USA > Michigan > Grand Traverse County > Sprague's history of Grand Traverse and Leelanaw counties, Michigan embracing a concise review of their early settlement, industrial development and present conditions...to which will be appended...life sketches of well-known citizens of the county > Part 35
USA > Michigan > Leelanau County > Sprague's history of Grand Traverse and Leelanaw counties, Michigan embracing a concise review of their early settlement, industrial development and present conditions...to which will be appended...life sketches of well-known citizens of the county > Part 35
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
1
Now that Father Nyssen's hopes had been realized, he decided to satisfy his long- ing for travel and a few weeks later found himself in Europe again, and the people of St. Francis church were making the ac- quaintance of Rev. Father Bauer, who had
been stationed at Provemont, and he as- sumed charge on September 4, 1889.
A beautiful chime of four bells was pur- chased in 1897 and on the 10th of October of that year were consecrated and within a week were hung in the belfry of the church, where they have since been doing constant service in calling the people to the regular church services.
Father Bauer has met with wonderful success in his pastorate of over thirteen years. The seating capacity of the church is much the largest of any church building in town, and yet it is taxed to the utmost, and in fact many times it is insufficient to accom- modate all the people.
In Rev. Father C. Emperor Father Bauer has an able and zealous assistant whose work in building up a second Catholic parish in the west part of the city promises to be crowned with success in the very near future.
THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH.
The Evangelical society was organized in Traverse City in 1892 by Rev. William Vogel, an indefatigable worker. In two years' time the pastor and people built their beautiful little church, located on the corner of Ninth and Wadsworth streets, at a cost of three thousand three hundred dollars. In the spring of 1895 Rev. Vogle moved to Saginaw, and his successor, Rev. Furstenau, spent the two following years here, moving to Flint in 1897. He was followed by Rev. S. Salsbery, who after a very successful ministry was followed by the present pastor, Rev. D. O. Ruth, under whose pastorate the church continues in a flourishing condition, and is adding constantly to its membership.
281
GRAND' TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH.
A preliminary meeting was held Febru- ary 12, 1870, for the organization of a Bap- tist society, but the articles of association were not perfected and filed until December 1, 1872. A Baptist Sunday school was or- ganized April 10, 1870.
The society held its first meeting in the little school house on the corner of Park and State streets, which has frequently be- fore been mentioned in this work, but later secured Leach's hall for that purpose, and in March, 1870, called Rev. E. Mills, of Northport, to the pastorate. There were fifteen members at this time, but the number increased quite rapidly, and there are fre- quent records of the congregation repairing to the Boardman river, where the candidates for admission to the church were baptized.
The church was formally recognized May 12, 1870, by a council composed of delegates from sister churches. On this oc- casion Rev. A. K. Herrington preached the sermon and Rev. J. C. Jordan gave the charge to the church. Sunday, March 12, 1871, Rev. E. Mills resigned the pastorate and no regular services were maintained for some time. Occasional services were held by Rev. A. H. Harrington, of Monroe Cen- ter. In June, 1873, a call was extended to Rev. F. J. Stevens, of West Sutton, Mas- sachusetts, to become the pastor at a salary of one thousand dollars, which was accepted. On July 3, 1873, it was moved and carried at a business meeting that the association build a house of worship, and J. Gridley, H. J. Wait and E. J. Stevens were appointed a committee to procure plans and secure a lot, also to circulate a subscription paper to aid in the building.
Rev. Mr. Stevens was released from the pastorate in April, 1874. In the meantime the building had been erected, at a total cost of three thousand three hundred dollars, and was dedicated July 26, 1874. Rev. A. E. Munger, of Detroit, preached the dedica- tion sermon and was called to the pastorate. Rev. C. H. Rhodes, of Parma, was the next pastor, coming to the church in December, ¡880. He met with great success, the mem- bership being increased by an hundred dur- ing his pastorate, which closed September 27, 1885. October 5, 1885, Rev. Groff, of Coldwater, received a call, which he ac- cepted. His stay was not long, though a pleasant one. At the end of a year he severed his connection with the church, and on December 5, 1886, Rev. Dr. Van Alstine preached his first sermon as Mr. Groff's suc- cessor. Dr. Van Alstine was as universally loved as any minister who has ever occupied the Baptist pulpit, and his death, which oc- curred in February, 1890, while he was still engaged in the services of the local church, was a matter of deep regret to the entire community.
The next regularly appointed pastor was Rev. H. W. Powell, who preached his first sermon as pastor June 8, 1890. He resigned April 9, 1892, and the vacancy was supplied by Rev. G. S. Northrup, who received a call January 22, 1893. Because of failing health, Mr. Northrup resigned November 14, 1897, and preached his farewell sermon November 21st. December 26 of the same year Rev. J. C. Carman accepted a call and entered upon his duties, tendering his resig- nation a year later, to take effect March 26, 1899. Mr. Carman's successor, the Rev. W. T. Woodhouse, is still administering to the wants of the people. His pastorate has
282
1
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
been very successful and his people seem to feel greatly pleased with his work among them.
SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS.
The Seventh Day Adventists have two church organizations in Grand Traverse county-in Traverse City and in the town- ship of Grant. Elder R. C. Horton com- menced holding tent meetings in Wexford, adjoining Grant, in October, 1887. In the following month Elder F. I. Richardson or- ganized the church in Grant, at the Kennedy school house, with twenty-five members. The church held its meetings in the school house until 1898, when a house of worship was built, which was dedicated the first of August.
The church in Traverse City was organ- ized in August, 1895, during the progress of a campmeeting held there at the time. The
organization was due mainly to the influence of Elder I. H. Evans, president of the Michi- gan conference, asisted by Elder G. C. Ten- ney and H. M. Kenyon, who were in attend- ance at the campmeeting. The original membership numbered twenty-two. A house of worship was built in 1896.
In both orgaizations there have been some changes of membership, but the num- ber of members remain about the same as at the beginning. Neither has enjoyed the ad- vantage of having a settled minister, but each has kept up the regular Sabbath meet- ings and a Sabbath school. Usually in the regular service a short discourse is given by the church elder or some lay member, fol- lowed by a social meeting. Both the church in Grant and the one in Traverse City are in the North Michigan conference, a new conference created by the division of the late Michigan conference.
CHAPTER XVII.
TRAVERSE CITY NEWSPAPERS.
GRAND TRAVERSE HERALD.
The Grand Traverse Herald was the first newspaper published in the Grand Traverse region. The first number was issued No- vember 8, 1858, the late Hon. Morgan Bates, editor and proprietor. It was started as a four-column folio on a sheet eighteen by
twenty-six inches in size, column seventeen picas wide. It was started without a sin- gle subscriber and with only one-fourth col- umn of local advertising, but it has been a success from the start. There were very few people here at that time, but settlers soon be- gan coming and of course the subscription list began to swell, until today there are few
288
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
-
weekly newspapers in the country that have a larger list of subscribers. The firm of Hannah, Lay & Company began to advertise in a small way in the third number of the paper issued. About a year later the firm greatly increased their patronage, and from that day to this the firm has been liberal ad- vertisers, not only in the Herald, but in the Eagle and the daily papers issued from both these offices as well.
In May, 1866, the columns of the paper were increased two picas in width and two inches in length. A year later a second en- largement was made and then was a folio twenty-four by thirty-six inches in size. A year later the size was increased to a sheet twenty-six by forty, and on the first of Jan- uary, 1880, it was enlarged to a nine-column folio, twenty-eight by forty-four. Not long after coming into the hands of the present proprietor it was again enlarged to an eight- column quarto, in which size and form it has been published for many years.
Morgan Bates continued to publish and edit the paper until the close of the ninth volume, December 20, 1867, when he sold the office to Hon. D. C. Leach, who remained as editor and publisher until May II, 1876, when he sold to Thomas T. Bates, the pres- ent owner and publisher.
In politics the Herald has always been Republican. It has always labored very suc- cessfully for the interests of the Grand Tra- verse region, and especially for Traverse City. The office is now one of the best equipped print shops in the state, and, be- sides printing the Herald and the Evening Record, does an extensive amount of general job printing. It has a large assortment of presses, the latest Mergenthalen machines
-
and a full and complete stock of other things necessary to carry on a successful business.
THE TRAVERSE BAY EAGLE.
The first number of the Traverse Bay Eagle made its appearance in Elk Rapids March 31, 1865, under the name of Elk Rapids Eagle, Elvin L. Sprague, editor and publisher. The first number was a very un- pretentious affair, consisting of four pages of three columns each, the columns being seven- teen picas wide.
On January 1, 1866, the name of the paper was changed to Traverse Bay Eagle, which it has borne ever since, and the size was increased to twenty-two by thirty-two inches. In the spring of 1866 a larger press was needed and a Northrup power press was added to the plant. In the autumn of the same year the plant was removed to Traverse City and the paper enlarged to an eight-col- umn folio. A year afterwards a steam en- gine was purchased to run the press. Previ- ous to that time the exercise of muscle was the only power available. This steam engine was the first to be used in the region in a printing office, and was used continuously until June, 1895, when the electricity of the Boardman River Electric Light & Power Company was brought into requisition, with which power the plant has since been oper- ated. A year previous to the addition of steam power a job press was added to the plant, the first one brought to the region, In 1873 the paper was again enlarged to a nine-column folio, and in 1878 a new cylin- der press was purchased, manufactured in Chicago by the late government printer, S. P. Rounds, expressly for Mr. Sprague.
17
-
284
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
Politically the Eagle was Republican un- til the Greeley campaign, when it advocated the election of Mr. Greeley, since which time it has been Democratic. It is still edited by its founder, Elvin L. Sprague, who has thus been in continual service as a newspaper editor for more than thirty-eight years.
At the risk of being charged with a little egotism, we will say, and we believe most truthfully, that the paper has always labored faithfully and earnestly for the building up and developing of the entire Grand Traverse region.
THE DAILY EAGLE.
In the spring of 1893 Mr. Sprague came to the conclusion that Traverse City had reached a size both in population and in busi- ness importance to warrant the publication of a daily newspaper, and on March 28, 1893, the first number of the first daily news- paper, the Daily Eagle, made its appearance, Elvin L. Sprague, editor and publisher.
Although a good many people predicted failure, the paper met with a very cordial reception at the hands of the people and of the business firms. So good was the patronage of the advertisers that only one year from the date of its initial number it became necessary to enlarge it from a six- column folio to one of seven columns. At first the revenue was not sufficient to war- rant the expense of wire service, and the publisher had to depend entirely upon gath- ering and printing the local news to make the paper interesting to its patrons. In this the paper proved a success, but when the war with Spain came on the people demanded the latest news from the scene of operations. This demand was met by securing daily special
telegraph services, and while the expense of getting out the paper was greatly increased by this, the increased subscription list and advertising patronage helped largely to meet this expense. The wire service then in- augurated has never been dropped, but rather increased, as today the paper is receiving the daily afternoon service of the Scripps- McRae League.
Politically the Daily Eagle has never allied itself with any political party, but has always taken an independent course, advo- cating what its editor thought was for the best interest of Traverse City and of the Grand Traverse region.
In September, 1898, a corporation was formed under the name of the Eagle Press, with a capital stock of ten thousand dollars, of which E. L. Sprague, L. A. Pratt and E. Sprague Pratt were the incorporators and shareholders. Since then the paper and plant has been owned and managed by this corporation. Subsequently Messrs. E. E. White and Harry Burr became the owners of stock in the corporation. The officers and managers of the association are, E. L. Sprague, president; E. Sprague Pratt, sec- retary ; L. A. Pratt, treasurer ; E. E. White, business manager; Harry Burr, foreman of the mechanical department.
About a year and a half after the in- corporation of the establishment a Mergen- thaler machine was installed, which was the first type-setting machine in the lower pen- insula north of Grand Rapids.
The size of the paper is now regularly four pages of seven colums each, and fre- quently six and sometimes eight pages, while on Saturdays it is always eight, and often ·twelve pages. Since its establishment the city has increased greatly in population, and
285
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
the circulation of the paper has increased ac- cordingly. The Daily Eagle was started without a single subscriber, and for the first week a copy was placed daily in every house and business place in the city. Today the actual paid list numbers more than five hun- dred copies in excess of the number printed and given away the first week. The Eagle Press has a fine outfit of presses and material and is having a fine patronage of job work.
THE EVENING RECORD.
The Record was first started as a morn- ing paper by Thomas T. Bates and J. W. Hannen, J. W. Hannen, editor and business manager, in April, 1897. When it first made its appearance it was a five-column folio. Since then it has been enlarged from time to time until it has become a seven-column folio, and on Saturdays double that size. Addi- tional pages also frequently appear other days, made necessary by the advertising patronage.
After a time, owing to the difficulty of securing wire service for a morning paper suitable to its size, and other matters that made the expense of the publication of a morning paper greater than an evening one, the publishers changed the publication to the Evening Record. In politics the paper has always been Republican, and was never known to waver in its support of the nomi- nees of the Republican party. It has a fine advertising patronage and a large subscrip- tion list.
OTHER NEWSPAPERS. ·
There are now three other weekly news- papers published in the county, the Hustler, the Echo, and the Monitor, the two former published at Kingsley and the latter at Fife Lake, which will receive further mention in another part of this volume.
During the time that the Herald and the Eagle have been printed, several attempts have been made to establish other newspa- pers in Traverse City, but all have proved failures. In some cases a few months was sufficient, and in others it took a few years to demonstrate the fact that the Herald and Eagle filled to the satisfaction of the people the weekly field, and now it is quite evident that the Daily Eagle and the Evening Record furnish the people of the city with all that is required in the way of daily newspapers. Traverse City is proud of her newspapers. There is not a city of its size in the union that can compare in the quality of its news- papers with those of Traverse City.
JOB PRINTING.
As has been said, both the Herald and Eagle offices do a large amount of job print- ing. In addition to these Messrs. Ebner Brothers have a well equipped job office for commercial printing, and have built up a good business. Charles E. Cooper also has a job office and is doing considerable busi- ness.
CHAPTER XVIII.
TRAVERSE CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY.
The people of Traverse City are pre- eminently a reading people, as is evidenced by her libraries and the patronage enjoyed by them. The public library of the city is the outgrowth of the Traverse township library, which was started many years ago. When the city was incorporated this was turned over to the city and became the nucleus of what is known as the Traverse City public library. While it has always been well patronized, during the past three years it has become a very important factor in promoting the educational facilities of the city. During that time the public library and reading rooms have been kept up, new books and magazines been added, and the in- stitution kept open every week day from one o'clock until nine P. M. and from two until five every Sunday, at an annual expense of over two thousand dollars.
There are over five thousand five hun- dred volumes in the library and during the year ending April 1, 1903, there were thirty-eight thousand, eight hundred and sixty-two books drawn out. The reading room, which is kept supplied with the current magazines, is well patronized. There are two hundred and twenty-seven valuable ref- erence books in the library and these are fre- quently consulted.
LADIES' LIBRARY ASSOCIATION.
This is one of the earliest institutions of Traverse City. In fact it is the first woman's organization of the city. July 23, 1869, in response to a call by the late Mrs. Morgan Bates, several ladies met to talk over the or- ganization of a Ladies' Library Association, and when a motion was made that there be such an organization it was carried unani- mously. The names of the women who were present at that meeting and to whom belong the credit of the organization deserve to be placed upon record for the information of future generations. They were Mrs. Morgan Bates, Mrs. Samuel W. Arnold, Mrs. B. D. Ashton, Mrs. L. W. Hubbell, Mrs. M. K. Buck, Mrs. S. C. Fuller, Mrs. Oscar L. Noble, Mrs. R. Hatch and Mrs. M. E. C. Bates. Of those nine ladies, the five first mentioned are deceased. Mrs. Noble re- sides in Boston, Mrs. Fuller in the sunny south and Mrs. Hatch in Grand Rapids. Mrs. Bates is the only one still living in the city, although the other three living mem- bers still retain their interest in the organiza- tion.
After the association was organized, the next question was that of obtaining books to carry out the design of the association. The
287
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
first few were donated and placed in one of the rooms of the United States land office. A few dollars were added from membership dues, so that the first report of the associa- tion, October 1, 1869, showed seventy-nine volumes, of which fifty-four were donated. During the fiscal year the library was in- creased to three hundred and twenty-nine volumes.
Mrs. Morgan Bates was the first presi- dent and held the office until her death, in 1872. In 1871 the association was incor- porated, and the ladies, by putting in lots of hard work, saved up money obtained by means of lectures, entertainments and socials and in 1887 erected the building now oc- cupied by it on Front street at a cost of one thousand, nine hundred and forty dollars.
Though the front of the building at the pres- ent time looks practically the same, it has been enlarged and changed internally, and kept up so that today the building is in good condition, with steam heat and electric lights. The first story is occupied by the library rooms of the association and two offices. The second story, which was built for a hall and was for many years the largest assembly room in the city, has been for the past three years and is now occupied by the city public library and reading rooms.
The library contains nearly three thous- and, five hundred volumes, consisting mostly of carefully selected fiction. The association has one hundred and thirty-five members and values its real estate at nearly seven thousand dollars.
CHAPTER XIX.
TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES BY WATER AND RAIL.
STEAMBOATS.
In the early days the people had to de- pend entirely upon sailing vesels to reach this region, and a few years later upon steamers plying between Buffalo and Chi- cago, that made stops at Northport for wood and to leave and receive freight and passen- gers. The firm of Hannah, Lay & Com- pany also owned a steamer that for many
years made weekly round trips between Traverse City and Chicago, which was al- ways very popular with the people. This line was discontinued when the firm sold out their lumber business, but its place is filled by the Northern Transportation Com- pany, which operates some of the finest pas- senger boats on the lakes. Transportation between all of the towns on the bay is fur- nished, and has been for several years, by.
-
288
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
Captain Webb's line of boats, the "Cum- mings," the "Crescent" and the "Columbia."
RAILROADS.
Previous to the building of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad to Traverse City the only way of getting in or out when water navigation was closed was by going through the woods to Bear Lake and then follow the beach of Lake Michigan to Grand Haven. Later, however, about 1864, a state road was cut out through the woods between Newaygo and Traverse City, and over this road a stage line was established by the late Judge Henry D. Campbell and his brother Robert, running from Traverse City to Big Rapids, where it connected with the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad. As soon as the road was completed as far north as Cadillac (then called Clam Lake), the stage route was shortened up accord- ingly.
THE COMING OF THE RAILROAD.
Before the construction of any railroad north from Grand Rapids, congress passed a bill granting every alternate section of land on either side of the line for the con- struction of a railroad from Grand Rapids to Traverse bay. This the managers of the railroad company which was organized to secure this land grant, succeeded in convinc- ing the secretary of the interior meant Little Traverse bay, and the line of the Grand Rapids & Indiana was accordingly surveyed from Grand Rapids to Little Traverse bay, without coming nearer to Grand Traverse bay than Walton, twenty-six miles distant. At this time Traverse City was the most im- portant town in this part of the state and could not afford to let a railroad pass by
without stopping. A successful effort was therefore made to secure the building of a branch from Walton to Traverse City, at a cost of forty thousand dollars to the citizens. Of this sum the firm of Hannah, Lay & Com- pany subscribed twenty thousand dollars and the citizens of the city and county the other twenty thousand dollars. The road was built and opened for business in 1872, and was for eighteen years the only railroad that ran into Traverse City.
THE PERE MARQUETTE.
In 1890 the Chicago & Western Michi- gan, now the Pere Marquette, was extended from Baldwin to Traverse City and proved a great stimulus to the business and growth of the town. Two years later it was ex- tended north to Charlevoix and Petoskey, with a branch to Elk Rapids.
THE MANISTEE & NORTHEASTERN.
In 1891 the Manistee & Northeastern road was completed to Traverse City and has proved a very valuable addition to the trans- portation facilities, and in bringing trade to the city.
THE TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAW & MANIS- TIQUE.
The road bed for the Traverse City, Leelanaw & Manistique road was graded in the fall of 1892 between Traverse City and Northport. It is expected that the rails will be laid and the road opened for business by the first of July, 1903. It is expected that a car ferry slip will be built at the latter place in the near future and that a car ferry will be operated between there and Manistique. A large boat for this purpose has been built and is completed at the present writing.
CHAPTER XX.
PUBLIC BUILDINGS.
GOVERNMENT POSTOFFICE.
About a year ago an appropriation of six thousand dollars was made by congress for the purchase of a site for a government building in Traverse City. To this sum a few public spirited citizens added sufficient to purchase a most desirable site on the cor- ner of State and Cass streets, at a cost of about eleven thousand dollars. At the ses- sion of congress just closed an appropriation of fifty thousand dollars was made for the erection of a building upon this site, and it is quite probable that before this volume leaves the printer's hands that the erection of the structure will be under way.
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.