USA > Michigan > Huron County > Pioneer history of Huron County, Michigan > Part 6
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at a meeting of the Pioneer and Historical Society. He said it was so dark at mid-day that the people thought the day of judgment had come. Everything had such a wierd look amid smoke and flame. Such experiences were the lot of all who chanced to be in the track of the fire monster.
The county poor farm is located in this township near the eastern line and about one mile west of Bad Axe. It consists of about 200 acres of land for which the county paid $600. The site at the time was all wild land. Thomas Morrow was appointed the first overseer and by 1876 had cleared off 25 acres of the land. The following year the house was built. Mr. Morrow resigned in 1882 and William Tahash was his succes- sor for a few years then William Story was appointed overseer.
Among the pioneers of this section of the county we find W. H. McDowell, who bought 720 acres of land in 1878, and Oliver Haley, who came in the spring of 1866. D. H. T. Williams was another resident who secured a grant of 160 acres of land under the Homestead law. Mr. Williams served in the Civil War, enlisting in 1861. He came to Colfax in 1873. The township was named after the running mate of President Grant. The first school house here was built by Francis Nash. In the spring of '71, Hon. J. C. Waterbury, then a member of the State Legislature, obtained from the state an ap- propriation to build the Sand Beach and Sebewaing highway, and also succeeded in getting George W. Pack appointed as commissioner. Rudolph Papst, of Lexing- ton, conducted the survey. At that date the whole in- terior of the county was an unbroken forest, the fa- vorite resort of sportsmen and trappers, who made the beautiful spring north of Bad Axe their tenting ground. Here George Martin and Jerome Sharp built a shanly and furnished it with articles necessary for the chase. When in the progress of their work Messrs. Pack and
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Papst reached this vicinity they visited this cabin in which they passed the night. Here they found the now historical axe which was old and broken by use in re- moving the horns of elk and deer. One of the party took the axe, made a drawing of it upon a large tree al a point where the road crosses the line between the town- ships of Verona and Colfax. He then drove the axe into the tree writing underneath the present name of the city, Bad Axe. This spot was called Bad Axe corners for a number of years. This record of naming the place is taken from an old paper of that date.
LOCATING THE COUNTY SEAT
At the annual meetings of the Board of Supervisors, October 15, 1872, W. W. Whitelam in the midst of a heated discussion between the towns for a permanent location of the county seat offered a resolution which on motion of Mr. Hanselman, seconded by Mr. Scott was carried by a handsome majority, designating the pres- ent site of the county seat of Huron County. Woods & Co. donated the county 40 acres to be used for county purposes. During the coming summer the contract was let to "Sep" Irwin for clearing the site and erecting a temporary building for the use of the county until the completion of a brick court house. Mr. Irwin had the building ready for the October meeting of the Board of Supervisors in 1873. This was the only building within several miles and the members of the board brought bedding with them and boarded in a temporary shanty erected for that purpose. In the fall of that same year Mr. Irwin commenced the erection of a large hotel which was destroyed in the fire of '81. It has been replaced by the present hotel Irwin. Mr. Irwin thus describes the fire which nearly swept everything before it: "In 1881 the 4th of September, which happened to be my birth- day, we had this second fire. About 11 o'clock the fire was about two miles west of us. I came in just before
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dinner and said to my wife-'You had better get the girls over to the court house. We are going to have a big fire and there will be no chance to get away.' Well, they went to the court house. My son, who was about 17 or 18 had been to the west fighting the fire. He came in and as he was very hot took off his shoes and left them just outside. It so happened that after the fire came the boy had no shoes. My wife was undaunted by our loss and said: 'We will have to build again.' With all the energy we had we went to work and built the sec- ond house." Just after Mr. Irwin completed the first building L. Mathews put up a building in which he car- ried on a general store. The following season Robert Philp built a store which was burned in the fire of '81. Mr. Philp immediately rebuilt and in 60 days his business was in running order, building completed, stocked and trade in full operation. Being away from all means of transportation, either by rail or water, the town of Bad Axe had but slow growth for the first seven years. The population at the end of that time was only 179. The post office was first opened about three miles west on the state road. This was in 1868 and the mail was carried in on the back of a horse and received but once a week. The people of today can hardly appreciate what it means to live in an isolated town with few mail facilities. Chas. Brown was the first postmaster, retaining this office until 1875 when "Sep" Irwin was appointed. The pioneer paper was the "Backwoodsman", started by Belle Irwin in 1876. In 1880 it was sold and the name changed to the "Huron Tribune", George A. Maywood and John Maywood being the proprietors. Later John Maywood had entire control of the plant. The Bad Axe Democrat was started by E. J. Diamond and later sold to Jacob Rorick.
Among the pioneer lawyers we find the names of Hiram Chipman, W: T. Bope, George Maywood and Mr. Carpenter. Mr. Chipman came to Bad Axe Aug. 3, 1875 and was prominently identified with the growth and de-
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velopment of law in that town. He told the story of that day in these words: "When I arrived in Bad Axe there were just 18 people living there. The first man I saw was "Sep" Irwin sweeping off his steps. There were very few settlers and they were all Canadians as far as I could find out. Good, generous sort of fellows. When the fire of '81 burned this village I was coming down main street by the hotel, or where the Irwin hotel had been, now a heap of ruins and ashes. Mr. Irwin had men engaged in putting up a barn. As I passed by I heard "Sep" Irwin say "he-yo-he"! Phoenix-like he was there raising a barn over those ashes. I thought that is the spirit of our people. No matter if you do burn them up the next thing you hear is "He-yo-he"!
Mr. Chipman was elected prosecuting attorney of the county in 1881. W. T. Bope came to Bad Axe in January 1879 and established his business in company with George W. Carpenter with whom he was associated for one year . Later he was associated with Hiram L. Chipman. Mr. Bope was the first president of the Huron County Pioneer and Historical Society and always took an active part in its welfare until ill health compelled him to resign his position. "Col." Bope was intensely interested in the county's pioneer days and in one of his addresses before the society said: "We hope that chil- dren in their cradles today may be 50 years hence con- tinuing the work of this Historical Society." He was elected president emeritus of the society at the annual meeting of 1918, which position he held until his death in the winter of 1919.
Among the men prominent in the early affairs of the county we find two especially deserving of mention- Richard Smith and Charles E. Thompson. Mr. Smith came to Port Austin at the close of the Civil War in company with a comrade who had been with him in the army. They purchased 120 acres on which they spent the winter. In the spring Mr. Smith worked in
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Port Austin a couple of months, then entered the em- ployment of Chas. B. Cotterell whose name is also on the pioneer roll. From the fall of 1866 he held various offices in county affairs for 12 years moving to Bad Axe in 1873, living there until 1877, when he opened an abstract office in Port Austin. Mr. Thompson came to Huron County with his parents in 1854, being absent only during the time he was in school in Detroit. He worked in New River, Port Hope and Huron City until he was nominated and elected county clerk in 1876 on the Republican ticket. Held this office two terms. In 1880 he was elected county treasurer for two terms and in 1884 he was elected register of deeds, holding this office six years. C. D. Thompson is his son and ranks high as a county historian. He held the office of president of the Huron County Pioneer and Historical Society and aided in getting the system of county parks organized.
Thomas Morrow, who built the Morrow House in 1883 came to Port Austin with his parents in 1854. He was overseer of the county farm for seven years and also foreman in lumber camps for several years.
Among the early physicians were W. H. Deady, M. C. McDonnell, H. Gale, E. C. David and J. B. Dixon. Bad Axe is well known today to all the medical fraternity as the home of the late Dr. Herrington, whose fame as a surgeon was not confined to this state.
B. F. Scott was one of the enterprising men of that period locating here in 1879. He manufactured lumber and flour, had a large elevator and did a general mer- chandise business. At that time he cut about 3,000,000 feet of lumber annually. Reuben Rapson had a wagon shop, which he started in 1874. In the jewelry trade were W. S. Small and N. I. Cummings. E. A. John- son was the proprietor of a harness shop. George C. Clark had a grain elevator, J. S. Deady and J. M. Honey, drugs; F. H. Krause, furniture. Blacksmith shops, Chas.
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McAvoy and Reuben Rapson. Planing mill, Belle Irwin; hardware, L. C. Truax and Jas. Stillwell; meat market, Andrew & Son and Kelley Bros .; shoe shops, C. Foster and J. S. Emery; real estate, the Maywood Bros. The millinery shop was conducted by Rossiter & Brower. Other well known men in Bad Axe were O'Dell & Collins, George Smiley, Jas. E. Roberts and J. A. Morgan. Mr. Morgan was born in Wales and came to America in 1848. He was a tailor by trade and was noted as a superior workman in that line of business. He came to Bad Axe in 1877, erected a building and established a fine trade there. After his death his daughter, Miss Ruth Morgan, successfully carried on the business for several years. She was an excellent buyer, a better seller and altogether an admirable example of what a woman can accomplish when she sets out to do for herself. His other two children, W. T. Morgan and Miss Mary, have been identi- fied with the best interests of Bad Axe for many years. Miss Mary is now the only member of the family living. She is an influential member of the Pioneer and Historic- al Society and has served on the executive committee ever since its inception. It is worthy of note that she has lived in the same house continuously for over 43 years. . She has charge of the public library of Bad Axe and makes a most efficient librarian.
The site upon which Bad Axe is built is an elevated plateau sloping gradually on all sides into low bottom lands. The soil consists of a gravelly loam with sub- stratum of gravel. The nature of the soil is such that it absorbs the heaviest rain in the course of a few hours, leaving the ground as dry and pleasant as before the shower, yet the soil is sufficiently retentive of moisture for the growth of good gardens and beautiful lawns. Stretching away from the city is a broad acreage of fine farming land.
Very early in the history of Bad Axe the people turn- ed their attention to religious matters and the various societies began the work which has resulted in the
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establishment of several fine churches. In the Huron County News of 1883 we read the following item: "A Presbyterian church was organized in Bad Axe with 26 members by the Rev. John Kay and E. P. Clark. The following persons were chosen elders: Donald McTag- gart, of Sheridan, John Mckenzie, of Colfax, Mr. Rap- son, Sr., of Verona and Donald Shaw, of Paris, thus rep- resenting four townships. Many of the members of this organization resided quite a distance from the town and this fact led to the disbandment of the society later on." Finally the United Presbyterians established a so- ciety in 1881. Another paper states that the First Pres- byterian church was organized in 1878 under the labors of Rev. J. Beecher. The first church had seats around the wall. The choir generally used these while the con-
gregation often utilized cord wood for seats. When they had evening services each family brought a lamp to light the room. After the fire of '81 the services were held in the homes. The present church edifice was com- pleted in 1900 and has a seating capacity of 500 with basement under the entire building. Dr. Fulton was the chief factor in building up a fine organization in Bad Axe. The Westminster Society celebrated its twenty- fifth anniversary in 1919. Of the first members of this organization only four remain: Mrs. Burgess, Miss Mary Morgan, Mrs. Dixon and Mrs. C. E. Thompson. Rev. Robert Brown is the present pastor.
The Methodist Episcopal church was organized in 1878 under the labors of Rev. George Walker and two years later a class of 13 was established. Mr. and Mrs. Durfy and Mr. and Mrs. Williams were members of this class. The senior member being Thomas O'Dell. The first church building was erected in 1883. Before that the parsonage was used as a place of worship. As the society increased in members, needs and resources, the old church was outgrown and a more capacious build- ing became necessary. In the spring of 1899 under the direction of Rev. J. W. Campbell ground was broken for a new building. It was eventually completed and
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dedicated June 17, 1900, E. A. Moore, pastor, at a cost of $11,000. This society has had a steady growth and is now one of the best appointments on the Port Huron District. Both church and parsonage have all modern equipments. Rev. Frank H. Cookson is pastor at the present date.
The Baptist church was organized in 1878 with eight members. Rev. Alfred Amey was the pastor. In 1879 the first church was built at a cost of $2,500. This was due largely to the unflagging interest and great zeal of the faithful membership. Only one year later the great fire of '81 that nearly wiped Bad Axe off the map burned this structure. Under the energetic leadership of Rev. James McArthur the present house of worship was erected at a cost of $3,000. The parsonage was built in 1897 under the pastorate of Rev. C. T. Jack. This society is also in a prosperous condition today and has an important part in the religious life of the city. Rev. Drury Martin is the present pastor.
St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal church was estab- lished as early as 1880 by holding services in the school house under the care of Rev. W. H. Smythe. The church building of this society was completed in 1882 and a rectory built in 1883.
Some Catholic families settled in Verona long be- fore the village of Bad Axe was founded, but for many years they had no place of worship. To the zeal and activity of the late Joseph Murray may be credited the forming of the present well organized and flourishing parish. In his home in early days the few Catholic set- tlers would gather to meet the missionary priests who came to say mass for them. Not until 1885 was any effort made to have services in Bad Axe. At this time Rev. George Langel established a mission and once a month came from Ruth to have mass in the home of Mr. McAvoy. The society prospered and it became necessary to rent a hall to accommodate the growing membership. In 1888 the people decided to erect a
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church and the following committee was appointed to look after the work: Joseph Murray, Michael Scully, Chas. McAvoy and Michael Holland. The present church is the result of their efforts, assisted by Martin Conaton and Dr. M. C. McDonell. A rectory has been built since then and the church building remodeled and renovated.
The people of Bad Axe have been instrumental in establishing an excellent school system and now have a high school building that is up to date in every respect. The district is a fractional one embracing parts of the townships of Verona and Colfax. It was incorporated some years ago by the state legislature.
In 1882 an impetus was given to the growth of the town by the entrance of a railroad-the western branch of the Port Austin and Northwestern was completed through Bad Axe to Port Austin. Later the Saginaw, Tuscola and Huron division connected Bad Axe and Saginaw. The Pere Marquette has control of this road now. The Grand Trunk railroad entered the town from Cass City in 1913.
BAD AXE WIPED OUT BY FIRE
The village of Bad Axe suffered greatly from the terrific fire that swept over the county in 1881. That destructive element left only 21 buildings of all descrip- tions. Soon afterward there were 110 residences be- sides the business houses, thus showing the indomitable spirit and energy of the people. B. L. Scott has no peer in this county for genuine push and no man has done more for the town than he, says a paper of that period. He has given employment to many men and is helping build up the village by furnishing lumber for the town. Today some of these men are still living in Bad Axe and are able to tell the story of those strenuous times.
Thomas Martin cut the first tree down just where the Hotel Irwin is situated in June 1864, and camped on the site of George Andrews' house. The next morn-
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ing one of the party shot a deer a few rods from there.
Worthy of mention among those who settled in this county is the name of Dean Cutler, now of Bad Axe. He has lived over 71 years amid its stirring scenes. His father visited this place when it was a wilderness to see a Mr. Peacock, whose hip was out of joint.
James Baldwin was another man who did his part nobly in the transition of Bad Axe from a forest to a progressive city. He came to the county in 1868 and to Bad Axe in 1887, where he conducted a hardware bus- iness in partnership with James Stillwell. He was elected register of deeds in 1888. He held this office six years.
Another man who witnessed the inception and evo- lution of Bad Axe was J. A. Wright. The first dwelling house in the town is said to have been built by a lawyer, James Skinner, still living in the town. We wish to mention among the names of early pioneers that of A. L. Wright, who filled many places of trust and responsibilty. He was a resident of the county when but a boy. His original homestead being on the state road four miles southwest of Bad Axe. When in his teens there was no school in his immediate district so he attended one a mile away at one time walking that distance for sev- eral months on a crutch. He was a real estate dealer, banker and farmer.
James Nugent and Joseph Fremont are men who have also contributed their share toward the develop- ment of the town. The pioneer shoeman of Bad Axe was Calvin Foster. He also served his country in the Civil War, enlisting in the 10th Michigan Infantry with which he served until the close of that struggle.
The site of the town is on a gravelly ridge about four miles in length and half a mile wide. It used to be a famous hunting place for the Indians in early days. W. T. Bope told this incident of his experience with some of the Indians: One of them always had Mr. Bope take care of his money. Instead of a bank book or receipt this Indian would cut as many notches on a stick as he
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gave dollars to Mr. Bope. When he wanted his money back he would present the notched stick. This mode of banking seemed to work satisfactorily if it was primi- tive.
Many of the early inhabitants of Bad Axe have pass- ed away but their memory still lingers and the story of their labors is best told by the religious, educational, political and industrial institutions which they had part in establishing and which shall continue long after the granite memorial which marks their last resting place has grown moss covered with the passing years.
GORE TOWNSHIP
The next township to which we wish to direct at- tention is that of Gore, so named because it resembles in shape that part of a lady's dress. It was organized from Rubicon in 1862 with John H. Tucker as supervisor, George Allen, clerk, and Robert Hunter, treasurer. It is a small township and the history of the people's early life is one with Rubicon and its soil and advantages are about the same. The fire of '81 caused much suffering and the entire township was burned over. Port Hope was the market for all produce from the farms. It's long shore line affords superior water facilities and makes the site of the township an attractive one.
SIGEL TOWNSHIP
Directly west of Sand Beach township lies that of Sigel. It was organized some time prior to 1864 with Watson Robinson as the first supervisor on the records. He took up 80 acres of land under the homestead act that same year. In the fire of '81 all of his buildings and crops were destroyed. He found himself the morn- ing after the fire without a hat or shoes and practically destitute of clothing of any kind. With his accustomed energy and enterprise he began at once to rebuild and repair as far as possible the damage done by the fire.
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The first settlers in this township were Fred Jurgess, Joseph Lakowski and Waterhouse Whitelam, who came in 1859. Samuel Williams was another pioneer in this section of the county. In the early lumbering days he had worked for Pack, Woods & Co., at Harbor Beach and later at Port Crescent. He moved on to his farm in Sigel soon after the fire of 71 and by diligence and hard labor transformed this piece of land from the wilderness that it was in 1874 to the modern country home of the present day.
The land in this township is flat except in the west- ern part. The soil is sand and clay mixed. This section did not develop or increase in population in proportion to other townships. The three early schools were located on sections 24, 22 and 7. The Lutherans were the first to establish churches here.
Running through the township is the east branch of Willow Creek. The fire of '81 passed over the entire township and that of '81 burned the northern part. The original timber was pine, cedar, hemlock and hard wood. Bad Axe was the nearest railway station and the nearest port, Sand Beach, now Harbor Beach.
SHERIDAN TOWNSHIP
Sheridan township lies in the southern tier. It was named after General Sheridan and was organized at the annual meeting of the board of supervisors, October 9, 1886, out of the following territory, formerly belonging to Bingham: Town 15 N. of R. 12 E. John McIntosh was the first supervisor. He came in 1859 when that section was but a wilderness. For the first settlers in the fifties were the Campbells, Morrisons, Mckinnons, Mc- Phails, McIntyres, McTaggarts, Shaws, Buchanans and Whillans. They were followed by the Camerons, Baties, McLellans, Lietchs, Fletchers, Robbins, McCahans, Crofts, Allis, Sweeneys, Clarks, Hendersons, McAlpines, Alex Gillies, Peter McInnis, Thomas Sherwood, J. B.
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Wilson, Angus McIsaac, H. Stoddard, John Thompson, James McMillan, John Bishop and Joseph Reily, an Indian who owned a farm and in '1867 had six acres un- der cultivation. The settlers with the exception of two families were Scotch Highlanders who first emigrated into Canada and from there to Sheridan. They were very industrious, hospitable and strongly attached to their religion. The five McTaggart brothers, with their two sisters, came in 1858 and located land. A. O'Henley was a later settler coming in 1875 and purchasing 320 acres of land. Here we also find the McAlpine family as well as that of Addison Boomhower, who came in 1869 and located 160 acres of land. After the fire of '71 he went to Ohio for a year and a half. Since that time he has been a resident of the township. In those early days as elsewhere lumbering was the chief industry, five companies being at work at one time in this place. The land was covered with a heavy growth of hemlock, cork pine of huge dimensions, beech, sugar maple and other hardwood trees. The task of the pioneer in clear- ing such land was a tremendous one. The soil is a rich gravelly loam, intermixed with a little clay and fine par- ticles of limestone. The land is rolling in the south and west and flat in the north and east part of the township. The people gave early attention to schools and churches. The first term of school was held in district No. 1 with Mrs. E. Wilson as teacher. Catholic services were held in a cabin half under ground in 1866. The Frazer Pres- byterians also held services that same year. The Erskine Presbyterian church was organized about 1892. The first roads as elsewhere were merely trails through the woods. Now they have miles of state roads. This township suf- fered much from the great fires of ,71 and '81 but in time all traces of these terrific conflagrations passed away and today we find fine farms with well appointed farm houses. The entire township is given over to ag- ricultural pursuits, there being no village within its limits. The principal rivers are the Pigeon and the trib- utaries of the Cass. Millions of logs at one time were banked along these streams.
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