The history of Detroit and Michigan; or, The metropolis illustrated; a chronological cyclopedia of the past and present, Vol I, Part 138

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 138

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TELEGRAPHS AND TELEPHONES.

The use of the electrical current for telegraph purposes was first illustrated in Detroit in 1845. This item then appeared in the Advertiser for Sep- tember 23 :

ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH .- Dr. Boynton commenced a course of lectures on this subject last evening at the Presbyterian session- room. We have no doubt our citizens will be richly rewarded for their attendance. The subject is not only curious, but becoming of great practical interest. Admission, twenty-five cents.

In the following year and late in the fall Mr. Ezra Cornell, having completed for Professor Morse a line of telegraph from Baltimore to Washington, with his townsman, J. J. Speed, Jr., made a contract with the owners of the Morse patent to build a line from Buffalo to Milwaukee, connecting all the prin- cipal towns on and adjacent to the lakes.

The contract was signed by Messrs. Cornell and Speed, as contractors, and by Messrs. Smith and Vail as owners of the patent. The last-named gentleman appointed Jacob M. Howard, Martin B. Wood, and Levi Hubbel as trustees to see that the line was built and put in operation according to the specifications. The contractors came to Michigan in the winter of 1846-1847 to procure subscriptions in the various towns on the route, and selected Detroit as headquarters.

It is possible that the exhibition in Representative Hall, at the old Capitol, from July 2 to 7, 1847, of the methods of telegraphy, was, at least in part, under their auspices. The following notice ap- peared soon after :

TELEGRAPH NOTICE .- A meeting of the citizens will be held this evening,-Saturday, July 31, 1847,- at the Firemen's Hall, for the purpose of deciding whether a sufficient amount of money will be subscribed for the capital of the Erie and Michigan Tele- graph line, connecting Buffalo and Detroit, to justify its immedi- ate construction. Explanations will be made of the advantages of the line, and in relation to the amount of stock necessary to be subscribed in this city. Our citizens are respectfully invited to attend.

In the summer of 1847 the trustees of this, the Speed Line, as it was called, selected the following gentlemen to take charge of the work and procure material for building the line : Ezra Cornell, for Section I, from Buffalo to Cleveland ; J. J. Speed, for Section 2, from Cleveland to Detroit ; M. B. Wood, for Section 3, from Detroit to Chicago; and Mr. Tillottson, for Section 4, from Chicago to Mil- waukee.

The first wire on the Speed Line was put up by Mr. Wood; it ran from Detroit to Ypsilanti, and was first used on November 29, 1847, proving true to its name by being the first line on which a tele- graphic dispatch was sent from Detroit.

The office was in the rear of the second story of ; a building owned by Mr. Newberry, on the northeast

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corner of Jefferson Avenue and Cass Street, after- wards the Garrison House. There was no manager, as such, but there were plenty of instruments and batteries, and a number of young operators from the East, who had obtained a knowledge of te- legraphy on the Albany and Buffalo Line, or its branches, were congregated at Detroit in ex- pectation of obtaining an office when the line was fully opened.

These lads, in Mr. Wood's absence, had things pretty much their own way, and seemed to use all their ingenuity in hatching mischief. Among their implements there was an electrical machine with two brass balls, one to be held in each hand, and so arranged that when the current was turned on, it was impossible to let go of the balls. One morning a burly Irishman came in, and said he wanted to look at the "telegroff " and see her "wurk." The boys were quick to see their opportunity. They put the brass balls into his hands, turned on a light current, and asked if he could see it. "Yis," he replied, "she 's wurkin." A little more electricity was then applied, when the man cried out " Holdt- her, boys, holdther! She's wurkin hard. Och! holdther, I say. Be jabers! she's got me hard." A stiff volume was then applied, and the man began to jump and yell, "Why don't ye holdther? Oh! by the Holy Vargin! ye 'll kill me ded." Just at this moment Mr. Wood appeared at the door. The boys dropped the connecting wires and ran for the battery-room, and the delegate from the "ould sod" hurried down stairs, muttering to himself that he had "seen enough of the domed telegroff."

In the winter and spring of 1848 the line was pushed rapidly forward, and on reaching Chicago the company organized by electing J. J. Speed, Jr., president ; E. Cornell, Anthony Dudgeon, Benjamin Follett, David S. Walbridge, and J. B. Smith, directors ; and James Haviland, secretary. No treasurer was needed, for the money received at the offices was paid out as fast as received, and reported to the father of Mr. Speed, who served as book- keeper. Mr. Haviland was head operator at Detroit, with Mr. Wood as superintendent of construction and repairs on the line. The office was soon moved to a building on Jefferson Avenue, next to the old Farmers and Mechanics' Bank Building, opposite Masonic Hall. As early as 1852 it was moved a little nearer Griswold Street to a two-story wooden building on the site afterwards occupied by Charles Root & Company's store. In their new office the company was known as the Erie and Michigan Line. C. E. Wendell was manager from 1851 to 1856.

The O'Reilly Line, so named after its projector, Henry O'Reilly, was completed between Buffalo and Detroit on March 1, 1848, and on that day the first dispatch from New York was received. The office

of this company was originally in the second story of the then new Godfrey Building on Jefferson Avenue, just below the Michigan Exchange. E. D. Benedict was manager.

The third line, known as the Snow Line, was constructed by Messrs. Josiah and William D. Snow; it ran to Chicago, by way of Monroe.

In 1852 there was in operation a line called the Northern Michigan, with G. L. Lee as manager. During the years that the lines retained the names of their individual proprietors the papers always headed their telegraph column, "Telegraph by O'Reilly, Speed, or Snow Line," as the case might be. In 1852 G. W. Balch was general Western manager of the O'Reilly Line. This same year the name was changed to the Atlantic, Lake, and Mississippi Telegraph Line, and E. D. Benedict became manager of the Detroit office. In 1855 the Morse, House, O'Reilly, and Wade Lines were consolidated under the name of the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company. The Detroit office was located on Jefferson Avenue next to the old Farmers and Mechanics' Bank Building, where H. A. Newland & Company's store is now located. Early in the spring of 1854 Mr. Speed sold his interest in the Erie and Michigan Line to one of the companies above named, for $30,000. This caused an entire change in the management. The purchasers supposed their purchase would give them control of the property, but they found that Messrs. Cornell and Wood owned a large amount of stock, and could control the appointment of the Board of Directors. This was a sore disappoint- ment, but the Rochester owners had to acquiesce. Mr. Cornell was elected president and superintend- ent, with Mr. Wood as treasurer and general financial agent. From this time the company paid its stock- holders five per cent dividends, but as there was a lively competition for business by the other lines, the capital of the Erie and Michigan Lines decreased $8,000 per year. This state of things induced the Rochester owners to come to Detroit, and make an effort to unite the companies. At a meeting held here, the Rochester Company was represented by I. R. Elwood, H. Sibley, and Samuel L. Selden ; and the Erie and Michigan Company by E. Cornell, M. B. Wood, and J. M. Howard. The meeting resulted in cutting down the capital stock of the Rochester Company from $450,000 to $350,000, and raising the Erie and Michigan stock from $117,000 to $150,000, making a total capital of $500,000, and consolidating all the lines and parts of lines west of Buffalo in which the Rochester Company had any interest. The organization was called the Western Union Telegraph Company, and was fully organized on April 4, 1856.

The office was now removed to 52 Griswold Street.

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About 1861 it was moved to 66 Griswold, and in 1872 was again removed to the southeast corner of Griswold and Congress Streets. Mr. Balch acted as general manager until 1865, when he was suc- ceeded by Colin Fox, and he by C. Corbet in 1870.

On July 16, 1857, the first telegraph cable was laid across Detroit River. It was a piece of the cable originally intended to be used at Newfound- land, and was the first really successful submarine telegraph cable laid in any waters.

In 1880 the Western Union had one cable cross- ing the river with seven conductors, and two cables with three conductors each. The Atlantic and Pacific Company had one cable, and the American Union Company two cables at this point. On August 5, 1858, the news that the Atlantic cable had been successfully laid called forth impromptu and noisy demonstrations. The telegraph office was illuminated, and the streets were brilliant with bonfires. This first report was untrue, but on August 16 following, at 9.30 P. M., the arrival of a bona fide dispatch from the Queen was duly announced, and immediately the bells rang, the people gathered, and bonfires were built. On the next day preparations were made for a dis- play in the evening. Accordingly, at 8 P. M., guns were fired, and for an hour all the bells were rung, many buildings were illuminated, a torchlight pro- cession paraded, and innumerable bonfires told of the general joy. Indeed, it was joy run wild ; staid old citizens acted like school-boys, and all through the city, shouts and singing filled the air. Probably no other occasion was more hilariously celebrated in Detroit.

In 1863 the United States Telegraph Company built its line in Michigan. It extended along the F. & P. M. R. R. to Saginaw, and ran also to Port Huron and Toledo. It was consolidated with the Western Union in 1866.

The Atlantic and Pacific Line was built from Toledo to Detroit in 1868, and opened in Novem- ber. The office was established at 39 Woodward Avenue. In 1872 the office was moved to 64 Gris- wold Street. After 1876 it was located at 94 Gris- wold Street. The managers have been : 1869-1870, George Farnsworth; 1871, E. B. Beecher ; 1872, C. J. Ryan ; 1873-1881, F. W. Garnsey.

The office of the American Union Line was established at Detroit on January 15, 1880, in the basement of the First National Bank, G. W. Lloyd as manager. In February, 1881, all of the telegraph companies then represented in Detroit were consoli- dated, and on April I, the office of the Atlantic and Pacific Line was discontinued. During the summer of 1881 the Mutual Union Company began to build its line in Michigan, and its Detroit office was opened on February 6, 1882, with George

Farnsworth as manager. In 1883 it was sold to the Western Union, and on July I the office at Detroit was closed. The Bankers and Merchants' Telegraph Line opened its Detroit office in May, 1884, with George F. Singleton as manager. The line eventually went into the hands of George Farns- worth as receiver, was reorganized as the United Lines Company, and opened an office in Detroit on August 14, 1885. In 1883 a competing organiza- tion, known as the Michigan Postal Telegraph Company, was organized, which built lines to various points in Michigan. The office in Detroit was opened February 15, 1884, with George Farnsworth as manager.

In the way of telegraphic facilities an important and exceedingly useful advance was made by the establishment of the district telegraph system. The company was organized, in Detroit, on November 8, 1875, went into operation November 27, and by the first of January, 1876, was fully established. The capital stock of the company was fixed at $50,000, and it was officered as follows : G. W. Balch, president ; James McMillan, vice-president ; S. D. Elwood, treasurer; J. W. Mackenzie, super- intendent. In January, 1878, W. A. Jackson became superintendent.

The apparatus supplied by the company to sub- scribers consists of a small box about four by six inches in size, connected by a wire with the office of the company, and so arranged that by simply turning a crank a given number of times for each one of four signals, a signal is conveyed to the office of the company, and a messenger-boy instantly summoned to go to any part of the city; a policeman called, if there are burglars or suspicious characters around; or, subscribers having previ- ously furnished the office with the name of their physician, he can be summoned from the office. The fourth signal is used in case of fire. The company employs a large number of boys and men, and there are always some of them on duty. The growth of the service is indicated by the fact that on January 1, 1876, seven messengers were employed; January 1, 1877, twenty; January 1, 1878, forty; January 1, 1879, fifty; in 1883 sixty were employed. The charges for the services of the messengers are: For one hour, 25 cents; 50 minutes, 25 cents ; 40 minutes, 20 cents; 30 minutes, 15 cents; 20 minutes or less, 10 cents.

The messengers may be employed to distribute circulars and notices of every kind. When desired by subscribers employing a night watchman, the company arrange a signal and wire, so that, as often as may be required, the watchman can send a signal to the office, thus insuring his faithfulness and attention. A sealed report of the signals re- ceived is delivered to the employer every morning.

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The rent of the apparatus, not including the charge for messengers, is $1.50 per month. The popularity of the apparatus is indicated by the fact that in 1876 one hundred boxes were in use; in 1877, two hundred; in 1878 and 1879, three hundred and twenty-five. On the first of January, 1880, the number had declined to three hundred because of the increased use of the telephone, and now there are only two hundred and sixty-seven.

The discovery of the telephone began to attract attention early in 1877. The instrument was first exhibited in Detroit on March 6 of that year, at the Detroit Club Rooms, under the direction of M. C. Kellogg. Communication was had with Chicago, and a musical performance there was distinctly heard in Detroit. On August 15, 1878, the Tele- phone and Telegraph Construction Company began to supply telephones, acting in connection with the District Telegraph Company. The annual charge

for telephones for business purposes is $60; for ordinary professional and residence use, $50. In 1879 the company had in operation three hundred telephones and twenty-two private lines. In 1887 the number had grown to twenty-six hundred, and there were besides seven hundred and twenty private lines. The number has largely increased since that date. In February, 1881, the company established public telephone stations in various parts of the city, and at these stations ten cents is charged for telephonic communication. This same year, on January 22, the State telephone system went into operation ; and now about two hundred cities and villages of Michigan are connected by telephone. The office of the company was originally located at 135 Griswold Street; in October, 1877, it was moved to 15 Congress Street West ; and on September I, 1880, to the Newberry and McMillan Building.

CHAPTER LXXXIII.

JOURNEYING .- TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES .- EXPRESS COMPANIES.

IT has been said that the first horses at Detroit were brought from Fort Duquesne, now Pittsburgh, after the defeat of General Braddock in 1755. There were undoubtedly some here at a much earlier period, for horses were brought to Quebec in 1665, and in Cadillac's grant of land to Joseph Parent, in 1708, one of the conditions was that he was to shoe Cadillac's horses. There were but very few horses, however, for general use, and until about 1840 their place was largely supplied by the little French ponies which roamed at large both inside and outside of the town. These were branded on the shoulder with their owner's initials, and when wanted were caught and broken. They received little care, and lived by foraging, yet they were generally in good condition. If a barrel of salt was left out- side of a store over night, it was no uncommon thing to find that it had been gnawed through or broken, and oftentimes the citizens were awakened from sleep by the clatter of the ponies' hoofs as they gal- loped through the streets. They were very hardy, and under the saddle have been known to travel sixty miles a day for ten successive days.

Supplies for the army, from about 1760, were occasionally brought part way by land from Niagara with ox-teams, accompanied by an overseer on horse- back.

Early in the century a common mode of traveling, when there was but one horse for two or more per- sons, was known as the "ride and tie " method. One person would take the horse and ride on a few miles, then tie the horse and proceed on foot. The next one of the party coming up would take the horse, ride a few miles ahead of the first person, and again tie the horse to a tree. Journeys of sev- eral hundred miles were performed in this manner. During this period Indian trails and bridle-paths constituted almost the only semblance of roads, hence horseback riding was, for the most part, the only possible method of land travel, and with swamps to wade and streams to ford the method was slow indeed.

On October 16, 1796, John Wilkins, quartermaster- general of the western army, wrote from Pittsburgh to James McHenry, Secretary of War, that he had arrived there on the 14th, having left Detroit on the

4th. The Detroit Gazette for December 13, 1825, says : "Governor Cass left this city yesterday morn- ing on his way to Washington. He was escorted out of town by a large company of citizens on horseback." On June 20, 1826, the following item appeared : " Major Forsyth, who returned from the city of Washington last week, performed the journey to that city and back in eighteen days. We believe the journey has never before been performed in so short a time." On September 25, 1828, it was stated as a noteworthy fact that John Palmer had just made a trip to New York in four days and fifteen hours ; the ordinary time was six days and nine hours. When Major John Biddle went to Washington as the territorial delegate, in the fall of 1829, he wrote back on December 7 saying : "I arrived here last night after a long and fatiguing journey of upwards one thousand miles, nine hun- dred of which I performed on horseback." Travel in the interior of the State was not possible until the military roads to Chicago and Fort Gratiot were opened.

For short distances, from the days of Cadillac until 1830, the low, two-wheeled French carts were almost the only land carriages used by any one. They were cushioned with hay or robes, according to the ability of their owners, and ladies of the highest social standing made their calls or went to church sitting on the bottom of these primitive vehicles. A row of them in front of the churches or the council-house was no uncommon sight. In 1815, Governor Cass brought his family from Ohio to Detroit in a carriage, but as the country was very poor, and the wealthiest in only moderate cir- cumstances, any attempt at display was seldom made. The carriage, therefore, was used only on rare occasions, and was finally sold to Mr. McKin- stry for use as a hack.

About 1834 Major Larned procured a two- seated carriage, and the same year C. C. Trow- bridge procured of Joseph Clapp, of Pittsford, Mass., a single carriage. It was so much admired by Mrs. Antoine Beaubien that she ordered a dupli- cate. E. A. Brush and A. T. McReynolds also ordered carriages about the same time. At present hundreds of carriages and landaus are kept by pri-

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vate persons for their own use and pleasure. In 1822 the only four-wheeled wagon in the city was owned by Judge Sibley, and it was in constant requisition among his less fortunate neighbors ; even Governor Cass frequently solicited the loan of it, saying to his old French servant, "Pierre, go up to Judge Sibley, and tell him if he is not using his wagon to-day I should like to borrow it;" and as Pierre started off he would sometimes call after him and say, "Come back, Pierre! Tell Judge Sibley that I am going to get a wagon made, and after that I will neither borrow nor lend."

The first public stage from Detroit left for Mt. Clemens on the arrival of the steamboat in June, 1822. In 1827 stages commenced to run between this city and Ohio. On February 16, 1830, a stage was advertised to go from Sandwich to Niagara, three times a week, the journey to be made in four days for five cents a mile. In this year a line of post-coaches ran from here to Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor, and Tecumseh. The following Stage Regulations were advertised in 1832:

The Sandusky Line, passing through Monroe and Maumee, leaves the Hotel every evening at six o'clock. The St. Joseph Line, passing through Ypsilanti, Saline, Clinton, Jonesville, White Pigeon, Mottville, and Niles, leaves the Hotel every morn- ing at seven o'clock during the summer season, and three times a week during the winter season. A branch of this line leaves Ypsilanti immediately after its arrival, for Ann Arbor, Jackson- burg, and Calhoun. The Ann Arbor Line, passing through Pekin, Plymouth, and Panama, leaves the Hotel three times a week.

The Pontiac Line leaves daily ; and a branch, three times a week, passes through Rochester, Stony Creek, and Romeo. And also a line to Mount Clemens three times a week. A daily extra will also leave the Hotel for Ypsilanti at twelve o'clock. As almost all of the above routes are regular mail routes, the travel- ing public may depend upon a safe and speedy conveyance. Extra carriages will be furnished at all times for any part of the country.

April, 1832.

B. WOODWORTH.

On May 30, 1834, this item appeared in a Detroit daily :

A new line is about to be established between this city and the mouth of the St. Joseph River, and the first coach left to-day. This line will run through the county seats of Washtenaw, Jack- son, Calhoun, and Kalamazoo. Steamboats are about to com- mence running between the mouth of the St. Joseph and Chicago, so that the entire distance from Detroit to Chicago may be per- formed in less than five days.

In 1837 stages ran from Detroit as far west as Chicago, east to Buffalo, and north to Flint. The time to Chicago was four and a half days.

The increasing extension of railroad lines con- stantly lessened the number of stage routes, and since 1873 no regular stages have been run from the city.

The first public carriages were the two-wheeled cabs. In 1845 two of these were procured by a man named Robert Banks,-Henry Jackson, James Hall, and Mrs. Woods being associated with

him in their ownership. Banks had a barber-shop on the northeast corner of Jefferson Avenue and Griswold Street. Previous to the arrival of the cabs a space near the corner had been paved with hexagonal blocks of wood, and he advertised that his hacks would be found there. A city license of $5.00 a year is paid by the owners of each hack, and drivers pay a license of $1.00. The following charges are allowed by law: Fifty cents for one person anywhere in city limits ; children under ten, not more than two at a time, twenty-five cents; each trunk or bundle weighing less than fifty pounds is carried free ; for those weighing over fifty pounds, the legal charge is fifteen cents. Hacks by the hour are allowed $1.50 for first hour, $1.00 after for one person, and twenty-five cents an hour for each additional person ; between the hours of II P M. and 5 A. M., one half more may be charged. A single person has a right to demand conveyance, at these rates, to any part of the city.

One of the earliest efforts to establish a regular line of street-omnibuses was made in May, 1847. The following newspaper item gives details of the enterprise :

OMNIBUS .- Mr. Jonas Titus has started his omnibus again upon the route along Jefferson Avenue from the Michigan Ex- change to Hamtramck. The 'bus has been decorated in fine style, and running at regular hours will greatly accommodate the East End and our citizens during the hot months. Prompt en- couragement should be given (by the purchase of tickets) to an enterprise so laudable and useful.

This line was not well patronized, and soon ceased. Three years later the papers gave this notice of a new effort of the same character :

JEFFERSON AVENUE LINE OF OMNIBUSES .- Messrs. Baldwin & Drake, proprietors of several fine cabs and carriages, have engaged some splendid omnibuses to form an omnibus line from the Depot to the head of Jefferson Avenue during summer. An omnibus will pass each way once in thirty minutes, taking on passengers at every point in the Broadway style. The fare will be fixed at a low rate, probably at six cents per ride.

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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 138

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