USA > Michigan > St Clair County > St. Clair County, Michigan, its history and its people; a narrative account of its historical progress and its principal interests, Vol. I > Part 27
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Mr. James Fulton was appointed, by Governor Cass, sheriff of Macomb county at its organization in 1818, and seems to have been a man of the type which would now be denominated as speculator and promoter. He was a stockholder in the Pontiac company which was formed to purchase land in what became Oakland county, and where the county seat was located, and in March of 1818 he, together with Edward Brooks, an officer in the regular army, stationed in Detroit, purchased from the original patentees, John and James Meldrum, private claims 304 and 305 upon St. Clair river, one just below, the other just above the month of Pine river. The intention of this purchase must have been the de- velopment of the property not for farming, but for city purposes, and directly after the purchase, the owners sent a force of men from Detroit to clear the land to prepare it for streets and buildings and work was begun upon the north side of Pine river. Mr. Brooks either lost faith in the prospect or having an opportunity to make a small advance, took Vol. I-14
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it, and in May, 1818, conveyed his interest to his partner, and Mr. Fulton thus became the sole owner.
In January, 1819, Governor Cass established the county of Oakland with the county seat at Pontiac, and Mr. Fulton foreseeing the advan- tages that his future city would have if it were the county seat of a large and flourishing county. prepared and had signed a petition by a large part of the residents along the north shore of Lake St. Clair and St. Clair river, addressed to the governor of the territory, and point- ing out the necessity of a new county to be taken from Macomb county with its county seat located at some convenient point upon St. Clair river.
In July, 1819. Mr. Fulton presented this petition to Governor Cass. and at the same time proposed that if the county seat were located at the town of St. Clair, which he had laid out upon his property at the junction of Pine and St. Clair rivers, he not only would donate the necessary ground for public buildings, but would also ereet a court house and jail.
On July 18, 1819, the governor appointed three commissioners, David C. Mckinstry ( whom we shall hear of later in connection with the county seat). Benjamin Stead. and John Hunt. to look into the matter and report whether it was advisable under the circumstances to set off a new county, and if so, where in their judgment the county seat should be located.
This commission performed their duty faithfully and promptly, and in their report. dated August 30, 1819, they say :
"It appears to your commissioners that a portion of the citizens of Macomb county. under its present organization, are subject to very great difficulties ; being separated from the seat of public business by a morass at some seasons impenetrable, and the distance being so great that in those the most favorable, it requires three days to perform the journey out and home, without any time being allowed for the transaction of business, it is also represented unto them that from the settlement in the county as it now is. being in three distinct and opposite districts, pre- vents such improvements being made as to road. etc., as are needful. We are therefore of opinion that it will be for the benefit of each branch of the present county that a division should take place, which would de- stroy local jealousies and excite a feeling of emulation. which would se- cure to the public passable roads which are so necessary for the pros- perity of every district.
"Though the population of that part of the county which prays to be set off is at present small. no doubt we think can be entertained such is the fertility of the soil. the salubrity of the clime and its facility for commerce and navigation that it insures to the settlers such certain and speedy advantages that it will increase rapidly-
"Accompanying this your Excellency will receive such propositions as were presented us, for the erection of county buildings, and we beg leave to recommend as follows :
"1st-That it is expedient that the inhabitants of the River St. Clair be set off as a new county.
"3rd-That the offer of Mr. Fulton be accepted as it respects a county seat."
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The governor took the report under consideration and on March 28, 1820, he issued a proclamation setting off the county of St. Clair and fix- ing the seat of justice at the town of St. Clair. Upon the same day he took from Mr. Fulton a deed to himself in trust for the inhabitants of the county of an entire block 180 feet square, and 6 lots, 3 of which might be sold to assist in the erection of public buildings, and the next day he took a bond from Mr. Fulton, with William Thorn as surety, that he. Fulton, would build the body of a house for a court room and jail, "The body or hull of said house not to be less in dimensions than 26 feet by 40 feet, to be built on a good stone foundation, to be two stories in height, the lower story to be built of good hewn oak timber one foot square, the upper story to be of frame, and the whole body of said house to be well weather boarded, and the roof thereof to be well shingled, there to be two good outside doors, and a sufficient number of windows conveniently situated, all to be done conformably to the plan annexed."
COUNTY OF ST. CLAIR ORGANIZED
Although the county of St. Clair had thus been established. it was not yet organized, and until that was done St. Clair county was still a part of Macomb county for all practical purposes. Fulton evidently by this time had come to the end of his resources. There had been no boom for his city nor any rush of immigrants eager to buy his town lots, and on November 15, 1820, he gave to three of his creditors, John S. Roby, David C. Mckinstry (one of the commissioners who selected this lo- cality as the county seat), and Conrad Ten Eyek, a mortgage for $2,819.81. On May 8, 1821, Governor Cass issued a second proclamation declaring "the county of St. Clair organized, and that the seat of justice of said county is temporarily established at the town of St. Clair, and that as soon as the building contracted to be built by the proprietor of the said town for a court house and gaol is completed agreeably to contract. the seat of justice of said county shall be permanently established at the town of St. Clair."
On the 12th of May, 1821, the governor completed the organization by appointing a corps of county officers, and among them was James Fulton, chief justice of the county court. This office, however, even with its munificent salary of perhaps $10.00, did not supply enough funds to complete the necessary buildings, and on Sepember 13, 1821. Fulton conveyed his town site, except the lots referred to in his agree- ment with the governor, to Jesse Smith, of New York. It is probable that this deed was given by way of security only, and not as an absolute conveyance, as we find Fulton continuing to treat the property as his own. He had, as one of his first acts, built a dwelling house for himself on the north side of Pine river. The building for the court house was proceeding slowly, and on December 10, 1821, the commissioners re- solved that "the building contracted for and built by James Fulton standing immediately in the rear of the dwelling house now occupied by the said James Fulton be and the same is hereby considered as the common gaol for the county of St. Clair, until such time as the commis-
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sioners shall otherwise direct." and ordered the sum of $35.00 to be paid for the building.
The new county seat grew but slowly; in 1821 the proprietor sold but two lots. both to John Thorn, his brother-in-law, who had been ap- pointed by the governor clerk of the county.
Although the needs of the new county for county buildings was not very great. it is evident that considerable dissatisfaction arose because of the slowness with which Mr. Fulton was proceeding in their erection, and advantage was taken of this by Samuel Ward, an enterprising. aggressive citizen of the county, who had purchased a large tract of land near the junction of Belle and St. Clair rivers in 1818, the same year that Fulton had bought at St. Clair.
PROPOSED REMOVAL FROM ST. CLAIR TOWN
The first legislative council of the territory of Michigan met in 1824. Mr. Z. W. Bunce being the member from St. Clair county. To this coun- cil was presented a petition for removing the county seat, and a remon- strance of James Fulton and others against its removal. On August 5. 1824. an act was passed providing for the appointment of Thomas Row- land. Charles Noble and William Burbank as commissioners, who were to proceed to examine the situation of the county seat and the contract respecting the same entered into with the executive and if the same has been performed or not. and to investigate all the circumstances attend- ing the same, having regard to the general interests of the county and wishes of a majority of the inhabitants, and if in their opinion it was for the interest of said county to remove the seat of justice from its present location, to proceed to select such a site as in their opinion would be most appropriate for the re-location of the county seat for said county.
Thomas Rowland was at one time major in the regular army and lived in Detroit : Charles Noble was a prominent citizen of the county of Monroe and William Burbank was from Oakland county, and he does not seem to have acted in the matter.
In pursuance of this act. Messrs. Rowland and Noble proceeded to examine into the situation. and on January 19. 1825. made the following report of their doings :
"To the Honorable. the Governour. and Legislative Council of the Territory of Michigan: We. the undersigned commissioners, appointed under and by virtue of an act of your Honourable body, to enquire into the expedieney of removing the seat of Justice of the County of St. Clair, beg leave to report :
"That in obedience to the provisions of said aet, we caused the Commissioners of the County of St. Clair to be notified that we should assemble at the present Seat of Justice of Said County on the 15th of Novr. last past, and that said County Commissioners did agreeably to the provisions of said Aet post up notice of the same in each of the townships of said County. And further did notify the inhabitants of said County that at the time and place aforesaid the sense of the majority
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would be taken as to the Expedieney of the removal of the Seat of Justice from its present location.
"That we, the undersigned, being a majority of the Commissioners appointed by your honourable body did meet at the Seat of Justice of St. Clair County on the fifteenth day of November last, when the Commis- sioners of the County in our presence proceeded to ascertain the sense of the majority, and it was found on counting the votes that the majority were opposed to the removal as will be seen by a certified Poll list re- turned herewith.
"We have the honour further to report that we have examined the situation of the present County Seat and the particular contract entered into with the Executive respecting the same, and find that the Condition of a Bond entered into by James Fulton, the Original proprietor, with the Governor for the erection of a building of certain dimensions therein de- scribed, has not been Complied with, but that proposals in writing have been handed to us by Thomas Pahner and David C. Mckinstry, Stipu- lating on their part to fulfill the Condition of the aforesaid Bond, to- gether with some additional donations for the benefit of the County, more fully set forth in the written proposals of the said Palmer and Mckinstry which accompany the report marked 'A.'
"We have also rec'd a subscription of sundry inhabitants of said County Stipulating to pay the sums severally annexed to their names, for the building of a jail and court house in said County, provided the County Seat be established at any place between certain points therein designated, which Subscription accompanies this report, marked 'B.'
"We have further to report, that after a diligent examination of the several sites pointed out to us and a general view of the County from actual observation and such other means of information as were accessible to us, we are of opinion that the present location is the most eligible one that can be made, either as it respects the present or future prospects of the County; and we are therefore decidedly of the opinion that it would be inexpedient to remove the Seat of Justice from its present loca- tion, provided the engagements with the public made by the proprietors are promptly and punctually complied with. As a preliminary step to which we would recommend to your honorable body that measures be taken to have a Plan of the Town recorded at the county seat ; a measure which is so obviously necessary, but which by some strange inadverteney has been hitherto neglected.
"Given under our hands at the city of Detroit the nineteenthi day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-five.
"THOMAS ROWLAND. "CHARLES NOBLE."
FULTON DEFAULTS ON ERECTION OF COUNTY BUILDINGS
It would appear that the character of their report was doubtful at the time of their presence in St. Clair, as we find an agreement quite numerously signed, dated November 18, 1824, by which the parties sign- ing agreed to contribute money and material for the ereetion of county
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buildings providing the county seat were located at any point between the house occupied by Wm. Gallagher and Thos. Fargo and the lower line of the farm occupied by the late Moses Birdsall. The first point was in what is now Marine City and the latter a short distance above Robert's Landing.
The hope expressed in this agreement, however. was destroyed by the report of the commissioners.
Shortly before the appearance of the commissioners in the county, on October 15. 1824. James Fulton had entered into an agreement with Thomas Palmer and David C. Mckinstry, both of Detroit, which had an important effect upon the retention of the county seat. Fulton had made default in the payment of his mortgage given in 1820, and the mortgagees had begun foreclosure in 1823, but at the date of this agree- ment final decree had not been taken, and the agreement refers to the mortgage, the commencement of foreclosure proceedings. the desire to have them completed, and possession given, that the buildings contracted to be built by Fulton under his agreement with the governor had not been completed, and Palmer and Mckinstry agreed to complete all the undertakings of Fulton to the satisfaction of the proper authorities, to obtain the title of Jesse Smith, to sell the property as rapidly as possible, and at the expiration of five years to divide the net proceeds.
Palmer and Mckinstry were responsible men well known in Detroit, and undoubtedly had considerable influence upon the commissioners. They replatted the property. the original plat of which was not put. upon record as provided by the law, and was not in fact recorded until 1828. They called their new plat "The Village of Palmer." and it cov- ered the same ground as the former one. but with some additions and the names of nearly all the streets were changed.
The report of the commissioners made to the council evidently settled the matter for the time being. and Palmer and Mckinstry proceeded to build the court house and jail.
PORT HURON A COUNTY SEAT CANDIDATE
The county slowly grew in population, a settlement grew up at Port Huron, the great land boom of the period from 1830 to 1836 brought in a large increase of population and a large sale of the public land. The growth had been greater toward the northern end of the county than at the southern end. At the session of the state legislature in 1842, Mr. J. W. Sanborn, then member of the house of representatives from this county, presented a petition of certain inhabitants of the county pray- ing for the removal of the county seat. Remonstrances were also sent in, and on February 4th, the select committee to whom had been referred the memorials and the remonstrances, relative to the removal of the seat of justice of the county of St. Clair, reported that they had ascertained from the memorials and remonstrances that the number of persons in favor of removal was 204, while the number opposed to removal was 360. or 154 in favor of the present location, and they therefore were of the opinion that no change in the location of the seat of justice should at the present time be made.
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This did not daunt the courage, however, of the people from Port Huron.
At the legislative session of 1843 numerous petitions were presented both in favor of having the seat of justice established at Port Huron, and remonstrances. One petition bore the signatures of 275 in favor of the change. The next day there was a remonstrance of 184. The following week there was a petition of 200 for removal, and a remon- strance of 303 against it. Within another week there was presented both petition and remonstrance, and the following week another remonstrance. signed by 173, and also another petition and another remonstrance. These papers were all referred to the proper committee, and on February Sth, this committee reported that they had had the petitions for removal and petitions against it under consideration, and reported adversely to the petition. The committee was thereupon discharged, and this settled the matter for several years.
Up to this time the authority to locate county seats had been first in the governor and then in the legislative council, and in the legislature. This situation had caused much trouble to the legislature, and in the constitution of 1850 it was provided: "That no county seat once estab- lished should be romoved until the place to which it is proposed to be removed shall be designated by a two-thirds vote of the board of super- visors of the county, and the majority of the electors voting thereon shall have voted in favor of the proposed location in such manner as shall be prescribed by law."
By 1854 the number of supervisors of the county had increased to fifteen and at the October session of that year Mr. J. P. Minnie, of Port Huron, offered a resolution that the county seat of St. Clair county be removed to the village of Port Huron, and that the question be laid be- fore the people of the county for their approval or disapproval, the people of the town of Port Huron building the court house and jail and such other buildings as would be required by the board of supervisors. at the expense of the township of Port Huron without any charge or expense to the county, and under the direction of the board of super- visors, the buildings to be worth not less than $15,000. This resolution was carried by a vote of eight yeas to six nays, but this not fulfilling the constitutional provision, the resolution was lost. One reason for this action by the Board was that since the last preceding session the log Court House and jail had burned down leaving the County without any buildings. In order to insure the retention of the County Seat at St. Clair its inhabitants, under the leadership of Harmon Chamberlin built the brick Court House which continued to be occupied until the County Seat was removed to Port Huron. This building was completed for some pur- poses in 1857, and entirely finished and Court first held in its second story in November, 1858.
By 1861 the number of supervisors had increased to twenty-eight, the city of Port Huron having been organized in the meantime, and having five members, and the city of St. Clair two. At a session of the board held on October 17, 1861, Mr. Edgar White, of Port Huron, pre- sented the following paper for the consideration of the board :
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"To the Honorable Board of Supervisors of the County of St. Clair : We, the undersigned citizens and supervisors of the City of Port Huron do hereby offer that if the Board of Supervisors will remove the County Seat of St. Clair County to the City of Port Huron, that they will provide a suitable site and erect thereon a building for the use of the County, equal in value in every respect to the building now occupied and used as the court house in St. Clair, and the same shall be done free of ex- pense to the county.
" (Signed) Calvin Ames, D. B. Harrington, Sheley & Ames, J. P. Minnie, J. S. Botsford, W. H. B. Dowling, D. M. Hagedon, J. Spalding. G. W. Pinkham, John Wells & Son, S. A. Jones. John Miller, II. L. Stevens, E. T. Brockway, J. D. Whitney. E. White, J. Demarest, D. Bryce. F. Sanborn, Haynes & Beard, D. Whitman, E. W. Harris."
After reading the above Mr. White then offered a resolution as follows: "Whereas, it is proposed to remove the County Seat of the County of St. Clair from the City of St. Clair :
"Therefore, it is hereby resolved by the Board of Supervisors of the County of St. Clair that it is expedient to remove the County Seat from the City of St. Clair, its present location, and that the City of Port Huron be and the same is hereby designated as the place to which such proposed removal shall be made ;
"Resolved, that the proposal mentioned in the foregoing preamble and resolution be submitted to the electors of said County at the next annual township meeting to be held in the several townships and charter elections to be held in the several wards of the cities of said county ;
"Resolved. that the County Clerk be and he is hereby directed and required to post up and publish the several notices required by Section 18, on page 193, of the Compiled Laws of this state at the time and place therein directed."
This attempt to remove the county seat. however, met with instant opposition, and a bill was filed in the name of the attorney-general of the state, against the board of supervisors to enjoin any proceedings to submit to the electors the question of the removal. The circuit court upon hearing the ease awarded an injunction. The defendants ap- pealed to the supreme court and its decision is found in Vol. 11 Michigan Reports, page 63. It appeared that the charter election in the city of St. Clair was held at a date different from the time of holding the annual township meeting, and the supreme court decided that the law providing for a vote in such matters was defective, and that in the county of St. Clair the question of the removal of the county seat could not be legally submitted to the people.
REMOVAL INDORSED BY SUPERVISORS AND PEOPLE
St. Clair again drew a breath of relief, but it was not destined to remain long in security. At the session of the supervisors in 1865 there were twenty-nine members, and on October 13th, Supervisor E. W. Harris, from Port Huron, offered the following preamble and resolu-
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tion : "Whereas. it is proposed to remove the county seat of St. Clair county from the city of St. Clair; therefore,
"Resolved, by the board of supervisors of St. Clair county that the city of Port Huron be and is hereby designated as the place to which such proposed removal shall be made."
This resolution was referred to a committee of six members, which made a majority, and a minority report, the majority being in favor of the removal. the minority against it. After several attempted substitu- tions an amendment was adopted as follows: "Provided suitable guar- anty be given for the erection of the necessary buildings for county pur- poses free of cost to the county, and said guaranty shall be given within ninety days from this date."
The question upon the adoption of the resolution as amended was then carried by nineteen votes in favor and eight votes opposed.
It was apparent from this that the necessary number of favorable votes was not obtained, but upon the next day, October 14th, leave was granted by a resolution of the board to Suprvisor Granger, of Columbus township, to change his vote from "nay" to "aye."
Upon the report of the vote standing nineteen to nine the chairman decided that the resolution was adopted by a two-thirds vote of all the supervisors-elect; from this decision Supervisor Owen, of St. Clair, appealed but the decision of the chair was sustained.
Supervisor Harris then submitted the following resolution : "Where- as, it has been proposed to remove the county seat of St. Clair county from the city of St. Clair; and,
"Whereas, the city of Port Huron has been designated by a two- thirds vote of the board of supervisors as the place to which sueh pro- posed removal shall be made; therefore,
"Resolved, that the said proposition for said removal be and the same is hereby submitted to the qualified eleetors of said St. Clair county at the time and in the manner provided by law.
"Resolved, that it be and hereby is made the duty of the sheriff of this county, and the chairman of this board, to prepare, publish and post the notices required to be given hy section 18 of chapter 10 of the compiled laws of this state, as amended by act No. 32 of the session laws of 1863," which was declared adopted by the affirmative vote of eigh- teen to a negative vote of nine. The action relative to the vote of Super- visor Granger was taken upon October 14th. and a protest against this action was placed upon the record signed by seven of the supervisors.
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