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 43
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
Following is a list of the fraternal beneficiary societies now repre- sented in St. Clair county as far as can be ascertained; the present total membership and the amount of benefits paid are given for those societies from which the items could be secured :
Name of Society
Total Membership Benefits Paid
American Nobles
16,441
$ 315,827.57
American Insurance Union
25.314
2,186,429.15
Ancient Order of Gleaners. .
69,500
1,967,449.00
Ancient Order of United Workmen
Brotherhood of American Yeomen.
139,162
5,793.190.00
Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and En- gineers
79,033
14,224,353.52
Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen.
113,871
21,203,301.00
Catholic Knights & Ladies of America.
9,935
1,646.790.00
Catholie Mutual Benevolent Association .
62,000
24.000.000.00
Court of Honor
64,843
7,067,498.41
Degree of Honor (for Michigan)
5,689
363.638.51
Highland Nobles
Ideal Reserve Association.
2,207
98.877.00
Independent Order of Foresters
242,000
31,859,259.40
Junior Order United American Mechanics ..
161,423
1,982,008.00
Knights of the Maccabees of the World ..
283,468
45,197,960.01
· Knights of the Modern Maccabees.
101,456
16,862,099.29
Knights and Ladies of Honor
74,265
31,737,458.00
Knights of Columbus
275.000
5,500,000.00
Knights and Ladies of Security
104,259
8,577,848.00
Knights of Pythias (Ins. Dept.)
71,779
31.805.467.97
Ladies Auxiliary to Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen
20,000
Ladies Catholic Benevolent Association
118,527
9,230,896.00
Ladies of the Maccabees of the World
165,308
9,090,870.37
Ladies of the Modern Maccabees.
51,409
5.286,825.84 .
Loyal Guard
4,647
557.014.00
L'Union St. Jean-Baptiste d'Amerique.
25,000
426,823.09
Foresters of America.
241,439
1.348,418.06
Modern Woodmen of America
1.129.805
94.122.350.93
361
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
Modern Brotherhood of America
163.253
6.606,592.48
National Union
63.707
32.601,480.99
National Fraternal Society for the Deaf ...
1,200
14.745.00
Patricians, The
6.407
184,781.03
Protected Home Circle.
78,034
6,133,954.01
Prudent Patrieians of Pompeii.
Railwaymen's Relief Association
1,568
21,689.68
Royal Arcanum
245,458
137,604,692.73
Royal Neighbors
284,107
6.612,330.00
Supreme Tribe of Ben-Hur
120,000
9.078,437.74
United States Letter Carriers' Mutual Bene- fit Association
6,633
1,493,123.56
Woodmen of the World.
563,466
32,601,481.00
Woodmen Cirele
104,270
2.676.307.84
The following statistics refer to the purely fraternal societies :
Name of Society.
Michigan Membership.
Ancient Order of Hibernians.
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks.
19,000
Daughters of the American Revolution
2.238
Daughters of Rebekalı.
Free and Accepted Masons.
60.699
Grand Army of the Republic.
9,372
Grange, The.
Improved Order of Red Men.
1.000
Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
55,000
Knights of Pythias.
20,247
Michigan Knights of the Grip
Order of Eagles.
6,000
Order of the Eastern Star
47,961
Pythian Sisters.
5.693
Shipmasters' Association.
330
Shipmasters' Wives Club.
Woman's Relief Corps.
8,500
CHAPTER XXIII
NATURAL RESOURCES
WHITE PINE AND EARLY FRENCH SAW MILLS-OTHER PIONEER MILLS --- THE HOWARD AND SANBORN MILLS-THE BROWNING MILL-FIRST STEAM SAW MILL-WESLEY TRUESDAIL-A SECOND STEAM SAW MILL HARDWOOD TIMBER MILLS-SALT AND ITS MANUFACTURE-FISHING INDUSTRIES.
It is not as a rule a profitable speculation to give time to consider- ing what might have been, or to mourn over lost opportunities, but it may be of interest to briefly consider the immense natural resources which this county originally possessed. The early travelers were unani- mous in their praise of the beauty of the country, and the wealth of timber and its variety, but to the early settler this timber, instead of being an attraction, was a drawback and hindrance. When the small amount of lumber and shingles needed in the building of his own house had been obtained, the remaining trees were merely so much matter in the way of clearing and cultivating his land. There was no demand. Each settler had more than enough for his own needs, but no oppor- tunity to dispose of his surplus.
The two most important species of timber trees known to man in their extent and economic importance are the pine and oak, and singu- larly the county of St. Clair was originally very rich in both. An ir- regular line beginning at about the mouth of Pine river and extending westward to Lake Michigan was the southern boundary of the pine dis- trict, while oak, ash, maple, hickory and other hardwoods covered the lower part of the county, and extended through the northern part as well. As a rule the pine was found in lighter, sandy soil, although in the townships of Grant and Burtchville where the finest cork pine ever found grew in profusion, it grew interspersed with hardwood in ex- cellent quality of soil.
WHITE PINE AND EARLY FRENCH SAW MILLS
The white pine, through its softness, ease of cutting and working; lightness and strength, was the most valuable timber that a new country could furnish, and it was due to the presence of this timber upon St. Clair river and Black and Pine rivers, that not only the settlement at Fort Sinclair was made in 1765, but also the early French mills a few years later.
362
363
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
In 1780 Detroit was a settlement of 2,000 people. There were no desirable building materials nearer than St. Clair river, and in that year Duperon Baby built a saw mill to be operated by water power, upon the creek which was for forty years called by his name, but which later and now is known as Bunee's creek. He was a man of good standing with the British, after they came into possession of Detroit, and occu- pied several high positions with them, among others, that of Indian agent. He also was for several years the official interpreter with the Chippewa Indians, and member of the Hesse Land Board. In 1780 he obtained from the Chippewa chiefs along St. Clair river a deed to
IN THE ST. CLAIR COUNTY PINERIES
a large traet of land five leagues in depth, extending up Riviere du Lhud-Black river-as far as navigable for rafting timber, and down St. Clair river to the lower point of Stag island. This deed was certi- fied to before T. Williams, a justice of the peace at Detroit, and Major A. S. DePeyster, the British commandant there. At the point where this mill was located the pine timber was more accessible than at any other point along St. Clair river, and more visible from the latter stream.
The Baby mill was evidently operated but a short time, and it is possible that the treaty of peace of 1783 caused Mr. Baby, who was a loyal British subject, to abandon his claim and mill under the idea that it would be within American territory, or his death, in 1790, may have had this effeet.
364
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
Certain it is that about 1786 Antoine Morass of Detroit, another Frenchman. was operating a mill upon the same creek, and possibly it was the same mill.
These early mills were of cheap construction and small capacity. In ordinary cases the building of the dam would be much the largest part of the construction of a mill. Of all the mannfacturing methods it is probable that no greater change has taken place in any line during the last century than in the manufacture of lumber. At the time of Baby and Morass, and indeed for nearly half a century later, the trees in the forest were cut down with considerable difficulty, with their rude and ill shapen axes, then cut into lengths not exceeding twelve feet, the sides squared, and the timber in this form hauled to the mill. This consisted of a single upright saw fastened into heavy timbers above and below, working in a gate, the saw frame connected with the shaft of the water wheel. Such a mill would have a capacity of a few hundred feet per day, under favorable conditions, and as the streams and dams were small. there was never enough water to furnish power for more than six months during the year.
The Morass mill was operated for several years and in 1820 a son, Victor Morass, presented his claim to 640 acres of land at Bunce creek, basing his right upon the occupation. through this mill, of his father. As he had delayed presenting his claim until after the land had been sold by the government to Z. W. Bunee, his claim was rejected for this particular land, but his equities were recognized.
There is a tradition often repeated that a Frenchman had built a saw mill upon the same creek about 1690, but this seems doubtful. Fort St. Joseph, built in 1686, had been abandoned in 1688, and there was no French force or settlement nearer than Mackinac. Detroit was not begun until 1701, and under such circumstances it hardly seems prob- able that any man would solely for his own amusement, erect a mill near and practically upon the waterway frequented by the Iroquois. the old and deadly enemy of the French. Judge Campbell speaks in one of his articles of a mill along St. Clair river prior to 1742, and if one ex- isted it would probably be at this point. And in fact there still exist traces of two dams upon the creek older than the Bunce dam.
This spot, however, was a favorite site for a saw mill. In 1818 Mr. Bunce erected a water power mill a short distance below the location of the old French mills, and operated it for a number of years. In 1843 after his return from his operations upon Mill creek for Mr. Abbott, he built near the mouth of the creek. another water power mill, and this three years later he converted into a steam mill, which increased its capacity from 2,000 to 10.000 feet per day.
Just south of the Baby traet on St. Clair river was the large tract. ten miles along the river and four miles deep. deeded by the Chippewa Indians to Patrick Sinelair about 1765, and passing in 1788 to Meldrum and Park, a firm of merchants doing a large business in Detroit with the Indians, and government agents. This firm put up a small mill about 1792 on a creek long known as Meldrum ereek, and later as Mack creek, near its mouth in private elaim No. 255. They also erected mills upon Pine river about seven miles above its mouth, in what became section
365
IHISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
27 of St. Clair township. These mills were destroyed by fire in 1803, it is related, while all the people were absent in Detroit at some re- ligious observance.
This same location was in 1827 the site of two other mills, built in that year by Thomas Palmer and Horace R. JJerome. At that time the remains of the old Meldrum and Park dam were plainly visible. It is apparent that Palmer and Jerome were not alone in their anticipations of the needs of a growing community, as in November, 1828, they sold twelve acres of their land to Isaac Rowe, together with water power suf- ficient to supply a fulling mill and carding machine when there was water.
OTHER PIONEER MILLS
In addition to these early French mills it is said that prior to or about 1800 one Jervais had a mill upon Indian creek, which was then called Riviere a Jervais. Vietor Morass presented to the U. S. Land board a claim for 640 acres on Black river just above the Indian reser- vation, and produced evidence that his father had a mill thereupon what he calls Gorse creek. as early as 1792, so that we are justified in claim- ing that prior to 1800 there had been at least seven saw mills in opera- tion within this county, two on or near Black river, two on Bunce creek, one on Meldrum creek, and two on Pine river.
During the early years of the nineteenth century there was but little demand for lumber. There were a few settlers in the lower part of the county, and a few French near Black river who made a simple liveli- hood by fishing and hunting, and making shingles, which they would take to Detroit and exchange for necessaries.
The fire of 1805 which destroyed Detroit must have created some demand for this lumber and shingles and in March, 1806, an order was issned by Stanley Griswold, secretary and acting governor of the ter- ritory, that the pine timber in the territory should be open to the use of the poorer sufferers by the conflagration of Detroit, and St. Clair county was at that time the nearest locality prodneing pine.
The first mill built within the county after that period was that of Ignace Morass, upon Mill creek, in section 17 of the township of Clyde, which he built before 1816, some years before the township was sur- veyed, and when he had free range through a large body of fine pine tim- ber near at hand. It has been stated that Morass supplied the U. S. government with spars and ship timbers from this field during the War of 1812, hauling it during the winter on the ice clear to Detroit.
The next mill in point of time was that of Judge Bunce, in 1818. and following that was the mill of Robert Smart in 1825, at Clyde Mills, which passed subsequently to Ralph Wadhams.
Next in order was the Palmer and Jerome mill on Pine river in 1827. followed the next year by Thomas S. Knapp, with a mill in the town- ship of Burtchville, which Judge Bunce operated for about a year, 1828, and which Mr. Knapp later sold to JJonathan Burtch.
In 1830 Ai Beard, who had come from Chenango county, N. Y., and bought pine land along Black river, in Clyde township, put up a water
366
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
mill at Ruby, with a capacity of 800,000 feet yearly. In 1841 he sold out to his sons, John and James, who operated the business jointly until 1856, when they dissolved, John retaining the Clyde mill and property, which he continued to operate until his death in 1879, when it passed to his son, F. A. Beard. The greater part of the lumber manufactured at this mill was floated down Black river in rafts to its mouth, and then shipped in boats to its destination. A considerable amount of the lum- ber used in the building of Milwaukee in the early thirties came from this mill.
THE HOWARD AND SANBORN MILLS
In 1833 John Howard, who was born in Pennsylvania and had come to Detroit in 1821, at the age of twenty-two, and had been successful in mereantile business and hotel keeping, left Detroit largely on account of the cholera, and came to Port Huron and in company with John Drew, also of Detroit, bought land in section 28 of Fort Gratiot town- ship and built a saw mill on the north side of Black river, which he operated until it was burned in 1838. In 1849 in company with Cum- mings Sanborn and John L. Beebe, he built a steam saw mill on the flats on the north side of Griswold street in Port Huron. This mill had two saws and an annual capacity of two million feet and was operated until the land was sold to the Port Huron and Milwaukee R. R. in 1856. In the meantime Mr. Sanborn had died in 1852 and his interest had passed to A. and H. Fish. Upon the closing down of the mill, the machinery was taken by A. and H. Fish and put into a mill which Simon Petit was erccting on St. Clair river just below the railroad bridge. in Port Huron. Mr. Petit was accidentally killed in January, 1856, and the Fishes com- pleted the mill and operated it several years.
In 1854 Mr. John Howard took into partnership his son Henry and J. F. Batchelor and built a mill on St. Clair river north of the railroad bridge, which he afterwards sold to Batchelor, and in November, 1860, the Howards bought a steam saw mill which had been built in Port Huron upon the south side of Black river at Third street, by Welling- ton Davis, in 1848, and operated by him until his death in 1857, and sold by his administrators to George S. Lester, who in turn sold it to the Howards. This mill had eight saws and had a yearly capacity of two and one-half million feet, and was operated for nearly twenty years after the purchase by the Howards.
In 1834 and 1835 Cummings Sanborn bought from the government land in section 27 of Kimball township, where he had both a good supply of timber and a good site for a mill. He took in as partners Larned Smith, Horace Hall and Christopher Bartlett, and put up a water mill, but he sold out his interest in 1841 and moved to Port Huron, where he was interested in the mercantile business with his nephew, Martin S. Gillett, as Sanborn, Gillett & Co. He afterwards joined with John Howard and John L. Beebe in the building of a saw mill in Port Huron. Mr. Beebe built the house in block 64 of White's plat, which Edgar White owned and occupied for many years. Before going into part- nership with Sanborn and Howard Mr. Beebe had erected a mill in 1845
JOHN HOWARD
368
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
on the north side of Black river near its mouth, in company with L. M. Mason and N. D. Horton under the name of Mason. Horton & Beebe. The following year Mason sold out to Elisha B. Clark and the business was known as Clark & Co. Their mill had four saws and an annual capacity of three million feet. After three or four years Clark and Beebe sold out to W. B. Hibbard, the capacity was inereased to five mil- lion feet and the plant was known as Hibbard's mill for many years, until it passed in 1878 into the possession of Henry Howard.
THE BROWNING MILL
In 1833 came the Browning mill at Port Huron, which was a steam mill, and the second of that kind in the county. Mr. Browning. who lived in Detroit, died in the cholera epidemic of 1834. and his creditors applied to the legislative council and had themselves incorporated m December, 1834, into the Black River Steam Mill Company with Phineas Davis, Jr., Enoch Jones, Bartlett A. Luce, Frederick H. Stevens, Edward Bingham, John Clark and Jonathan L. King as the first directors. The following year the act incorporating the company was amended so as to prohibit it from engaging in the banking business. This company took over the Browning property and business, including the mill which was located on the north side of Black river, just west of Seventh street bridge, and which was quite large for the time, having two upright saws with a capacity for cutting 10,000 feet in twelve hours. It is said to have been the first mill to successfully nse sawdust as fuel. The steam- boat. General Gratiot, which was built in 1831 for Mr. Browning, also passed to the company. The company was managed by Mr. Luee until his death in 1842, and then for some years by John Miller, who was one of the successful Port Huron pioneers. and in 1855 the mill and property was sold to Alanson Sheley and Tilden Ames, with whom Thomas S. Skinner was associated. The mill continued to be operated for several years and its annual capacity was increased to five million feet, and later the mill was used for a stave mill, thus closing out the evidences of the Black River Steam Mill Company, for many years one of the most prom- inent institutions of the county.
In 1845 Mr. D. B. Harrington built a water mill on the north side of Black river a short distance above the present canal, and to supply it with power dug a large ditch or canal from a large swamp between Black river and Lake Huron. This mill had an annual capacity of 700, 000 feet, and was operated for a number of years. Afterwards steam was put in and it was changed to a grist mill.
A little below the Simon Petit-A. & H. Fish-mill on the St. Clair river, David Whitman built a mill in 1853 with a capacity of one and a half million feet. and in three years sold it to Elijah R. Haynes and James Beard, under the firm name of Haynes and Beard, who operated upon logs brought down Black river from Sanilac county, until about 1863.
Still further down St. Clair river upon what has since been known as the Avery farm, was a saw mill built by Nathan Chase and John Miller about 1850, and sold by them to Eddy, Avery and Murphy in
369
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
1853. This mill had two saws, with an annual capacity of three million feet. After the death of Mr. Eddy his interest in the mill property was sold to his partners and they operated it many years. They also im- proved the farm adjoining and used it for breeding fancy short- horn cattle. This portion of the investment, was not. however. profitable.
In 1854 John Wells with his son Fred L .. under the firm name of John Wells and Son, built a steam saw mill on the south side of Black river in Port Huron for the purpose of sawing the pine from their lands in Sanilac county. This mill had a capacity of five million feet and was operated until 1880.
In 1858 A. & H. Fish bought a fine tract of pine land in Kimball and Port Huron townships and erected a mill on section 12 of Kimball just south of the Port Huron and Lapeer plank road. The mill was intended mainly for sawing bill stuff and long timber, which after sawing had to be hanled to Port Huron and shipped from there. For that purpose they purchased control of the plank road and replanked it to Port Inron. As an indication of the quality of timber, it is said that to fill a special order, a piece was sawed out and hauled to Port Huron which was seventy feet in length and twelve by seventeen inches in dimension.
In 1869 Mr. Jacob F. Batchelor. in company with his son, Henry, leased property on St. Clair river a short distance below the Avery and Murphy mill and erected a fine new saw mill with a capacity of eight million feet. This mill was especially fitted for the sawing of long tim- ber. The panic of 1873 and subsequent depression brought about their failure, and the loss of the mill, which was sold in 1877 to Fred Fish, and two years later was removed to Duluth.
In 1871 George Brooks and Otis Joslyn built a mill on the north side of Black river a short distance above the old Black River Steam Mill. which they operated until 1889.
According to the census of 1837 there were in the county of St. Clair four grist mills and thirty saw mills. In this number were in- (Inded some located in what subsequently beeame Sanilac county, but a large part of the mills reported at that time must have been very small and their output was not large enough to ent much figure. It is un- fortunate that the census returns for 1837 are not preserved. so that the location and ownership of the mills could be ascertained.
SAW MILLS AT ST. CLAIR.
In addition to the mills which have already been enumerated there was a mill at St. Clair owned by Thomas Palmer, father of Senator Thomas W. Palmer, which he built in 1834-5. under an agreement with Marcena Monson of N. Y., that the latter was to furnish a complete ro- tary steam engine and boilers with power enough to drive two saws. It was as agent for his father in the carrying out of this arrangement that Mr. H. N. Monson came to St. Clair, where he became an influential citi- zell. This mill operated with logs bought from different owners in Pine and Black rivers. This mill was located on property now belonging to the Diamond Crystal Salt Company and was sold in 1841 by Pahner to Wesley Truesdail, who continued to operate it until he sold it in Novem- Vol. I-24
370
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
ber, 1856, to William M. St. Clair, who operated it for several years longer. This mill when built was large for the time, having an annual capacity of about two million feet.
In 1845 Harmon Chamberlin, who had been for some years in the intervals of his medical practice and office holding, dealing in logs and timber bought a lot just north of the mouth of Pine river and in com- pany with James Ogden built a steam saw mill with a capacity of two million feet which they operated until 1852.
WESLEY TRUESDAIL
Wesley Truesdail was one of the most enterprising of St. Clair county pioneers. He was born at Kinderhook, N. Y., in 1812, and after some
TRUESDAIL'S FLOUR AND SAWMILL NO. 2, ST. CLAIR
preliminary education spent several years in New York City in the banking and brokerage business. In 1836 he came to St. Clair to as- sume the cashiership and management of the Bank of St. Clair, which had been incorporated a short time before with a capital of $100,000. Mr. Truesdail, who came west with a small capital of his own, and good business connections in the east, was not content to occupy himself with the affairs of a bank in a small town like St. Clair, even though it was more than ordinarily profitable, and he soon became interested in the one natural resource of St. Clair county, which was immediately avail- able-the pine timber.
The bank was moved to Detroit in 1841 and closed out in 1845 and this left Mr. Truesdail free to devote his entire time to his business in- terests and investments. In 1841 he bought a mill from Thomas Palmer as stated above. In 1845 he bought the lots in St. Clair
371
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY
City immediately adjoining Pine river on the south side, and erected a steam saw mill and grist mill. This, together with the Palmer mill, gave him six saws with a yearly capacity of three million feet. Not content with these, he bought, in March, 1852, the steam mill of Chamberlin and Ogden, which lay on the north side of Pine river, just across from his second mill. This addition made a total capacity of five million feet. In 1855 this last mill burned, and was rebuilt and put in operation the following year, and in the same year he sold his first mill to St. Clair. In 1845 he built the steam barge, Goliath, which was the first steam- boat built upon the river for exclusively freight purposes. This boat cost him $46,000, and was lost in 1848 upon Lake Huron with her entire crew. Including two planing mills which he built at St. Clair, he lost five mills by fire. Optimistic, confident in his own judgment, of quick decision, active in body and mind, he invested heavily in many widely scattered enterprises, not only his own money, but much which he bor- rowed from business acquaintances in the east. Many of these invest- ments failed, and in the end, after much litigation, he was left abso- Intely penniless in his old age and dependent upon the charity of friends. He married Miss Emily Hunt of Detroit, daughter of Judge Hunt, but they did not live happily, although they were never legally separated. Mr. Truesdail was most accurate and methodical in his methods, an en- terprising, far-seeing man, able to strongly influence other men, rather autocratic and choleric in his manner, he seemed to deserve success in many ways, but somehow, often not by apparent fault of his own, failed to command it. He died January 3, 1886.
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.