The history of Detroit and Michigan; or, The metropolis illustrated; a chronological cyclopedia of the past and present, Vol I, Part 124

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Detroit, S. Farmer & co
Number of Pages: 1096

USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The history of Detroit and Michigan; or, The metropolis illustrated; a chronological cyclopedia of the past and present, Vol I > Part 124

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767

MERCHANTS AND TRADING.

of Ontario and Erie until they reached this, the most famous trading post in the West. They brought goods of every kind, wrapped in tarpaulins and oiled skins. So extensive was the traffic and so sharp the competition that only the most wide-awake of men had any chance of success. The Indians were alternately pampered and cajoled, but in the end they were almost always worsted in their bar- gains. The traders not only bought skins, but, sometimes persons as well. Henry Van Schaack, a Dutch merchant, of Albany, and a frequent visitor at Detroit, both before and after the Pontiac War, was attracted by a bright boy that the Indians had taken captive. The Indian owner was equally at- tracted by a silver tankard that he possessed, and the exchange of the tankard for the boy was duly made. As the boy was without a name, he was called Tankard, and his descendants are still known by the curious name that his ransom originated. During the Revolutionary War the traders from the Mohawk could not send goods with safety or regu- larity, and consequently many articles were some- times scarce and dear. With all these drawbacks, the quantity of goods in store in those days was enormous. Several million dollars' worth was often gathered here.

Within the store of a leading trader, the glitter and bright colors were equal to any display made in our own day; and for variety no country store of the present time could equal it. In one corner might be seen bales of mink, raccoon, bear, beaver, muskrat, and deer skins, sufficient in value to con- stitute a fortune at the prices of to-day, the floor was usually cumbered with goods of various kinds in their original packages, the boxes and barrels being lined with sheet-lead to keep out the water, and heavily bound with iron. Strings of wampum, dressed deerskins, and immense snow-shoes were suspended from the low ceiling ; and, in the season, carcasses of venison and bear, with wild turkeys, added a savory odor to the room. The shelves were crammed with a larger variety of goods than any junk-shop displays. Large brass locks with keys that would weigh a pound, iron and brass candle- sticks, pewter plates, tinder-boxes, inkstands and basins, steelyards, Japan mugs, and Queen's ware, lay side by side. Implements of peace and war jostled each other ; fig-blue, ink-powder, wafers, and quills were shelved with red-handled scalping knives, tomahawks, horse-pistols and holsters ; guns, heavy with silver ornaments, hung overhead, and powder, lead, flints, and fire-steels lay beneath them. The lower shelves were brilliant with gay calicoes, crimson satins, straw-colored silks, and scarlet cloths; while red night-caps, black silk breeches, and silk and satin petticoats were in bewildering prox- imity ; these were flanked by boxes of stiff stocks,

beaver and cocked hats, gold and silver sword-knots, and green silk umbrellas, while bales of blankets and strouds (a coarse blue cloth), packages of ver- milion, yellow ochre, hair powder, red and gold lace, knee-buckles, burning glasses, wax-lights, lanterns, bellows, decanters, shoe-packs, moccasins, carrying collars, large and small traps, cordage, oakum, irons, and saddlebags helped to make up the assortment. Nor was this all. Household implements were not forgotten; Dutch ovens, Indian baskets, frying pans, copper kettles, and caddies of bohea tea greeted the eyes of thrifty housewives in days gone by. For the children, there were mococks of maple sugar of many sizes, suited to the purse of man or boy, and brilliant with the gayly stained quills with which they had been decorated. The particular delights of the Indians were by no means forgotten ; colored beads of many sizes, silver and tin brooches and buckles, ear-bobs, moons, crosses, gorgets for medals and breast-plates and silver bands for the wrists, woolen belts and blankets, rolls of tobacco, and numerous casks of the inevitable fire-water, with hundreds of other articles, were gathered in a single store.

As early as 1767 mention is made of the following merchants at Detroit: Charles Cortoise, Peter Baron, Benjamin James, Edmund Pollard, Obediah Robbins, William Bruce, John Robinson, H. Van Schaack, Thomas Williams, William Edgar, Richard McNeall, Samuel Lyons, D. Baby, B. Chapoton, Isaac Todd, and James Cassity. In 1773 James Stirling, John Porteous, Macomb & Company, and Abbott & Edgar were the principal merchants; and within five years after Meldrum & Park, a noted firm, began. In 1783 Graverat & Visger were largely engaged in the fur trade. In 1787, or pos- sibly earlier, Joseph Campau began business. In 1799 Angus McIntosh, Forsyth & Company, and Mack & Conant were prominent merchants, and in 1809 A. C. Truax.

For more than a century, under French, English, and American rule, the fur trade was the most im- portant interest. Immense quantities of furs were received and forwarded. Over one hundred thou- sand beaver-skins were shipped in a single year. When Captain Rogers came to take possession of the post in 1760, he found $500,000 worth of furs in store. In 1781 A. & W. Macomb bought at one time, of the Widow Berthelet, 12, 132 deerskins, 9,483 raccoon, 413 bear, 682 cat and fox, 16 elk, and three wolf skins. In August, 1784, after great quantities had been sent away, there were still one thousand packs of furs at Detroit.

During all these years the business of buying and shipping furs was the most important factor in the trade of Detroit. A single shipment on August 6, 1821, of four hundred and ten packs, was valued

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MERCHANTS AND TRADING.

at $62,000; and during the year over $300,000 worth were shipped from the city. In 1829 furs to the amount of $325,000 were exported, and the shipments of raw furs to Europe, even now, reaches a value of half a million yearly.

BY ARTHUR ST. CLAIR,

has made application for per-

WHEREAS Nicholas bauchau of the country of Mayno

mission to trade with the Ottaway nation of Indians, and has given bond, according to lan, for the due observ-

ance of all the laws and regulations for the government of the trade with Indians that now are or hereafter may be enact-

of goods, wares and merchandises, conformably to the laws and regulations aforesaid : but under this caprofs condition and at their town of lower sandusky and there to sell, barter and exchange with the individuals of said nation, all manner ed and established, license is hereby granted to the said Mehrlas kampan to trade with the said Ottaway nation,

or owners shall have no claim for the same, either upon the said nation or any individual thereof, nor upon the United and the Indians of the said nation are at full liberty to seize and confiscate the said liquors so carried, and the owner have been carried to the said camps, contrary to the true intent and meaning hereof', and of having his bond put in suit; on pain of forfeiture of this license, and of the goods, wares and merchandise, and of the spirituous liquors which may especially spirituous liquors of any kind; nor shall barter or exchange the same, or any of them, in any quantity whatever, carried to the hunting camps of the Indians of said nation, any species of goods or merchandise whatsoever, and more restriction, that the said Micholay shall not, by himself, his servants, agents or factors, carry or cause to be

Stated .

The methods of trade were much the same among all who trafficked with the Indians, the slow- ness of the returns in some measure counterbalanc- ing the otherwise large profits. Goods ordered in the fall would not arrive till the following summer. In the winter they would be exchanged for furs, which generally did not reach London or Paris until nearly a year later. In this way, three years, and often forty-two months, were required to complete

the circuit of trade. Indeed, the fur merchants were generally poor and disheartened every three years, owing to the enormous expense of the traffic, and

Given under my hand and feel the Second day of October in the year of our Lord, 1800 -- > This License to continue in force for one Year

FAC-SIMILE OF A TRADER'S LICENSE.

the instability of prices in the London market. In addition to other drawbacks, the goods sold to the farmers were pay- able only in produce, and not until the winter following their purchase. Many of the farm- ers were more fond of gayety and dissipation than of indus- try, and generally evaded pay- ing for two or three years or until forced by law ; then, however, instead of paying twenty shillings to the pound, they paid from thirty to forty, the costs of suit being very high. This practice of non- payment was so general that no one thought it a disgrace to be sued for debt; on the contrary, it seems to have been considered an honor, as it gave them the air of men of business.

Detroit was so noted a trad- ing post that bands of Indians were coming and going all the time. Their canoes, by the score, were frequently seen coming down the river, or were hauled up on the shore. As late as 1825 they gathered along the river road from the Brush Farm eastward towards Grosse Pointe ; their canoes, turned bottom-side up on the beach, with one edge slightly elevated, afforded shelter, and on the north side of the road their goods were exposed for sale. Bundles of odorous furs, bales of smoke-dressed deer- skins, naked little Indians, blanketed squaws, some with mococks of sugar and other with papooses strapped upon their backs, numerous dogs, immense piles of Indian baskets, bundles of paddles, Indian brooms, axe-handles, mats, bows and arrows, knot-bowls, and packs of moccasins, straight black-haired and copper-colored braves, were all on exhibition, forming together a motley spectacle.

Under French rule accounts were kept in French currency, but soon after 1760 the English system of

GOVERNOR of the TERRITORY of the UNITED STATES, NORTH-WEST of the OHIO, and SUPERINTENDANT of INDIAN AFFAIRS. .

MERCHANTS AND TRADING.

769

pounds, shillings, and pence displaced franc and livre. The American merchants dis- liked the English mode of reckoning, and in 1810, or earlier, accounts were kept in York or New York currency,-$ 2.50 being equiva- lent to the pound. The old ledgers of the Macombs, of Thomas Smith, and of Joseph Campau, would do no discredit to the best penman or bookkeeper of the present day. The debtor and creditor sides of an account each occupied a page, and the two pages were numbered alike, so that ledgers of three hundred pages would be numbered as having only one hundred and fifty. Under Ameri- can rule the governor issued special licenses to those who traded with the Indians. A fac-simile of one, half size, is here repro- duced.

Under law of August 29, 1805, no person was allowed to retail any merchandise not produced in the United States without paying a license of twenty dollars to the treasurer of the Territory. The law does not seem to have acted as a hindrance to trade, for in 1808, only three years after the town had been entirely destroyed, there were three hundred and thirty-five stores of various kinds.

A territorial law of October 7, 1814, re- quired each merchant or trader in Detroit to

45 hautty Fitzsimons & Co. 49

WHOLESALE GROCERS

WHOLESALE GROCERY STORES OF MORAN, FITZSIMONS, & Co., Northwest corner of Woodward Ave. and Woodbridge St. MARINERS' PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH. Built in 1849.

BLESALE

WHOLESALE BOOTS & SHOES

WHOLESALE

WHOLESALE BOOTS & SHOES

BOOTS & SHOES

WHOLESALE SHOE STORES OF H. P. BALDWIN, 2D, & Co., Southwest corner of Woodward Avenue and Woodbridge Street. Built in 1851.

pay a territorial license of twenty dollars, and all in the Territory outside of the town ten dollars. There is no apparent rea- son for this discrimination other than the fact that the traders in Detroit did so much more business that they were able to pay more.

A business list, compiled in June, 1819, showed that there were then in De- troit seven watchmakers, twelve blacksmiths, ten gunsmiths, sixty carpen- ters and joiners, six coop- ers, three cabinetmakers, one coach and chaise mak- er, five wheelwrights, three tanners, five harness-mak- ers, twelve shoemakers, twenty-three masons, eighteen tailors, six hat- ters, one tinner, three painters, three printers,

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MERCHANTS AND TRADING.

eight innkeepers, twenty-four dry goods and grocery merchants, one wholesale grocer, sixteen grocery and provision stores and ale-houses, and five bakeries. Among the prominent merchants at this time were Henry J. Hunt, John L. Whiting, Mack & Conant, J. & A. Wendell, Tunis S. Wendell & Company, De Garmo Jones, Benjamin B. Kercheval, and Abraham Edwards.

101

R.H. FYFE &

BOOTS & SHOES.

FINE SHOES.

R. H. FYFE & Co.'s BOOT AND SHOE STORE, 101 Woodward Avenue. Built in 1875.

As illustrative of the ways of the times, we note that on November 22, 1820, the last-named mer- chant announced that he had sold out, and urged all parties indebted to him to " make immediate payment in cash, beans, or flour."

At this time, and for at least ten years later, cur- rency was so scarce that "dickering " was the rule, and the trading of one article for another was a common occurrence. Thomas Palmer used to say

to customers that he would "take anything for pay except money." Levi Cook began business in 1820, and, after a few years, was succeeded by his brother Olney Cook. In 1838 James Burns became a part- ner. In 1821 the advertisements of the following merchants appeared in the Gazette : A. C. Caniff, F. T. & J. Palmer, J. G. & J. E. Schwartz, O. New- berry, John Hale, William Brewster, and John R. Williams.

The rush of emigration in 1836 caused such a demand for goods of all kinds that every house that could be obtained on Jefferson Avenue from Shelby to Randolph Street was fitted up for a store and filled with goods ; some householders sold out their leases at an advance of a hundred per cent. The regular merchants grew jealous of the auctioneers, who gathered crowds to their sales by sending out a crier with a large bell; and, undoubtedly at their request, an ordinance was passed forbidding auc- tioneers to sell anything except liquors in casks of thirty gallons or over, ship furniture and tackle, car- riages, farming utensils, furniture, and animals. Goods of any kind could not be sold at auction un- less of the bulk of one barrel or weighing one hun- dred pounds or over ; and the ordinance provided that "no bellman, crier, or other means of attract- ing attention of passengers shall be used or em- ployed by any auctioneer or other person for the purpose of collecting bidders at the sale or auc- tion of any property." The business of an auc- tioneer was originally a public one, and appoint- ments were made by the governor. A law of De- cember 31, 1811, provided that " auctions shall not be held except between sunrising and sunsetting," the evident intent being to prevent any deception through sales made by candlelight. The following persons were appointed auctioneers in the years named : 1816, George McDougall, Henry Brown ; 1817, John Meldrum, John McDonnell; 1818,James Abbott, Abraham Edwards, John R. Williams, and Duncan Reid; 1819, Robert Garrat ; 1820, John S. Roby ; 1821, D. B. Cole ; 1823, Melvin Dorr, Rufus Hatch ; 1826, Elijah Converse, Charles C. P. Hunt ; 1829, J. E. Schwartz; 1830, B. Holbrook, I. T. Ullman, E. Brooks; 1834, S. S. Hawkins, D. C. Mckinstry ; 1835, Henry Doty ; 1836, James Filson.

As the city grew, the general store, in which were gathered articles of every kind, gave place to stores making a specialty of some one kind or class of goods ; but for a long time the oldest and leading dry goods stores kept a supply of tea, coffee, sugar, and other staple groceries, and sold large quantities, especially to their country customers.

The general stores of the olden time, where everything was kept, find their best exponent to-day in the well known house of Mabley & Company, the largest retail establishment in Michigan. This house

(MABLEY & COMPANY

[771]

GENTLEMEN3 | FURNISHING V 1994 " COMPANY ! 192 W GENTLEMENT FURNISHINGS

130 CLOTHING 130 ||MABLEY & COMPANY

PANY

HATS & CAPS

CLOTHING, HAT CAP AND FURNISHING STORES OF MABLEY & COMPANY, 122 to 134 Woodward Avenue, East side. Built in 1876-1880.

MABLEY & COMPANY'S BAZAAR AND SHOE HOUSE

BAZAAR AND SHOE HOUSE OF MABLEY & COMPANY, NOS. 121 to 130 Woodward Avenue, West side. Built in 1881-1885. [772]

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MERCHANTS AND TRADING.

was founded February 22, 1870, by C. R. Mabley, and the present company incorporated in 1884, with a capital stock of $250,000. Originally but one store was occupied, but to meet the phenomenal growth of their business it was found necessary to make almost yearly additions to their premises, and they now utilize all the stores on the east side of Woodward Avenue from 122 to 134 inclusive, and the magnificent five-story buildings directly opposite, Nos. 121 to 129 inclusive, embracing alto- gether twelve stores, sixty-two departments, and a floor surface aggregating nearly two and a half acres. The east side stores are devoted to men's and boys' clothing, merchant tailoring, hats, caps, and gents' furnishings, while the west side build- ings are given up to boots and shoes, and a mam- moth bazaar, the last named in turn embracing departments devoted to ladies' furnishings, mantles, suits, shawls, jackets, millinery, fancy goods, jew- elry, toys, books, art pottery, crockery, glassware, etc. Over three hundred clerks and assistants are employed, and in 1887 a business amounting to upwards of a million and a half was transacted. The officers of the company are as follows: Presi- dent and general manager, Bruce Goodfellow ; vice- president, L. H. Lancashire ; secretary and treas- urer, Charles G. Ziegler.

One of the noticeable features in the mercantile life of the city, at the present time, is the number of firms who represent stores established nearly or quite half a century ago. Among these are the establishments of F. Buhl & Company, Farrand, Williams & Com- pany, H. P. Baldwin 2d, & Company, T. H. Hinch- man & Company, L. A. Smith & Company, A. C. McGraw & Company, and Phelps & Brace.

From small beginnings the drug business, repre- sented by the wholesale drug-houses of Farrand, Williams, & Company, T. H. Hinchman & Sons, John J. Dodds & Company, and James E. Davis & Company, has become one of the largest of mercan- tile enterprises. Since 1860 direct importations have been made at Detroit of almost all foreign com- modities, -castile soap from Marseilles, several tons at a time; Venetian red and ammonia from Glas- gow; hemp and mustard seed in quantities from Messina; bergamot, origanum, lemon, and other essential oils, with gums and drugs, from London and Grasse, thousands of gallons at a time; chamois- skins arrive in lots of ten thousand; Trieste supplies gum-arabic and cuttle-fish bone; Dresden, senna- leaves, anise-seed, and chemicals of various kinds, and Liverpool, indigo and sal soda.

The increase in amount of direct importations of various goods is shown by the following statement of the amount of duties paid at Detroit: 1810, $2,052; 1850, $11,433; 1860, $61,650; 1870, $234,- 842; 1880, $284,464.

The total capital invested in jobbing and retail houses is about $30,000,000, and the sales for 1883 were estimated at $125,000,000.

As the city has grown, one locality after another has become specially desirable for business purposes. In 1812 Atwater was the principal business street ; about 1820 stores began to appear on Woodward Avenue below Jefferson, and also on Jefferson Ave- nue ; from 1830 to 1850 Jefferson Avenue was the chief business street of the city. In 1860 Wood- ward Avenue above Jefferson began to be the better retail street. Since 1870 the tide of business has swept past the Campus Martius, and up Woodward and Monroe Avenues, and Michigan, Gratiot, and Grand River Avenues have for years been lined with stores and shops.

Some persons engaged in business have no local habitation; they are here, there, and everywhere, their own cries giving notice of their presence. Especially of late years the street-criers of Detroit have become noticeable among the many sounds of its broad and busy thoroughfares. "Ting a ling- ting-ting-ting" sounds the bell of the scissors- grinder, who presently appears with wheels and treadle on his back. Hardly has the sound of his bell died away when the toot of the ragman's horn is heard, and his hand-cart comes in sight, drawn sometimes by himself, sometimes by a dog; or pos- sibly he has a rheumatic horse and a dilapidated wagon. After him comes one with a box of broken glass and a rule, and the cry of "Glass put in !" is heard, or the words " Umbrellas to mend-to mend -to mend !" sound along the way. In the early morning and in the afternoon the newsboy's cry is heard, omnipresent, vigorous, and clear ; and all the livelong day, in spring and summer time, the streets are made to ring with the cries of "Tatoes!" "Fresh fish!" and "Strawberries!" Fruits of every kind are thus offered for sale.

In marked contrast with these literally " one- horse establishments," is the business conducted by the firm of D. M. Ferry & Company, one of the most widely known firms on the continent. In con- nection with a few facts as to their establishment, a description of the seed business of the olden time will be suggestive. About the year 1820, while James Abbott was postmaster, he cultivated the main portion of the block now bounded by Woodward Avenue, Griswold, Woodbridge, and Atwater Streets. In this garden he raised seeds for sale. The wrappers enclosing the few letters that were then received at Detroit, with the aid of a little paste, were transformed into bags for the seeds, and in the spring, when the first vessel went up the lakes to Saginaw, Mackinaw, and Green Bay, these seeds-only a few dozen papers in num- ber-were sent up for sale to the post-gardeners,

OFFICES AND SEED WAREHOUSE OF D. M. FERRY & CO., WEST SIDE OF BRUSH, BETWEEN CROGHAN AND CHAMPLAIN STREETS. Built in 1887.

D. M. FERRY & CO.'s SEED FARMS ON GRAND RIVER ROAD, TOWNSHIP OF GREENFIELD, NEAR DETROIT.

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MERCHANTS AND TRADING.

and to scattered farmers who had settled in the wilderness. As compared with such methods, the business operations of D. M. Ferry & Company afford interesting evi- dences of progress. They occupy a four-story ware- house with basement, erected specially for the purpose, and covering half of a large square ; and this building, with a large portion of an ad- joining block, hardly suffices for their needs. In addition to immense tracts of lands cultivated for them, they have a seed-farm of their own, covering nearly half a mile square of ground, and on this farm they have grown, in a single year, 35,000 pounds of onion and 93,000 pounds of beet seed.

SMITH

DRESS GOUDS

GAR

DRY GOODS STORES OF L. A. SMITH & Co. (Successors to JAMES BURNS & Co.) 107 and 109 Woodward Avenue, corner of Congress Street. Built by F. Buhl in 1871.

GROCERY STORES OF G. & R. McMILLAN, 131 Woodward Avenue, corner of Fort Street. Built in 1864.

At the warehouse proper they employ about four hun- dred persons, and the aggregate number of their workmen, in- cluding those employed at the farm, reaches nearly eight hun- dred. They deal directly, from year to year, with over eighty thousand merchants, located in almost every town and hamlet in the United States and Can- ada; and they have yearly cor- respondence besides with as many more individual farmers and gardeners. Upwards of 50,000,000 packages of seeds . were sent out in 1883. They issue over 325,000 catalogues yearly, and consume, in connec- tion with their business, nearly a ton and a half of paper per day, and ship yearly five hun- dred car-loads of seeds.

In the olden time wholesale merchants waited for customers to come to them, but within the the last twenty years the prac-

MERCHANTS AND TRADING.

777

tice of sending out "drummers," or travel- ling agents, has become increasingly com- mon, until now there is hardly a wholesale house in Detroit that does not employ from one to fifty of these salesmen, who, during a great part of the year, travel throughout the country soliciting orders for goods of every kind. There are probably not less than four hundred thus sent out from Detroit.

Within the last twenty years, and es- pecially since 1870, the practice of delivering goods to every part of the city has become general among retail dealers. One firm employs nearly a dozen wagons in this kind of service.

Not much was attempted in the way of display in show-windows until about 1850. George Doty's jewelry window and J. Beedzler's exhibit of fruits and fancy gro- ceries were : mong the earliest specially attractive displays. Ten years later French plate-glass windows were more common, and since then the show-windows on the principal business streets have been in- creasingly attractive in appearance. "Open- ing days," when spring or fall goods are first shown, were inaugurated by New-

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The history of Detroit and Michigan; or, The metropolis illustrated; a chronological cyclopedia of the past and present, Vol I, Part 124

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902 Publication date: 1889 Publisher: Detroit, S. Farmer & co Number of Pages: 1096

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Detroit, S. Farmer & co
Number of Pages: 1096