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 32
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Probably to his surprise, Fulton was as far in advance of population in his preparations as most communities are behind it. The records Vol. I-17
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
show that his only purchaser was John Thorn, who happened to be his brother-in-law. Fulton named his plat the town of St. Clair, no doubt under the mistaken idea that the old fort whose remains were then plainly visible on the south side of Pine river was named Fort St. Clair, instead of Fort Sinclair, its rightful name. No provision had been made at that time for the recording of town plats, and it was not until nine years later that this plat was placed of record. In the meantime a con- siderable change had taken place. Mr. Fulton, apparently, was a man whose enthusiasm outran his means, and although he succeeded in get- ting the new county of St. Clair set off in 1820 and his prospective city made the county seat, he had gone considerably into debt and the influx of population and sale of lots was not enough to help him out. Accord- ingly, in 1824 he conveyed his town site and the balance of his claims to Thomas Palmer and David C. MeKinstry. two capable and enter-
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BROWN'S HOTEL OR CITY HOTEL, ST. CLAIR
prising men of Detroit, upon the agreement that they should manage it, pay the debts, and after five years divide the surplus. But there was no surplus, although Mr. Fulton endeavored to persuade the supreme court of the territory in 1836 in a suit he brought against Thomas Palmer et al., that there should have been a surplus. The court, how- ever, failed to find one.
Mr. MeKinstry seems to have withdrawn from the deal and Mr. Palmer took the title, and perhaps to remove all suspicion of Fulton having any interest, made an entirely new plat in 1828, which he called the village of Palmer. The new plat used the same streets and public places, but gave them new names. and took in a small amount of addi- tional territory. This name continued to be attached to the settlement until 1846. when by act of the legislature its name was changed back to St. Clair. It is a singular fact that the postoffice which had been established there in February, 1826, under the name of St. Clair, re- tained that name all through the time that the village bore the name of
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
Palmer. In 1849 the village of Port Huron was incorporated. This acted as a stimulus upon the inhabitants of the county seat, and by act approved April 1, 1850, the following land, to-wit: Commencing at the northeast corner of Private Claim No. 305 at the River St. Clair; thence westerly along the north line of said private claim to the north- west corner of five acre Out Lot No. 6; thence southerly along the west line of five acre lots to the southwest corner of five acre Ont. Lot No. 112; thence east along the south line of five acre lots to the northwest corner of Out Lot No. 10; thence south along the west line of said Out Lot No. 10 to Pine river; thence along said river down stream to the sonth line of said village plat. as engraved by J. G. Darby, of Buffalo, A. D., 1836; thence east along the south line of said village plat to the River St. Clair: thence along said River St. Clair up stream to the place of beginning, was incorporated as the village of St. Clair.
By act approved February 4, 1858, the original territory, with some additional territory, was incorporated as the city of St. Clair and changes were made in the territorial limits by Act No. 294 of 1883, Act No. 391 of 1893 and by Act No. 369 of 1897.
Since its first incorporation the chief officers of the municipality have been : Presidents-1850, James T. Copeland; 1851, William B. Barron ; 1852-6, John E. Kitton ; and 1857, George W. Carleton.
Mayors-1858, Harmon Chamberlin; 1859, John E. Kitton; 1860, Eugene Smith; 1861, William M. St. Clair; 1862, George L. Cornell; 1863-5, Fred HI. Blood; 1866, George L. Cornell; 1867, John Nicol ; 1868, Diodorus Sheldon; 1869, Tubal C. Owen : 1870-2, John E. Kitton ; 1873, John Canan ; 1874-5, Diodorus Sheldon ; 1876, Crocket MeElroy ; 1877, Diodorus Sheldon; 1878, Gustavus Strauss; 1879, Justin R. Whit- ing; 1880-1, Charles F. Moore ; 1882-5, Robert H. Jenks ; 1886-7, Charles II. Waterloo; 1888, Simon Langell ; 1889, Mark Hopkins; 1890-2, Simon Langell; 1893, Julius Belknap; 1894, Simon Langell; 1895, John P. Whiting; 1896, Charles HI. Westcott; 1897, J. George Zink; 1898, Mark Hopkins; 1899-03, James W. Inches; 1904, Simon Langell; 1905, Fred W. Moore: 1906-7, Frank Schepferman; 1908, Russ S. Jenks; 1909-10, Theodore Ruff; and 1911, Franklin Moore, Jr.
MARINE CITY
In 1819 Samuel Ward bought from the government the part of sec- tion 1 lying between Belle and St. Clair rivers, and after making sales of several portions, in 1834 he platted that part of Marine City bounded on the north by Ward street, south by Bridge street. and west by Belle river, as the village of Newport. A postoffice had been established at this point in 1831 under the name of Belle River, with Mr. Ward as postmaster. The name of the postoffice was not changed, although the community grew and flourished, and was generally known by the name of the plat. There was another Newport in Wayne county, which fact prevented the change of postoffice name.
By 1865 the community had grown so large it was decided to incor- porate as a village, and adopt a name which would allow the village and postoffice name to be the same, and by an act of the legislature of
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
March 12, 1865, the village of Marine was incorporated, to include all that district of country in the county of St. Clair in the state of Michi- gan, described as follows, to-wit: Commencing at the northeast corner of said township, on the margin of St. Clair river; thence west on the north line of said township number 3 north, to the center of Belle river ; thence southeasterly down the center of said river to the junction of Belle river and the River St. Clair; thence northeasterly up the west margin of the River St. Clair to the place of beginning, embracing within said boundary all that part of fractional sections numbers 1 and 12, town 3 north, of range number 16 east, lying east of Belle river, and also all that part of fractional section number 6, in town number
CITY HALL, MARINE CITY
3 north, of range number 17 east, and also the water in St. Clair river in front of said limits, is hereby constituted and declared a body corporate, under the name and title of the village of Marine, in the county of St. Clair.
In May of the same year the name of the postoffice was changed to Marine City, and at the next session of the legislature, by aet approved March 13, 1867, the name of the village was changed to Marine City.
By aet of March 30, 1869, the survey and plat of the village made by Charles Palmer in 1865 was deelared to be legal and valid.
By act approved May 3, 1879, the village was reincorporated with the same territory.
By act approved June 8. 1887, the village, with additional territory taken from the township of Cottrellville, was incorporated as a city with the same name.
Its presidents have been-1865, David Lester; 1866-7, Valentine A. Saph ; 1868, Nathan S. Boynton or Frank Hart; 1869, Jacob Dours;
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
1870, George Langel] ; 1871, David Lester: 1872-3. Benj. F. Owen : 1874, ; 1875, -; 1876. Leonard B. Parker; 1877, Gregory Francis; 1878, Ansel B. Clough : 1879, William B. Morley ; 1880, Frank Hart; 1881, Robert Holland; 1882, Valentine A. Saph; 1883-4. Robert B. Baird ; 1885, W. B. Morley : 1886, Frank MeElroy.
Mayors-1887, Frank MeElroy; 1888-9. Leonard B. Parker: 1890, Andrew Bower; 1891. John Drawe: 1892. Robert B. Baird: 1893. An- drew Bower: 1894, JJohn J. Hill; 1895. Valentine 1. Saph: 1896, Charles T. Morley ; 1897. --; 1898-9, G. Whitbeck Parker: 1900, William F. Sauber: 1901, George N. Jones: 1902. Michael L. Craig; 1903, Sidney C. MeLouth; 1904, Fletcher Blagborn; 1905, Sidney C. McLouth: 1907-8. Charles Starkweather; 1909, Sidney C. MeLouth ; 1910. Robert R. Holland; and 1911, Robert B. Baird .*
YALE
There was quite early a settlement in the southeast corner of Broek- way township, upon Mill ereek, where a dam was put in and a saw mill built, and this was named Broekway.
As the township became cleared up and settled and roads opened, a store and postoffice were established at the corner of sections 10, 11, 14 and 15. This postoffice was established in May, 1865, and although it was two miles from the center of the township, it was named Brock- way Center.
The settlement grew slowly, but when the Saginaw branch of the Port Huron and Northwestern Railway was built it ran near, and a station was established, and the community began to increase rapidly.
With increase of population came demand for incorporation, and by aet approved April 2, 1885, the following territory, to-wit: The south- east quarter of section 10; the southwest quarter of section 11 ; the north- west quarter of section 14 and the northeast quarter of section 15, town number 8 north, range number 14 east, was constituted and incor- porated a village with the name of Brockway Center.
This name not being correctly descriptive, was not entirely satis- factory, and agitation soon began for a change, but it was only after considerable discussion that the name Yale, suggested by B. R. Noble and taken from Yale college, was adopted, and an act of the legislature approved March 6, 1889, ratified and legalized the new name, and the following June the postoffice name was changed to correspond.
By act approved June 7, 1905, the village of Yale became a city of the fourth class under the same name, and with the same territory.
Its presidents have been-1885. John W. Lamon; 1886. James Brown ; 1887. John D. Grinnell; 1888, James Brown; 1889, William V. Andreae ; 1890-1. James C. Holden ; 1892-3, James McCall ; 1894, George W. Waring; 1895-7. James MeCall; 1898. William V. Andrae; 1899-00, James McCall; 1901, George A. Man; 1902, George McIntyre; 1903-4, Edward F. Fead.
Mayors-1905-7. Thomas W. Wharton ; 1908. James E. Beavis ; 1909, Edward Andreae; 1910-11, William F. Ruh.
* The official records of Marine City are very defective and completely lack- ing for several years.
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
FORT GRATIOT
The Huron Land Company, a sort of syndicate formed to speculate in lands at the foot of Lake Huron, bought in 1836, the two private claims north of the Fort Gratiot military reserve, except about fifty aeres reserved for the light house. Fort Gratiot lay in the northeast corner of the reserve. Visions of rapid and great wealth undoubtedly filled the minds of these associates, who in general were men of hard business sense and capacity in New York and Boston, but who, like many others. became crazed in the widespread infatuation over the western lands in 1834, 1835 and 1836. The associates in the enterprise were William Bard, Edward A. Nicoll, Thomas Suffern, Federal Vanderburgh, Joseph D. Beers, James B. Mower, John Moorehead and James MeBride of New York. John McNiel, Samuel Hubbard, John Borland of Boston, Erastus Corning of Albany. Edward Willett and Benj. Stephens of New Brunswick, N. J., C. Bushnell. B. F. Butler and Nicholas Ayrault. who jointly owned one share-a sixteenth. Mr. Ayrault came on and lived here for some years, acting as the agent of the company.
The title to this property was taken in Charles Butler, a lawyer of high standing in New York City as trustee. and he executed a declara- tion of trust to the proprietors. stating their respective interests. By 1841. these interests had changed and John MeNiel had succeeded to the interest of Mower and therefore owned one-fourth. and in addition had a mortgage of $100.000 upon the whole. The "boomers" of those days were not much behind their more modern followers. In order to acquaint the prospective investors of the east with the manifold attrae- tions and advantages of the location at the foot of Lake Huron. the proprietors published a pamphlet, "The Town of Huron," a circular addressed to "capitalists and those who design removing to the west." This was accompanied by a map showing the town plat, and the advan- tageous position of the new town for commerce between the east and west. Some quotations from this pamphlet may be of interest : "Com- manding the entrance to a lake with a surface of 20,000 square miles, it is the natural point of destination for the products of the country surrounding it. It is the key also to the three upper lakes. Huron, Mich- igan, and Superior. An inspection of the map will exhibit the impor- tance of the site of Huron as the extreme point in an easterly and southerly direction, and therefore not simply the port of destination, but of trans-shipment and original export.
"It is in view of these commercial powers and privileges. and the advantages to be derived from them, that the site at the foot of Lake Huron assumes importance. It becomes the central point for various diverging routes by railroad and by water; it will be the first great land- ing and distributing point for all western emigration ; and it seems to be the natural depot for commodities intended for shipment. either north. by Lake Huron : east by railroad to Lake Ontario, and thence farther east. either by the lake or by continued railroads : west. by railroad to the route of communication with the Mississippi : or south, by the ordi- nary routes of lake and river navigation. to the states bordering upon Lake Erie.
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
"It is well known that vessels are subject to great difficulty and hindranee in their passage from the River St. Clair to Lake Huron, oeca- sioned by the rapids at the mouth of the channel. Delays of 15 and 20 days are often occasioned, and it is not uncommon to see from 30 to 40 sail of vessels waiting at the mouth of Black river, for a strong wind sufficient to overcome the eddies and resistance of the current.
"The detention of vessels at the rapids is already a serious draw- baek upon, and injury to, the commeree of the lakes. If an estimate were to be made of the loss of time, and expense occasioned by it, even in the present limited condition of western commerce, it would be found to amount to a considerable sum. Suppose, for instance, such detention to average only two days upon the vessels now employed in the naviga- tion of the lakes on the upward voyage, who does not see, that in the rapidly increasing commerce of that portion of the union. every day adds to the necessity of obviating the difficulty. By the construction of a ship eanal from the lake to Black river above the rapids, it will be obviated effectually. and at the same time one of the finest and safest harbours in the world will be created at the foot of one of the largest and most important lakes in the chain of western waters."#
The map accompanying the pamphlet is divided into two parts, one intended to show the location of Huron with respect to the lakes. Canada and the east, the other the town of Huron and the canal which was to be an important feature in the town's prosperity. This map also shows the town of Port Huron or Butler's plat of land owned by the same proprietors near the mouth of Black river.
Strange to say, these facts and arguments failed to produce the de- sired result, which was no doubt affected by the panic and financial de- pression of 1837. In 1841, realizing that their plat was under the conditions ridiculously large, the proprietors, by George White. their agent, filed a petition in the court to amend their plat by vacating all north of Superior avenue. The reasons given for this action were that all that part proposed to be vaeated was a wilderness: there had been but one lot sold (which was a lot at the corner of the Lake Shore road and Holland road, sold to Holland) : that it was not then and never would be needed for village purposes. The same petition prayed for a small amendment in what is known as Butler's plat.
The court granted the petition, and thereupon a new plat was made and filed, by which a small part of the original town of Huron was left divided into lots of 25 feet frontage and called the village of Fort Gra- tiot. and the remainder divided into tracts of varying size from five to fifty acres, which were numbered and ealled outlots of the MeNiel tract. As very few of either the village or outlots were sold by the company. they were in 1841 divided among the proprietors in proportion to their interests.
There had been a postoffice established at the light house in Deeem- ber. 1826, with the name Fort Gratiot. and with George Me Dougall.
*The city of Port Huron is expending upwards of $150,000 upon the construc- tion of a canal from Lake Huron to Black river. merely to put a supply of pure lake water into the river. These promoters' projected their canal for a purpose entirely different: it was to have a lock near Black river. and it was expected the head would be sufficient to furnish a considerable amount of power.
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
the lighthouse keeper, as postmaster. This was discontinued the follow- ing year, probably on account of the absence of troops from the fort. It was re-established a year later with Edgar Jenkins, the storekeeper, as postmaster. Mr. Jenkins had married the daughter of Chan- cellor Walworth of New York, and the latter built upon a beautiful site within the reserve and overlooking St. Clair river, a house for his daughter, which after some years of occupancy by the Jenkins, who were an educated, cultured family, was sold to B. C. Farrand, and after some years of use by him, was sold to Samnel Edison, the father of Thomas A. Edison, and it was in this house that the famous Edison lived while at Port Huron.
The postoffice was again discontinued in November. 1845, and re- mained so until March, 1870, when it was reestablished and continued until June, 1895, when it was merged in the Port Huron office.
In the meantime the Grand Trunk Railway had been constructed with its ferry crossing at the rapids, thus fulfilling in part the prophecies of the Huron prospectus and a considerable community grew up on the village plat, largely composed of persons connected with the railway.
In 1880 application was made to the board of supervisors for incor- poration, and in January, 1881. the necessary resolution was adopted and Fort Gratiot became an incorporated village with the following ter- ritory, viz .: Bounded on the west by Pine Grove avenue as extended northwesterly from the north boundary of the city of Port Huron : on the south by the north line of the city of Port Huron ; on the east by the center of the River St. Clair, and Lake Huron ; on the north by the north line of lots 18, 25, 27, 30, 31, and 41 in the subdivision of the MeNiel tract, so-called, being parts of sections 34 and 35 in township 7, north of range 17 east, in the township of Fort Gratiot. The last part of the de- scription is not strictly accurate, as the entire MeNiel tract lay in two private claims, Nos. 244 and 357.
The legislature in addition passed an act, No. 342, of 1881, incor- porating the same territory under the same name.
In 1889, Act No. 315, this territory, with all the remainder of the MeNiel tract, was incorporated by the legislature as the city of Fort Gratiot, and so remained until in 1893-Act No. 290-it was merged in the city of Port Huron and lost forever its identity.
Presidents : 1881-2, O'Brien J. Atkinson; 1883, Thomas Suther- land; 1884, Hiram Morse; 1885-6, David C. Berry; 1887, Sylvester W. Merritt.
Mayors : 1889, Robert E. French ; 1890, John L. Newell; 1891, Pere- grine M. Edison ; 1892-3, William R. Stewart.
ALGONAC
Near the present site of Algonac there had grown up a settlement even before the county was established, and as early as 1826 a postoffice was established with John K. Smith as postmaster, under the name of Plainfield, the name of the township. The township name was changed in 1828, but the postoffice name remained unchanged until 1835, when it also took the name of Clay. No land had been platted into lots. but
1
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
the settlement seems to have taken the name of Manchester about the time of the changing of the postoffice name.
In the spring of 1836 Dr. Justin Rice, Dr. Thomas B. Clarke, and Enoch Jones, all of Detroit, and Bartlett A. Luce of Port Huron, organ- ized the Algonac and Point du Chene Company and bought a considerable tract of land and platted out the village of Algonac. In the purchasing and platting Dr. Rice, who afterwards lived at Port Huron, and at St. Clair was the active agent. The name was obtained from Henry R. Schoolcraft, the Indian agent and philologist who says in his " Personal Memoirs" that a friend asked him to furnish an aboriginal name for a new town and from several selected Algonac, which is composed of ae, land or earth, and Algon, from the word Algonquin. Thus the entire word means land or place of the Algonquins.
It was not until 1843 that the name of the postoffice was changed to correspond with the name of the settlement.
In 1867 the community was large enough to warrant incorporation. and application was made in conformity with the statute, to the board of supervisors, and at their October session of that year they author- ized the incorporation of the village of Algonac to comprise the south half of fractional section 2, the southeast quarter of section 3. and all of fractional sections 10 and 11 in the township of Clay.
In 1874 the legislature passed an act relating to the presumption of the village's legal incorporation and in 1893 the village was reincor- porated by act of the legislature.
Its presidents have been : 1867, J. S. Raymond; 1876, John L. Har- row; 1879, J. C. Robertson ; 1883. Abram Smith; 1885-6, John A. Smith ; 1893-4, William K. Moore ; 1895-8, Angus M. Smith ; 1899. George W. Merrill ; 1900, John M. Robertson ; 1901, William T. Jerome : 1902-9. Angus M. Smith : 1910-11, Harry B. Gunniss.
CAPAC
In 1856 HIon. Dewitt C. Walker. later judge of probate of the county, settled in the township of Mussey and in the following year in antici- pation of the construction of the Port Huron and Milwaukee Railroad through the township platted land at the corner of the four sections 21. 22, 27, 28, into lots and blocks and called the place Capac. after the Inea Manco Capae referred to by Preseott in the Conquest of Pern. The platting was somewhat out of the ordinary as the bloeks were not num- bered but described as are townships in the government survey. The east and west seetion line was taken as the base line, and the north and south section line, the meridian.
The postoffice in the vieinity was established in May. 1852, under the name Pinery, but was discontinued in September of the same year. It was re-established in August, 1853, and continned with the same name until January, 1858, when it was changed to take the name of the village plat.
In 1873, by Act No. 209, Capae was incorporated as a village by the legislature, to include the following territory: Southwest quarter see-
* The early records of the village are entirely wanting.
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
tion 22, southeast quarter section 21, northeast quarter section 28, north- west quarter section 27, in township 7 north, range 13 east.
Its presidents have been : 1873-4, Dewitt C. Walker; 1875, Thomas H. Bottomley; 1876-88, Duncan Patterson; 1889-91, Thomas H. Bottomley ; 1893-4, Tobias S. Warren ; 1895, Archibald J. McNaught ; 1896, William Hunter; 1897, Stephen B. Coddington ; 1898. Duncan Pat- terson ; 1899-1902, Robert Morrison, Jr .; 1903, Dewitt Walker; 1904, Miles Christie; 1905, Robert Morrison, Jr .; 1906-9, Alec C. Downey ; 1910, John C. Dauncy ; 1911, Alex C. Downey.
EMMET
In December, 1856, Thomas Crowley, who owned the west half of southwest quarter of section 36 in Emmet township. platted a portion of it as the village of Mt. Crowley. The survey of the railroad which has since become the Grand Trunk Western Railway, had been made and Mr. Crowley probably had visions of a commercial center when he made his plat. To justify the prefix of "Mount" to the plat would need the eye of faith as the country is extremely level.
It was nearly fourteen years, however. before the iron horse actually ran through the section. and the growth of the community was slow. A postoffice was established in December. 1869, but under the name Emmet, taken from the township. This seems to have been adopted from that time as the name of the settlement. as in 1873 an addition was made to the plat and called Chillson's addition to the village of Emmet.
By act approved April 21, 1883, the following territory in the county of St. Clair, described as section 36 and the east half of section 35 in town 7 north, range 14 east, was designated as the village of Emmett.
Presidents : 1883-4. David Donahue; 1885-6, William II. Butler; 1887-8. Michael Reid; 1889, James Cogley ; 1890, John Dunnigan ; 1891, William H. Butler; 1892. James Cogley; 1893-4, Thomas F. Ryan; 1895-6, Michael Reid; 1897-8, William H. Butler ; 1899-01, Henry P. Mc- Cabe; 1902-3, James Cogley ; 1904, Henry P. McCabe; 1905, Martin Mul- laley ; 1906-7, Frank Keogh ; 1908-11, Henry P. MeCabe.
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