The history of Detroit and Michigan; or, The metropolis illustrated; a chronological cyclopedia of the past and present, Vol I, Part 142

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 142

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The Chicago, Detroit, & Canada Grand Trunk Junction Railroad.

This road, running between Detroit and Port Huron, forms a part of the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada, extending to Portland, Me .; it was opened from Detroit to Port Huron on Novem- ber 21, 1859. It had previously been built through Canada and the New England States, and was the third road opened between Detroit and the East. The company made use of the depot of the Michigan Central Railroad until February 1, 1882, when, for the accommodation of passengers, they commenced using the depot at the Woodward Avenue Crossing. On October 9 their freight busi- ness was removed from the Michigan Central Railroad Depot to the Detroit, Grand Haven, & Milwaukee Depot. The number of men employed at Detroit and the Junction in 1880 was one hundred and twenty-four, and the average monthly pay-roll was $6,638.

The agents at Detroit have been : General agents : 1860 and 1861, J. D. Hayes; 1862 and 1863, R. Tubman; 1864 and 1865, J. Walsh. Passenger agents : 1866-1880, Edward Reidy; 1880 and 1881, J. A. Moore; January to July, 1882, W. S. Martin; July, 1882, to , John Main. Freight agents : 1866 and 1867, W. Thorpe; 1868-1873, S. E. Mar- tin; 1873-1877, W. C. Campbell; 1877-1882, T. Alcock; 1882- , R. N. Reynolds. E. J. Pierce has served as ticket agent from June, 1865.

The Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad.

The principal offices of the Flint & Pere Mar- quette Road are at Saginaw, but Detroit has had a special interest in the road since November 1, 1864.

RAILROADS.

905

The line was then completed between Flint and Holly, the track of the Detroit & Milwaukee Rail- road being used between Holly and Detroit. Regular trains arrived and departed from the Detroit & Mil- waukee Depot. On May 30, 1871, the road was completed from Wayne to Northville, and on November 6, 1871, from Northville to Holly. It then connected with the Michigan Central Railroad, and after June 28, 1875, its trains used the track of the Michigan Central Railroad to Detroit, arriving and departing from the Central Depot.

Detroit, Lansing, & Northern Railroad.

This road is composed of the roads originally incorporated under the names of Detroit, Howell,

State treasurer, but in the meantime the Supreme Court decided that the Railroad Aid Law, under the provisions of which the vote had been taken, was unconstitutional; consequently the bonds were returned to the city, and in May, 1877, they were cancelled. Meanwhile the road had been finished. It was completed from Detroit to Lansing in August, 1871, and on September 12 was formally opened to Greenville by an excursion from Detroit. On December 14, 1876, it was sold for $60,000 to parties who held mortgage bonds given at the time it was being built.

The first superintendent was A. H. Reese; he served until 1875, and was succeeded by J. B. Mulliken. The number of employees paid at Detroit

DOUBLE RAILROAD BRIDGE, Corner of Baker and Fifteenth Streets.

& Lansing Railroad and Lansing & Lake Michigan Railroad. Those interested in the roads sought aid from the city, and under a State law, on July 12, 1869, the question of aiding it and other roads was passed upon, but the citizens voted against any aid from the city. A subsequent effort and vote in regard to this road alone was more successful, and on January 10, 1870, by a vote of 4,191 against 1,885, $300,000 was voted in aid of the road, on condition that the shops be permanently located in Detroit. The bonds were to be delivered as the work progressed, and the road was to give a second mortgage to pay the bonds as they matured. On February 8 the council ordered the bonds delivered as soon as the road complied with the conditions. The bonds were made out and deposited with the

in 1882 was eighty-one, and the pay-roll averaged $4,714 per month.

The Detroit, Mackinaw, & Marquette Railroad was organized on August 20, 1879. On December 19, 1881, the road was inspected by the governor, and on January 1, 1882, the first regular through train ran from Mackinaw to Marquette. The dis- tance from Pt. St. Ignace, opposite Mackinaw, to Marquette is one hundred and fifty-two miles. On October 20, 1886, the road was sold to the Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Railway, which company is composed of this line and of the for- mer Marquette, Houghton & Ontonagon Rail- road. The general offices are located at Detroit,

906

RAILROADS.

Michigan, and James McMillan is president of the company.

Detroit, Butler, & St. Louis Railroad.

This road extends from Detroit to Butler, Indi- ana, a distance of one hundred and thirteen miles, and forms part of the Wabash Railroad system.

C.K. Summer

JEFFERSON AVENUE RAILROAD BRIDGE.

A bonus of $200,000 was given by citizens of Detroit to aid in its construction ; of this amount the Board of Trade gave $13,000, and many firms and individuals subscribed hundreds and thousands of dollars. The entire amount was pledged prior to June 17, 1880. The survey was commenced on April 12, 1880, the contract let on June 21, and in less than a year, on June 10, 1881, Jay Gould, one of the principal owners of the Wabash, arrived in Detroit, coming over the Butler Line. On July 6 an excursion of subscribers to the bonus took place ; and on August 14, 1881, the first through train from St. Louis rolled into Detroit.

When the road went into operation the trains came in over the line of the Detroit, Grand Haven,

& Milwaukee Railroad, but since March 18, 1883, they have made use of the grounds and depot of the Union Depot Company.

The officers of the road at Detroit in 1884 were : F. J. Hill freight agent ; Frank E. Snow, general agent. W. H. Knight succeeded Mr. Snow in 1886.

In 1881 the company employed thirty-five men at Detroit.

Cincinnati, Hamilton, & Dayton Railroad.

This road operates eight different lines of rail- roads, leading to Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Dayton, Toledo, and other points West and South. From Detroit to Toledo it uses the lines of both the Mich- igan Central and the Lake Shore Railroads. D. B. Tracy is the general passenger agent, and Joseph Keavy, general ticket agent.

Detroit Union Railroad Station & Depot Com- pany.

This corporation was organized early in 1881. They purchased a tract of about forty acres on the river, with a frontage of 2,540 feet, extending from Twelfth Street through to the west line of the Stanton Farm near Eighteenth Street.

The company have spent large sums of money in filling in, docking, and laying out their grounds, and in erecting buildings. They rent space for or build depots, elevators, and other conveniences for railroads wishing to make use of their facilities. The elevator built in 1882 cost $300,000, and will hold 1,300,000 bushels of grain.

Railroad Bridges and Gates.

For the protection of teams and travelers on streets crossed by the railroads at the west side of the city, gates are provided at all the crossings be- tween Woodbridge Street and the Junction; most of them were erected in 1883. Bridges are erected across Fort, Lafayette, Twelfth, Howard, Fourteenth, Baker, and Fifteenth Streets. The last named bridge, on account of its peculiar location, is curi- ously constructed, and is, in fact, two bridges in one. The bridges are erected jointly by the city and the railroad companies. On the east side of the city there are gates or bridges at nearly every crossing.

CHAPTER LXXXV.

NAVIGATION ON RIVERS AND LAKES.

THE earliest colonists, gathered in the fort near the river, or in snug farmhouses close to the shore, had but little need of roads or rockaways. The ever-present canoe was ready for use and almost at their door. The gondolas of Venice are not handier or more constantly in motion than were the picturesque canoes of the Detroit. As harvest moons waxed and waned, and seasons came and changed, traffic and travel moored other boats along the beach. Most pleasing of them all was the birch- bark canoe, buoyant and beautiful, and frequently decorated with brilliant Indian symbols; often six feet wide and thirty-five feet long, their carrying capacity was enormous. Sixty packs of furs, each pack weighing nearly one hundred pounds, half a ton of provisions for the crew of eight men, and bark and gum for possible repairs, were not uncom- mon loads from Lake Superior, and to Quebec and Albany as well. In calm weather they could be paddled four miles an hour, and at a portage four men could lift an unloaded canoe. They were easily broken, and if heavily laden did not venture to approach a rough beach, but baggage and passen- gers were carried ashore on the shoulders of the voyageurs. It was by means of such canoes that the expedition of 1820 reached the upper lakes. The party consisted of Governor Cass, H. R. School- craft, Alexander Wolcott, M. D., Captain D. B. Douglass, Lieutenant E. Mackay, J. D. Doty, Major R. A. Forsyth, C. C. Trowbridge, A. R. Chace, ten Canadian voyageurs, seven United States soldiers, ten Indians, an interpreter, and a guide. They left on May 24, 1820, in four birchbark canoes obtained from the Chippewas. On July 4, 1821, in a canoe of the same kind, Governor Cass and H. R. Schoolcraft started for Chicago, going by way of the Detroit, Maumee, Wabash, Mississippi, and Illi- nois Rivers. A favorite trading craft was the Mack- inaw boat or bateau. They were built of red or white oak or pine boards, had flat bottoms, were shaped exactly the same at each end, and were quite high at the sides.

The pirogue was a long, capacious canoe, often made of a single large red cedar-tree ; it was high in front and rear, and had high sides. It was used

chiefly for passengers, and commonly carried four, with a crew of the same number.

The ordinary canoes, appropriately called " dug- outs," were made by burning and chopping out the trunk of a good-sized tree.

As to vessels, the Griffon must be first named. Her tonnage is variously stated at from forty-five to sixty tons. She carried five cannon, and was built by LaSalle at the mouth of the Cayuga Creek near Nia- gara in the spring of 1679, and launched in the month of May. After several short trial-trips, on August 7, with Chevalier LaSalle, Father Louis Hen- nepin, Gabriel de la Ribourde, Zenobe Membre, and others, thirty-two in all, she started on her first real voyage, arriving at the mouth of the Detroit River on August 10. Two days after, on the Festival of Ste. Claire, she entered the little lake, which was christened Lake Ste. Claire in honor of the founder of the Franciscan Nuns. Two centuries later, a gathering at Grosse Pointe rechristened the lake, with various exercises, including poems by D. B. Duffield and Judge J. V. Campbell, and an address from Bela Hubbard. On her return trip, the Grif- fon left Washington Island in Lake Michigan on September 18. Two days after, a storm arose, and the vessel was seen no more; but portions of the wreck were found among the islands at the northern end of the lake.

After the voyage of the Griffon, no sailing vessels are known to have passed Detroit for nearly a cen- tury. The first that we hear of, were those engaged in conveying troops, provisions, and furs between Detroit and Niagara. In 1763 and 1764, the schoon- ers Beaver, Gladwin, and Charlotte went to and fro almost constantly, the time of the trip varying from six to nine days.

The first vessel known to have been built at De- troit was called the Enterprise. She was launched in 1769. In 1771 Mr. Ellice, of Schenectady, and Messrs. Sterling & Price, of Detroit, built a vessel of forty-five tons called the Angelica. Richard Wright was captain at a salary of £120 per year. In 1778 the British brig-of-war, General Gage, arrived, making the trip from Buffalo in four days. On account of the Revolutionary War, none but gov-

[9071

908

NAVIGATION ON RIVERS AND LAKES.

ernment vessels were then allowed upon the lakes.

In 1780 the captains and crews of nine vessels were under pay at Detroit, and a large dock-yard was maintained. The names of the vessels were the Gage, Dunmore, Faith, Angelica, Hope, Wel- come, Adventure, Felicity, and Wyandotte.

On August 1, 1782, the following armed vessels, all in good order and all built in Detroit, were on duty in Lakes Erie, Huron, and Michigan :

NAMES.

Men on

Board.

Guns.

Burthen.

Carrying Capacity.

When Built.

Brig Gage

154

160

200

1772

Sch. Dunmore

106

100

200

1772

Sch. Hope

1771

Sloop Angelica

200

1771

Sloop Felicity

1774

Sch. Faith

100

1774

Sloop Wyandotte

1779

Sloop Adventure

1776

Gun Boat

II.

In the spring of 1793 four government vessels were lying in front of the town. Of these the Chip- pewa and the Ottawa were new brigs, of about two hundred tons each and carrying eight guns ; another was the Dunmore, an old brig of the same size, with six guns; the fourth was the sloop Felicity, armed with two swivels. All of these were under com- mand of Commodore Grant. There were also sev- eral sloops and schooners owned by trading firms.

Three years later, in 1796, twelve merchant ves- sels were owned in Detroit; also several brigs, sloops, and schooners, of from fifty to one hundred tons each. After the surrender to the United States, the schooner Swan, then owned by James May, was hired to convey the first troops to Detroit, and was the first vessel on the lakes to bear the United States flag. The second to carry the flag was probably the Detroit ; she was purchased by the Government of the Northwest Fur Company.

In 1797 the United States schooner Wilkinson, of eighty tons, was built at Detroit under direction of Captain Curry. In 1810 she was sold, overhauled, and her name changed to Amelia. In 1812 she was purchased by the Government, and formed part of Perry's squadron.

In 1801 the brig Adams and the schooner Tracey were built here for the Government, and used for the transportation of troops and government stores. In 1803, when a company of soldiers under Colonel J. S. Swearingen went from Detroit to Chicago, for the purpose of erecting and garrisoning Fort Dear- born, a number of officers went on the Tracey. The troops were the first Americans that lived at that place. Chicago was therefore colonized

from Detroit, and this city can claim the honor of having founded that justly famous metropolis.

In 1812 Commodore Brevoort was in command of the brig Adams and Gray and the sloop Detroit, then stationed here. They were refitted and pre- pared for service at the shipyard on the Rouge, now in part occupied by Woodmere Cemetery.

After the war the number of vessels increased, but freight and passage were high. In 1815 and 1817 a trip from Buffalo to Detroit cost fifteen dol- lars and occupied thirteen days.

The year 1818 marks an important era in the his- tory of the entire Lake Region. The first steamboat that sailed Lake Erie arrived that year. She was named the Walk-in-the-Water, after the chief of the Wyandotte Indians, and was operated by a power- ful engine, built on Fulton's plan. Leaving Buffalo on the 23d of August, she reached Detroit on Thurs- day, August 27, 1818. In going from Black Rock past the rapids she was propelled by what was called a "horned breeze," consisting of sixteen yoke of oxen. She arrived at Wing's Wharf at foot of Bates Street between ten and eleven o'clock A. M., and fired a gun. Hundreds of citizens, embracing almost the entire population, collected on the wharves to see her. Concerning the date of her arrival, several mistakes have been made. The fac-simile of the entry made at the time by William Woodbridge, the collector of customs at Detroit, effectually settles the question.

The Detroit Gazette of August 28, 1818, con- tained this notice :

STEAMBOAT ARRIVED !

Yesterday, between the hours of ten and eleven A. M., the ele- gant steamboat Walk-in-the-Water, Captain J. Fish, arrived. As she passed the public wharf and that owned by Mr. J. S. Roby, she was cheered by hundreds of the inhabitants who had collected to witness this (in these waters) truly novel and grand spectacle. She came to at Wing's Wharf. She left Buffalo at half past one o'clock on the 23d and arrived at Dunkirk at thirty-five minutes past six the same day. On the following morning she arrived at Erie, Captain Fish having reduced her steam during the night, in order not to pass that place, where she took in a supply of wood. At half past seven P. M. she left Erie, and came to at Cleveland at eleven o'clock on Tuesday ; at twenty minutes past six P. M. sailed, and arrived off Sandusky Bay at one o'clock on Wednes- day : lay at anchor during the night, and then proceeded to Venice for wood ; left Venice at three P. M., and arrived at the mouth of the Detroit River, where she anchored during the night,-the whole time employed in sailing, in this first voyage from Buffalo to this port, being about forty-four hours and ten minutes ; the wind ahead during nearly the whole passage. Not the slightest accident happened during the voyage, and all her machinery worked admirably.

Nothing could exceed the surprise of the sons of the forest on seeing the Walk-in-the-Water moving majestically and rapidly against a strong current, without the assistance of sails or oars. They lined the banks above Malden, and expressed their aston- ishment by repeated shouts of " Ta i yah, nichee !" 1 A report had been circulated among them that a " big canoe " would soon

1 An exclamation of surprise.

Men.

Bbls.

NAVIGATION ON RIVERS AND LAKES.

909

come from the "noisy waters," which, by order of the great father of the " Che- mo-ke-mous," 1 would be drawn through the lakes and rivers by sturgeon ! Of the truth of the report they are now per- fectly satisfied.

The cabins of this boat are fitted up in a neat, convenient, and elegant style ; and the manner in which she is found does honor to her proprietors and to her commander. A passage between this place and Buffalo is now, not merely tolerable, but truly pleasant.

To-day she will make a trip to Lake St. Clair with a large party of ladies and gen- tlemen. She will leave this place for Buffalo to-morrow, and may be expected to visit us again next week.

She made the round trip from Buffalo to Detroit once in two weeks, sometimes bringing a hundred passengers. The fare for cabin passage was eighteen dollars. In 1819 she went from Detroit to Mackinaw and Green Bay and back in thirteen days. On October 31, 1821, she left Buffalo under command of Cap- tain Rogers, but met with a storm, and was wrecked near that port on the Ist of November.

The second steamer on Lake Erie was named the Superior. She took the place of the Walk- in-the-Water, and arrived from Buffalo for the first time on May 25, 1822; she brought ninety- four passengers.

In 1825 there was still but one steamer on the lake, but the demand for transportation in- creased so rapidly, and the busi- ness was so profitable withal, that the very next year six steam- boats, viz., the Superior, William Penn, Niagara, William Peacock, Enterprise, and Henry Clay, were running regularly between Buf- falo and Detroit, and in May, 1831, steamboats were making daily trips.

Boat - builders now became more numerous ; some were am- bitious for larger vessels, and accordingly, on April 27, 1833, the steamboat Michigan was launched. She was built by Oliver Newberry, and, except the Argo, was the

Walk-in the Water Capt. Sol Fish enters from Buffalo

8181)

FAC-SIMILE OF ENTRY MADE BY WM. WOODBRIDGE, COLLECTOR OF CUSTOMS, ON TIIE FIRST ARRIVAL OF THE WALK-IN-THE-WATER. via Dunkirk, Presque Isle Cuyahoga &Sandusky. Aug 27, 1818.

(10]) First Voyage-29 Passengers- License & Enrolment dated duy 2.

first steamer built at Detroit, and was the largest on the lakes. Her deck was one hun- dred and fifty-six feet long; breadth of beam, twenty-nine feet; extreme width, fifty-three feet ; and depth of hold, eleven feet. The gentlemen's dining- room contained thirty berths abaft the engines, and six state- rooms forward with three berths each. The intermediate space between the engines formed a part of the dining - cabin, and was richly paneled and gilded. The ladies' cabin on deck con- tained sixteen berths and was elegantly furnished. The for- ward cabin contained forty-four berths. She was propelled by two low-pressure, walking-beam engines, with cylinders of seven feet three inches stroke, and forty inches in diameter. They were made in Detroit, by the Detroit Iron Company, under the super- intendence of Cyrus Battell. She sailed on her first trip October II, 1833, under command of Cap- tain Blake.

In 1836 the passenger traffic was very brisk. Ninety steam- boats arrived in May, every one loaded with passengers for Mich- igan and the West. The steamer United States, which arrived on May 23, brought over seven hun- dred people. As the result of so much travel, the steamboat own- ers made enormous profits, reach- ing for the year seventy to eighty per cent.

In 1837 thirty-seven steamers were plying on the lakes, seven- teen of which were owned in Detroit. Three steamboats ar- rived daily, and the papers were literally burdened with the com- plimentary resolutions adopted by passengers in praise of the several boats and captains.

On May 17, 1839, the Great Western arrived on her first trip to Detroit, and on September I she was burned at her wharf.

In 1846 the price of cabin passage from Buffalo to Detroit was six dollars. In this period racing

1 Long-knives, or Yankees.

910

NAVIGATION ON RIVERS AND LAKES.

between the boats was of frequent occurrence; and such was the rivalry between the captains and own- ers that in their efforts to obtain passengers the fares were frequently nominal. Notwithstanding these drawbacks, steamboats continued to be built, and to see a boat launched was one of the standard amusements of the time. Hundreds of people would gather to see the vessel glide into the water.

The Mayflower, built for the Michigan Central Railroad, was launched on November 16, 1848, and made her first trip, to test the engine, on April 10, 1849. She was damaged by floating ice, and sunk while on her way from Buffalo to Detroit on Decem- ber II, 1851.1

Sometimes high prices for transportation tempted the owners of boats to start them on their trips earlier than prudence justified. On one occasion in the spring of 1851, as the ice had gone out of the Detroit River, and the upper end of Lake Erie was reported clear, the owner of a steamboat gave notice that she would sail the next day. As the lower part of the lake was covered with floating ice, there was much discussion with regard to the safety of the proceeding ; and the boat started out from a dock which was thronged with spectators who expressed much anxiety concerning her safety. The next day, towards evening, the well-known Joseph Campau met A. B. Wood, the manager of the Telegraph Com- pany, near the Campau residence, and said, " Does ye hear anything from de boat,- de boat went out yesterday mor'n ?" " Oh, yes ; she has just reached Erie. She got into the ice and floundered about, tearing her paddle-wheels to pieces, but she is in Erie harbor all safe." "Well," said Mr. Campau, "I t'ot so. Now, when de Inglishmon he want to go anywhere, he set down and t'ink how he get dar, and de Frenchmon he want to go, and he stop and t'ink how he get dar ; but de American, de Yankee, he want to go, and, be-gar, he go. He go Heaven, he go Hell, he go anyhow!"

The most terrible accident that ever happened on the lakes occurred on August 20, 1852. On that day the Atlantic, one of the railroad line of steam- ers running between Buffalo and Detroit, collided with the propeller Ogdensburgh, and sank in Lake Erie, with a loss of one hundred and thirty-one lives.

Since the completion of the Great Western Rail- road, in 1854, the travel by lake has been compara- tively small, but during the season, steamboats run almost daily from Detroit to all ports between Buf- falo and Chicago, and also to ports on the north and south shores of Lake Superior, and to various places on Lakes St. Clair and Huron.

The oldest and most largely patronized line of

lake steamers is operated by the Detroit & Cleve- land Steam Navigation Company. The line was established in 1850, and has been managed chiefly by the present owners since 1852. The company was incorporated on April 18, 1868, with a capital of $300,000, which, in 1883, was increased to $450,000. The general officers of the corporation are: David Carter, general manager ; J. F. Hender- son, general freight agent ; and C. D. Whitcomb, general passenger and freight agent.

Originally their boats ran only between Detroit and Cleveland. Since 1882 they have maintained a line between Cleveland and Mackinaw. They own four boats, namely, the "Northwest," "City of Detroit," "City of Cleveland," and "City of Mackinaw," which cost an average of $200,000, and will carry from 1,200 to 1,500 persons each. Each boat car- ries 50 persons as officers and crew, and in the sea- son of navigation a boat leaves for Cleveland every evening, and for Mackinaw every Monday, Wednes- day, Friday and Saturday. The company seek in every way to make the vessels attractive and the trips agreeable, and the line is constantly increasing in popularity.

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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 142

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