit and vines. There is also abundance of timber for building, so that those who shall be so happy as to inhabit that noble country cannot but remember with grati- tude they who have led the way."
Bela Hubbard, in his address at Grosse Point, Angust 12, 1879, stated that 200 years had passed since the crew of the Griffin discovered the waters of the St. Clair, and by reason of the day being the feast day of Sainte Claire, the foundress of the order of Poor Claires, La Salle gave to the Lake the name of the Saint. On the occasion of this second centenary of the voyage of the Griffin. D. Bethune Duffield's Men of Auld Lang Syne was sung. The first verse seems to agree with the spirit of Mr. Hubbard's address:
" Bold were the men of Auld Lang Syne, Who first braved ocean's breeze, But bokler still the men whose will First sailed these silent seas! First broke the waters of Sainte Claire. And gave our lake its name ; llere's honor to their bright career, And an enduring fame."
Judge Campbell's poem, The Lady Claire, also corresponds historically with Mr. Hub- bard's prose.
The United States records are very definite in distinguishing between the names Sinclair and St. Clair. It appears that in the year 1765, Patrick Sinclair, an Irish officer, in the British service, while commandant of Fort Sinclair, purchased from the natives about 3,759 acres of land, located along the river named in commemoration of him-the River Sinclair. This officer was a distinct character from the officer of Irish or Seoteli descent, in the American service, after whom this lake was named St. Clair. Patrick Sinclair remained in possession of this traet of 3, 759 acres for a period of seventeen years, and derived large profits from the large pine timber on his lands. He disposed of his interest to a few Canadians, who sold to others. In 1765, there was one farm on the River St. Clair, which was then outside the American title. In 1782. there were nineteen farms along the river, adjacent to the Sinclair farm, and in 1801, six farms additional, outside the American title. In 1806, the Indian title to the country north of Lake St. Clair was not extinguished, although there were no less than 123 farms claimed by individuals who supposed themselves to have extinguished Indian titles.
The prompter's bell has rung down the curtain of one hundred and seventeen years since that day, in the life of this district, when the ax of the lumberman was heard in the forests of St. Clair. One hundred and ninety-six years have passed since the French troops and the Cana- dian hunters settled in the county. Over one hundred years ago, the first permanent settlements were made. Many of those who came into the wilderness then lived to see the forest and bluff blossom as a rose; to see the narrow Indian trails yield precedence to roads made by the hand of man, to lines of travel connecting with the East and West, through the darkness of the night; to see a city created over the ruins of the Indian wigwams, and the mighty river by numerous ferries, overcome and bridged from shore to shore. The places he knew in those days primeval have passed into obscurity, and their trials become as a tale that is told. The lives of men of to-day are as holidays compared with those of men who were identified with its development and cultivation. Life in those days must have been attended with unlimited hard- ships and privations, without the possession of a compensating number of blessings and privi- leges. The mighty achievements that have since been made are the result of small beginnings, supplemented by constant industry, daring enterprise and untiring energy. The waste places have been made to yield abundant harvests, villages and cities have arisen as if by magic, and civilization and the arts " soar Phoenix-like to Jove." The marts of trade and traffic, and the
141
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
workshops of the artisan are thronged; a common school system, increasing in value and inilo- ence with each succeeding year, has been established. and children of the rich and poor press forward, eager to participate in the benefits thereby afforded. Churches have been built, and a Christian ministry ordained for a cultivation of a religious life, the promotion of piety, the inculeation of morality and virtue. The press, the Archimedean lever which moves the world. sends forth floods of light, to illuminate the land and benefit the sons of men. Railroads are completed to facilitate the acquisition of independence; the electric telegraph and the telephone shorten the intervals of space at the behest of mankind. As these pages are read, bright memories will blossom out of the shadowy past, glorifying and beautifying its dimness. Many here- in mentioned have long since gone, like visions of the beautiful, to be seen no more. Many yet remain who have almost reached the Biblical limits of human life, and are waiting to say: " Now let thy servant depart in peace, " leaving as a heritage to their descendants in long years hence, the ripe and perfect glory of a domain of which they laid the foundations, while a large num. ber of those who participated in the foundation of the county, sleep after their labors, and their works do follow them, an equally large number remain who have survived the rush of matter and wreck of worlds, and contemplate the scene as a Rock of Ages eleft for the good and faithful servant.
142
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY.
St. Clair presents one vast, slightly undulating field of marsh prairie, openings and timber lands, covered with an infinite variety of grass, herbs, shrubs and plants. It is ornamented with the most luxurious and beautiful flowers, and watered with innumerable flowing streams, seeking the level of Huron and St. Clair Lakes, or uniting to make the Black River a common channel through which to pour their waters into the St. Clair. Perhaps the eye of man bas never rested on a spot of earth, which, for beauty, fertility, health and convenience, is better calculated to meet his wants and supply his necessities since shut out from the primeval garden. Moderate climate, exhilarating atmosphere and water of unequaled purity have given to this county the growth and prosperity which have, with few revulsions or even checks, marked its progress from its first settlement. Each successive year contributes to develop the advan- tages enjoyed in this county, and at no time have the inducements to the agriculturist, the mechanic and the capitalist been greater to establish themselves here than the present. This county does not present as great a variety of soil as many other sections of country, about all portions, even to the black mold prairie, partaking largely of argillaceous properties; yet all the varieties, of the grains, grasses, roots and fruits common to northern latitudes are produced in abundance when judiciously cultivated. No doubt there are districts which can produce greater crops of some of the grains, and with less labor; but here, pure air and wholesome water, so necessary to health of body and mind. give vigor, elasticity and hardihood to the entire constitu- tion, and a zest to industry; so that without over-tasking the natural powers with excessive toil, the amount of exercise necessary to the development and health of the physical and moral powers, wisely and justly directed. are sufficient to supply all the necessities of life, many of its luxuries, and make constant improvements in its conveniences. Since the period of the cholera, sickness has been almost a stranger here. Up to the present time, this place has never been visited with any general sickness. Disease and deathi have followed the transgres- sion of the natural and Divine laws here as in other places, but the inhabitants are abundantly warranted in their fixed belief that this is a very highly favored part of the world as regards health.
Vast fields of wheat, corn, oats and barley, bowed with the weight of substantial wealth, wave their rich treasures where so lately wild flowers bloomed alone. The howling of wolves and savage yells of the Indian no longer rend the air and chill the blood with sensations of horror. The wigwam and its inmates, with all the associations of rude and savage life, have disappeared, as the tide of civilization, like a prairie fire, has swept over the country. Wild plums, apples and cherries, like the wild men who plucked them, have given place to those which are more refined and highly cultivated. Many thousands of apple-trees of choice vari- eties have been planted. Encouraged by the luxurious growth and abundant productiveness of those which were early cultivated, agriculturists are now beautifying and enriching their farms with the best varieties of apple, pear, plum and cherry trees. While the citizens of this county have manifested so much zeal and energy in the cultivation of their farms, they have not neg- lected the moral and intellectual field, but have exhibited their high sense and active appre- ciation of the cultivation of the youthful mind in common and denominational schools, by the erection of schoolhouses in the various districts, most of which are convenient and elegant, while a few yet remain of the rude edifices, hastily thrown up to serve a temporary purpose. The schools of this county, in common with the best schools of the State, are of a superior kind. They are organized on the graded system, and have all the advantages accorded to schools in large cities. In these schools, the young are prepared for college, business life, or fitted for teaching. The rough cradle of learning, which many of the most distinguished men recall to memory, seldom reared its rugged exterior in this county. The citizens,
143
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
appreciating the importance of good schools, spare no pains or expense to furnish the best facilities and a superior corps of teachers, consequently they are most efficient and thorough in their workings. It has already been said that the present improvements in this county were but the developments of an insignificant fraction of its capacity. Every now facility for communication or transportation between this and the Atlantic States and the Northwest adds to the value of the products of this county. increases the agricultural interests and advances the market value of the soil. Progress is visible on every side: great schemes for improvement are being fostered: but that progress which will draw forth the full resources of St. Clair, belongs to another age, to the twentieth century.
St. Clair County occupies a position approximating the center of the continent of North America. The geographical center of the continent is not far from the Lake of the Woods, which is 560 miles in a straight line from the center of Michigan and 260 miles from its western extremity. The center of the State is marked by the position of Carp Lake. Leelenaw County, which is 670 miles, in a straight line, from New York. the nearest point on the Atlantic seaboard. The State is limited by natural boundaries on all sides, except the south. Politically, it has 708.5 miles conterminous with the Dominion of Canada; 55.5 conterminons with Minnesota; 571 miles conterminons with Wisconsin: 55 miles bordering on Illinois: 129.2 miles on Indiana, and 92.5 miles on Ohio, making a total length of boundary line amounting to 1.615 miles.
The land area of the State consists of two natural divisions, known as the Upper and Lower Peninsulas, to which are attached the contiguous islands. The Upper Peninsula is bounded by portions of the Lakes Superior. Michigan and Huron, the River St. Mary and the State of Wisconsin. The Lower Peninsula is embraced by Lakes Michigan, Huron. St. Clair and Eric, and the St Clair and Detroit Rivers, and is bounded on the south by the States of Ohio and Indiana. The main land of the State is embraced between the parrallels 41 .692 and 17 .475 north latitude, and the meridians of 82'. 107 and 90 .536 of longitude, west from Greenwich. The most northerly point is the north side of Keweenaw Point, five miles west of the light-house at Copper Harbor; and the most sontherly is the northwest corner of Ohio. The most easterly point is at Port Huron, near the ontlet of Lake Huron; and the most westerly is at the month of the Montreal Hiver. The most northern territory belonging to the State is Gull Islet. of the extremity of Isle Royale, which attains the latitude of 45 2.11.
The following table exhibits the difference of time between Detroit and some important points in the State :
TABLE OF LOCAL TIME.
LOCALITIES
THAN DE :-
THAN IN
TRO11 TIME
M. E.
M. I.P
Port Ihnron
(Faster) 2 30.57
Battle Creek
8 34.99
Pontiac
(Slower)
Kalamazoo .
10 13.13
Monroe.
1 07.97
Traverse City
10 18.00
Ypsilanti
2 18.89
Grand Rapids
10 20.39
Flint
2 34.35
Allegan ..
11 20.91
Ann Arbor Observatory
2 15.35
Grand Haven
12 47.90
East Saginaw
3 33.31
Niles. Trinity Church
12 52.93
Adrian .
3 48.62
Muskegon
12 53.91
Owosso.
5 03.91
Manistee
13 05.29
Hillsdale
5 05.55
Escanaba .
16 00.19
Jackson
5 22.54
Marquette. Light House
17 18.65
Lansing
5 53.30
Menominee ..
1× 12.16
Mackinaw
6 16.01
lloughton
21 01.18
Marshall
7 35.05
Ontonagon ..
25 01.42
Coldwater
7 56.64
Mouth Montreal River
29 59.15
TIME SLOWER
LAH ALITIES.
TIME
0 59.85
The county is bounded on the east by Lake Huron and St. Clair River : south by Lako St. Clair and Macomb County : west. by Lapeer and Macomb Counties, and north by Sanilac County.
144
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY. -
It is to be deeply regretted that the great wealth and beauty of innumerable Indian names was not more largely drawn upon in the titling of towns, villages and hamlets. It would have been a just and fitting, albeit a small recompense, to have perpetuated the memory of the original inhabitants.
The following table exhibits the latitudes and longitudes of the principal points of the State :
GEOGRAPHICAL POSITIONS.
STATIONS.
LATITUDE.
LONGITUDE.
Detroit. St. Paul's Church
49° 19' 45.85" 83 02' 22.73"
Detroit, Congregational Church
42
19 45.64
83 02 29.07
Detroit, intersection of Fort and Griswold streets
19 49.85
83 02 20.63
Fort Gratiot, Light House.
43 00 21.86
82
43.96
Point Aux Barques, Light House
44 01 23.35
82
47 09.87
Saginaw, Light House.
43 38 37.84
83
50 54.46
Tawas, Light House .
44
83
26 14.57
Mouth of Thunder Bay River
15
03 38.90
83
25 32.63
Detour, Light House. .
45 57 20.11
83
54 21.71
Fort Holmes, Mackinac Island
45 51 27.81
84
36 24.48
Wangoshance, Light House ...
45 47 13.38
85
04 56.83
Northeast corner Big Beaver Island
45 45 12.67
85
29 38.00
Sand Point, Escanaba
45 44 35.04
02 25.65
Menominee ..
45 05 19.31
Grand Haven, Court House
43
03 47.25
Grand Ilaven, Lake Survey Station
43
03 50.14
86
14 21.30
Marquette, Light House ..
-16
87
92 12.45
Vulcan, near Copper Harbor
47
26 44.25
83
43 43.05
New Buffalo, intersection of middle of Whittaker avenue and Mechanic street . .
47 47.
86
44 53.55
Niles, Steeple of Trinity Church.
49 46.10
86
15 36 60
Monroe, Light House.
53 26.77
83
19 22.29
Adrian
54 26.
83 59 27.
Hillsdale
55 19.
84
33 46.
Coldwater.
53 30.
85
01 32.
White Pigeon
41
44 59.
85
39 12.
Ypsilanti.
42
14 12.
83 37 06.
Jackson
42
14 46.
84 23 01.
Marshall
42
13 38.
84 50 09.
Kalamazoo
42
17 39.
88 35 58.
Allegan
42
85
52 37.
Lansing
42
84
30 49.
Pontiae.
83
17 21.
Owosso
43
84
18 21.
Grand Rapids
43
13 54.
86 15 51.
Flint ...
43
01 01.
83 40 58
Tuscola
43
19 31.
83 39 20.
East Saginaw
43
26 25.
83 55 43.
Manistee .
44
13
41.
86
18 42.
Traverse City, East End, Ilannah, Say & Co.'s Pier.
44
45 59.74
85 36 53.11
Ontonagon, Light House
16
52 18.35
18 29.46
Houghton
47
07
15.
33 27.12
The foregoing positions, as far as Vulcan, inclusive, are selected from the numerous deter- minations of the United States Lake Survey : Ann Arbor has been determined by the Director of the Observatory; New Buffalo and Niles are from Col. Graham's determinations ; Monroe, Traverse City, Ontonagon and Houghton, are from the Lake Survey Chart, and the co-ordinates of the remaining localities have been calculated from Farmer's large sectional map of the State.
LOST NAMES OF WESTERN STATES.
Thomas Jefferson's original draft of the ordinance for the government of the Territory ceded and to be ceded by individual States to the United States, prepared in 1784, contains the following. showing what the names of the lake States might have been: "The territory northward of the 45thº
37 44.
00 17.
57 59.
85 39 59.
Muskegon.
42
16 48.30
Ann Arbor, Observatory
41
41
41
41
41
31 49.
43 53.
32 55.
35 25.20
15 35.44
145
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
extending to the Lake of the Woods, shall be called Sylvania: that of the territory under the 15th and With", that which lies westward of Lake Michigan, shall be called Michigania, and that which is eastward thereof, within the Peninsula formed by Lakes Michigan. Huron, St. Clair and Erie, shall be called Chersonesus, and shall include any part of the Peninsula which may extend above the 45th ?. Of the territory under the 13d' and 1d . that to the westward.through which the Assinissippi or Rock River runs, shall be called Assinissippia, and that to the eastward. in which are the fountains of the Muskingum, the two Miamis, the Wabash. the Illinois. the Miamis of the lake and the Sandusky Rivers shall be called Metropotamia. Of the territory which lies under the Ulst ' and 10th the western, through which the Ilinois runs, shall be called Ilinoia; that next eastward Saraztoga, and that between this last and Pennsylvania, and extend- ing from the Ohio to Lake Erie, shall be called Washington. Of the territory under the 39th and BSth', with some additions under the 37th ; that westward at the confluences of the rivers shall be called Polypotamia; and eastward. up the Ohio, shall be called Palisippia."
Regarding the motto of Michigan, it has not been borrowed from the tomb of Christopher Wren as stated in former works, but rather from that of Giovanni. The most noted of the immediate snecessors of Giotto was this Maso di S. Giovanni, whose art principles wore founded on the ancient works of Ghiberti and Donatello. and his perspective on the plan of Brunelleschi, aided by the study of remains of ancient senlpture at Rome. Pietro Perugino and Raphael sindiod from his designs; Ghirlandaio. in whose school Michael Angelo Buonaroti studied, was one of his imitators. In a word. he must be considered the beginning of the greater art, and the introducer of fresco painting. His death occurred in the year 1113. about forty-five years affer the painting of the walls of the Carmelite Church at Rome. His epitaph is written there, " If any one seeks to know my tomb, or name. this church is my monument," etc. The idea. alnost the very words, were borrowed from the old church at Rome, and inscribed on the tomb of Sir Christopher Wren in St. Paul's at London, and in turn borrowed by Michigan. Si quaris peninsulam amanam circumspice.
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.