USA > Michigan > Bay County > Bay City > The county of Bay, Michigan : maps, history, illustrations and statistics > Part 4
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The governor and judges of the territory who were the law-making power thereof, seem to have an eye to the necessities of the inner man and his creature com- forts in the foregoing enactments, and what follows in relation to said last mentioned act proves likewise that they had a tender regard for the morals of the people of the territory. They provided that "any person licensed to keep a tavern, any retailer of wine or spirit- uous liquors or strong drink,-whatever that might have been, -- who should knowingly permit or allow any rioting, or should suffer any disorders, revelling or drunkenness within their houses, out houses, sheds, arbors or places of occupancy, shall, upon conviction, be fined not exceeding $100, besides costs, for every such offense."
By way of compensating public officers for their services rendered to the people of the territory, on August 30, 1805, an act was adopted allowing them com- pensation as follows: To the clerk of the supreme court, for all services rendered by him, an annual sum of $25, besides such fees as were properly chargeable to litigants in said court. "To the clerk of any district court an annual sum of $15 besides fees from litigants
as aforesaid, which were fixed by the act. "To every juror twenty-five cents in each verdict rendered in any case, to each witness fifty cents per day, and six and one-fourth cents traveling fees per mile, coming only; to the marshal of the territory an annual compensation of $25, payable semi-annually," besides certain fees from litigants which were also fixed by the act.
September 10, 1805, the governor and judges enacted that "there should be a tax on every coach, chariot, phaeton, chaise, calash, chair or other riding carriage, of $1 for every wheel and on every sleigh, carryall, or other carriage for riding in winter, of $2; upon every horse and mare of the age of three years, $1, and upon every other horse, mare, colt, ass or mule, of thirty cents; on every dog three months old kept by any one person or family, of fifty cents; if more than one dog is kept, on a second dog $1, and for every dog above two, $1.50."
On September 13, 1805, a law was enacted relative to the holding of inquests by the marshal, which pro- vided that as soon as he shall be certified of the dead body of a person supposed to have come to his or her death by violence or casualty, forthwith to summon a jury for such inquest, and if a juror thus summoned failed to appear without having a reasonable excuse he shall forfeit the sum of thirteen dollars, chirty-three and one-third cents." This act also provided for the collection of such forfeiture. It further provided that in case the marshal failed to do his duty as imposed by said act, "for each offense he should forfeit $100, one- half of which should be paid to the informer and the other half for the use of the territory."
October 7, 1805, an act was passed allowing certain claims, among which were the following: To the mar- shal a sum not exceeding $25 for summoning three grand juries, one petit jury, and superintending the erection of a bower for the holding of a court. John Donymeade was allowed $20 for the use of his house for holding a court eight days. Louis Moran was allowed eight dollars for two months' use of his house for the session of the governor and judges acting in their legislative department. John Meame was allowed five dollars for fitting up drums for the militia. To John Burnett, seven dollars for writing militia commissions.
To meet extraordinary and unforseen expenses justly incurred, there is appropriated a sum not exceed- ing one hundred dollars.
October 8, 1805, the marshal was authorized to con- tract with any person offering the lowest bid for the support of each pauper, but limiting his authority to contract for a greater sum than twenty-five cents per day.
Governor Hull filled his position with honor and credit until August 16, 1812, when he surrendered four- teen hundred troops and the whole of Michigan Terri- tory to a few hundred British troops. For this act he was stripped of all official title and Gen. W. H. Harrison was appointed his successor.
General Harrison exercised gubernatorial authority over the territory until October 13, 1813, when he resigned in favor of Col. Lewis Cass. By various appointments Col. Cass retained this position until he
was called to a seat in President Jackson's cabinet in 1831. His career as governor of Michigan, noted as the longest, the most peaceful, the most effective in develop- ing out of the wilderness a beautiful and prosperous state, was ended, but his memory is still fresh in the minds and hearts of many very old citizens. The names of streets, cities, townships, counties, rivers and lakes in Michigan testify that his place in history will not be forgotten. A really useful, heroic man lives for- ever.
In 1815, Congress established a base line and a principal meridian from which congressional townships and ranges might be surveyed and numbered. The next year public lands were surveyed in the vicinity of Detroit and were offered for sale soon afterwards at the , Detroit Land Office. From that time on the State has been gradually surveyed and opened for the people until at present only a small area of the upper peninsula is known as public land.
About this time the formation of counties began. At first the county of Wayne included about the whole of the territory, but from time to time portions were cut off and called by new names.
THE SAGINAW VALLEY.
Early Traders and Settlers.
The Saginaw river was visited by white traders long before any permanent settlement was made within the present limits of Bay county. Gassette Trombley and his brother were here bartering for furs and game with the Indians in 1792. Another very interesting character in those early days was Jacob Graverot, an old Hollander who in his younger days, was a trader for John Jacob Astor in the early days of the Astor fur trading business. His wife was the daughter of an Indian chief and together they located their temporary abode wherever they could find a favorable spot for hunting and fishing.
The first person to settle permanently within the present limits of Bay county was Leon Trombley, a brother of Gassette Trombley, above mentioned. He came in 1831 and erected a small log hut at a point about the middle of Water street just south of Fourth street. About half an acre of ground was cleared for an Indian camp ground and for a garden, and here Mr. Trombley, as an employe of the United States govern- ment, taught the Indians the science of practical farm- ing, a profession which, to this day, they have never succeeded well in learning.
In 1834 John B. Trudell, who married a daughter of Benoit Trombley, built a log house in what is now the Fifth Ward, afterwards removed to West Bay City. In the same year Benjamin Cushway arrived, having been sent by the United States government as a blacksmith for the Indians. He built a log house and a blacksmith shop on the west side of the river, not far from where
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the Twenty-third street bridge now is. For many years he did the blacksmithing, and assisted the traders in their traffic with the Indians.
It would be impossible to write a history of Bay county, however brief, without a personal mention of the Trombleys, or Trombles, as some of them spell the name. They have been associated with the history of the Saginay Valley for a century. In 1835 Joseph and. Medor Tromble came from Detroit to the Saginaw Bay country, where they had previously entered some land, with the intention of establishing a store. Joseph came by water with a stock of goods, arriving in July, and Medor came later by land. Having no place at which to store the goods, they were taken to Saginaw until he could complete their store building. He erected a log store building near the corner of Twenty-third street and Water street in the present Bay City, he finding this point to be the most advantageous for their pur- poses, as it was high and dry and commanded a good view of the river where they could note the arrival and departure of canoes. Their experience in store building is very illustrative of pioneer life.
It was built of pine logs flattened on two sides. The foundation was made of oak, and the lumber with which it was finished was brought by boat from Detroit, the freight upon it being $4 per thousand. The lumber was clear stuff and was manufactured at Black river, now one of the exhausted pine streams. The price paid upon the lumber was $16 per thousand. Then the lum- ber had to be hewn, the shingles split, and part of the lumber whip-sawed. The building was 25 by 30 feet inside. It is still standing on Water street. About September 1st Medor arrived with a drove of cattle. They got the store ready in time for "Indian payment" in the fall, and did a prosperous business with the Indians, Having prospered, in 1837 they decided to have a more pretentious house, and began the erection of a frame building near their store. It was completed in a little over a year, and was the finest house in the Saginaw Valley. It was called for years "The Center House."
Joseph Tromble was born in Detroit in 1809. At the age of twenty, acting upon the advice of his uncle, Ga- sette Trombley, he came to the Saginaw Valley for the purpose of locating land. He made the trip afoot and history has it that be covered seventy miles a day, a statement most astounding to the skeptical ears of 1896, following an old Indian trail most of the way. At Sagi- naw he decided to prospect before locating and accord- ingly made a trip via canoe to Sebewaing, and back at what is now called Bay City he was told that there was no land to be had-it being an Indian reservation. He returned to Detroit and upon investigating the records of the U. S. Land Office there he learned that there was a piece of land on the east side of the Saginaw river just south of the reservation, containing about a mile of river front. Some two or three years afterwards he en- tered this land. It is now within the corporate limits of Bay City.
His operations with his brother Medor in the mer- cantile line have been above noted. In 1844 be removed to the west side of the river where he had purchased land and took up the business of farming and fishing. He died in 188 -.
Medor Tromble was born in Detroit November 16, 1813. He came to Bay county in 1835. In 1847 he mar- ried Miss Sarah McCormick, a daughter of James Mc- Cormick the well known pioneer. After going out of the mercantile business he turned his attention to hunt- ing and fishing, but more particularly the latter and subsequently to farming. He was an extensive owner of lands, which being situated on Saginaw river and characteristically low and level were considered practi- cally worthless at first, but which have since proven to be very profitable property. For many years he has turned his attention to the management of his real . es- tate interests. He is one of the very few now living pioneers of the state, who have lived to see the swampy wilderness transformed into a beautiful city, who has not only witnessed the change, but has with his own hands and brain done as much as any other citizen
towards creating the prosperous and beautiful habita- tion.
In 1836 nothing looked more attractive to men speculatively inclined than the virgin soil of the west. Michigan was, about that time, considered the Eldorado of the West, and Uncle Sam was disposing of large tracts of his choicest land at $1.25 per acre. A large stream of immigration was pouring into the peninsula and a favorite method of speculation was to purchase lands in those parts of the territory most advantageous- ly situated and thus forestall emigrants and force them to buy their homes at higher prices than the govern- ment was charging. Considering the natural resources of the Saginaw Bay country it is not surprising that it passed through a period of land booming.
During the spring of 1836 the land in this region was on sale at the Detroit land office. This office was removed to Flint in September or October of the same year. That place immediately became thronged with land speculators. Purchases of government lands were then made with gold or silver and "Bill Gifford," who kept a small hotel at Flint says that "there were nights when more than $40,000 in specie was lying in different parts of the house, which had been brought by guests who were waiting their turn to do business in the land office."
Saginaw City was supposed by many to be the only town likely to be built on the river, but others who were aware of the difficulty of ascending the river with heavy laden craft and anticipating the vast commerce, which the products of the valley must eventually in- duce, conceived the idea of starting a town nearer the mouth of the river. With this in view Judge Albert Miller, who had become familiar with this region, pur- chased a large tract of land of the Trombleys and in July, 1836, had it surveyed and platted as the village of Portsmouth. It extended from Twelfth street south, to a line between Thirty-Seventh and Thirty-Third streets. This was the first attempt to start a town within the present limits of Bay county-then Saginaw county. In 1837, Mr. Miller, with two partners, erected a steam saw mill in the village, the second one in operation at that time on the river. They also erected the second salt block of the vicinity. A company wasorganized under the name of "The Portsmouth Company." They were not satisfied with Judge Miller's plat and caused a re- survey and a re-plat to be made by John Farmer. A portion of this second plat was re-surveyed and re-plat- ted in 1855 by William Daglish, and it is now called "The Daglish Division of Portsmouth." The first post- office was established here in the winter of 1837, and Judge Miller was appointed postmaster. The first phy- sician of the vicinity, Doctor J. T. Miller, located at Portsmouth in 1836. Also the second physician, Mrs. Thomas Rogers, located here with her husband. The first cargo of lumber shipped out of the Saginaw Valley was sent out by James McCormick & Son in 1841. . The first school was here. The first ship-building of any consequence was done by the Braddocks, of Portsmouth, in 1857. Captain Marsac located here in 1838 and be- came an enthusiastic and influential citizen. The first hotel in Bay county was the River House, afterwards known as the Center House. Upon the incorporation of the village of Bay City in 1859 a portion of Ports- mouth was included, and in 1873 by annexation the whole of the village of Portsmouth was merged into Bay City, and hence whatever of importance follows this time will be given in our mention of Bay City. The early history of Portsmouth recalls the names of Tromb- ley, Miller, McCormick, Marsac, Wilson, Braddock, Stephens, Daglish, Southworth and others of whom we append the personal mention in this work.
LOWER SAGINAW,
The United States government in securing title to lands from the Indians in 1819 found one Stephen V. R. Riley, a trader among them, who exercised such an in-
fluence over the Chippewas, that they found it neces- sary to conciliate him before a favorable treaty could be made. That was done by allowing him to select six hundred and forty acres of land for each of his three half breed sons, John, Peter and James. Mr. Riley located his eldest and favorite son, John, on a tract about a mile square, well known to everyone in Bay City to-day as the John Riley Reserve.
In 1836 the late James Fraser, who had become one of the most noted speculators of this region, was living at Saginaw; or, rather his family were, while his home was in the saddle. He was quick to find out prop- erty'from which money could be made, and after the Portsmouth project was started he matured a plan for purchasing the Riley reservation, upon which to lay out a town. His plan was to purchase the reservation, and "organize a stock company, which should lay out and build a town. John Riley, who was then living near Port Huron, was applied to for the purchase. His fath- er had always advised him not to sell until he could get a large price for his land, and he refused to make sale upon any terms without the advice and consent of his father, who was then residing at Schenectady, N. Y. The elder Mr. Riley advised him to sell. The purchase was made by several prominent men in Detroit, the consideration being $30,000. Subsequently the stock company was organized, and was known as the "Saginaw Bay Company."
They began extensive improvements such as build- ing a dock and a warehouse and endeavored to induce capitalists to invest in their new city. But the panic of that year caused all business of a forced nature to suc- cumb, and the company was unable to "stand from under.". About the only one of the original company to survive was James Fraser. After 1838 no further active operations were carried on by the company and for six years Lower Saginaw was under a cloud more dismal than that of the surrounding wilderness.
One Theodore Walker, a tailor in the city of Brook- lyn, had a claim against one of the bankrupt stockhold- ers of the company who, having nothing at his disposal, turned over to Mr. Walker a strip of land in Lower Saginaw. It was supposed to be worthless, but Mr. Walker accepted it and afterwards came to Lower Saginaw where he lived long enough to see himself made wealthy by the rising value of his land.
In 1836 to 1842 the Saginaw Valley was "dead," com- mercially speaking, although a few new comers made their appearance. On March 1st Sydney S. Campbell and family arrived from Bridgeport, a settlement a few miles southeast of Saginaw, and established them- selves. This was the first permanent settlement made in Lower Saginaw and was the first event in the line of actual development and history. He soon built and opened the Globe Hotel, the first tavern in Lower Saginaw.
A year or two after settling here Mr. Campbell bor- rowed government oxen and ploughed a piece of land near where the Folsom & Arnold sawmill now stands, which he sowed with buckwheat. When the time came to gather it, he would take his canoe, his wife accom- panying him, and go down to the field. On the way he would shoot ducks for their dinner. Spreading his sail cloth on the ground, Mrs. Campbell would bring the bundles of buckwheat together and he thrashed it out on the sail cloth. He would then take it in his canoe to the hotel where it was emptied into a bedroom up stairs. The following winter there was a scarcity of flour, and in February the supply in Lower Saginaw became ex- hausted. None could be had at Saginaw or Flint, but people in those days did not starve. In this instance Mr. Campbell's harvest of buckwheat was opportune. Fred Derr, who had moved into a building opposite the Globe, had a big coffee mill, and each neighbor as he needed would visit the buckwheat pile and taking his quota would grind it in Mr. Derr's coffee mill. In this way the only flour used in the settlement for three weeks was made, and it is not recorded that the bloom of health vanished from their faces.
About 1840 Doctor D. H. Fitzhugh purchased several parcels of land where West Bay City now stands. The United States Government was more active in subduing
the new country than any of the citizens. In 1838-39 the Rosseaus engaged with the government in a survey- ing contract, their work being to sub-divide the towu- ships in the vicinity. In 1839 Stephen Wolverton was commissioned to build a lighthouse at the mouth of the river.
About 1841 forces that were to enter into the future development of Bay City were being gathered together. It was about this time that the scrip for the land of the Saginaw Bay Company came into the possession of James Fraser, Doctor D. H. Fitzhugh, James G. Birney and Theodore Walker. In the spring of 1842 Mr. Birney arrived with his family. In the same year Frederick Backus brought a stock of goods and opened a store. In 1843 the chief event was the organization of Hampton Township. The first election was held at the Globe Hotel. W. R. McCormick's hat was used for a ballot box and thirteen qualified voters deposited their ballots therein. In 1844 the first school house was built. It was situated in the north part of the village and was often used as a place of worship. In 1846 and '47 Hop- kins, Pomeroy and Fraser built the first sawmill of the village. A postoffice was established at the house of Mr. Thomas Rogers, a blacksmith, who in the election just mentioned was chosen Justice of the Peace; to him was given the honor of "pronouncing" the first marriage ceremony of the village. In the spring of 1846 Hon. James Birney, resident of Connecticut paid a visit to his father, James G. Birney. In coming into the wilder- ness he little thought he would become one of its most honored citizens or that he would live to see Bay City the peer of the great cities of the state.
In the winter of 1847 Hon. H. W. Sage first made his appearance, and the same year D. H. Fitzhugh, Jr., arrived and built what was then thought to be an extravagant house on the corner of Third and Water streets.
From 1848 the prospects of the settlement grew brighter. Curtis Munger, Edwin Park, Thomas Carney and wife and J. S. Barclay and wife took up their home in the village and social life among the ladies of the place was not a barren waste. A serpentine footpath dodged along among the stumps near the river bank and showed evidences of being well trodden. All be- longed to "our set" and kept perpetual open house and discussed the local news with diligence. 1850-51 wit- nessed a number of arrivals and the introduction of new industries. Doctor George E. Smith brought the hea !- ing art and James Fox opened a law office. William and Alexander McEwan came and built a sawmill as also did Henry Raymond and James Watson. Charles E. Jennison went into the mercantile business with James Fraser, in the building where the Fraser House now stands. The Wolverton House, a very pretentious hotel, was built and owned by Mr. Barclay. The La- throp, the first tug boat on the river, came in '51. In 1852 that dread visitor cholera found many victims among the mill-hands. In 1853 the Methodist church was built. Its location on Washington avenue was thought to be the means of more boat riding on Sunday than was in harmony with scriptural teachings. B. F. Partridge in 1856 built a house on what is now the cor- ner of Center and VanBuren streets. People could not understand why he wanted to start a hermitage in the depths of the forest when there was plenty of room in town. In 1856 James Fraser came here to reside per- manently. Judge James Birney also arrived this year. In 1856 a small hotel called the Farmer's home was built by one Dodge, near the corner of Saginaw and Third streets-at that time in a swamp; it is thought that this hotel never had a farmer for a guest. The young folks used to hold dances here and when there was a drought of girls a shawl would be wrapped about an Indian and he would be pressed into service as the belle of the ball.
Charles Cottrell, who had a store at the corner of Second and Water streets, first introduced kerosene lamps in 1851. The most important event in the local history of the town at about this time was the change of name from Lower Saginaw to Bay City. A bill to this effect was passed, through the efforts of Hon. James Birney, by the state legislature of 1857.
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The next legislature incorporated the village, it having at that time about seven hundred inhabitants. The United States census showed the entire of Bay county to have fifteen hundred and nineteen inhabi- tantsengaged principally in lumbering and fishing. Agri- culture as yet attracted very little attention or interest. The first municipal election under the village charter occurred on the second day of May, 1859. 155 votes were cast and Curtis Munger was elected president by a majority of twenty-three votes. Among the first acts of the village trustees is the ordering of sidewalks on Washington street from First to Tenth streets, and the opening of Jefferson and Madison streets north of Center street. On June 27th, a general tax for village purposes of $1,047 and a highway tax of one-half of one per cent. was ordered by the assessors.
The salt industry became of considerable import- ance in 1860. The Bay City and Tuscola plank road . was built about this time and became of great commer- cial importance to Bay City. For several years the vil- lage prospered greatly, and in 1865 it was granted a city charter by the state legislature.
A CHARTERED CITY.
The new charter gave Bay City three wards. At the election held the first Monday in April following, Hon. N. B. Bradley was chosen Mayor, William T. Ken- nedy Jr., Recorder; Ernest Frank, Treasurer. The first act of importance of the city fathers was the pur- chase of a steam fire engine. The amount of money raised for city purposes that year was $4,997.47. The valuation of the city property was $633,000.
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