USA > Michigan > Bay County > Bay City > The county of Bay, Michigan : maps, history, illustrations and statistics > Part 8
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Next in importance to the Bay City school system comes that of West Bay City. It has been noticed that in 1844, District No. 2, of Hampton, included both sides of the river. Upon the organization of the township of Bangor a school district was formed comprising the territory on the west side of the river. This in turn gave place to three school districts of the villages of Wenona, Banks and Salzburg, which in 1885 were united again to form the West Bay City system.
DEVELOPMENT AND PRESENT SIZE.
Of the three villages now included within the boun- dary of West Bay City, Wenona, the most important, in 1863 contained only two dwellings, but eight years later the nucleus of the present Central school building of West Bay City had been erected at a cost of $20,000, and was capable of seating five hundred pupils. At the time of its incorporation, in 1871, the village of Banks found it necessary to employ but two teachers, and Salz- burg, which the "Directory" describes as a "small place situated about a mile south of Wenona," employed but one teacher, who "boards in Portsmouth."
This was in 1871, and how great a change was made during the next twenty-five years, the last report of the president and clerk of the board of education of West Bay City to the superintendent of public instruction will illustrate. The number of pupils of school age was 4614, and of those 3380 were enrolled in the public schools. 64 teachers were employed at an expense of $32,376.01. There are four brick and four frame build- ings, valued at $150,000, and capable of seating 3,000 pupils.
Educationally, also, the school has fully kept pace with the material and numerical growth. The act or- ganizing the West Bay City schools was passed by the Legislature of 1877, and the work of combining the three independent schools into one system was intrusted `to A. J. Demorest, who in turn was succeeded by J. E. Lemon ju. 1887. During the succeeding eight years the schools were thoroughly graded, and in 1889 the high school department was placed upon the University di- ploma list, where it has since remained.
THE COUNTY SCHOOLS.
With one exception, excluding the villages of Es- sexville and Pinconning, the school districts of the vari-
ous townships are organized under the general laws of the State, each being under the charge of a board con- sisting of three members. By special act, however, the township of Bangor is organized into one school dis- trict, the four schools being controlled by a single board of four members. The following table, compiled from the reports of the township clerks of the superintendent of public instruction for the school year ending Septem- ber 7th, 1896, will furnish valuable information:
General Statistics.
No. children in districts between 5 and 20
Name of town- ship
Male
male
Total
Total attend
No. school
No teachers
No. pupils that
can be seated
Value school
Total indebted-
ness of districts
Average No.
each school
Total teachers'
Bangor.
160| 165 325| 160
4
4
186 $ 4700| $ 203. 0
2825
72.37
9800
822.85
8 8-5
1816.37
Frankenl
271
248
514| 220
3
252
2900
Gibson
Garfield.
Hampton
637
614 1251| 523
386 419, 805 523
347 344 691 549
241 225
00
111
56
3
106
1300
852.85
6 1-8
9 1-8
980.00
Pinconning.
Williams ..
305 284 588
831
7
200
827
17.00
9
2031.00
Totals
3760 3513 7278 4028 64
73 4245 $55725 $10047.48
$21686.99
* New district, organized April, 1896.
The facts brought out in the above compilation furnish abundant cause for satisfaction. It is within the memory of men now living in our community, when that portion of Bay county now included in the town- ships was an unbroken wilderness. Except upon the sand ridges, which supported a heavy growth of pine, the land was low and covered with a dense growth of black ash and elm. In the early days the lumber in- dustry was the great source of employment and profit, and there was a constantly increasing demand for agri- cultural products of all kinds. Under the stimulus furnished by this demand the farming lands began to be settled. It did not take many years to develop the fact that these lands were immensely productive; an enterprising class of settlers came in and although the county is comparatively new, with hundreds of acres still in an unbroken wilderness, there are still other hundreds of acres under a state of first class tillage.
The educational history of Bay County is not essen- tially different from that of other counties of this state. Along with the early settlers came the pioneer school- masters who taught in simple structures largely made of logs. These early school houses and the old time school masters have very nearly all disappeared. At present there is only one log school house in actual use for school purposes, but if you look sharply you will sometimes discover the old school house converted into a dwelling, or with its paneless windows stuffed full of straw or in more humble lot serving to protect the cat- tle from the winter storms. Of the sixty-two school houses one is built of logs, two are brick and fifty-nine are frame. Together with the grounds they occupy they cost over $55,000, and as a rule they are well equipped with all the modern appliances for conducting a successful school.
ESSEXVILLE AND PINCONNING.
All of the county schools outside of those in the villages of Essexville and Pinconning are, properly speaking, ungraded. It is true that of late years an attempt has been made, and some progress attained, in grading the rural schools, not only of Bay county, but in all the counties of this state. Whether a school con- taining a single teacher, and occupying a single room, can be strictly graded is an unsolved question, but this remark does not apply to larger schools. Essexville, with a school population of 644, during the years 1895-6 enrolled 227 who were instructed by four teachers at an expense of $2798.75. Only the first eight grades are taught but the pupils are admitted to the Bay City High School upon their diplomas, the school district of Essexville paying the tuition. The plan is an excellent one, for, at a very small expense, it secures to the pupils all the advantages of a first class high school, and
278
2250
: 00.00
1198.50 600.00
Portsmouth ...
228 201 424 183
3
242
8000
7
50
6300
3567.55
8 1-2
2940.00
389 351 740 485
107
80
4
610
200.00
1941.91
9 1-9
3319.02
Kawkawlin . ..
8
520
"5810
1300.00
8 5.7
8 6-
2315.60 2155.01
Monitor
7
400
6055
520 00
Merrett.,
93 102 195 137
d
152
2550
150.00
7.8
$ 1190.00
Beaver.
296 230 526 197
297 227 524 288
5
310
Fraser.
Fe
ance
distri
employed
property
months taught in
7 2-8
8 1-3
875.01 887.50
534.00
546
10850
466 296
4
Mt. Forest.
General English, 12.
45
81 37
German I ..
1
16
German, IV.
Grammar.
2
1
22
19
22.
56
Latin, 10 B.
11
Latin, 10 A
2
10
19
18
Physics. B.
18
0
12
14
14
Shop work ..
Word analysis
9
16
80
41
English literature
10
French III. and IV
General English, 9.
1
27
47
General English, 10 A
29
26
10
Bookkeeping
86
7
64
11
12
13
45
32 23
55
1464.00
wages
79
really makes the Essexville schools a part of the Bay City system.
Pinconning, out of a school population of 476 dor- ing the year 1895-6 enrolled 331 pupils, The total ex- penditures were $3065.40, of which $2190 were paid for teachers, wages. These schools are well graded and include a High School department consisting of the ninth and tenth grades. The character of the instruc- tion is excellent, as is shown from the fact that the graduates seldom fail to obtain a teacher's certificate upon examination before the county board of school examiners.
PROMINENT EDUCATORS.
In every community there are a few persons, whoen- ter for their love for the work, or because of their official position, are entitled to special mention. The efficiency of the Bay City school system was first made manifest
under D. C. Scoville who assumed the superintendency of the Bay City schools in April, 1869, at which time the new high school building was opened. Prof. Scoville was a born organizer, and under his able administration the schools were given an impetus that they never lost. In the summer of 1874 Prof. I. W. Morley, who came to Bay City with Prof. Scoville in 1869, succeeded the latter as superintendent, and for the next eleven years continued in that capacity with marked success.
In the fall of 1886 the writer of this article succeeded to the superintendency and remained in that position for eight years. Under his management the course of study was carefully revised and extended, new courses were added in the High Schoool, Manual Training and a Commercial department were introduced, and the school held a rank second to none in the state for scholarship and general efficiency. It will be seen that for twenty- five years the Bay City schools had only three superin- tendents, and thus it was that plenty of time was given
to each to work out his own plans for the benefit of the schools. In 1894 Prof. J. A. Stewart succeeded to and still holds the superintendency.
The services rendered by Prof. J. E. Lemon to the West Bay City system also entitles him to special men- tion. Among the county teachers J. E. Kinnane, C. W. Hitchcock, T. S. Joslyn, M. R. Hartwell, C. A. Clark and S. G. Houghton should not be overlooked.
Both Mr. Kinnane and Mr. Hitchcock have very creditably filled the office of County Commissioner of Schools; Mr. Clark is the present principal of Pincon- ning schools. Mr. Hartwell bas acted as principal of the Pinconning schools, has been principal of the Salz- burg schools for twelve years, has served on the County Board of Examiners and is at present president of Bay County Teacher's Association. In all these positions he has given active and valuable assistance to the schools of Bay County.
The Press of Bay County.
The press of Bay county is represented by a few but so much more influential papers. The place is covered by three dailies,-two in Bay City and one in West Bay City,-six weeklies in the English language and four in foreign languages,-German, French and Polish.
THE TRIBUNE.
The oldest of the daily papers is the Tribune. It was founded in 1873 by a stock company composed of John Culbert, Thomas K. Harding, Ed. G. Kroenke and Griffin Lewis. In 1881 Edwin T. Bennett, having owned a part interest for a few years, became its sole proprie- tor. In 1888 S. J. Tomlinson of Lapeer purchased the paper, but two years later sold it back to Mr. Bennett. As time went on he found it to his better advantage to form a stock company, which was done by organizing the Tribune Publishing Co., capitalized for $50,000. Mr. Bennett managed the business of the company until Aug- ust, 1896, when the paper was sold to satisfy a chattle mortgage. The paper was bid in by a newly organized company composed of some of the stockholders of the first concern. They have lately sold it to Snyder and McCabe. The Tribune is at present ably edited by Frank McPhillips. It gives the telegraphic reports of the Associated Press, every morning, and all local, county and other news of interest in an attractive and spicy manner. It is republican in politics.
.In connection with it is published the weekly edition, which enjoys a good circulation in the rural districts of this and neighboring counties.
THE TIMES-PRESS
of Bay City appears daily with a Sunday edition called the Sunday Times. It was founded in 1889, when the Times and Press were consolidated. The Press was started by Moran and Hardwick in June, 1879. In 1889 the Times appeared upon the newspaper field of Bay City, but shortly afterwards combined with the Press-the consolidated paper being called the Times- Press. Its present editor is A. McMillan, one of the ablest editorial writers of the state. Bert Gustin, its local editor, furnishes in the local columns of the paper a splendid history of daily events, F. C. Merrill is bus- iness manager. The paper is independent in politics, but has inclined editorially towards the free coinage of silver.
The West Bay City Independent was started as a weekly in 1894 by its present proprietor, Walter C. Clark. A year later be established the daily edition. The lat- ter is now known as the Bay County Independent. Both papers enjoy a good circulation and are very pop- ular in West Bay City and the county at large. Politi- cally the paper has leaned towards the democratic-fusion party.
Chat, is an illustrated weekly issued by Jas. C.McCabe of the Tribune. It was established in 1894 as a society paper, and at once became popular for the credible manner in which it filled its place.
The Bay County Democrat, owned and edited by Geo. Washington, was established in 1893. It is a good rep- resentative of the regular democratic party.
Town Talk, is a paper which appears sporadically and dwells upon sensational events. It was established in 1893 by its present publisher, Bert Moran.
The Pinconning Press, an eight page weekly paper, was established in 1893. It enjoys a good circulation in Pinconning and the north part of Bay county.
The Michigan Freie Press, was started October 17, 1878, by G. Reuther, of Saginaw. A short time after- wards Mr. Ed. Raumbeir became its manager and editor and in 1884 he purchased it. In 1892 it was sold to a stock company called the German Printing and Publish- ing Company. In September, 1895, B. Muehlen of Grand Rapids bought the paper and stills owns it. It is im- partial in its views but during the late campaign it es- poused the cause of sound money.
Le Patriote, a French weekly, was started by H. A. Pacaud in 1879. It is now owned and edited by S. P. LeRoux. The paper is independent, but in the last political contest it advocated the principles of na- tional democracy.
Prawda, a Polish weekly, was established in Detroit, and removed to Bay City about a year ago. It is pub- lished by Chas. Laskowski, Ph. D., editor, and W. V. Przybyszewski, manager. In the last campaign this paper supported the whole republican ticket.
Le Courrier, is the name of a French weekly which has just been established by H. A. Pacaud. It is printed in the French language and is devoted to the local and general news, being independent in politics.
80
The Lumber Industry.
When the immigration to Michigan began sixty years ago, the principal value that the territory was thought to contain was its vast agricultural resources, but as the southern part of the state filled up and pioneers sought more northern localities they awakened to the fact that the pine forests contained richer leads of wealth than the vast gold mines of California, and, until a compar- atively short time ago, lumbering operations, more than all else combined, engrossed the attention of settlers in the north.
The lumbering business today, still the principal in- dustry in northern Michigan, is not the business that it once was. In Bay county it can only rate as one of the chief industries. The valuable timber of Bay county has been exhausted, and the mills nowoperating within its limits are dependent principally upon Canada for their supply of logs. As a lumbering manufacturing county it ranks first in the state.
The first saw mill that was ever built in the Lower Saginaw region was the one at Portsmouth, mentioned in a preceding paragraph. Judge Albert Miller, the owner and builder, relates. "I remember during the summer of 1836 a vessel came into the river from Chicago and the parties controlling her offered to wait until a load of lumber could be sawed and to pay the price that it was selling for at the mill, which was $12 per thousand feet, as it ran, and would give a bonus of
$200 if they could be accommodated. The offer was re- fused for the reason that all the lumber they could make was needed at home. The reason that the Chicago parties were so anxious to obtain the lumber was that they had purchased lots in that town, a part of the con- sideration of which was the erection of buildings on them and if they failed in that they would forfeit their lots. I do not think lots in Chicago that year sold as high as they did in Saginaw."
The mill at Portsmouth was operated but a short time and then shut down. In 1841 it came into the hands of James McCormick & Son, and they shipped the first cargo of lumber from the Saginaw Valley. It was sent to Detroit and sold for $8.00 per thousand. The lumber business languished for several years on account of the general depression. In the winter of 1844-45 Mr. Cromwell Barney and James Fraser erected a mill at Kawkawlin. In 1845-46 Hopkins, Pomeroy and Fraser erected the first saw mill at what was then Lower Sag- inaw. It stood on the present site of the S. G. M. Gates mill on Water street. Catlin & Fraser built a mill, af- terwards known as the Jennison & Rouse mill. Its capacity was 6000 feet per day. It was located on Water street between Eighth and Ninth streets and was destroyed by fire.
From 1850 to 1857 there had been erected fourteen mills in Bay county, cutting from 1,500,000 feet to
4,000,000 feet each. Geo. W. Hotchkiss, now of Chicago, speaking of the mills in 1860 says: "The saw mills of those days all used gate, muley and circular saws. There was but one gang on the river, and the manufacture amounted to 300,000,000 feet of lumber and 300,000,000 cords of saw dust annually. He thinks that he may have exaggerated the latter a trifle, but the circular saws of those days were mostly of six gauge swaged to four guage, and the saw dust heap rivaled the lumber pile. With the introduction of the gang saws, and later of the band saw, a great saving has resulted and the sawing capacity of the mills has been greatly enlarged.
"The Sage & McGraw mill, built in '64, was considered one of the largest mills in the world. The main build- ing was 80 x 120 feet, two stories high, having a wing upon one side and a boiler room upon the other. Five large engines were required to furnish power, and the largest record ever made by any mill in Michigan was made Nov. 6, 1867, by this monster, its cut being 370,797 feet, most of which was one and a half and two inch stuff. We regret that space will not permit a mention of the several mills that have existed in the county.
The years of 1895-96 have been unfortunate for lum- bermen. The failure of A. Mosher & Son, in December, 1895, brought disaster to many business houses in Bay county and caused the downfall of several other splen- did lumbering concerns.
The Salt Industry.
State Geologist, Dr. Houghton, was directed by the legislature to commence boring for salt at one or more of the places suspected at that time, 1836, to contain that condiment. He selected a point in the Saginaw Valley, on the west side of the Tittabawassee river, and began operations in June, 1838. The appropriation was exhausted before any satisfactory results could be ob- tained and the work was abandoned.
Dr. Houghton was of theopinion that abundance of salt existed along the Saginaw river, and he inspired the people of Saginaw with the same belief. In Janu- ary, 1859, a public meeting was held at Saginaw and a committee appointed to petition the legislature for aid in the manufacture of salt. Judge Birney, from this district, was instrumental in having a bill passed allow- ing a bounty of ten cents per barrel for all of the pro- duct manufactured in the state. Soon the East Saginaw Salt Manufacturing Co. was organized and the boiling of brine commenced in August, 1860.
W. H. Fennell later of Bay City shipped the first hun- dred barrels of Saginaw salt from the Valley. As soon as the existence of salt was proven two companies were formed in Bay City, 1860. One comprised Jas. D. Mc-
Cormick, Appleton Stevens, A. D. Braddock & Co., B. F. Beckwith, Albert Miller and others, and the other Jas. Fraser, D. H. Fitzhugh, H. M. Fitzhugh and A. S. Mun- ger. The first company sunk a well to the depth of 600 feet and succeeded in finding salt.
The well was located near the present site of the McGraw property, in the south end, and they were the first to make salt. The second company operated a deeper well on the land afterwards purchased by the Michigan Pipe Works. Other wells followed in rapid succession. Harkness & Sohne sank a well 900 feet and equipped works to the capacity of 100 barrels per twenty- four hours. Hayden & Co. sank a well 1000 feet. In 1862 the New York Salt Works was established, their well was 1016 feet deep. Their process of manufacture was by kettles and solar covers. The Lower Saginaw Salt Co .; Dolson & Walker, and the Atlantic Salt Co. followed in 1862-63. Long & Bradfield the same year sunk a well at Bangor. In 1864 there were twenty-six salt blocks operating in Bay county, with a combined capital of $622,000.00.
Mr. H. M. Fitzhugh reviewing the salt business in 1873 said in part: "The production of salt in the Sagi-
naw Valley may be considered in two phases, one in which it appears as a separate business, and the other where it is a mere parasite of the lumber manufacture. At the start all the conditions seemed to favor the pro- duction of salt as an exclusive business, but I can not re- call a single instance in which an original and independ- ent investment in the salt manufacture in the Saginaw Valley has afforded a reasonable profit as a result of the manufacture itself."
After it was discovered that the vast profits derived from an independent salt business were purely imag- inary, it occurred to mill owners that it might be more profitably conducted as an adjunct of the saw mills. The vast amount of refuge could be used as fuel, and in this way rid the mills of their own waste; but since the growth of Bay City, it has provided a market for slabs and other refuse, with the result that the manfacture of salt is now more expensive, and its abundance in the market has lessened its value so that it can now scarce- ly be produced with profit. The average price of salt per barrel in 1866 was $1.80. It has steadily declined to 75 cents in 1886 and to 35 cents in 1896.
81
Bay County Coal.
Anold Bay county history devotes considerable space to the coal resources of the county. The coal that was then spoken of was of an inferior quality and was never found in a paying quantity. It was also located in a ter- ritory that does not now belong to Bay county. There has been recently found, however, a very superior qual- ity of bituminous coal in the township of Monitor, and in such quantities as to cause two companies to be organ- ized and the mining of coal is now an established fact and cannot be said to be in an experimental stage.
About three years ago Mr .- Zill, in boring a well on his farm, discovered indications of coal. He consulted C.
H. Laterback, who became very enthusiastic over the prospects, samples were procured and found to be free from sulphur and other foreign substances. Soon the Monitor Coal Co. was organized and 400 acres of ground was leased. The company sunk a shaft 135 feet deep- and are now employing sixty men, and are removing from eighty to a hundred tons of coal per day. A tram bas been built from the M. C. railroad to the mine so that the coal is easily brought to the markets. Their product has been pronounced first-class by its many consumers among whom may be mentioned the M. C. R. R. Co., the Interurban Electric R. R. Co., the leading
hotels, factories, schools, court house, public library, etc.
The Bay Coal Company has sunk a shaft and is now about ready to begin operations. Their shaft will ac- commodate two buckets, and it is expected that their capacity will be about one hundred and fifty tons per day.
Coal has lately been discovered on the farm of Mr. George Penniman, in Hampton township, near the mouth of the river.
Ship Building in Bay County.
This is one of the largest industries in Bay county and it may be said that the ship yards of West Bay City are the largest in the state. Since 1850 there has been more or less of boat building done here. In 1858 H. D. Braddock & Co. built two schooners, the "Essex" and "Bay City." Since then the industry has been of enough importance to make the county feel considerable pride in this branch of labor. The firm of F. W. Wheeler & Co. are located on the west side of the river. They are capitalized for $500,000 and employ from 800 to 1400 men. During the past season they have been occupied on several large steel vessels, the most important, per- haps, of which is the Appomattox and the F. & P. M. car ferry. This concern builds only steel vessels.
James Davidson is also the owner of a large boat building institution which is located in West Bay City, about half a mile further up the river. He confines his work to wooden vessels and launches, having built sev- eral of the largest lake crafts each year. He employs from 600 to 800 men, and does not confine himself to building on orders, but owns several large boats which are doing service in lake traffic. The importance of these two institutions to the county will be seen when it is noted that they pay out in employee's wages some- thing like $100,000 every month.
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