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 31
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In 1840, the township included the present city of Port Huron as well as the township of Fort Gratiot, and upon the assessment roll for that year appear the following names within what is now the city of Port Huron.
South side of Black river: A. F. Ashley, E. A. Biron. Milton C. Bowers, J. and J. Bryce. George Clark and C. Flugal (bakery), John Campbell, A. and J. B. Comstock, Clift. Comstock, Ruth Davis, Eaton & Bancroft, J. F. Follensbee, E. L. Hannah (wharf and building), D. B. Harrington, Orson E. Hall, J. S. Heath, John Howard. Howard & San- born, N. D. Horton, Alex Hulin, Isaac Halstead, J. L. Kelsey, J. H. King, L. M. Mason, J. P. Minnie, William Moon, W. Moore, Norman Nash, Ira Porter, Edward Petit, John Richardson, J. Spalding, M. H. Shippey, James Scott, C. Thompson, S. V. Thornton (wharf and store- house), J. H. Westbrook, C. C. Waller, Wright & Carpenter and James Young.
North side of Black river : Thorn plat-Brakeman & Thorn, J. Bur- ton, A. B. & J. Botsford, R. Hamilton, W. Randall, William Robertson, B. L. Skiff and John Wilson. Butler plat-Black River Steam Mill Company, Charles Burnham, W. Davis, S. S. Gould, D. R. Hatch, Inger- soll & Wilcox, F. P. Jones, C. B. Lyon, Gardner Patten and F. Saunders.
North of Military reservation: I. Bird, S. Boddy, J. C. Burdick, William Foley, J. J. Holland, Thomas Murphy, William Osmer and George White.
The following were assessed for personal property alone, within the present city limits : N. Ayrault, A. W. Campfield, George Cooper,
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
Waldo Comstock, P. S. Cross Estate, J. B. Flanagan, Abner Gould, D. M. Hagedon, Lucian Howe, B. A. Luce, Jerauld Miller, George Me- Dougall, Justin Rice (agent stockholders Gen. Gratiot), Sanborn, Gil- lett & Company, O. C. Thompson, Edward Wade, Wells, Cooper & Company, Zopher Wright and E. P. Vickery.
The following were assessed as resident taxpayers with property not village lots, although in many cases the land is now within the city limits :
Sec. 19 Rice & Barber, Sanborn & Smith, John M. Wade.
See. 20 J. S. Kimball, G. F. Boynton.
Sec. 21 John Randall, S. Hulin, Michael Hand, John Applegate.
Sec. 22
E. B. Clark, H. Whitcomb.
Sec. 29 James M. Geel.
See. 30
P. & J. Harder.
Sec. 31
L. Carlisle.
Sec. 32 John Moores.
Population statistics : 1830, 376; 1837, 824; 1840, 1,113; 1850, 718; 1860, 1,494; 1870, 832; 1880, 1,010; 1890, 1,407; 1900, 1,666; 1910, 1,934.
Supervisors: 1827, Martin Peckins; 1828, Jeremiah Harrington ; 1829-32, John Kenelly ; 1833, John Doran; 1834, Ralph Wadhams; 1835, John Kenelly ; 1836, Cummings Sanborn; 1837, Ira Porter; 1838-41, County Commissioners; 1842, John S. Heath; 1843, Peter F. Brake- man ; 1844, John S. Heath; 1845-6, Peter F. Brakeman; 1847, John Thorn; 1848, John Wells; 1849-50, Joseph P. Minnie; 1857-9, Alex F. Ashley ; 1860-4, James Demarest ; 1865, Alex W. Clark; 1866-80, James Demarest; 1881, John L. Newell; 1882-8, Gage M. Cooper; 1889-95, Charles A. Bailey ; 1896-08, Peter Schweitzer; 1909-11, Charles A. Bailey.
RILEY
This township-town 6 north, range 14 east-was detached from the township of Clyde and organized by act of March 6, 1838. It was named for John Riley, the half-breed Chippewa Indian who lived for several years on the reservation at Port Huron, and was in the habit of going regularly to the woods in what is now Riley township for making maple sugar and for hunting. In October, 1836, the same year the Indian Reservation at Port Huron, upon which John Riley lived, was bought by the United States. Riley's father bought the southwest quarter of sec- tion 27 in this township and a few days later gave to John a life lease of it at the rental of 6 cents yearly. It is said that John opened a store but extended too much eredit to his white friends with the result that he lost his goods, and money, and first mortgage and then sold his prop- erty.
Belle river runs southeasterly through the township, and the incor- porated village of Memphis lies partly in seetion 35 and partly in the adjoining township of Richmond, in Macomb county. The Almont
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
branch of the Pere Marquette Railway runs through the southern part of the township.
The township received an early accession of settlers, and in 1840 the following appear on the assessment roll :
Sec. 1 M. Harrington.
Sec. 5 Oliver Tuttle.
Sec. 13 J. C. Edgerly, George Whiting.
Sec. 15 Oliver Allen, Lucius Oakes.
Sec. 19 Ira Youngs.
Sec. 20 John Lawn, E. W. Cross.
Sec. 21 Jeremiah and Nathan Thorp.
Sec. 22
Justin Corey, Ira and Benjamin Babcock.
Sec. 25 Josiah Snow, Hugh Gregg.
Sec. 25-26 John Grinnell.
Sec. 26 Peter Bice. Wm. Wells, Nelson Phillips, J. D. Armsby.
Sec. 34 John Vanderbilt.
Sec. 34-35 David Mansfield.
Sec. 35 Anthony and Abraham Wells, Ransom Hulin, Harford and Adney Phillips, Carmi Coburn, John Stewart, James Kelly, Oel Rix.
Sec. 36 Charles Clough, Anson S. Welch, Jolin A. Inver, Joseph Potter, Lewis Sage, Oscar Pomeroy.
Population statistics (including part of Memphis) : 1840, 114; 1850, 311; 1860, 938; 1870, 1,664; 1880, 2,002; 1890, 1,605; 1900, 1,462; 1910, 1,324.
Supervisors : 1838-41, County Commissioners; 1842, Oel Rix; 1843, Amasa S. Welch; 1844-5, John Lown; 1846-7, Amasa S. Welch; 1848, Jolın Lown; 1849, John P. Gleason; 1850, Amasa S. Welch; 1851-3, Henry Rix; 1854, Oel Rix; 1855, Henry Rix; 1856, Oel Rix; 1857-9, Ezra Hazen ; 1860, Amasa S. Welch; 1861-4, Ezra Hazen; 1865-6, Henry Rix; 1867, Ezra Hazen; 1868, William Eaton; 1869, Ezra Hazen; 1870, William Eaton; 1871-82, Constant Simmons; 1883, Martin Ellinwood ; 1884-5, Joseph H. Dutton; 1886, Constant Simmons; 1887, Richard E. French; 1888, Constant Simmons; 1889, Martin Ellinwood; 1890, Con- stant Simmons; 1891, Martin Ellinwood ; 1892-3, Freeman Snyder; 1894, Benjamin Felker; 1895-7, David M. Tice; 1898-04, Thomas McCall ; 1905, Lambert Van Valkenburg; 1907-9, Freeman Snyder; 1910-11, Michael McInerney.
ST. CLAIR
As shown above in this chapter, practically the whole county was originally the township of St. Clair. In 1823 at the first formal division of the county into three townships, St. Clair included all the county north and west of the township of Cottrellville. By act of April 12, 1827, upon a re-division of the county, the township of Sinclair was laid out to consist of that part of surveyed townships 4 and 5 north in ranges 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 east, which lay within the county, but the county
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
did not at that time inelude townships 4 north, ranges 13 and 14 east, nor the west half of town 5 north, range 13 east. This was re- duced in 1832 by the change in the county boundary line which cut off the east half of town 5 north, range 13 east, and entire town 5 north, range 14 east, and it was further reduced in 1835 by the creation of the township of China, and in 1836, by the township of Clyde. This left only a narrow strip along the river, to include town 5 north, range 17 east, which was increased by act of March 31, 1838, to take in town 5 north, range 16 east, and all of private elaim No. 255.
The aet of April 12, 1839, extended the south line of the township in a straight line through private elaims Nos. 306 and 304 to St. Clair river. In 1849 the south line was again changed as is shown in the section of this chapter relating to China, but this act was repealed in 1850, and all of the township of China, within the limits of St. Clair village was at- tached to the township of St. Clair. The village of St. Clair was incor- porated upon the same date, and with the exception of changes in the boundary lines of the village and city, the township limits have sinee remained the same.
This township, with the exception of less than 600 aeres, was taken up during the speculative period, ending in 1836, and as it included the settlement at St. Clair, it had a considerable population in 1840.
The assessment roll of 1840 contains the names of the following resi- dent tax payers :
See. 2 Peter and Solomon Laturno.
See. 4 Charles Stewart.
Sec. 5 Daniel M. Lynn.
Sec. 8 Stephen Carl, Daniel Hathway, Henry Loucks.
Sec. 9 Andrew J. Palmer.
See. 17 Rufus Henderson.
See. 18 Pendleton Ogden.
Sec. 19 Geo. and Alex St. Bernard, Francis Bazil and Beloni Thi- bault, R. & F. Moore.
See. 20 John Shin, John Russell.
Sec. 24 Henry B. Turner, B. S. Hammond, John Leach.
See. 27 O. E. Parker.
See. 29-30 Abijah Beard, Israel, Jeremiah, Chester and Edmund Carleton. Sec. 34 John Doran. David Frazier.
P. C. 307 Gideon, Benj. C., William and J. C. Cox. David C. Vanee.
P. C. 255 Charles A. Mack.
In the village of Palmer, the following were resident real estate tax payers : M. R. Barron, W. B. Barron. John Beach, George Bellant, Everett Beardsley, John Bowen, Mrs. Boynton. H. P. Cady, Harmon Chamberlin, Mrs. Crosby. Almon Downs, Daniel Follensbee, Charles Fuller, Sergeant Heath, Horatio James, Amos James, W. D. James, J. L. Kelsey, Asahel Kinney, Philo Leach Est., J. O. Leonard, H. N. Monson, Solomon Ostrander, Titus B. Palmer, William Robinson, Thomas Sar-
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
gent, Larned Smith, Robert Scott, O. C. Thompson, True P. Tucker and F. G. Wilcox.
The following were assessed for personal property only: James Blakeslee, Matthew Bartlett, C. Bartlett & Co., Joseph Boshaw, Joseph Bardeen, Shubael Bullock, S. B. Carll, Israel E. Carleton, H. L. Walker and August Wells.
The Fort Gratiot turnpike extends through this township, and the Rapid Railway traverses the eastern part. Pine river runs through it from north to south.
Population statistics: 1830, 272; 1837, 501; 1840, 413; 1850, 1,729; 1860, 1,687; 1,870, 2,002; 1880, 1,996; 1890, 1,807; 1900, 1,554; 1910, 1,366.
Supervisors : 1827-8, Everett Beardsley ; 1829-30, William Gallagher ; 1831, Andrew Westbrook; 1832-4, Edmund Carleton; 1835, Peter Carle- ton ; 1836-7, Horatio N. Monson ; 1838-41, County Commissioners ; 1842-7, Harmon Chamberlin ; 1848, Israel Carleton; 1849-54, Harmon Chamber- lin; 1855, Henry Whiting; 1856, William B. Barron; 1857, Eugene Smith; 1858, William Luck; 1859, Benjamin L. Jenks; 1860-1, Nelson Mills; 1862, William Luck; 1863-5, Charles McMillan; 1866, William Luck; 1867-9, John V. Kemp; 1870, Dennis Jones; 1871-83, Palmer S. Carleton ; 1884-5, Peter Bell, Jr .; 1886-7, Frank Jackson; 1888, Palmer S. Carleton ; 1891-4, John P. Wolf; 1895-7, Daniel Gleason ; 1898-02, Bion E. Beach ; 1903-10, Brien Cody ; 1910, Chris Stein ; 1911, Benton Osborne.
WALES
This township was created by act of March 27, 1841, being detached from Clyde township, and was composed of surveyed township 6 north, range 15 east. The origin of its name is unknown.
About one-half of its land was bought during the speculative period, but on the assessment roll of 1840 there were but three resident property owners : Sec. 17, C. S. Cusick and J. H. Dutton ; Sec. 20-21-29, Joshua Tompkins.
The Grand Trunk Western Railroad traverses the northern part of the township, and the Almont branch of the Pere Marquette Railway the central part. It contains the unincorporated village of Goodells.
Population statistics : 1850, 189 ; 1860, 903 ; 1870, 1,358; 1880, 1,820; 1890, 1,635; 1900, 1,432; 1910, 1,348.
Supervisors : 1841, County Commissioners; 1842, Clark S. Cusick; 1843, Joshua Tompkins; 1844-5, Joseph H. Dutton; 1846, Benson Bart- lett; 1847-8, Lewis Persels ; 1849-50, Joseph H. Dutton ; 1851, John Lamb ; 1852, Hiram King; 1853, Joseph M. Beach ; 1854-7, Waterman D. Miller ; 1858-60, Joshua Tompkins; 1861-4, William W. Hartson; 1865, Joshua Tompkins ; 1866-7, Drury F. Willoughby ; 1868, Robert Baillie; 1869-72, William W. Hartson; 1873-8, Robert Baillie ; 1879, William W. Hartson ; 1880, Darwin Drake; 1881-5, Charles Clausen ; 1886, William W. Hart- son ; 1887-90, Charles Clausen; 1891, Philip Carnell; 1892, Charles Clausen ; 1893-6, Isaac P. Green; 1897-9, Robert Mckenzie; 1900-02, Henry Maurer ; 1903-4, Duncan Patterson; 1905-11, Robert Mckenzie.
CHAPTER XVI
CITIES AND VILLAGES
TOWN OF ST. CLAIR-MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS AND PLATS-CITY OF PORT HURON-ST. CLAIR-MARINE CITY-YALE-FORT GRATIOT- ALGONAC-CAPAC-MEMPHIS-NEW BALTIMORE.
In this state there has never been any legal distinction between a city and village, so far as the number of inhabitants was concerned. Until after Michigan became a state, it contained but one city-Detroit -and but five villages, Ann Arbor, Monroc, Niles, St. Joseph and Ypsil- anti. Of these, Monroe was the oldest, having been incorporated in 1827. A special act of the legislative body was required for incorporation, and small settlements did not care to have the expense of a special govern- ment, as they received no greater benefits than the other residents of the township. During the time Michigan was a territory, and indeed long after, many of the things now regarded as necessities even in small villages were unknown. Sidewalks, sewers, pavements, water, lighting, all were practically unknown in the west.
Settlements grew up, and to accommodate their needs land was platted in blocks, lots and streets, but it was not until 1827 that there was any statutory regulation of such platting or provision for the recording of plats. An act of the same year prohibited the giving of a name to a town plat which was contained in the general list of postoffices of the United States.
It seems to have been customary to lay out a plat and give it a name, as the town of St. Clair, the village of Peru, and trust to the future for inhabitants to make good the name. In common use, the only word which carried with it the necessary implication of a governmental incor- poration was city, town or village, and merely meant an actual or pro- posed settlement of people.
It not infrequently happened that the platted name differed from the one by which the settlement was generally known.
TOWN OF ST. CLAIR
The earliest settlement in the county attaining to the dignity of a plat and name was the "Town of St. Clair," platted and named in 1818. Prior to that the only names given to any settlements in the county were such as Adjutant General McDougall gave in his Report on the
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CITY HALL AND COURT HOUSE, PORT HURON
253
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
Militia in 1816, when he refers to the "Point au Tremble settlement" of eight or nine farms and the "Belle River settlement." He also refers to Captain Harrow's "Plantation." This had a name which Captain Harrow gave it and used in his correspondence-Newburgh, from his native town in Scotland-but it was never extended to anything beyond the captain's own residence.
MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS AND PLATS
The first municipal incorporation in the county was of Port Huron as a village in 1849, followed the next year by the village of St. Clair. Others have been added until at the present time there are four cities, Port Huron, Marine City, St. Clair and Yale, and three incorporated villages entirely within the county, Algonac, Capac and Emmet, and two incorporated villages, Memphis and New Baltimore, partly within this county and partly within Macomb county.
In addition, there are a number of platted unincorporated villages or settlements, Adair, Avoca, Abbottsford, Brockway, Fargo, Lakeport, Marysville, Ruby, Smith's Creek.
In 1836 Milwaukie City was platted upon the site of what was after- wards platted as Lakeport. A settlement in East China was called Hall- ville, and names have been given to other localities not platted or incor- porated, as Grant Center, Jeddo, Riley Center.
CITY OF PORT HURON
The present city of Port Huron includes within its limits five dis- tinet village or city plats, besides numerous additions : Peru, Desmond, Gratiot, Huron, Fort Gratiot. In 1835 Edward Petit, son of Anselm Petit, the original owner, owned that part of fractional section 11 which lay south of Black river. It included the land lying north of Griswold street and east of Fourth street. Mr. Petit, with the assistance of Hosea Powers as surveyor, platted this land into lots and blocks and called the plat the village of Peru; why this name, is unknown.
During the same year White and Harrington, who owned that part of the east half of northeast quarter of section 10 lying south of Black river, which had been originally bought by Joseph Watson, platted it as the village of Desmond. This plat was bounded on the east by the village of Peru, on the south by the section line, now Griswold street, on the west by the angling line of the Indian reservation, and the line of what is now Seventh street. The name was taken from the township of Desmond, in which it was included. Two years later, in 1837, John Thorn, who had acquired the patent from the United States of fractional section 2, and that part of section 11 north of Black river, platted that part which lies south of what is now Broad street and called it the village of Gratiot.
In 1837 the owners of the Bonhomme and Lasselle claims, including the land lying between the Military Reserve and what is now the Holland road, platted it all into blocks and lots and called it the town of Huron. This plat contained more than eight thousand lots, enough to care for a
POST OFFICE AND CUSTOM HOUSE, PORT HURON
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
population of forty thousand souls. The enthusiasm of 1837 evaporated in the panic of that year and the depression following, and by 1841 the hope of finding purchasers for all those lots had died away, and upon application to the court the plat was modified and reduced to the area bounded by Superior street on the north and by State street on the south.
That part of section 10 north of Black river was originally purchased in the name of Solomon Sibley, of Detroit, but Major Morrill Marston and Dr. Edward Purcell, of the U. S. army, the latter having been stationed at Fort Gratiot in 1816, furnished one-third of the money and were the equitable owners of that proportion. It is quite probable that Judge Sibley made a conveyance of that interest to them, but it was never recorded.
However, in 1823 Sibley conveyed the undivided two-thirds of the land to Charles Butler, as trustee for the Huron Land Company, and never assumed any rights over the balance. The Marston interest passed to the Black River Steam Mill Company, who in addition had purchased a tract of about five acres out of the entire piece, which was generally referred to as the Steam Mill reserve, and lay just west of Seventh Street bridge. The Purcell interest passed to Robert Hogge and Edward Sales, and the Sales interest passed to Butler, while logge contracted to sell his interest to Jonathan Burtch, who, after Hogge's death in 1831, applied to court and obtained a decree entitling him to a deed, and in the meantime, without waiting for partition-his share being one-twelfth of the entire tract of ninety-one acres-he went into possession of a parcel near Military Street bridge. This was the condi- tion in June, 1837, when Charles Butler made his "Plat of a part of the Town of Port Huron," now commonly known as Butler's plat. An arrangement was made with the Black River Steam Mill Company, and they obtained their "Reserve" and certain lots in lieu of their undivided interest, and Jonathan Burtch received a deed of four well located lots.
The name of this new plat was probably given because of the agita- tion then going on to have one name given to the aggregation of plats, and the name of the postoffice had already been changed to Port Huron. In August of the same year the following petition was filed in the circuit court of the county of St. Clair: "To the Honorable the Circuit Court of the County of St. Clair, State of Michigan: The undersigned pro- prietors of the Village of Desmond and Village of Gratiot situate and being in said county, respectfully sheweth that they have procured a new plat of said villages and united the same so that the Village of Desmond and Village of Gratiot are represented on the said map or plat as one village, and the name thereof changed to Port Huron ;
"And your petitioners further represent that there have been some slight alterations made from the original survey or plat of said villages, but that no state or county road has been altered, and they pray that the said map or plat of Port Huron may be recorded in the stead of the plats of Desmond and Gratiot."
This petition was signed by D. B. Harrington, John Thorn, chief proprietors of the two village plats; E. B. Harrington, Edward Petit,
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
A. F. Ashley, Samuel Hall, John S. Heath, G. C. Clark, Ira Porter and William Moore, lot owners.
Notice of this application was published for sixty days in the Lake Huron Observer, then being published by E. B. Harrington, and pre- sumably the court looked with favor upon the petition and granted the prayer, as thereafter the name of the community south of the military reserve on both sides of Black river. was Port Huron.
The community continued to grow and in order to meet the needs of the occasion the village of Port Huron was incorporated by act approved April 2, 1849, and included the following territory: All that part of the township of Port Huron embraced within the following
RESIDENCE OF D. B. HARRINGTON, PORT HURON (From an Old Painting)
limits, to-wit: Commencing on the bank of the St. Clair river, one- half mile below the mouth of Black river. thence west one-half mile, thence north to the south line of the United States military reserve, thence east along said south line to the St. Clair river, and thence southerly along said St. Clair river and including all wharves and anchorages therein, to the place of beginning.
The city of Port Huron was incorporated by act approved February 4, 1857, so as to include the following territory: All of fractional sec- tion 2. fractional section 11, fractional section 14, the north half of section 15. all of section 10, and all that part of section 3 lying south and west of Black river, in town 6 north. of range 17 east, and also all the waters of the Black and St. Clair rivers within and in front of the above limits, is hereby set off from the township of Port Huron, and constituted the city of Port Huron, by which name it shall be hereafter known.
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
The territorial limits of the city were changed by Act No. 214 of the Jaws of Michigan of 1859, and by Act. No. 452 of 1869, Act. No. 287 of 1877, Act No. 390 of 1885, Acts Nos. 318 and 365 of 1891, which included a large addition at the southern end of the city; Act No. 290 of 1893, which incorporated into Port Huron the former city of Fort Gratiot; Acts Nos. 317 and 380 of 1901, and Acts Nos. 482 and 533 of 1903.
Since its first incorporation in 1849 the chief officers fo Port Huron as village and city have been: Presidents of village board-1849, Lorenzo M. Mason; 1850, Martin S. Gillett; 1851, Daniel B. Harring- ton ; 1852, Alonzo E. Noble; 1853, Wellington Davis; 1854, Alvah Sweet- ser ; 1855, Newell Avery ; and 1856, John Miller.
Mayors-1857, William L. Bancroft; 1858, Edgar White: 1859, Newell Avery ; 1860, John Miller ; 1861-2, Calvin Ames ; 1863, Frederick L. Wells; 1864-5, Cyrus Miles; 1866, Jared Kibbee; 1867, John John- ston ; 1868, John L. Newell; 1869, John Hibbard; 1870, Samuel L. Boyce; 1871-2, John Miller; 1873, John Johnston; 1874-5, Nathan S. Boynton; 1876, Samuel L. Boyce; 1877-8, Daniel N. Runnels; 1879, Edmond Fitzgerald; 1880, Joseph Jacobi ; 1881, Ezra C. Carleton ; 1882, Henry Howard; 1883-4, John G. O'Neill; 1885. Elliott G. Stevenson ; 1886, Myron Northup ; 1887, William Hartsuff; 1888, Frank J. Haynes; 1889-92, James B. McIlwain; 1893. Seward L. Merriam ; 1894-7, Nathan S. Boynton; 1898-9, Herman W. Stevens; 1890-2, Albert A. Graves; 1903-4, Fred T. Moore; 1905-6, Clark E. Spencer; and 1907-10. John J. Bell.
Port Huron was one of the first cities in the state to adopt the com- mission form of government. In accordance with the provisions of Act No. 279 of 1909, a special election was held Jan. 18, 1910, a char- ter committee of 14 members elected who framed an entirely new char- ter which was submitted to the vote of the people Nov. 5, 1910, and adopted by a vote of 1,603 in favor, with 833 in opposition.
Commissioners-1911, John J. Bell, Fred J. Dixon, Andrew J. Smith, Samuel Aikman and Charles E. Mudford.
ST. CLAIR
In May, 1818, James Fulton became the sole owner of Private Claims Nos. 304 and 305 upon St. Clair river. The dividing line between these claims ran into St. Clair river just at the mouth of Pine river. Mr. Fulton did not believe in letting opportunity overtake and pass him by. Most people of that time were content to let settlements gradually grow up, and then plat out streets and lots for building. Not so Mr. Fulton, he took the opposite course. After buying the land he at once set a force of men and teams clearing land on the north side of Pine river and soon had about fifty acres sufficiently subdued so that he could lay out streets and public places, and he immediately began to advertise in the Detroit Gazette the fact that he had laid out a town at the ruins of "old Fort St. Clair" and had platted it into squares which would be for sale the following July.
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