USA > Michigan > Washtenaw County > Past and present of Washtenaw County, Michigan > Part 87
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There are now three thousand one hundred and eighty members belonging to the company. insuring property to the amount of $5.129.640 01 a two-thirds valuation which is the limit of in- surance that this company will place upon prop- erty. In the seventeen years up to September I.
1903. 807 losses by fire and lightning, amount- ing to $155,993-39. had been paid. The smallest loss to be paid was seventy-five cents and the largest $3,605.74.
MASONIC.
The first Masonic lodge in Ann Arbor was or- ganized in 1826, and the organization was at- tended by General Cass, Judge Dexter and others. Shortly afterward the disappearance of Morgan from Batavia, New York, aroused a strong anti- Masonic feeling, especially strong in Washtenaw county, owing probably to the influence of Judge Dexter. The first paper started in Ann Arbor, the "Emigrant," was a strong anti-Masonic organ and the friends of Masonry soon deemed it best to surrender their charter to await the dying down of the public enmity against the order.
In the winter of 1845 Oriental lodge No. 15. was organized. This afterward also surrendered its charter, and its place was taken by Ann Arbor lodge. No. 85, which ran until 1871. Golden Rule lodge was chartered in 1864. its first master being Charles H. Richmond. Fraternity lodge No. 62. F. & A. M., was organized in March, 1869, its first master being Zina P. King.
Washtenaw chapter No. 6. R. A. M., was or- ganized October 15, 1849. with Ezra Platt as high priest. Ann Arbor commandery No. 13, Knights Templar, was organized April 3. 1865, with the following charter members: C. H. Richmond. George Taylor. J. M. Webster. James R. Web- ster. D. S. Twitchell, A. McElcheran, Louis C. Risdon, R. J. Barry and C. M. Hoge. C. H. Richmond was chosen the first eminent com- mander. At present there are two blue lodges, one chapter and one commandery in the city. Since 188- they have all occupied quarters in the third story of what has been known both as the Masonic block and the Ann Arbor Savings Bank block, on the corner of Main and Huron streets.
OTHER SECRET SOCIETIES.
Washtenaw lodge No. 9. I. O. O. F., was or- ganized May 27. 1845. with James E. Platt, James M. Welch, N. H. Eggleston, M. D. How- ard and William J. Wells, charter members. Ot-
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seningo lodge No. 295. I. O. O. F .. was organ- ized in 1876.
Athens lodge No. 49. A. O. U. W., was organ- ized in 1878, with C. M. Jones as worthy master. Ann Arbor lodge No. 27. A. O. U. W., was or- ganized about the same time and its business has been conducted in the German language.
Ann Arbor lodge No. 325. B. P. O. E., was organized December 4. 1895, with Charles E. Hiscock as the first exalted ruler.
Arbor tent No. 296, Knights of the Maccabees of Michigan, was organized in 1881, and has at- tained a membership of over five hundred. John- son tent No. 785. K. O. T. M., was organized in 1893. with E. F. Johnson as commander. Arbor hive No. 113. K. O. T. M., was organized in 1891. with Miss Emma E. Bower as lady con- mander. The office of great record keeper of the great hive of this order has been in Ann Arbor since 1893, and Miss Emma E. Bower has been the great record keeper. A large number of clerks are employed and the "Lady Maccabee,' the organ of the order, has been published during this period in this city.
The Modern Woodmen of America were or- ganized in 1902, and have attained widespread prosperity.
Welch post No. 137. Grand Army of the Re- public, was organized in 1880, and has held regu- lar meetings since that date. The Woman's Re- lief Corps was organized in 1890 and Mrs. H. S. Dean has served as president for thirteen years.
Ann Arbor lodge of the Arbeiter Verein was organized in the '80s.
Ann Arbor Typographical Union No. 154 was reorganized in 1884.
POSTOFFICE.
Ann Arbor has been a postoffice since 1825. when John Allen was appointed the first post- master. Bethuel Farren, afterward judge of pro- bate, was the first mail carrier, following the In- dian trail between Ann Arbor and Detroit. He received one hundred dollars a year for carrying the mail and the trip required three days. There were no bridges in those days, and the streams were often swollen so that Farren continually
risked his life in crossing them. Anson Brown was appointed postmaster in 1832 and removed the postoffice to the lower village. This move was extremely unpopular in the upper village and Mr. Brown used to bring the mail up town in a tin pail made for that purpose by Chauncey S. Goodrich. The pail which thus did duty is now in the possession of the Washtenaw County Pio- neer Society. From this pail Mr. Brown distrib- uted mail to the people on the streets. Septem- ber 30, 1834. Charles Thayer was appointed post- master and removed the office to the upper vil- lage. Shortly before this Mr. Brown had died of cholera. The postmasters of Ann Arbor since Captain Thayer have been Mark Howard. George Danforth, F. J. B. Crane, Caleb Clark, Henry D. Bennett, John I. Thompson, Richard Beahan, C. B. Grant. H. S. Dean, C. G. Clark, J. C. Knowl- ton. Edward Duffy, Eugene E. Beal. S. W. Beakes and George H. Pond.
In the early 'Sos a big fight was had over the location of the Ann Arbor postoffice, which up to this time had been located on West Huron street in what is now the Ann Arbor Savings Bank block. The two locations which became the prin- cipal ones in the fight were a building built by A. W. Hamilton, now called the Henning block, on the north side of East Huron street, and the building in which the postoffice is at present lo- cated, on the corner of Main and Ann streets. The Henning block was built with the expecta- tion that the postoffice had been secured for that building, but Rice A. Beal, who had consider- able property on North Main street, took up the fight to aid that end of the town, and with the aid of some contribution made by other prop- erty owners in that locality, built the pres- ent postoffice building expressly for the postoffice and secured its acceptance by the government. The fight was a particularly bitter one, but the office once located has remained for over twenty years, and the new government site purchased in August. 1903. is located on the same block, so that Mr. Beal's fight has undoubtedly secured the location of the postoffice for this point for a great many years yet to come. The impor- tance, however, of the location of the postoffice to any particular section of the city was greatly
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lessened by the establishment of free delivery service on June 1, 1887. At first only a part of the city was covered and it was not until 1894 that the mail for the entire city was delivered. Since that time the free delivery service has been greatly improved and the number of deliveries increased. Up to 1900 the windows of the post- office were open at night for the delivery of mail at the office on all carrier routes. Postoffice rushes at night had been the custom in Ann Arbor each and every night for many years, and the fame of them had extended so far that Washington archi- tects had planned what was called a "rush proof" building for erection at Ann Arbor. These rushes finally ceased in 1896, but the impression they had left on the minds of the government offi- cials undoubtedly aided in the order three or four years later to close the evening delivery of mail at the Ann Arbor postoffice. This order resulted in giving impetus to trade on State street, as since that time large numbers of students who were accustomed to call at the office for their mail, became unacquainted with Main street and went to State street as the most familiar place to trade.
The Ann Arbor postoffice has been rapidly growing in importance and became a first-class postoffice in 1900. Its receipts for the year 1905 were $55,181.02. It now takes seventeen clerks to deliver mail about the city. There are besides six rural mail clerks carrying mail to the farmers in the vicinity of Aun Arbor.
HOTELS.
Of the Ann Arbor hotels, the oldest to-day is the Cook House. This was established in 1830 by Solon Cook, who for thirty-seven years continued to act as its landlord. This house was originally built of wood with a large veranda in front. The wooden building was finally moved and a brick hotel erected in its place, which has since been greatly enlarged. For many years after 1831 Chauncey S. Goodrich ran a hotel on South Fourth avenue west of the courthouse. This ho- tel has been torn down. The Washtenaw House. erected in 1832 by William R. Thompson, is still standing but has not been used as a hotel for
many years. For years it was unoccupied, but it has since been fitted up for occupancy as a tene- ment, its size denoting the importance of the fifth ward at an early date. The Gregory House was once a brilliant rival of the St. James. This building, now known as the Ann Arbor Savings Bank Block, was built in 1864, being opened as a hotel by Edgar M. Gregory. The American House, on West Washington street, corner of Ashley street, was built in 187 -. The St. James, on West Huron street, was formerly known as the Leonard House and has had a long and checkered career.
MURDERS.
On May 1, 1843, Patrick Dunn was shot while going to his morning's work and died twenty- nine hours later. He had a quarrel with Charles Choor and had been arrested for assault and bat- tery upon Choor some months previous. Choor was standing in his own door with a rifle when Dunn was shot and was arrested and tried for murder and on November 25, 1843, found guilty and sentenced by Judge Witherell to be hung, but a few days before the execution was to take place he escaped from jail and was never again heard of.
On August 11, 1857. Simon L. Holden, who was returning home from a late train, was shot through the abdomen and robbed of $500. He was held up by two men who succeeded in get- ting his money, when he made an outcry. One of the men ordered the other one to shoot him and the order was promptly obeyed. Mr. Hol- den died two days later. Robert Fuller, Esther Fuller and Frank M. Walker were indicted for the murder. The case against Esther Fuller was nolle prossed, but the two men were found guilty and sentenced to the penitentiary for life. A new trial was ordered by the supreme court about a year after that and the men were returned from the prison to the Ann Arbor jail, but before they could again be tried they escaped and were never recaptured.
On November 6, 1861, John Innes was found dead on the sidewalk in front of Maynard, Steb- bins & Wilson's store with a gash over his fore- head which cut to the skull. Innes had been working on a farm and had been on a prolonged
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spree. Two theories were evolved, one that he had been murdered with a dull hatchet and the other that he had fallen, striking his head upon some hard substance and dying from loss of blood and exposure. No arrests were ever made nor was the case ever absolutely cleared up.
On December 25, 1866, Mr. Sherman was struck by a stool in his store in the Fifth ward by John Shorey, who had just been released from arrest upon the complaint of Sherman. Mr. Sher- man died a few days later and Shorey was con- victed of murder in the second degree and sen- tenced to state prison for twenty years.
A man named O'Brien was stabbed near the Michigan Central depot in 1869 by George Knisely, with a pocket knife, the blade entering his heart. O'Brien walked to the courthouse square before he fell dead. Knisely was convicted and sentenced to eight years in the state prison. The murder was the result of a quarrel between the two men.
On the night of October 22, 1871, Mrs. Hen- rietta Wagner and her little son Oscar were murdered in the old building on Washington street, adjoining Rinsey & Kyer's store. The murderer was Henry Wagner. the husband and father, a painter, who was about twenty-five years of age at the time. Mrs. Wagner's head was pounded into a jelly with a hatchet, apparently while she was sleeping: and the little boy had been struck on the head with the hatchet, dying three hours later. After the murder Wagner went to the jail and asked to stay all night and was permitted to do so. He was tried for mur- der but put in a plea of insanity. He was con- victed, however, and sentenced to the Jackson state prison for life. He finally became violently insane and in 1887 was sent to the criminal asy- lum for the insane.
On October 30. 1874, Richard Flannery was so badly injured in a row in his saloon on the cor- ner of Main and Catherine streets that he died two nights later. The coroner's jury found that he came to his death by a blow from a chair in the hands of Jethro Maybe, and that Hiram Pick- ard was present and assisted in the assault. The jury in the first trial failed to agree. On the second trial in September, 1875. Maybe was found
guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to state prison for one year.
On November 12, 1800, a student in the Uni- versity was struck on the head with a musket in the hands of some member of the local militia, or some person accompanying them, on Liberty street near Division. There had been some trou- ble the night before growing out of a postoffice rush, and threats had been made that the local militia would be called out to disperse the students engaged in rushing. On this night a number of the militia took their arms from the armory, but without authority, for the purpose of a charivari on one of their members on Division street who was to be married that night. The discharge of firearms at once drew out a large crowd of stu- dents who supposed that the militia had been or- dered out. After some words back and forth trouble arose between the students and the mem- bers of the militia, and the militia were pelted with frozen mud. Soon a free for all fight en- sued in which muskets were used as clubs, on one side and stones on the other. One of the militia- men was struck on the forehead with a stone, breaking the skull, from which, however, he soon recovered. During the melee Irving James Den- nison was struck on the head with a musket and killed. He was a freshman in the literary depart- ment from Toledo, Ohio, and was considered to have been an inoffensive spectator. A coro- ner's inquest was held and an attempt was made to discover the perpetrator of the deed. No ar- rest was ever made and it never became known who struck the young student. Another militia company was formed and a number of the citi- zens took up the matter and secured the muster- ing out of the old company on account of its melee and the taking of arms from the armory without authority. The new company was at once mus- tered in as Company A, First Regiment.
STREET RAILWAYS.
Ann Arbor's first street railway was run by electricity. It was built by J. B. Corliss and A. R. Mclaughlin of Detroit, and the first cars were started on September 30, 1890. On Janu- ary 30, 1891. the road was sold to H. P. Glover
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and H. T. Morton for $84,000. The street car barns at this time were located on Detroit street. During the early morning of January 25, 1894. the barns caught fire and were entirely destroyed together with all the rolling stock of the road which had been placed in the barns for the night. The road had not been an extremely profitable investment up to this date and the owners did not re-equip it with rolling stock, so that for a pe- riod of about two years no street cars were run in Ann Arbor. At the end of this time the Ann Arbor contracts and franchises were sold to the Detroit, Ypsilanti & Ann Arbor electric line. which has since operated the road. No exten- sions have yet been made except that part used by the suburban lines alone and an extension from Hill street to the present street car barns. which are located opposite the Fair Grounds on Wells street. Extensions are now planned to be built in the spring of 1906 to the city parks on the north side and to a point near the University hospitals.
STREET LIGHTING.
The streets of Ann Arbor were originally lighted with oil lamps. They were always heavily shaded and in the early days especially were ex- tremely dark so that no cattle were allowed to run at large, as they had been formerly, it not being infrequent for a belated pedestrian to stum- ble over a cow. In 1861 the Ann Arbor Gas Com- pany was organized by Dr. Silas H. Douglas and it was not long before the streets of Ann Arbor were lighted with gas so far as the gas mains ex- tended, and the remaining streets were taken care of with excellent lamps. This continued down to 1886, when the council decided to make a contract for lighting the streets with electricity, and on October 22, 1886, a contract was made with the Ann Arbor Van Depoele Light & Power Company, for the Thompson-Houston electric light, sixty-three arc lights of two thousand can- dle power to burn two hundred and sixty-five nights from twilight to midnight, for six thou- sand dollars a year. Since this time the streets have continued to be lighted with electricity, the price being gradually reduced as the various con- tracts with the electric company have expired.
On January 1, 1906, a new contract was made with the Washtenaw Light and Power Company who are located at Geddes midway between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti for the purpose of furnish- ing light and power to both cities, for one hun- dred and fifty arc lights to burn all night, for nine thousand four hundred and fifty dollars a year ; and at the same time a contract was made with the Ann Arbor Gas Company for seventy- seven gas lights using the Welsbach burners, for use on the more densely shaded streets, especially between blocks, for one thousand six hundred and ninety-four dollars a year.
The Washtenaw Light and Power Company and an allied company, in addition to their large plant at Geddes, have recently purchased the water rights of the Michigan Milling Company and of the Ann Arbor Agricultural Company, paying for the same over $160,000. These pur- chases included the electric light power house lo- cated on the ruins of the Argo or Sinclair Mills for the purpose of furnishing power to the va- rious mills of the Michigan Milling Company. These purchases are believed to be a part of the scheme for the power development of the Huron river, referred to in a separate chapter.
The Ann Arbor Gas Company, which, we have seen, was started in 1861, has been practically re- built in recent years under the management of Henry W. Douglas, a son of the founder of the company. A new and greatly improved gas works has been built on Beakes street near the Huron river, and new mains have been laid thoughout the city. A change has been made in the manu- facture of gas and gas is furnished citizens at a dollar a thousand. The consumption of gas in Ann Arbor in the past ten years has enormously increased.
THIE ANN ARBOR WATER COMPANY.
Water works were built in Ann Arbor in 1885. They had been under discussion for a number of months and the need of them was felt by all citi- zens, yet a majority of citizens seemed to be opposed to municipal ownership. A committee appointed in 1884, consisting of Judge Thomas M. Cooley, ex-Governor Alpheus Felch, Dr. V. C.
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Vaughan, Charles E. Hiscock and Christian Eberbach, with Professor Charles E. Greene as engineer, to consider and report upon a system of water works for the supply of the city, had ap- proved of plans drafted by Professor Greene, and on March 23. 1885, reported to the Council in favor of accepting the proposition to build the works made by Goodhue & Birnie, of Springfield. Massachusetts. They proposed to lay fourteen miles of pipe and to construct a reservoir two hundred feet above the corner of Main and Huron streets, to be supplied with water from wells ; and also to put in one hundred fire hydrants to be rented to the city for four thousand dollars annu- ally, with the option to the city to purchase the whole works at any time within five years. The question was submitted to the voters of the city as to whether the proposition of Goodhne & Bir- nie should be accepted, on April 6. 1885, and the electors by a vote of 1336 for to 174 against. prac- tically directed the Council to make a contract with this firm, which contract is substan- tially the same as the contract under which the Ann Arbor Water Company is now run- ning. The proposition to give a private com- pany an exclusive franchise to use the streets for water pipes carried everywhere in the city and in each ward there were at least four times as many people that voted for it as against it. It seems to have been the most popular in the Fourth ward where the vote was 254 for to 14 against. A council meeting was held that evening and a com- mittee appointed consisting of John F. Lawrence, Charles E. Hiscock, John Heinzmann, E. D. Kinne, Philip Bach, Christian Eberbach and Pro- fessor Charles E. Greene, to arrange a contract with Goodhue & Birnie. This contract was re- ported back to the council by the committee and passed April 13. 1885, but as Governor Alger refused to sign a necessary provision to be added to the charter to enable the city to bind itself to the expenditure of four thousand dollars for hy- drant rental, until the question should be sub- mitted to the people, the contract was not signed and again came before the council. J. D. Hawks, at that time the chief engineer of the Michigan Central Railroad, was called upon and consulted with reference to the contract and he pointed out
some defects in its provisions. Some alterations were made in the contract and it was reported back to the council on May 6, 1885. and passed. On June 1. 1885. Professor Charles E. Greene was appointed to represent the city in the con- struction of the water works. The works were completed and the pumps started December I, 1885. and tested December 5th, by Professor Charles E. Greene. The works were accepted by the council by a vote of nine to one, Alderman Poland alone voting against their acceptance. The first cost of constructing the water works was one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars.
The use of city water in Ann Arbor became at once popular. Previous to the building of the works many of the inhabitants of the city had been supplied with drinking water from wells. carrying the water some distance, while others were dependent entirely upon filtered rain water from cisterns. The estimated supply, when the works were first built, of five hundred thousand gallons per day, which it was said at that time would be sufficient to supply the city for many years to come, soon became entirely inadequate to meet the demand. An extension of the works was made across the river to the Allen farm and a connection made with the Huron river, and al- though denied at the time, there is no question but what in the early days of the water works the Huron river was drawn upon to fill out the necessary supply. The first great dispute with the water company grew out of the use of the water from the Allen farm. The inlet to the pipe took in water running from a marsh in which were buried dead horses, and during rainstorms drained a barnyard in which many horses were kept. A. W. Hamilton, the first superintendent of the works, was finally compelled to exclude water from the Allen farm from the water works reservoir. Mr. Hamilton was interested in min- ing projects and the water company was so man- aged that it finally went into a receiver's hands in 1893. A. K. Hale being appointed receiver. Dr. Hale was the largest stockholder in the company. For the first time in the history of the company it was now managed on business principles, and unlike most companies which pass into the hands of a receiver, was turned back to the stockholders
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in 189- without their having been called upon during the period of receivership for further pay- ments. Stock of the company which had been a drug upon the market at ten and fifteen dollars, once more went to par. It has never been known exactly how much the water company lost through the manipulations of Mr. Hamilton, but the op- portunity of the city to purchase the works at a low price at about the time that the company went into the hands of a receiver was not grasped.
For some time after Dr. Hale assumed the man- agement of the company, first as receiver and then as superintendent, the company gave better satis- faction to the people than it did under Mr. Ham- ilton's management, but it was a private company handling a public monopoly and its interests and the interests of the city often clashed. From time to time committees of the council have investi- gated the company and their efforts seem to have been directed toward obtaining a better fire pro- tection and lower water rates for private consum- ers. Occasionally the quality of the water has been attacked. The company has stoutly main- tained that it has been carrying out its part of the provisions of its contract. As to the quality of the water it seems to have been generally good since the company was restrained by an injunc- tion, in 1895. by the Argo Mills, from drawing water from the Huron river. The company has frequently had the water analyzed. Under the administration of Dr. Copeland, the council, for the first time, passed an ordinance fixing water rates. The ordinance recommended at this time by the water committee of the council, who had spent some months investigating the affairs of the company and who had unsuccessfully sought to get from the company such terms as would en- able the city to buy the plant, was not accepted by the council ; but a compromise ordinance was passed fixing the rates at about half way between the rates recommended by the water committee and the rates then in force by the water company.
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