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HISTORY
of
WAYNE COUNTY
and the
CITY of DETROIT, MICHIGAN
CLARENCE M BURTON
M. AGNES BURTON
Editors
H. T. O. BLUE and GORDON K. MILLER
Associate Editors
VOLUME II
CHICAGO DETROIT
THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY
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COPYRIGHTED, 1930 BY
THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING CO.
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J. v.,
CHAPTER XXI
HISTORY OF EDUCATION_COntinued
PART III
Universities and Colleges
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
The initial movement toward the establishment of a higher institution
of learning in Detroit, that is, a school to be conducted as a public insti-
tution and at the public expense, was made on August 26, 1817, when
the governor and judges, sitting as a legislative body, passed an act ap-
propriating the sum of $380 for the establishment of the University of
Michigan. The act was signed by William Woodbridge, secretary of
Michigan and acting governor; Augustus B. Woodward, presiding judge
of the Supreme Court of Michigan; and John Griffin, one of the territorial
judges of Michigan.
The bill authorizing the appropriation was undoubtedly prepared and
introduced by Judge Woodward and it is full of coined words, indicative
of the author’s Pedantry. Andrew Ten Brook, in his book, “American
State Universities: Their Origin and Progress” (1875), infers that the
system as originated by Judge Woodward may have been subjected to
French influence, as at this time Napoleon, being in his second year of
exile, was featured in every newspaper. In other words, those things of
France or of French character, were faddish, and in some respects the
plan of Michigan's university was modeled after the University of Paris,
in that it made the university include all the primary and higher schools
and gave all legislative and executive control into the hands of the presi-
dent and professors.
The purpose of the act was declared to be the establishment of the
“Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania,” It provided for thirteen
didaxia, or professorships, namely:
1. Catholepistemia, or universal science, the didactor, or professor
of this didaxum to be president of the university.
Anthropoglossica, or language and literature.
Mathematica, or mathematics.
Physiognostica, or natural history.
Physiosophica, or natural philosophy.
Astronomia, Or astronomy.
Chymia, or chemistry.
i
797
798 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
A.
8. Iatrica, or the medical sciences.
9. Oeconomia, or the economic sciences.
10. Ethica, or ethical science.
11. Polemitactica, or military science.
12. Diegetica, or the historical sciences.
13. Ennoeica, or the intellectual sciences, including the human mind,
animal mind, the Deity, religion, spiritual existence, etc.
It was further provided that the didactor of the last-named branch
should be the vice president of the institution. The salary of the didac-
tors was designated to be $12.50 for each didaxum taught. The faculty,
or board of professors, was authorized “to establish Colleges, Academies,
Schools, Libraries, Museums, Athenaeums, Botanic Gardens, Laborator-
ies, and other useful Literary and Scientific institutions.” And all this
upon an initial appropriation of $380 ! Provision was made, however,
for levying an increase of 15 per cent in the taxes for the support of the
institution, and the people were given the opportunity to Subscribe to a
university fund, no subscriber being required to pay more than $50 in
any one year. The sum of $3,000 was obtained in this manner. Ten
Brook states that two lotteries were also authorized, but these were
never drawn. -
On September 8, 1817, the university was organized by conferring all
the thirteen professorships upon two men—Rev. John Monteith, the
Presbyterian minister, and Fr. Gabriel Richard, the priest of Ste. Anne's
Catholic Church. The former was given seven of the didaxia and named
as president, while the latter was made vice president and given the re-
maining six didaxia. These two men controlled the affairs of the uni-
versity and were subordinate in this respect only to the governor, by
whom they were appointed.
The remarkable career of Father Richard is described in many other
chapters of this work. At this particular time in the history of Detroit
there were few Protestants in the village. Catholicism held the upper
and stronger hand, due in no small part to the large majority of French
inhabitants. But during the winter of 1815-16 the leading protestants
of Detroit, among them Lewis Cass, sent to the Princeton Theological
School for a young man to act as pastor here. John Monteith, one of the
most promising of the students, was named and he came to Detroit in
response to the call. Naturally, soon after his arrival, he came into con-
tact with Fr. Gabriel Richard and the two—Protestant and Catholic—
found much in common through their kindred zeal in the interests of
education. Their opposite religious faiths strengthened their work to-
gether, rather than weakened it.
The various “Statutes” of the university are interesting. The first,
under date of September 12th and signed by Monteith, provides for a
seal, upon which should be a device “representing six pillars supporting
a dome, with the motto, ‘Epistemia,” at their base, and the legend, seal
of the University of Michigania, around the margin, and light shining on
the dome from above.”
OLD UNIVERSITY BUILDING ON WEST SIDE OF BATES STREET, NEAR
CONGRESS, IN NOVEMBER, 1858
ºc
º
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-

WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 801
Another statute provided that instruction in the primary schools
should consist of writing, arithmetic, English grammar, and elocution.
Another that the classical academy should consist of “French, Latin, and
Greek Antiquities, English grammar, composition, mathematics, elocu-
tion, geography, morals, and ornamental accomplishments.” The follow-
ing books were to be used : Murray's Grammar and Spelling Book, the
English Reader and Exercises, also Walker's Elocution and Dictionary.
The thirteenth statute was as follows:
“Whereas, for the relief of sufferers by the conflagration of the ancient
town of Detroit in the year 1805, there were transmitted from Montreal
and Michilimackinac certain sums of money which are now in the city
of Detroit unpaid to such sufferers owing to the want of some principles
on which payment can be made, so as to discharge the holders thereof,
and whereas, the said sufferers have generally manifested a desire that
the said funds should now be appropriated in aid of the University of
Michigania ; Therefore
“Be it enacted by the University of Michigania that the holders of the
same funds paying over the same to the trustees of the University, the
said University shall be responsible for all future claims on the same, On
the part of the sufferers by the conflagration aforesaid.
“Passed at the City of Detroit, on Saturday, the 20th day of Sep-
tember, 1817.
“J. Monteith,
“President of the University of Michigania.”
The sum of $940 was paid over to the university in response to this
enactment. In this same connection the following quotation from an old
subscription list is of pertinent character:
“In aid of the University of Michigan, No. 1. We the subscribers do
agree to pay on demand the sums respectively annexed to our names, in
aid of the University of Michigan. -
“1817. September 18. James May. $ 25.00
Five dollars for five years.
“1817. October 20. James Abbott, paid, 3.15.32
4 & Solomon Sibley, 625.67
“I acknowledge in my hands $625.67, being a part of the donation
money donated at Michilimackinac to relieve the sufferers by fire of the
late Detroit, which I assume to pay over to the University of Michigan at
the expiration of six months, on being indemnified.
“Sol. Sibley.
“October 20, 1817.”
The amount of subscriptions soon reached $5,100, one-fifth of which
was payable on demand, the balance in annual installments extending
over a period of nine years. In addition to the original appropriation
of $380 ($300 for a building and $80 for a lot) the governor and judges
appropriated $200 on the 10th of November, 1817.
A lot was purchased, located on the west side of what is now Bates
Street, between Congress and Larned, and on Wednesday, September 24,
802 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
1817, the cornerstone of the University Building was laid with appro-
priate ceremony. The structure was twenty-four by fifty feet, having
two full stories with basement. Work proceeded slowly, owing to the
delinquency of many of the subscribers. While the building was in course
of erection, Reverend Monteith and Father Richard took the preliminary
steps to Open an academy at Detroit and primary or preparatory schools
at Detroit, Mackinaw and Monroe. The Gazette of January 30, 1818,
contained the following announcement:
“A Classical Academy will be opened in this city on the 2nd of Febru-
ary next by Hugh M. Dickie, A.B., who is commissioned by the Univer-
sity, and will teach the Latin and Greek languages and other branches
of science at the customary prices.
“John Monteith, President.”
As the university building was not yet completed, quarters for the
school had to be obtained elsewhere. It is not known just where Mr.
Dickie taught, but the old records of the university show that on May 12,
1818, the management appropriated $30 “for rent of rooms for the Clas-
sical Academy to June 11, 1818.” Farmer’s “History of Detroit” (1889),
States: -
“Col. E. S. Sibley says that in 1817 he went to a school taught by Mr.
Monteith in the old Meldrum House on Woodbridge Street, just east of
what is now Shelby Street. His statement is the only evidence found
that either Rev. Mr. Monteith or Father Richard acted as teacher, but
an act of August 26, 1817, appropriated $181.25 for their annual salary,
and on February 8, 1821, $215 was appropriated for the salary for the
president for 1818, 1819, and 1820.”
In 1818 the university issued a commission to Benjamin Stead, James
Connor and Oliver Williams for the opening of the Lancasterian School.
Lemuel Shattuck, of Concord, Massachusetts, came here as teacher and
opened the first class in the university building on August 10th. Eleven
scholars composed this first class, but by the following April the number
had increased to 140. Shattuck’s first report, on April 24, 1819, gave the
number of scholars as 183 and the average price per quarter as $2.60
for each scholar. That the trustees and directors of the school were
rather indifferent towards its success is indicated by Shattuck in his
report.
AN INDIAN LAND GRANT
When Governor Cass and General McArthur went to St. Marys, Ohio,
in September, 1818, to negotiate a treaty with certain bands of Ottawa
and Wyandotte Indians, in order to settle a controversy over the posses-
sion of lands in Michigan, they found that some of the Indians who had
been converted to the Catholic faith, wanted to give a portion of the land
to the Catholic Church of Ste. Anne in Detroit. A provision of the treaty,
which was concluded on September 20, 1818, gave “to the rector of the
Catholic Church of Ste. Anne of Detroit, for the use of said church, and
to the corporation of the College of Detroit, for the use of said college,
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 803
to be retained or sold as the said rector and corporation may judge ex-
pedient, each one half of three sections of land, to contain 640 acres, On
the River Raisin, at a place called Macon, and three sections not yet
located.” Part of the lands thus donated to the Catholic Church and
College lay within the strip claimed by both Michigan and Ohio. In
1835, Congress directed that the lands should be sold and one half of the
proceeds should be given to the University of Michigan, the College of
Detroit having no corporate existence.
REORGANIZATION
On April 30, 1821, the original University Act was repealed. Judge
Woodward's stilted language was done away with and the institution was
reorganized in “plain English” as the University of Michigan. Under
the new act all the rights and privileges of the old corporation were con-
ferred upon the governor and a board of trustees composed of John
Anderson, John Biddle, N. Bolvin, William Brown, Christian Clemens,
Peter J. Desnoyers, Henry J. Hunt, John Hunt, Charles Larned, Philip
Lecuyer, John L. Leib, Daniel LeRoy, John Monteith, William H. Puthuff,
Gabriel Richard, Solomon Sibley, Benjamin Stead, John R. Williams,
Austin E. Wing and William Woodbridge. Messrs. Monteith and Stead
declined to serve and their places were filled by the appointment of
Abraham Edwards and A. W. Welton. Abraham Edwards was the first
treasurer of the board, but resigned after a few weeks and was succeeded
by James Abbott. Lemuel Shattuck was secretary until December 3,
1821, then Charles C. Trowbridge was appointed and served until Feb-
ruary 13, 1835, when he was succeeded by G. Mott Williams.
Lemuel Shattuck resigned as teacher on October 8, 1821, and he was
Succeeded by E. Clapp, who was in turn succeeded April 1, 1822, by Rev.
A. W. Welton. The latter was followed in October, 1824, by A. S. Wells,
a graduate of Hamilton College; he taught until November 4, 1826, when
he was succeeded by Charles Sears, who came under the agreement that
he was to be paid $500 per year. He remained until October, 1827. The
board then, having contemplated the state of the university funds, de-
cided that they were inadequate for the support of a classical School, and
that the teacher would thereafter have to work at his own risk. The
Lancasterian methods of teaching also came up for some discussion at
this time and the Gazette spoke editorially quite freely in favor of the
system. On October 8, 1821, the trustees passed the following resolution:
“Resolved, that Mr. Shattuck be authorized to communicate with Mr.
William A. Tweed Dale, of Albany, New York, in order to procure some
suitable person for a teacher of the Lancasterian School upon the pre-
sumptive allowance of five hundred dollars per annum for his services.”
The result was that John Farmer, then teaching in Albany, was en-
gaged to teach in Detroit. He was allowed $500 annually for his services.
In 1822 Lucius Lyon was assistant instructor and there were two hun-
dred students. Mr. Farmer resigned January 26, 1824. Thereupon
Maj. Thomas Rowland and Peter J. Desnoyers were appointed a commit-
804 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
tee to look after the affairs of the dwindling school. E. Shepard was en-
gaged as a teacher in October, 1824, and continued until December of the
following year. After 1827 the building was granted free, or for a nomi-
nal rent, to competent teachers. Although a university in name, the in-
stitution never conferred a degree, and the schools taught in the build-
ing were devoted to elementary work, the character of the instruction
never rising above that of the modern high school.
LOCATION AT ANN ARBOR
By an act of Congress, approved by John Quincy Adams on May 20,
1826, two townships of land (46,080 acres) were granted to the Terri-
tory of Michigan for the support of a university. This provision was
repeated in the act of January 2, 1837, which provided for the formal
admission of Michigan into the Union as the twenty-sixth state. At the
first session of the State Legislature, in the summer of 1836, John D.
Pierce was appointed superintendent of public instruction, with instruc-
tions to “prepare and submit a plan for a system of common schools and
for a university with its branches.” *
Mr. Pierce spent some time in the fall and winter of 1836, consulting
educators in various sections of the state, and at the second session of the
legislature submitted his report. On March 18, 1837, Governor Mason
approved the act providing for a state university, the control of which
was to be vested in a board of regents, to be appointed by the governor
and confirmed by the state senate. Two days later, the citizens of Ann
Arbor having offered to donate forty acres of land as a site for the uni-
versity, the governor approved an act locating the institution at that
city. •
On May 18, 1837, the trustees of the school at Detroit adopted a reso-
lution tendering the building to the board of regents and asking that a
branch of the state university be established therein. At a meeting of
the regents on November 18, 1837, the following resolution was offered
by William D. Wilkins and adopted:
“Resolved, that Chancellor Farnsworth and Dr. Zina Pitcher be, and
they are hereby, authorized to confer with and receive from the presi-
dent pro tem of the board of trustees of the University of Michigan in
behalf of the regents of the University of Michigan the lease of the
Academy lot in the City of Detroit, and that the committee on branches
immediately thereafter proceed to organize a branch of the University
at Detroit.”
At a later meeting of the board of regents the sum of $8,000 was ap-
propriated for the support of the branch schools. Of this amount $500
was to be applied to the payment of a teacher in each branch and the
remainder of the appropriation was to be divided among the branches in
proportion to the number of students enrolled. -
The first term of the Detroit branch opened on June 20, 1838, with
Rev. C. W. Fitch as principal and W. A. Bissell as assistant, the former
at a salary of $1,500 per year and the latter at a salary of $800. On
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 805
January 8, 1841, the regents decided to allow the Detroit branch only
$500, in addition to the tuition fees of $5.00 per quarter, or $19.50 for
the full year. At the last term in 1840 the enrollment was only twenty-
five. At the quarterly rate the tuition received from this small number
of students amounted to only $500 for the entire school year.
A committee reported to a meeting of the regents on August 19, 1841,
that only twenty-four students were then enrolled in the Detroit school
and recommended that no further appropriations be made for the
branches. The report was adopted, but the Detroit branch remained in
Operation until October 7, 1842, one of the teachers claiming that his
contract did not expire until that date. The university building was
then used by the Detroit Board of Education for school purposes until
the fall of 1858, when the claim of the Young Men's Society to the lot
Was Sustained and the building, after forty years of service, was torn
down. The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor is now recognized as
One of the leading educational institutions of the country, enrolling about
ten thousand students and having a faculty of nearly five hundred pro-
fessors and instructors.
COLLEGE OF SAINT PHILIP NERI
When Bishop Rese came to take possession of this newly-erected See
in 1834, he brought with him to Detroit two Oratorian fathers to estab-
lish “a college for ecclesiastical students and young men.” The College
Of St. Philip Neri was begun and flourished for a time, but sickness and
the death of its founders, added to a scarcity of priests in the diocese,
Were serious handicaps, and when the building was struck by lightning
in 1842, St. Philip Neri closed its doors forever. Three years before the
misfortune, Bishop Rese had sailed for Rome, never to return, and it was
during the administration of Bishop Lefevre, coadjutor of Detroit, that
the college was destroyed. Though Bishop Lefevre took the greatest
interest in education, yet he found it impossible to reopen the college or
establish another.
The St. Philip's College, as it was known, was located on what had
been called the Church Farm in Hamtramck Township. In the early
years of the nineteenth century, April 5, 1808, to be exact, this farm was
transferred to Louis Beaufait, Joseph Cerre dit St. Jean, Benoit Chapo-
ton, Charles and Francis Rivard, known as “Agents of the inhabitants
of the Northeast Coast.” They agreed to pay an annual rent of $250
to Francis Paul Malcher during his life, and to pay to the son of Hypolite
St. Bernard £113 when he became of age. The people living in the vi-
cinity obligated themselves to make these payments on condition that
the farm might be used for school and church purposes. Within a short
time after the transfer was made, a school was opened in the old farm
house, and on May 10, 1809, a log chapel was dedicated.
For years it was the dream of the leading Catholics of Detroit to have
a college conducted under the auspices of their church. But nothing
definite was done until, as stated before, after the creation of the diocese
806 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
of Detroit and the coming of Rt. Rev. Frederick Rese as the first bishop.
An addition was then built to the farm house and the necessary steps
were taken to found a college. The old farm house occupied a desirable
location fronting the river and when remodeled made quite an imposing
structure, having a piazza over one hundred feet in length. When the
building was ready the following announcement was made through the
newspapers:
“St. Philip's College (Cote du Nordest), near Detroit, Michigan, under
the auspices of the Right Reverend Dr. Rese, Bishop of Detroit.
“Rev. Mr. Vanderpoel, Superior of the Institution. Reverend Mr.
De Bruyn, President of Studies. September 14, 1836.”
The tuition was only $3 per quarter, hardly sufficient to cover the
incidental expenses of the average student in most of the colleges and
universities of the present day. On April 16, 1839, Governor Mason
approved an act incorporating the institution, Section 1 of which began :
“That the Rt. Rev. Frederick Rese, Roman Catholic Bishop of Detroit,
and his successors in said office of Bishop of Detroit, duly appointed by
the See of Rome, be and are hereby ordained, created and constituted a
body politic and corporate, in fact and in name, under and by the name
of St. Philip's College, and by that name he and his successors shall have
perpetual succession and shall be capable of suing and being sued, plead-
ing and being impleaded, answering and being answered unto, defending
and being defended, in all suits, complaints, matters and causes what-
soever, either by law or equity; of having and using a common seal; of
enacting all by-laws for the regulation of said college, and of the mem-
bers thereof; of altering from time to time the same; of acquiring by
gift, devise, purchase or otherwise, and of holding and conveying any
real personal or mixed estate whatsoever, necessary and proper; of trans-
acting all business, directing all the affairs, controlling and disposing of
the funds, estate and effects of said college, and of doing every other act,
matter and thing necessary and proper for the well being and good gov-
ernment of the same, not inconsistent with the constitution and laws of
the United States, or of this state.” -
Other sections of the act provided that the college should be located
in Wayne County; that the bishop should have the power to appoint pro-
fessors and fill vacancies; defined the powers of the bishop under certain
circumstances, and how the college should be managed in the event of his
absence; authorized the appointment by the governor of a board of visi-
tors of three members, which should have power to examine the institu-
tion; and gave the college power to confer “such degrees as are usually
conferred by collegiate institutions.”
Farmer’s “History of Detroit” states that the building was destroyed
by fire in October, 1846, but a recent account of the school states that it
was struck and destroyed by lightning in 1842. However this may be,
the school was abandoned with the destruction of the building and was
never resumed. Among the graduates of St. Philip's College, who after-
wards achieved more or less prominence in Detroit, were: Christopher
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 807
Moross, Alexander M. and John Barnabas Campau, Henry Campau, Co-
lumbus Godfroy, John and Daniel McDonald, John and George Schwartz,
Alexander M. Thomas, J. C. Devereau Williams, Jean Baptiste Cicotte,
Michael B. Kean, George Cooper and David Stuart.
GERMAN-AMERICAN SEMINARY
While this institution was not a university or college, its history has
been included in this chapter, partly because of the place it was originally
intended to fill in the educational system of Michigan, and partly because
it was one of the few educational institutions which received financial
assistance from the state. The manner in which this school was con-
ceived was rather novel. In the republican national convention of 1860,
which nominated Abraham Lincoln for the Presidency, there were a
number of German delegates from different parts of the country. A
group of these delegates was engaged in a casual conversation, when one
of the number expressed his regret that there were not more schools
in the United States for the training of teachers, especially teachers of
Subjects in which the German portion of the population was directly
interested. A conference of the German delegates was held at the close
of the convention. At this conference it was decided to establish a Ger-
man Seminary for training teachers, and to locate it in the state that
would offer the best inducements. The project was communicated to
leading German citizens in various cities and their coöperation solicited.
There was at that time in Detroit a German and English school,
which had been established in 1856 in a small frame building upon Laf-
ayette Avenue, just east of Rivard Street. A new building was erected
in 1858. Florens Krecke, the principal of this school, and other Ger-
mans, prominent among whom was Dr. Herman Kiefer, took an interest
in the seminary proposition, with the result that on May 15, 1861, Gov-
ernor Blair approved an act of the legislature appropriating 25,000 acres
of the swamp lands belonging to the state, to aid in erecting buildings
for the proposed seminary upon a site to be granted or leased to the
association by the City of Detroit. A few days later another act gave
the trustees of the seminary two years to select the lands, in parcels of
not less than 320 acres each.
It often happens that an enterprise launched under the most favor-
able circumstances meets with obstacles from an unexpected quarter.
It was so with the German-American Seminary. The city failed to grant
or lease a site and the trustees had no place to erect their buildings. To
overcome this difficulty, the Legislature passed an act, approved on March
6, 1863, authorizing the trustees to erect buildings upon a site provided
by the association. The same act required the trustees to give bonds
in the sum of $25,000 that the entire net proceeds of the sales of the
donated swamp lands should be “faithfully and forever applied to the
purpose named in this act.” -
It was then proposed to combine the seminary with the School already
in operation on Lafayette Avenue. A consolidation was affected and in
808 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
the spring of 1866 a large three-story brick building was completed. Ad-
vertisements announcing the opening of the school were sent out, but only
a few students enrolled for the teachers’ training course. After an
effort to awaken an interest in the normal school idea, the original design
was abandoned. The institution was then made a German school for
both boys and girls, ranging from the primary to the high school grades,
and continued as such for more than a quarter of a century.
UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT
When the Rt. Rev. Caspar Borgess succeeded to the See of Detroit
in 1871, his first thought was for the education of the young of his flock.
In 1873 he issued his famous pastoral on the subject of parochial schools
and thenceforward gave his best efforts toward the establishment of a
college. -
In the month of July, 1877, it was announced that “The Fathers of the
Society of Jesus are about to open in the City of Detroit an educational
institution to be known under the name and title of Detroit College.” On
April 5, 1877, an agreement had been entered into between Bishop
Borgess and the general superior of the Jesuits in this part of the coun-
try, by which the bishop transferred in fee simple to the Jesuit fathers
the cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul and the adjoining residence. The
sole condition was that they should establish and maintain in the City of
Detroit a college and school for the education of youth. Upon Friday,
June 1, 1877, there came four fathers who were to take charge of the
future college. They arrived late in the day, passed the entire Saturday
in confession, and upon Sunday, June 3d, held their first public services
in the church. The superior, Rev. John B. Miege, S.J., was the cele-
brant, Rev. James Walsh, S.J., was deacon, and Rev. Eugene Brady, S.J.,
was sub-deacon. -
John Baptist Miege, the first president of the school, had for twenty
years ruled as bishop of the Diocese of Leavenworth, when that diocese
had embraced all the territory between the State of Missouri and the
Rocky Mountains. He had retired as bishop and returned to the simple
priesthood, so preferring it, but when the time came to select a man to
establish the new college at Detroit his superiors insisted that he again
assume the higher responsibilities, which he did.
Without an endowment, the society raised funds and purchased for
$23,000 a large, vacant residence, with a lot one hundred by two hundred
feet, on the south side of Jefferson Avenue, between St. Antoine and
Hastings streets. Here the first term of the new college was opened in
September, 1877, with eighty-four students enrolled and a faculty of five
members. There were ninety-eight students enrolled for the second
term and one hundred and thirty-two for the third term. A second story
was added to the building in 1878. On April 27, 1881, the institution
was incorporated under the laws of Michigan as “Detroit College,” with
power “to grant such literary honors and confer such degrees as are
JESUIT COLLEGE (UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT) ABOUT 1881

WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 811
usually conferred by similar colleges and institutions of learning in the
United States.”
When the attendance grew to two hundred students, the society pur-
chased another residence on the north side of Jefferson Avenue, with a
lot measuring 53 by 200 feet, for $13,750, and expended $500 for altera-
tions to adapt the building to school uses. This property was on the
opposite side of the street from the first college building, but on the same
side as the church and rectory, separated from the latter, however, by
three other residences. In May, 1885, the collegiate and scientific de-
partments took possession of the new building.
The attendance continued to increase and within the next two years
the Society bought two of the three residences between the collegiate de-
partment and the rectory, paying $15,000 for one and $18,000 for the
other. The third residence was purchased in February, 1889, for
$18,000, largely through the efforts of Rev. John P. Frieden, S.J. By
these transactions, though, a debt was incurred and Rev. M. P. Dowl-
ing, S.J., who had succeeded Reverend Frieden in March, 1889, appealed
to friends of the college for funds to cancel the debt and erect a new
building. Six subscribers gave $5,000 each and other subscriptions to—
taled $20,000. The old buildings upon the north side of Jefferson Avenue
were then removed and the present main building was erected. It was
ready for occupancy in 1890. An addition to the building was erected
in 1907. *
At the beginning of the year 1911 the institution was reorganized on
a broader basis and on January 10, 1911, the corporate name was changed
to that of the “University of Detroit,” and the first president under the
new arrangement was Rev. William Dooley, S.J.
Under the direction of Rev. Richard Slevin, S.J., the building on
Larned Street was erected soon after the reorganization. It contains
eight recitation rooms and the large gymnasium. The engineering
building, a modern fireproof structure, is located on the south side of
Jefferson Avenue. It is four stories high, not including the basement,
fronts one hundred feet on Jefferson Avenue and extends through the
block to Woodbridge Street, a distance of two hundred feet. It was
dedicated on November 30, 1915. The value of the grounds and build-
ings now occupied by the university is over a half million dollars.
The departments of the institution are: the high school preparatory
department; the college of arts and science, which confers the degrees
of A. B. and B. S.; the engineering school, established by Reverend
Dooley in the first year of his regime, in which are taught chemical,
civil, electrical and mechanical engineering; the law school, opened by
Reverend Dooley in the fall of 1912, which prepares students for the
Michigan bar examination and practice in the courts of the state, and
confers the degree of LL. B. ; the school of commerce and finance, for
the training of students along commercial and industrial lines; and at
the opening of the School in the fall of 1920 a course in federal taxation
812 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
was added. The library, which was established in 1879, now contains
about thirty thousand volumes.
During the school year of 1919-20 the enrollment was 1,635 in all de-
partments. While most of these students came from Michigan, there were
several from other places, particularly New England, Canada, Mexico,
Korea; the Philippine Islands were also represented.
Rev. John T. McNichols is president of the university, having suc-
ceeded Rev. William T. Doran, who was transferred to Marquette Uni-
versity at Milwaukee in October, 1921.
On January 1, 1922, the faculty of the University of Detroit an-
nounced that a site for a new campus, university buildings and mammoth
athletic stadium had been purchased. The tract is bounded on the West
by Livernois Avenue, on the north by Palmer Boulevard (now Six-
Mile Road), on the east by Fairfield Avenue, and on the south by Florence
Avenue. The inadequacy of the accommodations led to the purchase.
The university has grown rapidly, the enrollment in 1921-22 being 1,700,
and since that time, up to the present day, 1930, the enrollment has Sur-
passed all previous figures. Upon the new campus there has been erected
an administration building, a school of letters building, a general science
building, a school of commerce and finance building, a dormitory, a union
building, a monastery for the fathers of the Society of Jesus, and a gym-
nasium. The buildings are of modified mission style, constructed of
gray or white granite. The present buildings of the university on Jeffer-
son Avenue have been maintained for night schools, extension courses,
and the law college.
One of the distinctive features of this new university home is the
immense concrete and steel athletic stadium, which will accommodate
70,000 people, one of the largest in the world. The gymnasium is con-
structed on larger lines than is customary and has sufficient space for
any sort of athletic meet. It has been the policy of the school authori-
ties to place this large athletic plant at the disposal of city, state or na-
tion, which policy is compatible with the purpose of the university itself—
to make the institution a great, cosmopolitan, nonsectarian, but not ir-
religious university of higher learning. The Society of Jesus owns and
manages the University of Detroit, but neither in the selection of pro-
fessional school faculities nor in the reception of students is that fact to
be a restrictive matter. Catholic in character, the institution is equally
desirous of obtaining students of other denominations.
THE UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT, TODAY
Location—The University of Detroit, now situated on Livernois and
Six-Mile Road, began its educational work with a preparatory School
founded by the Jesuit Fathers in 1877 on Jefferson Avenue, between St.
Antoine and Hastings streets. In 1881, it was incorporated as “Detroit
College,” under the laws of Michigan and legally empowered to confer the
usual degrees of arts and sciences. The original separate buildings were
replaced in 1890 by a handsome edifice fronting on Jefferson Avenue.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 813
This building sufficed until 1908 when the commodious gymnasium build-
ing on Larned Street was added to the plant. These structures at the
present time are used exclusively by the high school.
On the expiration of the original charter in 1911, the authorities of
the institution effected a new organization on a broader basis and incor-
porated under the title of the “University of Detroit.” Since that time
the different departments of university education along literary, philoso-
phical, scientific, professional and technological lines have been built up
as rapidly as circumstances permitted.
In 1916 the beautiful building on the south side of Jefferson Avenue
was erected. Being 100 by 200 feet in size and built in the form of a
huge block letter I, it provided ample room for the College of Arts and
Sciences, Engineering and Law. However, in a few years the university
outgrew its accommodations and the neighboring residences, Godfrey
and Colford halls, had to be requisitioned for classroom purposes.
Expansion—The immense growth of the institution and the advanc-
ing prominence of its Alumni and, most of all, the almost unprecedented
progress of the city in population and in extent and diversification of in-
dustrial and commercial enterprise, constituted at once a warrant and a
demand for new development in the educational work of the university.
For this reason the new campus of seventy-five acres on Livernois and
Six-Mile Road was purchased and a building program adopted which
bids fair to make the University of Detroit one of the leading institu-
tions of learning in the country. Here the different departments occupy
distinct buildings, uniform in style and most modernly equipped for their
respective purposes.
Six imposing buildings having been completed, the University of De-
troit moved to its new location in 1927, just fifty years from the time of
its foundation. For practical reasons, the college of law and the evening
college of commerce and finance remained at the old location on Jefferson
Avenue. The college of arts and sciences temporarily occupies the large
commerce and finance building jointly with the day college of commerce
and finance.
Results—From the beginning the intellectual development of the col-
lege has gone steadily forward, keeping pace with its material growth.
In and around Detroit many of its alumni have advanced to the front
rank in the various professions. Not to mention prosperous business
men, or eminent clergymen, physicians and journalists, the number of
University of Detroit graduates and their recognized ability in the legal
profession would reflect honor on any institution of learning whose priv-
ilege it might be to have been their alma mater.
Founders—When the original building on Jefferson Avenue was
erected, generous donations were made to the building fund. The title
of “Founders” was conferred upon persons who gave in a large way to
the fund. Their names are inscribed upon a marble tablet erected in the
vestibule of the university. A gift of $10,000 entitles the donor to the
honor of being numbered among the “Founders” of the university. As
814 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
soon as possible a second tablet containing names of donors to the new
campus will be set up. Up to the present time the tablet of founders
contains the following names:
John P. Dinan John P. Fleitz
Francis F. Palms Stella Hall St. Aubin
Fred T. Moran John Stapleton
Charles F. Hammond Julia A. Stott
Helen M. Pernin J. Lansing Reilly
Aloysius F. Frumveller Michael W. Dillon
Lewis Frumveller George L. Fleitz
Helen H. Frumveller William J. Stapleton
Alexandrine L. Hall Isaac A. Bossett
William J. Palms Timothy Hurley
Michael T. Dinan The Maurice Black Family
Thomas F. Griffiin The James Dwyer Family
Jeremiah Dwyer Edward H. Doyle
William J. Hammond John A. Russell
Catherine E. Barnard - Catherine B. Weir
Caroline A. Godfrey William J. Meyers
The board of trustees of the university at the present time, 1930, are:
John P. McNichols, S.J., president of the university; George L. Reno, S.J.,
vice president; George A. McGovern, S.J., secretary; John T. Mortel, S.J.,
treasurer, and Joseph Horst, S.J., and Arthur D. Spillard, S.J., members.
The university is divided into the following colleges: college of arts
and Sciences, college of engineering, college of law, college of commerce
and finance (day), college of commerce and finance (evening), and the
high school, not of college grade.
In 1930 the faculty of the college of arts and sciences numbered
seventy-seven members, and the total enrollment was 650 students. In
the college of engineering there were forty-six members of the faculty,
and 1,062 students. In the college of law, the faculty numbered twenty-
seven members, while the student enrollment was 230. In the college of
commerce and finance, day division, the faculty totaled sixty-six and the
student enrollment was 550. In the college of commerce and finance,
evening division, the faculty numbered forty-eight, while the enrollment
of students was 590.
For the collegiate year of 1930–31, J. Joseph Horst, S.J., is dean of
the college of arts and sciences; Russel E. Lawrence, M.S., dean of the
college of engineering; Peter J. Monaghan, A.M., LL.D., dean of the col-
lege of law; college of commerce and finance, day, Carl H. Seehoffer,
M.C.S., C.P.A., LL.D., dean; evening division, John A. Russell, A.M.,
LL.D., dean, and Lionel V. Carron, S.J., principal of the high school
BUSINESS COLLEGES
The first school in Detroit for giving a commercial training to students
was opened in 1848 by Uriah Gregory. It was located in the Odd Fel-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 815
lows’ Building on the west side of Woodward Avenue, between Congress
and Larned streets. Mr. Gregory continued to teach for about ten years.
In 1850 the institution now known as the Detroit Business Univer-
sity was established by W. D. Cochrane, who had been engaged in teach-
ing for several years. The school first occupied rooms over the banking
house of David Preston & Company, on the southeast corner of Wood-
ward Avenue and Larned Street. In 1857 Mr. Cochrane sold out to the
firm of Bryant & Stratton and the school was removed to the fourth story
of the Merrill Block, where it was under the management of Prof. J. H.
Goldsmith, known as an experienced accountant and eminent educator.
In 1865 William F. Jewell became associated with Professor Goldsmith.
Mr. Jewell's experience in teaching and in business made him a distinct
power in the school during the forty-seven years of his service here. He
was president of the university when he met his untimely death by acci-
dent in October, 1911. When the new Mechanics’ Hall Building was
completed in 1874, on the southwest corner of Griswold Street and La-
fayette Avenue, the school was removed to that location.
The Spencerian Business College, which was consolidated with the
Detroit Business University in 1885, had been established by Ira May-
hew in 1860 at Albion, Michigan. In 1866 he removed it to Detroit and
located on the northeast corner of Congress and Randolph streets, the
site of the present county building. Upon the completion of the Board
of Trade Building, southeast corner of Jefferson and Griswold, in 1879,
the school was removed to rooms in the fourth story. Mr. Mayhew
sold out in 1883 to P. R. Spencer, E. R. Felton and H. T. Loomis. The
school was soon afterward consolidated with the Detroit Business Uni-
versity under the presidency of William F. Jewell.
The Detroit Business University was incorporated in 1905, soon after
which Mr. Spencer retired. About this time the Gutchess Business Col-
lege of Detroit was merged with the Detroit Business University. Upon
the death of Mr. Jewell in 1911, E. R. Shaw became the president of the
institution, and at this time has served nearly twenty years. Com-
modious quarters are occupied at Times Square and Grand River Avenue,
West. L. W. Tremain is the present principal of the university.
The Detroit Commercial College was opened on September 1, 1903.
It was established by E. B. Winter, afterward mayor of Windsor, Can-
ada, who served as the first president of the institution. He was Suc-
ceeded by Charles F. Zulaux, of Ubly, Michigan, who held the office until
March 1, 1914, when he was in turn succeeded by R. J. MacLean, who has
been president for the past sixteen years. This school was located for
many years at 1248 Griswold Street, but is now situated in a building to
suit the needs of the modern business college at 19 Clifford Street. The
work of the school is entirely college grade.
The Business Institute of Detroit was founded by A. F. Tull and L. C.
Rauch in June, 1906, and is one of the few business colleges in the United
States occupying an entire building constructed especially for business
school purposes. When first opened the Institute occupied the eighth
816 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
floor of the Breitmeyer Building at Broadway and Gratiot. The follow-
ing year the school had spread to portions of the seventh floor also, and
in 1909 the needs of the increased attendance had become so imperative
that the building at 1333 Cass Avenue was erected for the school. Re-
moval was made to the new building August 1, 1909. The Pontiac Busi-
ness College was purchased by the Business Institute in August, 1915,
and the following June a building was purchased in Mount Clemens,
where a second branch was established. The character of the institution
in the Pontiac and Mount Clemens branches is the same as in the parent
school at Detroit. A. F. Tull is the president of the Business Institute.
The institute is now known as “Michigan’s largest business and secre-
tarial school,” operating both day and evening classes. Students may
enroll at any time, and a free employment service is provided. Branches
of the institute in the City of Detroit are located at the following points:
corner of Mack and Gratiot, corner of Woodward and Forest, and at
5040 Joy Road.
Other business schools and colleges in the city are the following:
Boyd School, secretarial service, in the Book Building ; Craig School of
Stenography, in the Insurance Exchange Building, 153 East Elizabeth ;
Garvin Institute, also a secretarial school, at the corner of Woodward
and Alexandrine. -
The Detroit Institute of Technology is known as the “Y. M. C. A.
Schools for Men” under the direction of the Y. M. C. A. Courses are
offered in law, pharmacy, engineering, liberal arts, chemistry, commerce
and high school subjects. The school offices are at the Y. M. C. A.
Building on Adams Street.
CHAPTER XXI
HISTORY OF EDUCATION_Continued
PART IV
Private and Denominational Schools
PRIVATE SCHOOLS AT BEGINNING OF NINETEENTH CENTURY
The first schools in Detroit were conducted either as private institu-
tions or under the auspices of the church. These early schools have
been described in Part I, this chapter, upon “Early Schooling in Detroit
and Primitive Methods of Education,” consequently it is the purpose of
this article to give some account of the private and church schools of
later date, those which were established soon after the opening of the
Nineteenth Century, those begun contemporaneously with the free public
Schools and those of more recent date.
On October 24, 1806, John Goff petitioned the governor and judges
for a lot upon which to conduct a school. His first school was located on
the bank of the river, near the mouth of the Savoyard, but he afterwards
taught upon what is now Woodbridge Street, between Bates and Ran-
dolph. Goff's wife, who assisted him, was an able woman, but Goff him-
Self was a dissolute fellow, constantly in trouble. Until 1816, however,
a school was maintained under his name.
From 1810 until the summer of 1812 Daniel Curtis was a teacher in
Detroit and from 1812 until about 1818 a pedagogue named Payne, or
Peyn, of very good reputation and ability, conducted a school. There
are obscure records that in 1813 Mr. Rowe taught a school in an old
wooden building on Griswold Street, near the corner of Jefferson Ave-
nue. On June 10, 1816, Mr. Danforth, a belligerent sort of person,
opened a “common” school and soon had an enrollment of close to forty
pupils. His temperament manifested itself at times when he bombarded
the class with books, rulers and even an open knife, which eventually
caused him to seek refuge from the irate parents. His departure across
the river ended his school. Levi Cook opened a school soon afterward
in a building owned by Mr. Campau on the northwest corner of Jefferson
Avenue and Griswold Street, but continued only a twelve-month. The
movement for public schools had not yet taken place, but the idea had
taken root and was growing. An editorial in the Gazette of August 8,
1817, had stated:
817
818 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
“Frenchmen of the territory of Michigan! You ought to begin im-
mediately to give an education to your children. In a little time there
will be in this territory as many Yankees as French, and if you do not
have your children educated the situations will all be given to the Yankees.
No man is capable of serving as a Civil or Military officer unless he can,
at least, read and write. There are many young people, of from eighteen
to twenty years, who have not yet learned to read, but they are not yet
too old to learn. I have known those who have learned to read at the
age of forty years.”
Such a condition as set forth in this editorial is almost incompre-
hensible to us of a hundred years later. Without education, there could
have been little culture or civic pride in the Town of Detroit and it must
have been a source of shame to the better minds of the community to
witness the slothful surroundings. The men and women who had the
courage and high ideals to begin small private schools were deserving of
high praise, as their efforts were in few cases well rewarded or ap-
preciated. In fact, it is probable that they were subjected to certain
indignities which often fell to the lot of the “schoolmaster.”
At the council house Mr. Banvard opened a class on November 3, 1817,
and during the same year William Brookfield and his wife conducted a
school on the southeast corner of Woodward Avenue and Woodbridge
Street. In 1818, John J. Deming taught for a few months in the old
council house. In May, 1821, E. W. Goodwin taught a private school,
and T. Young opened an English school “at Mr. J. B. Ladouceur's large
house” near May's Creek. In November, 1821, and for several years
after, Mr. and Mrs. Brookfield taught a school known as the “seminary”
in the same place. In 1822, Eliza S. Trowbridge was teaching in De-
troit. For a short time in 1821 and 1822, Orestes A. Brownson held
classes in Springwells. From 1823 to 1825, rather a large school was
taught by Mr. and Mrs. John M. Kinney, but the school survived only
until Mr. Kinney’s dissipation incapacitated him. In 1826, however, his
wife was keeping a school in the rear of the Newberry store on the cor-
ner of Griswold and Larned streets.
On October 27, 1823, the university trustees voted to permit Mr.
Carpenter to occupy a room in the university building for a school. One
year later Mr. Shepard held a primary school in a small building on the
university grounds, and in May, 1825, his wife had a “female school” at
the same place. On November 14, 1828, leave was granted to P. W.
Healy to keep a school in the university building. In 1829 he was teach-
ing elsewhere and Delos Kinnicott was keeping school in the university.
During the greater part of the period from 1828 to 1832 private Schools
were conducted by Anson E. Hathon and Edwin Jerome. In 1829 a
public meeting was held for the “establishment of an English common
school,” and the result was the opening of a school by Joel Tucker; the
common council, on May 12, 1830, gave him permission to occupy a build-
ing on the military grounds adjoining the Cass Farm.
DETROIT FEMALE SEMINARY,
BUILT IN 1834 ON THE SITE
OF THE PRESENT CITY HALL
(Courtesy of Burton Historical Collection)
OLD CITY HALL AND SITE OF PRESENT CITY HALL, THEN OCCUPIED BY
FEMALE SEMINARY (the three-story building at the right), DETROIT, APRIL 25,
1865, DURING OBSEQUIES OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN


WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 821
THE FEMALE SEM.INARY
One of the notable schools of early Detroit was the Female Seminary,
which stood upon the site of the present city hall. The land here was
Set aside for a female seminary in response to a resolution of a citizens’
meeting held September 15, 1829, at which Jonathan Kearsley presided
and John J. Deming was secretary. On March 18, 1830, a society was
incorporated for the promotion of female education and the first meet-
ing was held March 24th, at which time the following officers were
elected: Lewis Cass, president; Charles C. Trowbridge, treasurer; John
J. Deming, secretary; Jonathan Kearsley, Henry M. Campbell, DeGarmo
Jones, William Ward, Eurotas P. Hastings, James Abbott, Charles
Larned and Edmund A. Brush, directors. The governor and judges stip-
ulated when conveying the site now occupied by the city hall, that by the
year 1835 a suitable building should be erected. Nearly four years
passed before it was finally completed, and then the following notice
appeared in the press:
“The stockholders of the Association for promoting female education
in the city of Detroit are requested to meet at the building recently erected
for the Seminary, on Thursday, December 4th inst., at two o'clock P. M.,
for the purpose of considering the constitution to be proposed for the
government of the Association, and for the transaction of other impor-
tant business to all concerned in this object. The importance of the
subject to be submitted induces the undersigned to hope for a very gen-
eral and punctual attendance of those whose munificence has enabled
them to progress thus far, and of all who may be willing to contribute
further aid to the undertaking.
- - “John Biddle,
E. P. Hastings,
B. F. H. Witherell,
Thomas Palmer,
DeG. Jones,
H. M. Campbell,
E. Brooks,
W. L. Newberry,
J. Dean,
C. C. Trowbridge.
“Detroit, December 2, 1834.”
The building itself cost $7,325 to construct. It was of yellow brick,
with a frontage of fifty-six feet and a depth of forty feet; each of the
three stories contained eighteen rooms and a large hallway.
The seminary was opened June 4, 1835, under the Supervision of Mr.
and Mrs. William C. Kirkland of Geneva, New York. Mrs. Kirkland
was a woman of splendid education and was known as an author, Some
of her works having been: “Autumn Hours and Fireside Reading,”
“Memoirs of Our Country,” and “Our New Home in the West, or
Glimpses of Life Among the Early Settlers.” The latter work was writ-
ten under the pen name of Mary Clavers and excited much comment.
822 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
The Kirklands remained in charge of the seminary until 1836, when
they were succeeded by George Wilson, who was there until 1839. Mrs.
Hester Scott and her daughters, Annie, Isabella, and Eleanor, who had
conducted a young ladies’ school for two years previous, then assumed
charge of the seminary and stayed until 1842.
In 1837 the trustees of the seminary asked the common council to
grant them permission to sell the grounds. A resolution was adopted
on March 8th, granting the permission asked for upon condition that the
trustees execute a bond for $50,000 to the city conditioned that the trus-
tees should, within two years, purchase another site and erect another
building thereon. It was further provided -
“That the real estate so to be purchased shall never be disposed of or
appropriated to any other use and purpose than as aforesaid, without
the consent of the said common council, and this stipulation shall be em-
braced in the conveyance to the said trustees.” -
It is difficult now to determine why the trustees should have wanted
to sell the seminary. It was located in a good quarter of the town. Fine
residences were springing up along Fort Street, and across the street
from it were the Baptist Church and Mechanics’ Hall. However, the
seminary was not disposed of at this time, nor for many years.
In 1842 another petition was presented to the council and on March
4th of that year the trustees were granted permission to sell the prop-
erty to the regents of the University of Michigan. The only condition
attached to this permission was that the board of regents should con-
tinue in Detroit a school for the promotion of female education. This
sale was not carried out and in the following May another resolution was
passed by the council, granting permission to the trustees to lease the
premises. Classes were discontinued in the Seminary in this year.
A short history of the transactions connected with the seminary had
been drawn up in the form of resolutions to the common council at the
meeting of May 2, 1842, and from this report it appears that the build-
ings and fixtures on the seminary lot were valued at $5,000 and that
their cost was $7,325, of which $4,290 was borrowed from the Bank of
Michigan and $3,035 was subscribed and paid by various citizens. In
case of sale of the property for $5,000 the sum was to be split between
the citizens and the bank. The bank was indebted to the board of regents
of the university in the sum exceeding $7,300 “and they have agreed that
a lease of the seminary lot shall be executed to them for nine hundred
and ninety-nine years in full satisfaction of the claim of the bank which
now, with interest, amounts to $6,016, and the regents will pay the sub-
scribers the amount due each of them.”
It was thereupon resolved by the trustees at their meeting of March
24, 1843, that they should execute to the regents of the university a lease
for 999 years upon the seminary lot and the premises “granted by deeds
dated the 29th of March, 1830, and the 1st of April, 1837, being the
female seminary grounds on Campus Martius and Griswold Street.”
Thus the title became yested in the University of Michigan.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 823
The seminary building was afterward used as a state armory, for
sessions of the supreme court, and for other state offices. After it came
into the possession of the city, the offices of the mayor, the board of sewer
commissioners, and the city surveyor were located there. It was
eventually torn down to make room for the present city hall.
OTHER PRIVATE SCHOOLS
In 1830, a so-called “infant” school was opened by Miss Elizabeth
Williams in one of the old military buildings on Fort Street, West; her
pupils were thirty in number. The Misses Farrand conducted a young
ladies' Seminary about the same time and George Wilson taught an Eng-
lish classical School. He was succeeded after a few years by Rev. D. S.
Coe. In May, 1832, J. B. Howe was teaching a classical academy. Dur-
ing 1833 D. B. Crane was in charge of a classical school in the old council
house on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street. In 1833,
gentlemen named Nichols and Tappan were teaching a female seminary
in the old university building.
What was known as the Michigan High School was opened Decem-
ber 2, 1833, in the South basement room of the council house under
charge of J. N. Bellows. On March 12, 1834, the lower portion of the
building was rented to D. B. Crane and the upper part to Mr. Bellows.
According to Nile's Register for April 19, 1834, there were then 448
scholars in attendance at the various schools in Detroit.
From the time the Detroit Mechanics’ Society erected its first small
building at 111 Griswold, on the corner of the alley just below the corner
of Griswold and Lafayette, in 1834 until the building was torn down in
1873, it was used as a schoolroom at various times and by different teach-
ers. Soon after the hall was finished the society decided to establish a
school and the trustees were directed to employ a teacher. They secured
the services of Owen Marsh and in October, 1834, the Mechanics’ Acad-
emy was opened. In the Free Press of September 28, 1835, the announce-
ment was made that Mr. Foy had opened a school for mathematics, French
and English. He taught only until May of the following year, when
the school was continued by Joseph F. Weed. Mr. L. J. Ames was also
a teacher in the Mechanics’ building in 1836. “Miss Clancy from Roches-
ter” conducted a school for young ladies in the upper room in May, 1836.
Henry P. Philbrick conducted a singing school in the same building in
the fall of 1836. The Free Press of February 17, 1843, stated that Perci-
val C. Millette and Patrick Higgins intended to open a classical and Eng-
lish school at the Mechanics’ Hall on Monday, February 20th, for young
gentlemen—“Mr. Millette has until recently been the principal of the
Ann Arbor Classical Institute and taught there two years.” L. J. Himes
and G. B. Eastman were other early teachers here.
John S. Abbott had a school in 1835 in the Athenaeum on Griswold
Street and Jefferson Avenue.
824 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
BACON SELECT SCHOOL
In July, 1836, Washington A. Bacon opened a “select school for boys”
in a frame building on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and St. Antoine
Street. Mr. Bacon was a native of Sault Ste. Marie and had taught
there for three years before coming to Detroit. He was a well educated
man and a very successful teacher, even though his scholars found him
somewhat inflexible at times in the enforcement of discipline. After a
term or two, Mr. Bacon removed his school to the same lot as his resi-
dence, corner of Jefferson Avenue and Russell Street, a building having
been erected on the rear of the lot for the accommodation of his class.
Here Mr. Bacon taught four terms every year until about 1871 or 1872,
and quite a number of young men who afterward made their mark in
the commercial or professional life of Detroit were students at one time
or another in Bacon’s “select” school.
In 1836, Rev. R. Elms was at the head of the Detroit Classical Acad-
emy. In 1836, John T. Blois and Mr. Mitchell had schools with about
forty scholars each. In 1839 and 1840, E. J. Meany conducted a class
for boys over the Bank of St. Clair on Jefferson Avenue. On May 25,
1841, Miss E. J. Vail opened a school for young ladies on Wayne Street
between Fort and Congress. In the autumn and spring of 1842, Rev. C. W.
Fitch taught a girls’ seminary. Also, in the early part of this year, Miss
A. S. Bagg began a school for the instruction of young ladies.
In 1843, Dennis O’Brien taught in the old academy and Miss Sanford
had a young ladies' School on Jefferson Avenue opposite the Exchange.
In the spring of 1844, Stephen Fowler and Mr. Cochrane opened a school,
classical in character, in the basement of the Baptist Church at the corner
of Fort and Griswold streets. About 1849, this school was located on the
north side of Jefferson Avenue near St. Antoine Street, in a large wooden
building called the Detroit Institute. George Brewster had been a teacher
in this building for two years previous. Fowler's school ended about
1852. Mrs. Clements also taught a well patronized select school near
this time.
In 1844, Mrs. Elizabeth D. Bryant, cousin of William Cullen Bryant,
began a select school, which she continued for over thirty years.
In 1845 and 1846, the Mechanics’ Hall was used as a school by D. T.
Grinold. In 1846 and 1847, William Brannigan and N. West taught
boys' Schools and in 1847 there were also the schools of Melville Moir,
Abner Hurd, and Miss Melvina Hurlbut. In 1847 and 1848, Franz Zinger
conducted a select German school on Croghan Street between Hastings
and Rivard and on July 22, 1849, Joseph Kuhn began a school on the
corner of Croghan and Hastings, which he operated for three years.
On September 23, 1851, a popular ladies’ seminary was opened in the
Strong house on Fort Street, West, by Miss Sarah Hunt. In the follow-
ing year, removal was made across the street between Griswold and
Shelby streets. The establishment of this school, which, after one other
removal in 1856 to Madison Avenue and there continued until 1860, was
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 825
helped materially by several Detroit business men, among them John
Owen, David French, Eber B. Ward, John J. Garrison, John Stephens,
Caleb Van Husan, James Burns, J. D. Morton, Herman De Graff, William
K. Coyl, George Kirby, Moses F. Dickinson. These men advanced $3,000
for the School, which sum was repaid by the tuitions of the scholars.
For a time during the interval between 1845 and 1850, John Funke
kept a School on the South side of Macomb near St. Antoine Street, and
A. Sutte on the Southwest corner of Croghan and St. Antoine. From
1851 to 1854, W. D. Cochrane maintained an English and classical school
On what is now Broadway near Grand River.
Miss C. E. Chapin opened a school in the Sheldon Block in the fall
of 1854 and in the same year S. L. Campbell taught a classical and high
School in the old Seminary Building on Griswold Street. After this, and
until 1860, this last-named school was taught by Dr. C. F. Soldan.
In April, 1856, a School was opened on the corner of State Street and
Woodward Avenue by Misses Hosmer and Emerson. In 1857, Miss Ellin-
wood and Maria Rockwell (afterward Mrs. Mathew W. Birchard) had
schools. Miss Rockwell had taught for several years in the old Capitol
School. In 1858 and 1859 Dr. and Mrs. Reighley conducted an institute
on the northeast corner of Jefferson Avenue and Rivard Street. The
Detroit Female Seminary, first on the corner of Fort and Wayne streets,
was founded in September, 1859. The seminary was at first a corpora-
tion, but in 1874 J. M. B. Sill became its sole proprietor. The first prin-
cipal was J. V. Bean, succeeded in after years by J. F. Pearl, J. M. B. Sill,
Mrs. Simons Towle and H. M. Martin.
A notable school of this period was Philo M. Patterson’s school for
boys, organized at the rear of one of the Mechanics’ Society lots, 109
Griswold Street, September 1, 1860. Patterson had a five year lease on
the building for $550 per year. In 1873 the school was moved to the
corner of Gratiot and Farmer, and subsequently to the Chamber of Com-
merce Building, where it continued until Mr. Patterson's death in 1882.
This was a famous old school and was attended by the best of Detroit’s
younger manhood. John H. Bissell and Frank Andrus, now well known
in the city, were teachers in this old school.
In 1861, Leo Romer was conducting the Michigan Female Seminary
at 215 Woodward Avenue, but in 1862 it was moved to Park Place and
Grand River Avenue, where it continued several years.
The German-American Seminary, established in the early '60s, is de-
scribed in the article in this chapter upon universities and colleges.
In 1862, and for several years later, a Ladies' Day School was con-
ducted by Mrs. C. James at 267 Jefferson Avenue and a classical and high
School by L. Leonard at 239 Woodward. In 1863 H. G. Jones began a
boys' school at 58 Grand River, which was moved several times in later
years. In 1876, N. Schantz established a German and English academy
with a kindergarten on Farrar Street near Monroe, which continued in
the same location until 1882. In 1876 Rev. A. B. Brown opened a boys'
school on the northeast corner of Monroe and Farmer and remained there
826 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
until 1882. During 1882, a boys' school was established in the basement
of St. Paul’s Protestant Episcopal Church and was taught by Rev. Paul
Ziegler. In later years it was transferred to a building of its own on
Adams near Park. Holy Trinity Anglo-Catholic School was opened at 86
Fourteenth Avenue, September 5, 1881, with eighteen pupils, and con-
tinued by Rev. R. M. Edwards until 1883.
THE LIGCETT SCHOOLS
The Detroit Home and Day School was opened in September, 1878,
by Rev. James D. Liggett, his wife and three daughters. The school was
located in three connecting houses on Broadway, then called Miami Ave-
nue, near Grand River, but the increasing numbers and requirements of
good work demanded a suitable schoolhouse, consequently a stock com-
pany was formed to erect one to be leased for a term of years to the school
management. In January, 1883, the new location on Cass Avenue and
Stimson Place was occupied and, with many alterations and adaptations
to changing conditions has been in use for many years.
In 1890 it seemed advisable to abandon the coeducational idea and
receive boys in the primary grades only. At this time a kindergarten
was added and a school lunch room. The home department steadily grew
until, in 1907, it was necessary to rent an adjacent house as an annex.
In 1912 it was decided to drop the boarding-school feature and remodel
the dormitory floor for laboratories and extra recitation space.
When the first corporation charter expired, its renewal was marked
by a change of name to the Liggett School. -
In 1913 patrons living on the east side organized a second stock com-
pany for the establishment of a branch elementary school, to be called
the Eastern Liggett School, and the following January its beautiful, mod-
ern building at Burns and Charlevoix avenues was occupied. Work here
is carried through eight grades only. Both schools have followed the new
movement towards a flexible classification of the children through the
third grade, to permit development according to individual indications
until the child has acquired the use of reading, writing and simple num-
bers usually expected for the fourth grade. Throughout the entire
School experience, the project method is introduced wherever feasible,
and a due proportion of time is given to music, design, dramatics and
athletics. Self-government and a sense of responsibility are encouraged
in every practicable way from the earliest beginnings of school life up
to the point when the various student bodies organize and conduct such
boards as the Athletic League, Self-Government Board, Symmatheta (the
dramatic Society), Rivista (the school publication), and others.
In 1888 Miss Eliza Collar was conducting a private school at 143 High
Street, West, the Detroit Industrial School had sprung into existence, and
Misses Nellie J. and Susie K. Thompson had a private school at 257
East Congress Street. The following year the Detroit Seminary, corner
of Park Place and Adams Avenue, was in charge of Anna M. Cutcheon
and Harriett B. Pope. This seminary comprised five departments—kin-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 827
dergarten, primary, intermediate, academic and collegiate. In 1890, also,
Rev. Jacob Gronemann had a private school at 179 East Fort, which con-
tinued but a few years. In 1891 the Industrial School Association was
located at the corner of Grand River and Washington avenues. By 1894
there had come into existence the Detroit School for Boys, conducted by
Frederick and Mary E. Whitton at 15 and 17 Winder Street. Miss Edna
Chaffee was teaching a school of “elocution and English literature” at 60
Edmund Place. In 1895, Miss Nellie J. Thompson was teaching alone in
her select school. “The Plymouth Institute—The Peoples College” is ad-
vertised in 1895 as having regular courses in college preparatory, science,
acting, music, business, English, political and social economy and domes-
tic science. Rev. Morgan Wood was the president. The Detroit Seminary
in 1897 was in charge of Eliza Hammond and Laura C. Browning and
was located at 643-5 Jefferson Avenue. g
The development of private schools in Detroit was not regular. The
increasing efficiency of the public school system rendered a great number
of select and private schools unnecessary and from 1896 until 1906 very
few were established. The well-established private schools continued to
operate successfully, but the smaller and new ones suffered from lack
of patronage. About 1905, however, the population of Detroit began to
grow at an accelerated pace, and very soon the public Schools were over-
crowded. To meet this situation several more private Schools came to be
established. The North Woodward School was established in 1905 with
an enrollment of sixteen pupils. This school was for boys and girls and
carried them from the kindergarten through the first year of high School.
Miss Mary Newman was the teacher here. In 1908 the Jefferson Avenue
School of modern languages, was established for boys and girls and the
study embraced subjects from the primary grades through the first year
of high school. The Dexter School for boys was established in 1909 and
followed closely the plan of the German gymnasium. Work correspond-
ing to that from the fourth grade through the first year high School was
introduced. The Bloomfield Hills Seminary, begun in 1912, carried boys
and girls through the eighth grade; the first enrollment was eighteen.
The Grosse Pointe School for boys and girls was established in 1915 and
embraced the whole curriculum from primary through high School, with
some kindergarten classes.
The Thomas Normal Training School, for the training of teachers in
domestic science, physical and manual training, was founded in 1888 by
Mrs. Myra B. Thomas, who was for eighteen years Supervisor of music
in the Detroit public schools.
The old Detroit University School was established first in 1890, and
in 1905 was reorganized as the New Detroit University School. The
school is now located on Cook Road, Grosse Pointe, and is conducted as a
“country day school” for boys—grades 1 to 12, with small classes and
supervised play.
It may be noted in passing that Detroit's public schools have, in great
measure, grown to the needs of a large city. Small private schools, of
828 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Strictly academic or classical character, have largely disappeared. The
older and exclusive private schools such as the Liggett School, yet re-
ceive a generous patronage and always will. Vocational and technical
Schools of private character have been organized in great numbers, as
have correctional schools of different types.
CHURCH SCHOOLS
It has been narrated how Cadillac favored some means of educating
the youth of his settlement, how the Church of Ste. Anne carefully nour-
ished the seed of education, and how Father Gabriel Richard, hard fighter
for the cause of education, labored to establish Schools for the young
people of Detroit. Father Richard constantly sought ways and means
of establishing schools. In 1811 he secured a teacher named La Salliere
from France and in 1820 the Communaute de St. Marie, a school taught
by Miss Elizabeth Williams, was maintained, probably in connection with
Father Richard’s parish. This school existed for many years and subse-
quent reports indicated that it cared for nearly all the Catholic children
in the community. The school known as St. Philip's College (Cote du
Nordest), distinctly a church school, has been described in the article
upon universities and colleges. In connection with this mention of Father
Richard, the following letter from him to Rt. Rev. Dr. Fenwick, bishop
of Cincinnati, in 1824 (while Richard was in Congress) is of interest:
“The laws allow the President to spend yearly $10,000 for the pur-
pose of aiding the schools that are or may be established for the instruc-
tion of young Indians. You will see that the whole is not to be done by
Government, a beginning must be made by the benevolence of some char-
itable persons. You will find by the enclosed papers, that the Government
is disposed to pay two-thirds of the expense of the necessary buildings,
and Mr. Hamilton, the clerk under Mr. Calhoun, who has all the man-
agement of the affairs of the Indians in relation to their civilization, has
told me, that the President has given, in one instance, as much as $2,000
towards the erection of a building estimated at $3,000. I am almost de-
termined to try one establishment of the kind at the River Raisin, either
on my own land, or on that of St. Ann’s, which, as you know, has three
sections above the French settlement, or else on the very Indian reserve
of six sections, close by the three of St. Anne's. The French would will-
ingly advance a third, on condition that we admit the French and Cana-
dian children into the same school. * * * You can bring from Europe
three French Priests, to live either with me at Detroit, to exercise the
holy ministry among the white population, or to attend to the Indian
school at the River Raisin. All that I can require is, that they pay their
expenses from Europe to Detroit. From New York they can come to
Detroit in eight days, each for less than $30, and will have fine accom-
modations all the way in steamboats, and through the grand canal in
the elegant newly-built boat, the charges are only $3.00 per 100 miles
everything included. You may send me three French priests or two
OLD CATHOLIC SCHOOL BUILDING ON GRATIOT
ROAD, NEAR CONNER'S CREEK, BUILT IN 1864
ACADEMY OF SACRED HEART, JEFFERSON AVENUE AND ST. ANTOINE
STREET, ABOUT 1881



WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 831
French and one American. I can promise that I will cause them to be
provided for as well, or better than myself.”
In the early part of the summer of 1833, several of the Sisters of Ste.
Clare, originally from Bruges, under the leadership of Sister Superior
Von de Vogel, came to Detroit from Pittsburgh and established a semi-
nary for girls. In 1837 they were conducting a German and English free
school with an enrollment of forty-five pupils. In this last-named year
this school was succeeded by the French Female Charity School, under
the patronage of Mrs. Antoine Beaubien (who was Monique Labadie, one
of the four teachers employed by Father Gabriel Richard in 1804; she
married Antoine Beaubien in 1829) and taught by Elizabeth Williams.
Miss Williams died in 1843 and was succeeded by Miss Matilda Couchois,
and after a year the Sisters of Charity took charge.
Four sisters arrived May 30, 1844, and under their charge a free
school for boys and girls was opened June 10, 1844, in a frame building
on the southwest corner of Randolph and Larned streets. On May 1,
1845, the boys were transferred to the basement of Ste. Anne's Church
and the girls remained in the old location, the school taking the name
of St. Vincent’s Seminary. In 1846, there were one hundred pupils,
about twenty-five of whom paid a tuition. The brick school building on
Larned Street was opened in 1852 with 150 scholars, which number had
been increased to over 200 in 1870. In 1871, the sisters left the school,
but it was maintained by lay teachers for four years longer. The boys’
department, in the basement of Ste. Anne's, was conducted by the sisters
until September, 1851, when the 280 pupils were placed under the care
of five brothers of the Christian schools. In 1851, a brick addition was
erected in the rear of the church for the accommodation of the school,
which in 1852, numbered 400 scholars. In July, 1864, the school was
discontinued.
As early as 1850, a parish school was taught by Daniel O’Connor in
the basement of Trinity Church at Porter and Sixth. In 1851 separate
schools for each of the sexes were taught in the same location. In 1852,
the brothers of the Christian school began to teach the boys to the num-
ber of 250. In 1853, a brick school building was erected just east of
the priest’s house on Porter. A girls’ school was continued in the base-
ment of the church until 1858, when a large brick school building was
erected on Porter Street, between Sixth and Seventh. This building has
been enlarged several times subsequently. The school was first in charge
of the Sisters of Charity, and in 1872 was taken over by the Sisters of
the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In 1870, there were four teachers at
the boys' school at the corner of Porter and Fifth streets.
A school for girls was established in the parish of St. Mary’s in
1850, with an initial enrollment of eighty scholars. At first it was taught
by teachers, but in 1866 it was given over to the Sisters of Notre Dame
from Milwaukee who have charge of the school at the present time.
The school for boys was opened September 24, 1852, and before the end
832 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
of the year there were 300 scholars. A brick schoolhouse was constructed
On the southwest corner of Croghan and St. Antoine streets in 1868.
The first school in connection with the parish of SS. Peter and Paul
was established in the rear of the cathedral in 1858 under the charge of
the brothers of the Christian schools. It was continued by them for
three years, and was then taught by lay teachers. On September 9, 1864,
it was placed in charge of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
who remained until September, 1881.
A school for St. Joseph’s parish was in existence in 1850 with nearly
100 scholars. The parish school of St. Boniface was established and the
building erected in 1869. The St. Vincent de Paul School was established
in August, 1872, and was at first conducted by lay teachers. In Septem-
ber, 1874, the female department was placed in charge of the Sisters
of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The school of Our Lady of Help was
begun in 1872. St. Albert’s school was also established in 1872. St.
Joachim’s, formerly the Sacred Heart French School, was instituted in
June, 1875. In April, 1875, there came into existence the Sacred Heart
German School. Most Holy Redeemer School was begun about 1882.
St. Casimir's School, Polish, was also begun in the '80s. St. Anthony’s
School on Gratiot Avenue was established about 1854 in a frame build-
ing constructed for the purpose.
Over seventy years ago the Religious of the Sacred Heart at the invi-
tation of Mr. and Mrs. Antoine Beaubien, and with the approval of Bishop
Lefevre, first came to Detroit to devote themselves to the education of
youth. They opened their first convent in June, 1851, in a small frame
house on Jefferson Avenue, north side, near the old railroad bridge, but
the next year increased attendance necessitated a removal to a brick
building on the southwest corner of Jefferson Avenue and St. Antoine.
In 1854 a property called Elmwood was purchased and there the boarding
and day schools, as also the free school, increased in numbers and the
foundations were laid on which have been built the present flourishing
academies on Lawrence Avenue and at Grosse Pointe in which the board-
ing school was established in 1885. After a few years at Elmwood, hav-
ing obtained a clear title to the fine property situated on Jefferson Ave-
nue and St. Antoine Street so generously donated to the Society of the
Sacred Heart by Antoine Beaubien and his wife, the Religious were en-
abled to transfer their work to the former Beaubien residence and there to
erect, in 1861, the large convent which for a half century was a landmark
in what was then a purely residential section of the city, but which, in
recent years, became converted into a business and industrial center.
Then it was that the property on Lawrence Avenue was purchased and in
1918 the present spacious academy of the Sacred Heart was opened. From
the early days of the foundation to the present time the Catholics and
non-Catholics of Detroit have patronized well the strong training of this
institution. The first school registers record many names prominent in
Detroit history, among them being : Godfroy, Cole, Provencal, Piquette,
Gagnier, Brennan, Van Dyke, Pitcher, Elbert, Davis, Cicotte, Holbrook,
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 833
Beaubien, Hall, Moran, Chapoton, Bull, Dubois, Flynn, Campau, Ives,
O’Brien, Elliot, St. Aubin, Connor, Palms, Lewis, Baby, Riopelle, Brod-
head, Willis, DuCharme, Bradford, Larned, Peltier and Flattery.
The Convent of the Sacred Heart at Grosse Pointe Farms is another
institution established under the care of the Religious of the Sacred Heart.
In 1885, the Society, already well known in Detroit where a day school
had been opened in 1851, mentioned above, founded a boarding school in
Grosse Pointe. A large farm, which forms part of the property, supplied
fresh fruit, vegetables and dairy products, so that the pupils enjoyed
all the benefits of country life. In 1887 a parochial school was opened
for children of the neighborhood.
The St. Cyril and Methodius Catholic Seminary, for the education of
Polish theological students, was first located on St. Aubin Avenue, be-
tween Forest and Garfield avenues. The building was first used Decem-
ber 20, 1886.
Beginning in the early ’90s, when the growth of the city meant the
establishment of additional Catholic parishes in Detroit, the number of
parochial schools increased correspondingly. The idea of education has
never been permitted to lapse among the parishes, and today the thor-
oughness and quality of the school system in the Catholic Church is of
great merit. The Roman Catholic schools in Detroit are:
All Saints Parochial School: West Fort and Springwells; in charge
Of Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Annunciation Parish School: Parkview and Agnes avenues; Sisters
of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Assumption Parochial School: Lovett and Warren avenues; Felician
Sisters.
Assumption School: Gratiot Avenue near Grotto Road; Dominican
Sisters. -
Blessed Sacrament School: Belmont Avenue; Sisters of the Immacu-
late Heart of Mary.
Carmelite Sisters, D. C. J. : 3350 Leland.
Convent Felician Sisters: 2248 Medbury Avenue.
Convent of the Holy Family: 9532 Cardoni Avenue.
Convent of the Immaculate Heart: 1051 Porter Street.
Convent of Notre Dame: 128 Macomb Street.
Convent of Sacred Heart: Lake Shore Road, Grosse Pointe.
Convent and Academy of Sacred Heart: Lawrence and Wilson ave-
In UlèS.
Felician Convent: Canfield and St. Aubin.
Holy Cross Catholic School: Southwest Place and Yale.
Holy Name School: Nuernberg and Van Dyke.
Holy Rosary Parish School: Woodward and Harper avenues; in
charge of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Immaculate Conception School: Trombley Avenue and Moran.
Most Holy Redeemer Convent and School: Junction Avenue between
Eldred and Dix.
834 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Most Holy Trinity School: 148 Porter Street.
Nativity of Our Lord Parish School: McClellan Avenue near Lamb;
Dominican Sisters. -
Our Lady of Angels Parish School: Martin Avenue and Edward;
Franciscan Sisters. -
Our Lady of Help School: Elmwood Avenue and Larned.
Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic School: Dearborn Avenue
near Railroad.
Our Lady of Sorrows Roman Catholic School: 722 Meldrum.
Resurrection School : 6141 Leuschner Avenue.
Sacred Heart Academy: 171 Lake Shore Road, Grosse Pointe.
Sacred Heart German Catholic School: Eliot and Rivard.
Sacred Heart Seminary.
Sacred Heart of Jesus Roman Catholic School : 290 Eliot; Sisters
Of Notre Dame.
Sacred Heart of Mary School: Canfield and Russell; Polish Sisters
of St. Francis. -
St. Agnes Convent: LaSalle Gardens.
St. Albertus School: St. Aubin and Canfield; Felician Sisters.
St. Aloysius Parish School: 44 Park Place, East; Sisters of Charity.
St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic School: Warren Avenue near Miller
Road ; Sisters of St. Dominic.
St. Ambrose Parish School: Hampton and Weyborn avenues, Grosse
Pointe Park.
St. Anne's Convent: 2630 Lafayette Boulevard.
Ste. Anne's French Catholic School: Howard Street between Eight-
eenth and Nineteenth.
St. Anthony’s Catholic School: 1218 Field Avenue; in charge of the
Sisters of Notre Dame.
St. Benedict’s Parish School: Candler Avenue.
St. Bernard's School: Lillibridge Avenue; in charge of the Sisters
of St. Joseph.
St. Boniface Parochial School: 2350 Vermont Avenue; in charge of
the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
St. Casimir's Catholic School: 657-9 Twenty-third Street; in charge
of the Felician Sisters.
St. Catherine's Roman Catholic School: Maxwell and Sprague ave-
Ill]6 S.
St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School: Townsend Avenue; in charge
of Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. -
St. Elizabeth's Parochial School: 4230 McDougall; in charge of the
Sisters of Charity. -
St. Florian School: Florian and Whiting avenues; in charge of the
Felician Sisters. -
St. Crancesco Parochial School: Eliot Avenue.
St. Francis Polish School: Buchanan and Wesson streets.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 835
St. Francis Polish Roman Catholic School: 5806 Buchanan Street;
in charge of Sisters of St. Francis. -
St. Gabriel’s Parochial School: 8118 Ferndale.
St. Hedwig's School: Junction Avenue; Felician Sisters.
St. Hyacinth Roman Catholic School (Polish): Frederick Avenue;
Felician Sisters.
St. Joachim Parish School: 2158 Lafayette.
St. John's Cantius School: Pulaski Avenue; Felician Sisters.
St. John's Parish School: East Grand Boulevard and Sargent; Sis-
ters of Christian Charity. -
St. Josaphat’s Polish Roman Catholic School: Canfield Avenue; Fe-
lician Sisters.
St. Leo's Parish School: Fifteenth and Warren; Sisters of Charity.
St. Mary’s Catholic School: St. Antoine and Monroe; Sisters of
Notre Dame.
St. Paul’s Parochial School: Grosse Pointe Farms.
SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral School: Parsons Avenue; Sisters of
the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SS. Peter and Paul (Jesuit) Parochial School: Larned and St. An-
toine; Sisters of Charity.
St. Rose Parish School: Kercheval and Defer Place.
St. Stanislaus School: Medbury Avenue and Dubois; Felician Sisters.
St. Theresa Roman Catholic School: Blaine and Radford.
St. Thomas Parochial School: Fischer and Chapin.
St. Vincent de Paul School: Fourteenth and Dalzelle ; Sister-Serv-
ants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
St. Vincent’s Convent: 2140 Marantette.
St. Wenceslaus Bohemian School: 745 St. Antoine; School Sisters
of St. Francis.
San Francesco Parish School: 290 Eliot; Sisters of Notre Dame.
PROTESTANT PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS
The St. John's German Evangelical School on Monroe Avenue and
Farrar Street was established in the year 1843. A schoolhouse was built
at the rear in 1845 and for nearly twenty years a school was held here
intermittently. St. Mark’s German Evangelical School was established
January 2, 1884, with twenty-two scholars and was located at the corner
of Military Avenue and Dix. St. Matthew’s Lutheran School was or-
ganized in 1846, on Congress near Russell Street, and a building was
erected for the purpose in 1850. Trinity Evangelical Lutheran School
was organized in 1850 in the old wooden church on Larned Street between
Rivard and Russell streets. Zion German Reformed Lutheran School
was originally organized about 1852, and until 1857 met in a church
building on Croghan Street near Beaubien. A schoolhouse was built
on Russell Street in 1861, after the school had been discontinued for four
years. Salem Lutheran School, which was located on the south side of
Catherine Street between St. Antoine and Hastings, was started in 1864.
836 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran School was organized in 1866 and was
originally located on Ninth Avenue near Orchard Street. Zion Evan-
gelical Lutheran School was established in the fall of 1878 on Welch
Avenue in Springwells, St. Paul’s Lutheran School, which was located
on the corner of Jay Street and Joseph Campau Avenue, was organized
in the early '70s. St. Paul’s Second German Evangelical School was lo-
cated on the corner of Seventeenth and Rose streets and was established
in 1873. St. Peter’s German Evangelical School, located on Pierce Street
near Chene, was established in 1879. This, in brief, is the story of the
beginning of Protestant parochial schools in Detroit. Like the Catholic
and public schools, the number of them has increased with the growth
of the city, until today those in existence are:
Bethania German Evangelical School: Meldrum and Pulford avenues.
Bethania Evangelical Lutheran School: Mount Elliott and Church
aVe]]lléS.
Bethlehem School: McKinstry Avenue between Porter and Chris-
tiancy.
Christ German Evangelical School: Myrtle and Roosevelt avenues.
Christ German Evangelical Lutheran School.
Concordia Lutheran School: Cadillac and Sylvester avenues.
Concordia School (German Protestants) : 84.19 Vanderbilt.
Emmaus Lutheran School: Twelfth and Lysander.
Evangelical Lutheran Immanuel School: 3750 Twenty-fifth Street.
Evangelical Lutheran Trinity School: Rivard and Gratiot. -
German Evangelical Lutheran Immanuel School: Twenty-fifth be-
tween Magnolia and Linden. .
German Evangelical Lutheran Bethel School: 5850 Mitchell.
German Evangelical Lutheran Zion School : 4323 Military.
German and English Evangelical Lutheran St. Luke’s Parochial
School : Field and Kercheval avenues. .
Gethsemane German and English Lutheran School: Twenty-eighth
near Buchanan. -
Good Hope Evangelical Lutheran School.
Grace Evangelical Lutheran School: Highland and Woodward.
Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran School: Joseph Campau and Illinois.
Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox School: 2427 Meade Avenue.
Hungarian Magyar Reformed Protestant School: 8028 South.
Immanuel Parochial School : Livernois and Vernon.
Immanuel School (German) : Pine near Nineteenth.
Peoples (Polish) School : 2929 Yeamans Avenue.
St. James Evangelical Lutheran School: Humbolt and Poplar.
St. John Evangelist School: Sargent and East Grand Boulevard.
St. John's Evangelical Lutheran School: Maybury, Grand Avenue
and Poplar.
St. John’s German Evangelical School: Burdeno and Ford.
St. Luke's German Evangelical School: Harper Avenue.
St. Marcus German Evangelical School : Military Avenue.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 837
St. Matthew’s German Evangelical Lutheran School: Carleton Ave-
Ill!62.
St. Paul’s German Lutheran : Joseph Campau and Jay streets.
St. Peter's German Evangelical School: 2281 Pierce.
Salem Evangelical Lutheran School: Mack and Chene streets.
Stephanus Evangelical School: Chamberlain and Lawndale.
Zion's German Evangelical Lutheran School : 4305 Military.
OTHER DETROIT SCHOOLS
When the automotive industry in Detroit was in its very infancy, there
was a demand for skilled mechanics for the manufacture of gasoline mo-
tors. The vast expansion of the industry, the almost unbelievable number
of men required for its maintenance, have created a steady need for this
class of workmen. In 1910 a number of Detroit men saw the opportunity
in this situation to establish a school for the training of men for positions
in the automobile and parts factories, and for garage and repair work.
The school was organized as a corporation with a capital stock of $10,000
and was called the Michigan State Auto School. Beginning with only a
few instructors and less than one hundred students, the School had a
splendid growth during the past two decades. In recent years the school
added courses in aviation and electrical work in conjunction with Greer
College of Chicago. The Michigan State Auto School is now located at
3729 Woodward Avenue.
Beginning in the early ’90s there came into existence in Detroit indi-
vidual schools for the teaching of music and other accomplishments.
There are in Detroit today scores of schools covering a broad scope of
subjects.
Some of these schools are as follows: Detroit Glider School; Curtis
Flying Service; Moler Barber College; Detroit School of Cosmeticians;
Derma-May School of Beauty Culture; Boudries School of Dancing; De-
troit School of Applied Science; Detroit Practical School; Detroit Ex-
pression School; Reggies Collision Shop ; Academy Sapho School of Dress-
making; Wicker School of Fine Arts; Bonstelle Dramatic Training School
and School of Music; Berlitz School of Languages; Madame Heron School
of Hatmaking; Detroit Conservatory of Music; Detroit Institute of Mu-
sical Art; Institute Conservatory of Music ; Commercial Art School and
Detroit Art Academy; Detroit School of Applied Art; Radio Service
School; Lewis Institute and School for Stammerers; Armand Studio of
Theater Arts; Dorothy Bennett School for Small Children; Conway's Golf
School and a host of others, covering mechanical and applied arts.
CHAPTER XXII
ARTISTIC AND CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
CITY LIBRARY SOCIETY
The first suggestion of record for a public library in Detroit is found
in a School memorial presented to the governor and judges on October 18,
1808, by Fr. Gabriel Richard, the priest of Ste. Anne's. After comment-
ing upon the condition and influence of the various Catholic schools, espe-
cially the academy under the direction of Miss Elizabeth Williams, Father
Richard wrote:
“It would be very necessary to have in Detroit a Public building for
a similar Academy in which the high branches of Mathematics, most im-
portant languages, Geography, History, Natural and Moral Philosophy
should be taught to young Gentlemen of our country, and in which should
be kept the machines, the most necessary for the improvement of Useful
Arts, for making the most necessary physical experiments and framing
a beginning of public library.”
On August 26, 1817, the City Library Society was incorporated and
the next day ninety shares of stock, of $5 each, were sold to the public-
spirited citizens of the city, giving the society a working capital of $450.
This was used for the purchase of books and the library was opened in
one of the rooms of the old University Building, on the west side of Bates
Street near Congress, the instructors of the University having agreed
to act as librarians.
Little progress was made during the next ten years and only a small
number of books was collected. The Detroit Athenaeum was organized
on July 15, 1831, with Lewis Cass, president; John Biddle, vice president;
Henry S. Cole, secretary; and Reuben S. Rice, treasurer. The object of
this organization, as set forth in the by-laws, was to maintain a club and
reading-room. Quarters were obtained on the second floor over New-
berry & Kercheval’s store, southwest corner of Jefferson Avenue and
Griswold Street, and to this location the books, records and furniture of
the City Library Society were transferred. The approach to the club-
rooms was up a steep stairway, which was not always immaculate, and
the library lost some of its prestige which had been obtained while it was
kept in the University Building. The Athenaeum existed only about one
year, when it was merged into the Detroit Young Men’s Society.
DETROIT YOUNG MEN'S SOCIETY
A short time before the end of the year 1832, a number of the young
men of Detroit chanced to meet in the store of John Clark & Company,
839
840 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
on Jefferson Avenue near Griswold Street, and one of them proposed the
formation of a society which, according to an account written at the time,
had for its purpose the “general diffusion of knowledge and a condensa-
tion of the talents and acquirements of the young men of Detroit, for in-
tellectual and moral improvement.” The motto “Virtuti et Litteris” was
adopted.
Arrangements were made for a more formal meeting, to be held at
the law office of Charles Larned, on the corner of Larned Street and
Woodward Avenue, and invitations were sent to several persons whom
the projectors thought might be interested. The society was organized
January 18, 1833, at a meeting held in the session room of the First Pres-
byterian Church on Larned Street. This session room was the old assem-
bly room, or hall, of Fort Shelby, and had been moved to the Larned
Street location. A constitution and by-laws were then adopted and the
following officers elected: Franklin Sawyer, president; Dr. Douglas
Houghton, vice-president; J. R. Scott, recording secretary; George E.
Hand, corresponding secretary; S. S. Hawkins, treasurer; W. A. Wells,
auditor; Silas P. Griswold, John M. Hunter, Charles W. Penny, Aaron B.
Rawles, H. M. Roby, Silas Titus and Ira Van Nortwich, board of man-
agerS.
After the formation of the society, meetings were held every Friday
evening during the winter months and at these gatherings debates and
literary exercises of different kinds constituted the program. These
weekly meetings became popular among the better class of young men
and women, as it gave them an opportunity to air their particular literary
or oratorical talents, also their political viewpoint providing it was not
too odorous. The library was first kept at the store of Horace Hallock.
On March 26, 1836, the society was incorporated and the governor and
judges conveyed to the managers, for a nominal consideration, a lot on
Woodward Avenue. This lot, however, was sold in 1850 and one on Jef-
ferson Avenue, between Bates and Randolph streets, was purchased. On
this site a hall, forty-eight by ninety-five feet and three stories in height,
was erected, and the library occupied quarters upon the second floor. This
hall, which was completed on November 27, 1850, cost $8,500, consequent-
ly the society went heavily into debt. Evil practices began to occur with-
in the society shortly after this and the organization went through a
period of disrepute. The character and number of members became un-
limited, it appears, and candidates for office in the society were accus-
tomed to enroll numerous “floating” members until after election time,
and to pay their membership fees.
In 1859, the act of incorporation was amended so that the society
could hold property to the extent of $200,000 instead of $25,000 as orig-
inally stipulated by the governor and judges. A new hall was the first
desire after this change and negotiations were opened to secure a lot on
the corner of Larned and Bates streets, which was owned by the univer-
sity. The city also claimed this ground but after some litigation the uni-
versity retained possession. However, the Young Men's Society was un-
DETROIT IN 1930
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WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 843
able to meet the terms contemplated and abandoned the plan. Thereupon,
a lot, eighty by one hundred and fifty feet, on Woodbridge Street, just back
of the old Biddle House, and with a corridor running through the hotel
to Jefferson Avenue, was leased for a term of twenty-five years. On this
lot a hall was erected and opened to the public November 21, 1861, with
appropriate ceremony. The old hall and lot were turned over to the
creditors, Messrs. Shearer and Chapoton, and the funds to pay for the
erection of the new hall and the furnishings were raised by selling stock
to the amount of $17,000.
Not being able to meet their expenses, the members sold this hall in
1875 to Luther Beecher for $16,000, and the library was then established
in rooms on the second floor of the Merrill Block, on the northeast cor-
ner of Jefferson and Woodward Avenues, where it was reopened to the
public August 2, 1875. At that time the library contained about 16,000
volumes. However, it soon became evident that the society could not
compete with the public library and during the months of August and
September, 1882, the books were sold to whoever would purchase, many
of them going into the new library. On September 30, 1882, the Young
Men's Society was abandoned, after a half century of more or less turbu-
lent existence.
DETROIT LYCEUM
The Lyceum of the City of Detroit was an organization which lived
for just a brief space, but is worthy of mention by reason of the promi-
nent men connected with it. It was organized January 14, 1818, with
Augustus B. Woodward, president; William Woodbridge and Charles
Larned, vice presidents; George B. Larned, secretary, and Dr. John L.
Whiting, treasurer. A constitution, written by Judge Woodward with
all his characteristic verbosity, was adopted April 29th, but the organiza-
tion came to naught and was given up after about three years.
MICHIGAN LYCEUM
The Lyceum of Michigan, an organization which lived hardly more
than a year, was organized December 6, 1830, with Lewis Cass as presi-
dent, Henry R. Schoolcraft and Henry Whiting, vice presidents; William
Ward, secretary; Augustus S. Porter, treasurer; John L. Whiting, Walter
L. Newberry and Lucius Lyon, executive committee.
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MICHIGAN
This organization was incorporated June 23, 1828, and on July 3d
the following officers were elected, namely: Lewis Cass, president; Henry
S. Cole, secretary; John Biddle and Thomas Rowland, vice presidents;
Henry Whiting, corresponding secretary; Charles C. Trowbridge, treas-
urer; John L. Whiting, librarian. The first lecture before the society was
given by Lewis Cass in September, 1828, and he was followed at intervals
by other notable men of Detroit. These speeches were printed and col-
lected in a volume entitled “Historical and Scientific Sketches of Mich-
igan.” Other books, manuscripts, letters, and Various historical miscel-
844 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
lany were collected by the society, but little enthusiasm or interest Was
maintained and after a quarter century the possessions of the Society
were absorbed into the public library or otherwise distributed.
DETROIT MECHANICS’ LIBRARY
At a meeting held June 13, 1818, at Col. Richard Smyth's Hotel, On
the west side of Woodward Avenue between Jefferson Avenue and Wood-
bridge Street, Judge Woodward and Maj. Robert Irwin were appointed
to draft a constitution for the Detroit Mechanics’ Society. The first elec-
tion of officers took place on July 20, 1818, when Robert Irwin was chosen
president; Benjamin Stead, vice president; John P. Sheldon, Secretary;
John S. Roby, treasurer; Paul Clapp, Charles Howard, Jeremiah Moors,
Chauncey S. Payne and Ebenezer Reed, stewards. The constitution was
adopted June 29, 1818. The society was incorporated on May 15, 1820,
for a term of twenty years. In 1828 two lots on the southwest corner of
Griswold Street and Lafayette Avenue were donated by the city to the
society and a hall—a two-story frame structure—was erected thereon.
The first meeting in the new hall was held on June 16, 1834.
On February 17, 1857, Gov. Moses Wisner approved an act of the
Legislature authorizing the incorporation of mechanics’ societies and the
Detroit society was reincorporated under this act March 5, 1860. A
library was then started and ten years later the society’s income from
rents amounted to about $1,000, a large part of which was used for the
purchase of books. The library then numbered over 4,000 volumes and
was kept open on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 2 to 4:30 P. M. and
from 7 to 9 P. M.
At a meeting held on April 28, 1873, the society voted to erect a block
to cover the entire property (75 by 130 feet) and the library was removed
to rooms over Chauncey Hurlbut’s store, on Woodward Avenue, until the
new building was completed. Financial difficulties now arose which ulti-
mately put an end to the society. A loan of $60,000 was negotiated to pay
for the new block, but the contractors failed to finish it within the stip-
ulated time, which caused prospective tenants to cancel their agreements
with the society. On May 22, 1876, the property of the society was as-
signed to Horace M. Dean, John H. Van Schoick and James Burns for the
benefit of the creditors. At that time the liabilities amounted to $117,000
and the assets were estimated at $173,000, but the depreciation in real
estate values that followed the panic of 1873 was not felt in Detroit and
on November 1, 1876, the property was sold to Thomas McGraw at auc-
tion for $112,500.
The creditors generously released the books and furniture of the
library, which were subsequently removed to the Young Men’s Christian
Association, where the library was opened September 19, 1877. When
the Young Men's Christian Association sold its property to the Detroit
Medical College in 1881, the library was returned to the Mechanics' So-
ciety and in 1885 the books were turned over to the public library.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 845
DETROIT PUBLIC LIBRARY
The state constitution adopted in 1835 contained a provision that all
fines and penalties collected in criminal cases should be devoted to the
establishment and maintenance of public libraries. On January 8, 1842,
the board of School inspectors of the City of Detroit adopted a resolution
to the effect: “That an order be drawn on the county treasurer for the
proportion due the Township of Detroit of the moneys paid into the coun-
ty treasury as equivalents for exemptions from military fines, and for
the clear proceeds of all fines for breaches of the penal laws; and in case
the treasurer refuses to pay, that the city attorney, or some other proper
person, be requested to apply to the present Supreme Court for a man-
damus to compel the treasurer to pay the same.”
As this was the last session of the old board of inspectors, the work
of carrying the resolution into effect devolved upon the board of educa-
tion, which was created by the act of February 18, 1842. On June 16,
1842, on motion of John S. Abbott, a committee of three was appointed
to ascertain the amount of funds paid to the county treasurer and avail-
able for library purposes. On August 7th the treasurer paid over to the
board the sum of $63.14 as the city’s share of fines collected. This amount
was too small to think of starting a library with, and the board was
not wholly satisfied that the city had received the full sum to which it
was entitled. Committee after committee was appointed to investigate
the subject and small payments were received regularly until in 1859.
On April 21, 1859, Henry E. Baker, Detroit newspaperman and a
member of the board from the sixth ward, called attention to the increas-
ing necessity of the public school for maps, books of reference, etc., and
offered a resolution for the appointment of a committee of three to inquire
into the facts relative to the payment into the county treasury of fines
from the different justices’ courts of the county, and “whether this board
receives its proper share of such fines.”
Mr. Baker, Edmund Hall and Henry M. Cheever were appointed as
the committee and on July 9, 1859, submitted a report showing that a
considerable sum of money properly belonging to the board had been col-
lected, but had been used for other purposes, and recommended a commit-
tee to collect it. Mr. Baker and Mr. Hall were accordingly appointed,
with instructions to bring suit if necessary. Suit was instituted and the
matter was carried to the Supreme Court of the state, which decided that
about three-fifths of $17,000 collected in fines during the preceding years
belonged to the city. When the news of this decision reached the board
of education in November, 1860, William D. Wilkins moved that “Recita-
tion Room No. 3 (in the second story of the old capitol) be fitted up with
a table, chairs, bookshelves and a lamp as a library and committee room
for the use of the board and teachers.” This was the beginning of the
public library movement in Detroit.
In March, 1861, the committee reported that a settlement had been
effected with the county, by which the library fund would receive about
846 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
$7,000. With this fund began the development of the Detroit Public Li-
brary. During the next two years more money was received from time
to time and on May 18, 1863, the board decided to establish a district
library. Two more years elapsed, however, before all the preparations
were completed, but on March 25, 1865, the library was formally opened
to the public in rooms on the first floor of the old capitol building. At
first the library was used only for consultation and reference work, but
on May 2, 1865, it was opened for circulation in addition. Two years
later the use of an additional room, on the second floor, was granted to
the library. About this time the library committee made a request for
the fines assessed in the Police Court, but was refused, consequently suit
was brought and upon October 20, 1868, the Supreme Court decided that
these fines also belonged to the library fund. In 1870 an addition was
made in the rear of the old capitol building for library purposes and on
March 20, 1871, the library was opened in its new quarters here.
It soon became apparent that more room would be needed in the near
future and on June, 1871, the board petitioned the city council to grant
the old city hall for library purposes. The council granted the request
On July 18, 1871, and the board commenced preparations for remodeling
the building in such a way as to render it suitable for a public library.
It was then discovered that it would cost almost as much to alter the old
building as it would to erect a new one more suitable in design and ca-
pacity. A movement was therefore started for the erection of a building
to be used exclusively as a public library, but the question of a site had
to be settled. On March 3, 1872, the city gave the board a fifty-year lease
of Center Park as a site for the library and the board then surrendered
its claim to the old city hall. A short time after this transaction, the
question was raised as to the power of the council to lease the park. To
settle the matter a friendly suit was commenced, asking the courts to en-
join the council from making the lease. This caused some delay, but in
April, 1873, the Supreme Court decided that the council possessed the
power to make the lease.
Like many other movements tending toward the intellectual and edu-
cational development of the city, numerous difficulties were encountered
and strong opposition was met during these early stages. By an act of
the Legislature, approved by Governor Bagley on March 27, 1873, pro-
vision was made for raising $150,000, with the approval of the board of
estimates, for erecting the library building. In describing the situation
at this time, no better authority can be quoted than George W. Balch,
president of the board of education from 1873 to 1876, who wrote as
follows:
“Receiving from the Legislature of 1873 permission to raise the neces-
sary funds for the erection of a public library building, the cost of which
was limited to $150,000, the board of education (which then stood wholly
sponsor for the public library) proceeded to make estimates therefor, and
at the first session of the board of estimates, April, 1874, presented to
that body its request for an appropriation of $125,000 for the purpose.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 847
This was promptly granted, and the amount was placed in the general
list for the year, with a recommendation to the common council that the
money to cover the entire amount be raised by the issue of library bonds,
$50,000 in 1874, the same amount in 1875 and the balance, $25,000 in
1876.
“The common council, while apparently confirming the recommenda-
tion, in all except the method of providing the money, ordered, in lieu
of the proposed bond issue, the installment for the year 1874 to be placed
On the tax rolls, and the first $50,000 was raised in that way.
“Having thus changed the method of procedure on the recommenda-
tion of the board of estimates, the common council noted the same in a
communication to that board, which, meeting but once in each year and
having been adjourned, did not reach that body until the regular annual
meeting in the spring of 1875.
“In the meantime, from various causes, considerable enmity to the
project of the board of education had developed. Whether influenced by
this, or resulting from a misconception, which had been created by the
change made by the council as mentioned, the fact remained that the
board of estimates failed to place any sum whatever in the general list
for the year for public library purposes.
“Having proceeded with due deliberation during the greater part of
the year 1874 in the preparation of plans and specifications for the new
building, bids for the construction thereof, duly advertised for, were
opened at a meeting of the board of education in January, 1875. These
proposals ranged in amount from about $159,000 to $190,000, the lowest
being considerably in excess of the authority which had been conferred
on the board to be expended for the purpose.
“Nevertheless, the board finally at a meeting in February, 1875, de-
cided to enter into a contract with one David Knapp, the lowest bidder,
at about $159,000, for the complete construction of the proposed building.
“This action gave the enemies of the project, both open and covert,
the opportunity they most desired, and they made the most of it. Charges
of extravagance and even of the lawlessness of the board were freely
made. Amongst the most willing listeners to these charges were mem-
bers of the common council, between which and the educational board
jealousies had arisen, owing to the assertion by the latter of legislative
powers independent of the former; and the lukewarmness exhibited by
the board of estimates to the library building project was undoubtedly
influenced by the same cause. In short, matters pertaining to the pro-
posed library construction, succeeding the confirmation of the contract
by the board, went rapidly from bad to worse.
“Confronted with threatened injunctions and long continued litiga-
tion, there was superadded thereto the prospect that owing to the enmity
of the council, the concession of Center Park, at it was called, would not
be extended beyond the stipulated time.
“And here it may incidentally be mentioned, that this stipulated time-
limitation for the work to commence was successfully met. This time was
848 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
within a few days only of expiration when the excavation for the build-
ing was actually commenced, and the threatened danger of the failure of
the entire project was averted.
“To proceed, however, with the foregoing narration of obstructive
measures encountered—the deprivation of the expected appropriation for
the current year, consequent upon the action, or rather non-action, of the
board of estimates, fell hard. The situation, altogether, presented inter-
minable difficulty to the library committee of the board, which finally,
seeing no means of extrication from the entanglement, asked to be re-
lieved from further consideration of the library building project. -
“At this stage, when all the time and money spent in the preparation
of plans seemed likely to go for naught, and when the cherished object
sought to be accomplished was apparently destined to indefinite postpone-
ment, on a chance afterthought while reflecting seriously on the situation,
a plan looking to the possible solution of all the difficulties of the case sug-
gested itself. This plan received the prompt assent of the board, and was
speedily carried out.
“The plan required first the consent of the contractor for the erection
of the building, which he finally gave, and involved the elimination of
such parts of the proposed structure as could be dispensed with, without
materially infringing on the space allotted to the library proper, or with-
out changing in any material way its interior arrangement. In short,
the library was to retain its sufficiency of space and arrangement, but
the building itself must be shorn of every costly appendage of any sort
not actually needful to the uses of the library proper. Under this plan
arbitrators were chosen, one to act for the board, and another for the
contractor and a third only in case of disagreement. Two of these, the
late Nichol Mitchell and Alexander Chapoton, Sr., gave the best possible
guarantee of entire integrity in the execution of the plan. The name of
the third arbitrator, acting for the contractor, I fail to recall.
“The structure as originally planned was provided with a fairly orna-
mental and suitably dignified front elevation. Within walls, and forward
of the library auditorium, were sundry apartments suitable perhaps for
the purposes of an art museum of moderate proportions, for the historical
Society, and possible for the use of a then existing scientific association,
but none of these having been specifically provided for, they disappeared
under the hand of the chosen arbitrators. The contractor being charged
with the work of elimination proceeded, in each case, with the estimated
cost thereof, as against the total of his original bid, until finally the last
thing to go was the very much regretted and quite handsome stone en-
trance steps.”
On August 24, 1874, the plans of Brush & Smith were adopted, the
cornerstone was laid May 29, 1875, and on January 22, 1877, the build-
ing was formally dedicated. The cost of the original building was $124,-
000 and in 1885 an addition 50 by 60 feet was completed at a cost of $32,-
000. The reading room in this addition was opened on March 1, 1886,
Another addition was made in 1896.
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(Courtesy of Burton Historical Collection)
DETROIT PUBLIC LIBRARY IN 1881

WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 851
Pursuant to an act of the Legislature, the board of education, on De-
cember 27, 1880, appointed the following library commissioners: James
V. Campbell, George V. N. Lothrop, Alfred Chesebrough, William D. Wil-
kins, Dr. Herman Kiefer and Alexander Lewis. The same act authorized
a Special tax for the benefit of the library. Since that time the public
library has been controlled by a board of commissioners, appointed by
the board of education. The term of each of these commissioners expires
On the first of January each year and his successor is appointed for six
years.
Professor Henry Chaney was the first librarian, acting in this ca-
pacity while principal of the high school. After March 20, 1871, he gave
his whole time to the library and continued to serve until April 9, 1878.
Rev. Manasseh Hickey was his successor and was succeeded April 12
1880, by Henry Gillman, who retained the position until August 1, 1885,
when Henry M. Utley was chosen. Mr. Utley gave over a quarter cen-
tury of his devoted attention and faithful labor to the Detroit public
library and during this time was a compelling factor in the educational
development of the city. Advanced years caused his retirement in 1912,
followed in 1917 by his death. Adam Strohm, the present librarian, as-
sumed the position November 1, 1912.
When the public library was opened in the old capitol building on
March 25, 1865, it contained 8,864 volumes. At the time of the removal
to the building in Center Park in 1877, the number of volumes was 33,-
604. The number of volumes in the main library and branches at the
beginning of the year 1921 was over a half million, exclusive of pam-
phlets, newspaper clippings, etc.
BRANCH LIBRARIES
With the growth of the city and the consequent expansion of the area,
there came the necessity for branch libraries, with adequate facilities
and accessibility for school centers and for communities distant from the
down-town building. These branches and the facts concerning their estab-
lishment follow :
The Henry M. Utley Branch Library was opened April 2, 1900, in
the Central High School, and in March, 1905, was removed to 1515 Wood-
ward Avenue, near Grand Boulevard. In May, 1913, it was removed to a
building erected for the purpose at 8726 Woodward Avenue.
The George S. Hosmer Branch was opened April 16, 1900, in the
Harris High School on Pulford Avenue and was removed to 887 Gratiot
Avenue in January, 1903. It was removed to the present building erected
for the purpose at 3506 Gratiot, January 7, 1911.
The Herbert Bowen Branch was opened October 25, 1900, in the West-
ern High School and removed to 464 Dix Avenue in February, 1907. In
recent years the books have been transferred to the new building on West
Grand Boulevard and Vernon Highway.
The John S. Gray Branch was opened March 1, 1904, at 284 Field
852 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Avenue, but was removed to its new building at 1117 Field Avenue On
June 1, 1906.
The James E. Scripps Branch, opened March 1, 1904, at 800 Grand
River Avenue, was removed July 1, 1909, to a building at 605 Trumbull
Avenue, which had been remodeled for the purpose. This library is now
located at 3661 Trumbull Avenue.
The Edwin F. Conely Branch was opened October 1, 1908, at 1479–81
Michigan Avenue. This branch was removed to the present building,
erected for the purpose at 4600 Martin Street, in September, 1913.
The Chauncey Hurlbut Branch occupies a building erected for the
purpose. It was first opened as a delivery station in January, 1900, but
in September, 1905, was established as a full branch. This library is
located in Waterworks Park.
The West Fort Street Branch was first opened September 1, 1907, on
West End Avenue near Jefferson Avenue. It was removed to 3327 West
Jefferson Avenue on January 1, 1910, and again removed to a location at
5825 West Fort Street, in September, 1913. This is now known as tho
Campbell Branch, located at 6625 West Fort Street. -
The George V. N. Lothrop Branch was opened December 21, 1912, in
a building erected for the purpose at West Grand Boulevard and Warren
Avenue. -
The Magnus Butzel Branch was first opened in its own building in
October, 1913. This branch library is located at 2025 East Grand Boule-
vard.
The George Osius Branch was opened in September, 1914, at 8530
Gratiot Avenue, in a building constructed for library purposes.
The Bernard Ginsberg Branch, at 91 Brewster, was opened to the pub-
lic in 1916. - -
The Divie B. Duffield Branch, at 2507 West Grand Boulevard, was
also opened in 1916.
In the past decade many more new branch libraries have been opened
to the public in various sections of the city. Included in this list are the
following:
Brightmoor Branch, Trinity and Fenkell avenues; Monnier Branch,
Grand River Avenue and Coolidge Highway; Montieth Branch, Kercheval
Avenue and Eastlawn Avenue; North Woodward Branch, West Seven
Mile Road near John R.; Oakman Branch, at Woodrow Wilson Avenue
and Buena Vista Avenue; Outer Gratiot Branch, Greiner Avenue near
Gratiot Avenue; Redford Branch, Grand River Avenue and Six Mile
Road; Richard Branch, Grand River Avenue and Stoepel Avenue; School-
craft Branch, East Division Avenue and Lumpkin Avenue; Springwells
Branch, at Springwells Avenue near Senator Avenue; and the Walker
Branch, at Montclair Avenue and Mack Avenue. The Medical Science
Department is at 629 Mullett Street, while the Foreign Language De-
partment is now located at Woodward and Putnam avenues. A room for
the blind is provided at the Lothrop Branch on West Grand Boule-
vard at Warren Avenue. *.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 853
The buildings in which these various branch libraries of Detroit are
housed have all been designed and constructed from the standpoint of
beauty as well as utility. Each differs from the other and each is distinc-
tively attractive. The equipment and convenience of the buildings con-
form to the very latest thought in library architecture. In addition to
these branch libraries, there are over four score library stations, located
at manufacturing establishments, fire engine houses, school buildings,
hospitals, and other accessible places.
THE BURTON HISTORICAL COLLECTION
There is one branch of the Detroit Public Library that has few paral-
lels in the library history of the nation. This is the Burton Historical
Collection. It is unique in that it had its inception in the mind of one
man, Clarence M. Burton, and it has won national repute by the rarity
of its contents, their scope and the completeness of historical informa-
tion upon the chief topic—Detroit history. Of the beginning of this
library the following quotation is given from a biographical sketch of
Mr. Burton in the National Magazine of American History (January,
1920, Vol. I, No. 1) :
“In the year 1874 at the University of Michigan an eminent lawyer
and judge of Detroit, Charles I. Walker, a professor in the law depart-
ment of the university, delivered a lecture to the students on the ‘North-
west During the Revolution.’ Holding in his hand a leaf from an old
account book of 1780 as he spoke, he said, ‘I think it is well for every
professional man to have some hobby outside of his regular vocation.
To this hobby he should give as much of his time as possible, together
with his close thought and enthusiasm.” These words sank deeply into
the receptive mind of at least one student and the little slip of paper held
by the lecturer acted as the nebula to a great idea. He then and there
resolved to have a hobby, and as he was a lover of books, decided this
work would be in the line of American history, and he would acquire
on an average at least one book each day of his life. That boy was, and
the man is, Clarence Monroe Burton of Detroit. Although in the early
stages of his purpose there were times when he did not know from where
the revenue for the next day’s purchase was coming, from that resolu-
tion has developed the great Burton Historical Collection, one of the
largest and most valuable in America.”
From this beginning the collection steadily grew through the years
until now there are more than fifty thousand volumes, forty thousand
pamphlets, nearly half a million unpublished letters and documents, six-
teen hundred maps, six thousand prints and many hundred old news-
paper files in the Burton library, making one of the most valuable collec-
tions of Americana in the country. Here are such papers as those of
Michigan's governors, legislators, jurists and leaders of commerce.
Among the more important items may be mentioned the papers of Gov-
ernor Woodbridge, the Austin Blair papers and the Pingree scrap books.
The fur trade and early land troubles may be studied from the Askin
854 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
papers, plank roads occupy a prominent place in the Charles C. Trow-
bridge group, while the correspondence of James F. Joy is of prime im-
portance in the history of the mid-western railroads. In this manner,
and through many sources, the history of Detroit and the Northwest may
be studied. Genealogical interest led to the accumulation of much in-
formation and many authoritative publications regarding the families of
New England, and the collection has been further enriched by a gift from
Detroit Post, No. 384, Grand Army of the Republic, of many interesting
Civil war relics and curios.
On March 16, 1914, Mr. Burton presented this notable collection, as
well as his former residence at 473 Brainard Street, between Cass Avenue
and Second Boulevard, to the City of Detroit. The collection thus be-
came embodied within the public library system of Detroit, and in March,
1921, was removed to spacious quarters upon the third floor of the new
library building on Woodward Avenue. Since 1914 the city has made
regular appropriations for the support of the collection, but Mr. Burton
has retained his active interest and is constantly adding to his original
gift. By a ruling of the Michigan Historical Commission on November
14, 1917, the responsibility for the collection of personal records of Mich-
igan citizens was placed upon the Burton Historical Collection.
THE NEW LIBRARY BUILDING
At the beginning of the present century it became apparent that the
old library building would soon become entirely inadequate for the de-
mands. In fact, since the establishment of the library, the question of
space had been a troublesome one; the building in Center Park had always
been regarded as of makeshift character, due to the building restrictions
at the beginning, and the proper growth of the Detroit Public Library
had been seriously retarded. Other large cities of the country had been
provided, or were securing, beautiful and commodious library structures,
consequently Detroit came to be sadly in need of a building which should
be a center for the artistic activities of the city, a research institution
for people of all classes and vocations, where the spirit of civic growth
and prosperity could be nurtured, and manifestation of the intellectual
development of the community expressed. As there was no room in
Center Park for additions to the old building, the subject of obtaining
a new site and erecting a new building came up for discussion in the
newspapers and among interested citizens.
In 1901 the library commissioners secured from the Legislature an
act of incorporation which gave the board the right to manage the library,
to hold title to property in its own name and to accept gifts for the use
of the institution. The act also authorized the city to issue bonds to an
amount not exceeding $1,000,000 for the same purposes. At this time
Andrew Carnegie was offering liberal gifts of money for the erection of
library buildings in cities which would pledge to provide sites and to
raise annually for library maintenance a sum equal to one-tenth of his
gift. Correspondence was opened with the steel king and on June 20,
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 855
1901, he offered to give the city $750,000, not to exceed one-half of it to
go towards the construction of a library building and the remainder to
be used for branch buildings. The nature of this offer rendered necessary
its acceptance by the common council, but in this body unexpected op-
position arose. The first requirement of the offer, that the city raise
$75,000 per year for maintenance, was first attacked. Such an amount
to be raised by the city was a new thing; also another factor entered into
the arguments of the opposition. Carnegie’s Homestead Steel Mills had
been torn asunder by strikes and labor troubles, which caused union labor
and its champions to oppose anything coming from Carnegie. The direct
issue was not submitted to the votes of the people, although the question
of issuing bonds was first submitted to a referendum at the November
election, 1902, and rejected by a poll of 7,574 to 4,730. In the spring
election of 1903 the question of issuing bonds was again submitted to the
people and they voted for the issue by 8,382 to 6,931.
In the spring of 1903, Carnegie had renewed his offer, under which
new proposition the whole amount of $750,000 might have been avail-
able for the new building. There was no mention of branch libraries, but
the stipulation remained that at least $75,000 should be raised each year
by taxation for library maintenance. Upon this the commissioners again
appealed to the council and a long campaign followed. All efforts were
unavailing, however, and in February, 1904, the council flatly rejected
the Offer.
At the spring election of 1907 the question was again submitted to
the electors in two ways, with the following result: for issuing library
bonds to the extent of $750,000 was carried by 7,408 to 6,323, but the
proposition of accepting the Carnegie gift was defeated by 7,860 to 7,783.
At the fall election in 1908 a proposition to negotiate a loan for the central
and branch libraries was carried by a vote of 20,819 to 13,974.
Sometime in 1909 the subject of the Carnegie gift, or offer, again
became an issue. His large gifts of money to other cities for library
purposes were noted and Detroiters came to believe that they were neg-
lecting an opportunity. Information was received that Detroit was not
outside the pale in this respect and in December, 1909, correspondence
was opened with the Carnegie agent in Pittsburgh. The library com-
mittees immediately began a campaign, in which they were assisted by
almost every organization in the city. Extensive publicity was given to
the subject and statements from thirty other cities relative to each of
their library buildings were solicited and which proved that Detroit was
very much in the rear of the procession. This continued for several
months.
The proposition as it finally came before the council was in nearly
the same form as that first made in 1901, that is, a gift of $750,000, one-
half to go for a central library and the rest for branches, the city to
furnish sites, raise equal amounts for building and pledge itself to raise
at least $75,000 a year by taxation for maintenance. It came up in the
council March 22, 1910, and was carried by a vote of 28 to 6.
856 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Bonds to the amount of $25,000 were issued on July 1, 1910, but the
mayor, upon the advice of the corporation counsel, questioned the legality
of the issue of any library bonds (also further school bonds) because
the city’s debt had reached, or in the issue of these bonds would over-reach,
the limitations set out in the charter. Sale of the bonds was necessarily
held up then until the legality of the issue could be determined in court.
The Circuit Court ruled against the validity of the bonds. The matter
was then carried to the State Supreme Court, which, on February 12,
1912, handed down an opinion that the bonds were entirely legal, and
defined the library as an integral part of the educational system. The
point of view before the Supreme Court being the right of the city to
issue bonds for library purposes to an amount over and above the limit
applying to bond issues for municipal purposes, the court held that no
such restriction applied in the case of library bond issues as they fell
properly into the same class as school bonds.
The question of a site for the proposed library had been under dis-
cussion for a number of years. A location out Woodward Avenue was
at all times thought to be the most desirable, owing to the expansion of
the city in that direction. In 1907 the old D. A. C. grounds were secured
upon an option for $185,000. When the 1910 issue of bonds was ques-
tioned and the matter taken to the courts, the option was extended until
the Circuit Court passed judgment. Receiving a negative decision from
that body, the commission was unable to extend the option until the ques-
tion had been taken to the Supreme Court, consequently it lapsed. In the
meantime public-spirited citizens, interested in the art museum, acquired
the two blocks on the east side of Woodward Avenue betwen Putnam and
Ferry, extending back to John R Street. After the Supreme Court de-
cided in favor of the library bonds, the opinion grew that the library
building should be located opposite the proposed art museum. To insure
the purchase of the site at the proper figures, the services of the appraisal
committee of the Detroit Real Estate Board were obtained. The highest
price paid for Woodward Avenue frontage was $559.70 a front foot.
This large property, costing close to a half a million dollars, is bounded by
Woodward, Kirby, Cass and Putnam avenues, and was paid for from
the sale of the $750,000 bond issue. The site is said to be superior to
that of New York, Boston, Brooklyn or St. Louis and comparable with
that of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
After the people had voted favorably on the bond issue, the library
commission began a systematic study of the best modern libraries over
the country, to determine the arrangement of the building for the various
departments. This information collected, Frank Miles Day was called
in as advisor to the commission, and it was determined to hold a compe-
tition for the selection of an architect. From a preliminary competition,
open to Detroiters only, two were selected to compete with outside archi-
tects. Mr. Cass Gilbert, of New York City, architect of the St. Louis
library and the Woolworth Building of New York City, drew the success-
ful plans, which were chosen by an impartial jury of experts and ratified
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 857
by the commission. Subsequently, when Clarence M. Burton announced
the gift of the Historical Collection to the city, the original plans were
altered and enlarged to accommodate the addition. The building is ap-
proximately 210 feet Square, three stories high, and is equipped according
* to the very highest standards. The general contract for the building was
awarded to the George A. Fuller Company for $1,236,320, which sum is
in addition to the cost of the site, of the steel book-stacks and furniture.
The cornerstone was laid November 1, 1917, and in March, 1921, after
seemingly interminable delays the building was opened to the public,
having cost $2,500,000, exclusive of the site, which cost $412,000.
LIBRARY BONDS
The first library bond issue was dated July 1, 1910, and was for
$25,000 in thirty-year bonds bearing interest of 31% (4.
The second issue came out November 15, 1912, and was for $100,000
in thirty year bonds bearing 4% interest.
The third issue of $50,000 in thirty-year 4% bonds, was placed on the
market February 1, 1913.
The fourth issue, bearing date of September 2, 1913, due on the cor-
responding date in 1943, was for $100,000 in 4% bonds.
The fifth issue, comprising 4% bonds to the amount of $475,000, bear-
ing March 1, 1944, as the date of maturity, came out March 1, 1914.
The sixth issue, which was for $250,000 in 4% bonds, maturing Jan-
uary 1, 1948, was authorized January 1, 1918.
The seventh issue was authorized January 15, 1918, and was for $750,-
000 in 41/3% bonds of thirty-year maturity.
The eighth and last bond issue occurred May 1, 1920, at which time
$750,000 in 5% bonds, $25,000 of which was to be retired each succeeding
year, was authorized.
The total of the eight bond issues for the Detroit Public Library is
$2,500,000.
M’KINSTRY'S MUSEUM
Webster defines the word museum as “A repository or a collection of
natural, scientific, or literary curiosities or objects of interest, or of
works of art.” The museum may therefore be a place in which instruc-
tion is associated with entertainment, recreation or even amusement.
One of the first collections in Detroit, worthy to be called a museum, was
that of Maj. David C. McKinstry, which was opened to the public May 13,
1834. It occupied the two upper floors of the four-story building on the
Southeast corner of Griswold Street and Jefferson Avenue. The collection
contained many interesting natural curiosities, Indian weapons and uten-
sils, specimens of the taxidermist's art, etc. Most of this valuable col-
lection was burned in the big fire of January 1, 1842.
Major McKinstry was the most popular amusement caterer in Detroit
in the first half of the Nineteenth Century. In addition to the museum
above mentioned, he was the proprietor of a circus, a theatre and a public
858 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
garden called the “Michigan Garden.” This garden was bounded by
Monroe Avenue, Brush, Fort and Randolph streets, and was opened about
the same time as the museum in 1834. In August, 1840, the following
advertisement appeared in the Detroit newspapers: -
“The public are respectfully informed that the Garden continues open
to visitors. The Museum, consisting of some of the finest specimens of
Ornithology, Minerals, Coins, natural and artificial curiosities and a
Grand Cosmorama occupying buildings of the Garden; another contain-
ing thirty-seven wax figures, of some of the most interesting characters.
The Garden will be illuminated every fair evening and a band of music
will heighten the enjoyment of a walk through upwards of three thousand
feet of promenade walk. Refreshments as usual. The baths are likewise
in order for company.”
In fitting up the museum in the garden, many of the curios were taken
from the collection on Griswold Street and in this way they were saved
from destruction when the building down town was burned. Brush’s
Garden afterward occupied the site.
SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION
The Detroit Scientific Association was the outgrowth of the interest
manifested by several gentlemen in the collection of historic relics, nat-
ural curiosities, etc. As early as 1845 there were a few noteworthy
private collections, whose owners kept them open to visitors free of
charge. The best known of these were probably the collections of S. W.
Higgins and Dr. Louis Cavalli. Mr. Higgins had a son in the United
States Navy, who, in his visits to foreign ports, collected many rare arti-
cles and sent them to his father. This collection was especially rich in
weapons and utensils used by the native tribes in the African interior.
The striking features of the Cavalli collection were the medals—some
fourteen hundred in number—representing noted characters from the
Fourteenth to the Eighteenth centuries, and the great variety of insects.
There were also curiosities from the ancient City of Herculaneum, many
rare engravings, geological specimens and fine paintings. Upon Doctor
Cavalli’s death his collection went to the Smithsonian Institute.
In later years Henry A. Ward made a specialty of collecting fossils,
and Prof. J. M. B. Sill, of the Detroit Female Seminary, also had an
interesting collection of natural history and geological specimens on the
corner of Fort and Wayne streets. It was here that a meeting was held
Friday evening, March 27, 1874, to consider the subject of a Detroit
Scientific Association. Eugene C. Skinner stated that the object of such
an association would be “the establishment of a permanent museum, to
cultivate a taste for the study of scientific subjects.” Dr. George P.
Andrews, John C. Holmes, Frederick Woolfenden and Mr. Skinner were
appointed to draft a constitution and by-laws and report at a meeting
to be held on the 16th of April. At the adjourned meeting the constitution
was adopted and the following officers were elected : Dr. George P. An-
drews, president; Eugene C. Skinner, first vice president; J. M. B. Sill,
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 859
second vice president; Frederick Woolfenden, recorder; Albert B. Lyons,
secretary and cabinet keeper; J. C. Holmes, librarian; Charles C. Cad-
man, treasurer; D. Farrand Henry, Frederick Stearns and Henry Gill-
man, curators.
The museum was opened on the third floor of the Moffat Building
early in May. Additional room was taken in July and in August the
association purchased Henry A. Ward’s collection of casts and fossils.
This made it necessary to obtain larger quarters and in September the
museum was removed to the upper floor of the old Odd Fellows' Hall on
Woodward Avenue. That building was torn down in the spring of 1877,
when the association leased the building formerly occupied by the public
library in the rear of the old capitol. In June, 1880, the collection was
taken to one of the vacant buildings of the Harper Hospital, where it
remained until the spring of 1883, when it was housed in the Detroit
Medical College on Farmer Street. From there it was removed to the
public library and placed under the control of the library commission.
DETROIT MUSEUM of ART
This institution had its origin in the Art Loan Exhibition of 1883,
which was conceived and projected by William H. Brearley. In an article
in the Detroit News, in the latter part of 1882, Mr. Brearley suggested
such an exhibit, with a view to the establishment of an art institute, pro-
vided sufficient interest in the subject was shown by the people of De-
troit. On Wednesday evening, December 6, 1882, a meeting was held
at the residence of James F. Joy, at which the preliminary steps were
taken to form an organization to promote the exhibit. At a subsequent
meeting held in the office of Newberry & McMillan, February 27, 1883,
the following executive committee was selected: Henry P. Baldwin, Wil-
liam H. Brearley, Fred E. Farnsworth, John L. Harper, Mrs. E. G. Hol-
den, Mrs. Eugene C. Skinner, Mrs. H. H. Crapo Smith, Mrs. Morse Stew-
art, John L. Warren and Mrs. Richard Storrs Willis. Mr. Brearley was
chosen chairman of the committee; Mr. Farnsworth, secretary; and Mr.
Harper, treasurer. -
The next step was to be assured of sufficient funds to make the exhibit
a success. On March 7, 1883, the following citizens of Detroit each
agreed to pay $1,000, or such part thereof as might be necessary, to pro-
tect the projectors of the enterprise against financial loss: Russell A.
Alger, Henry P. Baldwin, Clarence A. Black, Wilhelm Boeing, William H.
Brearley, Mrs. J. W. Brodhead, Henry B. Brown, Edmund A. Brush,
Christian H. Buhl, James Burns, William A. Butler, Alexander H. Dey,
James L. Edson, Dexter M. Ferry, Moses W. Field, George H. Hammond,
E. S. Heineam, Charles C. Hodges, James F. Joy, Edward Kanter, Wells
W. Leggett, George V. N. Lothrop, Richard Macauley, Hugh McMillan,
James McMillan, Christopher R. Mabley, Mrs. C. R. Mabley, Elijah W.
Meddaugh, William B. Moran, William A. Moore, Samuel R. Mumford,
Simon J. Murphy, John S. Newberry, Cyrenius A. Newcomb, Thorndike
Nourse, Thomas W. Palmer, Francis Palms, Philo Parsons, George Peck,
860 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Thomas Pitts, David Preston, Corydon C. Randall, George B. Remick,
George H. Scripps, James E. Scripps, Allan Sheldon, Martin S. Smith,
Thomas S. Sprague, Edward Y. Smith, William H. Tefft, Robert P. Toms,
Willis E. Walker, William B. Wesson, Mrs. W. B. Wesson, David Whit-
ney, Jr., Deodatus C. Whitwood, Richard Storrs Willis.
The lot adjoining Ste. Anne's Church on Larned Street was leased
from the Bagley estate and on August 24, 1883, the art loan building
was completed. It contained twenty-six rooms, 21,195 square feet of
floor space, 2,000 linear feet of wall space for pictures, and cost $15,323.
The exhibition was opened September 1, 1883, and continued until No-
vember 12th. During that time 134,924 persons visited the display of
fine oil paintings, water colors, sculptures, bronzes, prints, drawings,
etc., numbering nearly five thousand in all, and the art exhibit was talked
about for weeks after it closed.
A PERMANENT INSTITUTION
Under date of April 5, 1883, while the subject of the Art Loan Ex-
hibit was under discussion, the following letter was received by Mr.
Brearley from Hon. Thomas W. Palmer, then United States Senator from
Michigan, and was doubtless the first suggestion for the establishment of
a permanent art institution in Detroit:
“Detroit, April 5, 1883.
“W. H. Brearley, Detroit. -
“Dear Sir–Believing that the City of Detroit has taste and wealth
enough to found and maintain an art gallery which will be creditable to
the culture and public spirit of her citizens, and desiring to contribute
thereto, I have this day put into the hands of Hon. William A. Moore
Securities to the amount of $10,000, with interest from January 1, 1883,
for the purpose of aiding in the purchase of a lot and the erection of an
art gallery thereon.
“Said securities will be turned over by Mr. Moore for that purpose
when $40,000 shall have been secured from other sources and a corpora-
tion shall have been formed, or some practical plan shall have been
adopted to accomplish the end in view, provided said conditions shall be
met by July 1, 1884. * -
“I regret very much that my business prevents my being present at
the exercises tonight, and wish you and the gentlemen associated the
largest success in inaugurating this movement to call forth, develop and
unite for practical ends the artistic feeling in our city. I am aware the
result cannot be anything but gratifying.
“Respectfully yours,
“T. W. Palmer.”
At the close of the exhibition the executive committee reported re-
ceipts of $44,260.28 and expenses of $41,817.90, leaving a balance on
hand of $2,442.38, part of which was expended in the purchase of a
DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ART, DETROIT


WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 863
painting by F. D. Millet, though $1,521.60 remained in the hands of the
committee. With this small balance and Senator Palmer's generous offer,
Mr. Brearley and his associates at once undertook the work of raising
the $40,000 for a permanent museum of art. Forty citizens of Detroit
each agreed to give $1,000 and on February 27, 1884, a meeting of these
donors was held in the Moffat Building. William A. Moore, Charles En-
dicott, George V. N. Lothrop, William H. Brearley and Lewis T. Ives
were appointed a committee on organization.
This committee reported on May 5, 1883, that there was no law on
the Michigan statute books authorizing the incorporation of such or-
ganizations as then contemplated. A bill was therefore prepared and
presented at the next session of the Legislature. It was approved by
Governor Alger February 16, 1885, and on the 25th of the following
month the Detroit Museum of Art was incorporated. The first board of
trustees was composed of William H. Brearley, Lewis T. Ives, George
V. N. Lothrop, William A. Moore, Thomas W. Palmer and James E.
Scripps. Mr. Lothrop was appointed United States Minister to Russia
and resigned June 12, 1885, when Dexter M. Ferry was elected to fill the
Vacancy. -
On July 21, 1885, the trustees instructed Mr. Brearley to undertake
the work of increasing the art fund to $100,000 in order that the means
should be provided for erecting a museum building. About nineteen
hundred persons subscribed to this fund. The full amount was not raised
until late in the summer of 1886 and then the trustees began looking
about for a building site. The funds included separate pledges, ranging
from 1 cent to sums over $10,000. -
Two locations were under consideration—one 200 by 426 feet near
Harper Hospital, for $43,000, and the other 250 by 300 feet on Second
Avenue, between Gilman and High streets, for $56,000—when the board
received the following communication:
“Detroit, October 13, 1886.
“To the Detroit Museum of Art, its incorporators and Trustees:
“The property known as the ‘Brady property,’ at the southwesterly
corner of Jefferson Avenue and Hastings Street, comprising an area of
20,000 square feet, with a frontage on three streets of 400 feet, is hereby
tendered to you as a suitable site for the buildings of the corporation.
“If accepted by you, a free and unincumbered title, with immediate
possession, will be made to you as a gift for that purpose, without expense
or cost of any kind.
“In behalf of the committee,
“Henry B. Brown,
“Sidney D. Miller,
“William B. Moran.”
The offer was accepted and on November 8, 1886, the building com-
mitte was directed to advertise for plans. Fifty-two designs were Sub-
864 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
mitted, that of James Balfour, of Hamilton, Ontario, was accepted, and
On May 12, 1887, the contract for the erection of the building was awarded
to Dawson & Anderson, of Toledo, Ohio, for $43,780. Extra work and
the improvement of the grounds brought the total cost up to $56,385.44.
The museum was opened to the public on September 1, 1888. Three addi-
tions have been made to the building, to wit: one in 1893, costing $36,000;
one in 1897, costing $50,000; and one in 1904, costing $50,000.
John Ward Dunsmore was appointed the first director of the insti-
tution in November, 1888. On March 18, 1889, the art Schools connected
with the institution were first opened, with sixty-eight students. A barn
on the rear of the lot had been fitted up for school purposes, as had also
the basement of the new building. The courses first given and the in-
structors in each were: life class, John W. Dunsmore; advanced drawing
from the antique, Francis P. Paulus; elementary antique, Percy Ives;
children’s classes, Mrs. E. G. Holden ; modeling and wood carving, L. H.
DeFernelmont; industrial and decorative design, H. M. Lawrence; lec-
ture on anatomy, Dr. Hal C. Wyman. The fees established ranged from
$10 to $25 for day or night classes over a term of three months, and for
the first term the tuition receipts amounted to $1,038.
The various collections now embraced in the Art Institute are valued
at over a half million dollars. These collections include an Egyptian de-
partment, a classical department, print department, oriental art, paint-
ings of the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, Seventeenth and Eighteenth centuries,
as well as modern paintings, objects of handicraft, etchings, sculpture,
bronzes, etc. A number of the most valuable departments of the insti-
tute, such as paintings of different schools and of different periods, ex-
amples of handiwork, curios, colonial blueware and wrought-iron work,
have been presented by individuals interested in the promotion of art.
Among these larger donors have been : James E. Scripps, Edward Chand-
ler Walker, Charles Willis Ward, Charles L. Freer, George G. Booth,
Thomas W. Palmer and Mrs. Gustavus D. Pope.
THE ARTS COMMISSION
Under the charter of the City of Detroit which was adopted in June,
1918, provision was made for a municipal arts commission, this body to
consist of four members, with power to hold, in the name of the city,
any real property, to build suitable buildings for art purposes, and to ac-
quire and hold any objects of art. Also under the provisions of this
charter, the Detroit Museum of Art was to convey to the arts commission
all of its property and was thereafter to be designated as the Detroit
Institute of Arts, which should be the nucleus of an enlarged institute .
ranking with the best in the country. The transfer of the Detroit Mu-
seum of Art to the absolute control of the city was agreed upon by the
trustees representing the original donors in conference with the charter
commission in passing upon the arts commission chapter. The last mem-
bers of the board of trustees of the Museum of Art were: Henry G.
Stevens, Gustavus D. Pope, Francis P. Paulus, H. J. M. Grylls, William
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 865
P. Stevens, D. M. Ferry, Jr., William C. Weber, Frederick H. Holt,
Ralph H. Booth, William B. Stratton, David Gray and Thomas May.
Early in January, 1919, the arts commission came into being for the
first time under Chapter XIX of the new city charter. The organizing
meeting of the commission was held at 1817 Dime Bank Building, Com-
missioners Ralph H. Booth, Albert Kahn, and William J. Gray being
present. At that meeting Ralph H. Booth was elected president, William
J. Gray, vice president; and Clyde H. Burroughs, secretary. Maj. D. M.
Ferry, Jr., also appointed to the arts commission, was not present, owing
to his absence in the service of the country. Afterward, in agreement
with an opinion from the corporation counsel that he must be an actual
resident of Detroit, he failed to qualify for the position of commissioner.
The first duty of the commission was the consideration of the budget
for the operation of the museum for the fiscal year beginning July 1,
1919. In this budget an item for a new building for the Detroit Institute
of Arts was included but later, owing to the city’s enormous requirements,
the item was withdrawn by the commission and a nominal sum of $5,000
for an investigation looking to the new building was substituted.
The first problem faced by the commission was the negotiation for
the property and collections which the Detroit Museum of Arts had ex-
pressed an intention to convey to the arts commission. Although the
commission worked steadily on the problem throughout the year, owing
to the legal difficulties in making the conveyance it was not accomplished
until the month of December, when the commission received from the
Detroit Museum of Art a deed covering two blocks, bounded by Wood-
ward Avenue, Kirby Avenue, John R. Street and Frederick Street; the
other by Woodward Avenue, Frederick Street, John R. Street and Farns-
worth Avenue, together with all interests in adjoining alleys and
streets, and estimated at a valuation of one million dollars, together with
a bill of sale of the art collections and personal property contained in the
Museum of Art Building, which is conservatively valued at about $900,-
000. (The site above described was purchased in 1910 with funds raised
by popular subscription). The arts commission, therefore, came into
existence possessed of well-rounded collections, and a site for the new
Institute of Arts in the heart of the city’s population, directly opposite
the new library edifice. -
To determine the form and character of the new building, the com-
mission, with the limited means at its disposal, retained Prof. Paul Cret,
of the University of Pennsylvania, architect for the Pan American Build-
ing at Washington and the Indianapolis Public Library, as consulting
architect.
Although the actual conveyance for the collections of the museum did
not take place until December, the arts commission was requested by the
trustees of the Detroit Museum of Art to assume the operation and mainte-
mance of the museum beginning July 1, 1919.
On February 6, 1920, at a special meeting of the Detroit Museum of
Art Corporation, it was resolved, that, inasmuch as the museum had been
866 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
conveyed to the city, with the exception of the invested trust funds, the
corporation should continue as a body, but that the title should be changed
to that of the Detroit Museum of Art Founders Society. At a subsequent
meeting the following first officers were chosen: D. M. Ferry, Jr., presi-
dent; J. J. Crowley, vice president; William J. Gray, treasurer; and Clyde
H. Burroughs, secretary. The object of the new organization was to
coöperate in every respect with the municipal arts commission.
Clyde H. Burroughs, secretary and curator of the Institute of Arts,
has been connected with the institution since 1902.
LITERARY HISTORY OF DETROIT
In the French dominions of North America every administrative offi-
cial was a historian and every priest an annalist. The letters and dis-
patches of the commandants, and the seventy-three volumes of the “Jesuit
Relations” furnish the basis for much of the connected history that has
been written about these regions. Some of the officials were also masters
of a more finished literature, and Cadillac, the founder of Detroit, was
in the latter class. He wrote memoirs on Acadia, a geographical term
that was then applied to a long stretch of coast, and in these he described
the coast and islands from Nova Scotia to New York. He wrote a mem-
orandum on Michilimackinac, including accounts of the appearance, tra-
ditions and customs of the Indian tribes of that post and beyond. Of the
style of his writings “Farmer’s History” says: “He was equally success-
ful in describing the customs of the Indians, in suggesting means for
outwitting the English, and in exposing the malice and intrigues of those
who opposed him. His writings sparkled with bon mots and epigrammic
sentences, some of them remarkable for concentrated thought. His rea-
soning powers were of a high order and his arguments were clear, log-
ical and forcible. His opinions were definite and expressed with clearness
and precision. His writings abound in tropes, and proverbs dropped
easily from his pen.”
Among the conspicuous figures that arrived in Detroit with the first
British occupation in 1760 was Maj. Robert Rogers who took part in
the turmoils here and at Mackinac, having been in command at the latter
post for several years. He was a writer as well as a fighter, and was the
author of “Rogers' Journal,” “A Concise Account of North America,”
also a tragedy entitled “Pontiac.”
Col. Arent Schuyler De Peyster was in Detroit as commander of the
post from 1779 to 1784. His correspondence, orders and reports are
scattered through 300 pages of the Haldimand Papers in the Michigan
Pioneer and Historical Collections. He had a cultivated literary taste
and was the writer of many poems and sonnets containing allusions to
local scenes and events. Among other poems is one on “Red River, a
song descriptive of canoeing or sleighing upon the ice in the post of
Detroit in North America.” Among his humorous conceits were verses
to the “Ghost of Old Cocosh (a pig). Shot by the Guard in the King’s
Naval Yard at Detroit.” A portion of his verses were collected in a
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 867
Quarto Volume of 277 pages, printed in Dumfries, Scotland, after De
Peyster's return to that country. He was a personal friend of Robert
Burns, and to him were addressed that poet’s verses on “Life,” the last
lines that he wrote. -
EARLY AMERICAN WEITERS
Many of the officials of the early days of the American occupation
made contributions to literature aside from their official papers. The
first of the judges who came here in 1805, Augustus Brevoort Woodward,
was the author of “Epaminondas on the Government of the Territory of
Columbia,” a work on “The Substance of the Sun,” published in 1809;
“The System of Universal Science,” published in 1816, and “The Presi-
dency of the United States,” published at New York in 1825. He was
also the author of the extraordinary prospectus of the “Catholepistemiad
Or University of Michigania,” with its didaxum or professorship on an-
thropoglassica, physiognostica and others. Pruned of its excrescences,
this institution became the University of Michigan.
Gabriel Richard, the priest of Ste. Anne's parish, brought the first
printing press to the territory in 1809, and printed the first weekly news-
paper. With a long look into the future he wrote a pamphlet urging
that this country open trade with China. His carefully kept annals are
among the dependable sources of information about that period.
The memoirs of Gen. Lewis Cass on his journey of exploration were
an important contribution to the general knowledge of the lake country,
and the Indian tribes inhabiting it. His political letters and addresses
were, of course, very numerous. He was a frequent contributor to the
old North American Review. He also wrote “France, Its King, Court and
Government,” published in 1841, and a treatise on “The Right of Search,”
published in 1842.
Henry R. Schoolcraft lived in Detroit in 1820 and again from 1836
to 1840. He accompanied General Cass on his explorations, made others
on his own account, and was the chief student of Indian affairs of that
period. He wrote six large volumes on “Archives of Aboriginal Knowl-
edge” and ten or twelve other books on the Indian tribes.
Charles C. Trowbridge, who accompanied General Cass as his private
secretary, and who was active in Detroit affairs for over half a century
wrote an interesting volume on “Detroit, Past and Present.”
Douglas Houghton, who was a resident of Detroit and twice its mayor,
was the first to make a scientific study of the mineral wealth that under-
lies the Upper Peninsula, and was the author of a number of state and
United States geological reports. His reports hastened the development
of the iron, copper and salt resources of the state.
C. Edwards Lester, a great-grandson of Jonathan Edwards, was a
man of fine mental qualities and wide learning and was a prolific writer.
In 1843 he published “The Condition and Fate of England,” and three
years later he issued an excellent work entitled “The Artists of America.”
His other works were: “The Light and Dark of the Rebellion” (1863);
868 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
“The Glory and Shame of England” (1866); “Life of Charles Sumner,”
“Sam Houston and His Republic,” “The Life and Voyages of Americus
Vespucius,” “The First Hundred Years in the Life of the United States,”
and many others.
William Woodbridge, who was successively territorial secretary, dele-
gate to Congress, justice of the Supreme Court, governor and United
States Senator, made an industrious use of his pen in all these positions,
and wrote a number of addresses outside of his official work. His resi-
dence in Detroit was for several years after 1825 the home of his father-
in-law, John Trumbull, author of the long poem, “McFingal.”
Elkanah Watson, who was one of the promoters of the Erie Canal,
wrote “Recollections of the Revolutionary War” and a “History of the
Rise, Progress and Completion of the Western Canals of New York.”
Alpheus Felch, bank commissioner, Supreme Court justice, governor
and United States senator, made a few important contributions to state
historical writing. In his message as governor in 1846 he gave an account
of the whole internal improvement movement in Michigan. He also wrote
an entertaining account of the wild cat banking craze, which was printed
as a United States Senate document, and which was the basis of many
subsequent accounts of that financial orgy.
RELIGIOUS AND THEOLOGICAL LITERATURE
Aside from their sermon writing the clergy of Detroit have been
prolific contributors to religious literature. The itinerary of the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church naturally gave to leading clergymen of that de-
nomination short pastorates in Detroit. The city has also been an invit-
ing field for leading divines in other denominations. The following rep-
resents some of their principal contributions to book literature.
William Aikman, for several years pastor of the Westminster Pres-
byterian Church, was the author of “The Future of the Colored Race in
America,” “Life at Home, or The Family and Its Members,” “The Moral
Power of the Sea” and several other works.
Dr. Orestes A. Brownson, one of the most prominent lay writers in
the Roman Catholic Church, spent the last years of his life in Detroit.
He was the editor and publisher of Brownson's Quarterly Review, “Essays
and Reviews,” and other works, which were collected for publication in a
series of volumes by his son Henry F. Brownson.
Frederick Baraga, after whom one of the counties in the Upper Penin-
sula was named, lived in Detroit in 1854-55. He wrote a dictionary of
the Ojibway language and several other Indian works.
Rev. William E. Boardman, pastor here in 1851-52, was the author of
a book on “The Higher Christian Life” that had wide circulation.
Dr. Alfred Brunson, a veteran of the War of 1812, and an early Meth-
odist pastor of Detroit, wrote “The Western Pioneer” and a “Key to the
Apocalypse.”
Rev. J. M. Buckley, one of the leading Methodists in the country, had
a pastorate at the Central Methodist Church. He wrote many contro-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 869
Versial pamphlets and a number of books. Among them were “Supposed
Miracles,” “An Appeal to Persons of Sense and Reflection,” “Oats and
Wild Oats.”
Dr. J. H. Brown, at one time pastor of St. Peter’s Church, wrote a
Volume of 320 pages on “The Pious Dead of the Medical Profession” and
a shorter work on “New Treatment of Consumption.”
Rev. D. D. Bush, pastor of the Central Methodist Church, wrote a book
of 300 pages on “The Christian Virtues Personified.”
Rev. Thomas Carter, pastor of the French Methodist Church, was the
author of “The Great Reformation in England and Scotland,” a volume
of 373 pages, and of several minor works.
Rev. George Duffield, for thirty years pastor of the First Presbyterian
Church, was one of the most industrious of workers. While pastor of a
church at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, he published an octavo of 615 pages
on “Spiritual Life or Regeneration.” A question as to the strict orthodoxy
of this work led to the severing of that pastoral relation and a move to
Detroit. During his pastorate here Doctor Duffield published half a
dozen or more volumes, prominent among them being “Dissertations of
the Prophecies” and “The Claims of Episcopal Bishops.” In addition to
his religious works Doctor Duffield wrote occasionally to the local papers
on material interests of the city.
Dr. Zachary Eddy, pastor of The First Congregational Church, wrote
a volume of 750 pages on “Immanuel or The Life of Christ,” and assisted
in the compilation of two church hymnals.
Rev. George Field, pastor of The New Church, wrote “Memoirs, Inci-
dents and Romances of the Early History of the New Church,” and three
or four other books explaining the tenets of that order.
Bishop Samuel S. Harris, of the Protestant Episcopal Church, was
the author of “The Relation of Christianity to Civil Government,” and
Samuel A. McCoskry, an earlier bishop of the same church, published a
volume on “The Episcopal Bishops, the Successors of the Apostles.”
Two of Detroit’s clergymen laid especial emphasis in their writings on
the temperance question. They were Rev. J. S. Smart, who wrote the
“Funeral Sermon of the Maine Law,” and Rev. George Taylor who wrote
an account of the “Rumsellers' Indignation Meeting,” and a poem on
“The Satanic Agency in Drunkard Making.”
Rev. R. J. Laidlaw, pastor of the Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian
Church, wrote a book on “Religion as It Was and Is.”
Rev. John Levington, pastor of the Simpson Methodist Church, was
the author of three books entitled “Scripture Baptism,” “Power with
God and with Man,” and “Watson's Theological Institutes Defended;”
Rev. J. H. McCarthy of the Central Methodist wrote “Black Horse and
Carry All,” and “Inside the Gates,” and Rev. E. H. Pilcher of the same
church wrote a book on Protestantism in Michigan with special reference
to the history of the Methodist Church.
Rev. L. P. Mercer published a volume on “The Bible, Its True Char-
870 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
acter and Spiritual Meaning,” and Rev. James Nall one on “Practical
Atheism Detected and Exposed.”
Rev. J. H. Potts, for a long time editor of the Michigan Christian
Advocate, was the author of “The Golden Dawn, or Light on the Great
Future,” and “Pastor and People or Methodism in the Field.” Rev. W.
H. Poole furnished a striking volume on “Anglo Israel, or the Saxon Race,
the Lost Tribes of Israel,” and one on “History the True Key to Proph-
ecy.”
Bishop Edward Thomson of the Methodist Church published half a
dozen books, among them “Evidences of Christianity,” and “Moral and
Religious Essays.”
Robert Turnbull, pastor of the First Baptist Church in 1836-37, wrote
a number of works, among them “Pulpit Orators of France and Switzer-
land,” and “Christ in History,” and Rev. W. W. Washburn one on “The
Import of Jewish Sacrifices.”
Leonard Bacon, in later years one of the most noted of New Eng-
land divines, also president of Yale University, was born in Detroit in
1802. One of the best known of his works was “The Genesis of the New
England Churches.”
HISTORICAL PUBLICATIONS
Histories of Detroit, and histories of Michigan in which Detroit oc-
cupies a prominent part, have been numerous. Known for its wide scope
and wealth of detail is Silas Farmer’s “History of Detroit and Mich-
igan,” 1884, 2 volumes, pp. 2,504. This covers every phase of Detroit life
from the earliest date to the year of publication, and is a marvel of
individual industry. Few cities in the country have so complete a his-
torical record in a single publication.
One of the earliest and one of the most quoted records is Mrs. Shel-
don-Stuart’s “Early History of Michigan.” Its interest is enhanced by
the amount of personal reminiscence that is woven into it. *
Justice James V. Campbell published in 1876 “Outlines of the Political
History of Michigan,” a book of 600 pages which covers the ground in
a very thorough and interesting manner. It was written by request in
connection with the country’s centennial celebration.
“Landmarks of Detroit,” edited by Robert B. Ross and George B.
Catlin, and published by the Evening News Association in 1898, is one
of the most voluminous of local compilations, making about 1,200 pages.
Paul Leake’s “History of Detroit” published in 1910, by the Lewis Pub-
lishing Company of Chicago, is another large compendium of facts about
Detroit. Both these publications treat the subject topically rather than
chronologically. The historical part of Mr. Leake’s book is comprised
in one volume of 403 pages, and there are two large volumes of biography
besides.
A complete history of Detroit was issued in 1922 by The S. J. Clarke
Publishing Company of Chicago. It was written in the years 1920 and
1921 under the editorial supervision of Mr. Clarence M. Burton, with
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 871
Some chapters and portions of others from the pen of Mr. William Stock-
ing. The vast resources of the Burton Historical Collection, also the many
articles by Mr. Burton relative to the early history of Detroit, were util-
ized in preparing this work.
Charles Moore's “Northwest Under Three Flags,” published by Harper
Brothers in 1900, covers in a very graphic way the section of country of
which Detroit and Michigan were a part. In the preparation of this work
Mr. Moore had the advantage of access to documents which were not
available for earlier writers.
Henry M. Utley of Detroit and Gen. B. M. Cutcheon of Grand Rapids
collaborated in a history of Michigan as a province, as a territory and as
a state. It was published in four volumes in 1906 by the Michigan Pub-
lishing Society. -
Judge Charles I. Walker was more of a collector than author, but he
prepared a number of historical addresses, and wrote a valuable mono-
graph on “The Northwest During the Revolution.” &
In 1879 William Stocking, in celebration of the twenty-fifth anniver-
sary of the Organization of the republican party, prepared an elaborate
account of the convention at Jackson, Michigan, which founded and named
the party, and of the events which led up to this action. This was printed
in The Post and Tribune, and then in pamphlet, was expanded into sev-
eral chapters of “The History of the Republican Party” which was pub-
lished by William Livingstone in 1900 and was rewritten in still longer
form for “Under the Oaks,” published by the Detroit Tribune in 1904.
A valuable contribution to Michigan biography and history was “The
Life of Zachariah Chandler,” written in 1879 by members of the editorial
staff of The Post and Tribune, and edited by Charles K. Backus, then the
principal editor of that paper. Mr. Backus also compiled for several
years “The Michigan Almanac,” a very useful reference publication, and
and equally useful pamphlet on “The Resources of Michigan.”
A book exceedingly popular among the old residents was Robert E.
Robert’s “Sketches and Reminiscences of the City of the Straits and Its
Vicinity,” published in 1884. Bela Hubbard’s “Memories of Half a Cen-
tury” appealed strangely to the same class of readers. Friend Palmer's
“Detroit in 1849” belongs to the same class of publications.
Mrs. Marie Godefroy Hamlin, a descendant of one of the oldest French
families, struck a new vein in her “Legends of Le Detroit,” a book of
317 pages, published by Thorndike Nourse in 1884. The book abounds
in the mysterious and the supernatural as reflected in the minds of the
Indians and the early French habitants.
Henry A. Ford and his wife, Kate Brearly Ford, who lived in Detroit
for several years, were joint authors of a number of city and county his-
tories. In recent years George B. Catlin, has published several editions
of his very valuable history, “The Story of Detroit.”
The Wayne County Pioneer Society was organized April 21, 1871,
with Levi Bishop as president and Stanley G. Wight, secretary. Out of
this grew several other county Societies, and eventually the State Pioneer
872 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
and Historical Society. The publications of the latter comprise thirty-
nine volumes of “Pioneer and Historical Collections,” twenty numbers
of the Michigan History Quarterly and a few other volumes. These vol-
umes have rescued from oblivion the reminiscences of a host of pioneers
and constitute a vast storehouse of historical material.
POETRY AND FICTION
The longest aboriginal poem written by a Detroiter was “Teuchsa-
grondie,” written by Levi Bishop, a lawyer of local fame. The title is
the Indian name of Detroit and the verse treats of the legendary and
imaginary history of the place. Mr. Bishop also dropped occasionally
into minor verse. One of his efforts gave expression to his emotions on
meeting a bear; whereat J. Logan Chipman produced some responsive
verses giving the emotions of the bear on meeting Levi Bishop.
Henry R. Schoolcraft, whose writings were mostly scientific, wrote
some acceptable descriptive verse. His tribute to the white fish, “Choicest
of all Fishes,” is the one most often quoted.
Judge James V. Campbell wrote a large number of household poems,
which were intended first for family and friends. Some of them were
printed in local publications, but they were never gathered in a volume.
William K. Coyle had a volume of his poems in print, when the whole
edition was destroyed by fire in 1853. It was again published in 1883.
His address to the old French pear trees, written at the request of a friend
in 1849 is the best known of his poems.
Andrew Wanless, published in 1873 a volume, 180 pages, of miscel-
laneous verse, chiefly in the Scotch dialect. It was dedicated to the St.
Andrews Society of which Mr. Wanless was a zealous member.
Lewis J. Bates, for a long time one of the editorial writers of the
Daily Post, wrote many short poems, a collection of which was made in
“Waifs and Their Authors.”
D. Bethune Duffield varied his legal pursuits with occasional verse
Writing, as well as with historical and political addresses.
William H. Sexton published in 1908, a volume of 200 pages of verse,
Sentimental, humorous or religious; the book was entitled “Truth and
Near Truth.”
A favorite for a good many years among verse makers was Will M.
Carleton, author of numerous farm ballads. He was first known to the
public as a contributor to the Detroit Advertiser and Tribune, and was
attached to the staff of that paper for two or three years.
The most prolific and versatile of modern verse makers in Detroit is
Edgar A. Guest, “The poet of the home.” He is a regular contributor to
the columns of the Free Press, frequently furnishes verse for special pub-
lic occasions, has appeared in public at Detroit and other cities, and has
published two large volumes in book form.
In modern fiction Detroit has had two conspicuous names. Robert
Barr began his literary career in Detroit, and was for many years con-
nected with the Free Press. He was the author of “From Whose Bourne,”
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 873
“In a Steamer Chair” and other strong stories. Mary Catherine Crowley
wrote fascinating stories picturing the life of the early French inhabi-
tants and their Indian neighbors.
Another Detroiter who has won distinction in recent years by his
works of fiction is Clarence Budington Kelland, formerly editor of The
American Boy. Most of Mr. Kelland’s work has been published serially
prior to its issue in book form.
Among earlier writers was Prof. Jacques Edward, who wrote a
scientific novel of several hundred pages and a satirical story on “John
Bull, Uncle Sam and Johnny Crepaud.”
Morgan E. Dowling was the author of a novel entitled “Southern
Prisons, or the Heroine of Florence.”
In 1866 Harper Brothers published a story entitled “The Hidden
Sin.” It was written by Mrs. Bela Hubbard, but at her request this fact
was not made public until after her death.
Gen. O. B. Wilcox was the author of a story entitled “Walter March,”
and J. Logan Chipman wrote “George Pemberton, or Love and Hate.”
Edward G. Holden, for many years an editorial writer of distinction,
published in 1880 a political novel entitled “A Famous Victory.” It was
afterwards republished in several editions under the title “How He
Reached the White House.”
Col. O. T. Beard, of The Post and Tribune staff, wrote a number of
political and war stories as newspaper serials. One of them “Bristling
with Thorns,” had a large circulation in book form.
Writers of fiction for Sunday School publications, the magazines and
the local press have been too numerous to catalogue.
MISCELLANEOUS PUBLICATION
Of profesisonal works, law and medical, Detroit has furnished its
full proportion. &
Of work on geology the principal are the reports of Douglas Hough-
ton, to which reference has already been made; reports written by his
brother, Jacob Houghton on “The Geography, Topography and Geology
of Lake Superior,” 1846 and a report by Bela Hubbard and John Burt
on “The Geology of the South Shore of Lake Superior.” Mr. Burt also
wrote an account of the origin of the Solar compass.
Among the prolific early writers was Ezra C. Seaman, who published
in 1846, a book on “The Progress of Nations.” He also wrote “Views of
Nature” and a series of commentaries on the Constitution and Laws of
the United States.
Richard Storrs Willis published a number of musical works, including
“Church, Choral and Choir Studies,” “Pen and Lute” and “Our Church
Music.”
Gen. Alexander Macomb was the author of a military manual, “Ma-
comb's Tactics,” and Gen. Philip St. George Cooke, who lived in Detroit
several years, wrote “Cavalry Tactics of the United States,” “Scenes and
874 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Adventures in the United States Army,” and “The Conquest of New Mex-
ico and California.”
Two of Detroit’s writers specialized in genealogies, Fred Carlisle, who
made this a particular study, and Christian Denissen, priest of St.
Charles Church, who traced the genealogies of a number of the old French
families.
Mrs. C. M. Kirkland, for a long time a teacher in the academy on the
site of the present city hall, was the author of many published essays and
sketches.
Henry Gilman furnished to the Smithsonian Institute in 1877 a mono-
graph on “The Mound Builders in Michigan.”
Giles B. Stebbins, who was a pioneer advocate of manual training in
the public schools, furnished among numerous other publications a strong
treatise on “Industrial Education.”
NUMEROUS DETROIT AUTHORS ATTAIN FAME
Michigan has produced many authors, and not a few of them have
been Detroiters. Many branches of learning are represented in Detroit
literary circles, ranging from religion and science to journalism and
biography. -
At the present time the best known Detroit writer is Edgar A. Guest,
whose poems have appealed to the masses of America. Another popular
Detroit poet is Charles S. Kinneson, whose “musings” are widely read in
the Detroit Times. Other Detroit poets include James P. Bloomfield, Joe
Labadie, Margaret Alden and Frederick H. Zeigen.
In the realm of drama are Ward Macauley, Jane Murfin, and Helen
Pitts Parker. Louise J. Rosenberg has contributed biographical and
sociological works. Louise Breitenbach Clancy has written children’s
books.
Much historical work has been done by Detroit writers. Clarence M.
Burton, city historian, has given the community his history of the city
in addition to the valuable historical collection known as the Burton col-
lection in the public library.
Dr. M. M. Quaife, one of the best authorities on the history of the
Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes region, is internationally known.
George B. Catlin, Arthur Dondineau and Leah H. Spencer are others who
have contributed to the historical knowledge of the state.
Dr. S. S. Marquis is known for his book, “Henry Ford, and Inter-
pretation.” Theodore F. MacManus and Norman Beasley have recently
published their work on the automotive industry, “Money, Men and
Motors.”
In the field of the novel and short story there have been many. Per-
haps best known of all recent Michigan novelists was James Oliver Cur-
wood of Owosso. Like many of Detroit’s writers, he received early train-
ing on Detroit newspapers. Clarence Budington Kelland, former editor
of the American Boy, is well known for his stories. Harold Hunter Arm-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 875
strong has written novels and short stories under the pseudonym of Henry
G. Aikman.
L. L. Stevenson, formerly of Detroit and now doing newspaper work
in New York, is a novelist of importance. Will Livington Comfort, a
Detroiter now on the Pacific Coast, is well known, as is also Harold Titus,
formerly of Detroit, and now of Traverse City.
Columnists have contributed to Detroit’s literary fund, and the names
of Em Quadd, George P. Goodale and others will be long remembered.
Lee J. Smits, whose “Sidewalks of Detroit” column appears in the Detroit
Times, has written several novels.
Mrs. Marjorie Barkley McClure has published several novels in the
last few years. Anne Campbell, brought out her book, “Companionship,”
in 1924. Henrietta Channing Skinner published a number of early novels,
and after a long silence, last year gave Detroit “An Echo from Par-
nassus,” composed of girlhood memories of Longfellow and his friends.
Adam Strom, Detroit public librarian, is known for his editorial work
as well as his writings in the field of library science. Dr. W. R. Valen-
tiner has done extensive writing in the field of art, collaborating with
Clyde Burroughs for a work on the Detroit Art Institute.
Mrs. Emma Fox has written on parliamentary law, Norval Hawkins
on salesmanship, Dr. Chester B. Emerson on religion and travel, George
Renaud on medicine, Joseph Wesley Donovan on legal procedure, Oliver
Atkins Farwell on botany, Florence Hopkins on library work and Stuart
A. Courtis and Edwin L. Miller on education.
Many Detroit churchmen have contributed religious and scholarly
works, among them Dr. John W. G. Ward, Dr. Leo Franklin, Dr. Abra-
ham M. Hershmann, Dr. M. S. Rice, Dr. Charles B. Emerson, Dr. Edgar
De Witt Jones, Dr. Lynn Harold Hough, Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr, and at
the University of Detroit, the Rev. Father John P. McNichols, S. J.; the
Rev. Father John A. McClorey, S. J.; the Rev. Father Aloysius F. Frumm-
veller, S. J.; and others.
Many technical works on industrial, scientific, and Scholastic subjects
have been published by public school teachers, among them Charles L.
Spain, deputy superintendent of Detroit Schools.
Among its numerous other writers Detroit furnished one dramatist
of distinction, Bronson Howard, whose numerous plays found prominent
place on the New York and London stage.
PROMINENT DETROIT PAINTERS
The earliest Detroit painter of whom we have record is J. O. Lewis,
who lived in the city till 1827, and was a friend of Governor Cass. His
most noted portrait was that of Black Hawk, the Indian chieftain, who
was escorted on a visit to Washington by Lieut. Jefferson Davis, and who
stopped at the Biddle House, Detroit, on his return.
The most industrious of Detroit artists was Alva Bradish, who ex-
ecuted over 500 paintings. One of his portraits was a full length of GOV-
876 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
ernor Cass, intended for the city hall, Detroit, and one of Douglas
Houghton, which is now in the state capitol at Lansing. He also painted
portraits of President Tappan at Michigan University, Washington
Irving and Thurlow Weed.
Charles Burnham's name appears modestly in the Detroit Directory
as “draughtsman, 55 Franklin Street.” He was a brother of George P.
Burnham, one of the editors and publishers of the Evening Spectator.
During his stay in Detroit he painted a picture which will hand down his
name to future generations. It was a representation of the election of
1837 in this city, wherein Governor Mason and all notabilities of the city
are represented in graphic and comic style.
Leon Dabo, the “poet in color” and his brother, Theodore Scott Dabo,
were born in Detroit of French parents and did their early work here.
Leon left here at the age of sixteen. He did ecclesiastical decoration, and
painted many Hudson River scenes. Examples of the work of both these
artists are in the permanent collection at the institute.
J. M. Stanley was born in Canandaigua, New York, in 1814, came to
Detroit in 1834, and commenced painting portraits in 1835. He traveled
extensively over the western prairies, and painted many of the leading
warriors in full costume. One hundred and fifty-two of his Indian paint-
ings were stored in the Smithsonian Institution at Washington, awaiting
transfer to the United States Government, when they were destroyed by
fire. He subsequently painted many others. One of the most famous,
the Trail of Red Jacket, was exhibited in many cities through the country.
Among Mr. Stanley's pupils were Robert Hopkin and Lewis T. Ives.
Hopkin was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1832 and came to Detroit with
his parents eleven years later. He was educated in the public schools of
this city, learned house painting and after that scene painting. He fitted
the scenes to the stages of many of the leading theatres in the country.
He then turned to marine painting in which he became one of the leading
artists in the country. In November, 1907, there was an exhibition of
seventy-five of Hopkin's paintings all gathered from homes in Detroit. His
“Setting the Range Lights,” is in the permanent collection at the insti-
tute.
Lewis T. Ives was a lawyer by profession and was in practice for sev-
eral years as assistant attorney for the Grand Trunk Railway. He was
assiduous in his devotion to painting in such leisure as he could get, and
eventually devoted his whole time to that art. He was regarded as the
best portrait painter of his time in Detroit, and put upon canvas a large
number of the leading citizens of this part of the state. A room at the
Art Institute is named after him.
Percy Ives, son of Lewis T., was born in Detroit, June 5, 1864. He
had the benefit of his father's instruction and advice and at the age of
eighteen entered the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. In 1885 he
spent six months traveling in Scotland, England, the Netherlands, Ger-
many and Italy, and subsequently studied at the Academy Julien and The
Ecole des Beaux Arts, Paris. Returning to Detroit, he succeeded his
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 877
father as the most prominent portrait painter in Detroit. He was an
instructor in the Art Museum and was one of the founders of the Society
of Western Artists. His portrait of Senator Thomas W. Palmer is in the
Senate chamber at Lansing.
Francis P. Paulus was born in Detroit in 1862, studied at the Penn-
sylvania Academy of Fine Arts and in Paris and Munich. He painted
and taught art classes in this city for a number of years, and then took
up his residence at Bruges. Belgian scenes have since been the principal
objects of his brush.
Miss Marie Perrault studied in the Detroit Art Museum, in Paris,
The Hague and Brussels. She lived long in Holland and has painted
many Dutch scenes. She is preeminently a painter of children.
Julius Rolshoven is one of the best known of contemporaneous paint-
ers. He was born in Detroit in 1858, studied in Dusseldorf, Munich, and
Paris, and has lived long in Florence. He has had art classes in three of
these cities. He is a member of the Societe des Beaux Arts in Paris and
has a long list of honors to his credit. He has been a frequent exhibitor
at the Detroit Art Institute, where one of his pictures, “The Refectory
of San Daniamo,” is in the permanent collection. Mr. Rolshoven’s paint-
ings in recent years have been mostly of the Indian and desert life in
the Southwestern United States. He is a member of the Santa Fe colony
of artists.
Gari Melchers was born in Detroit in 1860 and at the age of seventeen
went to Germany, studying first in Dusseldorf and afterwards in Paris.
He settled in the north of Holland, and many of his paintings are of
Dutch peasant scenes. He has received many honors from foreign so-
cieties, and has received much attention in the art magazines. Two of
his pictures, “The Fencing Master,” and “The Wedding,” are in the per-
manent collection at the Detroit Art Institute, both presented by E.
Chandler Walker.
William B. Conely, one of Detroit's veteran artists, came to this city
in 1868, after studying in the New York Academy, and devoted himself
enthusiastically to his work. He opened one of the first art Schools in
the city and established the first life class. He achieved distinction in por-
traiture and paintings of still life. He painted the portrait of Richard
Storrs Willis which he presented to the Detroit Art Institute in 1906.
Joseph W. Gies, dean of Detroit artists, was born in Detroit. He was
a pupil of Bougereau and Robert Fleury in Paris and studied also in
Munich. Much of his work was done in Detroit, where also he has had
art classes. At the 1912 exhibition in the Detroit Art Institute he en-
tered eleven canvases. The portraits of Robert Hopkin and Donald G.
Mitchell in the permanent collection are his work.
Letitia Crapo Smith was born in Detroit and studied here with Wil-
liam M. Chase and Julius Rolshoven, and also at the Julien Academy,
Paris. She has taken her subjects for painting in Holland, Brittany and
Normandy. She had pictures hung on the line at the Paris Salon in 1901
and 1902, and these were both loaned to the Detroit Art Museum in 1907.
878 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Myron Barlow was born in Ionia, Michigan, but laid the foundation
of his career by studies at the Detroit Art Museum. There were Seven
of his canvases at the exhibition in 1907.
Irving R. Bacon was born in Detroit, and after studying three years
in Europe returned to this city in 1909. He later made his residence in
Munich, and remained there till this country entered the war. Animal
painting is his special delight, and he has been a frequent exhibitor at the
Detroit Art Institute.
Another Detroit painter is Iris Andrews Miller, whose paintings are
exhibited at the Art Museum.
THE DETROIT HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Detroit, the oldest permanent settlement in the Northwest—French
from 1701, British from 1760 to 1796—owes its existence to three dis-
tinct nations and still bears very positive imprints of each. Its ancient
landmarks have all but vanished, but it is rich in documentary material
and in pioneer relics of the people of each nation and period of its develop-
ment, a vast store of original papers, books, maps and prints has been
gathered during the last half-century by Mr. Clarence Monroe Burton,
the historiographer of Detroit, who, in 1914, presented his collection to
the city for preservation. It is housed in the Detroit Public Library.
The scope of a library, however, is confined to literary materials. It
has no place for the proper preservation and exhibition of historical
relics such as costumes, furniture, the household utensils of the early days
when every home was an industrial plant for supplying all the needs of
the family and when training in the use of such equipment was an im-
portant part of every child’s education. This is the proper function of a
IYll] Sell Iſl. -
A beginning of such a museum has been made by the Detroit Historical
Society, now located in the Barlum Tower quarters. It already contains
some 1,500 items. These exhibits cover Indian, French, English and
American occupations of Detroit and vicinity. Also, personal belongings
of distinguished pioneers of Detroit, such as the huge gold watch of
Judge James Witherell, the war trappings of Gen. Hugh Brady, the uni-
form of Gen. Alpheus Williams, the beaded and buckskin suit of General
Custer; all tell a vivid story of the character of these men.
Crude utensils of a primitive past show better than the printed word
the life struggles of most early Detroiters. The Detroit Fire Department
collection of 300 items shows the leather buckets and other fire fighting
paraphernalia dating back to 1777.
Particularly interesting to the hundreds of school children visiting
the collection is the complete spinning apparatus, the history of lighting
with its various crude lamps, logging tools of the early lumbermen of
Michigan, old-time dresses, and so on.
In addition to the school children have come groups from the Teach-
ers College, Boy and Girl Scouts and members of societies such as the
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WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 881
Sons of the American Revolution, Daughters of 1812, and so on, who
have spent many hours studying how the early inhabitants of Detroit
lived, and the means by which the city came, stage by stage, to its present
development. One has but to visit the museum to gain an appreciation
of what has been done and a realization of its importance and possibil-
ities.
Many similar relics are now stored in attics and outbuildings, often
forgotten by their owners. Lacking intrinsic value, they daily risk de-
struction by fire, housecleaning or closing of estates. Collected in one
place and properly arranged and labeled, they will have an educational
value of benefit to thousands of people in this and succeeding generations,
and will be a distinct aid to historical research.
Such cities as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Cleveland,
Cincinnati, Buffalo, Portland, Oregon; Salem, Massachusetts; and Wilkes-
barre, Pennsylvania; have long had their local historical Societies, own-
ing their own buildings and generously supported by large civic-minded
memberships. Detroit yields to none in historical prominence connected
with the pioneering of our country or in wealth of historical value. With
the impetus provided by the Burton Historical Collection and the new
Historical Museum, the Detroit Historical Society feels that it has some-
thing to offer which will soon vie with any other city. It now has a few
hundred members on a $10.00 a year basis. It seeks many more and
particularly the contribution of historic and pioneer articles in its fire-
proof quarters.
A special Woman’s Division has been completely organized with sev-
eral standing committees, which makes a distinct appeal and augurs suc-
cessful results.
The objectives of the Detroit Historical Society are as follows:
First : To preserve historical relics and material of this locality.
Second : To house and centralize the same and prevent their loss or
destruction in scattered places of storage.
Third : To make the same available for historical research and edu-
cational purposes.
Fourth : To stimulate the interest of the newcomer in local traditions
and history.
Fifth : To restore its historic background to our rapidly growing
community.
The officers of the Detroit Historical Society at the present time are
as follows: President, Clarence Monroe Burton; vice president, Thomas
A. E. Weadock; executive vice president and treasurer, J. Bell Moran ;
secretary, Miss Gracie B. Krum; curator, Arthur S. Hampton; directors,
George B. Catlin, Arthur Dondineau, Rev. Edward J. Hickey, Miss M.
Agnes Burton, Mrs. Charles H. Metcalf and M. Hubert O’Brien.
Committee chairmen: manuscripts, Milo M. Quaife; membership, Rev.
Edward J. Hickey; educational, Rev. Edgar De Witt Jones; finance, Jef-
ferson T. Wing; social, Mrs. George G. Caron; publicity, George B. Catlin.
882 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
HISTORIC SITES OF DETROIT
The J. L. Hudson Company, well known mercantile establishment
sponsored during the month of September, 1926, the permanent marking
with bronze tablets of twenty sites of historical significance. These tab-
lets were unveiled on various days from September 1 to 30, 1926, with
appropriate ceremonies and addresses, as a part of the Forty-fifth Anni-
versary of the founding of the J. L. Hudson Company in the City of
Detroit.
In the review of the celebration, the Hudson Company acknowledged
its appreciation to Otto Stoll, George B. Catlin and Clarence M. Burton,
who furnished historical facts pertaining to the proper location and selec-
tion of the sites to be marked ; and to the Historical Tablet Committee,
composed of the following persons: Joseph Meadon, chairman; Jefferson
B. Webb, Charles A. Hughes, Rev. Minot C. Morgan, Edgar A. Guest,
Clarence M. Burton, Edwin L. Miller, Richard H. Lawrence and Leo M.
Butzel. A brief review of the places selected to be marked, the historical
event in each case, and the names of the speakers at the ceremonies of the
unveilings are here with given.
September 1, 1926–Detroit’s “Underground Railway Station,” at the
northeast corner of State and Griswold streets; unveiled by Miss Dorothy
Colombo; speakers: Fred G. Dewey, Jared W. Finney, C. M. Burton, Wil-
liam P. Bradley, George B. Catlin and Joseph Meadon. Near this site
stood the “Finney Hotel Barn,” used from 1833 until the Civil War as a
depot for helping slaves gain freedom into Canada. Detroit was one of
the most important “stations” on the route to Canada. In this brick barn,
located on the site at Griswold and State streets, runaway slaves were
hidden and fed until they could be transported into Canada. Seymour
Finney, owner and proprietor of Finney’s Hotel, at the southeast corner
of Woodward and Gratiot, was the Detroit “station agent.” The Detroit
Anti-Slavery Society was ever vigilant in assisting slaves to escape.
Among its members were Alanson Sheley, Edward Brooks, E. W. Cowles,
C. Brown and S. A. Conant.
In the park at Griswold and State streets also lie the remains of
Stevens T. Mason, first governor of Michigan. An imposing monument
designates the grave.
September 2, 1926–French Pear Trees, Waterworks Park; unveiled
by Misses Geneva Cubiac and Dorothy Gutsch; speakers: Mrs. Charles H.
Metcalf, Hagen J. Payette, Richard Hedke and Joseph Belanger. The
Detroit River was years ago lined on the American side from River Rouge
to Grosse Pointe with very large pear trees, the seeds for which were
supposed to have come from France. Twelve of these great trees, known
as the “Twelve Apostles,” grew on the Van Every farm where Water-
works Park is now located. The trees sometimes reached a height of
60 to 70 feet. Every farm house had a row of them across the front
where they faced the old River Road, which was the only road leading
into Detroit at each end of Woodbridge Street. The last survivor of these
J. L. HUDSON COMPANY, DETROIT

WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 885
trees stood for nearly 200 years at Thirteenth Street and Third Avenue
until 1867. The origin of the French pear trees of early days is not
known. It has been said that these pear trees were of the same variety
as those which Peter Stuyvesant, governor of New York, brought from
Europe in 1668.
September 6, 1926–History of Belle Isle, Belle Isle End of Bridge.
Unveiled by Miss Althea E. Busch ; speakers: Edwin L. Miller, Fred A.
Robinson and Henry W. Busch. The history of Belle Isle is given in
another part of the work.
September 8, 1926—Michigan’s First Bank, northwest corner of Ran-
dolph Street and Jefferson Avenue. Unveiled by Miss Marie Joy Sanger;
speakers: John W. Staley, Solon Rose and Charles A. Hughes. The first
bank in Michigan was opened in a building at Jefferson and Randolph.
Judge Augustus B. Woodward, for whom Woodward Avenue was named,
was the first president of the bank. The ancient mansion of Major Jona-
than Kearsley, mayor a century ago, stood on the spot. A tire store was
located there at the time of the unveiling.
September 9, 1926—Landing Place of First United States Troops in
Michigan, southwest corner of Griswold and Atwater streets. Unveiled
by Scouts Hal Simmons and Douglas Nul; speakers: Dr. Joseph A. Vance,
Howard A. Coffin and Clarence W. Dickerson. This spot is located near
the Griswold Street docks. In 1796, under the direction of Capt. Moses
Porter a company of infantry arrived from Fort Miami. This was the
first detachment of United States troops in Detroit. They formally took
possession of the town of Detroit at noon, on July 11, 1796. At that time
all public vessels were British and the British would not be expected to
furnish transportation for troops. Fortunately, Judge James May had
been permitted to build a little sloop, which he named the Swan. The
little Swan came up to Detroit, the first vessel to sail under the Stars and
Stripes on the Detroit River.
September 10, 1926–Michigan's First Newspaper, 145 West Jefferson
Avenue. Unveiled by Miss Marion Brooke; speakers: Jefferson B. Webb,
Lee A. White and Hazen J. Payette. The old newspaper site has become
an automobile garage. The Detroit Gazette, Michigan's first newspaper,
issued its first number from a building at 145 Jefferson Avenue, between
Shelby and Griswold streets. John P. Sheldon and Ebenezer Reed were
the publishers.
September 11, 1926—Michigan's First Toll Gate, southeast corner of
Adams and Woodward avenues. Unveiled by Miss Mary Catlin; Speak-
ers: Stephen T. Mason, Joseph E. Mills, George B. Catlin and Joseph
Meadon. For nearly sixty years every main roadway leading to Detroit
was a toll road. The gate was sometimes made a part and attached to
the gatekeeper's home. It was located at Woodward Avenue and Adams
Street, where quite frequently it was necessary for the traveler to awaken
the gatekeeper at night, in order to enter or leave the town of Detroit. The
opening of Woodward Avenue north of Adams Street occurred in 1818,
when $6,000 was paid for cutting forest trees and laying a corduroy road
886 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
as far as the present Six Mile Road. The state, being unable to build
highways at the expense of the public, passed in 1848, the Plank Road
Act, giving builders the authority to collect toll for a period of sixty years.
The rate of each team was one cent a mile, with three-quarters of a cent
added for each additional animal. The first toll gate, just above Adams
Avenue, extended across Woodward, with a spacious driveway under the
roof of the house.
September 14, 1926—Michigan's First Seat of Government, 313 Wood-
ward Avenue. Unveiled by Miss Esther Louise Tuttle; speakers: Edwin
L. Miller and Judge Arthur J. Tuttle. On this spot stood Richard
Smythe's Tavern in August, 1805. The first session of the Michigan Ter-
ritorial officials was held here. The building was one of Detroit's fore-
most public taverns. Five men, called the “The Governor and Judges,”
composed the ruling territorial officials. Judge Frederick Bates was the
Only resident member. All that portion of Detroit within the stockade
had been burned, and a majority of the citizens of the town were living in
tents and temporary cabins. The first legislative act of the governor and
judges was to forbid rebuilding until a new street plan could be made.
September 15, 1926—Home of Dr. Douglas Houghton, 1330 Abbott
Street. Unveiled by Miss Alma Vanderwheeler; speakers: Miss Dora R.
Teagan and J. Fred Lawton. Dr. Douglas Houghton’s home stood near
the site of the present Houghton School at 1330 Abbott Street. He was
mayor of Detroit in 1842. He was also president of the Board of Edu-
cation and state geologist. He won such statewide praise, that today a
city, a county, and a lake in Michigan, and the Houghton School in De-
troit perpetuate his name. While Dr. Houghton was engaged in geological
work on Keweenaw Point he was drowned on October 13, 1845.
September 16, 1926—Detroit's Last Indian Massacre, Southwest cor-
ner of State and Griswold streets. Unveiled by Scout Jack Hart; speak-
ers: J. Nelson Lewis, Richard Harfst and D. A. Smith. The last open
act of hostility by the Indians in what is now the City of Detroit was the
killing and scalping of Ananias McMillan on September 10, 1814, at a
spot near what is now the American State Bank at Griswold and State
streets. His son, Archie, eleven years old, was taken captive and held
for ransom until the spring of 1815. Another victim was Michael Mur-
phy, who was killed in Judge Moran’s potato field, near what is now the
corner of St. Antoine and Lafayette. Governor Cass called out the able-
bodied men of the town to fight the Indians, whose camp was located on
the Witherell farm, near the present intersection of Dequindre and
Gratiot. Few Indians were to be found. Near a camp fire they found
young Archie McMillan’s hat. The Detroit townsmen scoured the forests
all day long, making a circle from Bloody Run to River Rouge and as far
north as what is now the Grand Boulevard. They killed only five Indians,
after all their efforts.
September 17, 1926—Michigan's First Hospital, southwest corner of
Randolph and Larned streets. Unveiled by Sister Ambrosia; speakers:
Rev. Fr. Henry Kaufmann, Dr. Henry F. Vaughan, William M. Walker
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 887
and Clarence E. Page. On this site stood St. Vincent’s Hospital, a log
house only one story high. It was opened for the treatment of the sick
by four Sisters of Charity, on July 9, 1845. In 1833 four Sisters of Clare,
who came from Bruges, Belgium, to Pittsburgh, and thence to Detroit,
occupied the corner house for their home and opened the adjoining build-
ing as a school for boys and girls. They were a little later succeeded by
four Sisters of Charity, who continued the school, which was called “St.
Vincent’s Academy.” Observing the lack of accommodation for taking
care of the sick at times of epidemics the Sisters of Charity remodeled the
interior of their home building on the corner and opened it as a hospital
A large six-story building stands on this corner at the present time.
September 18, 1926—Michigan’s First Public School, southwest cor-
ner of Shelby and Woodbridge. Unveiled by Miss Florence Norton;
speakers: Frank Cody, Alonzo P. Ewing and Clarence E. Brewer. On
this spot the first public school in Michigan was established in the early
forties. It was located over a grocery store, in a building, one end of
which was supported by piles driven into the Detroit River. The site
was on what is now Woodbridge Street near Shelby.
September 22, 1926—Michigan’s First Theatre, northwest corner of
Wayne and Woodbridge streets. Unveiled by Miss Evelyn Herbert and
Howard Marsh; speakers: Richard H. Lawrence, Robert M. Toms and
John Atkinson. On this spot in the top story of a government warehouse
was located Michigan’s first theatre. It gave its first performance in
1819. Frequently amateur performances were presented on the stage by
some of the more talented officers stationed at Fort Shelby for the mem-
bers of their families and other civilians. The site of the warehouse was
near what is now the foot of Wayne Street.
September 23, 1926—Michigan's First Baseball Park, Brush Street
at Alexandrine Avenue. Unveiled by Ty Cobb ; speakers: John C. Lodge,
Col. H. U. Wallace, Charles W. Bennett and Paul Voorhies. In 1879,
eighteen acres of land on Brush Street, back of Harper Hospital, were
used as a kind of recreation park, cricket being one of the games played.
When the Detroit Baseball Club was organized in 1880, the field became
a baseball park and the national championship was won by the Detroit
team on this diamond. The Brush estate owned a large tract of land
which extended from the riverfront to the three-mile limit and contained
600 acres. John Askin, father-in-law of Elijah Brush, a native of Ver-
mont, who came to Detroit, owned this farm. In 1879 a number of De-
troit men leased eighteen acres for a recreation field as above described.
September 24, 1926–Detroit's Whipping Post, southeast corner of
Woodward and Jefferson avenues. Unveiled by Miss Barbara Johnson;
speakers: Judge Vincent M. Brennan, Joseph Meadon and Edward G.
Burleson. From the records of the city, it appears that Detroit's first and
only whipping post was erected at Woodward and Jefferson avenues in
1818 to punish the petty thieves and vagrants who sometimes came to
Detroit from the east. The last two offenders to be punished there were
publicly whipped by the sheriff in 1830, and history says that shortly after
888 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
this event, the whipping post was secretly removed by unknown persons.
The law authorizing the use of the whipping post was repealed on March
4, 1831.
September 25, 1926—Michigan's First Railway Depot, northwest cor-
ner of Dequindre Street and Jefferson Avenue. Unveiled under the aus-
pices of the Grand Trunk Railway; speakers: W. R. Davidson and H. R.
Martin. The Detroit and Pontiac Railway, the first railroad to be char-
tered in this section of the country built its first terminal building at Jef-
ferson Avenue and Dequindre Street, a part of which building was for
two years used as a depot. In 1838 the tracks of the railway were routed
down Gratiot Avenue from Dequindre Street, the depot being located on
Gratiot Avenue near Farmer Street. It was on the south side of Gratiot,
opposite the present entrance to the store of the J. L. Hudson Company.
September 27, 1926—Last Home of General John R. Williams, north-
west corner of Grand River and Woodward Avenues. Unveiled by Miss
Jennie Strimpinsky; speakers: Mayor John W. Smith, Richard H. Law–
rence and Mrs. Marie B. Ferrey. This spot marks the last home of Gen.
Williams, who was the first mayor of Detroit. At the present time, one
of the large Kresge stores is erected upon the site. Gen. Williams was
mayor of Detroit for several terms, and was the author of the first city
charter. He died in his home October 30, 1854. John R. Street was
named in his honor. He was born in Detroit May 4, 1782, and was a sol-
dier in the U. S. Army before 1800, later serving in the War of 1812 and
the Black Hawk War. He was also adjutant-general of Michigan from
1818 to 1829. He left a large amount of property in Detroit and some
of it is still owned by his descendants. -
September 28, 1926—Birthplace of Ford Motor Car, Bagley Avenue
Building, at Michigan Theatre. Unveiled by Edsel B. Ford, son of Henry
Ford; speakers: Roy D. Chapin, James S. Shields and McPherson Brown-
ing. Where Henry Ford first labored on perfecting his first automobile,
the Michigan Theatre now stands on Bagley Avenue. Henry Ford began
his first experiments with the automobile in a little brick workshop of
one story, in the rear of his rented home at 58 Bagley Avenue. Here in
1892 he produced his first car, a two-cylinder machine mounted on a light
chassis geared to rubber-tired bicycle wheels. At that time Mr. Ford
was employed in the engine room of the Edison Illuminating Company,
now known as the Detroit-Edison Company. His attention was attracted
by early experiments in his own workshop above related. His two-cylin-
der machine was soon running about the streets of Detroit.
September 29, 1926—Michigan's First Capitol Building, Capitol
Park. Unveiled by Miss Doris Mae Watson; speakers: Fred W. Green,
Frank J. Denney and Judge Henry S. Hulbert. The cornerstone of Mich-
igan’s first Capitol building was laid in what is now Capitol Park in the
heart of the present day business district, on September 22, 1823. The
building was completed in 1828. It housed the county courts for a time
and was later used for the legislative sessions. The building was de-
stroyed by fire on January 27, 1893, and the next year the site was made
(Courtesy of Burton Historical Collection)
OLD STATE CAPITOL, DETROIT
Afterward remodeled for high school.
Site of present Capitol Park, head of
Griswold Street


WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 891
a public park. Congress had made a grant of what was called the Ten
Thousand Acre Tract to the town of Detroit and the territory of Mich-
igan, the proceeds to be used for the erection of public buildings. The
tract began at Adams Street and included a strip extending from the
Cass to the Brush farms, running to the three-mile limit. The plan for
the building was drawn by Obed Wait, and the contractors were Thomas
Palmer, David C. McKinstry and De Garmo Jones, the cost being $21,000.
September 30, 1926–Detroit’s First Federal-Built Post Office, north-
west corner of Griswold and Larned streets. Unveiled by Miss Betty Van
Winkle; speakers: Postmaster Charles C. Kellogg, Richard Hedke and
Walter E. Vashak. This first federal-built post office was opened on
January 30, 1860, the cornerstone having been laid on May 18, 1858.
Although President Jefferson established the first post office at Detroit on
January 1, 1806, the Government did not build a federal building here
for nearly sixty years, the post office occupying rented quarters. This
old federal building is now the office of the collector of customs for the
port of Detroit.
FORD REBUILDS EARLY AMERICAN VILLAGE AT GREENFIELD
Villages, and indeed, whole towns, have been rebuilt for expositions.
Famous ships, historic monuments, and treasured shrines have all been
reconstructed, but it remained for Henry Ford to reconstruct for poster-
ity the most cherished shrine of all—an American village.
Greenfield, as his creation at Dearborn is called, is probably the most
authentic duplication of a group of buildings that has ever been at-
tempted. For the most part, these structures, such as the Lincoln Court
House, where Abraham Lincoln practiced law, an old foundry, The Grand
Trunk station, where Edison was forcibly ejected from his train, and
the very engine that hauled the train, are the originals that have been
carefully transplanted to Dearborn.
Of course, Independence Hall had to be a replica, but it is an exact
copy. The Menlo Park laboratories of Edison are probably one of the
most notable units in the “village.” Here, on the occasion of Light’s
Golden Jubilee, October 21, Edison recreated the electric lamp.
Even the top soil from Menlo Park that the electrical wizard trod,
has been hauled to Greenfield. Trees and shrubbery are being duplicated
as closely as possible. Edison's boarding house is there. And in the
laboratory are shelves upon shelves of Edison's original experimental ap-
paratus—test tubes, beakers and bottles.
1Models of some of Edison’s inventions, antiquated motors and
dynamos, the switchboard at which Edison worked as a telegraph oper-
ator, are included in the collection.
In planning Greenfield Village, Ford has attempted to present a vil-
lage of Colonial America with its primitive workshops, grist mills, town
hall, and homes such as the pioneers of this country knew. A non-denomi-
national church has been constructed of brick from Mrs. Ford’s old home,
an inn, and a schoolhouse dating back to Ford's early grade School days.
892 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
The village will be a mecca and shrine for millions of Americans in
years to come, increasing in interest every year as the furnishings mel-
low and the records become a little more yellow with age.
HOTELS OF DETROIT
Fifty years ago Detroit hotels had accommodations for less than 1,000
guests. Today they have a room capacity of approximately 25,000 first-
class rooms, and with the residential hotels, represent a $200,000,000
investment. -
No phase of Detroit’s commercial life has recorded any greater prog-
ress than has the hotel business. But while this progress was being made,
the hotels lost many of their old attributes and something of their inti-
mate place in the life of Detroit citizens.
There were three of these famous hotels in Old Detroit, the Biddle
House, accommodating 400 guests, the Michigan Exchange, with rooms
for 350, and the Russell House, with 235 rooms. At a still earlier date
the Russell House had been known as the National.
It was rebuilt and remodelled at different times, but finally in 1905
was torn down to make way for the palatial Pontchartrain, which oc-
cupied the site on Cadillac Square until 1919, when it gave way to a bank
building. - -
So greatly had hotel furnishing and operating costs increased during
the life of the Pontchartrain that some of the rugs and bedroom furnish-
ings sold for more than their original purchase price, despite eleven long
years of usage.
Another popular old hotel was the Cadillac that gave way to the Book-
Cadillac in 1925. The new Book-Cadillac has 1,200 rooms and the Detroit-
Leland, opened in 1927, has 750 rooms. The Statler, one of the famous
Statler Chain, was opened in 1915 and has 1,000 rooms.
The Barlum Hotel opened in 1927, has 810 rooms and the Fort Wayne,
opened a year earlier, and an important fraternal center, has 300 rooms.
An addition to the Fort Shelby in 1927 brought the total rooms of that
establishment up to 500, and the addition to the Tuller in 1923 doubled
its capacity, affording a total of 800 rooms. The Wolverine has 500 rooms
and the LaSalle, until October 1, 1929, known as the Savoy, has 750
I’OOIOS. -
During three years of Detroit’s most intensive hotel construction era,
approximately fifty hotels—large, residential, and small—were built, and
since 1924 fully 16,000 rooms have been provided for the city's growing
transient trade, convention business, and residential clientele.
CITY'S SKYLINE CHANGES
Writing in the Detroit Times of Sunday, November 17, 1929, Albert
Kahn, distinguished Detroit architect, in commenting upon the towering
structures, erected in the past few years, said:
“The change in the skyline of Detroit these last five years is most im-
pressive and indicates that the city’s progress architecturally, is keeping
* * * * * * * *
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OLD RUSSELL HOUSE (SITE OF FIRST
NATIONAL BANK BUILDING)
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BOOK-CADILLAC HOTEL, DETROIT















WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 895
pace with its progress commercially. The change is particularly notable
downtown, where such structures as the New Penobscot Building, Union
Trust Building, First National Bank Building, Stott Building and the new
Telephone Building scrape the sky, not to mention other important struc-
tures less high which have replaced older ones.
“Nor has the change been restricted to the downtown section, for a
new commercial district has been created in the northern part of the city,
where the General Motors Building and Fisher Building dominate the
sky, and where other important new structures attest the city’s growth.
“In the Penobscot Building, we have a real effort to create an impres–
sive structure, which though serving modern utilitarian purposes is none
the less a monumental composition of high architectural merit. Fine ma-
terials, honestly used, good construction and pleasant outline combine to
make it an outstanding creation. -
“The new Union Trust Building is an interesting example of the use
of color on both the exterior and interior of a building. Money was spent
unsparingly to make this a striking example of modern work and much
that is unusual is to be found in this building.
“The First National Bank Building is of a more conservative type.
Though less radical than some of our modern structures, it serves its
purpose as well and will stand as an exemplar of well tried work. Its
impressive banking room, done in the same character as the exterior, has
met with general commendation. When much of the present day mod-
ernism has passed its vogue, this building will continue to carry on the
better traditions of the architecture of the past.
“The new Stott Building is a very creditable example of modern work
based upon the formula established some years ago by the eminent Fin-
nish architect, Mr. Eliel Saarinen, now a distinguished member of De-
troit’s Architectural Fraternity.
“The new Telephone Building is a splendid addition to Detroit’s archi-
tecture. It was not any easy problem to rear upon the original portion,
a new structure so attractive and quite different in style. It is a great
credit to its designers and the city.
“Of our banks, there are some that deserve much credit for erecting
handsome structures. The Detroit Trust Company, the Federal Reserve
Bank, the former First State Bank, the Security Trust and the National
Bank of Commerce buildings bear testimony to this. Some of the newer
store buildings as well show keen interest in helping beautify the city.
This is proven by the new Hudson Building and many others.
“In at least one section of the northern part of our city a decided
change has taken place. 'The General Motors Building, because of its
size, its simplicity of design and its dignity, has, ever since its erection,
had the acclaim of both the public and the architectural profession. Not
to be outdone by this conspicuous group, the Fisher Brothers have since
erected a building, housing all sorts of activities which outdistances the
General Motors Building.
896 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
“Here the architect was given a rare opportunity, in that the owners
desired the finest thing that could be done. To this end the designers
Were permitted the use of the finest materials and the collaboration of
distinguished sculptors and painters. The result has met most gratify-
ing approval and the building enjoys international fame. It won the New
York Architectural League's Silver Medal, an honor that has come to but
two buildings west of Philadelphia. It was a monumental thing for
Messrs. Fisher to do for the City of Detroit, for which they deserve the
gratitude of every citizen. -
“The erection of the General Motors Building and the Fisher structure
at the junction of West Grand Boulevard and Second and Cass avenues,
has converted a one-time residential area of the city into one of the most
modern uptown business districts in America. The ground floor of the
General Motors Building is given over mainly to show-rooms for General
Motors products, and includes an auditorium. There is also a variety of
shops, banks, etc., in this block-square structure.
“The Fisher Building is a landmark for many blocks around the Gen-
eral Motors center. Its ornate tower is flooded with rich light at night.
Included in the building is one of the largest theatres in the city in addi-
tion to shops and the many offices on the upper floors of the towering
edifice. The building is one of the most costly in America.
“The General Motors Corporation has recently erected a new laboratory
building directly south of their main office building and this materially
enhances the effectiveness of the important group of buildings in this
particular section.
“A little farther south we have the new Art Center. This is a great
contribution artistically to the City of Detroit. Both the Library and
the new Art Museum Building are exemplary monuments architecturally
to Our city and its administrators. The new Maccabees Building and the
new Wardell, bordering the Art Center help the effectiveness of the plaza.
The Maccabee Building is one of the most beautiful fraternal structures
in the United States. It is a modern American rendition of Renaissance,
constructed of Indiana limestone.
“Many other structures erected during the last five years in this city
attest the skill of Detroit's architects and the interest in beautiful build-
ings of Detroit's building owners. It is this same interest that has
enabled Detroit to take its place among the notable cities in this country.”
JAMES SCOTT WATER FOUNTAIN
James Scott, a citizen of Detroit, died March 5, 1910, and under the
terms of his will, the bulk of his estate was left to the city for the erec-
tion of a suitable fountain at Belle Isle Park. The fountain was designed
by Mr. Cass Gilbert of New York, and cost approximately $500,000. To
provide a suitable site, the city filled in the lower end of Belle Isle, adding
forty acres to the area of the island. This addition is triangular in shape,
and encloses a large lagoon, into which an immense volume of water pours
(Courtesy of Burton Historical Collection)
RESIDENCE OF GOVERNOR JOHN J. BAGLEY, DETROIT
Site of Statler Hotel


WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 899
from the fountain. The diameter of the fountain is 510 feet, and the dia-
meter of the main part is 112 feet. The height of the fountain from the
lagoon is 37 feet 9 inches, and the estimated height of main column of
Water is 125 feet. Surrounding the fountain and lagoon there are prome-
nades and driveways suitably enclosed by plantings, yet affording every
Opportunity for viewing all parts of the fountain, as well as the beautiful
Detroit River. The fountain, constructed under the direction of the com-
missioner of parks and boulevards and the City Plan Commission was
dedicated to the public on Sunday, May 31, 1925.
On One side of the fountain terrace is a huge bronze statue of Mr.
Scott. The figure is seated in a chair, on the back of which is the follow-
ing inscription: “For the enjoyment of the people and for the adornment
of his native city, James Scott bequeathed to Detroit his fortune to be
used in the construction of this fountain. Erected in 1923. From the
good deed of one, comes benefit to many.” In front of the statue is the
inscription, “James Scott, 1831-1910.”
THE NEW LIBRARY DESCRIBED
The new library was dedicated and formally opened to the public on
June 3, 1921. It was the first public building to be erected in what is
known as the Art Center of Detroit.
The structure is of white Vermont marble, in early Italian Renais-
sance style, and was designed by Mr. Cass Gilbert. Mr. Gilbert was as-
sisted in the interior decoration of the building by such well known artists
as Mr. Gari Melchers, Mr. Edwin Blashfield, Mr. Frederick Wiley, and
Mrs. Mary Perry Stratton.
In viewing the interior of the building some of the points of interest
to be observed are the legendary and historical relief map of Michigan
designed by Mr. Wiley for the space over the fireplace in the Children's
Room, and the decorative Pewabic tiles of the fireplace itself, picturing
ten tales loved by children. Over the stained glass windows of the Grand
Stairway are the Blashfield murals, “Prose” and “Poetry” and on the side
wall, “Music” and “Graphic Arts.” As one enters the large Delivery Hall
from the Grand Stairway, he is first impressed by the nine beautiful
stained glass windows which were designated by Paris and Wiley. Di-
rectly over the entrance are the historical murals by Gari Melchers, “The
Landing of Cadillac's Wife,” “The Conspiracy of Pontiac,” and in the
center, “The Spirit of Ste. Claire.” From the Fine Arts Room one gains
access to the loggia. Laid in mosaics on the ceiling of the loggia are the
lines of Shakespeare’s “Seven Ages of Man.” The ceiling was designed
by Mr. Wiley, and the mosaics, of enameled baked clay, were produced in
the Pewabic Pottery of Detroit, under the direction of Mrs. Stratton.
The Down-town Annex of the Library occupied the old building on
Gratiot Avenue from 1921 until 1923 when it was moved to refitted quar-
ters in the Police Headquarters Building at Farmer and Bates Streets. In
December, 1927, it was moved to the fourth floor of the Barlum Tower,
900 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
on Cadillac Square. The Down-town Annex includes the Business and
Commerce Division of the Library. This department is equipped with
books on business subjects, such as economics, banking, accounting, in-
surance, salesmanship, advertising, etc., and with statistics on these sub-
jects.
The Foreign Language Department now occupies the building on the
corner of Woodward and Putnam avenues. The Library Newspaper Room
is now at 130 Cadillac Square.
The Detroit Public Library System includes the Main Building, Down-
town Annex, Medical Science Department, twenty-three branches, and
thirty-four sub-branches and deposits. Total numbers of volumes June
30, 1929, 802,283; card holders, 292,242; appropriations for 1928–29,
$1,322,702. There was a total of 5,254,712 issues for home reading dis-
tributed during the fiscal year 1928–29 from the entire library system.
Specially selected books for children above the second grade are located
in 107 Schools.
The Detroit Library commissioners, during whose term the new li-
brary building was erected, are as follows: Divie B. Duffield, Paul R.
Gray, J. B. Kennedy, M. D., Clarence, A. Lightner, Charles R. Robertson,
John A. Russell, Joseph S. Stringham, ex-officio, and Cass Gilbert, archi-
tect.
YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION
Metropolitan offices, 200 Association Building, Grand Circus Park.
The work of the Detroit Association is directed by a board of directors,
a corps of expert executives, and a body of trained volunteer committee-
Iſle]].
Branches are located :—Down-town Branch, Adams Avenue and Withe-
rell Street; Fisher Branch, Dexter Boulevard and West Grand Boulevard;
Hamtramck Branch, 2912 Caniff Avenue; Hannan Memorial Branch,
Jefferson and Garland avenues; Northern Branch, Woodward and
Winona avenues; Northeastern Branch, 10102 Harper Avenue; Railroad
Branch, Livernois Avenue and Michigan Central Railroad; St. Antoine
Street Branch, 635 East Elizabeth Street; Western Branch, Clark Avenue
near Dix Avenue.
The association’s educational work includes the Detroit Institute of
Technology, Detroit College of Law, and Hudson School. It conducts
three camps for boys.
The Detroit Y. M. C. A. has moved steadily on in its building and ex-
pansion program. The fifth building provided for by the campaign was
dedicated April 21, 1929. A sixth building will be ready for occupancy
during 1930 and the last building provided for by the campaign will be
opened in 1931.
This is one of Detroit's great character-building movements, which is
a part of and supplements the work of the church. It serves daily great
hosts of young men and the metropolitan area.
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VIEW SHOWING WOODWARD AVENUE AND WASHINGTON BOULEVARD
FROM GRAND CIRCUS PARK, DETROIT, 1930


WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 903
YOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION
2230 Witherell Street
Branches: Highland Park Branch, 71 W. Davison Avenue, Highland
Park; Woman’s Center, 2531 E. Grand Boulevard; Lucy Thurman
Branch (colored), 2111 St. Aubin Avenue; International Institute, 51 W.
Warren Avenue.
Residences: 2230 Witherell Street; 758 Hubbard Avenue; 747 Vine-
wood Avenue; 21.11 St. Aubin Avenue (colored).
Camps (open July and August): Camp Cavell, Lake Huron near Lex-
ington (school girls); Camp Talahi, Lake Chelan near Brighton (em-
ployed girls and women) ; Camp Norcom, Lake Nordham near Dexter
(colored girls and women) ; Grace Vacation Cottages, Lake Orion near
Orion (older girls and women).
The magnificent new ten-story down-town building of the Y. W. C. A.
at Witherell and Montcalm streets was opened in the fall of 1929 and is
one of the finest buildings in the country for girls and women. It con-
tains an excellent cafeteria; attractive reading, writing and lounge rooms,
open to both men and women; a beautiful swimming pool, large and small
gymnasiums, club and class rooms, and a club residence accommodating
135 permanent and transient guests. During 1930 the new building of
the Highland Park Branch will be erected at Woodward and Winona ave-
nues, and plans will be completed for a new building for the Lucy Thur-
man Branch.
Membership in the Detroit Y. W. C. A. is open to all girls and women.
Its extensive program includes clubs and activities at all branches and
centers, for school girls, industrial and business girls, college students,
student nurses, home women, household employes, foreign-born women
and girls and colored girls.
Day and evening classes are offered, in many cultural subjects and in
gymnastics, sports, and athletics, in which hundreds of girls and women
are keeping mentally and physically fit. The Friendly Service Depart-
ment assists strangers in the city and many girls and women who are in
trouble or need.
DETROIT ZOOLOGICAL PARK
The new Detroit Zoological Park, being constructed by the City of
Detroit, is located on Wider Woodward Avenue at the Ten Mile Road,
and was opened to the public on August 1, 1928.
The park is far from completion, but what it is intended for is plainly
visible to the public. The building of any zoological park is a matter of
years, primarily because there is a limit to current funds available for
such an enterprise, and besides, a really comprehensive zoological park
never is finished. New exhibits are constantly being added, and great
forethought is necessary if the park is to expand from year to year with-
out faulty arrangement of exhibits.
A notable feature of the park is that, in place of heavy and ugly
904 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
screens and bars, the animals are kept in their place by deep moats, con-
cealed as much as possible from the visitors who look over them at the
animals, with an unobstructed view. This type of Zoological park, to
which established parks in large cities are gradually turning, was first
evolved in Germany by the Hagenbecks.
The plan being followed by the commissioners and the director is to
distribute the animals geographically, that is, there will be African, In-
dian, North American and South American sections, and exhibits are be-
ing constructed in such a manner as to resemble as nearly as possible the
natural habitats of the various animals. Formations of artificial rock
and every minute detail contribute to the impressive setting, and present
a true geographical picture. The landscaping is not being defaced with
bars or fences, and vegetation is arranged to conform, as nearly as the
climate permits, to the natural setting.
The following permanent exhibits have been finished : The enormous
bird house near the entrance, with approximately three hundred tropical
birds; the wolverine exhibit, with ten wolverines; raccoon exhibit, with
numerous raccoons; the bear dens, with eight black bear, twelve polar
bear and six Russian brown bear; the lion dens, with eight large lions
and a great many cubs that have all been born at the park; the African
veld, with eland antelope, gnu, waterbuck, blessbuck, ostriches, kaffir buf-
falo, aoudads, Chapman zebra, Grevy zebra and vulturine guinea fowl;
the monkey exhibit, with 150 Hamadryas baboons; the moose, mule, deer
and antelope exhibits, and Island and Cloverleaf Lakes, populated with
numerous white and black swan, brant geese, bernicle geese, white ducks
and many migratory fowls. Work on the elephant and rhinoceros ex-
hibits has been well advanced, and it is fully expected they will be ready
to open in the near future. The African swamp, elk and Virginia deer
exhibits were completed in time for the 1930 opening.
There are numerous other temporary exhibits located throughout the
park, including camels, dromedaries, elk, bobcats, beaver, badgers, skunks,
giraffes, elephants, kodiak bear and American bald eagle.
The Detroit Zoological Park is being constructed by the taxpayers of
the City of Detroit, on a mill-tax proposition, which allows one-tenth of
each cent of total assessed valuation of the city each year for the building
and maintenance of the park. It is governed by a four-man commission,
appointed by the mayor of Detroit, and consists of the following promi-
nent citizens: Henry Ledyard, president; Walter O. Briggs, vice presi-
dent; James S. Holden, secretary, and Gilbert E. Miller, and is under the
direct supervision of the director, John T. Millen. The commissioners
serve without salary, and give not only unstintingly of their time, but
also of their money, to help build a zoological park for Detroit which will
some day be second to none in the United States, if not in the entire
world.
The total attendance at the park from August 1, 1928, to December
2, 1928, when the park closed for the winter months, was 1,502,368, and
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 905
it is thought that a conservative estimate of the attendance in 1930
would not fall below 2,000,000 persons.
There is no admittance charge to the park, and the visiting hours are
from ten in the morning to five in the afternoon every day.
The Park Association has not been obliged to purchase any animals,
as all on exhibition have been presented to the City of Detroit by public-
spirited citizens and organizations.
STATUES
The General Alpheus S. Williams Monument Association was formed
April 17, 1911, for the purpose of erecting an equestrian statue of General
Williams, who had served his country with distinction in both the Mex-
ican and Civil wars, being the only officer from Michigan who commanded
an army corps during the War of the Rebellion. A fund of $30,000 was
established, and on the 19th day of April, 1912, Mr. Henry Merwin
Shrady, the noted New York sculptor, was commissioned to execute an
equestrian statue of General Williams in bronze. The common council
of the City of Detroit provided $15,000 for a suitable site and base, and
later an additional $10,000 was appropriated for the foundation and
pedestal. Some delay was occasioned by the World War, so that the statue
was not completed until October 15, 1921, at which time it was unveiled
with suitable ceremonies. The sculptor depicts General Williams sitting
astride his thoroughbred horse, studying a map of the battlefield during
a storm. Located at the intersection of Central and Inselruh avenues,
on Belle Isle, the bronze horse and rider, mounted on a huge block of
white granite, form a very imposing monument, visible for some distance
along the broad avenues to the many thousand people visiting this popular
park each season.
The Detroit Burns Club was organized January 25, 1912, with Mr.
Edward Goodwillie as first president. While it was the purpose of the
club to celebrate the birth of Burns and to honor his memory in various
ways, the prime object from the beginning was “To erect a statue of
Robert Burns in the City of Detroit.”
The Jean Armour Club (a ladies' auxiliary) was formed to cooperate
with the Burns Club, and through the persevering work of these two
organizations and the untiring efforts of Mr. Edward Goodwillie, chair-
man of the Statue Committee, the club was enabled to present to the City
of Detroit the beautiful Burns statue, which was unveiled in Cass Park
on July 23, 1921.
The statue is a perfect bronze representation of the famous Burns
statue at Ayre, Scotland, which is admittedly one of the best statues
of Scotia’s poet now extant. It is 9 feet high and stands on an 11-foot
pedestal of New Hampshire granite, the entire height of the statue
being 20 feet. The front of the pedestal contains the one word “Burns”
in bronze letters, while on the other three sides are beautiful bronze
906 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
panels set in the granite, representing scenes from the poet's life, with
appropriate lines inscribed under each scene.
A statue in memory of James J. Brady, founder of the Newsboys
Fund, was erected in 1928.
A statue of Schillers, the famous German poet and dramatist, was
erected by a group of his countrymen, and one of Dante, by Italian
citizens.
RADIO
Although Detroit has consistently led the way in radio broadcasting,
it has not been so forward in the establishment of radio industries. There
are fewer than five radio manufacturers of national reputation in Mich-
igan. On the other hand, the Detroit district is known as an especially
live field for the marketing of radio products, due to the interest aroused
by the peculiarly fortunate situation in regard to broadcasting. All
national networks have Detroit outlets. WWJ (Detroit News) subscrib-
ers to the Red Network service of the National Broadcasting Company;
WJR (Fisher Building) has the Blue Network, and WGPH (Maccabees
Building) has the Columbia System. In addition to these three stations,
there is One other in Detroit–WMBC in the LaSalle Hotel.
The first station in the United States to maintain a regular daily
schedule of broadcasting was WWJ, established by the Detroit News in
August, 1920. Next to be founded in Detroit was WCX, which has since
been merged with WJR. The first station in Detroit to take network
programs from New York was WWJ, and that station also was the first
in the United States to pick up and rebroadcast a program transmitted
from an airplane flying over the city.
The Detroit News was the first newspaper to publish radio programs,
and in the early days of radio it maintained, through WWJ, a service
department for the benefit of set builders, as receiving sets were not being
manufactured and marketed as at present.
STADIUM OF THE UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT
Utility and artistry are splendidly combined in the new U. of D.
Stadium, at Six Mile Road and Livernois Avenue. As an innovation in
the construction of such buildings, the Spanish Mission style was em-
ployed by Arthur Des Rosiers, architect and engineer, who found the
multiplicity of arches needed in these buildings lent themselves to this
oldest and most American of architectural styles.
Shaped like a gigantic “U,” the stadium and the athletic field which
it encloses, cover eighteen acres. The stadium itself is 415 by 572 feet.
There is a seating capacity for 40,000 people, and the plan can be ex-
panded later, if desired, to hold 60,000. One of the novel features is that,
by Working out the proper parabola, the architect arranged the seats so
that each person assuming him to look straight ahead, would see the same
Spot, thus any one seat is as good as another.
MASONIC TEMPLE, DETROIT
ELKS CLUB


WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 909
DETROIT OLYMPIA
Olympia is the indoor sports center of Detroit. The huge building,
with a seating capacity of approximately 17,000, located at Grand River
and McGraw avenues, annually attracts tens of thousands of persons to
its hockey games, boxing matches and other sporting events.
In addition to its sporting activities, Olympia has opened the way
for Detroit to get other important events, such as conventions, shows,
displays, etc. It was at Olympia that Morris Gest, in the fall of 1929,
produced his gigantic religious spectacle, “The Miracle,” and the radio
show staged there for the first time in 1929, will become an annual event.
By reason of having such a magnificent public arena as Olympia, Detroit
is in line for one of the big national political conventions.
Olympia has been and is destined to be the scene of many important
gatherings. Large theatrical productions will be well served in this new
amusement center. The huge amphitheatre has a stage capacity of di-
mensions to meet any call made upon it.
Associated with President Charles A. Hughes, the pilot of the enter-
prise, are the following officers: Otto Kern, vice president; W. P. Holli-
day, vice president; Maurice J. Caplan, Secretary; Robert C. Shields, treas-
urer, and Richard G. Dunn, general manager.
The board of directors consists of the following: Maurice J. Caplan,
Hugh Chalmers, Wm. H. Dillon, Lawrence Fisher, W. P. Holliday, Charles
A. Hughes, Henry B. Joy, Otto Kern, L. J. Lepper, Wm. G. Lerchen,
Peter J. Monaghan, C. Hayward Murphy, George A. Richards, Alfred J.
Scovel, Robert C. Shields, Jefferson B. Webb and Dubois Young.
THE NEW MASONIC TEMPLE
A noble structure is the Masonic Temple; ornate, with lines that de-
light the eyes of architects and artists and speak eloquently of Detroit's
ambition to create enduring monuments in stone. It is not to be doubted
that this building will fire the hearts of many generations of citizens
proud of Detroit. To all engaged in the congenial task of placing and
keeping this city in the brotherhood of American communities recognized
the world over as outstanding examples of “full-fashioned” collective
achievement in arts, letters and science, it will be a stimulant to service.
The building has been justly described by competent judges as an archi-
tectural marvel; a poem in stone; the planning of which has drawn upon
the genius of a profession that in this age is meeting the requirements
of a people who ask for the best in buildings to grace the streets of this
city.
Erected at a cost of $7,000,000, the new Masonic Temple is a beautiful
specimen of Gothic architecture. Ground for it was broken on Thanks-
giving Day, November 25, 1920, the site chosen being the corner of Second
Boulevard and Temple Avenue. Most impressive ceremonies marked the
occasion and there soon arose an imposing and at the same time, dignified
edifice, said to be the largest and finest building ever erected for the ex-
910 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
clusive use of the Masonic order. Its great auditorium, seating 5,000
people, is one of the features of the Temple, and is surpassed in this
respect only by the Chicago auditorium. Not a pillar or post is there to
disturb the vision of the spectators. This, in addition to lodge rooms and
recreational features, is second to none in America in appointments and
acoustics.
The building is divided into three parts—the ritual section; the won-
derful auditorium; and the section beyond, the Shrine Club.
The auditorium is a center for conventions, civic events and enter-
tainments, and as such, assists in carrying Detroit's fame over the land
and even beyond the borders of the nation.
On February 22, 1926, the new Masonic Temple auditorium was opened
with a high-class concert. The formal dedication of the temple was held
on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1926, on which occasion 50,000
people attended the ceremonies.
THE DETROIT ATHLETIC CLUB
One of the most beautiful buildings in Detroit is the Detroit Athletic
Club, southeast corner of Madison Avenue and John R. Street. The
building is complete in every detail. Being a down-town club, the ath-
letics are necessarily confined to indoor sports. The squash courts, swim-
ming pool, showers and bath, gymnasium and hand ball courts are unsur-
passed. The building is so arranged that wives and families of members
may enjoy the use of a separate dining room and tea rooms, and undis-
turbed access to and use of dressing rooms and swimming pools on cer-
tain days.
The exterior of the building is modeled after early Italian Renaissance
palaces. Much of the interior is treated in the same style. The dining
room, one of the handsomest in the country, was decorated by A. Duncan
Carse of London. The building was designed by Albert Kahn.
RECENT HISTORY OF INSTITUTE OF ARTS
The new building for the Detroit Institute of Arts has been completed
and occupied for more than two years. It is a handsome addition to the
city’s rapidly increasing number of public buildings, and in the arrange-
ment and installation of the interior, is unique among American museums.
Unusual features are the division of the building into three main wings—
European, Asiatic and American—each containing a number of period
rooms, in which all the arts of each period are shown together in an
appropriate setting ; the incorporation of original interiors taken from
fine old buildings, including a Gothic chapel from a fifteenth century
French chateau; and a beautiful auditorium with a seating capacity of
twelve hundred, equipped with a pipe organ and suitable for lectures,
concerts, dramatic performances and other public and educational pur-
poses.
Objects have been added in almost every department, from the earliest
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WARDELL APARTMENTS, DETROIT








WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 913
periods to the most recent times, but in the past year the most notable
additions have been made in the field of Chinese art, the art of the Italian
Renaissance, in the early American decorative arts, and in the textile
department. -
The old corporation of the Detroit Museum of Art, which in the thirty-
six years of its existence, has turned over to the city collections valued
at nearly $2,000,000, and the present museum site now valued at more
than $2,500,000, has continued as the Detroit Museum of Art Founders
Society, with a view to using its membership funds to augment the col-
lections of the Institute and to inspire the individual members to make
provision for memorial gifts and bequests. Through its membership and
endowment funds and through individual gifts of its members, many art
objects have been added to the collections during the past year, the most
notable of which are the “Portrait of a Man” by Velasquez and a Chinese
Scroll painting of the thirteenth century by Cu'ien Hsuan.
The institute carries on an active educational program. Briefly sum-
marized, it includes a special series of lectures by noted visiting lecturers
Of national or international reputations; a series of Sunday afternoon
lectures by members of the staff; special lectures and gallery talks for
classes from the schools; a series of lectures for Teachers College; a series
of Friday evening concerts by local and visiting organists; a series of
lectures and musicales on the history of music by the curator of music;
and the preparation and dissemination of information regarding lectures
and exhibitions.
The usefulness of the Institute's library grows with each year, par-
ticularly in connection with the schools. An arrangement now obtains
whereby the Board of Education in the Department of Visual Instruction
systematically circulates the Institute’s collection of lantern slides of art
objects. In addition to this, its collection of books and photographs, while
largely for the use of the staffs, is also consulted by artists, lecturers, and
commercial designers. There have been additions of new slides, photo-
graphs and technical books on art during the year.
The free sketch class held at the Institute on Friday evenings under
the auspices of the Recreation Commission had, during the past year,
an enrollment of nearly 200 students, who, under guidance and instruc-
tion, are learning drawing and design from the Sculpture and other ob-
jects in the Museum collection.
The Institute is one of the few municipally owned museums in the
United States. The Arts Commission of Detroit under whose direction
the new building was erected are as follows: Ralph H. Booth, president;
William J. Gray, Edsel B. Ford, Albert Kahn and Henry G. Stevens;
with Wilhelm R. Valentiner, director, and Clyde H. Burroughs, secretary.
sº-
CHAPTER XXIII
FEATURE SKETCHES OF DETROIT HISTORY
History of Belle Isle
By Clarence M. Burton
Tradition says that Antoine de La Mothe Cadillac, by the authority
vested in him as commandant at Fort Pontchartrain du Detroit, granted
the island to the inhabitants of the village as a common, and this tradi-
tion is well sustained by the subsequent acts of the people here, and of
the various commandants. This fact is further borne out by the St.
Sulpice letters, which were discovered and translated in the summer of
1920, and which are quoted later in this chapter.
The name itself (cochon—a hog) as used in the early title of the
island, Ile au Cochon, substantiates the claim to the island as a public do-
main; it was, doubtless, given to the island because it was used as a
place for confining the hogs and animals belonging to the citizens of the
village, in security against the depredations of wild beasts and Indians,
and to prevent destruction of crops by these animals running at large.
The generally received idea that hogs were placed on the island to drive
off the Snakes is preposterous. A letter in French written in 1769, and
signed by nearly all of the French citizens of Detroit, states:
“We very earnestly pray you to consider that the island in question
(Ile au Cochon) is a common ceded to the public by the late Mr. de la
Motte, first Seigneur and commandant of the country, for the purpose
of putting cattle thereon in security; that this right has continued even
to this day without its ever having been revoked. Monsier de Tonty,
when commandant, undertook to appropriate it to himself, but was forced
to relinquish his claim by the petition of the public. Mr. Dequindre,
under the command of Monsieur de Celeron, relying upon family influ-
ence and his personal merit, also undertook to obtain this property, but
the representation of the public rights deprived him of his possession.”
Notwithstanding the claim of the public to the island, Tonty, when
commandant, threatened to subject it to his individual uses, but gave
up the undertaking upon the remonstrances of the public, and their claim
was not further disputed until June 12, 1752, when one Douville De-
quindre obtained a grant of the island from the governor and intendant,
Longueuil and Bigot, but again the public remonstrated, and the remon-
strance was so earnest that the grant was not confirmed.
During the few remaining years of the French occupation of the
country, the island was cultivated by one Filet and a Mr. Campau, but
915
916 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
always under the supervision of the commandant, and with no claim to
ownership on the part of the occupant. -
The French surrendered the country to the English in 1760, and in
the succeeding year Lieut. James McDonald, who was an officer in the
garrison here, cultivated the island and continued in possession of a por-
tion of it for the two or three succeeding years. In the meantime, in
1762, Lieut. George McDougall, who was also an officer in the garrison,
took possession of a portion of the island and built a house, cleared Some
of the ground, and set a family on his portion. Whether his original
occupation was under color of title or not, his actions in clearing the
land and erecting buildings indicated an intention to claim title, and it is
certain that he took possession with the approbation of the commanding
officer. Lieutenant McDougall played a conspicuous and honorable part
in the war of the great Pontiac, who besieged the city in 1763. At one
time the lieutenant was a prisoner of the Indians, but managed to escape,
though his fellow prisoner, Capt. Donald Campbell, lost his life.
Immediately after Pontiac found that his efforts to surprise the vil-
lage were fruitless, he set about murdering all the English who lived
without the pickets of the fort. James Fisher and family lived on the
island and the Indians proceeded at once to his house. Fisher himself
was absent up the river, making soundings, in company with Robert
Davers, Captain Robinson and one Mackay. These men were all mur-
dered by the Indians. Fisher's wife was hanged by them, and two of
his children killed ; the other two children were carried off. Twenty-four
head of cattle were also killed. Jean Mayet afterwards accused Alexis
Cuillerier, a Frenchman, of drowning one of the Fisher children, and as
the testimony furnished him was deemed satisfactory, the commandant
banished Cuillerier from the settlement. This was the most severe pen-
alty he could inflict, as there were no courts established here, and conse-
quently no officers to try the accused persons. Some years afterwards,
Commandant Turnbull, ascertaining that Mayet had testified against Cuil-
lerier out of spite, and that his charges were ill-founded, revoked the
sentence of banishment and publicly recalled the accused.
In 1764, after the Indian war was over, two persons, Lieutenant Mant
and Lieut. Edward Abbott, the latter an officer commanding a detachment
of royal artillery, each applied for a grant of the island from the king
and council. The application of Lieutenant Mant was strengthened by
a deed of the island executed to him by Colonel Broadstreet, but these
petitions were not acted upon by the council.
In 1763, George McDougall married Marie Francoise Navarre, daugh-
ter of Robert Navarre, one of the most influential of the French inhab-
itants and royal notary. Backed up by the new family connection, Mc-
Dougall applied to the king for a grant of the island and his application
was favorably received. It was this memorial which, in 1769, instigated
the remonstrance referred to above. The commandant and all of the
officers of the garrison sided with McDougall and gave such evidence as
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 917
they were able, to assist him in procuring a sufficient title from the home
government.
Before this time, McDougall had been a lieutenant in the Sixtieth
Regiment, but was not on half-pay and, as an officer in the service, his
claims were more favorably received than those of the other applicants.
General Gage had notified the commandant, Maj. Thomas Bruce, that
no person had authority to make grants of land at Detroit except the
king, and that no purchase from the Indians was valid unless permission
to make the same was obtained and the transaction carried on in the
presence of the governor and superintendent of Indian affairs. In May,
1768, at a meeting of his majesty, George III, and the privy council, it
was determined that the occupation of the island by McDougall was for
the good of the garrison; that he had suffered great losses during the
siege of the post in 1763, and that he might continue a temporary occu-
pation of the island “so long as his majesty shall think fit to continue an
establishment at Detroit, provided the same can be done without umbrage
to the Indians.”
Lieutenant McDougall, at his own expense, called a council of the
chiefs of the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, and obtained from them a
conveyance of the island, and paid them, in consideration of the deed,
“five barrels of rum, three rolls of tobacco, three pounds of vermillion
and a belt of wampum, and three barrels of rum and three pounds of
paint when possession was taken.” The total value of these articles
was £194.
The deed was signed by the chiefs of the above named tribes in the
presence of Capt. George Turnbull, of the Second Battalion, Sixtieth
Regiment, commandant, and two other officers of the same regiment, and
McDougall was placed in possession of the island. The deed does not
bear any date, but as it appears in the papers of General Gage under the
date of August 29, 1768, it must have been executed between May and
August of that year.
The knowledge of the existence of the deed and order of council spread
rapidly among the inhabitants of Detroit district, and created much ex-
citement. Petitions were drawn up in both French and English, and
very generally signed, requesting the government not to permit the con-
veyance to McDougall. If we are permitted to believe the affidavit of
Pierre Tamizier and the statement of Baptiste Meloche, persons were
compelled to sign the remonstrance of the inhabitants, whether they were
willing to do so or not.
The remonstrances were sent to Governor Carleton and by him for-
warded to Lord Hillsborough. Carleton, in his letter, accompanying the
remonstrance, said he had made diligent search to find any conveyance
to the public, but he had been unsuccessful. He found the grant to
Dequindre, and learned that it had been revoked “upon representation
of the inhabitants that the island was absolutely necessary for them to
receive their cattle in summer to avoid their running wild in the woods,
or the Indians destroying them in any of their drunken frolicks,” and
918 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
he thought it quite likely that no formal instrument of grant had ever
been made. Of interest in this connection are the letters recently trans-
lated.
From the archives of the St. Sulpice Seminary at Montreal the fol-
lowing letters are taken. These letters were discovered in the summer
of 1920 and translated from the original French into English and here
are reproduced for the first time. They afford an insight into the situa-
tion at this time regarding the possession of the Ile aux Cochons (Hog
Island), now known as Belle Isle.
“To Monsieur Captain George Turnbull, Commandant at Detroit and De-
pendencies.
“Monsieur—
“We, captains of militia of the country, have the honor to represent
to you on the part of the public, how much it will be prejudiced to the
place to deprive us of the Ile au Cochons, which we have always possessed
in common since M. de la Mothe has made the cession to our ancestors.
“You know, Monsieur, that in almost all seigneuries there is a com-
mon for the pasturage of the cattle. It is for the same object that that
island was chosen, by preference, in order to place the animals in shelter
(a la Brie) from the mischievousness of the savages and the depredations
of wild animals. Several, it is true, have wished to anticipate our priv-
ileges, but always without avail, so that it has remained to us with no
infringement of our rights under the preceding government.
“The King himself, seigneur of the whole country, by cession to Mons.
de la Mothe, could not usurp further rights without prejudice to his con-
cessions of 1667, to any community of inhabitants over whom he is chief
seigneur, by payment of thirds (du Tier ou Triage), which his Majesty
could formerly exact.
“Besides the commons are inalienable. This is why, Monsieur, we beg
you to have the goodness to add your support to our request, that it may
be laid before Monsieur, the General. We are confident that under the
present government we hold the same privilege we formerly enjoyed, and
that you yourself understand the justice and the necessity of our demand
as you recognize our zeal in the service of His Majesty. We have the
honor to be, Monsieur,
“Your very humble and very obedient servants,
“J. Bte. Chapoton,
“Jacques Campau,
“Eustache Gamelin,
“Pierre Reaume,
“At Detroit, May 18, 1769. “Captains of the Militia of Detroit.”
“To the Gentlemen of Trade of Canada. ©
“Gentlemen :
“To whom address our grievance if not to you, Gentlemen of Canada,
in order to support us in our rights and prerogatives in begging you to
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 919
coöperate with General Gage and Governor Carleton for a court hearing.
You are better acquainted than we with the august body before which
Our case must be presented;—the request that you will find (enclosed)
will instruct you on the subject.
“Many of you will have cognizance of our rights to the Ile aux Cochons,
and eveyone knows that a plot of ground once given over to a community
of habitants can never be reclaimed by the Seigneur. Of what service
to the people of the district is 'this land 2 For more than sixty years it
has served as a place of safety for their cattle from the malignity of the
Savages and from wild animals. Mr. George Turnbull, commandant, has
refused to send our request to General Gage, and demands from us a title
in writing to prove our rights. The original habitants of this country
(or district) did not perhaps exercise precaution, but such an ancient
right as ours, can it be rejected 2 The relinquishment by those to whom
it had first been ceded as a favor, should serve as the proof of our re-
quest. We would be in a position to make certain convictions and as-
surances if Mr. Navarre were not the father-in-law of the person in-
terested (referring to McDougall). It was he, indeed, who was the au-
thor of the request which recovered it from the hands of Mr. Dequindre,
to whom it had been granted, and in virtue of which it was handed over
and restored to the people by publication at the church door.
“Madam de Celeron may yet have the orders of the General sent to
M. de Celeron, who commanded at Detroit at that time. She could at
least give some elucidation concerning it. A delivery so authentic should
constitute a good title. You could also obtain from M. de Belestre, the
former commandant, some attestations of advantage, and learn from
him upon what grounds he delivered the Isle aux Cochons to the English.
Gentlemen, if all this does not suffice, we beg you to search the registers
and the records of the province, where you will find something in our
favor. We have also a right to the commons of the town, called the ban-
lieue. If you find anything relative to that matter, we beg you to give
advice concerning it to Mr. Carleton, that he may transmit the informa-
tion to General Gage, to whom we are writing on the subject, as you may
see from the copy of his letter. w
“We shall speak to you on another occasion of the matter in which
we are treated and how much we are in need of your help. Your interest,
Gentlemen, is sufficiently bound up with ours to engage you to interest
yourselves with us. We hope that you will spare nothing to make our
demands of effect, and that you will join with Governor Carleton, and
give him all possible enlightenment on these matters. We have not been
able to send in our representations earlier; the Sudden departure of the
vessel did not give us time.
“We have the honor to be, with respect, Gentlemen,
“Your very humble and obedient servants,
“Jacques Campau,
“J. B. Chapoton,
“Pierre Reaume.”
“At Detroit, 24 May, 1769.”
920 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
(Copy of the letter addressed to General Gage).
“Monsieur :
“On the 18th instant we had the honor of presenting, in the public
name, a request to Captain Turnbull, asking him to forward to you our
respectful representations covering the Ile aux Cochons. He has refused
to do this, for what reason it is not for us to question.
“But this is why, Monsieur, for and in the name of the people, we
very respectfully beg Your Excellency to support us in our rights and
claims upon the said Island, that it may be restored to us, since it has
been in our possession more than sixty years. We are told it belongs to
the King. This is true in the sense that the whole country is his by
title of Seigneur, but it is ours by the title of commonalty. Our late
conflict with Mr. Dequindre is an authentic proof of this; in spite of the
concession he had obtained it was publicly restored to us.
“Also, the Gentlemen, the Commandants, have usurped for some years
now a part of the commons of the town ordinarily called the ban-lieue
and have made it an enclosure for their special convenience, to the great
disadvantage of the citizens. That enclosure lies between the fort and
the open country, so that it shuts off any road of communication (into
the fort).
“This is contrary to all laws and customs, since the gates of the
town are closed at Sundown and the habitants are forced to sleep in the
open with their carts. We are also in distress because forbidden to cut
any wood and even threatened with the refusal of pasturing our cattle.
“This is why, Monsieur, we beg Your Excellency, very insistently, that
you will confirm to us all our rights and privileges which we enjoyed
under the former Government, as also those granted to the present sub-
jects of His Britannic Majesty.
“We are persuaded that if our grievances had been placed before you,
we would have received every satisfaction, in the same degree as you
are assured of our interest in the present government, were it only
known to you, and of our profound respect with which we have the honor
to be, of Your Excellency,
“Your very obedient servants,
“Jacques Campau,
“J. B. Chapoton,
“E. Gamelin,
“P. Pierre Reaume.”
“Detroit, May 24, 1769.
“Captains of Militia for and
in the name of the people.”
(Copy of letter addressed to Governor Carleton).
“Monsieur:
“Your interest in public affairs inspires us with confidence to beg
you, in the name of the people of this district, to listen favorably to our
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 921
representations, that we may receive recognition from His Majesty in our
claims.
“We are even persuaded that your influence will obtain complete
satisfaction for us in this matter. We did ourselves the honor of writ-
ing to General Gage, but Captain Turnbull refused the letter acceptance
and would not send our request. We are ignorant of his reasons for
this refusal. We believe, however, that he has had more indulgence for
Mr. McDougall.
“The sudden sailing of the ship after the publication of the order
did not give us the necessary time to make our humble representations.
We beg the provincial government to search the records of Canada for
Some written proof of our titles, and to communicate such proof to you
that they may be authenticated. For this appears to be the foundation
of the claims which are being made against us, though our possession of
the public commons for more than sixty years should be sufficient to
establish a good title. Besides, the restoration which was made to us,
to the prejudice of others who had made a former like claim, should
serve to establish our right. More than this, our possession since this
country was ceded (to the British in 1760) should be continued accord-
ing to all rights and customs. This Island, Monsieur, is of indispensable
consequence to us for the protection of our cattle. This was why it was
Originally given to the inhabitants of the community, but our ancestors
were not sufficiently foresighted to obviate all claims founded upon the
lack of a written grant, and upon greed, which now works to the preju-
dice of our rights.
“We are convinced that His Majesty and his council have been taken
by surprise, and that if they had known the claim of the people and their
need of that commons, they would never have acceded to the claim of
Mr. George McDougall. We even believe that there are certain restric-
tions in his acquisition, and that this is the reason he has obtained the
Indian consent by Some barrels of rum to allow him to take possession
and that he has made his right public, believing, without doubt, that the
silence of the people and the consent of the Indians had assured him
complete possession.
“This is why, Monsieur, we beg you, in the name of the entire com-
munity, to make valid our rights and pretentions to the Ile aux Cochons,
that we may be restored to our former prerogatives. We would solicit
all such favors with the most profound respect and have the honor to
remain, Monsieur,
“Your very humble and very obedient servants,
“Jacques Campau,
“Eustache Gamelin,
“J. Bte. Chapoton,
“Pierre Reaume.”
“Detroit, May 24, 1769.”
922 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
“Detroit, April 2, 1771.
“To the Gentlemen Merchants of Canada.
“Messieurs:
“We ask for the restitution of the Ile aux Cochons, since it has not
yet been granted to us. We have the honor to beg you to a renewed in-
terest in our favor. No one of us but does not daily feel the detriment
to his cattle by the cession of that commons.
“His Excellency, General Gage, has proposed arbitration with Mon-
sieur McDougall, to which we have consented, but which he has refused,
saying that His Majesty and his council would decide the difference be-
tween us. We are writing to General Gage and to Governor Carleton that
they will act in our interest, and we beg you, Gentlemen, in the name
of the public, to lend your assistance to all which concerns us and to
spare no efforts to aid us in obtaining justice.
“To accomplish this, we ask you to join with us in writing Governor
Carleton, that he may deign to support our claim as he has promised,
if representations are made by the people of the province, and it will be
very much to the point to interest them in our cause. We are persuaded
that if His Majesty had been fully informed of our rights and preten-
tions to the Commons, he would never have consented to do us such a
wrong in favor of a single individual.
“Individually, we flatter ourselves with a happy termination of our
troubles if you unite with us, and this is what we hope of good patriots
who have the common interest at heart. We confide ourselves, therefore,
to your interest and effort in obtaining for us prompt and full satisfac-
tion, being ever under sincere obligations to you and never ceasing to
be, Gentlemen,
“Your very humble and very obedient servants,
“Jacques Campau,
“C. A. Barthe,
“L. St. Cosme,
“Pre. Chapoton,
“Pierre Reaume.”
Nothing came of the opposition to McDougall's claim on the island.
In 1773 a census was taken here which shows that there were on the
island one man, one woman, three servants, twenty oxen, seventeen cows,
thirty-two heifers, 121 sheep, thirty hogs, two houses and one barn.
The War of the Revolution broke out and Detroit became the most
important of the western posts in British hands. Henry Hamilton was
appointed lieutenant-governor here. Hamilton had been importuned by
the French to get the island away from McDougall, and he concluded to
oblige them, and at the same time to get a fine property for the war
department. So he wrote to Governor Carleton in January, 1778, as
follows:
“The inhabitants having represented to me the losses and damage
they suffer by being deprived of their commonage of Hog Island, I have
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 923
directed Capt. McDougall's brother-in-law, who is his attorney at this
place, to acquaint him that unless I have your Excellency’s orders to the
contrary, the inhabitants shall be reinstated in the possession of it on
the first of May, 1778, which is time sufficient to prove a right.”
In August of the same year he again wrote:
“If Capt. McDougall shall prosecute his pretensions in the courts, I
request you to produce the claims of the inhabitants, which, in my humble
Opinion, are sufficient to support their title. An island, being a royalty,
if it had ever been granted from a crown as a commons, I apprehend the
inhabitants have no power to surrender that right, as their posterity
would thereby be injured past redress.”
Carleton had been removed from his office as governor and, in answer
to Hamilton’s letter, said that he would place the letters before his suc-
cessor, Frederick Haldimand, immediately on his arrival, and that, in
the meantime, Hamilton should collect all materials he could, and send
them down to be examined by the crown lawyers.
On the 7th of October, 1778, Hamilton set off on his ill-fated expedi-
tion to take Vincennes from General Clark, where he was defeated and
taken prisoner. He left Major Lernoult in charge of the fort here, but
Lernoult remained only a short time, when he was succeeded by Maj.
Arent Schuyler De Peyster, who remained in charge until the close of
the war. On the very day of Hamilton's departure for Vincennes, Gen-
eral Haldimand wrote to him asking if there were not lands near the fort
at Detroit where the garrison might be employed in cultivating grain
and raising cattle for their own subsistence.
At the beginning of the Revolution, McDougall took a captaincy in
the 84th Regiment, stationed at Detroit, where he remained until 1778,
when he was sent to take charge of the detachment on Carleton Island.
He was taken sick, and early in 1780 went to Montreal, where he ap-
plied for permission to sell his commission in the service. Haldimand
at first refused to allow the sale, but on representation that McDougall
was likely to die, he granted permission, and the captaincy was trans-
ferred to Captain Sinclair of the 15th Regiment. McDougall died in
Montreal about April 8, 1780, leaving his widow and two sons, Robert
(or John Robert, as he was afterwards called), born June 30, 1764, and
George, born October 19, 1766.
Immediately after the death of Captain McDougall, Haldimand, Sup-
posing that the island would be sold in order to close up the estate, di-
rected De Peyster not to permit the sale, as it was his intention to reclaim
it for the use of the crown and garrison at Detroit, and to settle on it such
prisoners as might be taken on the incursions towards the Ohio.
The McDougall family were dependent upon the liberality of the gov-
ernor for the most valuable portion of their property, and he hastened
to assure the widow that her rights would be taken care of. De Peyster
took possession of the property, however, and after having the property
appraised, placed Capt. Isaac Ruddle and his family and one other fam-
ily on the island, reserving a part of the meadow ground for the king's
924 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
cattle. Captain Ruddle was a “rebel” who had been taken prisoner by
Captain Bird on one of the latter’s expeditions towards the Ohio; how-
ever, Ruddle remained quietly on the island until 1782, when he obtained
leave to go to Montreal to see if he could not be exchanged, so as to re-
turn to his home.
The appraisers chosen by Major De Peyster were Nathan Williams
and Jean Baptiste Crainte, a master carpenter, and the result of their
appraisal was as follows: One dwelling house valued at £250; one
dwelling house valued at £40; one dwelling house valued at £10; an old
barn, without a top, valued at £18; a fowl house at £6, and some timber
at £10; totaling £334.
The island was supposed to contain 768 acres. -
There were no courts established in Detroit at this time, and the en-
tire district was within the jurisdiction of Montreal. It has been
asserted, and is probably true, that William Macomb was appointed
guardian of the two McDougall boys, by the Montreal court, and Macomb
very likely looked after the interests of his wards, though there are no
evidences obtainable to show that he did anything for some years.
Mrs. McDougall was a French lady, daughter of the old notary,
Navarre, and was well educated. In an unpublished memorial of the
widow, who signs herself Marie Magdougall, she offers, for herself and
children, to relinquish their interest in the island for five hundred pounds
sterling. This memorial is in French and is addressed to General Haldi-
mand, September 20, 1781. The offer was not accepted, but, on the other
hand, the McDougall heirs refused to accept the appraisal made by
De Peyster.
Possession, however, was taken and claimed by the commanding offi-
cer, and retained for some years. In the census of 1782, De Peyster re-
ported that “Hog Island will produce, this harvest, one hundred bushels
of wheat and seven or eight hundred bushels of Indian corn. The small
Quantity of wheat owing to the late heavy rains.”
Both Haldimand and De Peyster wished to erect a windmill on the
island, for the purpose of grinding wheat, but this year De Peyster found
his hands too full of other work to give attention to the matter, and he
begged the general to defer the work until a more appropriate time. He
employed a millwright from Kentucky to begin the work, but he was, at
the same time, putting up a new powder magazine in the fort, and he
had not stones enough and vessels sufficient to carry the stone for both
purposes, and continued the magazine, leaving, as he said, the mill house
until next spring. -
De Peyster was commandant, not governor, of Detroit, and Hamilton
retained the office of lieutenant-governor, though he was in prison at
Williamsburgh, Va., and he continued to retain this office until the ap-
pointment of Jehu Hay in 1782. Hay had served under De Peyster and
there was some ill feeling between them, so that De Peyster wanted to
leave Detroit before Hay arrived. De Peyster’s wishes were gratified;
first, by Haldimand’s preventing Hay from coming to Detroit immediately
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 925
On his appointment, and next, by transferring De Peyster to Niagara
When Hay was, at length, permitted to come here.
George McDougall, the son, although only a boy in years, had become
a lieutenant in the British service, and turned his attention to obtaining
his rights on the island.
By the terms of the treaty which, in 1783, terminated the Revolu-
tionary war, the boundary line between the United States and England
was fixed at the channel in the Detroit River, thus making Hog Island a
possession of the former country. It will be recalled that the British
refused to surrender these posts to the United States, and that it was not
until 1796 that Detroit passed into the possession of our government.
Notwithstanding the fact that they retained possession, the British con-
sidered the retention unlawful and from 1783 made no improvement
whatever on any property remaining in possession of the troops except
what was absolutely necessary for their continued occupation. The
pickets of the fort were pulled up, broken off by the Indians crowding
between them to enter the village, and were washed away by spring
freshets; lands on the public commons were occupied for private pur-
poses, a thing never tolerated before, and in all ways the authorities gave
an indirect notice that they no longer claimed the right of ownership
Over the property, but expected to be called on to move at any time.
The memorials of Lieutenant McDougall to Haldimand in October,
1783, and in July, 1784, set forth the ownership of the island by his
father in his lifetime, and the ownership by his mother, brother and him-
self at the present time; that the island was now within the lines of the
United States, and consequently would no longer be of use to the crown,
and asked that the property be restored to the owners. De Peyster also
advised Haldimand to accede to the wishes of McDougall, the more
willingly, perhaps, because he found that the property would fall within
the American lines, by the terms of the treaty, and because the British
government had nothing to vest the title in the crown, other than to take
possession under the direction of Haldimand himself.
On the first of October, 1784, Lieutenant-Governor Hay was directed
to put Lieutenant McDougall in possession of the island, reserving to the
crown only the right of storing and placing on the island, in case of the
evacuation of the post of Detroit, all effects belonging to the crown, as
long as it might be necessary.
The island having thus again passed completely under control of the
McDougall family, which then consisted of the brothers, George and John
Robert, remained in their possession until November 11, 1793, when John
Robert conveyed his moiety to William Macomb for £818, 16s. The
island was in the actual possession at this time of Messrs. Meldrum and
Park, merchants of the fort.
George McDougall had agreed on July 25, 1785, to convey his half of
the island to his brother, John Robert, but owing to the financial troubles
of the latter, he did not make the conveyance until January 6, 1794, and
then, on April 7th of that year, William Macomb purchased the other
926 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
half of the island for 776 pounds. In both of these conveyances to
Macomb there was a symbolical act which was common at that day,
termed livery of seizin, by which the land was understood to be actually
delivered to the purchaser. s
In these transfers the delivery was made by giving to Macomb “a
twig in the name of the whole premises.” William Macomb died in
1796, still owning the property, and by his will devised it to his three
sons, John, William and David.
Our government took possession of the country in 1796, and for a few
years matters progressed without much inquiry as to titles to real estate,
but when the question was brought before Congress it was resolved to
ignore the grants of the Indians, and of the French and British govern-
ments, except in a few cases, and commissioners were appointed to sit
in Detroit and hear claims for titles to real estate based upon actual
possession before July 1, 1796.
The Macomb brothers filed their claim for the island, and adduced
evidences of actual occupation as required by law, and the land was
awarded to them. John had mortgaged his share of his father’s estate
to his uncle, Alexander (the father of Gen. Alexander Macomb), and died
leaving the estate thus encumbered. It was found necessary, in this
complication, to appeal to the register of the district of Erie, Huron and
Detroit (the probate court of today), to partition the ancestor’s estate,
and in the partition so made in 1817, our island was allotted to David B.
Macomb.
Barnabas Campau purchased the island from David B. Macomb,
March 3, 1817, for $5,000. From this time forward, although the land
was the private property of Mr. Campau, it was looked upon more and
more as the property of the city, the citizens using it as a place of quar-
antine, as a dueling ground, and as a general picnic ground.
The steamer Henry Clay, having on board Gen. Winfield Scott and a
detachment of soldiers on their way to Chicago, reached Detroit in July,
1832, when one of the soldiers was taken ill with cholera and died in a
few hours. General Scott, in his report of it, says that “the only surgeon
on board, in a panic gulped down half a bottle of wine, went to bed sick,
and ought to have died.” Fortunately, the general himself, before setting
out on the expedition, had consulted the surgeon Morver in New York,
and had received instructions how to proceed in cholera cases, as he ex-
pected to receive a visit from the scourge, and “thus he became the doctor
on the afflicting occasion.”
Other passengers were taken ill within a short time, and the vessel
was ordered to proceed to Hog Island, and supplies were sent to it from
the city. Two of the persons employed to communicate with the boat
were stricken the next day, and one died in the city; the other recovered.
The spreading of the cholera created a reign of terror in the city and
adjoining country, and all kinds of wild schemes were resorted to in
order to prevent its spread; stage coaches were fired into and the horses
killed; travelers were turned out of hotels and their baggage pitched
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 927
after them; armed sentinels were stationed on the highways to prevent
the passage of strangers. The stoppage of the Henry Clay at the island
Was Only long enough to procure needed supplies, and she sailed on to
Mackinac and Chicago, spreading the disease as she went. Seven soldiers
died in Detroit, four were put ashore at Mackinac sick, and eighteen died
between Mackinac and Chicago.
There have been several duels in Detroit and vicinity, one resulting
in the death of Col. Otis Fisher in 1817. One took place on November
23, 1836, between Arthur Rankin and Henry Richardson. A contempo-
rary account of the affair will best illustrate it and rob the duel of its
terrors:
“AN AFFAIR OF HONOR
“We learn that on Saturday last, pistol shots were heard on the classic
ground of Hog Island, between two ‘gentlemen’ of Amherstburgh, Upper
Canada; one a lawyer, Richardson, and the other a gentleman loafer,
named Rankin. The cause of this honorable interview grew out of a
bar-room quarrel, in which said Rankin was injured, either in person or
character, to an extent which nothing could repair short of a duel. A
challenge was sent and accepted, and according to agreement the parties
met at twelve paces, with pistols and seconds. Upon firing, Richardson
received a ball in the side, which passed through, causing a serious mov-
ing of the bowels. Upon his falling, his seconds were so much alarmed
as to leave the ground with precipitation and were soon out of view.
Rankin, receiving no serious injury, fled in a canoe, thinking, per-
haps, that
‘He who fights and runs away,
May live to fight another day.”
“Richardson was taken up by some men who were near the island in
a canoe, and conveyed to Sandwich, where he is under the charge of a
surgeon.”
As the city grew in population and the steamers on the river mul-
tiplied, the island came to be used for picnic parties, and for sightseers
and wanderers generally on holidays. The island was fixed for their
accommodation, and revenue was derived from it by the ferry company,
at least, and possibly by the lessees of the resort. The uncouth name of
Hog Island had clung to it for one hundred and forty-five years, when,
by prearrangement, a great number of people visited it in company on
July 4, 1845. The meeting was called to order at 5 o'clock in the after-
noon, and Morgan Bates was chosen to preside, with William Duane
Wilson as secretary.
On motion of Mr. E. Goodell, it was unanimously “Resolved, That now,
henceforth and forever, this island, now known as ‘Hog Island,’ be known
and hailed as “Belle Isle’.” The change in name seems to have been made
without the consent of the owner, Mr. Campau.
Several reasons have been suggested for calling it by that name, but
928 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
it is probable that the meaning of the word “Belle” is sufficient explana-
tion. One lady in Pontiac, on hearing of the incident, thought the change
was entirely inappropriate; she wrote to the Jacksonian that the word
“Hog” was better, “because so many husbands went there without their
wives.”
Barnabas Campau continued to own the property until his death,
October 8, 1845, when it passed to his four children, Mrs. Angelique
Piquette, Emilie Campau, John Barnabas Campau, and Alexander
Macomb Campau. (A curious fact connected with the title of the island
is that Barnabas Campau’s second wife, the mother of his two sons, was
a daughter of John Robert McDougall, who was the former Owner).
Although the property was divided among the heirs, and John B.
Campau’s share passed to his widow, later Mrs. Richard Storrs Willis,
it remained otherwise undisposed of until 1879, when it was conveyed
to the city.
The matter of a large public park had been agitated through the
papers, among the people, and before the courts for some years preced-
ing the purchase of this island. The little parks scattered through the
city were not deemed a sufficient breathing space for all of the people,
and then the city was growing rapidly, the citizens were frequently
visiting foreign cities and foreign countries and bringing home accounts
of parks and boulevards seen on their journeys. On the 24th of Novem-
ber, 1868, Alderman Richard Hawley introduced a resolution in the com-
mon council requesting the appointment of a special committee on parks.
and to purchase lands for a larger park, and the committee so appointed
consisted of Mayor William W. Wheaton, Alderman Zina Pitcher, Richard
Hawley, Francis Adams, and William H. Langley. This committee hav-
ing reported in favor of a larger park, the city counselor was directed to
submit to the legislature an amendment to the city charter permitting
the city to borrow the necessary money to purchase the land by issuing
bonds. The mayor, on the 22d of December following, advertised for
proposals for a site for a park from parties “having suitable sites to dis-
pose of either by gift or sale.” The proposed amendment to the charter
did not pass the legislature, and for a time the park question was per-
mitted to slumber, and as nothing could be done without legislative action,
the only thing was to delay action until a new legislature should meet in
the beginning of 1871.
On the 24th of January, 1871, a meeting was called, at which Hon.
G. V. N. Lothrop presided, to consider the matter of a park and boule-
vard, but as the meeting was somewhat informal, it was proposed to call
a more public one the next week at the city hall. The result of these
meetings was the passage through the legislature, then in session, of the
Park Act of April 15, 1871, and the appointment of six commissioners,
George V. N. Lothrop, John J. Bagley, Robert P. Toms, Merrill I. Mills,
A. Smith Bagg and William A. Butler.
The board thus organized, solicited and obtained four considerable
bids for a site. First, one down the river, which was quickly withdrawn,
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 929
and does not figure in this report; second, one on Grand River Avenue,
consisting of 500 acres, including the Tireman farm; third, one on the
West side of the Pontiac Turnpike, four and a half miles from the city
hall, of 410 acres at $190 per acre; and fourth, one on Jefferson Ave-
nue, three miles from the city hall. The majority of the board sub-
mitted a report to the council on the 21st day of November, 1871, de-
Scribing the various offers made to them, stating that the Jefferson Ave-
nue site had been chosen. A minority report was submitted by A. Smith
Bagg, deprecating the purchase of any park just at this time, as it would
necessarily add to the tax levy, but at the same time Mr. Bagg suggested
that, if it was fully determined that a park was necessary, three small
parks of 200 acres each should be purchased, one east, one north and one
West, of the city, and that they should be connected by boulevards.
The majority report was adopted and the mayor was requested to
call a citizens’ meeting to act on the issue of bonds to pay for the land.
The mayor, William W. Wheaton, was personally in favor of the park,
but doubted the legality of the law appointing the commissioners, and
for that reason he vetoed the resolution. It was, however, passed over
his veto, and he called a citizens’ meeting at the court-room in the
city hall. -
Up to this time the function of the citizens’ meetings was similar to
that of the later board of estimates. These meetings were called an-
nually, or more often if necessary, and all citizens were supposed to at-
tend and have an equal voice in their deliberations. The estimates for
each year were made by the council, and submitted to the crowd and ap-
proved or rejected by them ; and the meeting could scale down or wholly
eliminate any of the estimates, but at this meeting, and at a subsequent
one, “there was so much noise, confusion and violence, that no intelligent
discussion could be had, and no result was reached.” The action of the
meeting served to persuade the legislature to repeal the law permitting
citizens’ meetings, and to organize the board of estimates in its place.
The park board, finding that they could not purchase lands under the
law as it then stood, applied to the legislature in 1873 to enlarge their
powers, so as to permit them to purchase lands within certain limits, and
to submit their actions to the common council, expecting the council to
issue bonds for the amount necessary to cover their purchases, without
question. The membership of the board had been changed by the Sub-
stitution of Charles C. Trowbridge and Charles I. Walker for William
A. Butler and A. Smith Bagg. •
The commissioners had expressed a decided preference for the Jeffer-
son Avenue site, and the property owners in other parts of the city were
constantly attempting to create a public dissatisfaction. Doubtless the
majority of the people were well satisfied, but the minority were exas-
peratingly agile and demonstrative. A committee of twenty of the dis-
affected ones was chosen at a meeting held at Young Men's Hall, April
21, 1873, and they prepared a lengthy memorial and resolutions which
they presented to the council requesting that body to defeat the park bill
930 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
at all hazards. At the head of this committee was Capt. Eber B. Ward,
and the others were nearly all prominent business men and lawyers.
It is particularly to be noticed that one member of this committee
was A. Smith Bagg, who had been one of the park commissioners as first
organized. One of the most persistent, and certainly the most influential
of the minority was the mayor himself, Mr. Hugh Moffat, whose actions
in their behalf resulted in the entire defeat of the park plan.
At the request of this committee the council concluded to wait until
the commissioners should ask for the issuing of bonds before doing any-
thing more in the matter.
On the 12th of August, 1873, the park commissioners made a full re-
port of their work to the council, showing that they had entered into
agreements to purchase 375 acres of land on Jefferson Avenue, opposite
the island, and that they expected to purchase or condemn, seventy-five
acres more, and asked that the council order $300,000 in bonds to be
issued as provided in the park act.
This report was referred to the committee on ways and means, David
Preston, Guy F. Hinchman, and Charles M. Garrison, and the city coun-
selor, Dewitt C. Holbrook. A majority report favored the issuing of the
bonds, because the council could have no choice as the law stood, but the
minority report of C. M. Garrison alone was adverse, because, as he said,
he believed the park act to be unconstitutional and void, and that the
legislature could not compel the council to issue the bonds. On a vote
being had, it was found that the two parties were a tie, and the resolu-
tion to issue the bonds did not pass.
The commissioners at once applied to the supreme court to compel the
council to issue the bonds, alleging that it was their duty so to do when
requested by the park board, but the supreme court held that the council
had a right to refuse if they so voted.
The option which the board had obtained for lands for the park would
expire on the first day of January, 1874, and in order to throw the re-
sponsibility for the failure of the park on the council, they made a fur-
ther report December 5, 1873, and again requested the council to order
the necessary bonds to issue. This time they met with better success,
and their petition was granted to the extent of directing the controller to
issue $200,000 in bonds to purchase a portion of the chosen site. This
resolution was vetoed by Mayor Moffat, but passed over his veto, and the
controller issued and signed the bonds and handed them to the mayor for
his signature, as required by the park act. The mayor refused to sign
the bonds, and the park board once more applied to the supreme court,
only to be told by that tribunal that the park act of 1873 was entirely
void, and that they could not act under it.
Until this time, Mr. Lothrop had been the moving spirit in the whole
work, but his failures had discouraged him, and from this time he either
took no part whatever, or assisted the opposition in the subsequent boule-
vard and park matters. .
In 1874 there was considerable talk of digging a tunnel for railway
CHARLES I. WALKER ELLIOTT T. SLOCUM
MARTIN S. SMITH MERRILL I. MILLS



WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 933
purposes under the river here, and a great deal was said about the matter
in the papers, and some public meetings of citizens called. In the midst
of the excitement the late Robert E. Roberts wrote a letter to the press,
advocating the building of a bridge from the lower end of the island to
the mainland, the running of a railroad the entire length of the island
With a tunnel from the upper end to the Canadian shore. The matter
did not take shape, though it was supposed the city would fall into im-
mediate ruin unless the tunnel was built instantly.
The legislatures of 1875 and 1877 were allowed to pass without action
in the matter of a park, but early in the 1879 session Mr. Eber W. Cot-
trell introduced a bill for a boulevard which contained a clause for a
park. While the bill was being discussed at Lansing, the following ap-
peared in The Evening News of February 28, 1879:
“If, as reported at Lansing, the city of Detroit can obtain the fee of
Belle Island for $180,000, we believe that it could not do better than to
purchase it. The sum is a very small one indeed compared with the
benefits that could be derived from it in time. Circumstances will make
its possession necessary some time or other, and it is wiser to buy now
than to wait until the price has doubled or quadrupled. We are among
those who believe Detroit has a future, and that it will need the im-
provements and means of health and civilization which other cities enjoy,
and among them a park. It would be impossible to locate one in a more
beautiful place than this island. It will not be necessary to improve it
at Once, that can be left to the future; but we should obtain possession
of it by all means when it can be done so cheaply.”
This is the first public suggestion for using the island as a park that
I have been able to find.
About this time the matter of the bridge or tunnel was again brought
up, public meetings were held, and committees appointed to see Vander-
bilt, Congress, the parliament at Ottawa, our state legislature and Our
city council, to force the matter through in some way, and one of the Sug-
gestions was Mr. Roberts’ old scheme of buying the island in order to use
it for that purpose. Messrs. Levi L. Barbour and William B. Moran es-
pecially exerted themselves to get the city to purchase the property.
Messrs. George C. Langdon, John J. Bagley, Bela Hubbard, Charles I.
Walker, Martin S. Smith and David O. Farrand obtained an agreement
from the owners to sell the island to the city for $200,000, and presented
the agreement to the council April 8, 1879. Petitions with thousands
of signatures were presented to the council urging the purchase, and
when the matter was before the legislature petitions in abundance were
sent to Lansing. The only remonstrance of which public notice was
made was signed by Christian H. Buhl, William A. Butler, Allan Sheldon,
Frederick Buhl, W. C. Colburn, Henry P. Baldwin, Alanson Sheley, Jacob
S. Farrand, Chauncey Hurlbut, and C. M. Davison, and the reason for
their opposition was not stated. Practically unanimous then, as the
934 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
people were, the boulevard and park bills passed through the House and
Senate together, meeting with the same friends and the same enemies.
The park act passed the senate May 23, 1879. The owners of the
property were not all in Detroit, and it took some time to finish the de-
tails of the purchase, but the last deeds that vested the title of the prop-
erty in the city were recorded September 25, 1879.
The city owning the property, naturally one of the first questions to
be settled was who should have control of the island to transform it from
its wild condition into a park. The old park act of 1871 was still in
force, though the commissioners had not acted since 1874, and no new
commissioners had been appointed since that date. It was alleged on the
part of Mayor Langdon that he had the right to appoint commissioners,
under that act, to take charge of and improve the island; on the other
hand it was claimed that the powers of commissioners who might be ap-
pointed under that act were limited to such lands as were, by that act,
contemplated to be purchased, viz., the Jefferson Avenue site, and that
they could have no control over the island.
William G. Thompson was elected mayor in the fall of 1879, and took
possession of his office on the first of the succeeding January. One of
the last official acts of Mayor Langdon, who preceded Thompson, was to
appoint Theo. Chapoton, W. K. Muir, John Pridgeon, Jr., Augustus
Goebel, Edwin F. Conely, and William B. Moran, commissioners under
the old park act. When these names came before the council for con-
firmation it was found that two republicans, Aldermen Ryan and Connor,
voted with the democrats, and thus confirmed the mayor’s nominations.
The commissioners themselves were not seriously objectionable, but the
manner in which they were chosen was so offensive to the new mayor that
he resolved not to recognize them in any manner, and not to permit them
to have any control over the park. The mayor’s attitude in the matter
was approved by his own political party, by both of the city’s legal de-
partments, by the police department (which took possession of the island
for him), and by the people generally. The board of estimates went so
far in their approval of the mayor’s course as to refuse, at his request,
to make any appropriation for the improvement of the island while its
possession was in contention.
Mayor Thompson, in his first message, said: “The park commission
may have a legal existence, but it has nothing to do with Belle Isle. Any
interferences on its part with that island will be resisted.” Unfor-
tunately, Charles Ewers, a republican, but a firm friend of the Langdon
park commission, was chosen president of the council. It will be re-
membered that at the republican national convention which nominated
James A. Garfield for President, our Mayor Thompson was one of the
delegates who voted continuously for General Grant for the third term ;
Thompson, as a delegate to that convention, was in Chicago on Friday,
May 28, 1880, and the council took advantage of his absence to pass a
resolution turning the custody and control of the island over to the Lang-
don commission. .
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 935
If Mayor Thompson had been in Detroit, this resolution would have
been useless, because it would have been vetoed at once, and they had
no hope of being able to control votes enough to pass the resolution over
the veto, but in the mayor’s absence Alderman Ewers became acting
mayor, and they knew that he would, if he could, approve of the measure.
The situation was critical. If the mayor could return at once, he might
veto the measure, but if he did not so return, it would become absolute
With the consent of the acting mayor, Ewers. Telegrams were at once
Sent to Thompson, explaining the matter and requesting his immediate
return. It was some hours before Thompson could be found in Chicago,
but as soon as he received the telegrams he set out for home, and reached
Detroit before 6 o'clock Saturday evening. In the meantime, at noon of
the same day, Acting Mayor Ewers had approved of the proceedings of
the council, and had sent them, with his approval, to the city clerk.
As soon as Mayor Thompson learned the situation of affairs, upon
his arrival, he sent to the council a message vetoing the obnoxious reso-
lution, and at Once returned to Chicago. At the next meeting of the
council the veto message was read, and it was voted not to receive it, but
to return it to Thompson at Chicago. The convention was over and
Thompson had returned to Detroit when the resolution to return his
former veto came before him for approval. He promptly vetoed the
resolution, and in his veto message said there seemed to be a conspiracy
to deprive him of his voice in the city legislature, and said: “The entire
matter forms the culmination of a series of intrigues on the part of the
Langdon commissioners to obtain possession of Belle Isle, and its val-
uable possessions, against the better sentiment and wishes of a large
majority of the taxpayers. The matter will soon be tested in the courts.”
Indeed, the only thing left for the mayor to do was to appeal to the
courts, for the commissioners were making demands upon the police de-
partment for the possession of the island, and entered into a lease with
John Horn, Sr., of a portion of the Willis place, known as Inselruhe.
The application of the mayor to the supreme court was, in reality, to
determine the right of Mr. Ewers to approve the proceedings of the coun-
cil. The effort of the commission was to delay the hearing of the matter
by the court as long as possible and to get possession of the island at once.
Patrolman Cohoon was living in the house at Inselruhe, holding it in the
name of the police department. The lessee of the commissioners, on the
night of July 19, 1880, went to the island with a gang of ruffians “yelling
and screaming in a most frightful manner,” and undertook to take
forcible possession of the house and drive the occupant out, but finding
Cohoon armed and determined to resist them, they finally departed,
“yelling like wild beasts.” This was the only attempt to use force. The
commission raised a question of pleading in the case in the Supreme court,
in which they were beaten, but the delay caused by deciding this question
prevented the hearing of the main question, and the controversy was de-
cided on its merits too late to be of any use.
In the summer of 1880, a resolution was introduced in the council
936 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
looking to the sale of the island, and Alderman Warriner, who introduced
the resolution, said regarding the original purchase of it: “It is well
known that this scheme was conceived in sin and brought forth in in-
iquity. We have had one year of it, and can see what a precious time we
will have if the city is to keep it.” The resolution was not entertained by
the council, but a few days later the following letter appeared in one of
the Detroit dailies:
“On my return from the east, Saturday last, I noticed the honorable
the Common Council are discussing the advisability of selling Belle Isle
Park, so called. As an humble citizen of the wealthy metropolis of De-
troit, it is my judgement it had better be sold (if it can be legally) unless
the municipal government can be placed in the power of men whose souls
are large enough, whose ideas are broad enough, and whose principals are
strong and honest enough to entirely ignore their personal grievances in
the interests and for the improvement of the property of the city, and who
are sufficiently considerate to show some regard for the welfare and
health of the citizens. Should it be deemed advisable to sell, and place
the purchase price at its original cost, with accrued interest, I think I
can find a purchaser who will pay the amount in forty-eight hours. I
could have done so six weeks ago.
“George C. Langdon.”
“August 2, 1880.”
In the following March, 1881, Capt. John Pridgeon offered to give
$225,000 for the island, and Alderman Warriner again attempted to have
his resolution to sell the park acted upon by the council, but he was not
successful.
The legislature being now in session, a bill was introduced to repeal
the old park act, and the bill became a law a few days before the supreme
court rendered its decision on the veto of Mayor Thompson. The coun-
cil, having full authority now to act, passed an ordinance in July, 1881,
for the government of the island, and the mayor appointed four persons
to have control of the island as park commissioners, namely: Merrill I.
Mills, August Marxhausen, William A. Moore and James McMillan—
popularly known as “the four M's.”
Later in the season another ordinance was passed requiring the ferry
company to pay the city two cents for every passenger they landed at
the island. This requirement was, however, only in force for a short
time, and was repealed September 27th. Although very little had been
done to the island in the way of clearing it up, it was estimated that more
than 200,000 persons visited it during the year 1881.
The name of the island was officially changed from Belle Isle to Belle
Isle Park by the ordinance of the council of August 29, 1881. :
In the spring of 1883 the legislature passed an act which virtually
confirmed the ordinance of July, 1881. It provided for the retention in
office of the present commissioners until the terms for which they were
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 937
Originally appointed should expire, and changed them from officials hold-
ing under a city ordinance to officials holding under a state law.
In 1886 the council granted permission to Hugh McMillan, William A.
Jackson, Frank E. Snow, William C. Williams, and Frank E. Fisher, and
their assigns, to establish and operate an electric railway on the island,
but no corporation was ever organized to do the work, and the ordinance
was repealed January 31, 1893.
A radical change was made in the management of the island by the
legislature in May, 1889. Up to this time there had been a continual
rivalry and strife between the friends of the park and those of the boule-
Vard, and to put an effectual end to these contentions, the legislature
abolished the park commission, and in its place created a new commission,
called the “commissioners of parks and boulevards,” giving the new offi-
cers all of the rights of the old commission and the board of public works
in the premises. The new commission was to consist of four members
who were to be nominated by the mayor and appointed by the council.
The first set of commissioners was appointed by the act itself, and were
named as follows: Henry M. Duffield, Elliot T. Slocum, William B.
Moran, and Francis F. Palms, but these men were to hold only until their
successors could be chosen. The term of office was fixed at four years,
and the four appointees were to chose by lot the term of each, so that one
commissioner should retire at the expiration of each year, and the suc-
cessor of each should be appointed for the full term of four years.
The persons who were named in the act of the legislature as commis-
sioners were certainly unobjectionable, and no four names could have
been found more suitable for the positions. However, the attempt of the
legislature to usurp the province of the mayor and council to appoint
these officials was at once resented, and on the 21st of May, 1889, Mayor
Pridgeon sent in as a list of new commissioners the names of George H.
Russell, John Erhardt, William Livingston, Jr., and William K. Parcher,
for one, two, three and four years respectively. Accompanying these
appointments, the mayor sent to the council a message, in which he said
that the men appointed by the legislature were all good men, but he
wished to resent the interference of the legislature in the matter, “for
these reasons, and to indicate, so far as state interference allows to do
so, the right of Detroit to govern her own affairs, I hasten to send in the
names of their successors.”
If one man, more than any other, had worked for the material ad-
vancement of the boulevard and park, first as a member of the legisla-
ture and afterwards as a member of the board of estimates, that one man
was James A. Randall. As a recognition of his services, Mr. Randall
was nominated, by the mayor, as successor of Mr. Russell, but his name
was rejected by the council June 17, 1890. The rejection was, partly at
least, due to the contentions then existing between the mayor and the
council regarding other matters.
Under the legislative act of 1901, approved May 4th, the board of
commissioners of parks and boulevards was abolished, and the office of
938 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
commissioner of parks and boulevards was established. Under this act
a commissioner was appointed by the common council for a term of four
years from June 1, 1901. Since that date the appointment has been
made by the mayor. Robert E. Bolger was the first commissioner ap-
pointed and he served until April 9, 1906, having been reappointed May
31, 1906. The commissioners since Mr. Bolger are named in the sta-
tistical and miscellaneous chapter of this volume, also the names of all
who served upon the old board of commissioners of parks and boulevards.
Belle Isle has an area of 707 acres (with approach) and is valued at
between sixteen and seventeen millions of dollars. The city has expended
over four millions in maintenance and improvements. The island has
five and a half miles of shore drive, fourteen and a half miles of driveway,
and five and a fraction miles of gravel walks. The island itself is but
eighteen inches above the river level, but is never submerged owing to
the even level of the Detroit River at every season.
When first purchased, Belle Isle was an unimproved area, abounding
in native forest, sloughs, swales and was very unattractive. Soon after
the possession of the island by the city became assured, steps were taken
to beautify the new park and with this in view, Commissioners McMillan,
Ferry, Moore and Marxhausen secured the services of Frederick L. Olm-
stead, a noted landscape gardener, at a price of $7,000 per year, to Super-
intend the improvements and plan them. Olmstead drew plans pro-
viding for a central driveway and with a stream, or artificial canal, run-
ning across one end of the island. The commissioners left the matter
entirely with him, but there were others who thought that a better ar-
rangement might be secured. Among them was Michael J. Dee, a news-
paper man, who was well acquainted with the character of the land on the
island. Mr. Dee conceived the idea of a series of canals covering the
island, the earth taken from them to be used in filling in the sloughs and
marshy places. Olmstead’s plan had been to use the city refuse to fill
in these depressions, a slow and unsatisfactory process. Dee Submitted
his plans to Olmstead, but the latter was reluctant to accept them and
in this was backed by the commissioners. The matter rested for a time,
when another question regarding Belle Isle came up and supplied the op-
portunity of again reviving the Dee plan. Some of the citizens were in
favor of selling beer and liquor on the island, but Commissioners Ferry
and Moore were not in favor of this concession, consequently they re-
signed. Joseph A. Marsh and Frederick Seitz were then appointed in
their places; Seitz died soon afterward and Elliot T. Slocum was named
in his place. Under the new board of commissioners, Olmstead’s plans
were discarded and those of Dee were adopted, with the result that Belle
Isle was immeasurably beautified by the criss-cross canals, the earlier
ones dug with natural undulating banks, although in later years the con-
ventional straight banks have been used in new streams laid out.
The old casino upon Belle Isle, of frame construction, was opened to
the public in June, 1887. In 1903, by legislative act, the city was author-
ized to raise $100,000 for a new casino. Bonds were sold January 15,
THE CASINO, BELLE ISLE

WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 941
1904, following which bids were received. It was found, however, that
all of the bids exceeded the appropriation, so new plans were ordered by
Commissioner Bolger. These were received and on March 22, 1906, con-
tracts were let to Louis Schmied & Company for the construction of the
building at a price of $85,429.81, and to another company the heating
contract was let for $2,777. The casino was then completed and in May,
1908, was opened to the public.
The new bath-house, a remodeling of the old one, was opened in 1909,
and two years later the motor transport service began to supplant the
old “hack” service which had been used for many years. The first bridge
from the Detroit shore to the island was constructed in 1889 at a cost of
$295,000 and was used until April 27, 1915, when it was destroyed by
fire. A temporary wooden bridge, costing $99,999, was opened to traffic
in July, 1916. Plans for a new bridge structure were made and at a
special election on July 9, 1915, the question of authorizing the common
council to erect a bridge, to acquire land for the approach thereto, and to
expend not more than two million dollars therefor, was defeated by a
vote of 18,535 in favor and 14,129 against the proposition, a three-fifths
vote having been necessary to carry. On April 5, 1919, however, the
vote of the people swung farther to the favorable side, when a new
$3,000,000 bridge was authorized. This bridge is to be constructed by the
department of public works, to be of the reinforced concrete and steel
cantilever type, 2,193 feet in length and wide enough to accommodate the
large amount of traffic to and from the island. The Jefferson Avenue
subway approach to the bridge was opened on February 12, 1921.
Two of the most attractive buildings upon the island, and which rank
with the best structures of their kind in the country, are the aquarium
and horticultural buildings which were opened August 18, 1904. The
idea of the aquarium has been accredited to Representative David E.
Heineman, who had visited Naples, Italy, and studied the aquarium at
that place. He introduced the bill in the legislature and later passed the
enabling act, approved May 26, 1899, authorizing the issuance of bonds
to the amount of $150,000, on condition that the issue be approved by
vote of the people. The bonds were issued and on March 1, 1900, the
money was placed in the city treasury for the construction of the aquar-
ium and horticultural building. The firm of Nettleton & Kahn (after-
ward Mason & Kahn) drew the plans for the buildings and the cost of
the two was in the neighborhood of $165,000, including equipment. The
Belle Isle aquarium ranks among the six largest in the world. The
equipment is modern in every respect, including the indefinite use of Sea
water, which by filtering and resting is utilized over and Over for many
years. Proper temperatures for different water tanks and special aeri-
fication provide that any fish may find conditions here identical with his
native habitat. In addition to the tropical flora in the horticultural
building, Belle Isle has been improved by thousands of plants, shrubs and
trees of every kind which have been planted from year to year. Sunken
gardens, fountains, statues and numerous other features have been added,
942 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
and the pits, runways and cages for the animal life have been enlarged or
added as new species have been purchased for the Zoological collection.
Through the will of James Scott, a comparatively unknown, but patriotic,
citizen of Detroit, there was left more than $500,000 for the erection of
a memorial fountain upon Belle Isle. To accommodate this fountain, the
western tip of the island is being extended and filled in and when com-
pleted will make a substantial improvement to the appearance of De-
troit’s greatest physical asset.
Amusements of Earlier Days in Detroit
By Clarence M. Burton
On the 24th day of July, in the year 1701, there landed on the shore
of the Detroit River, a company of soldiers and artisans, under the com-
mand of Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac. This company consisted of fifty
soldiers and fifty civilians comprising all the trades useful for a frontier
settlement. Cadillac, the commandant, had been commissioned by the
French government to locate a fort and village on the Detroit River at
such a point as would command the waterway from Erie in the Great
Lakes beyond, and he had chosen this as the spot for such a fort. From
his starting point at Montreal, he had been accompanied by a guard of
one hundred Algonquin Indians, and as the forces neared the final stop-
ping place, the number of Indians had increased until a small army of
them drew their light canoes upon the sandy beach, and gave their assist-
ance to the founding of a great city.
On the progress up the Ottawa River from Montreal to Lake Nipis-
sing, and thence across that lake to its outlet, French River, and down
that river and through the Georgian Bay to the final destination, troubles
and disagreements arose among the soldiers and colonists, and some of
them were on the point of deserting or returning to their homes. It was
rumored among them that Cadillac would never pay them for their serv-
ices; that he would not permit them to return to Montreal, or bring their
families to Detroit. So a hundred rumors of the hardships that must
Sooner or later overtake them were passed around the camp to discourage
their further progress or to prompt them to turn back before their work
was accomplished.
Before anything was done on the shores of the Detroit River, Cadillac
called all of his people together, immediately upon their landing, and
talked to them about these rumors of disaffection. He had been told that
the leader and originator of these troubles was the Jesuit Priest, Vaillant,
who had been permitted, contrary to the wishes of Cadillac, to go with
him from Montreal. He knew that this priest had been disappointed in
not having the exclusive charge of the religious affairs of the company,
for he had been allowed to come to Detroit only for the purpose of found-
ing a mission among the Indians, while a Recollet priest, Nicolas Con-
stantin de l’Halle, was selected as almoner to the settlement.
When Cadillac made known to his people his knowledge of their dis-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 943
content, and asked them for the causes of it, Vaillant, who was present,
found that his schemes had been discovered, and he immediately started
for the woods to escape the wrath of the commandant and the people.
He proceeded at once to Mackinac and never afterwards appeared in
Detroit.
No Jesuit priest ever officiated at the place until within very re-
cent times.
The foundation for the Church of Ste. Anne was begun on the day of
the first landing, and we may well believe that the chanting of church
Services was started at once, and has been continued without interrup-
tion since, for even during the trying times of 1763, when the place was
besieged by Pontiac, religious services were punctually attended to.
The early French and Canadian Colonists were mostly uneducated
farmers, Voyageurs and coureurs de bois, who sought the great west be-
cause it gave them opportunities for employment with some hope of bet-
tering their condition in life. The commandant was obliged to make
a report of the transactions of the place sufficient to keep his superiors
informed as to the situation of affairs, but further than these official
reports, we have very little information regarding the daily life of the
people. They wrote no letters to friends or relatives to tell them about
the new country they had chosen for their homes. An occasional quar-
rel between parties reached the court at Quebec, but very little informa-
tion can be derived from that source. The church records are very full
and complete, but they are of such a nature that they give little informa-
tion of the daily life of the community. The first Church of Ste. Anne
that had been erected in 1701 was destroyed by fire in 1703, and with it
the church record for the two years was consumed. This record con-
tained the entry of the birth of a child to the commandant and his wife,
the first white child born in Detroit, or probably west of Montreal.
There can be little doubt that the birth of this child was the occasion of
great and prolonged hilarity on the part of the entire community, for not
only was it the first birth, but it was the birth of a child to the first and
most important family in the settlement. From this time forward there
are entries of marriages, births and deaths, each an occasion for mirth or
sorrow, and the French people then, as now, permitted no occasion for
mirth to escape them unnoticed. -
The new comers brought guns and gun flints, powder and ball for
hunting. -
In modern times, by custom brought down from the faraway pioneer
life, the one most skillful in using his gun at the annual tournaments is
awarded a prize for his ability. That this custom prevailed as far back
as the beginning of our history, there can be little doubt, and at such
trials of skill we may well assume that they engaged in all sorts of ath-
letic sports, as running, wrestling, rowing, bowling and arrow shooting.
The flint arrowheads that we sometimes, even now, find in the fields
around the city, were quite difficult to make, and we cannot believe that
the Indians used them on ordinary occasions. These arrows were re-
944 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Served for special occasions, such as shooting to show their skill, where
the arrow could be found and returned to the sender. A bird on the
wing could be killed or wounded with such an arrow, but there would be
more difficulty in killing, or even seriously wounding an animal of any
considerable size.
Twice during the first eleven years of Detroit’s history, the place was
besieged by the Indians, once in 1705, and again in 1712, and on both oc-
casions the Savages sought to destroy the village by shooting arrows
carrying balls of fire on the unprotected roofs of the houses. Both efforts
failed because of the prompt action of the citizens and garrison in ex-
tinguishing the flames and in unroofing the houses. At the outset, the
Indians did not have guns or powder. When they obtained guns, as they
did within a few years, they were entirely dependent upon the French
for powder and they could not conduct a war of any considerable length
without the assistance of the French or Canadians. They became skill-
ful marksmen, both with gun and bow, but no more skillful than the
French.
The white and red natives mixed together as one people. They some-
times intermarried, but aside from this, the early white men who were
trappers, hunters and traders, in the woods, lived with the savages on
terms of perfect equality and their traits and habits of life became simi-
lar. The athletic sports were common to all natives, but there were
Some sports more peculiarly Indian in their character, such as rowing,
Swimming, and arrow shooting. Then there was lacrosse, a game at
first peculiarly Indian, but which was soon adopted by the white men.
They had dances of various forms suited to various occasions, such as
war dances, medicine dances and dances at funerals. In their camps in
the woods, to pass away the long evenings, the men had stag dances, such
as, in more modern times, were indulged in by the woodsmen in the
lumber camps.
The Canadian boatmen were noted for their boat songs, and the long
pulls through the placid waters of Lake Nipissing and the Georgian Bay
were enlivened by the chorus of voices that kept time to the strokes of
their oars and paddles.
“Faintly as tolls the evening chime,
Our voices keep tune, and our oars keep time,
Soon as the woods on the shore look dim,
We’ll sing at St. Ann’s our parting hymn,
Row, brothers, row ! the stream runs fast,
The rapids are near, and the daylight's past!”
—Moore's Canadian Boat Song.
One hundred voices, rising and falling in unison, as they passed
through the various rivers and lakes from Montreal to Detroit, gave
notice to the savages that the march of civilization had begun. This
crude music was a dreadful warning to them, if they had but under-
stood it, that the ownership of the woods and streams, and control of the
wilderness was about to pass into other hands, but they did not com-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 945
prehend. They welcomed the new comers to a home, a settlement, a
new colony in the west.
The soldiers who came with Cadillac were Frenchmen who had en-
tered the army in France and were therefore familiar with the soldiers’
life in the old country. This life was not one of seclusion, or of toil only,
but was interspersed with all the hilarity and joy-making that could be
obtained in such a situation and in such a life. They undoubtedly played
all the games that were common in the day, such as quoits, bowling in the
narrow Streets of the village, card playing and other similar indoor
amusements in inclement weather.
The houses of the first comers were very small and very crude. They
were built of small logs set on end and driven into the ground far enough
to make them stand firmly upright, and extending above the ground only
six or seven feet, high enough to stand in. They were covered with
skins, or with split rails, and then with grass or straw. The uprights
were placed as closely together as possible and the interstices filled with
clay or mud. They were seldom more than from twelve to eighteen feet
in width and of about the same depth. There were no floors, except the
earth beaten hard by many footsteps. No glass windows were in the
place. The window openings were covered with the skin of some ani-
mal, this was translucent on most occasions, but the skin would thicken
with age and exposure, and it was frequently necessary to scrape it
thinner or stretch is more in order to admit any light. The only large
buildings in the place were the warehouse and church, and here all of
the assemblies were held for entertainments. During the year 1701
there were no white women in the place, but the next year came Madam
Cadillac, and with her came Madam Tonty, wife of Captain Alphonse de
Tonty, and their children, and servants. From this time on, the wives
of the former residents began to arrive so that a full and complete com-
munity was soon here. There were many Indians, for Cadillac says that
he fed six thousand mouths during the winter of 1701–2 and there were
men, women, boys, girls, servants, and all that goes to make up a colony.
They all attended church on Sundays and holy days, and as there were
soon two or three hundred people, it will be seen that it was necessary to
have a large building for church purposes. -
The warehouse, also, was very large, for it contained not only all the
food, utensils, clothing and other things brought up annually for the citi-
zens and the savages, but also all the peltries and things that were col-
lected to be sent down to Montreal in exchange. It was likely in this
building that their indoor dances were held. They planted a Maypole
each year before the door of the commandant, and that occasion was also
accompanied with dancing, but the kind of music they had is not
mentioned.
The soldiers did not act as soldiers in garrison, but as citizens. They
were each allowed a small tract of land outside the village enclosure
which they cultivated as gardens. Some of these patches along the east
line of Randolph Street can be readily traced, though more than two hun-
946 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
dred years have passed since their original survey. Hunting and trap-
ping, considered as amusement or pastimes with us, were the means of
gaining a living in the time of the original colonists, so that they can
scarcely be claimed in this list. Probably every man and boy in the Set-
tlement had his old flintlock blunderbus, capable of making a telling effect
at short distance. The owner was skilled in its use and seldom missed
his mark. One of the chief employments in the village was the gun-
smith, or armorer. Every youth, as well as every man, was skilled in
the making of traps for catching wild animals of all kinds whose fur was
good. Care was taken not to catch or kill out of season, for the woods
were depleted rapidly enough without killing when the fur was worth-
less. There were no buffalo (or bison) in the immediate neighborhood
of Detroit, but when the whites first settled here, there was an abundance
of deer, elk, bear, fox and smaller animals.
Everyone fished when fish were in season, which was most of the
year. The fish were eaten fresh and none were salted down or exported.
The rivers and lakes were so full of fish that none could be sold, either
here or at Montreal or Quebec, and it was useless to undertake to export
or to preserve them. The fishing was by line and spear only. The In-
dians made spearheads of flint, shaped something like the arrowhead, but
larger and much heavier. Even as late as the coming of the Americans
in 1796, it was reported that the French people had no seines, though
there was abundance of use for them. After Cadillac left Detroit in
1711, an inventory was taken of the personal property owned by him,
and in this list was an item for “1,050 large fishing hooks, barbed,” thus
showing the general use of this instrument in the colony.
The great number of flint arrowheads and spears found in and around
the village indicates the methods used by the savages in killing game and
fish before the distribution of firearms and gunpowder among them. A
large stock of gun flints and a supply of English muskets and French
muskets was carried by the commandant in his storehouse.
A great quantity of goods was sent up to Detroit annually for sale
or distribution among the Indians, and in this supply are to be found
some things evidently intended for their amusement. In one place we
find “one hundred small trumpets,” possibly to permit the youthful Indian
to blow on and make himself heard, as do the white youths of today.
These trumpets may also have been used in sleighing or coasting parties
On the ice and snow, or perhaps as signals in the woods, though the In-
dian whoop is generally supposed to have been sufficient for the latter
purpose. As there was a drum in the settlement, these trumpets may
have been used in connection with it to raise a crowd.
The invoice included thirty-six pounds of medium size black glass
beads, seventy-six and three-fourths pounds of large black beads, eight
and three-fourths pounds of large green beads, streaked, thirty-three
pounds of beads in strings of all colors. Evidently most of these articles
were intended for sale to the Indians as ornaments, for a piece of gay
colored cloth, with a string of colored beads would set off the dusky
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 947
maiden to advantage, and make her the belle of the camp. The beads
were the only form of glass present in these early times. There were
no glass windows or mirrors for many years. An item of thirteen dozen
Small tin mirrors indicates an article used by both whites and Indians
in making their toilets and in shaving, if the men of that day shaved at
all. In the entire list there is nothing found to correspond with the
modern razor, but in the list of property belonging to the Delisle family
is included “one fine razor.” Knives they had, shoemakers' knives,
Flemish knives, woodcutters' knives, Siamese knives, large carving
knives and other knives in abundance, but mention is made of only one
razor. Some of the presents to the Indians show their propensity for
display, such as “a fine shirt with ruffles” and a “red coat ornamented
with imitation gold lace.” Smoking was a pastime enjoyed by both
French and Indians. Tobacco was either raised here or brought here
by the Indians from the warmer territory to the south of Lake Erie. A
kind of Indian tobacco was made from the bark of the willow tree.
Quantities of tobacco were used and there were many pipes or calumets
in the storehouse. Some of them were common, everyday affairs
and some were elaborate and expensive. Some were simply called
“calumets” while others were put down as “large calumets of red stone,
with their stems and plumes and stands to hold them.” The large ones
might have been used at the great council fires where the Indian treaties
were discussed and arrived at.
Boats for use on the rivers and lakes could not be considered as in-
struments for amusement as at the present day, but as objects of neces-
sity, for the only road in summer for all to travel, was the water way,
and the only vehicle the canoe. These boats were made of the bark of
trees, birch bark being preferable or, for the larger boats, trunks of trees
dug out or burned out by slow fire. Great care had to be taken in all
cases to see that the work was perfect, for a boat which leaked was a
great annoyance.
In later years one of the great pasttimes in the winter was racing on
the ice, but not at this early time. The Indians had no horses in this
part of the country. If there were any wild horses they were far to the
south and west, and were at that time unknown in the vicinity of Detroit.
Cadillac brought three horses to Detroit, but two of them died shortly
after their arrival, and the only horse in the settlement in 1711 was the
third animal, called “Colon.” All of the work necessary to be done by
animals was performed by this horse and four oxen, also owned by
Cadillac, and a few other oxen owned by some of the colonists.
In the immediate neighborhood of the village were several quite steep
hills that might be utilized in the winter for coasting purposes, and per-
haps Colon was employed to draw the coasters' sleds on the river ice, or
up these hills or on the commons where the underbrush was cleared.
There were no roads and very few smooth places fit for sleigh riding.
This horse was occasionally used for horseback riding, as there were two
pairs of old rowels mentioned, useless for any other purpose than to
948 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
urge on this solitary steed. There were several carts or wagons, but all
hand made and heavily built for carrying merchandise, not people. There
were some other domestic animals, for notice is made that the hogs and
cattle were placed on Ile Ste. Magdelaine, the original French name for
Belle Isle, for safe keeping. The island, however, took the name of Ile
au Cochons (Hog Island) during Cadillac's time.
Perhaps the use of brandy, or eau-de-vie, as it was then called, could
not be considered as an amusement, but it was an indulgence granted to
the Canadians and French with only such restraints as they voluntarily
threw around it. Its use was forbidden to the Indians. That is, efforts
were continually being made by the priests and the government to pro-
hibit the use by the savages, and Cadillac was inclined to carry out this
restraint, but he said at the time, that the use of a small quantity of
brandy with every meal of fish was a necessity for the white man, and
so the stuff was included in the soldiers’ rations. Cadillac considered
himself above the common run of his colonists, and did not associate with
them as with equals. He made grants to members of his own family of
large tracts of land on the Detroit River, thousands of acres in extent, sup-
posing that they would ultimately become seigneurs, or landed proprie-
tors, living off the rents paid by their tenants for these lands. For him-
Self, he desired the income of the village proper and the adjacent lands,
with the title of Baron or Marquis of Detroit. He was disappointed in
not obtaining this concession. He imposed a tax or annual rental, pay-
able to himself, on every piece of land he granted to the settlers. There
were a few of his companions with whom he was on familiar terms, as
with the priests, Captain Tonty and the Lieutenants, Chacornac and
Dugue. Their amusements were somewhat different from those indulged
in by the “common herd” and we find in Cadillac's home “eighteen swords
with handles,” probably used for fencing. He was well educated and
familiar with the dramatic writings of his country, but it cannot be de-
termined that any theatre or work of that character was undertaken at
Detroit, though there are several references in his letters to the drama.
He proposed to found a school, or college, at Detroit, to instruct his
colonists and the Indians there assembled. He proposed to establish a
hospital to be placed under the charge of the Hospitallers, a religious
order of nuns, and he further asked permission to form the Indians in
military companies and regiments, officered partly by themselves and in
part by French soldiers. All of these proposals, so far in advance of
his time, were frowned upon by the French government, and his requests
were denied. There was one system adopted by him that outlasted his
command and which continued in force some years. When he first came
to Detroit, he supposed the entire trade of the place belonged to him, but
the Company of the Colony of Canada soon laid claim to it, and a law-
suit followed, which continued for some time, and finally resulted in his
favor. After this final determination, he annually sold to all of his
people who desired, the right to sell goods to the Indians. These goods
all came at one time in the fall of the year, and upon their arrival nearly
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 949
every house in the village was filled with the new goods placed on exhibi-
tion and sale, to induce the Indians to exchange their furs for trinkets
and cloths. This was a sort of annual fair that lasted three or four days
at a time. At such times there collected at the place all of the Indians
in the neighborhood, and there were thousands of them, and a general
good time was held as long as the fair lasted. This fair was abandoned
in the time of the command of Tonty, who died in office in Detroit in
1727, for he sold the right of trading to some Montreal merchants and
they would not permit local dealers to share in the trade. A great noise
was made about the discontinuance of the fair and it may have been re-
vived in later years.
In 1710, Cadillac was appointed governor of Louisiana, but did not
leave Detroit for his new post until the following year. His immediate
successor was Charles Regnault, Sieur Dubuisson, but he only retained
the position a few months pending the arrival of De la Forest.
During the first years of the settlement, the citizens were afraid of
the Indians. Indeed, during the entire time of French, English and
American occupation as late as 1832, when the Black Hawk war took
place, the people living in the village were afraid of the uprising of the
natives. The early French, however, become so accustomed to them,
and to their ways of living, and so intimate with their home life, that
they had considerable confidence in them. A very quiet and uneventful
life they lead for many years, though the troubles with the Indians in the
early times, and the quarrels between the commandants and their Mont-
real creditors, disturbed business to such an extent, that many of the
people moved back to the eastern settlements, and the village decreased
in size.
The grants of farm lands that had been made by Cadillac in 1700 and
1708 were annulled by the government, and the titles all reverted to the
king in 1716. This discouraged the farmers, for they could not make
improvements and build houses upon insecure titles, but in later years,
new grants were made to actual settlers. Then began the revival. The
farmers raised sufficient to maintain the settlements, but nothing was
shipped down to Montreal. The traders purchased goods from below,
and sold them for furs, the chief commodity of exchange for a long time,
but the orchards of apples yielded a larger supply of fruit than could be
used at home, and cider began to be exported.
In 1734, the Royal Notary, Navarre, came here to reside. He was
next in importance to the commandant, and his coming gave new life to
the society of the settlement.
The second generation was now in control of affairs, and the number
of young people in the village was greatly increased. With the years,
the villagers had increased their worldly goods. They had horses and
saddles, and a few French carts. A road was made along the river bank.
Their houses were better constructed and they lived better, and more
independent. Most of the farmers lived on their farms part of the time,
but retired to the village if the Indians threatened to trouble them. There
950 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
was a garrison maintained at the post composed of people who were half
soldiers and half artisans, for the soldier's pay was very small, and he
eked out a subsistence by working at Some trade, or as a gardener.
Even in Cadillac's time there were musicians in the garrison, for we
have an account of the trial and the execution of a drummer in Cadillac's
company, before they came to Detroit.
Some of the older citizens of today remember at the dances in their
childhood, one of the instruments used was a Jews-harp. This instrument
is no longer used for such purposes, but when it commenced to be em-
ployed is not recorded. In the absence of a better musical instrument,
the flying feet might keep time to cleverly manipulated bone clappers.
St. Saveur was the drummer of the garrison in 1748, and in addition
to his duties of furnishing music to the townspeople, he announced the
public meetings, public auction sales, and other public events, by beating
his drum in the principal streets of the village. This duty of giving
public notices was also sometimes performed by a public bell ringer.
Notices of importance were given by this bell ringer proceeding through
all the streets of the village calling out his news or notice. A written
notice was also posted on the church door though it is very probable that
only a few citizens could either read or write.
There is mention in the early church records of Jean Baptiste Rou-
coux, first chanter and teacher in the Christian school, and in the public
library in Detroit is an old account book, kept about the year 1750, which
contains a piece of music evidently written about that date by Roucoux,
or by Etienne Dubois, for use in the church service. Dubois performed
the dual services of chanter and sexton.
It was in the fall of 1760 that the English troops under Maj. Robert
Rogers took possession of the fort and village. What a change this
must have been, and how excited the people were. The little community
that had existed so completely within itself for nearly sixty years that
it had Scracely known what was going on in the great world without,
was, in a day, without the firing of a gun, with but the parley of a few
hours, converted from the quiet French community into a hustling English
settlement. For sixty years Detroit's closest neighbors were Mackinaw,
Vincennes and Kaskaskia. She was at peace with the world, for she was
unknown to the world. Now all was changed—and changed almost with-
out warning. Armed troops marched into the settlement and took con-
trol of the village. Sentinels were posted at night to watch for foes,
where no one had thought of watching before. Sentinels were march-
ing all day and all night along the banquette of the palisade. The In-
dian trade was no longer carried on by the French people, for the new
traders—the English, Irish and Scotch—had usurped the business and
the former citizens were driven to their farms for a living.
It was not long, however, before a better feeling came between the
Canadians and the English. The young and unmarried girls and women
of the post sooon became acquainted with the young soldiers in the gar-
rison, and they were willing instructors and scholars in learning, each
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 951
the language of the other. Every effort was made to conciliate the con-
Quered Canadians to make them feel at home with the master nation.
The next year after the conquest (1761) Sir William Johnson paid
a visit to Detroit, and his coming was followed by a period of entertain-
ments that lasted until he left the settlement. Each day was filled with
the work of seeing the French people and getting acquainted with them,
and in meeting the Indians and talking to them, purchasing their friend-
ship, which lasted only as long as they could see the benefit of the
purchase price. -
Johnson kept a journal of his trip and we find this entry under the
date of Sunday, September 6th. “A very fine morning. This day I am to
dine with Captain Campbell, who is also to give the ladies a ball that
I may see them. They assembled at 8 o’clock at night to the number of
about twenty. I opened the ball with Mademoiselle Curie—a fine girl—
We danced until five o’clock the next morning.” He had the name of
the young lady wrong, but it was quite as near as he could be expected
to get the peculiar French name “Cuillerier.” This was Angelique Cuil-
lerier, daughter of Antoine Cuillerier dit Beaubien. The baronet re-
mained some time in the place, and was the subject of repeated enter-
tainments. He writes that he took a ride before dinner towards Lake
St. Clair. “The road runs along the river side which is thickly settled
nine miles.” “The French gentlemen and the two priests who dined
with us got very merry. Invited them all to a ball tomorrow night, which
I am to give to the ladies.” Here again he met the same young lady—
evidently by appointment. He writes, “In the evening the ladies and
gentlemen all assembled at my quarters, danced the whole night until
seven o’clock in the morning, when all parted very much pleased and
happy. Promised to write to Mademoiselle Curie as soon as possible,
my sentiments; there never was so brilliant an assembly here before.”
A strenuous life Sir William led in these few weeks in Detroit, but
a more strenuous time he would have led upon his return to his old home
if his Indian wife (or housekeeper, as he calls her in his will) Molly Brant,
had known of his doings at Detroit. It was well for her peace of mind,
and well for his personal safety, that she was kept in ignorance, for it is
said that she had an ungovernable temper and was a terror when her
will was crossed. She was a sister of Joseph Brant, the great Iroquois
chief, and was the mother of ten children by Sir William Johnson.
Angelique, the little French girl who, with her pretty face, her jet
black hair, her bright eyes, her winning ways and her broken English,
had won the heart of the baronet, was not left long to pine for his
absence.
James Sterling, a young Scotchman, who had come with the garrison,
and who was the storekeeper in the post, soon became the instructor of
the French damoiselle in the English language, while he received instruc-
tions in French from her. In 1763 when Pontiac was conspiring to
surprise and murder the garrison, Angelique learned of his plans, and
952 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
told her lover, who, in turn, informed Major Gladwin, and the surprise,
so cleverly planned, was prevented and the garrison saved.
Sterling and Angelique were married shortly after this, and although
they remained many years in Detroit, they were the steadfast friends of
the Colonies during the Revolutionary war. Both husband and wife Suf-
fered for our cause, and were driven from their Detroit home, never
to return.
The news of peace between France and England, of 1763, was brought
to Detroit in a very peculiar way. The village was besieged by the In-
dian Pontiac and his Hurons. So closely were the English confined
within the palisades of the village, that they did not dare open the gates
or go beyond the portals. George McDougall, who had ventured to go to
Pontiac, upon his assurances of personal protection, was a prisoner among
the Indians. A letter was brought from Niagara to Major Gladwin,
who was in command at Detroit, notifying him of the conclusion of peace
between England and France. The bearer of this letter was killed by
the Indians, and the note taken from him and given to Pontiac. The
latter called upon McDougall to read it, and Pierre Chene Labutte inter-
preted it to the Indians. McDougall succeeded in keeping the paper, and
on the night of June 2, 1763, he let another white prisoner take the letter,
and run with it from the Indian encampment to the fort. This messenger
arrived entirely naked, bearing only the very welcome message of peace,
at three o’clock in the morning. Upon being admitted to the fort his
message was received and read, and the account states that upon the
following evening there was an instrumental concert to celebrate the
arrival of the welcome news.
Just a month later, McDougall managed to escape from the Indians,
and ran into the fort in much the manner as the messenger who had
escaped.
Until the coming of the English in 1760, the affairs of the village
were mostly managed by the commandant, but Englishmen had little idea
of vesting authority in a single individual. They wanted to be governed
by the laws, not by individuals. They wanted trials by jury, not the will
of the commandant. For the first few years they had enough to occupy
their attention in maintaining a semblance of friendship with the Cana-
dians and Indians, but occasionally some other trouble arose that they
had to attend to.
The place was in the Indian country, and was not subject to the laws
of England except as the people applied these laws. Criminals from
other places fled to Detroit to escape punishment. Several crimes of
magnitude were committed at Mackinac and Detroit, and some executions
for murder and stealing took place here. A man named Schindler was
accused of selling base metal for silver, and was tried before the local
justice and was acquitted by a jury chosen to try him, but the English
governor, Hamilton, was so impressed with the man’s guilt, that he or-
dered him drummed out of the settlement. There was, at that time,
a quarrel between the governor and the lieutenant who was in command
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 953
of the garrison, and the latter would not permit the drummer to beat his
drum while passing through the citadel where the soldiers were.
At the public execution or hanging of a man convicted of murder,
the band of musicians from the garrison surrounded the scaffold and
played airs suitable to such a solemn occasion.
During the Revolutionary war, there were parties of Indians and
white men constantly going from Detroit to seek out the settlements on
the borders of the colonies, destroying the houses and making prisoners
of and murdering the inhabitants. .
It is not recorded that any instruments of music were taken on these
incursions, for their success depended upon the stealth, and a noise might
betray their coming and prevent that unforeseen attack that they were
desiring. The Indian war-whoop was practiced by both whites and reds,
for signals as they required. The scalping by white men was quite as
common as the scalping of the whites by the Indians.
Major De Peyster who was in command in Detroit during a portion
of this war, writes May 26, 1780, “Everything is quiet here except the
constant noise of the war drum. All the seigneures are arrived at the
instance of the Shawnees and Delawares. More Indians from all quarters
than ever before known, and not a drop of rum.”
De Peyster was something of a poet and several short poems of his
relate to his life at Mackinac, Detroit and Niagara. One poem is devoted
to carioling or racing on the ice on the River Rouge. Every one who
had a horse was present. The festivities of the occasion were under the
management of Guillaume La Mothe, a Frenchman who was an officer in
the Indian department. A feast followed the race, which was enjoyed
by the officers and their wives and guests. Much drinking was indulged
in, and the party was hilarious. The poet, with unusual poet’s license,
had the wild bears and deer come from the woods and watch the pleasure
seekers at their camp.
“The goblet goes round, while sweet echo's repeating,
The words which have passed through fair lady’s lips;
Wild deer (with projected long ears) leave off eating,
And bears sit attentive, erect on their hips.”
“The fort gun proclaims when 'tis time for returning,
Our pacers all eager at home to be fed;
We leave all the fragments, and wood clove for burning,
For those who may drive up sweet River Red.”
De Peyster, although the military commandant, was in truth, the
civil commandant as well, for the lieutenant-governor, Hamilton, the civil
governor, was a prisoner of war at Williamsburg, Virginia, when De
Peyster came to Detroit. Hamilton had been governor of Detroit for
some three years, when, in the fall of 1778, he concluded to go to Vin-
cennes to drive the rebels from the Ohio country. He utterly failed of his
954 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
purpose, and was captured by Gen. George Rogers Clark in the early
part of 1779. The French inhabitants of Detroit were never cordially
friendly to the British and when the news of the capture of Hamilton
reached the place, the French were so elated that they held a three days'
feast of rejoicing and building of bon-fires to show their pleasure. This
was the report made at the time, though it can probably be taken cºlm
grano salis.
We have not sufficient data to tell just when William Forsyth came to
Detroit, but we find him at an early date keeping a tavern or place of
entertainment on Ste. Anne Street in the old village. He owned a lot
adjoining the citadel on which he had erected a bowling alley and pleasure
resort.
Probably the building also had a billiard table, for we know there
were such tables in the country. The lot was wanted by the government
to extend its barracks, and Forsyth was compelled to move out, and peti-
tioned Governor Haldimand for damages for the loss of his property.
As the bowling alley was a desirable adjunct to the pleasure resorts of
the place, it was opened in another locality.
When the War of the Revolution came to a close, it was agreed that
Detroit should become a part of the United States, and should be vacated
by British soldiers. But Great Britain thought that if she could hold on
a few years, the States would quarrel among themselves, and she could
repossess herself of the country because of their contentions. She was
fooled in this, but nevertheless, managed to retain possession of Detroit
until 1796. In the meantime, the place was governed by the law-makers
of Canada, as if it belonged to that dominion. In 1791, Canada was
divided into Upper and Lower Canada, and in the fall of 1792, there
was held in Detroit an election for members of the Provincial Parliament
of Upper Canada. This parliament was divided into two houses, the
upper, called the Council, the members of which were appointed, and the
lower, the Assembly, the members of which were elected.
In the upper house, there was one member from Detroit, Alexander
Grant, known also as Commodore Grant, for he had charge of the entire
navy on Lakes Erie, Huron and Michigan, during the Revolution.
The members elected to the lower house were William Macomb, uncle
to our Gen. Alexander Macomb, and David William Smith, who lived at
Niagara. Smith attempted, at first, to gain his election as representing
the County of Essex but at this election he was defeated by Francois
Baby. This election took place August 20, 1792, and after his defeat
his friends put him up for election in the County of Kent, which in-
cluded the Village of Detroit. The election was held August 28, 1792,
and here he was successful.
The letters I have from him were written before either election took
place, and were indited upon the supposition, or expectation, that he
would win the Essex election. As this was the first, and only election
to parliament, ever had at Detroit, the description Mr. Smith gives of
what he expects will take place is quite interesting. “Perhaps I should
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 955
have done better to have set up for one of the seats in Detroit, as I hear
only of Mr. Macomb who is to be proposed; but I did not then know
they would be entitled to vote; besides were I thrown out on the 20th, I
might have a chance on the 28th. The French people can easily walk
to the hustings, but my gentry will require some conveyance; if boats
are necessary you can hire them, and they must not want beef or rum,
let them have plenty—and in case of success, I leave it to you which you
think will be best for my friends, a public dinner and the ladies a dance,
either now or when I go up. If you think the moment the best time,
you will throw open Forsyth's tavern and call for the best he can supply.
I trust you will feel very young on the occasion, in the dance and I wish
that Leith and you would push about the bottle to the promotion of the
settlements on the Detroit. The more broken heads and bloody noses
there are, the more election like, and in case of success (damn that if)
let the white ribbon favors be plentifully distributed to the old, the young,
the gay, the lame, the crippled and the blind. Half a score cord of wood
piled hollow, with tar barrel in the middle, on the common, some powder
and plenty of rum. I am sure you will preside over and do everything
that is needful. As far as my circumstances will admit there must be
no want, and I am sure you will have everything handsome and plentiful.
Elliot, I am sure, will give you a large red flag to be hoisted on a pole
near the bon-fire, and some blue colored tape may be sewed in large
letters, ‘ESSEX.’
“Thus talked the woman to herself when she carried her eggs on her
head to the market. She sat them, she hatched them, she sold them for
a crown apiece, and then down she fell, eggs and all.”
At another time he writes—“Have proper booths erected for my
friends at the hustings; employ Forsyth to make a large plumb cake,
with plenty of fruit, &c., and be sure to let the wine be good and plenty.
“Let the peasants have a fiddle, some beverage and beef.”
Jean Baptiste Beaubien, one of the founders of Chicago, and a noted
fiddler at every dance in the early years of that village, was born in
Detroit September 5, 1787. He was a cousin of Angelique Cuillerier.
The change of government finally came in 1796, when the English left
and the Americans came in. It was not an unexpected change, and yet
it made such an impression on the Canadian citizens who left the place
rather than submit to the American rule, that they gave it the name of
the “Exodus,” a name by which it is familiarly known among their
descendants even today.
The new comers were from New York and New England stock, and
they brought with them new ideas, amusements and holidays. Perhaps
Christmas and the King’s birthday were observed by the older residents,
but now came the Fourth of July, and Thanksgiving Day, with its pump-
kin pies, cider, and doughnuts. If the roasting of new corn and potatoes
was unknown in Detroit before this era, it certainly was not afterwards.
Stoves were not invented in time to be of general use in Detroit until
as late, or even later, than the Exodus. The family baking was not done
956 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
at home, but at the public bakehouse, but every girl and boy was SO
familiar with the fireplace and uncovered fire, that the roasting of corn
and potatoes was no great novelty, though it was always a pleasure.
Then what of the husking bee, and the privilege of the fortunate
finder of the red ear of corn, who was permitted to kiss the girl of his
choice—if he could catch her. Did that come from New England, or was
it indigenous to the soil that could yield a corn crop 7
The hunting of nuts in the fall by groups of children or of grown
folks could not have originated at that time, though it was doubtless
engaged in, as it had been for a century before. Of wild grapes and
berries of all varieties there was an abundance, and it did not need much
of an education to instruct the young folks in the idea of having a crowd
to go berrying and enjoy the fun and every day was a picnic.
There were probably few, if any, two-story buildings in the vicinity
of Detroit before 1796, but after that date they began to increase in
numbers, and on the occasion of the erection of each new building there
was the raising bee of neighbors accompanying the work with a boiled
dinner for the crowd, and perhaps something a little stronger than water
in the way of beverage.
There was a harpsichord in the settlement some years prior to the
opening of the new century. Just when this musical instrument was
brought to Detroit is uncertain, but it was there long before the year
1799, for at that date, it was represented to be in a dilapidated condition.
It was the property of Dr. William Harpfy. Harpfy was a surgeon in
the British garrison, and when the Exodus took place in 1796, he was
moved to the new establishment at Malden, and he took his harpsichord
with him. Among his most intimate friends at Detroit were John Askin
and Commodore Alexander Grant. Grant had been commodore of the
Lakes during the Revolution and was, in 1792, appointed one of the mem-
bers of the executive council for Upper Canada—a life position. John
Askin was an extensive trader at Detroit and brother-in-law of Grant.
Grant lived at Grosse Pointe and there had a castle well filled with young
lady daughters. They were ten in all, of whom nine grew to womanhood,
Therese (Mrs. Wright), Nellie, Archange (married Thomas Dickson),
Phillis (married Alexander Duff), Isabella (married Mr. Gilkison), Nancy
(married George Jacob), Elizabeth (married James Woods), Mary Julia
(married Mr. Milles), and Jean Cameron (married William Richardson).
The absence of any of the ten from the family circle could hardly be noticed
for the deficiency was filled by the cousins, daughters of John Askin.
Of these cousins, frequent visitors at the Grant castle, there were Ade-
laide Askin (afterwards the wife of Elijah Brush), Therese, who married
Col. Thomas McKee, Ellen, the wife of Richard Pattinson, and Archange,
who became Mrs. Meredith, and removed to England with her husband,
who was an officer in the British forces.
The first record we have of this harpsichord is contained in a letter
from Doctor Harpfy to his friend, John Askin. Harpfy was somewhat
eccentric and quite voluble in his letter writing. This letter is dated
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 957
October 17, 1799, and after dilating on various other matters, he turns
his attention to the subject of music and says, “Curse the music. I wish
it was Sold. I care not for what, as all my wants and wishes to attain
are not worth the pains or trouble to my friends. You will favor me if
it could be in any way disposed of.”
It seems that the subject of the sale of this instrument had been talked
OVer On Some previous occasion between Askin and Harpfy, for the latter
again writes, “In looking over your letter of the 14th. I thank you for
your very great kindness in regard to the harpsichord—but I am told it
is a mere wreck—therefore, as I have mentioned before, I wish it sold.”
What more proper place for such a piece of furniture than the Castle
of Commodore Grant, where it could receive the attention of so many
young ladies. Harpfy and Askin concluded that the Castle was in need
of just such an article, and one day, when one of the Commodore's boats
was at Malden, they slipped the instrument aboard and it was soon landed
at Grosse Pointe. Then came the fun. It was so old and dilapidated that
it was useless and in the way. No one wanted it. Only the old friend-
ship existing between Grant and Harpfy prevented the former from
casting the musical instrument into “outer darkness.” Grant complained
to the doctor and asked him to take the piece away from his home. Harpfy
had occasion to visit Sandwich and wanted to cross the river and see
Askin in Detroit, but the ferry was not running very regularly and the
doctor was not feeling very well—he had been sick and was now slowly
recovering. Instead of visiting Askin, he wrote him a long letter on
various matters, and as a postScript, touched on the subject of the instru-
ment. “October 28th, 9 o'clock at night. I really am sorry that the
harpsichord was put in Mr. Grant’s boat, for he talks about it—Gods
how he talks about it.” The joke had been carried too far and Grant
would not overlook it, or allow it to proceed further. The instrument
must be removed, and that at once. So Askin sent for it, and had it
taken to one of his storehouses in the village, where it was taken care of.
Askin lived on the front of his farm, not far from the intersection of
Atwater and Randolph streets. Atwater Street was the only highway
to the country on the east side, and the well-to-do class of citizens lived
in the neighborhood. Here Askin owned several buildings, and, besides,
he had several houses and buildings in the village proper. The last we
hear of the instrument that came so near being an instrument of discord
is a note in a letter from Doctor Harpfy to Mr. Askin dated November 5,
1799, where he writes, “I thank you for your care of the harpsichord.
I wish it could be sold.” *.
In 1799, there was an election held in Detroit for members of the
legislature, that met at Chillicothe, and Solomon Sibley, then a young
attorney at Detroit, was one of the candidates. Voting then was not by
secret ballot, as now, but every one gave the name of his candidate as
he came up to vote. The voter's name was taken down, and his qualifica-
tions for suffrage were also frequently indicated.
At the election referred to, some opponent of Judge Sibley kept such
958 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
a record of the persons who voted for him and from this list I have
taken a few names of persons whose descendants are still here.
Antoine Dequindre, who was, at that time, the owner of the farm
extending along the westerly line of Dequindre Street, is thus mentioned,
“Has given his creditors all he has ; the farm on which he lives is the
property of his wife.”
Christian Clemens, the founder and owner of Mount Clemens, “Has
no property known.”
Ezra F. Freeman, then one of the principal lawyers in the place, “Has
no property in the country.”
James Henry, an uncle of the late D. Farrand Henry. He was, at
the time of his death, one of the wealthy citizens of the place, “Lives at
Grosse Isle. Lately liberated from the Indians; lives on the estates of
the late Macomb.”
Elijah Brush, the founder of the Brush family, and the owner of the
Brush farm, “Lately arrived; has no property known.”
Sibley was elected over James May, and served in the legislature with
Jacob Visgar and Charles Francois Chabert de Joncaire.
This brings us to the beginning of the second century of the life of
Our city.
Its population had increased from one hundred who came at the start
to Some eighteen hundred who lived in the place, and along the shore
line on both sides of the river.
Now we are well on the third century of our existence.
We look back upon these happy days and sigh as we remember that
the simple life—the simple pleasures—and the simple folks of this long
ago, are no longer with us, and cannot be found in the tumult of our
great city.
The Cemeteries of Detroit
By Clarence M. Burton
The first burial ground in Detroit was located behind and adjoining
the little log church of Ste. Anne which was near the northwest corner
of Jefferson Avenue and Griswold Street. Ste. Anne Street, which was
about twenty feet wide at this place, and from ten to fifteen feet wide
in other places, was located within the lines of the present Jefferson Ave-
nue, and the church building, or the front part of it, and a portion of
the graveyard, were within the lines of the avenue as they are now laid
down. The lands occupied by the church extended northwardly to about
the location of Larned Street. This was two blocks in depth of the old
village. There was another lot on the east side of the church and then
came the easterly picket line of the village. The church was upon a
large lot in which the families of the village were buried. Some time
ago bodies were dug up from the middle of Jefferson Avenue, near the
site of the old church. They were in that part of the old cemetery which
was included in the avenue and were overlooked or missed in the excava-
tion and removals made in 1817. Most all of the burials were made in
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 959
this ground, around the church, from 1701 to 1760. During that time
the place was under the French government and the inhabitants were
exclusively Catholic,
In 1760, Detroit changed to British control and the new people were
mostly Protestants or non-Catholics. A new cemetery was opened near
the intersection of Woodward Avenue and Larned Street for the English
inhabitants, and the Catholics took another piece of land between this
and Griswold Street. None of the streets named was opened at that
time, but the streets are called by their present names so that one can
tell the approximate location. There were some burials of English people
in the government garden south of Ste. Anne Street near the eastern
picket line, that is about the location of the Michigan Mutual Life In-
surance Company Building, on the southwest corner of Jefferson Avenue
and Griswold Street. Jehu Hay, the last British governor who lived in De-
troit, was buried in this spot, and the remains of other persons have been
found there. Additional ground, or about one acre, was given to the Prot-
estants by Order of the military department in 1797. This was on the
northeast corner of Woodward Avenue and Larned Street, an enlargement
of the old cemetery. Additional lands were also given the Catholics in
what is now Congress Street east of Bates.
The records of Ste. Anne Church contain the following entry of
October 7, 1798:
“At an assembly of the older men of this parish called during the
prone of the mass, monsieur the cure informed those present that Colonel
Strong had offered one arpent of land for cemetery uses, conditioned that
four persons accept it and that the trustees will make the necessary
appropriation for the necessary work. The land is of the public domain.”
Six months later, April 6, 1799, there is the following entry:
“Having obtained the One arpent of land from the commandant for
a Roman Catholic cemetery, each citizen of our church is to furnish ten
stakes, and the accounts agreed upon £13, 5s., are allowed for the work
of Joseph Cote and Charles Labadie.”
The Colonel Strong referred to was Col. David Strong, who was in
military command of Detroit in 1796 and 1798. An arpent is the French
acre, a square of 192 feet, 9 inches, on a side. The entire cemetery was
necessarily enclosed in a picket line made of small trees, or stakes set
on end in the ground.
In 1805, the Catholic Church in the village was burned and the lands
covered by it were idle for many years. In 1807 the Catholic Church was
organized as a corporation under the name of the “Catholic, Apostolic
and Roman Church of Ste. Anne of Detroit.” The corporation was sup-
posed to have been the owner of the church site on Jefferson Avenue, al-
though the title stood in the name of the priest, Gabriel Richard. The
church petitioned for larger building grounds and for church grounds in
1806.
Acting along the line of the plan laid down for the granting of lots
in the new plat of the city, after the fire of 1805, the governor and judges
960 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
requested the church to surrender the title to their old church lot and,
in lieu of it, take other lands. This would have necessitated the sur-
render of the burial ground on Jefferson Avenue. An assembly was called
at the church April 19, 1807, where it was resolved not to give up the
old church site, and a committee composed of Charles Moran, John R.
Williams and Joseph Campau was chosen to present the remonstrance to
the legislature. The remonstrance was received April 20, 1807, and a
reply was made the same day.
The following is an extract from the reply of the governor and judges
to the committee:
“We shall comply with great cheerfulness with the wishes of the
Catholic Society relative to their church. Some time since a committee
of that body made propositions for an increased quantity of ground for
the interment of the deceased, and a new location in conformity with the
lines of the city for a permanent and substantial edifice. We acceded to
them with great pleasure, and as our only object is to gratify the mem-
bers of the society on this subject, if it is their desire to relinquish the
new ground and retain the old, we shall have the same pleasure—acqui-
esce in it. Every arrangement in our power towards their more com-
fortable accommodations on the old grounds we shall readily assist in.
It would be very desirable that no building should be placed in a perma-
nent street, but as the street is wider than heretofore, one-half of it
could be spared for a temporary enclosure for a limited number of years
without essential inconvenience. If any remains of ancient interments
should fall without this line, we should consider it advisable to have
them removed within it, even at public expense, as it does not comport
with that respect which the living in most all countries are conceived to
owe to the dead, that the remains should be carelessly abandoned.”
The church did not, at this time, accept the proposal to exchange, but
retained their old site and churchyard. They objected seriously to the
opening of Jefferson Avenue and sent to the legislature the following
communication:
“To his Excellency, Governor William Hull and the Hon. Judges Au-
gustus B. Woodward and John Griffin, Esquires—Composing the Govern-
ment of Michigan. e
“The memorial of the Inhabitants of the Parish of St. Ann in the
Territory of Michigan through their committee, respectfully sheweth.
That after having maturely considered the proposal of the Legislature,
respecting the relinquishment of the ground held by Inhabitants of this
Country from the date of its earliest settlement, by their French An-
cestors as a public Burial and Church Ground Lot, in consideration of
other ground delineated by the appellation of the little Square near the
Fortress of Detroit, we acknowledge the superior intrinsic value of the
ground proposed to us, but owing to the strongest natural ties, which
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 961
Spring from Sources that imperiously bind our sensibilities as civilized
men, must and do by these presents, decline any alienation whatever of
Said Soil. The committee in support of their opinions adduce the grand
fundamental principles of immutable nature, emphatically felt and nobly
expressed by the illustrious framers of our invaluable constitution to
shew that among the several inalienable rights with which nature and
nature's God has invested man, is that most essential one of pursuing
the means of happiness. -
“We appeal to the humanity of our fellow citizens to decide whether
it would not evince (in the highest degree) a want of those humane and
charitable qualifications which are and ought to be the peculiar charac-
teristic of Christians, were we to abandon for the purpose of a common
highway, the earth in whose bosom reposes the remains of our fathers,
our mothers and common kindred. O Sympathy | O Nature where
are thy Godlike Virtues, by which the great Author of the Universe has
distinguished Man | Confiding once more, not only on the wisdom and
magnanimity of the government of the United States, but also, upon the
equity and validity of our claim, to the said Church ground, which we
and our forefathers have held in quiet possession, under three successive
governments, we now apply to your Honorable board for the adjustment
of our title and a deed for the said ground lot conformably to an act
of Congress of the United States entitled ‘An act to provide for the ad-
justment of Titles of Land in the Town of Detroit, etc.’
“A subsequent consideration, no less interesting to our parishioners,
is the lot of ground known by the name of the new Catholic burial. Con-
sequently it may not be amiss to explain in as concise a manner as pos-
sible the claim that we have to it. About the year 1796 or 97 it was
deemed expedient for the benefit and health of the inhabitants of the
ancient town of Detroit (considering the great length of time that the
small space of ground adjacent to the church has been used as a public
place of interment) that a new burial ground should be allotted to our
congregation on the then public commons. Accordingly the ground we
now hold in our possession was picketted in with the approbation of the
Corporation of Detroit and the consent of Hamtramck the Military
Commandt. of this place under whose exclusive jurisdiction the Com-
mons were then in some manner considered. Therefore we, the Commit-
tee, do now by these presents in the name of the inhabitants of the
aforesaid parish of St. Ann, pray that grant may issue for this last men-
tioned place of interment, as well as for the ancient lot of church ground.
“And Your Memorialist Petitioners as in duty bound shall ever, etc.,
“Detroit the 22nd. April 1807.
“Charles Moran
“Joseph Campau
“Jno. Williams.”
The church finally acquiesced in the opening of Jefferson Avenue as
that disturbed but a few graves. Nearly all of the remains were re-
962 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
moved from the street when it was opened, though a few were not found.
These bodies were uncovered in excavating in 1914 and more in 1921.
No church building was erected in Jefferson Avenue as was permitted
by this reply of the governor and judges. The Catholics had no church
within the city limits for many years. Services were held in Some old
buildings in the shipyard at the foot of Woodward Avenue. There was
another church, or chapel, on he River Road near Chene Street. After
1808, the chapel of the Cote du nord est, just east of the present boulevard,
was used, and a building on the Loranger farm at Twentieth Street was
also used. -
The Matthew Ernest farm (private claim 30) was leased by Father
Richard for some years. This is at present Morrell Street. There were
some old buildings here in which an Indian school was conducted and
religious services were also held. None of the buildings could be con-
sidered as churches. The priest refused to erect a new building on the
old church lot on Jefferson Avenue. This refusal caused a quarrel among
the parishioners and several of them were dismissed or left the church.
Among them were Joseph Campau and his nephew, John R. Williams.
It was not until 1817 that affairs were finally settled between the
territorial government and the church. Several changes had taken place
in the city government between 1806 and 1817. The territory was gov-
erned by a legislative body composed of the governor and the judges
of the territorial supreme court. This legislature had practical control
of the town. To be sure, the town affairs were looked after by a board
of trustees composed of five members elected each year, but they never
undertook to do more than look after purely local affairs, such as keeping
streets free from horses, hogs and cattle, seeing that the fire buckets and
ladders were in repair, and similar duties. The opening of streets,
looking after public health and like duties devolved upon the territorial
legislature.
In 1809 a new charter was granted to the City of Detroit. A council
was elected each year. There were two houses with three members in
each house and a mayor appointed by the governor and judges. The first
mayor was Solomon Sibley. He resigned after a few months and Elijah
Brush was appointed his successor. The whole scheme of local govern-
ment was deemed a failure and the law was soon repealed, and thereafter
the city was under the direct control of the governor and judges until
1815.
During the War of 1812, the British were in control from August 16,
1812, until September 29, 1813. The city was a military camp and very
little work of a civil nature was carried on. After the war ended it was
a long time before affairs got shaped around in a business way. We had
a new governor, Lewis Cass, to take the place of General Hull, but the
same judges, Woodward, Griffin, and Witherell, were on the bench and
composed, with the governor, the legislative body. A new charter was
granted the city in 1815 (similar to the charter of 1802), and now again
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 963
a body of trustees attended to the trivial affairs of the community and
did not interfere with the legislature.
To us at this time it seems quite an anomaly that the important
matters of city life, such as the opening of streets, the fixing and regu-
lating of cemeteries, the imposition and collection of taxes, should be
taken in charge of a legislative body which governed what is now called
Michigan, Wisconsin and the territory farther towards the West, and that
the people who lived in Detroit had no voice in local affairs. These judges
and the governor were all foreigners, coming from Ohio, New York,
Vermont and Pennsylvania. They were the political appointees of Presi-
dents who were strangers to our country, and only one of them (James
Monroe) ever set foot on our soil. There was always great discontent
Over this state of our government. The “times were out of joint” con-
tinually in the quarrels between the people and the government in which
they had no part.
As a part of the settlement decided upon in 1817, the church conveyed
to the governor and judges the land that was included in Jefferson Avenue
and received a conveyance of the remainder of their old church site and
burial ground. This land was 132 feet wide on Jefferson Avenue and
extended northerly 200 feet to Larned Street. As a part of the settle-
ment, there was conveyed to the church all of the lots lying between
Bates and Randolph Streets, extending from Cadillac Square (formerly
Michigan Grand Avenue) to Virginia Street. In order to explain what
Virginia Street was, we must understand that Congress Street was not
opened as it is at the present time. Congress Street (or Virginia Street)
ran as at present from Woodward Avenue to Bates Street and then ran
in a southeasterly direction to the intersection of Randolph and Larned
Streets.
All of the land north of this Virginia Street had apparently been
used for many years as a Catholic cemetery, but the title to the property
was, until 1817, vested in the Government. In addition to this grant
in 1817, the church authorities were given the use of the “interior tri-
angle,” that is the land bounded by Bates, Virginia and Larned streets.
In this triangle, they could erect a church and might place the building
in Virginia Street if they wished. The fee of the land should not pass
to the church, and it could be occupied only so long as it was actually
used for church purposes.
There were many burials in the lands north of Virginia Street and
the erection of a church in that street and on the “interior triangle” was
soon begun. There is a provision in this deed of settlement of 1817
which reads as follows: “It is understood that no further interments
be made on the said premises after June 1, 1817.” The context makes
it difficult to determine what was intended by the “said premises.” It is
certain that the cemetery (which we will call the Congress Street Ceme-
tery) had been used for many years. It is also certain that the old
cemetery on Jefferson Avenue was not used after the 1st of January,
1817. There is an entry in the records of Ste. Anne's Church in 1817,
964 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
showing how and when the bodies were removed from Jefferson Avenue.
This is as follows: -
“The first day of the month of May and the fifth of the same month,
we the undersigned priest in charge of Ste. Anne's have translated a
quantity of remains found in the middle of the principal street, which
was at one time part of the old cemetery and located about the old church
of Ste. Anne, the removal being made with the proper ceremonies and
in the presence of Etienne Dubois and a great gathering of the people.
These remains were put into two great square graves near the middle of
the present cemetery now in use.
“E. Dubois,
“G. Richards, Pretre.”
Etienne Dubois was the sexton of Ste. Anne's.
Another and important part of the settlement of 1817 was that the
Government conveyed to the church a piece of land 420 feet in width on
the south side of Madison Avenue, extending through to the next street
and including the intervening alley, being a little more than two acres.
This land is now a part occupied by the Madison and Lenox Hotels. This
was granted to the church “to be occupied and used as a permanent bury-
ing place for members of said corporation.” It was, however, never used
for burial purposes.
For the next ten years (until 1827) the Catholics continued to use the
Congress Street Cemetery and had no other place of burial.
As attention has so far been confined mainly to the Catholic portion
of the community, we will now take up the other portions. During the
latter part of 1813 and during 1814, just after the British troops evacu-
ated Detroit, an epidemic passed over the place and death took more than
its usual toll. This may have been the cholera, but it is not so named
in any of the contemporary reports. There was a great number of sol-
diers in the garrison who died at this time. The burial ground for the
soldiers was in the northwestern part of the Military Reserve, in that
part of the Government grounds bounded on the north by Michigan
Avenue, east by Wayne Street, south by Lafayette Boulevard, and west
by the Cass Farm line, Cass Avenue. All of this land was wild and
covered by trees and brush, excepting as the grounds were cleared for
burial purposes. It was in this large field that all of the soldiers had
been buried from 1760 until 1830. The field was quite full and the long
rows of graves can even now be ascertained by the excavations occasion-
ally made in this quarter of the old town.
Beyond this land, towards the west, comes the Cass farm, which was
owned by the Macomb family until 1816. Some persons, hunting for a
more romantic or secluded burial spot than the soldiers’ quarters, occa-
sionally chose a place under the trees or in the groves of the Cass farm,
and we now, once in a while, come across remains which were placed as
far over as Second, Third or Fourth streets in this neighborhood. Old
graves and human remains have also been uncovered as far down as
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 965
Fort Street near Wayne and Cass. This soldiers’ cemetery was never
formally vacated, but as the lands came to be used for business purposes
or residences, the old graves were unceremoniously opened and the con-
tents either thrown upon the dump heap and carted off, or, by gentler
hands, collected and conveyed to one of the city cemeteries, where they
were laid in trenches—unknown, unnamed, forgotten.
Although there were many Protestants in the city, these were of vari-
ous denominations and each had its community or association. They
were not consolidated and did not work in unison. They used, in com-
mon, the burial ground on the northeast corner of Woodward Avenue
and Larned Street and as they began to occupy this land before the
streets were laid out, there can be no doubt that there were many burials
within the lines of those streets that have never been disturbed and will
be uncovered in the years yet to come.
The First Protestant Society (now generally known as the First Pres-
byterian Church) was the first Protestant organization within the city.
In 1817, this society applied for a donation of land for a church site
and the governor and judges very generously gave them the Protestant
cemetery, which was useless for any other purposes and the society
cleared the space on the corner of the two streets above mentioned and
erected the first church building in 1817. On the northerly, southerly
and easterly side the church was hemmed in by graves and surrounded
by grave stones. After they had used this building for a few years, they
sold it to the Irish Catholics and it was moved to the northwest corner
of Bates Street and Cadillac Square. It was stationed at this place for
a number of years and in it were conducted Catholic Church services in
the English language, while the services in Ste. Anne's Church were con-
ducted in French.
In 1826, both Protestant and Catholic cemeteries were practically
filled. The city was growing rapidly and as it was considered unsanitary
to permit further burials within the city limits, it was determined to
seek other quarters farther from the center of business.
The Military Reserve, extending from Larned Street to Michigan
Avenue and from Griswold to Cass was donated by the general govern-
ment to the city in 1826. In this ground was the old fort, built in 1777
by the British. The center of the fort was about the location of Shelby
Street. The esplanade stretched from the fort nearly to the little creek
that ran through the present Congress Street. On the esplanade, or
glacis, of the fort, near the location of the present Griswold Street and
Moffat Building, the soldiers and sailors who had been killed in the battle
of Lake Erie in 1813, and some of those who were killed at the River
Raisin massacre in 1813, were buried. The occasion of the disinterment
of the bodies at Put-in-Bay and their re-interment on the glacis of the
fort in 1817 was an occasion of great pomp and ceremony in Detroit. The
Rev. Sylvester Larned, the silver-tongued pulpit orator, was invited here
to deliver the oration on the occasion and a great concourse of people
from all over the country was present. Nine years later the remains
966 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
were again disturbed and the work caused an epidemic of disease in the
place which carried off many people. Among others, the mayor, Henry
Jackson Hunt, died. The reason for the work at this time was the grad-
ing down of the fort grounds to prepare the property for division into
dwelling lots and the opening of streets.
The story of the Clinton Park Cemetery is interesting as a unit in the
history of cemeteries. The common council on December 8, 1826, di-
rected the mayor to call a meeting of the freemen of the city “respecting
the procuring of a suitable site for a new burial ground.” The freemen’s
meeting was a source of power at that time. It was called frequently
and passed upon the current work of the city. Its advice was generally
closely followed, for if its desires were not carried out by the council, no
moneys would be granted by the freemen at their annual meeting. It
stood in the same relation to the council that the board of estimates
stands at the present time. -
In this instance, the freemen’s meeting was called at Military Hall
December 16, 1826. A committee, consisting of Eurotas P. Hastings, De-
Garmo Jones, and Shubael Conant, was appointed to select a suitable
site for a burial ground. This committee reported December 30, 1826:
“In favor of purchasing a certain lot of five acres belonging to Dr. Wil-
liam Brown, lying on Adams Avenue and adjoining the farm of Governor
Cass, the same being offered for the sum of eight hundred dollars.” This
report was accepted and it was resolved that the city be authorized to
purchase a suitable site for a burying ground for the use of the city,
“provided that payment can be made by other means than that of taxa-
tion.”
At the same time the meeting requested the council to prohibit further
interments in the present burial grounds after May 1, 1827. The council,
contrary to their usual custom, paid no attention to the resolutions of the
citizens, but directed Alderman DeGarmo Jones to call upon Antoine Beau-
bien and ascertain upon what terms he would sell a suitable site for the
cemetery. Before any report of this subject was made, a committee of
citizens, some of them not members of the council, was appointed to
inspect the city and suggest general improvements. The members of
this committee were: Governor Lewis Cass, John Biddle, John R. Wil-
liams, Peter J. Desnoyers, Jonathan Kearsley, John Mullett, and David C.
McKinstry. The report of this committee is quite extensive, as they
investigated many matters and departments of the city life and made
many suggestions for improvements. .
The one part which we are now interested in was the cemetery. They
recommended that suitable grounds be purchased and that the lot be
divided between the Catholics and Protestants, and that the use of the
present quarters be discontinued. They recommended that the present
grounds and also the squares and other public spaces and the vacant
streets should be planted with trees by the city. This report was accepted
by the council.
It would appear from the records that the report of DeGarmo Jones
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 967
regarding his negotiation with Mr. Beaubien was not satisfactory and he
was discharged from that duty. Antoine Dequindre was appointed in his
place. The new committee reported that they had purchased from Mr.
Beaubien two and a half acres and had paid him $500. This was nearly
the amount Doctor Brown asked for twice as much land much more
favorably located.
It is difficult now (as it probably was at that time) to tell why the
Clinton Park site was chosen. It was in the woods. There were no
Streets leading to it or in its neighborhood. The approach to it was over
a narrow lane, commencing at Jefferson Avenue and leading straight up
along the westerly line of the Antoine Beaubien farm. This lane was
a private way, not graded, paved or cared for. It was closed by a gate
at Jefferson Avenue and during a considerable part of the year was quite
impassable on account of the mud and bad road. Antoine Beaubien, Sr.,
the owner of the property, was in his dotage and not competent to trans-
act a difficult business. His only son and heir was Antoine Beaubien, Jr.,
a kindly French gentleman, who was above all suspicion of doing any-
thing that was wrong, either with the city or with any individual. The
price paid for the two and a half acres was $589.30.
The mayor, Jonathan Kearsley, submitted a resolution relative to a
pledge by the city for the payment of that amount to be borrowed from
the Bank of Michigan.
The Legislative Council of the Territory of Michigan was in session
and an amendment to the city charter was then before that body. As
the amendment provided for the ownership of a cemetery by the city,
the common council awaited the action of the Legislative Council before
making any effort to conclude the bargain with Mr. Beaubien. A resolu-
tion, as mentioned, was passed March 31, 1827, reciting the purchase of
the land, and that to pay for the same it was necessary to borrow $500
from the Bank of Michigan for ninety days. It was resolved that so
much of the proceeds of sales of pickets, buildings and land belonging
to the city, which have been or may be sold, as may be necessary to pay
said sum, be pledged to the bank, and the city treasurer was directed to
retain from said moneys sufficient to pay said account when it became
due. The deed from Antoine Beaubien is dated June 1, 1827, and runs
to the city by its then corporate name of the Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen
and Freemen of the City of Detroit. The land conveyed was in the form
of a square, five chains or 330 feet on a side and lying on the easterly
side of an alley or lane which was thirty feet wide and ran along the
westerly line of the Beaubien farm, from Jefferson Avenue. This alley
appears to have already been laid down, and the city was granted the
free use of it for passing and repassing to the conveyed. The premises
were to be used as a burial ground and place of interment for the dead.
The city agreed to build a fence around the land and maintain a bridge
over the ditch crossing the alley and construct a board gate to the fence
at Jefferson Avenue at the entrance of the land. The consideration for
the land was $589.30. Before the deed was executed, Mr. Beaubien
968 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
claimed that he had agreed to sell two and a half arpents of land instead
of two and a half acres, and as there was some difference between an
arpent and an acre, the city agreed to pay for the difference, which
amounted to $89.30. Subsequently, in 1837, Antoine Beaubien, Jr., son
of the first-named Antoine, deeded to the city that part of the alley lying
between Clinton Street and Gratiot Avenue, and also those portions of
the land below Clinton Street which formed the various cross streets. The
lane itself was decided to be the property of Mr. Beaubien in the suit
brought by the city to determine the ownership of it.
While negotiations for the purchase of the cemetery lot were pro-
ceeding, the council passed an ordinance prohibiting further burials in
any of the old cemeteries. This at once compelled all new interments to
be made in the new grounds.
Thus the purchase of the Beaubien tract was made and the city took
possession of the land. It was paid for out of city funds and the prop-
erty belonged to the municipality. The Catholic portion of the community
was quite extensive at this time and the council was persuaded to set
aside one-half of the land for the exclusive use of the Catholics. The
other half was reserved for all non-Catholics. The first burial was that
of Friend Palmer (father of the late Gen. Friend Palmer), who died
May 29, 1827. In June the city recorder, Eurotas P. Hastings, and Al-
derman Peter J. Desnoyers were directed to divide the burial grounds
and lay them out.
The population of the city increased very rapidly between 1825 and
1835 and the little graveyard was being filled. Again it was determined
that something must be done to relieve the congestion.
The old burial ground around Ste. Anne's Church was not used after
the Clinton Park Cemetery was opened. In 1829, an ordinance was
passed regulating burials. The interesting portion of the ordinance was
the provision for charges for interments. A sexton was annually ap-
pointed or elected. He was authorized to charge $1.50 for digging a
grave and burying a corpse, 25 cents for delivering a coffin to the house
of the deceased, $1.25 for furnishing horse and carrying corpse to the
grave, and 25 cents for tolling the bell.
In 1833 there was considerable agitation among the people to remove
the remains from the old burying ground on Woodward Avenue to the
new Clinton Park grounds. Some of the people got excited and under-
took to clear out the old grounds forcibly. There were other citizens
quite as determined to leave the old grounds alone for the present. Those
who were determined upon making the removals went at the actual work
and it was not long before some were arrested for that which the others
considered desecration of the graves.
In 1832 the agitation was begun to open Congress Street as it now
runs. This effort was resisted by the Catholics for some time. Bishop
Rese, in his remonstrance, said that it had been determined to erect on
this ground and to “throw open a large, splendid and elegant public
building, such a one as would be an ornament to your beautiful and rap-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 969
idly growing city.” Another remonstrance, filed with the city clerk on
June 30, 1834, is signed by many persons. Among these names are those
of the Sisters and the little girls of the “Female Academy of St. Claire's
Seminary.”
In 1833, the Catholic Church filed a petition with the governor and
judges, setting forth that in consequence of the ordinance prohibiting
further interments in the Congress Street cemetery and the increase in
the number of burials, it would soon be necessary to obtain other grounds
for that purpose. They said that Madison Avenue lots in Section 9,
granted to be occupied as a Catholic burying ground, were entirely un-
Suited for the purpose of interment, the earth being at most seasons of
the year covered with water, and the grant being otherwise inoperative
in consequence of an ordinance of the city inhibiting interment within
the limits of the city. The church asked that the Madison Avenue lots
be given to it in fee freed from the condition contained in the original
deed that it should be used solely for burial purposes. The church also
asked that the interior triangle on which Ste. Anne’s Church was al-
ready located should be given to it in fee as Randolph Street had al-
ready been opened along the easterly side. The entire petition was
granted without condition and a new deed was executed to the church
corporation February 25, 1834. It was at this time that efforts were
being made to open Congress Street and it seems somewhat strange that
in settling matters with the church no mention was made of Congress
Street, but that affair was left to be accomplished in a much harsher
manner two years later.
The men who thus gave away the city’s rights in the entire interior
triangle and the two or three acres of land on Madison Avenue were
Governor George B. Porter and the judges, Solomon Sibley, George Mor-
rell and Ross Wilkins. It had become necessary, however, for the growth
and benefit of the city, that Congress Street should be opened and the
graves removed. Action was taken in 1836 in the courts and the street
was opened by that means.
As we have already seen, the little two and a half acre cemetery on
the Antoine Beaubien farm, which was used in part by the Catholics
and the other part by the non-Catholics, was so full that additional room
had to be provided. The cholera seasons of 1832 and 1834 greatly in-
creased the number of deaths and congested the grave yards. The report
of the city sexton for the year between April 1, 1832, and March 30, 1833,
shows that there were 136 Protestants buried, of whom sixty were cholera
victims, and 165 Catholic burials, or 301 deaths in twelve months.
It was in 1834 that the Guoin Farm was purchased by the city. This
farm was the property of Charles Guoin and in the closing of his estate
that portion of the farm lying northerly of Gratiot Avenue was sold at
auction and the city, on May 31, 1834, became the purchaser for the
sum of $2,010. The land purchased consisted of two parts, the rear con-
cession consisting of 37.55 acres, and that part of the first concession
lying north of the Fort Gratiot Road (Gratiot Avenue).
970 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
This tract extends along the easterly side of Russell Street from
Gratiot to Harper Avenue. A portion of the front of this farm was laid
off for immediate use and burials ceased to take place in the other ceme-
teries. There was considerable complaint constantly made that the
grounds owned by the city were not properly cared for. It was another
instance of municipal ownership, with the usual careless, inefficient and
incapable public servants.
A sexton was appointed or elected each year. For many years the
same man acted in this capacity. It was discovered after a time that he
was selling lots and misappropriating the receipts. This was the charge
against him and the council committee, to which the matter was referred,
found it to be true. The removal of the offending officer did not fully
settle the matter. It was believed that a cemetery owned by a private
corporation would be better taken care of.
Some of the prominent and wealthy citizens in 1846, purchased the
land we now know as Elmwood Cemetery and commenced the prepara-
tion of the ground for cemetery purposes. Forty-one acres were first
bought for $1,858, raised by subscription. Burials began to take place at
Once, long before the grounds were ready for general use. Among those
originally interested in this enterprise were Henry Ledyard and Alex-
ander D. Fraser. The articles of the association of the cemetery com-
pany were not executed until 1849 and it is from that date that the asso-
ciation existed. The organization was not instituted to make money, but
to furnish places of sepulchre, with proper care of the grounds. Every
lot owner was, to the extent of his purchase, interested in the entire
grounds. No dividends are ever paid and all of the income not necessarily
used on the grounds is accumulated to buy other grounds when needed.
The visitor to that place cannot avoid contrasting the beauty of the
grounds, and the neat and tasty method in which everything appears with
the disgraceful neglect that is seen in the municipal and public burial
places throughout the county and in the neighborhood of the city.
The Catholic population was quite as earnest in its care of the city
of the dead as were the non-Catholics. Attempts had repeatedly been
made by the congregation of Ste. Anne to have the Catholic portion of
the Clinton Park Cemetery kept in order. The bishop and the church
authorities alike neglected this spot. The neglect was probably induced
by the knowledge that it was the duty of the city, which owned the land,
to keep it in order.
The Church of Ste. Anne included the French portion of the com-
munity, but another Catholic community, generally called the Irish Cath-
olics, or English-speaking Catholics, purchased the property on the north-
West corner of Cadillac Square and Bates Street. They bought the old
Presbyterian Church and moved it to this lot. It was then called Trinity
Church. It was this community that first desired to have a Catholic
cemetery that they could call their own and manage as they pleased.
In 1841 this church society bought the lands now known as Mount
Elliott Cemetery and according to the custom of the church had the prop-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 971
erty conveyed to Bishop Frederick Rese, who was the first Catholic
bishop of the Detroit diocese. The first purchase consisted of eleven
acres and was made August 31, 1841. The conveyance was made “in
trust for the exclusive use and benefit of the Irish Roman Catholic con-
gregation of Trinity Church of Detroit.” The management of the ceme-
tery was perpetually vested in persons to be from time to time selected by
the lot owners. Additional lands were purchased of William Adair in
1864 and the title taken in the name of Peter Paul Lefevre, who was
bishop coadjutor, as Bishop Rese did not die until 1872. In 1865, Mount
Elliott Cemetery Corporation was organized and the property and con-
trol of the cemetery was conveyed to it. The income from the sale of
lots is used for taking care of the grounds. The cemetery was named
for Robert T. Elliott, one of the original projectors and whose own burial,
the first in the new cemetery, occurred September 12, 1841.
In 1849, Bishop Lefevre asked the council to prohibit further inter-
ments in the Catholic portion of the Clinton Park Cemetery and on June
26th, public notice was given of the discontinuance of all burials in that
cemetery.
Two years later, Alanson Sheley, who had purchased a portion of the
old Woodward Avenue Cemetery, gave notice that he intended to exca-
vate the grounds for the erection of new buildings and interested persons
were requested to remove the remains of relatives and friends.
In 1854, after the Clinton Park Cemetery had ceased to be used for
new interments, St. Antoine Street was opened through it from South to
north. This disturbed a large number of graves and as they were dis-
interred the remains were removed to other cemeteries. The value of
the land taken was inconsiderable and no value was attached to it as it
was the property of the city, but the private rights of lot owners was
estimated by the jury at more than $3,000.
In 1855, a committee of the common council consisting of the mayor,
Henry Ledyard, and the aldermen, Anthony Dudgeon and Alanson Sheley,
after some investigation, reported in favor of vacating the Russell Street
Cemetery and purchasing a new site. In this report, which was adopted,
it is stated that the cemetery occupied fourteen acres which were then
valued at $14,000, and that other suitable lands could be bought for
$150 to $200 per acre. Another committee, consisting of the mayor and
Aldermen Ingersoll, Duncan and Thompson, was appointed to receive
proposals for a new site. They advertised for proposals and received
a number of bids, but no selection was made. Nothing further was done
at this time, but other committees were appointed April 1, 1856, and
March 9, 1857, for the same purpose of selecting a new site, but nothing
was accomplished.
In April, 1857, Mayor Oliver M. Hyde, in a communication to the
council, said: “I wish to call your attention to the condition of the old
cemetery ground, now in the third ward. Its appearance is a disgrace
to the city authorities.”
Another attempt was made in September, 1857, to get a new site and
972 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
the city advertised for proposals for twenty acres of land within or near
the western city limits. Proposals were received, but nothing accom-
plished.
Gen. Henry A. Morrow, who was at that time recorder, in a communi-
cation to the city council May 28, 1861, said:
“It is little short of disgraceful to Detroit that its cemetery should
have been allowed to fall into the ruinous and dilapidated state in which
we find it at present. It was once the place of interment for the whole
city and in it are deposited the remains of many worthy and respectable
people. When the city sold lots in the cemetery it was with the implied
pledge that the grounds should be and remain sacred for cemetery pur-
poses. This pledge has been entirely overlooked or disregarded. Not
Only has the ground been neglected and the fences allowed to go to ruin,
but a portion of the land has been appropriated for other purposes. The
city has the power, without doubt, to prohibit further interments in the
city cemetery and it would be its duty to do this if the public health or
convenience required such a step. But it is still used for the almost
sacred purposes of burial and yet all care of it is neglected.”
The House of Correction was placed on lands north of the portion
used for cemetery purposes in 1861, and in 1862, the inspector of the
house was directed to take possession of that part of the cemetery lying
in front of the House of Correction between James Street and the south-
erly line of Silver Street for the purpose of a park. The bodies were
removed, the lands fenced in and used for a park under the charge of
the inspector.
The first suggestion that the city was not the absolute owner of the
Clinton Park Cemetery was made in 1867. At that time William Gray
was the city counselor and at the request of the council he rendered an
Opinion that the title of the city was complete. The question was again
raised a year later and another opinion was obtained which will be men-
tioned later.
St. Antoine Street divided the cemetery into two parts, the one lying
east of that street being partly vacant or denuded at the time of the open-
ing of the street. The western portion was supposed to be fenced in and
taken care of by the city, but was much neglected.
Saint Mary’s Church, on September 3, 1867, asked permission to use
a portion of the cemetery on the Beaubien Farm, on which “to erect a
Schoolhouse and church for the use of Catholic colored children.” This
land was long since abandoned as a burial ground, and the council to
whom the petition was directed was in favor of granting the request, but
at the next meeting, September 10th, a protest against making the grant
was filed and the subject was referred to a committee which reported
adversely. A few days later Alderman Howe introduced a resolution
which was adopted October 1, 1867, dedicating that part of the cemetery
lying north of Clinton Street as a park to be called “Clinton Park.”
About the same time the board of education resolved to ask the city for
the cemetery as a site for a school building. William D. Wilkins was
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 973
then president of the board and he presented the petition to the council
on October 7, 1867. The board of health also sent a communication to
the council asking that both cemeteries be vacated as soon as possible.
Although Woodmere Cemetery was not opened until some time later
than this, the lands had already been located and at the invitation of the
Owners, a committee of the council consisting of Aldermen Francis Adams
and William Purcell visited the grounds and located a site for the re-
moval of the remains from the city cemeteries. This was on November
14, 1867.
In the following spring, as nothing seemed to be doing in the way of
using the Clinton Park Cemetery, George Oldekop filed a petition March
10, 1868, for permission to use the northerly part of the land for a num-
ber of years for the purpose of erecting a public hall. His petition was
denied and a resolution was passed directing that the remains still in the
cemetery should be removed before June 1st following.
The council, on April 7th, passed a resolution to convey to the board
of education for a school site, the portion west of St. Antoine Street
between Clinton Street and Gratiot Avenue. The mayor, William W.
Wheaton, vetoed the resolution, but advised that the school be placed on
the east side of St. Antoine Street, reserving the west side for a park.
He said: “The parcel on the west side is large in extent and far more
than is necessary for a site for the schoolhouse.”
On the day preceding this veto, the board of education had received
opinions regarding the title to the property conveyed by Antoine Beau-
bien in 1827. One opinion was rendered by Theodore Romeyn and Wil-
liam Gray and the other by George V. N. Lothrop. All three lawyers
agreed that the title of the city was perfect and unassailable so far as
claims of Beaubien or his assigns. In the habendum of the deed to the
city it was stated that the property was conveyed to the city, its succes-
sors and assigns “to be used and occupied as a burial ground and place
of internment for the dead.” This, they said, was not a condition of
limitation and did not prevent the city from using the premises for any
desired purpose.
Mr. Lothrop, however, in his opinion, went a step further and stated
that the lot owners or families of those who were interred, had an addi-
tional and very sacred right in the premises, which the courts would
maintain and protect. He advised that the city obtain releases from the
lot owners before doing anything that was inconsistent with these rights.
The bishop of the Catholic Church had asserted an ownership of a
portion of the premises and that claim was also passed upon by the
lawyers. Mr. Lothrop said that no evidence had ever been produced
to show that the Catholics had held the lands adversely or that they had
any personal rights in that land. Messrs. Romeyn and Gray, while ad-
mitting that there was never any deed of cession, stated that they were
“informed that from an early day and for more than twenty years, a
part of the tract had been exclusively used for the purpose of interment
974 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
by the Catholic Church of its own members and to the exclusion of all
other persons.” They advised that this possession was adverse and was
sufficient to make the title good in the church.
As the first petition of the board of education had failed to pass the
mayor, a new petition was filed in June for a deed of a part of the
Protestant portion for a site for a union school building. -
During the lifetime of Bishop Lefevre there was never much love lost
between the Catholic and Protestant portions of the community. He had
the faculty of creating religious disturbances on all occasions. He did
not have the undivided support of the members of his church and many
of his actions were not approved by them. He sent a communication to
the council on June 23, 1868, offering to surrender his entire claims on
condition that the portion west of St. Antoine Street should be used as a
park and that the portion (of the Catholic part) on the east side should
remain in his name as trustee for St. Mary’s Hospital. While the pro-
posal of the bishop was before the council, that body on July 21, 1868,
received a resolution to give to the board of education the portion of the
Protestant cemetery west of St. Antoine Street. The vote on the propo-
sition stood nine to six and the matter was laid over under the rules. It
did not come up again for action until September 15th, when the reso-
lution was adopted and the controller was directed to execute a deed for
the premises to the school board. Again the mayor vetoed the proposal
because, as he said, the property should be sold and not given to the board.
A proposal was then made to lease the land to the board for ninety-
nine years at $10 per year. This was adopted September 29, 1868.
Again Mayor Wheaton vetoed the measure, saying that “the leasing of
public property for a nominal sum is, in my opinion, the same as do-
nating it.” -
Then the board of education presented a request that the city fix a
price on the property and permit it to be sold to them. Maxwell M.
Fisher, and a number of other citizens, presented a petition on August
11, 1868, asking the city to dedicate the cemetery grounds for a market.
The petition was denied because the lands were too small, but the com-
mittee to whom the matter was referred recommended that a market be
located at the corner of High and Russell streets for wood and hay. '
Another petition of the board of education was presented October 13,
1868, asking the council to sell the site to the board. Some members of
the council backed up the mayor, evidently intending that no schoolhouse
should ever be erected on the land.
The proposal of Bishop Lefevre to dedicate a portion of the land for
a public park was accepted December 1, 1868, and the thanks of the
council were extended to him for his generous gift. When the deeds
were finally presented for exchange, it appeared that the deed from the
city to Bishop Lefevre was dated August 3, 1868, although not executed
until the 5th of December. By this deed the city conveyed to Peter Paul
Lefevre and his heirs the south half of the old cemetery lying easterly of
St. Antoine Street, to be held and used by him and his successors, assigns
DANIEL SCOTT EN RICHARD S. WILLIS
HENRY A. NEwlAND HON. BENJAMIN G. STIMSON



WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 977
or representatives for the use and benefit of St. Mary's Hospital and the
inmates thereof. There was also a dedication dated August 7, 1868, by
Mr. Lefevre as bishop of Zela and coadjutor of the bishop of Detroit, of
the portion west of St. Antoine Street, to be used as a public park forever
and for no other purpose, to be called Clinton Park. There are condi-
tions attached to this conveyance that the property should be a public
park to be called Clinton Park, that the city should always care for it as
a park and keep it in suitable condition, that the land east of St. Antoine
Street which formerly constituted part of the Catholic burying ground
should be conveyed to the bishop for the use of St. Mary’s Hospital, and
that the city should provide new grounds for the burial of the remains in
the old ground and should forthwith remove them. In order that no
further question might arise regarding the ownership of the land, the
corporation of Ste. Anne's Church made a dedication of the same land
for park purposes. This ended the controversy over the land at that
time and it only remained for the city to vacate the premises. The for-
mal dedication of the park took place August 7, 1869.
A great many bodies were removed by friends and relatives of the
deceased, and others were removed by Valentine Giest, the city sexton.
Removals on a large scale began October 1, 1869, and the work was
completed November 12th of the same year. Mr. Giest removed 1,892
bodies, of which 1,490 were from the Catholic portion. His bill for serv-
ices was $2,337.
Woodmere Cemetery was formally opened July 14, 1869, and the
council attended the opening ceremonies in a body. In the part set aside
for the city in this cemetery were placed nearly all of those that were
removed from the Protestant part of the old cemetery, but the Catholics
were provided for in Mount Elliott. The disinterment of bodies in other
parts of the city has gone on for years and probably will for years to
come. The Woodmere Cemetery Association had been organized in July,
1867, and among those interested were: John J. Bagley, David Preston,
Moses W. Field, M. S. Smith, Eber B. Ward, Elon W. Hudson, Charles
I. Walker, David M. Richardson, Lemuel H. Davis, Bela Hubbard, Daniel
Scotten and Jefferson Wiley.
A body was uncovered in digging a cellar on Cass Street, August 6,
1869, and a few days later twenty-one bodies were taken out of Cass
Street and turned over to Mr. Giest to be conveyed to Woodmere. In the
same month twenty-five more bodies were found in Cass Street. These
are only a few of the many that have been found there, some of them as
far down as Fort Street.
Detroit was settled by Europeans in 1701 and has been a village, town
and city since that date. Its initial population consisted of one hundred
white men, but before the first year of its existence had expired there
were women in the community and from that time it followed the rule
of other settlements. There was a church, there were stores and work-
shops in the village and many dwellings, all of logs, at the early days, but
of various sizes and designs. There were marriages, births and deaths
978 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
and a very fair record of all these has been kept and is available. For
more than one hundred years, all of the transactions of the settlement
were confined within the little enclosure which was never longer than
two blocks of the present city, extending from Griswold to Wayne Street
and never wider than from Woodbridge, where the river ran, to Larned.
From 1701 to 1760, the people were all French and all Catholics.
There was very little caste or distinction among them. Soldiers and
civilians were equal, devoted themselves to the same classes of work,
associated without distinction and attended the same social gatherings.
Their families intermarried and their children were brought up as com-
panions and with an equal degree of education, which was very meager
at best.
They had one burial place in common for the community and that was
controlled by the church and was one of its departments. In many re-
spects their lives were of Acadian simplicity. To be sure they had their
quarrels and suits at law and arbitrations of disputes and military op-
pression on occasions, but their lives were simple and their wants were
few. Then came the English and Americans and all this simplicity was
disturbed and changed. Now there were three classes in the place—the
French, the English and the soldiers. The French soldier was a civilian.
He had his house and family and was a laborer at some occupation. The
English soldier was always a soldier. He lived in the barracks, had no
family and was moved from one station to another, with his company
or regiment. The newcomers, English and Americans, came to make
homes and live here the remainder of their days. They were traders
and artisans. The soldiers did not associate much with the civilians and
the French associated with neither. When a soldier died, he was buried
in a yard reserved for soldiers and the English civilians had a cemetery
by themselves. From 1760 there were three separate graveyards oc-
cupying lands contiguous to the dwellings and business streets.
Detroit was a frontier post. It grew in population so slowly that it
is not to be wondered that no one foresaw that it would be a large city.
The people did not notice its growth and made no preparations for the
future in any adequate manner. The place was created a city by legis-
lative act while it still remained west of Griswold Street and south of
Larned Street, and it was a great improvement and displayed consider-
able civic progress to cease to use the cemetery on Jefferson Avenue and
to begin the use of the new grounds at the intersection of Congress and
Bates. Many years and much effort were wasted to remove finally the
remains from Jefferson Avenue to Congress Street. So with each suc-
ceeding removal, it has taken many and repeated efforts of portions of
our citizens before anything could be accomplished. In the downtown
districts of today we walk over the remains of past generations. How
many human beings still lie buried, unknown and forgotten in our city’s
streets
In addition to the several public cemeteries that are mentioned, there
were several private cemeteries that have been removed or lost. There
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 979
was a private cemetery on the park lots in the field near the Central
Methodist Church. This was owned by Gen. John R. Williams and in it
were interred only the members of his family. The Brush family had a
burial ground of their own in the Brush garden on Randolph Street be-
tween Lafayette and Fort. There was a cemetery of considerable extent
On the river bank on the front of the Church Farm, just east of the boule-
Vard bridge. There were four large Indian villages in the immediate
neighborhood of the settlement established by Cadillac in 1701. These
Villages remained for many years and of course there must have been
many Indians who died in them and who were buried along the line of
the river. The Pottawatomi Indians were located near the foot of
Twenty-fourth Street and several bodies have been uncovered in that
neighborhood. The largest cemetery was in the sand dunes that, even
in modern times, line the shores of Detroit and Rouge rivers near their
junction. This land is now within the city limits and the explorations
there are narrated in Bela Hubbard’s “Memoirs of Half a Century.”
The Indian war was carried on by the Fox Indians in 1712. The In-
dian war camp was on the hill where the Moffat Building is now located.
Many Indians were killed and their bodies were buried nearby. When
the Fox Indians were defeated and had surrendered, they passed the night
of their imprisonment in the valley of the creek that ran through Con-
gress Street, along the line of that street at Woodward Avenue and far-
ther east. They escaped and retreated during the night, but were over-
taken the next day and a great battle took place along the Fox Creek,
now within the city limits. It was estimated that more than a thousand
persons were killed. Their bodies were deposited near Fox Creek, which
derives its name from this battle. Many remains have been found and
many more will be found in the future. In the location of the large ceme-
teries such at Elmwood, Mount Elliott, and the German Lutheran, con-
siderable enterprise was displayed in choosing places remote from the
city, but the wonderful increase in population and in size has made these
places practically useless for the future. There is something sacred
about the resting-place of the dead and we are unwilling to disturb it.
The places mentioned must remain as they are and the corporations own-
ing them will probably always maintain them. Of the newer cemeteries,
Woodlawn, Grand Lawn, Evergreen, Woodmere, Forest Lawn and Mount
Olivet, several are already enclosed within the city lines, and the time
will probably come when all burials within the limits of the city will be
forbidden.
Within the past quarter century, associations have been organized
which have acquired for burial purposes large tracts of land remote
from the centers of population. The selections have, in all cases, been of
areas having a forest growth and susceptible to a high degree of land-
scape development. The first of these was Forest Lawn Cemetery in
North Detroit, six miles from the city hall, with the Norris plank road
on One side and a continuation of Van Dyke Avenue on the other. The
grounds, comprising 130 acres, were acquired in 1888.
980 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Woodlawn Cemetery of 240 acres is on the west side of Woodward
Avenue near the Eight-Mile Road and was dedicated in 1898. Seven
years later the Evergreen Cemetery Association was incorporated and
acquired a tract of 276 acres south of Woodlawn. Still more recently, in
1906, the Roseland Park Cemetery Association was organized and opened
grounds, 220 acres in extent, adjoining Woodward Avenue near the
Twelve-Mile Road in Oakland County. Still more remote from the city
is Grand Lawn Cemetery, fronting Grand River Avenue in Redford
township, thirteen miles from the city hall. This is the largest ceme-
tery in the vicinity of Detroit, and is beautifully situated on high and
rolling ground.
Among the older burial grounds in the city is the Lutheran Cemetery
of ten acres on Mount Elliott Avenue between Palmer and Farnsworth.
It was dedicated on Pentecost Sunday, 1868. There are ancient Jewish
cemeteries adjoining the Lafayette Avenue side of Elmwood, and on
Smith Avenue near Chene Street. The Jewish Congregation Beth El
also has a tract set apart for its use within Woodmere Cemetery grounds.
Recent statistics show that the approximate number of interments in
some of the larger cemeteries are: Woodmere, 76,000; Elmwood, 38,000;
Forest Lawn, 16,000; Holy Cross, 13,000; Evergreen, 6,500; Woodlawn,
6,000; Grand Lawn, 2,500; Gethsemane, 1,500; Roseland Park, 1,200;
Machpelah, 600; Oakview, 300; and all others, 60,000. -
The Story of a Title—A Lost Deed
Being the Story of the Church, or Malcher Farm
By Clarence M. Burton
There is no more romantic occupation than that of examining titles
to real estate. The titles of no two farms along the river front of Wayne
County are the same, and the story of every farm combines the romances
of the lives of many families for the two centuries of occupation by the
white man. The Indians never claimed private ownership in these lands,
but individual ownership by white men extends back to the time of
Cadillac. The first settlers were the French farmers, and they brought
with them from their homes across the water, the idea of the French-
man’s “water lot,” and introduced it here. The “Ribbon Farm” was a
tract of land with a frontage of several arpents or French acres, upon
a stream of water and extending in the rear as far as government would
permit. Upon the Detroit River these farms were usually, two, three
or more arpents wide, and extended from forty to sixty arpents in depth.
An arpent was a French measure of 192.75 feet, being a little less than
an English acre. There were many of these concessions or grants made
by the French government and the commandants, but only a very few
were made under the English rule. The French government controlled
the country until 1760 and the British had possession from that date until
1796. Thereafter the Americans owned and disposed of the lands or
confirmed the previous grants made by France and England.
About the year 1780, when it was thought likely that the Revolution-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 981
ary war would end by the transfer of this part of the country to the new
United States, many of the people living in and around Detroit obtained
grants of lands from the Indian tribes. There was no validity to any of
these transfers, but on many occasions persons took the Indian deeds
and entered into possession of lands under them and were in the actual
possession, with title uncontested, at the time of the coming of Gen.
Anthony Wayne with the American Army in 1796.
Soon after the Americans took possession of the country an agitation
was begun to settle the land titles. Acts of Congress were passed at
various times, the general object of which was to quiet the titles in the
proper parties and to give land owners assurances that they would not
be disturbed in their possessions. Commissioners were appointed by
Congress to sit at a court in Detroit, to whom evidences of possession
and ownership were presented. Awards were made by the commissioners
and, where no appeals were taken, grants or patents were issued to the
proper parties. These patents were based upon the actual possession
of the soil ante-dating the coming of the Americans and were, therefore,
more in the nature of confirmations than of conveyances, (Corby vs.
Thompson, Vol. 196, page 706, Michigan Reports).
(As it is expected that this paper will be read by lawyers and others
engaged in examining titles and transferring land, references will be
made to the public records and to Supreme Court reports so that they
will readily understand).
Among these grants was one located on the Detroit River a short
distance east of the Grand Boulevard. It has a frontage on the river of
five arpents (about 963 feet) and extends northward about three miles.
A more definite description will be given later. This farm is now gen-
erally known as the “Church” Farm or private land claim number six-
teen. It is also sometimes referred to as the “Malcher” Farm and as
the “Public” Farm.
Charles Chene purchased a portion of the land from the French gov-
ernment and obtained a patent for it dated July 14, 1734. This portion
was four arpents in width by eighty arpents in depth.
Charles Chene was the son of Pierre St. Onge dit Chene and his wife,
Louisa Jeanne Bailly. He was born at Montreal, March 11, 1694, and
married at Detroit, January 18, 1722, Catherine Sauvage. The family
name Chene is sometimes spelled Chesne. Pierre and Charles Chene
were ancestors of the family bearing that name and owners of the Chene
Farm at Chene Street, Detroit. In 1762, Charles Chene sold the farm to
Guillaume Bernard (or St. Bernard).
Gabriel Casse dit St. Aubin was the owner of the land lying next east
of the Charles Chene Farm. He sold to Guillaume St. Bernard a strip
one arpent wide off the west side of his farm, October 8, 1771, for 1,200
livres (eighty pounds). (Liber “A,” page 184). On this land was a
house of which St. Aubin retained the right of possession during his life.
St. Aubin sold the remainder of his farm to Antoine Moras, January 11,
1775 (Liber “A,” page 288), and the latter was in possession of it when
Malcher applied for a patent for his farm.
982 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Guillaume (William) St. Bernard was the son of Alexander St. Ber-
nard and his wife, Catherine Girard. Guillaume was born in Ambasa,
France, in 1717, came to America and married at Detroit, January 10,
1754, Marie Josephte Campau, the daughter of Antoine Campau and his
wife, Angelique Peltier dit Antaya. Marie, at the time of her marriage,
was less than fourteen years of age. St. Bernard and his wife lived
on the farm for many years. He died there and was buried from old
Ste. Anne's Church, August 17, 1797. He was a soldier in the garrison
at Detroit as early as 1746. He was popular and was well known in the
village, and in the old records he is frequently referred to as Sieur St.
Bernard, the first name being omitted. He was a slave owner in later
times and the names of his slaves were Jeanne, a panise (Indian slave)
and Marie, Jacques, Angelique, another Marie, Anne and Hiore, negroes.
His widow, Marie, moved across the river into Canada and was buried
from the Church of the Assumption (Sandwich), July 1, 1800. She
lived with her daughter, Marie Angelique Bertrand.
The purchase price of the farm was not fully paid at the time of the
death of Guillaume St. Bernard, and his son, Hippolite, paid the balance
of the debt to Chene and assumed ownership of the place. This was done
with the consent of the other members of the St. Bernard family, though
no formal transfer to Hippolite was ever recorded.
The widow of St. Bernard having an estate in the farm, under the
Coutume de Paris, bequeathed her interest to her son, Hippolite, by her
will dated May 12, 1800. This will, which was never presented for pro-
bate in Michigan, was drawn up in Canada, under the old French law,
and was subsequently recorded in Wayne County, June 15, 1801, in liber
1 of Deeds on page 465.
Testatrix was sick in bed at the time of making the will and died a
few weeks later. A condition of the bequest was that Hippolite should
pay all debts of the succession to the amount of 6,835 livres.
There were many children born to Guillaume and Marie St. Bernard,
and Hippolite was not the oldest of the family. The children were:
Antoine St. Bernard, born April 25, 1756, and died August 9, 1756.
Guillaume St. Bernard, born October 2, 1757.
Joseph St. Bernard, born June 21, 1759.
Marie Josephte St. Bernard, born May 3, 1761 (married Jacques
Meloche, July 11, 1784).
Alexander St. Bernard, born March 1, 1763 (at the time Pontiac was
besieging Detroit).
Louis St. Bernard, born July 16, 1764.
Jeane St. Bernard, born March 29, 1766 (married Charles Barrileau
dit La Marche, March 6, 1783).
Francois St. Bernard, born December 19, 1767.
Hippolite St. Bernard, born August 4, 1769 (married Marie Madeline
Campau, January 28, 1799). Marie was the daughter of Simon Campau
and his wife, Veronique Bourdeau, and was born August 17, 1770. Marie
died May 26, 1802.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 983
Charles St. Bernard, born May 23, 1773.
Antoine St. Bernard, born June 17, 1774.
Marie Angelique St. Bernard, born February 11, 1776 (married
Francois Bertrand and lived in Sandwich).
Dorothea St. Bernard, born August 15, 1777.
Felicite St. Bernard, born September 3, 1779.
The next transfer of the property was made by Hippolite St. Bernard
to Francois Paul Melcher (or Malcher), June 15, 1802. This deed is
recorded in liber “A” on page 276, United States Land Records. It was
transcribed in French. The consideration paid by Malcher was $1,666,
equal to 10,000 livres, and the land is described in the deed as follows:
A parcel of land or farm four arpents in front by eighty in depth, lying
On the margin of the River Detroit, in the district of Hamtramck, Wayne
County, bounded west, southwest by the lands of Antoine Boyer, east,
northeast by a farm belonging to the grantor herein, which farm or
parcel of land will be included in the present sale. Also another parcel
or farm adjoining the parcel last described and sold, west, southwest
and east, northeast of Antoine Morass, being one arpent in front by forth
in depth, situated on the north side of the River Detroit.
When Malcher purchased the property he did not pay the entire pur-
chase price but gave St. Bernard an agreement which is recorded in
liber 9 on page 164, in substance, as follows:
“On June 15, 1802, Francois Paul Malcher, Merchant, acknowledges
by these presents, that he has in his hands 5,000 livres, currency of
Quebec, equal to $833.33 in money of the United States, belonging to
Hippolite St. Bernard. -
“The said sum of 5,000 livres is part of 10,000 livres stipulated in a
contract of sale passed this day by the said Hippolite St. Bernard to said
Francois Paul Malcher for the value of two farms, with personal prop-
erty thereon. Said sum is to remain in the hands of said Malcher as
security against all demands and legitimate claims on the said farms on
the part of the creditors and heirs of the late widow St. Bernard, the
said Hippolite being charged with the payment of the debts of his late
mother, also with the portion or share of each of his brothers and sisters
in consideration of the sale that his mother made to him of the said
farms and also as a guaranty against the claims and pretensions of the
children of said Hippolite when they become of age. When that time
arrives said Hippolite is to pay all of said claims and thereupon the said
Malcher is to pay said sum of 5,000 livres with interest thereon at six
per cent.”
Hippolite St. Bernard and his wife, Marie Madeline Campau, had but
two children. Hippolite, who was born March 10, 1800, and Veronique,
who was born June 29, 1801, and died May 24, 1804. Mention of these
children is made here to show that Hippolite's wife was not in any way
related to Malcher, and it was not on account of relationship that the
condition was inserted in the Malcher deed to the trustees for the pay-
ment of 113 pounds hereinafter mentioned. Hippolite was the only child
born of this marriage who lived to majority.
984 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
In 1806 the general government appointed George Hoffman, who was
the register of the land office at Detroit, and Frederick Bates, who was
one of the judges of the Territorial Supreme Court and receiver of public
moneys, commissioners to examine and report on the land titles in the
neighborhood of Detroit. The commissioners made an extensive exam-
ination and reported that there were but six good titles in the country.
The Malcher title was one of the six. Another of the six titles was that
of the adjacent St. Aubin Farm. The meaning of this report was that
the six parcels mentioned traced their titles from grants legally made
by French officials.
At this time Congress made no confirmations of any titles, but in
1807, new commissioners were appointed with larger powers than those
intrusted to the first commissioners. The new commissioners were
Stanley Griswold, Peter Audrain and James Abbott.
On July 7, 1807, Malcher appeared before the commissioners and
again proved his title to the satisfaction of the board. He claimed and
was allowed the entire parcel, five arpents wide by eighty arpents in
depth. He was directed to have a survey of the parcel made and he was
confirmed in its ownership.
This survey was not made until January 4, 1810, when it was certi-
fied by Aaron Greeley, the government surveyor.
In 1810 a certificate was issued by the register as follows:
“Land Office, Detroit, 15 January, 1810.
“It is hereby certified that pursuant to an Act of Congress, passed the
3rd March, 1807, entitled ‘An Act regulating the grants of land in the
Territory of Michigan,” Francis Paul Malcher on the fifteenth day of
January, instant, entered with the Register of the Land Office, at De-
troit, a certificate of the Commissioners appointed by virtue of the act
above mentioned confirming his Claim to a certain Tract of Land con-
taining by the return of the Surveyor three hundred forty seven acres
and 12-100 of an acre, situate on River Detroit, and bounded as follows:
Beginning at a post standing on the border of the Detroit River between
this tract and a tract confirmed to the widow and heirs of Antoine Boyer,
deceased ; thence north twenty-nine degrees, west two hundred and thirty-
eight chains, fifty-seven links to a post, the southwest corner of a tract
confirmed to the widow and heirs of Antoine Moras, deceased; thence
south twenty-nine degrees, east two hundred thirty-eight chains, fifty-
seven links to a post standing on the border of Detroit River; thence
along the border of said river south fifty-nine degrees, west fourteen
chains, fifty links to the place of beginning.
“Now Therefore, Be It Known, that on presentation of this certifi-
cate to the Secretary of the Treasury, the said Francis Paul Malcher
shall be entitled to receive a patent for the tract above described.
“PETER AUDRAIN,
“Reg. L. O. Detroit.
“Compared with Commissioners Report.
“T. T. MOORE.”
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 985
When this certificate was sent to Washington as the basis for a patent,
the Secretary of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin, declined to issue it. He
had been informed of the transactions of Malcher, and the notes of his
investigation are endorsed on the papers, as follows:
“I do not understand how a patent is to be issued upon the enclosed
documents. For altho the life annuity of Malcher has ceased, the pay-
ment to be made to the son of St. Bernard when he becomes of age, seems
still to remain a lien.
“The payment to H. St. Bernard being made a condition of the sale
and it being moreover stated that this very land is by another act mort-
gaged for the said payment, a patent cannot issue till after proof of pay-
ment to said St. Bernard or to his guardian authorized by the local law
to receive in his behalf and to release the land from the pledge.
“A. G.
“(ALBERT GALLATIN)*
“Waiting to hear from Mr. Audrain.
“Wrote 4th, August, 1812.”
At the time this was written Detroit was in the midst of the war with
England and it is probable that the letter to Audrain was never delivered.
The matter was dropped for some years.
MR. MALCHER A CATHOLIC
Mr. Malcher was a devoted Catholic and as a popular church man, his
services were frequently required at baptisms, marriages and burials in
the semi-official character of sponsor, friend and witness. The Catholic
Church until 1805 was situated in the village of Detroit nearly on the
corner of Jefferson Avenue and Griswold Street, and located on what was
then called Ste. Anne Street. -
Mr. Malcher was the owner of pew number nineteen in the little
church, for which he paid the annual rental of twenty-eight livres. He
was one of the arbitrators in the great law suit of the La Salle brothers.
He lived on his farm and was partly engaged in farming, though he also
followed the trade of silversmith; that is, of making trinkets of silver
or silver alloy, and selling or trading them to the Indians.
Very little is known about him. He was a Frenchman, born about
1751. After coming to America he lived for a time in New York State.
He came to Detroit before 1792 for we find his name, as a silversmith, in
an old account book dated in that year. At the time of his death and
for a great many years thereafter it was supposed that he was an un-
married man, but papers have recently been found that give the name
of his wife and a little information regarding her. His wife's maiden
name was Rosalie Lapan. While still a girl she had been carried away a
captive by the Indians and kept a prisoner for some time but was set at
liberty in Detroit before 1791. Moving from Detroit to New York State,
she met and married Malcher in that year. They lived together for
some time but after several years Malcher treated his wife very ill and
986 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
finally left her without any means of support, and destitute of every
necessity of life, telling her that she would never see him again.
After having suffered every want, she was taken and Supported for
some time by her neighbors, and not hearing from her husband, ulti-
mately went through the ceremony of marrying a man named Dedier
Gervez (or Gevrez). They moved to Marietta, Ohio, and were living
there in 1811. They ascertained that Malcher had died at Detroit, leav-
ing a large estate and on November 8, 1811, they wrote to Detroit, in-
quiring about it.
STE. ANNE'S CHURCH BURNS
In 1805 occurred the fire that destroyed the little village of Detroit,
and with it the church edifice. After the church was burned religious
services were held in a building in Springwells on the land called the
La Salle Farm, now called the Loranger Farm, (located nearly at the foot
of the present Twentieth Street, Detroit). This was some miles from
the Malcher property. Services were also sometimes held in some old
buildings, referred to in the French records as “hangars” or sheds, lo-
cated near the foot of the present Woodward Avenue. These hangars
constituted part of the old British shipyard, and belonged to George
Meldrum. The purchase of the hangars by the church was made Oc-
tober 27, 1805. They were unfitted for proper religious services. The
entire situation was unsatisfactory to all of the members of the church.
The rector of Ste. Anne was the Rev. Gabriel Richard, who had been in
the church in Detroit for some years. He was appointed to the position
of vicar general, October 23, 1797. Efforts were also made (in 1805)
to build a new church, and application was made to the governor and
judges for a donation of land on which to locate it. The site chosen was
where the church was subsequently located on the northerly side of
Larned Street, between Bates and Randolph Streets. These streets were
not opened at that time. Two acres of land at this location had been
granted to the Catholics for burial purposes some time before this.
The location for a new church was not satisfactory to the people liv-
ing on the east side who wanted a church in their neighborhood. The
agitation for an eastern church commenced soon after the fire of 1805.
Malcher did not live in the village, and was not a sufferer by the fire.
He lived on his farm which was still occupied by Hippolite St. Bernard.
Malcher had indicated a willingness to dispose of his farm if proper ar-
rangements could be made to care for himself for the remainder of his
life. The matter having been called to the attention of Father Richard,
the latter undertook to acquire the property. Although Richard was
looked upon as a capable priest, energetic and enthusiastic in his church
work, very little confidence was reposed in him as a financier. That they
did not like Richard was not to be wondered at for he had characteristics
much like those of Archbishop Neale, of whom it was said: “In his
transactions with the fooling World, he was too candid to be agreeable.”
This peculiarity of Mr. Richard got him into trouble many times during
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 987
his life, and on at least two and possibly on more than two occasions, it
got him into jail.
There was then, and there always has been in our country, a contest
between the hierarchy of the Catholic Church and its parishioners over
the ownership and control of church property. The perpetual query as
to who owns and who controls the edifice and physical property of the
church was not new in 1805 and has not yet been satisfactorily settled.
In obtaining a conveyance of the property from Mr. Malcher it be-
came necessary to enter into a contract to support him for the remainder
of his life. He was willing to devote his property for the purpose of the
new church, but he wanted, also, to protect himself. The conditions are
Set forth in the contract which is in French, and is liberally translated
as follows:
“Territory of Michigan, District of Detroit.
“We, the undersigned inhabitants living on the northeast side (cote
du nord est) in the district of Detroit, territory of Michigan, between
the farm of the Beaubien family and including the farms of Cajet
Tremble, at Pointe Guinelet, authorize Messrs. Louis Beaufait and Joseph
Cerre dit St. Jean, to purchase the farm of Paul Malcher situate in the
said cote du nord est in the said district and territory, with all of its
improvements, agricultural implements and animals at the lowest price
that will be possible and upon such conditions as they may judge con-
venient, and we each promise to approve such bargain as they can make
with said Malcher.
“And we agree, for ourselves and our heirs to pay each year during
the natural life of Francois Paul Malcher, our proportion of the annuity
which will be paid to said Malcher, such proportion not to exceed five
dollars (piastres) and not to be less than two dollars each year, the
amount to be determined by three citizens, under oath, who will be ap-
pointed by said Beaufait and St. Jean.
“We consent that said Beaufait and St. Jean shall have entire charge
of the management and of the revenue of the church which will be built
on the farm of said Malcher, and make such arrangements as they deem
proper with the priest who will officiate in said church, and will receive
each year from each of us the proportion which will be allotted to each
to pay of the said annuity, for which they hold themselves responsible
and for the payment of which they have hypothecated all of their prop-
erty, real and personal. We consent and agree that the said Beaufait
and St. Jean shall have exclusive charge of the revenues and the man-
agement of the said church during the natural life of the said Malcher
and after that there will be one or more trustees, according to the cus-
tom of the country, and the said Beaufait and St. Jean will have author-
ity to make with Mr. Richard such bargain as they may deem reasonable,
even to selling to him the said farm, or of transferring to him the bargain
that they have made with the said Malcher. Signed by:
“Louis Moran Pierre Laderouts J. B. Marsac
Louis Beaufait Jacques Marsac J. B. Rivard
988 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Charles Moran Robert Marsac Edouard Saulnier
Charles Gouin Antoine L’Esperance Jean Tremble
Claude Gouin Thomas Tremble Etienne Allard
Anselm Petit Theodore Tremble Reni Marsac
Charles Peltier Louis Morin Michel Duprat
Gabriel Chene Pierre Griffard Julien Campau
Benoit Chapoton Pierre Yax Henri Moras
Maurice Moran Theodore Eller (Ellaire) Henri St. Bernard
Charles N. Gouin Louis Griffard Charles Poupard
Felix Peltier Francis Thibault James Abbott
George Meldrum Louis Tremble Antoine Rivard
Theodore Chapoton Cecile Tremble Simon Rivard
Cecile Boyer Francois Freton Simon Maillet
Antoine Chapoton Antoine Reneau Francois St. Aubin
Victor Moras Charles Rivard Edouard Dubois
Victoire Moras Michel Patenude J. B. Couchois
Jacques St. Aubin Therese Grant Thomas Watson
Jean Campau Joseph Resume Francois Frerot
Charles Chauvin Jean Grant John Meldrum
Michel Yax J. B. Chauvin Charles Robison
Theodore Laderoute Laurant Griffard Joseph Cerre dit St. Jean
Louis D. Gagnier Francois Tremble Pierre Duchene
Francois Sugar Louis Reneau Jacques Allard (pere)
Pierre Rivard Julien Freton Jacques Allard (fils)
Francois Rivard Gab. Reneau Nic. Rivard
Theodore Moran Ste. Sauflin Simon Yax
Pierre Chene Joseph Yax Toussaint Chene”
J. B. Duprat * -
The agreement is not dated, but it was drawn up before April 5, 1808,
for on that day Malcher executed a deed of the farm to Louis Beaufait,
Joseph Cerre dit St. Jean, Benoit Chapoton, Charles Rivard and Fran-
cois Rivard. These men all lived upon the east side and were interested
in having their church on that side of the village. They were all farm-
ers of good standing.
DEED TO THE TRUSTEES
“The year 1808, the 5th day of April, there was present Francois
Paul Malcher of the district of Detroit and territory of Michigan, who
acknowledges to have sold, ceded and transferred for the present and
forever, promising to make a good title and to guarantee against all
troubles, dues, debts, mortgages and all claims generally whatsoever, to
Messrs. Louis Beaufait, Joseph Cerre dit St. Jean, Benoit Chapoton,
Charles Rivard and Francois Rivard, representatives and agents of the
inhabitants of the northeast side in the said district of Detroit and terri-
tory of Michigan, by these presents accepting vendees, for themselves
and for the said inhabitants, their heirs and assigns, a farm or planta-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 989
tion seized and situated at the said northeast side and on which the said
Malcher is living at this time, consisting of five arpents in width and
eighty arpents in depth, but from which five arpents of the front is ex-
cepted, these arpents in front being occupied by Isidore Morin, bounded
in front by the River Detroit, and in rear by lands not conceded; on the
east northeast by the farm of the late Antoine Moras, and on the west,
Southwest, by the farm of the late Antoine Boyer, together with the bet-
terments, buildings, Orchard, gardens and all the agricultural utencils,
and all the animals at present on the said farm, according to a list an-
nexed to these presents and signed by Messrs. Malcher, Beaufait and St.
Jean, and which forms a part of the present sale, as the said farm is
found in all its parts, surroundings and appurtenances, which the said
purchasers acknowledge that they know and with which they are
satisfied. -
“This sale, transfer and release is so made upon the following con-
siderations:
“The said Louis Beufait, Joseph Cerre dit St. Jean, Benoit Chapoton,
Charles Rivard and Francois Rivard promise and agree to pay annually
to the said Malcher during his natural life, the sum of one hundred
pounds, New York currency, equal to two hundred and fifty dollars legal
money of the United States of America, payable each year on the fifth
day of April, and moreover to pay to the son of Hipolite St. Bernard,
when he shall arrive at the age of majority, the sum of one hundred and
thirteen pounds, more or less, with legal interest to be computed from
the date of these presents, according to the obligation which has been
made by the said Malcher and which the said Malcher agreed to pay and
discharge.
“The said Louis Beufait, Joseph Cerre dit St. Jean, Benoit Chapoton,
Charles Rivard and Francois Rivard, have signed, sealed and delivered
to the said Malcher, a special obligation including a mortgage on the said
farm, and on all of their goods, real and personal to secure the payments
at the time above mentioned.
“By reason of which the said Malcher has hereby transferred and by
these presents transports to the said Louis Beufait, Joseph Cerre dit St.
Jean, Benoit Chapoton, Charles Rivard and Francois Rivard, their heirs
and assigns, all and every right of property, names, reasons, actions and
all other rights which he has or can have in the said farm, its better-
ments, buildings, animals and agricultural implements above mentioned,
surrendering and giving up, for their benefit, willingly and purposely
that they may take full possession and seizin of all that belongs to them
by virtue of these presents.
“Made and passed at Detroit in the office of the clerk of the Supreme
Court, and the said Malcher has signed and sealed in presence of the
witnesses after the same was read, the day and year above aforesaid.
“Signed, sealed and delivered in presence of:
“Robert Abbott,
“James Griswold. “Francois Paul Malcher.” (seal)
990 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
“Acknowledged by Francois Paul Malcher, 5, April, 1808, before Peter
Audrain, J.P.D.D. (L.S.)”
TRANSLATION OF THE MORTGAGE MADE BY THE TRUSTEES
Liber 2, page 179.
“We, the undersigned inhabitants of the Cote du Nord Est in the
district of Detroit and Territory of Michigan, acknowledge that we owe
and promise to pay to Francois Paul Malcher, a rental for life in the
Sum of one hundred pounds, New York currency, equal to two hundred
and fifty dollars, legal money of the United States of America, which we
engage ourselves and our obligees, jointly and severally to pay to him
each year, to commence the first payment the fifth day of next April.
“And to secure such payment, we pledge and mortgage the farm which
he has sold to us by contract passed this day and moreover all our goods,
real and personal, in faith of which we have signed this obligation after
having the same read in the presence of witnesses at Detroit, the fifth day
of April, 1808. -
Signed, sealed and delivered,
“Robert Abbott,
“James F. Griswold.
“Louis Beufait, (seal)
“Joseph Cerre, (seal)
“Benoit Chapoton, (seal)
“Francois Rivard.” (seal)
“Acknowledged by all of the above and by Charles Rivard, 5 April,
1808, before Peter Audrain, J.P.D.D.”
In the acknowledgment Joseph Cerre is called Joseph Cerre dit St. Jean.
Some parts of the story of this farm have been written in former years.
Mr. Richard R. Elliott wrote an article that appeared in the Sunday News,
August 23, 1891, in which he made some statements from tradition that
are not corroborated by the records.
An examination of the deed will threw some light on the situation. It
was evidently drawn up by some one who was familiar with the situation,
but who did not remember that there were citizens in the “cote du nord
est” other than those belonging to the Catholic Church. If the deed stood
alone it might be construed that every person, Catholic or Protestant, liv-
ing on the east side of the village, that is east of the present St. Antoine
Street, had an interest in the property. All of the signers of the agree-
ment were members of the Catholic Church, excepting James Abbott. He
joined in it either from the good will he bore his neighbors, or from busi-
IleSS I'êa,SOIlS.
The agreement being read in connection with the deed, indicates, limits
and directs the trust. A church was to be built on the land; a priest was
to be selected to officiate in it; the subscribers were to pay the annuity to
Malcher and to maintain the church. After the death of Malcher the
church was to be governed by trustees as other churches were governed.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 991
Beaufait and St. Jean were empowered to sell the land to Father Richard,
or to make such other disposition of it as they saw fit.
In the agreement it is stated that Beaufait and St. Jean had pledged
all of their individual property to secure the carrying out of the terms
of the contract with Malcher. Either Malcher was not satisfied with the
security of the two trustees, or the trustees felt that the responsibility was
too great for them to bear alone, for the deed was so written that there
were five trustees instead of the two whose names were contained in the
agreement. In no other respect does the deed change the agreement.
One of the conditions in the deed was that 113 pounds should be paid
to the son of Hippolite St. Bernard when he became twenty-one years of
age. Mr. Elliott in his article, said that young St. Bernard was the grand-
son of Malcher. This cannot be a fact. Malcher was a married man at
the time of his death, although that fact was not known to Detroit people.
So far as the records show, he never had any children. He was not an
old resident of Detroit, but probably came here in 1791 or 1792. He culti-
vated his own farm, though St. Bernard might have lived on the farm with
him. St. Bernard was a single man at the time of the deed to Malcher,
his wife having died a few months earlier. The inventory of personal
property owned by Malcher at the time of his death indicates that he was
a watch repairer, jeweler and dealer in trinkets suitable to the trade with
the natives.
Among other things he had “An eight day clock claimed by James
May ;” seventy-nine watch glasses; 1,220 ear bobs; thirty concave brooches;
138 ear wheels; four snuff boxes containing a variety of trinkets claimed
by and delivered to Walk-in-the-Water, an Indian chief, and a great quan-
tity of stuff of like nature. When Malcher bought the farm of Hippolite
St. Bernard in 1802, the title was not considered perfect. Hippolite was
only one of the many children of Guillaume St. Bernard. It was custo-
mary among the French Canadians for one of the children, when there
were several in the family, to take the home farm and to pay the debts of
the parents and to pay each of the other children a proportionate share
of the value of the patrimony. This was not required by law, but the law
prohibited the division of an estate into small lots and it necessarily fol-
lowed that the inheritance must be retained by one member of the family
to the exclusion of the others and the only proper way was to have the
one who took the homestead pay the other children their shares in other
property. So it was that Hippolite took the estate and held it until 1802
and sold it a few months after his wife died, to Malcher. The question
being raised as to the title, Malcher paid only half of the purchase price
and gave the mortgage above recited, for the balance.
There was a provision of the French law (the Coutume de Paris) that
children had an interest in the property of their parents. That is, that a
man owning property could not dispose of it without the consent of his
children, or at least, he could not dispose of it to their detriment. One
of the conditions of the Malcher mortgage was that Hippolite St. Bernard
was to protect the title of this property against the claims of the children
992 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
of Hippolite when they became of age. It was to provide for the per-
formance of this condition that Malcher, in his deed, provided that 113
pounds should be paid to the son of Hippolite St. Bernard. -
Malcher died October 16, 1810. The terms of the agreement and of
the deed had been fulfilled so far as the annuity to be paid to Malcher, and
the title was completely vested in the trustees, subject to the payment to
the son of Hippolite. They were making use of the property according
to the trust agreements they had made.
Mr. Elliott, who was familiar with this property many years ago, de-
scribed it as it was at the time Malcher conveyed it to the trustees. His
description was written in 1891 as follows: “One of the most desirable
old homesteads on the banks of the Detroit about a century ago, was that
of Francois Paul Malcher. Its location has since been covered by fine
residences; its eastern line joined the grounds of the Wesson mansion.
The lawn in front sloped gradually to the water’s edge and across the nar-
row channel loomed up the dark and thickly grown forest of the Ile Aux
Cochons. (Belle Isle).
“The old farm house was sheltered from the northern winds by a grove
of lofty French poiriers and an orchard of large pommiers, many of which
bore the luscious, crimson flesh, Norman apples, so agreeable to the taste,
and from which the famous cider of ancient days was annually made.”
It is hardly possible that the Malcher buildings were of any consider-
able importance. There were two buildings of logs. One was fitted up for
church purposes and the other was used as a presbytery at a later period.
One of these buildings was on the premises when Malcher bought the farm
and the other was erected in 1803 while Detroit was in the Territory of
Indiana. The two buildings were adjacent to each other or connected to-
gether. The contract for the erection of the building in 1803 gives dimen-
Sions, cost and details that can best be understood by a copy of the build-
ing agreement, which, translated, is as follows:
TRANSLATION OF CONTRACT FOR THE BUILDING ON THE FARM
“Articles of agreement made and passed at Detroit, in the County of
Wayne, and Territory of Indiana the first day of August in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and three, between Francois Paul
Malcher, silver merchant, residing at Detroit, of the one part and Ignace
Moras, master builder, residing in the district of Hamtramck, in the said
County of Wayne, of the other part, as follows, To Wit:
“The said Ignace Moras for the consideration hereinafter named agrees
and binds himself, for himself, his executors, administrators and assigns,
to build upon the farm of the said Malcher, in the above-mentioned dis-
trict of Hamtramck, within the space of two months counting from the
date hereof, in good workmanship, perfect in completion and finish, and
to furnish at his own expense and risk all the materials, whatsoever gen-
erally necessary to complete a house of pine, of two stories ‘logs on logs'
(literally, ‘Pieces sur pieces') of the following dimensions—To Wit:
“The inner dimensions of the house must be 20 feet front by 30 feet
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 993
deep, English measure, and 12 feet high from the foundation: a celler of
6 feet depth will be excavated similar to that of the house on the farm of
the late Col. Hamtramck. This cellar is to be enclosed with cedar piles to
prevent the earth from caving in, with an outside stairway to enter the
cellar, and the necessary doors: there is to be a foundation of Stone and
lime of a foot at least above the ground, upon which will be placed the
first timber-piece of oak-the rest of pine: the chimney is to be double—
the foundation of stone and lime and the rest of good, merchantable brick:
the first floor of said house will have one large room 20 feet Square and
two small rooms on the garden side of 10 feet each : there will be four
windows in the large room and one in each small room, each window to
have 24 panes of glass; a flooring on the lower floor of undressed wood,
but the ceiling of dressed wood: the upper story is to be divided in two
parts, half for a granary, and the other half for a room with the chimney,
with two windows of 24 panes of glass each ; there will be a boarded ceil-
ing to this room and the height between floor and ceiling will be 7 feet;
the house is to be roofed with shingles nailed on ; there are to be 8 doors
of which two shall be panelled and the others plain, but strong and sub-
stantial; six shutters for the big room and the two small ones on the lower
floor, and two for the upper rooms, with the necessary, catches to fasten
them on the inside during the night, and to hold them open during the
day; the whole building to be boarded without and plastered inside all
except the ceilings: there is to be a corridor six feet wide running the
whole depth between the old house and the new, the roof of which will be
an extension from the new house; in this corridor there will be a good
and substantial staircase to the upper room and to the granary; there will
be two good, strong doors at each end of the said corridor, with large
strong locks with copper handles and a strong bolt on each, such as is
commonly in use for street doors: from the corridor there is to be made an
entrance door to the old house, this door to be made and fitted with lock,
etc., a portico at the front of 20 feet length by 4 feet depth, with a shingled
roof.
“Finally, the said Ignace Moras binds himself to complete the said
house and to hand it over not later than the first of October next to the
said Francois Paul Malcher, and the latter will have the right of examina-
tion before acceptance of the said house, by workmen capable of judging
if the said house is complete and sufficiently worthy of acceptance.
“And the said Francois Paul Malcher, for and in consideration of the
work above mentioned binds and engages himself to pay, or cause to be
paid, to the said Ignace Moras, his executors, administrators or assigns,
the sum of five hundred piastres or dollars, in the manner following, To
Wit—two hundred piastres in money and three hundred piastres in mer-
chandise at current prices.
“And for the perfect fulfillment of the different articles of the above,
the said Francois Paul Malcher and the said Ignace Moras bind themselves
by these presents, their executors, administrators and assigns, each in
favor of the other, to the penal sum of three hundred piastres or dollars,
994 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
legal money of the United States, and the parties have signed and sealed
in the presence of witnesses—that is to say, the said Francois Paul Mal-
cher has signed and sealed, and the said Ignace Moras having declared
himself unable to sign has made his ordinary mark and attached his seal,
after the reading of these presents in presence of witnesses, on the day,
month, and year as above mentioned,
“Sealed and delivered F— Ignace Moras (Seal)
in presence of F— F. P. Malcher (Seal)”
Peter Audrain Prothy. F-
TROUBLES BEGIN
An entry in the records of Ste. Anne's Church shows the next step
taken in the matter. It is as follows: “The twenty-third day of the month
of June, 1808, the old and new trustees having assembled, Mr. Joseph
Serre in the name of the inhabitants of the northeast side (cote du nord
est) moved that the parish be separated and that the ornaments and other
church properties be divided. The majority were of opinion that there
should be no separation.”
This is the first intimation of the quarrel that extended through many
years, between factions of the church. The people of the northeast side
maintained church services in the little building they had on the church
farm, and the people of the village who had no church buildings, put up
with Such accommodations as they could obtain in the village and with
the better buildings that were on the La Salle property.
RELIGIOUS CORPORATIONS IN MICHIGAN
The governor and judges of Michigan Territory, being the legislative
body of the territory, On April 3, 1807, passed an act concerning religious
societies. - -
This act, in its first Section, provided for the incorporation of religious
Societies in general. The trustees of any religious society had the power
to “acquire, hold and lien property, real and personal (slaves excepted) in
trust for the use and benefit of the society.” All church property was to
be taxed the same as other property.
Section 2 related particularly to Catholic Churches and is as follows:
“And be it enacted that the members of the church usually denominated.
Catholic, Apostolic and Roman within the Territory of Michigan may
convene and adopt such regulations for the management of their estate
and temporalities as shall seem advisable to a majority, and shall choose
Such person or persons as they may think proper, who shall assume the
style, name and title by which they are to be designated and shall certify
the same under their hands to the clerk of the Supreme Court who shall
record the same and thereupon the said person or persons, his and their
Successors shall be a body politic and corporate by the name and descrip-
tion so assumed, for carrying into execution such regulations as may have
been or may at any time be adopted, as aforesaid; and for giving effect
to the provisions of this act the said body politic shall be immediately
GEORGE H. HAMMOND, SR. SIMON. J. MURPHY
ALEXANDER MCGRAW ALEXANDER CHAPOTON




WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 997
seized and possessed of all the present property, estate and temporalities
of said church, and which shall from thenceforth be under the Sole con-
trol and management of the said corporation, and their successors, Sub-
ject to taxation as aforesaid.”
At the time this act was passed the Catholic Church had no real prop-
erty that belonged to the organization. The title to the premises occupied
for burial purposes was not vested in the church or in any individual, but
was a mere license to occupy. The old church site and burial grounds be-
longed to the city or to Gabriel Richard in person. The only object in hav-
ing the above law enacted was to obtain the title to the Church farm and
to place it in such a situation that the congregation and not the priest or
bishop could control it.
A convention of the inhabitants of the parish was called on April 12,
1807, and the “Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Church of Ste. Anne of
Detroit” was organized. It was reorganized April 28, 1816. This corpora-
tion still exists, as its franchise was perpetual.
The original articles of incorporation were signed by the following
members of the parish:
Chabert Joncaire, Henri Berthelet,
Pierre Desnoyers, Charles Poupard,
Joseph Beaubien, Antoine Cecile,
Etienne Dubois, - Gabriel Godfroy,
Presque Cote, Francois Frerot,
Alexis Cerait, Joseph Cote,
Dominique La Brosse, Jacques Pelletier,
Francois Gamelin, Gabriel Richard (pretre cure).
The document was then recorded by the clerk of the Supreme Court
in Volume 2, on page 149 and entered at full length in the records of Ste.
Anne's Church. 4.
The Ste. Anne Church corporation was in existence at the time the
Malcher deed was executed, and if it had been the intention of the east
side people to convey the farm to the church, it could have been accom-
plished by a deed directly to the corporation. But that was not their in-
tention. They desired a separate church to be established on the Malcher
farm, to be managed by the trustees appointed in the deed. This was the
plan expressed in the deed, and they had, at this time, no affiliation with
the church in the village.
The church on the Malcher farm was called “La chapelle du nord est.”
Farmer says that the first church was of logs and that it was consecrated
May 10, 1809. Bishop Plessis says it was nothing but a barn with ceiling
and windows, with an entrance at one end and a small sanctuary at the
other. A register was begun November 29, 1810, by Father Richard and
was continued at intervals, until 1838.
The quarrel between the factions was not so serious that official notice
of it was taken for some years. There are frequent references in the
church records of the period, to attempts to reconcile them, and in 1808,
the priest was sent to Baltimore to see the bishop and, by laying the mat-
998 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
ter directly before him, to get his assistance in settling the difficulties.
Richard started for Baltimore the 29th of November, 1808, and did not
return until the 24th of the following July. When he returned he brought
with him the printing press and type with which the first paper published
in Detroit, the Michigan Essay, was printed.
Although the bishop agreed with the contentions of Mr. Richard re-
garding the chapel and farm, he was unable to settle the quarrel as it then
existed and affairs had to proceed to a more acute stage.
The trustees of the Church of Ste. Anne held occasional meetings and
considered the building of a new church in the village, but all of their
plans were fruitless for they could not get money with which to built.
WAR OF 1812
Then came the War of 1812 and everything was disrupted and torn to
pieces. It is said that the priest Richard was seized by the British as a
prisoner of war. If he was taken away he shortly after returned and
continued his church work. There was no prolonged interruption in the
church records in these years. There were no meetings of the trustees of
the church from the 14th of April, 1811, till the 29th day of May, 1814.
Joseph Mini was a tenant and occupied the Malcher farm in 1814.
John R. Williams, who at this time was an ardent Catholic and earnest
worker, was in Albany and proposed to begin at that place the collection
of money to assist in rebuilding the Church of Ste. Anne. His offer was in
the form of a letter that was laid before the church trustees June 5, 1814.
His proposal was gladly received and only inconsequential conditions were
attached to its acceptance. It was provided that the new church should be
located in the village limits, that is between the farm of Alexander
Macomb (the Cass Farm), and the Brush farm, within a distance of ten
arpents (1,927.5 feet) from the river.
The work of obtaining contributions was begun in earnest by Mr.
Williams and appeals were made in various places in the East for the re-
Quired assistance. The building of a new church, however, did not heal
the breach at Detroit. The factions seemed to separate farther and farther
from each other and when a proposal was made to sell the old church site
and burial ground on Jefferson Avenue, the climax came.
Bishop Plessis visited Detroit in 1816 and on the first Sunday in July
between 150 and 200 persons received the communion at the chapel.
Plessis shortly after returned to Quebec.
Some correspondence, at this time, took place between the bishop of
Bardstown and Quebec with Richard regarding the Detroit situation, as
follows:
“Detroit, July 18, 1816.
“The Rt. Rev. Bishop of Quebec. *
“At Fort George or Kingston.
“My Lord:
“The kindness you have shown me leads me to believe that you will
feel interested in the events which have occurred since you left here. In
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 999
accordance with your advice, St. Anne's corporation advertised the sale
of several lots for Wednesday last, the seventeenth of this month. When
they were ready to proceed they found on the spot about forty Canadians,
for the most part from the North East shore, who presented to us through
an attorney a protest against the sale, signed with nearly one hundred and
seventy-five names. We thought it would be more prudent not to go on,
especially in the presence of such a large number of persons who seemed
to act from anger and officiousness. After some explanation between
their lawyer and the corporation, I contented myself by enquiring if they
were willing to leave the final decision to Bishop Flaget. One of the promi-
nent men of the North East shore (cote du nord est) answered that this
was not necessary. You see, My Lord, how our poor Canadians abuse
liberty. Nevertheless, I am writing today to the Bishop of Bardstown on
the subject. e
“The real motive of this opposition is the fear that by the sale of
these lots the means would be obtained to build a church, and that the
chapel at North East might become useless. Respect for the dead is in
my opinion simply a pretext which they made use of in order to obtain
signatures, by telling the people that the remains of their ancestors were
to be sold. This is false, since one of the conditions of the sale was that
the purchasers were not to come into possession of said lots until the
bodies should be removed during the month of November, and the first
payment would not be made until the seventeenth of December following.
“The protest is now in my hands, and it is evident that a very large
number of the signers are persons who are called volontaires, owners of
no property, and of whom, moreover, the majority were misled. The
principal reason alleged in the protest is that the corporation was not
validly nominated. It is easy to judge of the futility of this reason, seeing
that the meeting whereat the four trustees or church-wardens were nomi-
nated was a meeting which had been duly announced and held according
to custom, and that the decided opinion of our governor is that election of
the same was legal. He has been so good as to extend the time when we
must accept the offer of the triangle whereon to build a church until De-
cember the first, and he thinks it well that the decision should be reported
to our bishop. When you write to Bishop Flaget please be good enough to
tell him what you think of all this.
“As the inhabitants of the North East side lay the blame of the contre-
temps of the day of Confirmation on the imprudence of those who wrote
you that famous letter, they get out of the affair by showing a copy they
have preserved thereof, which does not however conform to the original.
If you think it would be useful for me to have the original itself, should
it not be already destroyed, I shall accept it from you with gratitude. I
saw Mr. Marchand the day before yesterday, he was well, and seemed to
be indignant at the behavior of my habitants.”
“G. Richard.”
1000 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
“The Right Rev. Bishop Flaget to Rt. Rev. Bishop Plessis.
St. Thomas (Ky.) September 19, 1816.
“Accept my sincere thanks for all you have done for my flock at De-
troit. I very much regret that you did not give a final decision as to the
place where the church should be built, for you have as much authority
as I have, and a great deal more influence. Poor Mr. Richard, whom you
know well, had his work stopped directly after you left. I look for some
good results from the letter I am about to write in regard to these new
dissensions. I shall do everything I can to visit that country next
spring. * * *”
DETROIT WAS IN THE BISHOPRIC OF BARD STOWN
It was at this time that Bishop Flaget prepared a pastoral letter to the
Detroit parish. An extract from the letter is printed in the American
Catholic Historical Researches, Volume XV, page 103.
The extract is not complete, as it is not dated and does not pretend to
be signed. It was probably written in December, 1816. The original was
in French.
He states that he has been in the district for more than six months and
has thus become conversant with the troubles at Detroit. He says that
annexed to every church there should be a farm of not less than 200 acres
for the needs of the priests and support of the schools “if any there are.”
He refers to parishes formed or to be organized at French Town and
on the banks of the Huron and Ecorse rivers. The parish which will in-
clude the River Rouge, will be Ste. Anne's of Detroit. -
He will, at a later date, take into consideration the formation of a
parish on the North East side, which he designates as “St. Joseph’s
Church.” Two or three other churches are to be established farther to
the East along the Lake St. Clair. “St. Joseph’s Church” was the name
he gave to the chapel on the Malcher farm. He pays particular attention
to this church, because, when he was unfamiliar with the situation and
with the disposition of some of the inhabitants, he made some indiscreet
promises. He wishes to carry out those promises and gives orders for the
establishment and conduct of the church.
It is surrounded by fine land and he would like to make it into a sepa-
rate parish, but, by so doing he would injure St. Anne's which is to be the
Cathedral Church.
He directs that no tax be levied on the inhabitants of the North East
side for the support of Ste. Anne's without the consent of the inhabitants
given at a general assembly.
He would like to have all interments made in the cemetery of Ste.
Anne's but will not object to a few being made at St. Joseph’s.
A priest shall go to St. Joseph's once in each month, if possible, but as
there are only a few priests it may not be possible to have this done. If
this promise cannot be carried out “the inhabitants of those quarters, gen-
erally suspicious, shall have nothing to say.”
“St. Joseph’s church being but parochial and enclosed within the limits
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1001
of that of Ste. Anne's, it is Ste. Anne's which is the only parish and St.
Joseph’s church is tolerated simply to facilitate the exercise of the holy
ministry.” *
If the people of the North East side are not satified, and renew their
complaints, “we declare, at once, their church closed forever to terminate
the scandals that have already lasted too long.”
Only five or six have paid their tithes. The others must pay this debt
before the next visit of the priest.
It was impossible for Richard to allay the troubles or end the discord
between the members who resided in the village and those who were inter-
ested on the North East side. The pastoral letter was read to the assembly,
but the words of admonition like the advice and threats of the bishop, fell
on deaf ears.
Bishop Flaget at this time, was in deeper trouble in his own household
at Bardstown where one of his church family, Stephen Badin, had obtained
title to parcels of land that Flaget claimed belonged to the church. Badin
refused, though even frequently threatened with excommunication, to
convey the property to the bishop. He continued to refuse as long as life
lasted and carried his continued insubordination beyond his death, by
means of his will.
But to return to the Detroit situation.
Some of the people entered into an open quarrel with the priest.
THE INTERDICT
Different factions were selfishly working for their own interests with-
out sufficiently considering the universal welfare. Father Christian Denis-
sen, who was, many years later, pastor of the Catholic Church of St.
Charles Borromeo, made an intensive study of the church affairs of the
early period. Summing up the results of his investigations, some of the
following items are taken from his writings. After the fire of 1805, Rich-
ard occupied the hangars at the foot of Woodward Avenue and some build-
ings on La Salle farm, for church purposes. In the City of Detroit, there
were only thirty-five Catholic families, not enough to warrant the building
of a church.
There were more Catholic families on the east side, that is east of the
present St. Antoine Street, than there were in the city and on the west
side, combined. But the west side and the city were each supplied with
religious services and opportunities, while these privileges were entirely
lacking for those who lived on the east side. At the beginning in 1808,
the chief reason for entertaining the proposal of Mr. Malcher to sell his
property to the church was that the purchase would provide a church, or
at least religious services to the east side.
Father Richard’s constant endeavor was to build a fine church on the
site given to Ste. Anne's on Larned Street. The old church site on Jeffer-
son Avenue, surrounded by an old French cemetery, was abandoned for
useful purposes. There were no buildings on the lot and the cemetery was
not cared for.
1002 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Joseph Campau, who lived on the south side of Jefferson Avenue nearly
opposite the site of the old church, had bought several lots in the neighbor-
hood and desired to have the new church of Ste. Anne built on the old
site. Between 1805 and 1818 the matter of greatest local interest to the
Catholic community was the building of the new church. Attempts were
constantly being made to obtain money to go ahead with this work.
Campau just as strenuously objected to it and worked against it, and he
had great influence with the French people. Those on the east side felt
that if a central church was erected, the chapel on the Malcher farm would
be deserted. They asked in vain that a priest be assigned to them. So the
bitterness between the factions grew as the time passed. In 1816 or 1817,
a stronger agitation than usual came for the disposal of the old church
site and the removal of the burials. The city prohibited interments in the
old graveyard after 1817. Campau worked hard to prevent the sale of
the grounds.
Father Denissen in describing these events, said: “A large faction
headed by the astute and powerful Joseph Campau was determined to have
the church rebuilt on the old site, somewhere near the corner of Jefferson
Avenue and Griswold Street. Joseph Campau had valuable real estate in
that locality and expected the church to enhance the value of his lots. Per-
Sonally Campau did not care very much to be near a church or in a church,
but the sharp speculator would use the church for his material advance-
ment.” “To succeed in his plans, Campau took advantage, also, of the site
of the cemetery used by the Catholics for a long time and located about
in the middle of Jefferson Avenue near Griswold Street. He influenced the
minds of many of the old French settlers to oppose the removals and strong
protests were sent to Father Richard to induce him to refuse the proffered
site for church and graveyard and not to remove the bodies from the old
cemetery to the new location on Randolph and Larned streets.
“Campau, to hold his followers in line and to dishearten Father Rich-
ard, attempted the building of a church near the old site. The founda-
tion was laid and the cornerstone was blessed by himself, mockingly, with
a bottle of whiskey. At least so says tradition.”
A deputation was sent to the bishop, Benoit Joseph Flaget, Bishop of
Bardstown, Kentucky, and both sides of the controversy were laid before
him. His decision is embodied in the following communication dated at
Loretto February 23, 1817. In the church records it follows the resolution
of the assembly of the parish.
“This day, the twentieth day of the month of April, of the year one
thousand eight hundred and seventeen, the inhabitants of the parish of
the Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Church of Sainte Anne of Detroit, hav-
ing met in a general assembly convoked in the usual manner, and presided
over by the rector, it is unanimously
“Resolved, 1st—That the said inhabitants of the said parish of the
Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Church of Sainte Anne of Detroit feel a
deep affliction because of the scandalous division which has existed among
the members of the said parish of Sainte Anne for many years.
JOSEPH CAMPAU
OLD CAMPAU HOUSE, SOUTH SIDE
OF JEFFERSON AVENUE, MIDWAY
BETWEEN GRISWOLD AND SHIELBY
Erected in 1813, torn down in March, 1880



WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1005
“Resolved, 2nd—That complete submission to the mandamus of His
Lordship, the Bishop of Bardstown, dated at Loretto, the twenty-third of
the month of February of this year, one thousand eight hundred and seven-
teen, and addressed to the members of the Corporation of Sainte Anne of
Detroit, and to all Catholics adhering to their cause, is, in their opinion
the only means to reestablish peace.
“Resolved, 3rd—That every good Catholic owing obedience to the
church and to the Bishop, who is the head pastor of each diocese, all the
members of the parish of Sainte Anne of Detroit present in this assembly
who have listened attentively to the reading of the said mandamus, ac-
cept it unanimously and promise to submit themselves to all the decrees
therein contained, and in order that there may be no doubt as to those
whom His Lordship designates adherents to the illegitimate and schismatic
corporation, it is
“Resolved, 4th–That a double list be made of all those who submit
themselves to the mandamus, one to be proceded by the notices inducing
the submission and the other in the registers of the parish following this
present entry and the said mandamus, which will be inserted there at
length.
“Resolved, 5th–That each parishioner having house and home in this
parish, and who wishes to continue to be regarded as a true Catholic, hav-
ing a right to all the privileges and advantages of the Catholic, Apostolic
and Roman Church of Sainte Anne of Detroit, shall sign his name to both
the above lists in the presence of two persons who will be witnesses of the
consent he has given thereto.
“Resolved, 6th–That each parishioner calling himself a Catholic, hav-
ing house and home in the said parish of Sainte Anne from the River Aux
Ecorces to the River Guillonet, who has not conformed with the preceding
resolution within forty days from the date of the present assembly, will be
considered as an adherent of the illegitimate and schismatic corporation,
and in consequence designated as of the number of those who incur the
penalty of the interdict mentioned in the said mandamus, in faith of which
have signed hereafter below to the mandamus of His Lordship the Bishop.”
Mandamus addressed to the members of the Corporation of Sainte
Anne of Detroit, that is to say, Messrs. G. Richard, rector, Gabriel God-
froy, Pierre Desnoyers, Francois Gamelin, Barnabay Campau, and to all
Catholics adhering to their cause.
“Benoit Joseph, by the Grace of God and the favor of the Holy See, to
all true Catholics at Detroit, greeting and benediction, Bishop of Bards-
town.
“Our Very Dear Brethren,
“Towards the end of last year, the inhabitants of the northeast coast,
having made an appeal to us full of pious sentiment, respect and submis-
sion to all the reasoning which we have been able to bring to their atten-
tion, we sent them a response truly paternal, in which we not only made no
reproach to them for their past irregular conduct, though perfectly well
known to us, but we assured them that as Soon as it would be in our power,
1006 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
we would send them a priest for parochial duty and in course of time We
might be able to establish a college on the land which they had bought.
After such evidence of our sincere regard for them and of our great de-
sire to restore peace and harmony among them, we had a right to expect
that these gentlemen would show us their most active appreciation of it,
and by a natural consequence, that they would forget all of their former
contentions with you and would contribute as before to the Success of all
your operations, and this no doubt would have been the result of our
correspondence with these gentlemen if the fine sentiments which they
expressed in their written appeal had been in harmony with those of the
heart. But as iniquity is always at variance with itself (Mentita Est iniqui-
ties sibi) these gentlemen, whom I justly accuse of duplicity, before re-
ceiving our reply, renewed their cabals with more animosity than ever,
they have carried the spirit of partisanship to a climax, and have fraudu-
lently, and against all the rules of their church, Organized a corporation,
held meetings, issued decrees, and, shall I say it?—one of the adherents
has been insolent enough to raise his hand in threatening violence against
your worthy pastor, who, for more than twenty years, has watered with
the sweat of his brow this ungrateful land, sacrificing his own comfort
and tastes that you might not be left without the ministration of a priest,
with no other thing to his reproach than an excess of goodness which I
might call weakness, for if, at first, he had been justly harsh with his op-
ponents, your church would be built today and you would be enjoying the
blessings of peace with one another.
“A conduct so scandalous is not less opposed to brotherly kindness and
order, than it is insulting and derogatory to church dignity. This is why
we would be open to censure if we gave any countenance to these works
of iniquity, and you would be justified in regarding us as prevaricators of
our holy office if we did not raise our voice against such deeds, and if we
did not punish in an exemplary manner all those who are the criminal
actors. In separating these contaminating sheep from those of the flock
who are faithful to us, we are only fulfilling a duty prescribed by Jesus
Christ, Himself, for the Divine Saviour tells us that if one member of the
body is for us a subject of reproach, however useful or necessary it may be,
were it the right eye, we must not hesitate to cast it from us in order to
put an end to the reproach and so avoid eternal woe (St. Matthew, chap.
5, verse 19). Conformably to the doctrine, St. Paul, so remarkable for his
brotherly love, who made himself all things to all men if so that he might
win all to Jesus Christ, who was the companion of the sick and the infirm,
who desired that he might be “anathema’ if only others were saved, this
same St. Paul, when told of the great scandal at Corinth, putting aside all
mildness, and transported by righteous wrath, wrote that forceful letter
to the faithful at Corinth and delivered the body of the offender to Satan
that his Soul might be saved for the great day of the Lord (1 Corinth.,
chap. 5, verse 5). Throughout all time the church has conducted itself to
the same principles and has inflicted canonical punishment upon those of
its children who are rebellious to its voice or who work wickedness.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1007
“Supported by such authority, and after careful deliberation with our
council, having in mind the moment when we shall appear before our
Sovereign Judge to render account of our administration, we declare and
Ordain this which follows:
“1st—The Catholic Church of Sainte Anne is to be build in the center
of section No. 1 or upon a lot adjacent on such other lot as shall be ap-
proved by the legitimate corporation of Sainte Anne.
“2nd—The bones which are in the main street of Detroit and in the
lots known under the name of the old church and of the old cemetery of
Sainte Anne, are to be taken up with respect and buried with religious
ceremony in the new cemetery, and it is forbidden to all Catholics to con-
tribute in any way to pave the said street and to make a highway of it
before that all the bones have been taken up and removed to the place
designated for that purpose.
“3rd–The legitimate corporation of the Catholic Church of Sainte
Anne of Detroit, organized the twenty-eighth day of April, one thousand
eight hundred and sixteen, is authorized by us, the Bishop of Bardstown,
as the chief administrator of all the property of the church, to exchange,
sell, alienate, put out to rent any lot or parts of lot belonging to the said
Catholic Church of Sainte Anne of Detroit, and to transact all those things
which it shall think necessary for the greatest good of the said Catholic
Church of Sainte Anne of Detroit, and above all to aid in building the
church.
“4th—Mons. Gabriel Richard, cure of Sainte Anne of Detroit, will act
according to our present will at the sermon of solemn mass on a certain
Sunday or at the feast of Obligation and will give orders in our name to
seven chief men (whose names will be announced hereinafter), of the pre-
tended new corporation of Sainte Anne, which should be called the illegiti-
mate and Schismatic corporation, to renounce in person or by writing
signed by the seven, and in the name of all their adherents, all opposition,
whether of present or of future intent, against our present mandamus, or
any of its parts, failure of which, the offenders as also any of their adher-
ents, shall be by us interdict, that is to say, deprived of the sacraments of
the living, of the aid of any holy office, and if they die without repenting
of their wickedness, of the church burial—which interdict shall be in force
for the delinquent thirty days after the third denunciation.
“N. B. This interdict being personal, follows them and binds them in
any part of the country, nor can anyone be relieved from it except by us
or by those whom we have delegated to that effect.
“5th—Far from Sending at any time a priest to do parochial duty at
the church of the North East, called Sainte Anne, we cast this interdict
upon the said church and forbid anyone celebrating there any church func-
tion under pain of incurring the censure declared by the church upon all
such infractions.
“Witness the names of the seven chief men: Messrs. Joseph Campeau,
1008 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Pierre Chene, Benoit Chapoton, Louis Moran, Charles N. Gouin, Louis St.
Aubin, Louis LeDue.
“Given at Loretto the 23d, February, 1817.
“Benoit Joseph, Bishop of Bardstown.
“P.S. As regards Mons. Joseph Campeau who has turned into ridicule
the august ceremonies of our Holy Church and who has himself made
impious and sacreligious ceremonies upon the foundation stone of the
church of Sainte Anne of Detroit, we declare that if he does not humbly
ask pardon for his sin, either at parish mass or at a general assembly of
the parish, after having been personally requested so to do, we will pro-
claim against him the sentence of excommunication.
“As regards the action of him who has dared to present a menacing
fist to his cure as exceedingly bold, we exact the same penitence from him
that we have required of Mons. Joseph Campeau and we will inflict the
same punishment if he refuses.
“Benoit Joseph, Bishop of Bardstown.
“Gabriel Richard, Priest Cure of Sainte Anne.”
(The foregoing letter, with the story of the interdict, is printed i
Volume 111 of American Catholic Historical Researches). º
Bishop Flaget visited Detroit in the fall of 1817 and remained during
the winter working on this matter. During the visit he wrote the follow-
ing letter to Bishop Plessis:
“ (Cote du Nord Est), January 22, 1818.
“Rt. Rev. Octavius Plessis,
“Bishop of Quebec, Canada.
“My Lord:
“At present I am engaged in winning back the inhabitants of the
North East shore (Cote du Nord Est). They are a people deeply embit-
tered, suspicious, and extraordinarily susceptible. In general they show me
much confidence and at different times have assured me that their hearts
were free from all discord; yet, notwithstanding these fair words, I treat
them as dangerous men, capable of any kind of excess if one be so un-
fortunate as to clash with their views. It is in large measure due to these
worthy gentlemen that I am passing the winter in Detroit, in order to
secure peace, nor surely will my time have been lost should I have the
happiness to succeed. Probably before I leave this locality I shall make
another excusion into your domain, the people of la riviere la Tranche and
those of Malden have besought me to visit them, which I shall undoubtedly
do if God preserves me in the good health I am now enjoying.”
Flaget returned home but soon visited Detroit again.
The same year, 1818, witnessed the laying of the cornerstone of the
new Ste. Anne's Church on June 9th. Bishop Flaget visited Detroit to
officiate at the laying of the stone and for the purpose of removing the
interdict on the chapel.
The same year, 1818, witnessed the laying of the cornerstone of the
new episcopal residence at that place. He lived at St. Thomas, which
was some distance from Bardstown and was the name given to a tract of
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1009
land on which was built a little church and the home of Bishop Flaget.
The bishop departed from St. Thomas the 15th of May, 1818, for Detroit.
He was accompanied by the Fathers Bertrand and Janvier and by two
young men who were going to Detroit named Godfroy and Knaggs. They
did not go directly to Detroit but visited many places which the bishop
notes in his journal. At Monroe (or River Raisin) he was entertained by
Col. John Anderson, who, some years previous to this time, had lived in
T)etroit.
Continuing the narrative from his biography (by Spalding) the writer
says: “At ten miles from Detroit (June 1, 1818) he was met by an escort
on horseback, who conducted him into the city in procession with great
pomp. On the following day he was called on by Governor Cass and Gen-
eral Macomb, who both paid him the greatest possible attention during his
stay. He returned their visit; and the governor promised to extend every
aid in his power, both pecuniary and personal, towards the promotion of
the missions among the Indians. The first object of the bishop’s solicitude
was to heal the scism in the Church. A difficulty had existed for a long
time between a congregation established on the northeast coast, and Mr.
Richard, the pastor of Detroit, and the bishop had, more than a year previ-
ously, interdicted the church of the disaffected party. His efforts for
bringing about a reconciliation were now crowned with complete success.
He found the chiefs of the party in good dispositions. The preliminaries
of the reconciliation having been satisfactorily adjusted, the bishop de-
termined to render the ceremony of removing the interdict as public and
solemn as possible. For this purpose on Tuesday the 9th of June, he was
conducted to their church in grand procession. The discharge of cannon
announced the approaching ceremony. The music of the regimental band
mingled with that of the chanters in the procession.”
It was a gala day for the little city and everyone turned out to do honor
to the bishop and to the occasion. We can see them now, as they form in
procession in Larned Street in front of the future home of their church.
Every One enthusiastic as if on a Fourth of July celebration, and yet very
few of them comprehending that they were taking part in one of the most
impressive ceremonies of the Catholic Church—the removal of an inter-
dict. Slowly they marched down Randolph Street to Atwater Street and
thence up that road along the margin of the river, for Jefferson Avenue
was not then opened, picking their way in many places where the road
was not well graded—past the houses of the Beaubiens and Morans and
Gouin and Riopelle Dequindre and Jacques Campau, St. Aubin, Dubois and
Chene, across the little bridge that spanned Parent’s Creek, where, half
a century before was fought the disastrous battle of Bloody Run. Me-
loche’s farm was here, but the name of its former owner was forgotten
for he had transferred his ownership to his son-in-law, Maurice Moran,
and it was now known by the latter’s name. Next came the farm recently
purchased by John L. Leib, and called, by him, “Vis a vis.” The farm of
George Meldrum came next and then Louis Beaufait, one of the trustees,
and lastly Antoine Boyer. Their destination reached, with impressive
1010 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
ceremonies, with tears in the eyes of many, with repentance expressed by
all, absolution was granted and the church re-opened. We can well believe
that Pierre Chene, Benoit Chapoton, Louis Moran, Charles N. Gouin,
Louis St. Aubin and Louis LeDue had all repented; been taken back into
the folds of the church and were happy participants in the celebration.
But not Joseph Campau, for he was unrepentant, contumacious and re-
bellious. He had been excommunicated, and he never applied to be recon-
ciled.
In the afternoon of the same day, the bishop and his attendants and
the crown returned to the city and with great ceremonies laid the corner-
stone of the new Church of Ste. Anne, which, in time, grew to be a mag-
nificent structure of stone and was the home of that church for many
years.
One of the insistent demands of the people of the chapel was that the
bishop should furnish them with a priest who could have them as his sole
charge and who could be constant in his attendance there. This demand
was one of the irritating causes of the quarrel that was just settled by the
bishop, and in the settlement he agreed to provide a priest for that church.
During all the years that followed there was never a time that this
church had its individual priest. This was probably because a priest could
not readily be spared for that purpose. Then again it was looked upon as
a chapel and not as an independent church. The records show that it was
constantly supplied by one of the priests from Ste. Anne’s and the name of
Richard or Badin is annexed to nearly every entry.
Flaget was not satisfied with the progress he had made in settling the
troubles and again visited Detroit in 1818, whence he wrote the following
letter to Bishop Plessis.
“(Cote du Nord Est), February 21, 1819.
“The Rt. Rev. Octavius Plessis,
Bishop of Quebec, Canada.
“My Lord:
“After having visited the different stations that form the Catholic
Church of Detroit, I have reason to believe that the people's inordinate
love of Social pleasures, evening gatherings and dances, was the cause of
their immorality, idleness and extreme poverty. I protested with all pos-
sible vehemence against halls in particular. I succeeded, with God's help,
in convincing them that all or nearly all of them committed thereat a
number of sins, that certainly it was for every one a proximate occasion
of sin, and consequently that it was impossible to allow them. Perceiving
that my words had made a salutary impression, I publicly forbade balls
and reserved to myself absolution of the sin which would be committed
by those who should lend their houses for such entertainments, and of
any musician who should play at them. Moreover, I forbade the priests
to give absolution unless the penitent promised to forego these gatherings.
Thus far this peremptory action has succeeded perfectly, and last week a
fiddler of my diocese refused an offer made to him of thirty dollars if he
Would play two nights at a dance at Malden. I am persuaded that the
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1011
Canadians of your diocese could be led to adopt similar rules by threaten-
ing them with the same penalties; thus the law being a general One, its
observance would be neither so difficult nor so odious as it is at present,
for now those so disposed who no longer have a chance to dance on this
side cross over to yours, where they can dance with impunity, to compen-
sate themselves for the deprivation at home. I am accused of strictness,
of meddling, etc., in a word, the devil is leaving nothing undone in order to
re-enter the kingdom, whence, with God’s help, I was fortunate enough to
banish him. If you see that these balls can prudently be prohibited in your
diocese under the same penalties, please authorize me by letter to announce
the fact, and before I leave I shall establish the same rules on both sides
Of the river.”
The Original trustees appointed by Malcher had never parted with the
legal title to the farm. These trustees were: Louis Beaufait, who was born
in the Detroit district in 1773 and died about 1851. He was One of the
justices and judges appointed in Wayne County upon its organization in
1796 and he retained these offices for many years. He also held other im-
portant positions and was a member of the first Constitutional Convention
in 1835.
Joseph Cerre dit St. Jean was born January 22, 1752, and died Septem-
ber 24, 1822. His wife, Elizabeth, was a sister of Louis Beaufait. St. Jean
was a tailor in the old town before the fire but he subsequently moved to
his farm in what was then known as Grosse Pointe.
Benoit Chapoton who was born in Detroit, December 1, 1761, and died
March 17, 1828. His farm fronted on the Detroit River adjoining the
farm of Maurice Moran.
Charles Rivard was born September 11, 1764, and was a brother of
Francois Rivard. He married Archange Saucier and was killed by light-
ning October 15, 1825. He lived in Grosse Pointe and his farm was a short
distance west of the present Country Club.
Francois Rivard was born November 5, 1773, died December 19, 1841.
He left a will, the validity of which was questioned. The decision of the
Supreme Court is in one of the early Michigan reports and is a leading
case. (Volume 2, page 294, Michigan Reports).
And now again Joseph Campau’s name becomes connected with the
title. Mr. Campau was the son of Jacques Campau and his wife Catherine
Menard. The elder Campau had left several children, all of whom were
respectable citizens, honest and industrious people who left good names
behind them when they died. Those best known in Detroit were Joseph,
Barnabas and Jacques. Louis Campau moved to Grand Rapids.
Joseph Campau was frugal, honest, diligent, and foresighted. He car-
ried on a trade with the Indians for many years and accumulated a large
amount of property. He bought real estate all over the territory and state
and owned many parcels in the City of Detroit. He was largely interested
in lands in the neighborhood of the old Ste. Anne's Church on Jefferson
Avenue and it was because he thought the rebuilding of the church on
that site would benefit his property that he continually objected to the
1012 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
building of the church on Larned Street. Mr. Campau was born a Catholic
and baptised in that church. His wife Adelaide Dequindre was also a
member of Ste. Anne's and all of their numerous children were likewise
baptised there. Campau himself was outspoken in his political and religi-
ous opinions and very early in life took offense at some of the acts of the
priests of Ste. Anne's. He could not endure them and constantly referred
to them as “rascals.” This dislike led him to leave the church and affiliate
with the Masonic order in 1800, some years before he was married. He
continued to pay rental for his seat in the Catholic Church for the use of
his family, but he had no further connection with it. He continued to have
the confidence of his neighbors and his business grew and he prospered.
He not only joined with those who objected to the locating of Ste.
Anne Church on Larned Street, but he was the leader in the objectors,
made the most noise and created the most disturbance.
When Bishop Flaget in 1817 investigated the troubles he finally ex-
communicated Campau, as we have seen. With the knowledge of the situ-
ation that the bishop had and of Mr. Campau’s history, it seems hardly
comprehensible that an edict of excommunication would have been of any
avail, either to punish Campau or to aid the church. Campau had not been
a member of the church for many years. Deprival of the rites of the church
Would not annoy him, because he had not felt the necessity of them for
Some time. It is possible that the bishop thought to injure him in his
business life by forbidding the other members of the church to transact
business with him. It would seem that the bishop was mistaken in his
estimate of his own powers, if he had this idea.
At the time of Mr. Campau’s death in 1863, he was by far the wealthiest
man in Michigan. If the edict of the Catholic Church injured his financial
Success, how wealthy a man he would have been, if the excommunication
had not been promulgated
The edict of excommunication is contained only in the letter written
by the bishop and supposed to have been read to the assembled people in
1817. As will be seen, it formed a postscript to that letter and may never
have been published at all. It was in no other form made a part of the
church record. The priest, Richard, made no entry of the excommunica.
tion under his hand other than copying the bishop's letter. No mention of
the excommunication was contained in the newspaper account at that
time though the celebration of the removal of the interdict was a public
event and the celebration of much importance.
There is no more interesting character connected with the history of
the Church farm, or with the history of Detroit, than Joseph Campau.
Jacques (James) Campau and his wife, Catherine Menard, lived upon
the east side of the Detroit settlement. They had a large family consisting
of ten sons and two daughters.
Joseph Campau was the sixth, in order, and was born February 25,
1769. Robert Ross, in his biography of Mr. Campau, says that he was a
six-footer, spare, Wrinkled, clean shaven, white haired and dark com-
plexioned. He was educated in Montreal. He spoke and wrote both Eng-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1013
lish and French, though he never lost the French accent in his speaking.
His chirography was beautiful, clear and distinct. In 1808 when he was
thirty-nine years of age, he married Adelaide Dequindre, who was then
twenty years old.
He was a trader with the Indians while still a boy and kept up and in-
creased his business until he had accumulated a fortune and retired from
active work in 1837 to spend the remainder of his life in looking after and
improving his investments. He was much more than ordinarily success-
ful in his business enterprises. He owned a lot on Ste. Anne Street, where
he was living and carrying on business at the time of the fire. His house
was destroyed in the fire, but he immediately rebuilt on the same site and
this house remained on Jefferson Avenue until a few years since. He lived
in it all of the remainder of his life. The Church of Ste. Anne was located
on Ste. Anne Street very nearly opposite Mr. Campau’s house. After the
fire Campau purchased many of the lots near his home. He owned both
corners of Griswold Street north of Jefferson Avenue and three of the four
corners at the intersection of Larned and Griswold streets. This was only
a very small part of the vast amount of real estate he owned at the time
of his death. He always purchased and leased, but never sold.
He was prominent in political affairs in his younger days and held
many offices that were of importance at that time. He was a trustee of
the village at different times. He was assessor, appraiser, over-seer of the
poor, inspector of water barrels, city treasurer, and held various other
offices. He was captain and major in militia.
CAMPAU A MASON
Zion Lodge, F. & A. M., was organized in Detroit at a very early date,
possibly as early as 1763. In 1800 it was in a flourishing condition and
Mr. Campau made an application for membership. The records of this
Masonic order show that on August 1, 1800, Joseph Campau was balloted
for, “found clear and received the first degree.”
On October 6, he was raised to the degree of Master Mason. Septem-
ber 11, 1801, he was Senior Deacon. He was treasurer from June 7, 1802,
to June 2, 1804.
At a later date in November, 1855, he and James Abbott were found
to be the only living members of Zion Lodge who were members in 1804.
He continued his membership through life, and was buried with Ma-
sonic ceremonies July 27, 1863.
A curious matter connected with Mr. Campau and the Masonic order
is that Masonic Hall was erected on land that belonged to him and was
formerly a portion of the site of Ste. Anne's Church and burial grounds.
Major Campau's sister, Cecile, married Thomas Williams, May 7, 1781.
Although the marriage was performed by the military commandant, and
did not take place in the church, and Mr. Williams was not a Catholic, the
children of this marriage were all baptised in the church and considered
themselves as members of it. The only son was John R. Williams. He was
1014 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
a good business man; learned both the English and French languages and
was proficient in each. At an early age he became the employe of his uncle,
Joseph Campau, and at a later date was his partner in various enterprises.
He liked his uncles, Joseph and Barnabas, very much and followed
closely in their footsteps in purchasing and holding real estate in Detroit
until he became very wealthy.
He, also, had held many offices of importance in the early Detroit, and
when Michigan Territory was permitted to send a delegate to Congress
in 1819, he cast his eyes in that direction. In 1823 he gave notice that he
would seek the nomination and election, and hoped to have the assistance
and the votes of the French population—the Catholic vote of the territory.
Sometime before the election it was understood that Father Gabriel
Richard was a candidate for the same office with a similar hope to control
the Catholic vote.
Williams fumed considerably. He wrote a broadside in English and
French that he scattered over the territory, calling upon the priest to
attend to his clerical duties and to leave political offices alone. He threat-
ened to abandon the church if Richard did not abandon his pursuit of the
office. Both men were set in their ways and both were defiant. Richard
was elected to Congress and Williams left the church.
There can be no doubt that this action on the part of the priest and
parishioner had an effect on Mr. Campau. He was very much attached to
his nephew and he was very much opposed to Richard. That Williams
was very popular in the city is proved by his having been elected the first
mayor of the place in 1824 and his having been repeatedly called to that
office afterwards.
In 1824, when these affairs were fresh and the parties had not for-
gotten the stings of their quarrels, Campau began the work of undermining
the church in the ownership of the Church farm—or public farm as it came
to be called. The first record we have is a power of attorney from Hippolite
St. Bernard to Joseph Campau, dated April 20, 1824 (liber 47 of deeds,
page 11). Hippolite had become of age and wanted the money provided
for him in the deed to the trustees. He authorized Mr. Campau to take all
the steps that were necessary to enforce the payment of the sums due to
him. The amount was $282.50 and interest from April 5, 1808. He sold his
interest in the farm, as one of the cestuis que trust under the trust deed,
at the same time. (Liber 7, page 113).
It was at this time that attention was again paid to obtaining a patent
of the farm from the government.
Peter Audrain, who had been administrator of the estate of Malcher,
had died, and the certificate issued by the commissioners to Malcher had
been delivered to Campau who was acting for young St. Bernard as well as
for himself. He began proceedings to perfect the title, with the following
letter :
“Detroit, June 27, 1829.
“Sir : Inclosed you will receive a certificate for a tract of land situate
On the border of the Detroit River that was confirmed to Francois Paul
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1015
Malcher, being the same tract or parcel of land that the said Malcher had
previously purchased from the said St. Bernard per deed bearing date on
the 15th June, 1802, for the sum of 10,000 livres ancient currency of
Quebec, equal in value to $1,666.66% (then called two lots or farms). And
on the same day the said Malcher executed a mortgage of the premises in
favor of the said St. Bernard as security for the payment of 5,000 livres or
$833.33% being the one half of the purchase money that remained in said
Malcher’s hands, on interest at 6 per cent, until paid. A copy of the mort-
gage I herewith transmit you.
“Both Malcher and St. Bernard have been dead for several years.
Malcher, a native of France, left no heirs, but sold the said tract of land
two or three years before his death, and there now remains alive but one
legal heir to the estate of St. Bernard—to-wit: a son named Hippolite who
is now at the age of majority, and whose right or claim on the said tract
of land (by virtue of the mortgage) I have purchased, the mortgage being
still in full force.
“I therefore pray and hope it will meet your approbration that a
patent issue in favour of the said Francois Paul Malcher, his heirs and
assigns, tho subject to the aforesaid mortgage, or claim of young St.
Bernard, whose father sold the land to said Malcher. And should you
perceive anything wanting or deficient in this my application, I shall ever
consider myself under a very great obligation to you for any instructions
relating to the course I must pursue in order to obtain the desired end.
“I am Respectfully, Sir
“Your Obedient Servant,
“Joseph Campau.”
“George Graham Esquire, Commissioner of the General Land Office,
Washington.”
The reply to this letter has not been found, but the substance of it may
be inferred from the next letter of Mr. Campau.
“Detroit, October 2, 1829.
“Sir :
“Your letter of the 8th July, last, I have received, and I thank you for
the trouble that you have taken. In your letter you stated that Malcher
being dead, no valid patent can be issued in his favour, but if I desire it,
a patent can, upon the papers now in the General Land Office, be granted in
favour of his legal representatives, leaving it to the courts in this quarter
to decide upon the titles of the several claimants.
“I will now take the liberty to state to you my reason for requesting in
my former letter that the patent might (if possible) issue subject to Mal-
cher's mortgage in favour of St. Bernard, Senior.
“When Malcher made the entry for the land in question before the
Commissioners at Detroit, there was no opposition made to the entry, in
Order merely to subject the land to the payment of the mortgage that was
then in existence, because St. Bernard was then dead (having died Sud-
1016 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
denly) and leaving no executor to his estate, and his only son, the sole
heir, was then a child of two or three years of age, and an orphan who had
no friends or relations sufficiently enlightened to interest themselves in
his behalf, therefore Malcher's claim was confirmed unencumbered with
the mortgage.
“It will be hard for young St. Bernard to be deprived of his claim and
be accountable to me for what I have paid him on said claim, therefore in
Order that young St. Bernard might with the more facility obtain his
claim, I have the liberty to suggest (that if it can be done with propriety,
excuse this remark as I am ignorant of the powers with which you are
vested, or the customs of forms adopted in the General Land Office) that
at least the patent might possible issue in favour of the legal representa-
tives of Francois Paul Malcher (deceased) and subject to all legal de-
mands against his estate. And if this cannot be done, please forward me
the patent in favour of his legal representatives—without such subjection.
“I have the Honour to be with Respect,
“Your most Obedient and Very Humble Servant,
- “Joseph Campau.
“George Graham, Esquire, Commissioner of the General Land Office,
Washington.”
The deed, a copy of which is in Washington, has this endorsement:
“I certify that Francois Paul Malcher, the above grantor, died on the
sixteenth of October last.
“Detroit, 23rd, January, 1811.
“Peter Audrain.”
The patent, or conveyance from the government, was issued to “the
legal representatives of Francois Paul Malcher and to their heirs.”
This conveyance is recorded in liber 181 of deeds, on page 543. The
legal effect of the conveyance has never been called in question in any
judicial proceedings and it has been universally conceded that the title
passed by the deed from Malcher to the five trustees above named. There is
no condition in the patent making the property subject to the rights of St.
Bernard Or to the terms of the deed made to the trustees.
The attention of the inhabitants of the cote du nord est was now at-
tracted to the farm and each person claimed an interest in it. At first many
deeds were made to Campau.
In 1834 James Abbott, Joseph Campau, and a number of other persons,
eighteen in all, began suit (file Q. 156) for the purpose of partitioning the
property or of having it sold and the proceeds divided. Alexander D.
Fraser was the attorney for the petitioners. The case went by default so
far that an order of distribution was entered and commissioners were
appointed to make the partition. These commissioners were William Rus-
sell, Benjamin F. H. Larned and Anson E. Hathon. They were all citizens
of merit of Detroit at that time. Hathon was a surveyor and map maker.
On May 6, 1835, Louis Beaufait, Francois Rivard and Frederick Rese
made application to the court to be admitted to contest the claim of peti-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1017
tioners, asserting that they were interested in the case and had not been
served with process. The case was halted at this place and was never
revived.
At this time Antoine Dandurand was in possession of the property.
He was ejected at the instance of the two surviving trustees, by a proceed-
ing before a justice of the peace. He attempted to appeal to the Circuit
Court June 19, 1834, alleging that he had always been in possession of
the property and was the owner by adverse possession. As the bill had
been taken as confessed and was likely to go by default, Mr. Campau pro-
posed that the land be divided into eighty parcels. Twenty-four claimants
had already asserted their rights and he estimated that there were fifty-
six others who would appear.
Of the five original trustees, only two, Francois Rivard and Louis Beau-
fait were living in 1833.
In 1832 Gabriel Richard died, never having received a deed of the
property from the trustees.
In 1833 Frederick Rese was in Detroit as vicar general of the diocese
of Cincinnati, which included Detroit.
On the 22nd day of April, 1833, the surviving trustees conveyed the
farm to Rese. In the deed he is termed “Very Reverend Frederick Rese,
Vicar General of the diocese of Cincinnati, State of Ohio, and the Terri-
tory of Michigan and north west.” There are evidences in this deed that
the scrivener was not a skilled lawyer nor a careful one. The deed is en-
tirely in the hand writing of one person, probably the Rev. F. V. Badin.
The form is not one usually employed at that time, and might have been
copied from a deed still more ancient. There are several erasures and
words written over them without leaving enough of the original writing
to disclose what was first written. The deed is not sealed and bears but
one witness and no acknowledgement. sº
There are so many peculiarities of the deed that the best way to ex-
plain it is to give it entire.
THE UNRECORDED DEED THAT WAS LOST
“This Indenture made the twenty-second day of April in the year of
our Lord, eighteen hundred and thirty-three between Lewis Beaufait and
Francois Rivard of the one part, and the very Rev. Frederick Rese, vicar
general of the Diocese of Cincinnati, State of Ohio and the territory of
Michigan and Northwest, of the other part.
“Witnessed that the said Lewis Beaufait and Francois Rivard for and
in consideration of the sum of one Dollar of lawful money of the United
States of America to them by the said very Rev. Frederick Rese in hand
well and truly paid, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged have
granted, bargained and sold, and by these presents do grant, bargain and
sell unto the said very Rev. Frederick Rese and his heirs assigns but in
trust for religious and literary purposes, the farm of F. P. Malcher, de-
ceased, which farm the said Lewis Beaufait and Francois Rivard were
1018 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
authorized to sell, and convey to the Rector of St. Ann of Detroit for the
use of said purposes. The farm being situated on the northwest shore,
called in French la cote du Nord Est., the dimensions of which are as fol-
lows, to wit: five acres in front and eighty acres in length or depth (Of
which one acre is to be expected as occupied by Isidore Morin) the above
land or farm extends on one side in front to the Detroit River and on the
other two sides it is bordered by the land of the deceased Anthony Boyer
and by that of the deceased Anthony Morass, including the Orchyard,
fences and the buildings constructed thereupon as also all the trees, woods,
underwoods, commons and common of pasture, ways, watercourses, profits
and appurtenances whatever to the said farm belonging or in any wise ap-
pertaining, to have and to hold the said farm or land of F. P. Malcher and
all and singular other premises above mentioned and every part and
parcel thereof with the appurtenances, unto the said Rev. Mr. Frederick
Rese, Vicar-general, and his heirs forever but in trust always and for
the use of the said religious and literary purposes and the said Lewis
Beaufait and Francois Rivard for themselves and heirs, the said farm of
F. P. Malcher and premises and every part thereof against them and their
heirs and against all acts of omission or commission, by them or either
of them done or suffered whensoever to the said Rev. Frederick Rese, vicar
general and his successors in the spiritual jurisdiction of the Catholic
Church of Michigan shall and will warrant and forever defend by these
presents.
“And we the said Lewis Beaufait and Francois Rivard do further
covenant to and with the said Rev. Frederick Rese and all and singular,
his successors in the spiritual jurisdiction of said Catholic Church that
we and each of us shall and will at all reasonable times hereafter upon
the demand of the said very Rev. Fraerick Rese, and his successors in the
spiritual jurisdiction of said church, at the expense of said Rese or his
successors as aforesaid, sign, seal, execute, deliver to said Rese (or his
Successor or Successors as the case may be) to and for the uses and upon
the trusts aforesaid any and all further conveyance or conveyances, of
and for said described premises.
“In witness whereof we have hereto set our hands and seals etc.,
“Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of
“Louis Beaufait
“Francois Rivard”
The words “by and all and” on the 8th and 40th lines interlined, and
the words “aforesaid, sign, seal, execute and deliver to said Rese” written
O]] 2.11 el’a.SUII'ê.
This deed was obtained by Rese while at Detroit before his election
as bishop, but was mislaid or lost, unrecorded. Its existence was only
known a short time since.
COLLEGE OF ST. PHILIP NERI ON THE MALCHER FARM
The old building that had been used as a church or chapel on the front
of the farm, was being repaired by Rev. Martin Kundig when it was blown
down, February 24, 1834.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1019
Rese, taking an interest in education and desiring to carry out the
terms of the trust deed, erected two new buildings. A small one for the
church or chapel, and a large one for a school or college. The College
of St. Philip Neri was opened in the fall of 1836.
The names of only a few of the teachers can be ascertained now, such
as Fathers Vandenpuel, Lawrence Killroy, John DeBruyn, Thomas Cullen
and Maxwell and among the scholars are Lambert Beaubien, Junior, John
and George Schwarz, the sons of General John E. Schwarz, J. C. Dever-
eaux Williams, Thomas Campau, Charles Chauvin, Christopher Moras,
Cleophus Moras, Henry Campau and Alexander Macomb Campau, J.
Barnabas Campau, William Godfroy, John McDonald, Albert M. Thomas,
J. B. Cicotte, Michael B. Kean, George Cooper, David Stuart. On April
16, 1839, the College of St. Philip was incorporated under a special Act
of the Legislature.
Both the school and the church flourished for a time, but in the fall
of 1838, the college building was struck by lightning and burned to the
ground. The church register stops with the burning of the college and
was never revived. -
(Shea says that the college was burned in 1842, but he is wrong).
There was no longer any need of a church on the east side because
the church of Ste. Anne, large, elegant and commodious, had been com-
pleted for some years. No additional church accommodation was needed
and gradually the congregation of the northeast side had returned to the
city church. The chapel “cote du nord est” was abandoned for religious
purposes and fell into decay. It was finally burned July 13, 1861.
In 1841, Peter Paul Lefevre was sent to Detroit as bishop coadjutor.
Lefevre was bishop of Zela in partibus infidelium in Africa. He was
never bishop of Detroit, though he remained here several years. He could
not become the bishop of this diocese so long as Rese was living. His ap-
pointment was a great surprise to his brother bishops. Elliott said that
Lefevre was the only priest who would accept the succession after the dis-
appearance of Rese.
Although Lefevre took actual possession of the church farm and leased
it to tenants, he never made any improvements on it, or used it for any
purposes contemplated by the trust deed further than the establishment
of St. Anthony’s Church in 1885, and the Orphans asylum which was a
failure.
The deeds that Mr. Campau had obtained and placed on record and the
suit begun by Abbott, Campau and others, were public records and were
sufficient to inform persons familiar with these records, that the title
to the property was questionable. (See Thorn vs. Foley, Vol. 137, Mich-
igan Reports, page 649).
Every Frenchman who lived on the northeast side thought that he
owned a share in the farm, and many of them were anxious to realize on
their claims. Mr. Campau bought out many of the claimants, but in 1854,
other parties took an interest in the work. It is said that David McGib-
1020 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
bon, a young attorney, was the leader in this attempt to buy the rights of
the inhabitants.
Other names appear as frequent purchasers. The One obtaining the
greatest number of deeds was Frederick W. Backus, but we also find
William P. Moore, Addison Mandell, Jacob M. Howard, Halmor H. Em-
mons, William Gray, Eben N. Wilcox, William B. Wesson, Nelson P.
Stewart, John Owen, Eber B. Ward and many other prominent citizens,
nearly all of them lawyers, taking an interest in the farm and title.
Backus conveyed all of his interests to Moore in 1854. The continued
agitation frightened the bishop and he felt called upon to do something to
protect the church. He entered into an agreement with these claimants
to settle the controversies by dividing the property. He filed a bill in the
court of chancery, February 24, 1857, (file No. 905) in which he stated
that he was a bishop of the Catholic Church and was administrator of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Detroit. Regarding the purchase of the Mal-
cher farm, he stated that the original negotiations were held by Gabriel
Richard and Mr. Malcher, but that Malcher was not satisfied with the
security he could obtain from Richard for the payment of the annuity.
Thereupon negotiations were dropped and the Catholic inhabitants of the
northeast side entered into a new agreement and appointed Louis Beau-
fait and Joseph Cerre dit St. Jean to represent them and to act as trustees.
At a later date the three other trustees were added to the two first selected
and thereupon the deed was made to the five trustees.
At the time this bill was filed all of the trustees were dead, and the
defendants in the action were William P. Moore, James Abbott, Victor
Moras and Louis L. Beaufait. Beaufait was a son of the trustee, Louis
Beaufait. It will be noticed that Moore is the only defendant of all of those
who had purchased contesting titles.
The deed from the trustees to Rese had been lost and none of the parties
to the Suit knew that it had ever existed.
The bill of complaint now on file in the office of the county clerk, con-
tains a paragraph that was inserted in it when it was first drawn up,
but was expunged or struck out before the bill was filed. The portion so
struck out reads as follows:
“And your orators further show that about the year 1830, said Mal-
cher being then deceased, in pursuance of the trust and the intention of
the donors, a deed of conveyance of the said farm was executed by the
three survivors of the said trustees, the grantees of said Malcher, to the
Bishop of said Roman Catholic Church, who was then the administrator
of the church property in said diocese and through whom your orator
has received the legal estate in said premises. That ever since the year
1830, your Orator and his predecessor in the administration of the church
property in Said diocese, has held the peaceable, sole, notorious and exclu-
sive possession and control of the said premises, claiming at all times to
hold the same by virtue of conveyance to them of the legal estate vested
at one time in said trustees, and also of the equitable estate under the
Original trust and intentions of the donors.”
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1021
The lawyers who drew up the bill supposed that the trustees had con-
veyed the land to some person, but were unable to find any proof of that
claim.
In place of the erased portion the bishop asserted that he had been
in possession of the property under a deed that had been executed and lost.
He asked that the court enter a decree that he was the owner of the
farm in fee, in trust for the use of the Roman Catholic Church.
If Bishop Lefevre had reason to believe that the trustees had made a
deed of the property, he knew that such a deed was made to Frederick
Rese (either personally or as a priest, or as bishop). He knew that Rese
was still living and that he (Rese) was the proper party to bring an action
to quiet the title against these claimants. There were reasons for not
making it known to the people of Detroit that Rese still lived.
There was a good deal of testimony taken in the suit, and it was all
taken in behalf of the complainant. The defense offered no evidence,
excepting the public records, and did not cross examine the witnesses. It
was alleged in the bill that “where property is thus (as in this case)
purchased, given or donated for the use and benefit of the Roman Catholic
Church, it is and must be, according to the rules, canons, discipline and
immemorial usage of the said church, in the exclusive control and posses-
sion and right of disposition of the Bishop or the superior ecclesiastic of
such church, resident in and who is administrator of the affairs and
property of such church in the locality or diocese.”
In making this statement the bishop. failed to recognize the church
corporation of Ste. Anne, which, by the action of the statute and the act
of the members of that church, took the place of the bishop.
In the submitted testimony there was abundant evidence that the inten-
tion of the parties in taking the Malcher property was that it should be
used for the benefit of the church and that the trustees had, personally, no
interest in it, except to protect themselves for the obligation they had
undertaken to pay Mr. Malcher his annuity and the mortgage of St. Bern-
ard. The old building on the front of the farm was used for church pur-
poses as long as it lasted and until it was blown down. No new buildings
were erected until 1834, because the church had no funds that could be used
for such a purpose. Bishop Rese built a Schoolhouse near the river, but
it could only have been used for a short time for one of the witnesses said
it was burned about 1834.
James V. Campbell (afterwards Judge and Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court) acted as solicitor for the defendant Abbott and Messrs.
Howard and Mandell appeared for defendant Moore. The interests of
complainant were confided to Wilcox and Gray.
The testimony of the various witnesses gives a little of the history of
the farm, the people and Malcher.
Mr. Abbott stated that he was born in Detroit June 1, 1776 and resided
there until 1797, when he went to Fort Wayne and resided at that place
in the winter, but spent his summers in Detroit until 1803 or 1804, when
he returned and resided permanently in Detroit. He married Sarah
1022 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Whistler, daughter of John Whistler, at Chicago, in November, 1804. At
the time this case was on trial he was 81 years of age and he died in the
following year. After 1835 he resided in a fine brick residence facing
Griswold Street, near Fort Street, where the Hammond Building is now
located.
He said that in 1807 and 1808 there was not a Protestant on the cote
du nord est, except himself. At that time he lived on the east side of
Randolph Street between Larned and Congress streets.
Victor Moras said that Malcher died in Springwells about 1810. Re-
garding the buildings on the farm he said, “At once, after Malcher died, a
building on the front of the farm was converted into a church and service
was had there until it was blown over. A new church was then erected
which still (in 1857) stands on the front part of said farm. In this church
services were had for several years and until about 1840 when they were
discontinued for the reason that the inhabitants could be accomodated at
St. Anne’s Church in Detroit.”
Louis Beaufait, who was born in 1811, knew something about the Rese
deed from conversations of his father Louis Beaufait, who was one of the
trustees. He said that after Bishop Rese came to Detroit, he heard his
father and Francois Rivard (the other surviving trustee) in discussing
the matter say that “they had arranged to give up said farm to the exclu-
sive possession and control of said bishop.” Beaufait fixed the date of this
conversation as in 1834, by saying that he was married in 1835 and the
conversation alluded to occurred about a year before his marriage.
It appeared from the papers submitted by Mr. William P. Moore that
he claimed title to the property through conveyances from the heirs of
the five trustees. In later years it was claimed that all of the inhabitants
of the northeast side had an interest in the farm, but Mr. Moore claimed
that only those were interested who were mentioned in the trust deed;
that is, the trustees and their descendants.
The suit was thoroughly planned before the bill was filed and it was
undertaken for the purpose of taking advantage of the bishop’s predica-
ment, to get hold of the property.
The lawyers wanted the matter hurried through the court.
The bill of complaint was filed February 24, 1857. No subpoena was
ever served on any of the defendants, but they voluntarily appeared and
put in their answers.
Moore entered his appearance March 1, 1857, and the other three de-
fendants entered an appearance and filed disclaimers on the 14th of April.
Moore filed an answer April 17, 1857, claiming title to the land through
his recorded deeds.
On the morning of the 18th of May, 1857, William Gray, one of the
lawyers in the case, wrote as follows to Halmor H. Emmons, another of
the lawyers: -
“We Suppose, doubtless, we will get a decree today. H. (Jacob M.
Howard), is fierce as a goose with one eye to have the deeds all passed
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1023
and delivered to morrow. It is important that you be here and that we,
together, see that all is rightly done.”
Later in the same day the final decree was entered, without anything
more than formal proofs being presented, uncontested.
The decree (liber 70, page 456 of deeds) finds that Lefevre is the law-
ful and equitable owner of the premises and the defendants have no in-
terest in the farm.
The rights of the bishop are only limited as follows: He has full
power and authority to sell and dispose of all of said premises “Save such
portions as in his judgment are needed and best adapted for the site and
grounds of a church and schoolhouse or asylum.”
It took the parties two days more to draw up and execute the papers
for the partition. The papers are dated May 20, 1857.
The case of Lefevre vs Moore was the last one tried before Judge
Samuel T. Douglass, and the final decree was signed by the new Judge,
Benjamin F. H. Witherell. William P. Moore, Jacob M. Howard and
Addison Mandell conveyed their rights to Bishop Lefevre. The bishop then
conveyed all of the farm south of Gratiot Avenue to William B. Wesson
and Jacob M. Howard, save only a small parcel of about twenty-seven acres
used for burial purposes. Thus was the church despoiled of a great estate.
The intention of Malcher and of the trustees that this property should be
used for literary and religious purposes was not carried into effect. Only
a small part of this big farm remained to the church. The lower part, by
far the most valuable, was divided among a great number of persons who
participated in the affair in some way. These men were not all lawyers,
though many of the leading lawyers of Detroit at that time had a hand
in it. Mr. Elliott estimated that the church lost more than a million dollars
by this action.
The matter of the title to the Malcher farm was, in later years, sub-
mitted to Judge Halmor H. Emmons for examination. Judge Emmons
wrote an Opinion from which only a few words will be given here. “Peter
Paul Lefevre is not a bona fide purchaser. He paid no consideration.
His only claim is as bishop of the diocese, and those to whom he sold
claim title under him as such bishop. They are charged with the same
notice as he is. The chancery case shows that the bishop has no individual
right in the property. The order allowing him to sell is exparte and void.
If his bill is true the bishop of this diocese is but the trustee of the Catho-
lic inhabitants of the “northeast coast.”
HOUSE OF CORRECTION
In 1857 the city limits were so extended that the size of the place was
nearly doubled. It was deemed necessary to have a city penitentiary or
work house to provide for the increasing number of convicts from the
Recorder's Court, then newly established. The mayor, Oliver M. Hyde,
On November 9th, called the attention of the Common Council to the state
of affairs and asked that a site for a House of Correction be purchased.
A citizens meeting was also called to vote on the necessary bond issue.
1024 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
It was at first contemplated to have an alms house built in connection with
the House of Correction and the proposed bond issue was for the purpose
of the two institutions. A committee had already been appointed to in-
vestigate the matter.
This committee was composed of Aldermen Edward Doyle, George
Niles, Stephen Martin, Bradley H. Thompson, and William C. Duncan.
In their report November 19, 1857, they earnestly recommended the pur-
chase of the western portion of the Malcher farm, fronting 576 feet on the
river and extending to the Mack Road. The property had been offered
to the city by Wilcox and Gray for $60,000.00, but they voluntarily
reduced the price to $50,000.00, for the ninety-six acres. There were other
locations offered for the same purpose. Of these other parcels the most
notable were those of Capt. Eber B. Ward of his homestead on the corner
of Fort and Nineteenth streets, extending to the Central Railroad, con-
taining twenty-three acres for $35,000 (now occupied in part by the
present Church of Ste. Anne) and another and very interesting offer, was
that of Thomas Palmer and son (Thomas Palmer and Thomas W. Palmer)
of land on the corner of Woodward Avenue and the Six Mile Road, at the
rate of $75.00 per acre. The Palmers owned a large quantity of land at
this place and the offer was for a quarter section of land, 160 acres.
The interesting part about this offer is that the land now forms part of
Palmer Park, and that a part of the same tract, but much farther from
the city, was recently (1920) acquired by the city by condemnation pro-
ceedings at the rate of $12,000.00 per acre.
The purchase of the Malcher property was not pushed rapidly in the
council and Jacob M. Howard, who was part owner of the farm, with-
drew the parcel from consideration by the Council, December 4, 1857.
In his letter of withdrawal, Senator Howard said that he considered
the price at which the land had been offered to the city ($50,000.00) much
below the value of the parcel.
Other proceedings were taken by the city in the way of voting on the
bond issue and asking proposals for sites, but nothing further was done
with the Malcher farm.
Bishop Idefevre undertook to make use of the portion of the farm
he still retained, to carry out the original plan of the trustees, and the
terms of the decree. The college of St. Philip was destroyed and the idea
of using the property for educational purposes was abandoned. There
has never since been any attempt to use the property for religious pur-
poses other than to permit an Orphan asylum to be placed on the land
and the educational and religious departments that go with such an insti-
tution and a church north of Gratiot Avenue called Saint Anthony’s
Church, established in 1855, and the school connected with the church,
established in 1887. The idea of a great college was forever abandoned.
In 1867, Bishop Lefevre claiming to own the portion north of Gratiot
Avenue, Sold it to twelve trustees, being two each from the six Catholic
churches, represented as follows:
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1025
Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, represented by James R. Elliott
and Neil Flattery.
Sainte Anne's represented by Oliver Bellair and Alexander Chapoton.
Holy Trinity represented by William Buchanan and Jeremiah Calnon.
Saint Patrick represented by Edward Brennan and Michael B. Kean.
Saint Vincent de Paul represented by Bernard J. Dolan and John
Maloy.
Our Lady of Help represented by Henry W. Deare and Jeremiah
Dwyer.
They were incorporated under the name of Saint Anthony’s Male
Orphan Asylum, January 23rd, 1867. The name of the corporation was
changed to “Brothers of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul” by the Legisla-
ture 1st April, 1887.
The plan for the management of the asylum was not satisfactory,
and after trying it for a short time the trustees returned the property to
Bishop Borgess, after the death of Bishop Lefevre, and surrendered the
management of the institution to his direction. The boys were then re-
moved to another asylum at Monroe.
THAT PART OF THE FARM SOUTH OF GRATIOT AVENUE
That part of the farm lying southerly of the Fort Gratiot Road (ex-
cepting the cemetery on the west side) was conveyed to Moses W. Field
as early as 1868 and much of it was divided into dwelling lots and placed
upon the market.
The cemetery, so called, was more of a reservation for cemetery uses
than an actual burial ground. It contained only a few burials and as it was
not necessary or useful for that purpose, it was vacated and the property
was sold to Mr. Charles Schwartz and is now covered with dwelling houses.
All of these sales grew out of the decree in the case of Bishop Lefevre
above mentioned. The titles were based upon the supposition that the
decree settled all controversies. One can readily see that Lefevre's claim
could not stand a careful scrutiny. So far as was known at that time,
the legal title still remained in the trustees. If it passed from the trustees
by virtue of the trust, it would have gone either to the Bishop (Rese) or
to the corporation of the Church of Sainte Anne. It could not have passed
to Lefevre, for he was not Bishop of Detroit nor could it have passed to any
one as successor to Rese for he was still alive. Peter Paul Lefevre, Bishop
of Zela, coadjutor of Frederick Rese, Bishop of Detroit, died March 4, 1869.
Bishop Frederick Rese died in Germany, December 29, 1871. He left
a will which he made in Detroit, May 14, 1837 (file 6670). He gave all of
his property to his vicar general Rev. Vincent Badin, and Rev. Johannes
De Bruyn, in trust to convey the same to his successor in the office of
Bishop of Detroit.
Both of the devisees died before he did, and the Circuit Court in Chan-
cery appointed Peter Hennaert trustee to carry out the terms of the trust.
(See file 4181 Chancery). The trustee conveyed all of the property to
Caspar H. Borgess October 18, 1872. (See deed liber 163, page 14).
1026 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
BISHOP RESE'S DEATH
The death of Bishop Rese was first brought to the attention of the
Detroit public by an article published in the Chicago Post, reprinted with
some comments and headlines in the Detroit Tribune, February 22, 1872,
as follows:
“The Late Bishop Rese,
“Ground Work for a Romance,
“A Mysterious Disappearance.”
“News recently reached this city that Bishop Rese of the Roman Cath-
olic Diocese of Detroit, died at Hildesheim, Germany, on December 29, aged
eighty-five years.
“There has ever been a mystery about the removal of this liberal
minded man, who, though relieved of his charge, and whose sacerdotal
functions were delegated to Rt. Rev. P. P. Lefevre, retained the title to
the day of his death, which event now confers the full powers upon
Bishop Borgess.” *
Speaking of the mysterious disappearance of Bishop Rese, a writer
in the Chicago Post, who seems to be well posted, says:
“One day he was summoned to Rome by an authority he did not feel
at liberty to despise. He went to Rome and never returned. For months
and years did his neighbors and friends, and the flock of his charge look
and long for his appearance, but they were never to see him more. For
a long time a deep mystery seemed to enshroud him, and various were
the surmises as to his probable fate. Some thought him a prisoner in
close confinement at Rome, and some even thought he had been more
foully dealt with. The cry of “Where is Bishop Rese?” was raised by
papers and reiterated by the people, until the dignitaries of the church
felt constrained to throw some light upon the question to appease curi-
Osity or allay suspicion. It transpired at last that the Bishop was in
constrained retirement at or near Rome—a sort of state prisoner under
the holy care and benignant control of that seat of influence and power.
There he might utter liberal sentiments, provided he thought it expedient
so to do.
“Subsequently, as age wore on, he enjoyed large freedom and he was
permitted to retire to Hildesheim, Hanover, Germany, where he died on
the 29th of December last at the age of eighty-five years.”
“He has regained his freedom.”
SETTLEMENT OF THE CONTROVERSY
The settlement between Lefevre and the lawyers was only a partial
settlement, for there were many claimants who were not involved in the
controversy at this time.
The descendants of the old French inhabitants of the northeast side
began to appear and lay claims to a share of the property. Bishop
Borgess was now the Bishop of Detroit, for both Rese and Lefevre were
dead, and he was the uncontested occupant of the office. The new claim-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1027
ants began to annoy him. They were poor (most of them) and had little
money to employ lawyers to enforce what they deemed to be their rights.
Ever since 1857 they had been trying in various ways to obtain some-
thing out of the property. They called public meetings, contributed small
Sums to have investigations made and agitated the matters through the
newspapers. There was no end to the trouble they caused themselves
and tried to cause others.
Of course all of this agitation was not on one side, for efforts were
being made to straighten the title as well as to entangle it. A persistent
Search was made in every available place to ascertain if it was not pos-
sible that the trustees had conveyed the land during their lives.
In an old newspaper was found a notice, signed by Richard, offering
the property for sale. This was an indication that the property had
been turned over to him by the trustees. There was every evidence,
however, that the trustees and others interested in the premises had
very little confidence in the business ability of the priest. There was
not much to lead an investigator to hunt through his papers. The private
papers of the trustees, so far as they could be found, were searched
without success.
Finally, however, after years of search, the old deed was found. A
copy of this deed has been given above and there is no necessity for
again describing it.
BISHOP BORGESS
Caspar Henry Borgess was born in Hanover, Germany, August 1,
1824. He was educated in America, ordained a priest December 8, 1847,
and spent most of his time until 1870 in Cincinnati.
He was consecrated Bishop of Calydon, April 24, 1870, and came to
Detroit as administrator to this diocese and as successor in that office
to Bishop Lefevre. At that time he was not Bishop of Detroit, but was
coadjutor to Bishop Rese who was still living. It was not until after
the death of Rese, which occurred December 29, 1871, that Borgess be-
came the titular Bishop of Detroit.
Bishop Caspar H. Borgess resigned his office April 16, 1888, and
John S. Foley was appointed bishop in his place.
As Borgess had become the owner of the legal title to the farm
through the unrecorded deed to Rese and the latter’s will and the deed
of the trustee to Borgess above mentioned, it still remained in his name
at the time of his death, excepting the portion north of the Gratiot Road
and the cemetery land.
Bishop Borgess died May 3, 1890, leaving a will which was duly ad-
mitted to probate June 3, 1890. (See Probate File 15869).
The will is recorded in liber 155 on page 455, Probate Records. In
this will the bishop did not specifically dispose of this property, that is
the portion south of the Gratiot Road, and it is included in the residue
of his estate which he gave in equal shares to The House of the Good
Shepherd, The House of Providence, The Little Sisters of the Poor, St.
1028 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Vincent’s Female Orphan Asylum, and St. Francis' Male Orphan Asylum,
of Monroe. It has been strongly intimated that the bishop was mentally
incompetent at the time his will was made.
MORE LAW SUITS
In 1902, Charles Thorne, William J. Couchois, Joseph Ballor, Richard
Jarriat, and Frank C. McDonald began a suit in chancery (C 23990) for
the recovery of their interests in the property. The defendants in this
action were Bishop Foley, Daniel Campau, Mrs. Ida Richardson, Charles
C. Moran and others. Complainants were descendants of some of the
original inhabitants of the cote du nord est. The opinion of the lower
court was written by the late Judge Morse Rohnert and he decided in
favor of the bishop August 15, 1903. The matter of the ownership of
Bishop Foley was not questioned, and the statute of limitations was
pleaded and accepted and the bill of complaint dismissed. The case was
appealed to the Supreme Court where the decision of the lower court
was affirmed October 4, 1904. The decree of the Supreme Court was
recorded in the register’s office in liber 587 of deeds on page 434. The
case is reported in volume 137, page 649, Michigan Reports.
Other claimants, not satisfied with the decision of the Circuit and
Supreme Courts, tried to obtain a footing in the United States courts.
Thomas A. McDougall of Duluth and Alexander P. Campau, of De-
troit, commenced a suit against the Rev. John S. Foley, bishop of the
Roman Catholic diocese of Detroit, February 3, 1909, in the United States
Circuit Court, in equity, for the purpose of recovering the land. They
set forth the same grounds of complaint that were contained in the
other actions. (See file 4017 in U. S. Circuit Court).
It took the judge but a short time to set the claimants out of court.
There were three grounds for dismissing the bill in this case. First,
laches; second, want of diversity of citizenship to permit an action in
Federal court, and third, failure to show that the amount in controversy
was more than $2,000. There was no investigation into the merits of the
Ca,S62.
The disposal of this case is probably the last that will be heard of
these claimants.
ANOTHER CLAIMANT
There is another phase of this matter that has not yet been fully
disposed of. This does not in any way affect the legal title to the property,
but is confined solely to the disposition of the moneys arising from the
sale of the land. It affects the disposition of these funds after they have
reached the coffers of the church. We bring into this interesting story
a man whose name has been mentioned before, but who has had no con-
nection with the legal title to the farm.
REV. CHRISTIAN DENISSEN
Father Denissen was born in Rozendaal, Holland, in 1847. He was
Ordained in May, 1872, and came to America at once, reaching Detroit
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1029
June 27th of that year. He was assigned to various parishes in this
city and neighborhood and in the fall of the same year went to Lexington
in this state, where he remained about seventeen years. He did not
know English when he came to Detroit and Father Savage of Holy
Trinity parish taught him the language.
The parish of St. Charles Borromeo was erected in 1887. The first
Church of St. Charles was located on Field Avenue in 1886. The land
On which it was located was purchased by subscription, a large part of
which was made by Charles Pierre Rabaut, and he was permitted to
choose the name for the church and parish, which was then in the Town-
ship of Hamtramck. That section was increasing quite rapidly in popu-
lation and the church was soon filled to overflowing. It became neces-
sary to enlarge the accommodations and as no land could be obtained
on Townsend Avenue the church building, which was of wood, was moved
to the new site. Both of these sites are located on the Church farm.
The priest in charge Of the church in 1888 was Rev. William J. A. Hend-
ricks. He was succeeded in the following year by Mr. J. A. Adelaar,
who remained only one year, and Father Christian Denissen came in
1889 and remained until his death. The new church at Baldwin and St.
Paul avenues is one of the handsome church structures in the city. Rev.
Francis W. Hewlett is the pastor at the present time. Some time after
Father Denissen was located at this church the house in which he was
living on Baldwin Avenue was offered for sale and he requested Bishop
Foley to purchase it for his residence. This property was also on the
Church farm. The bishop granted the request, but at the same time
admonished him that he ought to have the title to the property thor-
oughly examined. Having procured an abstract of the title to the farm,
he learned the history of the deed of trust from Malcher to Beaufait
and the others and eagerly traced the various transactions of later dates.
He became convinced that the title to the proceeds of the farm still re-
mained in the inhabitants of the cote du nord est, and that the terms of
the decree obtained by Lefevre should be carried out. These people were
the people of his parish, and he concluded that the moneys derived from
the sale of the farm Ought to be used for the religious benefit of the
parish of St. Charles as the successor or representative of the cote du
nord est.
He said that he did not wish to create any trouble and he waited on
Bishop Foley, laid the entire matter before him and requested sufficient
of the proceeds of the sales of the farm to build his church and school
and presbytery. The bishop would not listen to him. Somewhat dis-
couraged, for he had undertaken in every way to bring the bishop to his
way of thinking, Father Denissen sought the advice of the Rev. P. A.
Baart of Marshall in this state. Father Baart had made a study of eccle-
siastical law and was well qualified to take charge of such a case as was
now presented to him. An examination of the early public records and
church records laid the foundation for the claims made by Denissen and
Baart.
1030 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
The agreement made by the contributors for the purchase of the Mal-
cher farm contained this clause, “We consent and agree that the said
Beaufait and St. Jean shall have exclusive charge of the revenues and
the management of the said church during the natural life of the said
Malcher, and after that there will be one or more trustees, according to
the custom of the country, and the said Beaufait and St. Jean will have
authority to make, with Mr. Richard, such bargain as they may deem
reasonable, even to selling to him the said farm, or of transferring to
him the bargain that they have made with the said Malcher.”
In this agreement is shown the method in which the title to church
property was supposed to be held at the time of this purchase. A re-
view of the early history of the church in Detroit disclosed these facts
to the investigators.
As long as the English remained in possession of Detroit, the church
was under the domination and rule of the Bishop of Quebec, but as soon
as the Americans entered in 1796 under General Wayne, the church was
placed under the control of the Bishop of Baltimore. The record of the
trustees of the Church of Ste. Anne begin with the entry of August 5,
1796, the departure of the Canadian priest Suchet and the advent of the
American priest Michel Lavadoux.
At a meeting of members of the church, Lavadoux presented a letter
from the Bishop of Baltimore which authorized him to take possession
of the parish. He asked the assembly to provide for him a decent sub-
sistence and they agreed that each farmer should give him one twenty-
sixth of all produce he raised, and that the people who were not farmers
should each pay a like proportion of his income. All rules governing
the parish should be the same as those existing under the Bishop of
Quebec.
The titles to all lands in the village were much confused and no title
deeds at this date (1796) have been found covering the cemetery and
the church building, save that when the church was first built in 1701 it
belonged to Cadillac.
Within a very short time after 1796 the commandant, Col. David
Strong, told the Catholics that they could have an acre of ground on
the common for a cemetery. The parishioners were assembled and they
resolved to appoint four persons to select and lay out the ground and
authorize the trustees (Marguilliers) to surround it by a picket line for
protection. There was no conveyance of the land at this time by the
commandant, and the grant was only a license to occupy the land for the
purposes indicated. In all of these transactions the trustees of the church
acted as a body and governed all matters. The cure was a member of the
board of trustees and probably directed in many things, though not in
everything. There are many evidences that the priest and the trustees
did not always agree and that they sometimes quarreled. In 1797 Mr.
Phillipe Belanger, one of the trustees, resigned and a short time after-
wards, and before his successor had been elected he undertook to with-
draw his resignation. A meeting of the assembly was called. There
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1031
were two other applicants for the place of trustee, Charles Moran
and Louis Moran. After considerable debate the matter was referred
to another and more largely attended assembly which decided that Phil-
lipe Belanger was dismissed from office and they then elected Joseph
Voyez as his successor.
On another occasion the beadle, Francois le Duc dit Persil, was
charged with neglecting his duties. A meeting of the trustees was called
and the matter was laid before them. They were convinced of the unfit-
ness of the beadle and dismissed him from office, putting J. B. Prudhomme
dit Nantais in his place. In this matter the priest took no part, and the
record is signed only by the trustees. &
There were many other similar actions of the trustees. It thus ap-
pears that in everything pertaining to the management of church affairs,
the trustees acted and governed. When the law for the incorporation of
Catholic Church societies was enacted, it was provided that the title to
church property should be vested in the corporation.
This act was drawn up, presented to the legislative body and enacted
with the consent and approval of the priest. -
Very soon after it became a law the Church of Ste. Anne was or—
ganized under it as a corporation by the name of the “Catholic, Apostolic
and Roman Church of Ste. Anne of Detroit.” Father Richard (the cure
at that time) was one of the incorporators.
A year later the agreement was made by Malcher with his trustees.
Malcher might, at that time, have conveyed his farm to the corporation
of Ste. Anne, but the effort of the inhabitants of the cote du nord est was
to retain this property for an independent parish on the east side, that
the land might, when the proper time came, be transferred to the church
trustees for that purpose.
In everything of a secular nature the affairs were to be managed by
the trustees and not by the priest or bishop. There are many references
in the records to the organization of another church corporation on the
east side. Articles were certainly drawn up and executed, but they are
not of record in the Supreme Court, where, by law, they were required
to be filed. The articles may sometimes be found.
There never was an undertaking on the part of the members of the
church in Detroit (in these ancient days) to interfere with the manage-
ment of the religious functions. No priest that was ever sent to them
was denied a welcome. Their constant appeal, for many years, was that
a priest should be given to them permanently. And this was one of the
things that Bishop Flaget promised them in 1818.
The first provincial council was convoked by Archbishop Whitfield in
1828 and was opened by the archbishop in Baltimore on the fourth day of
October in that year. It continued in session for about two weeks and
entered thirty-eight decrees for the government of the church in the
United States. The fifth decree was that thereafter, where possible, the
deeds to church property should be taken in the name of the bishop. In
1032 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
the sixth decree it was declared that no money donated for church pur-
poses gave any right of patronage.
Frederick Rese was consecrated Bishop of Detroit in October, 1833.
For Some time before this date, Rese had been vicar general to Bishop
Fenwick and was familiar with the decrees of the first council. He had
visited Detroit before his appointment as bishop and was not only fa-
miliar with the situation but was thoroughly imbued with the necessity
of carrying out the fifth decree of the council. To accomplish that pur-
pose he persuaded the surviving trustees, Beaufait and Rivard, to convey
the Church farm to him, as we have seen.
He also, after he became bishop, took from Ste. Anne's Church the
title to all property held by that corporation. The lands held by the
church corporation and conveyed to Rese were the church site and ceme-
tery surrounding it, including the entire block bounded by Larned, Bates,
Randolph and Congress streets, several acres of land on the south side
of Madison Avenue between Randolph and John R. Streets and the “Irish”
church on the northwest corner of Cadillac Square and Bates Street.
He also purchased and took in his own name the first portion of Mount
Elliott Cemetery. There was no other church or church property in
Detroit at the time.
It has been stated that one of the reasons for the departure of Bishop
Rese from his diocese was that his mind was unsettled by the troubles
he had over the titles to church property. In fact his mind was not un-
settled at all, for there are many positive evidences that he was mentally
Sound at the time of his departure. Further than this there was prob-
ably no diocese in the United States where the property belonging to the
church was not definitely and absolutely in the hands of the bishop.
There were property church troubles in Buffalo (St. Louis Church),
in New York City (Bishop Dubois with Christ Church), and in many
other churches, but there were no such troubles in Detroit at the time
Bishop Rese left. He departed in peace, lamented by all of the members
of the diocese.
The title to all church property in Detroit, excepting the Church farm
troubles above recited, remained undisturbed during the remainder of the
life of Rese.
Now let us return to the proceedings of Father Baart.
The Court of Chancery in its origin in England was an ecclesiastical
court at a time when church and state were united and the clergy admin-
istered justice as a part of their calling. The name and form of the
court became a part of the judicial system when church and state were
separated, but both church and state retained the court. So now the
proceedings instituted by Father Denissen were in the nature of a bill
in equity in our state courts. Of course the laws of the State of Michigan
did not control. It was a suit in which the church only was interested
and the final decree could not have been enforced by the laws of the
state.
Ordinarily the first application of any person who feels dissatisfied
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1033
with the proceedings in church affairs, is to apply to the bishop of the
diocese for redress and an appeal lies from the decision of the bishop to
the metropolitan or archbishop of the see. In the present case, however,
the complainants thought that Bishop Foley was too personally interested
in the subject matter to permit him to become an unprejudiced judge
and the bill for redress was filed at once with Archbishop Elder of Cin-
cinnati.
The proceedings were all carried on by the presentation of writings,
pleadings, testimony and briefs. No oral testimony was presented. In
his bill the complainant set forth the facts regarding the ownership of
the property. He admitted the legality of the title in Bishops Lefevre,
Borgess and Foley under the decree in the suit maintained in 1857 by
Bishop Lefevre. He set forth six propositions in his own behalf, as
follows:
1st. He (Rev. Christian Denissen) represented the people of the cote
du nord est.
2nd. These people bought the property for religious purposes for
themselves and their children.
3rd. Although the legal title was in the name of the bishop, that did
not deprive the people of their rights in the property.
4th. The priest of the parish and not the bishop, is the proper ad-
ministrator of the property of the congregation.
“Neither bishop nor pope can alienate this property from the original
purpose or turn it to something else.”
5th. The bishop is always to be considered as the trustee of this
property for the use of the inhabitants of the cote du nord est.
6th. The complainant demanded that the bishop cease to administer
this property and that it be turned over to the pastor.
The principal demand in that controversy was that the property be
turned over to St. Charles Church.
Again we have to revert to the date of the original deed to ascertain
who were, rightfully, the inhabitants of the cote du nord est. The defi-
nition of that term in its original use was, all of the people living in
Wayne County between the modern St. Antoine Street and the county
line on the northeast. That is between Beaubien’s line and Pointe Guino-
let. At the time the deed was made there was not a single church,
Protestant or Catholic, within that entire region and the establishment
of the chapel on the front of this farm, was the first work of the nature
in this district. At the time this suit was begun there were probably a
dozen Catholic parishes there. It would appear therefore, that St. Charles
Church, although seated on this farm, could not be considered as the sole
heir to the trust created by the trust deed.
Upon filing the bill in the metropolitan at Cincinnati, Bishop Foley
was properly notified and appeared by the Rev. Robert F. M. Doman of
Owosso as his attorney. Father Doman filed a demurrer to the jurisdic-
tion of the archbishop, claiming that the cause should have been com-
menced before the bishop at Detroit. In the demurrer he alleged the well
1034 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
known ability of Bishop Foley and claimed that he would have heard
the matter with patience and would have decided it with candor and
righteousness. But, in taking the case over the head of the bishop, and
presenting it to the archbishop, the complainant had cast reproach and
insult upon his own bishop.
He asked that the case be dismissed with costs and that no further
proceedings be had until the costs were paid and security was given for
further costs. - -
Many times it has been stated that this was an “amicable” suit. Far
from being amicable, it was strenuously fought and much bitterness was
displayed by all the parties interested in it. All of the prime movers in
the affair, Foley, Denissen and Baart have gone, but during their lives
the matters were never forgotten and the engendered hatred never was
forgiven.
The demurrer was overruled with costs, and the archbishop proceeded
with the hearing of the case on its merits.
In disposing of the demurrer he enjoined the bishop from selling any
more of the farm, but directed that if the sale of any portion became
absolutely necessary, the proceeds should be set apart until the final decree
in the case, and that the proceeds of past sales should be treated in the
S3.Iſle Iſla, Illſle]".
An appeal was taken from this decision to propaganda at Rome. The
propaganda is the department of papal administration in Rome that has
charge of ecclesiastical affairs.
This court is composed of the cardinals of the church and in a general
meeting at Rome on the 11th of January, 1897, the proceedings were
taken up and a decision made in favor of Father Denissen. The following
is a translation of the decision: *
“Query, whether the right to the property called the Church farm
belongs to the bishop for the advantage of the faithful of the whole City
of Detroit, or only for the advantage of the faithful of the territory called
formerly, the cote du nord est?
“Answer. To the first part, No || To the second, Yes!”
The decision was transmitted to the pope for final judgment. He
approved of it, but attached to his approval an exceedingly important
dictum which when put in practice, will greatly alter the management
of the church temporalities in America.
“This same decision shall remain in force when the administration of
the diocesan funds shall pass to a corporation to be eventually established
for the holding of the property appertaining to the diocese.”
So sometime in the not far distant future the Catholic Apostolic and
Roman Church of Ste. Anne may be properly recognized in this diocese.
Father Denissen’s victory was, however, only partly complete. It was
decided that the avails of the trust belong to the “inhabitants of the
northeast side” for certain religious, charitable and educational purposes,
but the great question still remained as to who should share this fund
and how and in what manner it should be used.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1035
The land was vacant, taxes had to be paid at intervals, and the dead
property produced no income. It was gradually eating itself up in ex-
penses and the further action of Rome was delayed so long that it some-
times seemed as if no property would be left to divide.
A recent movement has been taken looking to a change in the decision
of Rome occasioned by the discovery of the deed to Rese.
It is said that: -
“Though the mills of God grind
Slowly, yet they grind exceeding small;
Though with patience He stands waiting,
With exactness grinds He all.”
So let us await the move of propaganda, assured that although it
takes it a long time to decide the matter, it will finally come to an end.
History of Griswold Street
By Clarence M. Burton
Many of the older residents of the city will recall the old buildings
that stood on the northeast corner of Griswold and Larned streets, and
which, in their later years were commonly designated as “Cobweb Hall.”
To look at the old buildings one would scarcely believe that they had
seen better days, and that where cobwebs covered the walls, and spiders
and bats made their homes, in the years gone by the fashionable and the
educated people of the place were wont to collect for enjoyment and social
pastime. The old buildings had long since passed their usefulness. On
the south side where now stands the Equity Building, once stood some
low, one-story log buildings, used for dwellings and shops.
On the destruction of these buildings and of a low brick building,
which succeeded them, there was erected, by Asahel Smith Bagg and
John McLeod, a then beautiful building, intended and used for offices,
and called the Rotunda Building. It took its name from the interior
circular light space into which the offices of the lawyers opened.
Directly across the street, westerly, the dwelling house and orchard of
Peter Desnoyers has given place to the Government building, called the
post office, now called the customs-house. This also was a large and
splendid building in its day. Diagonally across the street were some
small frame buildings, used for second-hand book stores and occupied by
small tradesmen. These also were swept away in time and their places
filled by the modern structure known as the Campau Building.
Litigation over the title to “Cobweb Hall” prevented the improvement
of that corner and it remained as an eyesore long after more modern
buildings surrounded it, and it came to be shunned and almost considered
as a ghost walk, deserted by the friends of its youth, and the buildings
left to decay. *
Like many other sections of our great city, this corner has a history,
interesting and romantic. To bring back to its site the troops of men
1036 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
and women who passed its doors or entered its gates in the past would be
to bring before us the names of the thousands of persons who have lived
in Detroit since its destruction by fire in the early part of the nineteenth
century.
This is too great a task to be undertaken and all that we can hope
to do is to skim over the surface of this interesting history.
On the eleventh day of June, 1805, a devouring fire swept the Village
of Detroit and destroyed every building save one, within the picketed
enclosure. The village that had stood for more than one hundred years,
occupying the small tract of land between the present Griswold and Wayne
streets, extending back from the river only as far as Larned Street.
There were a few buildings north of the latter street, but the land was
low and marshy, bordering on the little brook that ran westerly along
the southerly line of the present Congress Street.
Around the little village was a line of pickets made of small trees
set firmly in the earth and extending 12 or 15 feet above the ground.
This picket line crossed the brook and extended to the corner of the fort,
which had stood on the hill behind the village since 1777, as it was built
during the time of the Revolutionary war. When the fire of 1805 took
place the entire village, of some five hundred people, was houseless and
homeless. The weather was mild, and many of the people slept in the
open air. Others found refuge in the fort and in the farm houses along
the river front. The personal belongings and furniture in the houses
had been saved from destruction, for the fire occurred in the day time
and the people had sufficient notice to carry their movables to a place
of safety.
NARROW STREETS IN THE OLD WILLAGE
The streets in the old village were very narrow, being most of them
from 10 to 15 feet wide. The only wide thoroughfare was Ste. Anne
Street and that was probably about twenty feet wide in front of the
church, and elsewhere not over fifteen feet in width. It was proposed to
begin at once, rebuilding the village. If the proprietors rebuilt on the
lots owned by them, the new village would contain the same narrow
streets and shallow lots. Many of the people were willing to do this, but
Some objected and a public meeting was called to discuss and determine
the matter. The new governor, William Hull, and the judges, Augustus
B. Woodward, John Griffin and Frederick Bates, urged the people to
delay rebuilding until authority could be obtained from Congress to plat
a new village with wide streets and larger lots.
During the winter of 1805–06, both Hull and Woodward went to
Washington and procured the passage of a proper bill through Congress.
The bill that was finally passed gave the governor and judges the power
to lay out a new village plat and authorize them to convey lands to every
lot owner in the old village, so that each should have as much land as he
had before held. Additional provision was made for every person who
lived in the old village before the fire, whether a lot owner or not.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1037
Every person over the age of seventeen who resided in the village be-
fore the fire, was given a lot in the new plan. In order to carry out this
provision of the law, all of the lands between Randolph Street on the
east and Wayne Street on the west, and extending as far north as Adams
Avenue, were given to the governor and judges to be platted and allotted
by them. The only lands exempted from this grant were those occupied
by the fort, and the grounds reserved for military purposes.
A village plat was made, dwelling sites were soon allotted, and it was
not long before houses began to dot the surface of the new city. There
were no frame houses in the old village; all were of logs. There were
no great sawmills then to cut timber into boards, and it was necessary
to use the logs as they came from the forest, with the little trimmings
that could be done with ax and adz. Much of the timber was obtained
at Black River (now Port Huron), and the woods were soon filled with
woodsmen cutting trees, and laborers were floating the cut timber down
the river and through the lake to build up a new and a greater city. '
FIRE DESTROYS MANY HOMES
Among the many people who were living in Detroit, at the time of the
fire and who were rendered houseless by that event were John Bentley
and Mary, his wife.
They had lived in the village for some time, and he had been collector
of the village taxes in 1803, and had held other offices. They had with
them in their home, their daughter, Sally, who was the wife of Thomas
Nowlen, and her children, Sally and Fanny. Both John Bentley and his
daughter, Sally, were entitled to donation lots in the new village plat,
and he presented the following petition to the governor and judges:
“To the Honorable the Legislature of Michigan:
“John Bentley, being one of the sufferers by fire on the 11th of June,
1805, and then residing in the old town of Detroit, prays for a donation
lot agreeably to the act of Congress.
“And your petitioner will pray.
“John Bentley.
“Detroit, 3rd November, 1806.”
A lot was awarded him just outside the old picket line and on the
northeast corner of what was then laid down as the intersection of two
unnamed streets. These streets were subsequently named Larned and
Griswold.
The lot was 50 feet wide and 100 feet deep. It was not very favor-
ably located. Most of the new buildings were planned to be erected on
the new main street (Jefferson Avenue) and below that street towards
the river. A few lots were granted on Court House Street (Woodward
Avenue) and a building was either then, or shortly afterwards, erected
on that street for the purpose of holding court.
Griswold Street was only fifty feet wide between Larned Street and
Jefferson Avenue and it was many years before it was opened to the
full width it now maintains. Bentley erected a small log house on the
1038 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
northerly side of his lot, leaving the space next to Larned Street for gar-
den and greensward. When the final plan of the city was made this land
was designated as lot 103 in section 2. In due course of time Bentley
applied for a deed for this lot and it was ordered to be executed to him
December 17, 1808. He maintained this house as a tavern, for he paid
$20.00 for a license December 27, 1808. The license was granted by
three justices of the peace, George McDougall, James May and James
Abbott.
He did not live long on this lot, but sold it, with its log house com-
plete on May 11, 1809, for $460 to Bridget Belcher.
At the same time that Bentley had applied for his lot, his daughter,
Sally, made a similar application worded as follows:
“To the Honorable the Legislature of Michigan:
“Sally, wife of Thomas Nowlen, being living with her family at her
father's house (John Bentley), on the 11th day of June, 1805, prays for
a donation lot agreeably to the act of Congress.
- “Sally Nowlen.
“Detroit, 3rd November, 1806.”
The above petition was taken into consideration and a lot awarded
to Mrs. Nowlen located on the northside of Bates Street between Farrar
and Randolph Streets, fronting on the little park that was subsequently
known as “Deer Park.” The little park is now occupied by the Metro-
politan police headquarters.
On this lot Mrs. Nowlen erected a dwelling house and her father,
mother and her two children, Sally and Fanny, went there to live when
John Bentley sold his dwelling house to Mrs. Belcher. It is not possible
now to tell when John Bentley died, but probably before 1816.
Mrs. Nowlen had some difficulty in obtaining a deed for her lot, and
she placed the matter in the hands of Robert Smart, a prominent citizen
of Detroit, and through his exertions received a deed in November, 1816.
The new house was next to the lot upon which the Scotch Presbyterian
Church was built, and of this church Robert Smart was one of the trus-
tees. Whether the Bentley and Nowlen families attended this church is
uncertain, but that Smart was then and always continued to be their
friend, is apparent from his will.
The two girls, Fanny and Sally Nowlen, grew to womanhood in the
little house on Bates Street, and in due course of time both were married.
Fanny married Abraham Noyes, January 11, 1824. They had at least
One daughter, Mary Ann Noyes, who was born in 1828, and who married
Hiram Higgins, October 23, 1842. Fanny Noyes died August 20, 1834,
of cholera and Abraham Noyes died in May or June, 1842. Hiram Hig-
gins was a Surveyor by profession, but in the latter part of his life be-
came a clerk in the shoe store of Leander L. Farnsworth, who was his
brother-in-law, when that store was located where the Majestic Building
now stands. Selina Ann Higgins, the daughter of Mary Ann Higgins,
was born in 1843 and married George Campbell, June 19, 1865. Her
mother died October 19, 1858, and her father moved to Salem, Michigan,
and died there January 9, 1894, at the age of seventy-two years.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1039
SALLY NOWLEN
Sarah or Sally Nowlen was born in Detroit, October 31, 1804, and
married John Scott, May 15, 1825. Scott was a contractor and builder,
who was born in Peterborough, New Hampshire, November 29, 1795, and
had lived in Detroit some years. His father was a lieutenant and his
grandfather a captain in the Revolutionary war. Some of the larger
building contracts of the little city had been awarded to him and had
been successfully carried out.
He was the contractor and builder of the City Hall, which stood on
the easterly side of the Campus. This was a large building for the times,
and was completed in 1835. He superintended the construction of the
water works at the foot of Orleans Street in 1838, and was the contractor
and builder of the magazine and government works on the Mullett farm,
near Gratiot Road.
It was to these works that the remains of old Fort Shelby were re-
moved after that fort was abandoned in 1826. Mr. Scott’s work was
completed in 1831. He was one of the ten men who owned and sub-
divided the lands on the west side of Woodward Avenue, north of the
Grand Circus Park. This tract extends from Woodward to Cass Avenue
and from Adams Avenue to Montcalm Street. He was also prominent
in local political affairs during his entire life, served as alderman several
terms and was quite a large real estate owner in the city.
There were four children born of the marriage of John Scott and
Sally Nowlen: John Scott was born February 22, 1826, and died May 9,
1841; William Scott was born October 12, 1828, drowned in Detroit River;
David Scott was born October 27, 1830, and died of cholera September 14,
1834; James Scott was born December 20, 1831, and died March 5, 1910.
Mary Bentley, the great-grandmother of these children had died after
the birth of James Scott, the youngest of the quartet.
In 1831 she purchased a lot on the Charles Moran farm on Franklin
Street, then a fairly good quarter of the city, and died there November 1,
1846. Shortly after her death there were two documents presented to
the Probate Court for allowance, both pretending to be her last will. In
One of these wills, which is dated April 5, 1846, the entire estate with the
exception of “one purple merino dress” is left to Mahalan Presley, wife
of Solomon Presley, for life with remainder over to her daughter, Maria
Fidelia Presley. So far as can be ascertained the devisees were in no
way related to the testator.
The other will was dated July 18, 1843, and in it Mary Bentley gave
all of her estate to her great-grandson, James Scott. At this time James
was the only survivor of the four children of John Scott. When the mat-
ter of the two wills came before the Probate Court, December 21, 1846,
the Presley will was disallowed and the Scott will was sustained.
David Smart, who was the nephew of Robert Smart, above mentioned,
was the executor of the will that was admitted and he handled the estate
for James Scott, who was then fifteen years old.
1040 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
A few years before this, and while John Scott, the elder brother of
James, was still alive, Robert Smart made his will. He had lived in
Detroit for many years, and had been a very prominent and influential
citizen and a man of considerable means. His will is dated October 26,
1839, and he did not forget the various members of the Nowlen family.
His will was probated November 4, 1839, and the executors were John
Biddle, Charles Moran and Darius Lamson, three as prominent men as
there were in the city.
The bulk of his property was given to his brother, John, and sister,
Christine Smart, and his nephew David Smart. To Mary Ann Noyes,
afterward Higgins, he gave $5,000. To James Scott and John Scott, Sons
of John Scott, he gave $2,000 each, and to their grandmother, Sally
Nowlen, he gave an annuity of $300 for her life.
Sarah Nowlen, the grandmother of James Scott, died December 3,
1851. David Smart was the executor of her will. Her granddaughter,
Mary Ann Higgins, was the principal beneficiary under her will. Mrs.
Higgins was financially involved and James Scott in 1853, just after be-
coming of age, and entering into his inheritance, assisted her out of her
trouble by advancing money to save her from the loss of her home.
ROBERT SMART
When Robert Smart died, the legacy of the two children, John and
James Scott, was paid to their father, John Scott, and remained in his
hands unto his death which occurred September 1, 1846.
After the death of John Scott’s first wife, Sally Nowlen, he married
Jane A. Abbott of Peterborough, New Hampshire, and she survived him.
In his will he made provision for her support in the form of an annuity,
and gave the remainder of his property to his only surviving child, James.
John Scott was a man of considerable property for the time. In 1834 he
purchased from Isaac Thornton Todd, an Irish gentleman and large prop-
erty Owner in the old country, a lot on the corner of the Campus and
Woodward Avenue. This property is now occupied in part by the grocery
store of G. & R. McMillan and by the store owned by the late James
Scott. It was in his home on this lot that James Scott was born.
On the southerly part of this property John Scott built a store, but
he Subsequently lived in a house situated on the southerly side of Fort
Street west of Shelby Street on one of the lots formerly occupied by the
City Water Works.
JAMES SCOTT
The early life of James Scott was passed partly in Detroit, his father
having died when James was fifteen years old. The executors of his
father’s will were Abraham C. Caniff of Detroit, and E. Lakin Brown of
Schoolcraft. James never had a legal guardian after his father’s death,
though the executors acted, in that capacity so far as looking after the
boy. He went to School in Detroit in the rooms that were used in the
building on the Southwest corner of Bates and Larned streets. He also
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1041
went to School in Peterborough, living with some of his father’s relatives
in that place.
He passed a part of his time with E. Lakin Brown, who had married
his cousin, Amelia W. Scott, at his home in Schoolcraft. At his School-
craft home the two boys, James and John, lived for a time before the
death of their father. Mr. Brown was decidedly taken with the boys. He
Was a member of the Legislature in 1841 and attended its sessions in
December that year. He has this to say regarding the older of the two
boys:
“John was a beautiful boy of twelve or fourteen years. When I came
home from the Legislature to Schoolcraft, I found him sick with rheu-
matism of the heart. His father was sent for and he came and remained
until after the death of his son—a loss that affected us all deeply.” And
again he refers to James Scott as follows: “I must also mention another
member of my family during these years.
“John Scott, of Detroit, my wife's uncle, died in 1846, and in his
will I was appointed jointly with Abraham Caniff, executor of the estate.
He left a widow and only son, James, of whom I was subsequently guard-
ian. The estate was quite large and the labor and responsibility con-
siderable. James came to live with me soon after his father’s death and
remained several years.”
Nearly all the time between 1850 and 1876, James Scott lived in De-
troit, though he made frequent long visits to other parts of the country,
and, on one occasion it is said that he lived on the Mississippi River for
two years. He was unmarried. He inherited from his father all the
lands he owned at the time of his death. On the fifteenth day of March,
1876, he married Alice M. Yates.
Before this time he had led a free and easy life, not burdened with
many cares and with little to inspire him to a life of frugality or enter-
prise. At his death he left his entire fortune of nearly half a million to
the city of his birth.
The lady he had chosen for a wife was of good family and lively
character.
Alice M. Edwards was the daughter of Abraham Edwards and his
wife, Ruth Hunt. The Hunt family had always been conspicuous in the
history of Detroit and the members of it held offices of honor and im-
portance for many years.
Thomas Hunt, the first member of the family in Detroit, who was
born in Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1754, was a soldier in the battle
of Lexington, and was wounded at Bunker Hill. He came to Detroit
with Wayne’s army in 1796, but his family did not come until 1800. He
was stationed at various military posts about the western country and
died in 1808 at Bellefontaine. His wife was Eunice Wellington. They
had eleven children. The seven sons were Henry Jackson Hunt, Thomas
Hunt, Jr., George Hunt, Samuel Wellington Hunt, William Brown Hunt,
John Elliott Hunt, and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Hunt.
The four daughters were Ruth Fessenden Hunt, wife of Abraham
1042 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Edwards, Abigail Hunt, wife of Col. Josiah Snelling (after whom Fort
Snelling was named), Mary LeBaron Hunt, who married Tunis S. Wen-
dell, and Eliza Hunt, wife of James G. Soulard of St. Louis.
Several of these children were associated with Detroit in olden and
modern times. Henry Jackson Hunt married Ann MacIntosh, a daughter
of Angus MacIntosh (sometimes referred to as the Earl of Moy). Hunt
was at one time in partnership with Lewis Cass in real estate purchases
and was always the friend of the governor. He was engaged in trade
with his brother-in-law, Abraham Edwards, for some years. He was the
second elected mayor of Detroit and died during his term of office in
1826. Governor William Woodbridge, writing of Henry J. Hunt and his
wife, in 1815, says that they were the handsomest couple in Detroit.
George Hunt lived in Detroit many years, but died in Connecticut.
He was the owner of what is known as the Hunt farm and it was his
wife, Eloise L. Hunt, who gave to the Ladies Protestant Orphan Asylum
the premises now occupied by that society on Jefferson Avenue.
John Elliott Hunt was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, but lived much
of his early life in Detroit. In 1822 he married in Detroit, Mary Sophia
Spencer, the sister of Mrs. Lewis Cass. He moved to Toledo where he
died in 1877.
One of his daughters, Elizabeth Cass Hunt, became the wife of Ed-
mund Askin Brush of Detroit. Mrs. Brush recently died at the home
of her granddaughter, Mrs. Frelinghuysen, in New York City. Mrs.
Brush was one of the benefactors of the Protestant Orphan Asylum.
A granddaughter of John E. Hunt, Isabella Rowena Hunt, became the
wife and later the widow of Alfred E. Brush, a grandson of John E. Hunt,
of Detroit, and a son of Edmund Askin Brush. Mrs. Alfred E. Brush
has recently become the wife of Paul Verhaeghe.
Samuel Wellington Hunt was also in the regular army. He died quite
young, leaving four children. One of his sons, Henry Jackson Hunt,
second, was governor of the Soldiers’ Home at Washington for several
years. Another son, Lewis Cass Hunt, was brigadier-general of volun-
teers during the great Rebellion and died in 1886.
William Brown Hunt was born in Detroit, in 1800, and died in this
city. He married Milicent, one of the daughters of Judge John L. Leib,
and lived, as some of his descendants still live, on the Leib farm. He
was a man of affairs, and something of a politician. He was one of the
original members of the First Protestant Society, now the First Presby-
terian Church. He was superintendent of the poor, and county auditor
for several years.
He, with John Farrar, had charge, on the part of Wayne County, of
erection of the county building on the southeast corner of Congress and
Griswold streets in 1845. He was the father of George Wellington Hunt
and the late Cleaveland Hunt of this city.
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Hunt was born in Detroit in 1802. At
that time his father was in command of the garrison in the fort. Although
his younger years were not spent in this city, he came here about 1818
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1043
and remained for several years, living with his brother, Henry Jackson
Hunt. He lived for a time with his brother, John E. Hunt, and at a later
time with his sister, Mrs. Soulard and died in Chicago in 1892. He was
married and had several children, but neither wife nor children survived
him.
Ruth Fessenden Hunt was the eldest daughter of Thomas Hunt and
was living with her father in Fort Wayne, Indiana, when she married
Abraham Edwards in June, 1805. She lived at various places with her
husband, as is narrated in his biography, and died at Kalamazoo. An
interesting sketch of the pioneer life of Mr. and Mrs. Hunt is in the
Michigan Pioneer and Historical records, in volume 12 on page 148.
Abigail Hunt was born at Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1797, before
her mother moved to Detroit. She moved with her father's family to
Fort Wayne, Detroit, Mackinac, Fort Wayne a second time, and Belle-
fontaine, where her father died in 1808. She then returned to Massachu-
setts, and a home was made with her grandfather, Samuel Wellington. She
was living in Detroit, with her brother, Henry Jackson Hunt, where she
met Capt. Josiah Snelling, who had come from Ohio with Hull's army at
the time war was declared against England in 1812.
Detroit was surrendered to the British General Brock on August 16
of that year and just four days before that event, Captain Snelling and
Abigail Hunt were married. He had been previously married. Snelling
was carried a prisoner to Montreal, but was subsequently exchanged and
was one of the principal witnesses in the military trial of Governor Hull.
Snelling was promoted through various military offices to that of colonel.
He occupied numerous military posts and built Fort Snelling, which was
named for him or his wife, who was idolized by the army. He died in
1828.
His widow then returned to Detroit and lived there for some years.
In 1841, while living with her brother, John E. Hunt, she married Rev.
J. E. Chaplin. She died on September 7, 1878. At one time in her life
she was a large landowner in Detroit and among other properties she
Owned one-half of the Van Dyke or Hamtramck Farm mentioned below.
Mary LeBaron Hunt was born at Fort Mackinac in 1803, but after
her father’s death spent her time in Detroit, at the home of her brother,
Henry Jackson Hunt. She was educated in Cincinnati. She was twice
married. Her first husband was Captain Gleason, of the regular army.
He lived but a short time after their marriage. Her second husband was
Tunis S. Wendell.
Mr. Wendell was for many years one of the successful business men
of Detroit. He had a store on Jefferson Avenue, near the corner of Bates
Street. He was a stockholder and one of the directors in the Farmers and
Mechanics’ Bank. He died in 1854 and Mrs. Wendell died at the home of
her daughter, Mrs. Alice Hunt Curtis, wife of George E. Curtis, in 1872.
Eliza Mitchell Hunt was the youngest child of Col. Thomas Hunt. She
was born in Detroit in 1804, and after the death of her father was reared
in the family of some of his relatives in Boston. She married James Glas-
104.4 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
ton Soulard and died in Galena, Illinois, in 1894. She did not spend any
considerable portion of her life in this state. She had many children and
left numerous descendants.
Abraham Edwards was the eldest son of Aaron Edwards and was
born at Springfield, New Jersey, November 17, 1781. He studied medi-
cine and was licensed to practice in the fall of 1803, and in June of the
following year was appointed by President Jefferson, garrison Surgeon
and was sent to Fort Wayne, where, as stated above, he met and married
Ruth Fessenden Hunt, the daughter of the commandant. His three eldest
children, Thomas, Alexander and Henry, were born at that place.
In 1810, on account of the illness of his wife, Doctor Edwards resigned
his commission and moved to Dayton, Ohio, where he took up the practice
of medicine and in 1811 was elected a member of the Ohio Legislature,
representing Montgomery County. On the 12th day of March, 1812, he
was appointed captain in the Nineteenth Regiment of Infantry.
Just before war was declared with Great Britain in 1812, Gen. Wil-
liam Hull was directed to collect an army of regulars and volunteers and
march through Ohio to Detroit to protect that place and the frontier. At
Dayton this army was joined by Captain Edwards with his company.
As a vacancy existed in the medical staff of the Fourth Regiment, Mr.
Edwards was selected to fill it and he marched to Detroit and remained
with the army in the capacity of hospital surgeon until the surrender of
that place to General Brock, August 16, 1812.
Edwards was taken prisoner at the capture of the city, but was paroled
and permitted to return to his Dayton home, where he was exchanged
shortly afterwards. As a captain he was ordered to Chillicothe where
he superintended the recruiting servige until November, 1813. Gen. Lewis
Cass, in command at Detroit after the evacuation by Proctor and the
battle of the Thames, ordered Edwards to proceed to Detroit with 200
men of the Nineteenth Regiment and he arrived during the month of
December.
A court-martial had been called for the trial of General Hull at Albany,
in the winter of 1813-14, and Edwards accompanied Cass and the other offi-
cers to that place. At a later date he went to Washington, where he was
appointed deputy quartermaster-general with the rank of major and was
placed in charge of the quartermaster’s stores at Pittsburgh. Here he
remained until the close of the war.
On the reorganization of the army on a peace footing he was offered
the position as captain in the line, but concluded to leave the army and
return to his private practice. In October, 1815, he moved his family to
Detroit. In 1816–17, he was elected president of the board of trustees
Of the city, and in that capacity received President James Monroe on his
visit to Detroit in 1818.
From the time of the organization of Michigan Territory in 1805, the
legislative department was in the hands of the governor and judges,
appointed by the President. There were attempts from time to time
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1045
made to change this form of government so as to allow the people to have
a voice in the selections of their Legislature.
In 1823 this was accomplished by the passage of a law which per-
mitted the election of eighteen men from whom the President of the
United States was to select nine persons to form the legislative council.
FIRST ELECTION OF LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL WAS IN 1823
At the first election held under this law in 1823, Abraham Edwards,
Solomon Sibley, Louis Beaufait, Ebenezer Reed, William Brown, Wolcott
Lawrence, Hubert Lacroix, Laurent Derocher, Benjamin F. Stickney,
Francis Navarre, Harry Conant, Stephen Mack, Roger Sprague, Joseph
Miller, John Stockton, Zephaniah W. Bunce, William H. Puthuff and
Robert Irvin, Jr., were elected and their names sent to the president.
Out of this number the president appointed the following nine per-
sons to constitute the first legislative council of Michigan: Abraham Ed-
wards, Stephen Mack, William H. Puthuff, Wolcott Lawrence, John Stock-
ton, Roger Sprague, Zephaniah W. Bunce, Hubert Lacroix and Robert
Irvin, Jr.
Of the body so constituted, Abraham Edwards was chosen president
and was elected to the same office by the succeeding councils for eight
years. He also held the office of Indian agent for the Indians of Northern
Indiana and St. Joseph County, Michigan, and was appointed register of
the land office for the western district of Michigan.
Up to this time he made his home in Detroit, and was sheriff of Wayne
County in 1824 and 1825. His new office of register compelled him to
spend his time at Kalamazoo, and he removed to that place and continued
to reside there until his death, October 22, 1860.
Mrs. Abigail Snelling, the sister-in-law of Abraham Edwards, was
part owner of a farm now within the city limits of Detroit, known as the
Hamtramck farm, which was formerly owned by Gen. John Francis Ham-
tramck.
On the river front of this farm was a comfortable log house, which
was occupied in 1827 by Edwards with his family and in this historic
house, Alice Edwards, his daughter, was born on November 23, 1827.
When her father became a resident of Kalamazoo she went to that
place to live with her parents and continued to reside there many years.
She was thrice married. Her first husband was James J. Campau, a son
of Joseph Campau of Detroit, of whom more hereafter. By this marriage
she had three Sons, Theodore, Joseph J. and James J. Campau. Her first
husband died at the Biddle House in Detroit, October 29, 1865. After his
death she married Abraham P. Yates at Kalamazoo, December 26, 1867.
After the death of Mr. Yates she became the wife of James Scott,
March 13, 1876, at Buffalo, New York. She died in Detroit, March 3,
1900.
The Writer is greatly indebted for information regarding the above
named persons to the researches of the late Robert B. Ross.
When the village was destroyed by the fire of 1805, the plans for the
1046 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
new city were on a larger and more extensive scale than the old village.
It seemed to those who were laying out the new city that they had included
enough land to last the place for a century and that it was not probable
that the village would ever be extended beyond the limits as then set.
A general plan for the entire city and for a continued expansion, was
prepared and sent to Washington in 1807. There was also prepared at
the same time detailed plans of several of the sections in order that village
lots could be sold and built upon without delay.
A considerable part of the new village plat was claimed by the United
States for military grounds, and in 1809 this land was surveyed and a
plan of it made by Governor Hull and sent to Washington.
By examining these two maps the detailed map of 1807 and the map
of the military reserve made in 1809, it will be seen that Griswold Street
was planned to be opened fifty feet wide between Jefferson Avenue and
Congress Street only. There was no street to correspond with Griswold
Street platted between Congress Street and Michigan Avenue. North of
Michigan Avenue there was a street running at right angles to that avenue,
and extending to State Street, but not in the location of the present Gris-
wold Street.
The plan of the military reservation made in 1830 gave the location
of Griswold Street between Fort Street and Michigan Avenue. On the
easterly side of the street at Jefferson Avenue was lot 4 and on the wester-
ly side was lot 5 in section 2 of the width of sixty feet. Lot 4 was fifty
feet wide and was donated by the governor and judges to John Dodemead
and his wife, Ann. They conveyed it to their son, James Dodemead, March
13, 1806, and he sold it to his brother-in-law, Charles Jouett for $2,000,
February 16, 1808. The consideration indicates that there was a building
on the lot at that date, and both deeds recite the fact that the building
was erected as early as March 13, 1806.
FIRE DISTURBS TITLES IN THE OLD TOWN
After the great fire the titles in the old town were very much disturbed
by the proposal to widen some of the streets and abolish others, and very
little building was carried on for some time. Buildings began to be erected
for business purposes as far up as Berthelet’s Market at the foot of Ran-
dolph Street, and the buildings for offices, stores and dwellings appeared
between that place, Randolph Street and the present Griswold Street,
along Randolph, Bates, Griswold, Woodbridge, Atwater and Franklin
streets and Woodward Avenue below Jefferson Avenue.
It was not until a later date that business buildings or dwellings were
erected above Jefferson Avenue.
It is possible that land on Jefferson Avenue commanded a better price
in anticipation of a better class of buildings and if that was the case, it
might account for the valuation of $2,000 placed on lot 4 in 1808. Two
years later Jouett sold the lot to Richard Pattinson for $100. This, of
course, was a very low price.
From other matters connected with this sale it seems that either Jouett
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1047
or Dodemead had been indebted to Pattinson or to some persons he repre-
sented, and this lot was set over to satisfy that debt. Jouett was at the
time, an Indian factor and had moved from Detroit to Chicago, where he
was still in the Government employment.
A letter written by him on the occasion of this sale indicates that the
parties had had some trouble over their accounts and that this was the
best way in which to settle the matter. The consideration expressed in
the deed may not, then, have been the real consideration for the trans-
fer. The letter from Jouett reads as follows:
“Chicago, 13th, June, 1810.
“SIR : The proposals made by Richard Pattinson, Esquire, of Sandwich,
of the 3rd ultimo, respecting the final settlement of a debt due him from
Messrs. John Dodemead, James Dodemead and Doctor Joseph Wilkinson,
of Detroit, Michigan Territory, I have examined. Although it may in a
pecuniary way injure me, I have, neverthelss, from a desire to see this
business brought to a close and yourself, Mr. John Dodemead and Doctor
Joseph Wilkinson discharged from a heavy debt, determined to invest you
with a power of attorney to convey to Richard Pattinson, of Sandwich,
all the landed property I purchased of you when I was last in Detroit. I
do therefore by these presents authorize you to convey to him all the
property as specified in deeds made by you to me in the winter of 1807
and 1808, reference being had to the records of Detroit. This therefore
is your authority, provided Richard Pattinson conforms his settlement to
his proposals of the 3rd May and gives up all the obligations he holds of
you, John Dodemead and Doctor Wilkinson, or in lieu thereof a formal
Quietus.
“C. JOUETT.”
“To Mr. James Dodemead.”
Charles Jouett married a daughter of John Dodemead; Doctor Wilkin-
son’s wife was also a daughter of John Dodemead and James Wilkinson
was his son.
CAMPAU PURCHASES THE LOT FOR $1,500
On July 19, 1811, Pattinson sold the lot to Joseph Campau for £600
or $1,500. The conveyance, which is in French, states that there was a
“house and other buildings” on the lot.
Lot 5 was sixty feet wide. It was at the easterly extremity of the old
village plat on Jefferson Avenue. It was sold by the governor and judges
to Peter Audrain for $120, February 4, 1807, and by him conveyed to
Joseph Campau for $200, February 21, 1812. At that time there was
no building on the lot, but Campau erected one on a stone foundation,
having under the building a cellar of considerable size.
In the rear of lot 4 were lots 65 and 66, now occupied by the Equity
Building. Lot 65 was donated to Urcella Cadorette, December 14, 1808.
She sold it to William Watson for $50 in 1809. The next owner was
Richard Smyth in the same year, and in 1811 Joseph Campau bought it
for $100. There was no building on it at that time.
1048 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Lot 66 was donated to James Dodemead in 1809, and he sold it to James
Campau in 1811 for $75 with no improvements.
Across Griswold Street, westerly, lot 67 was donated by the city to
Catherine McNiff in 1809, and by her sold to Joseph Campau for $100 in
1814. The lot was fifty feet wide, but when it became evident that the
opening of Griswold Street would leave only twenty feet of the lot, Mr.
Campau undertook to purchase the lands westerly of lot 68 along the South
line of Larned Street. This property belonged to Ste. Anne's Church.
There were several lots and Mr. Campau bought them all in 1834 for $2,-
543.57.
JOSEPH CAMPAU BIG LANDOWNER
In the older City of Detroit, and up to the time of his death in 1863,
Joseph Campau was the wealthiest citizen and largest landowner. He was
born in this place February 25, 1759, and by the process of purchasing,
renting and seldom selling, had accumulated more property and owned
more productive real estate than any other man in the state. . His posses-
sions on Griswold Street were only a sample of his land holdings all Over
the city and territory.
He lived on the south side of Jefferson Avenue between Griswold and
Shelby streets in a log house, which in modern times, was covered with
clapboards and which remained for many years after he had passed away
as a reminder of the old village that had seen such wonderous changes
in his life.
This house was built upon a piece of ground that he had owned be-
fore the fire of 1805. During many years before its destruction it was
painted yellow and its picturesque style and conspicuous color made it a
great attraction on the street. No one saw it without inquiring regarding
its history and the name Campau was familiar to every one.
Joseph Campau’s wife was Adelaide, the daughter of Antoine Dagneau
Dequindre and his wife, Catherine Desrivieres La Morandiere. She was
born at Detroit, August 21, 1788. They were married May 18, 1808,
and had twelve children as follows: A son, born April 28, 1809, and
died May 16, 1809; Joseph, born April 8, 1810, died unmarried; Adelaide,
born November 23, 1811, married John Johnson; Daniel Joseph, born No-
vember 18, 1813, married Mary Palms; a son, born August 29, and died
August 29, 1815; Catherine D., born October 15, 1816, married Francis
Palms; Denis Joseph, born March 18, 1819, died unmarried; Jacques
Joseph, born February 21, 1821, married Alice Edwards—he died October
29, 1865; Emilie, born February 13, 1823, married George W. Lewis;
Theodore Joseph, born April 26, 1825, married Eleanor L. Messels, died
March 10, 1875; Matilda V., born June 8, 1827, married Augustus B.
Chapoton; Timothy Alexander, born September 10, 1829, married Millie
Howarth. -
Adelaide Campau, the mother of these children, died May 30, 1862.
Joseph Campau continued to reside in the yellow building above men-
tioned until his death in 1863, and after his death, his two sons, Theodore
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1049
and Denis, occupied the building for some years as an office and residence.
When Theodore was married he moved to a home on Madison Avenue,
and left the old home to Denis, and in this place the latter died August
15, 1878, unmarried.
When it was proposed to widen Griswold Street to ninety feet, its
present width, Mr. Campau owned all the land that was to be taken for
that purpose. The street was already fifty feet wide and the remaining
forty feet which was to be taken from lots 5 and 67 was the private
property of Mr. Campau and he refused to relinquish his rights to the city
without compensation and they could not agree upon the amount.
THE STREET IN 1826
Up to 1826, the state of Griswold Street was as follows: It was fifty
feet wide from Jefferson Avenue to Larned Street; sixty feet wide from
Larned Street to Congress Street; closed between the latter street and
Michigan Avenue, and had no adequate opening between that avenue and
the capitol building which was on Capitol Square.
The platting of the military reservation in 1830 opened the part be-
tween Fort Street and Michigan Avenue and left it to the city to obtain
by purchase, dedication or condemnation the property claimed by Campau,
south of Larned Street, and the part between Congress and Fort streets.
The opening between Michigan Avenue and State Street was brought
about by straightening the street and exchanging the old street, which
was vacated, for parts of new lands owned by various parties. In the
earliest plats of the place the streets were not named, and when it became
convenient to attach names, they were selected from the presidents, prom-
inent men and public local officials.
Thus we see Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Madison, Monroe, Lafay-
ette and others from these sources. The names Woodward, Bates, Wood-
bridge, Atwater and others were taken from local officials. The name
Griswold was taken from Stanley Griswold, who was secretary of the
territory in 1807 and 1808 and who, in that interval, was, at one time,
acting governor.
THE MILITARY RESERVATION
In 1826 the land occupied by the old Fort Shelby extending from
Griswold Street to the Cass farm, was given by the general government to
the City of Detroit. This was platted into lots for dwellings and it was
found necessary or proper, or convenient, to alter the original plan of
the city and run Griswold Street through as it is now laid out, ninety feet
wide. In the plan of the subdivision of the military reservation the north
and south streets were named as follows: Griswold, Shelby, Wayne, La-
fayette and Cass, while the east and west Streets, north of Jefferson Ave-
nue, were Larned, Congress and Fort. The street north of Fort Street
(now called Lafayette Boulevard) was not at first laid down or contem-
plated, nor was it stated where the Lafayette Street named in the original
plan was to be located. The name only is given.
1050 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
PLATTING THE RESERVATION
In the first plat of the Military Reserve between Larned and Congress
streets, Griswold Street was laid down as only sixty feet wide.
On April 30, 1827, the common council resolved “that the three tiers
of lots on the easterly side of the military reservation be reserved from
sale until a decision shall be made as to the widening of Griswold Street.”
At the same time plans were being made to control the waters of the
little creek that was the line of the present Congress Street. In the spring
of the year this brook was full to overflowing and a wide strip of land
was made useless for building purposes by this yearly inundation.
RIVER SAVOYARD
At the same session of the common council of April 30, 1827, it was
resolved that the members of the council should meet on the following
morning “on the military reservation to examine the River Savoyard with
a view to alter its course.” The result of this inspection was that it was
resolved to deepen the course of the brook from its outlet, through the
farm of Governor Cass, as far as the military reservation and that the
drain be extended through the reservation in the alley between Larned
and Congress streets to Griswold Street. In order to reduce this plan to
a certainty, on the 5th of May it was
“Resolved, that the ditch of the River Savoyard shall commence at the
northwest corner of Mrs. Deveaux’s lot and run thence in a straight line
to the lane between Larned and Congress streets, at the westerly side of
Griswold Street, thence on the northerly side of said lane to the easterly
side of Shelby Street, thence on the southerly side of said lane to Cass
Street, thence across said street to the present ditch, thence along said
ditch to Governor Cass' line.”
The Deveaux lot was on the southeast corner of Congress and Griswold
streets, the lot subsequently occupied by the courthouse.
The ditch was to be two feet deeper than the present ditch, three feet
wide at the bottom and five feet wide at the top. The contract for doing
this work was let to James A. Armstrong.
PROVIDE FOR DRAINAGE
The surface waters of the entire city passed through this ditch and
as they were thus taken care of, the lands along the margin of the ditch
were made suitable for occupancy.
The next thing was the reorganization of the plan of the city so as
to straighten and Open the streets. An act was passed by the legislative
council of the territory, April 4, 1827, which permitted the common coun-
cil of the city to replat all of the lands lying north of Larned Street
and west of Woodward Avenue.
Plans were not, at Once, drawn up for this purpose, but the matter was
discussed at the freemen's meetings and in the council. The council on
July 25, 1827, passed the following resolution:
EARLY VIEW OF WOODWARD AVENUE, LOOK-
ING NORTHWARD FROM CAMPUS MARTIUS
º -
º
º:
(Courtesy of Burton Historical Collection)
CAMPUS MARTIUS, LOOKING SOUTH ON WOODWARD AVENUE, DETROIT,
IN THE SUMMER OF 1894



WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1053
“That Griswold Street, between Larned Street and Fort Street, be
laid out and opened to the breadth of ninety feet and turnpiked.”
It was proposed to carry out this boulevard as far as the courthouse,
or Capitol north of State Street. A jury was ordered called September
12, 1827, for the purpose of assessing the damages for this opening. It
was also resolved to widen Larned Street to sixty feet by adding ten feet
upon the north side from Randolph Street to Griswold Street.
Negotiations with Joseph Campau were had, looking to the widening
of Griswold Street, between Jefferson Avenue and Larned Street. In
order to accomplish this work it was necessary to take forty feet in width
of the two lots 5 and 67 above mentioned, one fronting on Jefferson
Avenue and the other on Larned Street.
CAMPAU MAKES PROPOSAL
On October 1, 1830, Joseph Campau made the following proposal to
the city:
“To remove the obstruction on Griswold Street, I propose as follows:
To throw into Griswold Street forty feet, to make the lower line of said
street direct and straight from Jefferson Avenue to Fort Street, on the
following conditions: I will receive forty feet of the Desnoyers or De-
quindre lot and the lot on Larned Street supposed to be forty feet by fifty
feet, and supposed to belong to Mr. Stone, and I will pay to the corpora-
tion for the buildings, fences, etc., on said forty feet, the sum of $500.”
The council did not accept this proposal, but made, as a counter one an
offer to deed to Campau the lot adjoining T. S. Wendell, and cancel a
debt of $150 due from Campau to the city and give him $507.25 in lots
at the minimum price, making a total of $1,657.25.
The failure of the city and Mr. Campau to agree on the opening of the
street influenced the citizens to take the matter up and a petition signed
by fifty-seven freemen was handed the council on January 21, 1831, pray-
ing the council to proceed at once and open Griswold Street ninety feet
wide from Jefferson Avenue to the Capitol. Notice of this was given
through the newspapers and those who might suffer damages were re-
quested to file their claims with the city clerk before the 15th of the
following month.
On the 17th of February the council ordered a venire issued to call
a jury to assess the damages for Opening a ninety-foot street between
Jefferson Avenue and Larned Street. This street would take parts of
lots 67 and 5 in section 2, belonging to Mr. Campau. The venire was set
aside at the request of A. S. Porter, recorder, and another issued on
February 19.
NOT SATISFIED WITH DAMAGES
The jury awarded Mr. Campau $1,500 damaged, for his property so
ordered to be taken, but they fixed the width of the street at sixty feet and
not at ninety feet as proposed. Public subscriptions were taken to defray
this expense and the sum of $430 was thus raised. The balance was
1054 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
arranged for in the form of a loan at the Bank of Michigan and the entire
amount was tendered to Mr. Campau. DeGarmo Jones and John Palmer
were the committee appointed to transact the business with him.
Mr. Campau was not satisfied with the award thus made him and ap-
plied to the Supreme Court for redress. The amount of the award was
tendered to him and upon his refusing to accept it the marshal was
directed to proceed with the opening and to remove the buildings, fences,
and other obstructions. -
Campau applied for thirty days’ time in which to remove the buildings
but his request was denied. He now filed a petition, numerously signed,
asking the council to delay further action until the matter could be heard
in the Supreme Court. This was not granted and the marshal was or-
dered to proceed with his work at once and to complete the opening by
the 15th of April, 1831.
On the 4th day of April the city election took place and the following
persons were elected : Mayor, Marshall Chapin; aldermen, John Farrar,
George A. O’Keefe, Alonzo Merrill, David French, John Palmer, Elliott
Gray and Oliver Newberry. The outgoing mayor, John R. Williams, was a
nephew of Joseph Campau and presumably watched after the affairs of
his uncle as closely as possible, though he never was influenced to vote
for him in any of the matters before the council.
The new council appointed Elon Farnsworth city attorney.
A Supersedeas from the Supreme Court prevented the city from pro-
ceeding to remove the buildings from the street and on April 14, the coun-
cil resolved that it was inexpedient for the new council to interfere with
the orders of the old council. This left the marshal to proceed at his
own risk, and inasmuch as he was prohibited by the order of the Supreme
Court from taking action, he let the matter rest until that court could
decide the affair. . -
The case in the Supreme Court was decided in favor of Mr. Campau,
June 13, 1831, and the city by resolution of June 18, 1831, determined to
appeal the case to the United States Supreme Court. In the meantime
Elliott Gray and Oliver Newberry were appointed to negotiate with all of
the owners along Griswold Street, for the purpose of opening the same to
the Capitol.
PLAN OF THE MILITARY RESERVATION
The map, or plan of the military reservation, made by John Mullett,
was not submitted to the council until June 29, 1831. John Mullett, owning
lot 59 in the line of Griswold Street, released it to the city February 18,
1832, upon the payment of $450. º
At the April election in 1832, Levi Cook was elected mayor and John
Hale, Henry V. Disbrow, Thomas S. Knapp, Abraham C. Canniff, Walter
L. Newberry, John Roberts and Thomas Rowland were elected aldermen.
The alley next north of Jefferson Avenue and east of Griswold Street
was opened June 20, 1832, and the jury declared that Joseph Campau was
not entitled to any damages for such opening. The jury consisted of
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 105.5
Thomas Palmer, David C. McKinstry, Michael Hale, Henry Howard, Wil-
liam S. Abbott and Stephen Wells. Campau at once gave notice of an
appeal from the verdict. It was decided on the appeal that the common
council had a right to proceed with the matter, but a new jury was called
and Campau was awarded $87.00, January 7, 1833.
ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO OPEN STREET
Another attempt to open Griswold Street from Jefferson Avenue to
Larned Street was begun August 2, 1832. The notice stated that the west
side was to be widened forty feet, making the street ninety feet wide. A
jury was called on the 6th of the following month to determine the neces-
sity of widening the street by adding forty feet on the west side between
Jefferson Avenue and Larned Street, the damages to be assessed upon the
property to be benefited by the opening. The same jury was to take action
upon opening the alley running northerly from Larned Street between
Griswold Street and Woodward Avenue.
The verdict of the jury was that for the opening of Griswold Street
Joseph Campau was entitled to $2,160, and nearly half of this sum, or
$1,075, was raised by private subscriptions and the remainder was bor-
rowed on the city’s credit. The subscriptions that had previously been
obtained were used for the purpose of making up the necessary amount
and a new paper was passed around for additional subscriptions. The
second paper has been preserved and it is as follows:
We, the subscribers, agree to advance the sum set opposite our names,
in addition to subscriptions formerly made, for the purpose of aiding to
make up the amount of damages awarded to Joseph Campau for the en-
Iargement of Griswold Street between Larned Street and Jefferson Ave-
nue with the understanding that what further may be made by the
firms of Sharp and Tuttle and Boyd and Suydam of New York is to be
divided equally between each of the subscribers on this paper in propor-
tion to their several subscriptions. Detroit, 26th September, 1832.
F. P. Browning, $35.00. .
John Palmer, $25.00.
Dean and Hurlbut, $15.00.
The Corporation subscribes to this paper upon the terms above stated,
$85. Henry V. Disbrow, John Roberts and John J. Deming were appointed
to tender this sum of money to Mr. Campau and to notify him that he must
remove all obstructions from the street before October 3d. The money
was collected in specie, a difficult commodity to obtain at that time, and
the tender to Campau made, but he refused to accept it, as he had already
appealed the case to a higher court.
The council becoming impatient, ordered the marshal to, at once, sell
the buildings, pickets, stone and other obstructions in Griswold Street
and open the same and repair the sidewalk on the west side. That no
time might be allowed Campau to seek further delay through the courts,
the council directed that this work be done in the afternoon on the day
1056 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
on which the resolution was offered. The orders of the council were car-
ried out and the building on lot 67 cut in two.
Two weeks later another resolution was passed requiring that the
movable material, such as timber, stone and rubbish, be moved from the
street and piled in the alley. The people who had contributed money
to pay Campau asked that their contributions be returned to them. This
was done only upon condition that each contributor should give to the
city an approved indorsed note for the amount of his contribution, pay-
able on demand. -
CAMPAU APPEALS AGAIN , -º-º:
Campau was not idle during this time, but had again appealed to the
court and the proper notice of such action was served on the clerk on
December 5, 1832. The city attorney at this time was Alexander D.
Frazer, but William A. Fletcher and Henry S. Cole were employed to
assist him in the suit in the Supreme Court. The attorneys thus repre-
senting the city were as good as the city contained.
In the Circuit Court the action of the jury was sustained and a new
award by another jury was then called for. Another suit, in the Supreme
Court in Chancery, was begun by Mr. Campau. The bill in this case was
filed March 16, 1833, and in it much of the history of the former litigation
was given.
The first important fact, not already recited concerns the fire of 1831.
At that time Campau had buildings erected on Jefferson Avenue on both
sides of Griswold Street, on lots 4 and 5. The following account of that
fire is taken from the Detroit Journal and Michigan Advertiser of Wed-
nesday, January 19, 1831.
THE FIRE OF 1831
“Another destructive fire”—On Sunday last, about 1 o'clock P. M., a
fire was discovered in the building on the corner of Griswold Street and
Jefferson Avenue belonging to Mr. Joseph Campau and occupied as stores
by Mr. Heartt and Mr. Wendell. When first observed, the part tenanted
by Mr. Heartt was filled with smoke. In twenty minutes the whole build-
ing and the adjoining shop of Messrs. Dean and Hurlbut were destroyed.
The flames spread to the next dwelling house, owned by Henry S. Cole,
Esquire, and rented by the Misses Moon and Doct. Henry, which it con-
Sumed, and also the offices of Messrs. Cole and Porter. It was finally
stayed by the high brick end of Mr. Brown's house.
“During its progress, some live cinders were blown across Jefferson
Avenue and found their way under the dore of Messrs. W. L. Newberry
and Company’s store. The fire communicated to a broom and umbrella
near by and had the discovery been delayed but a few minutes the whole
contents of the store must have been destroyed.
“A Smiliar accident happened to the store of Mr. John Palmer. Had
the fire in either case taken effect the destruction would have been very
extensive. The fire caught in the second story of the building upon a
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1057
beam in which a chimney was built up, into which both stovepipes passed.
Some imputations have been cast upon one of the occupants which are
altogether unwarranted and unjust, and deserve to be met with a stern
and indignant rebuke.
“Mr. Heartt, who had recently opened a hardware store here, has sus-
tained the heaviest loss, about one-half only of the value of his stock
having been insured. He lost all his books, papers, money and clothing.
The Misses Moon have suffered considerably, but it will be easy to re-
place the amount, and we trust this will be done.
“Messrs. Cole and Porter and Doct. Henry, we are happy to know,
saved almost everything movable about their premises, and the office and
the dwelling house owned by Mr. Cole, were insured. The loss of Messrs.
Dean and Hurlbut was considerable as was also that of Mr. John Farmer,
whose property was in the upper story of their shop. Mr. Wendell has
been very unfortunate; he has twice before been burnt out. His goods
in the store were removed, but everything in the cellar and in the second
story was destroyed.
“Mr. Campau had no insurance. It was unfortunate that only one of
the engines could be made to work with effect. The three would have been
well supplied with water, for the line to the river was, nearly the whole
time, well formed and kept and did good service. Very efficient aid was
rendered by several gentlemen who crossed the river on the ice, from the
Canadian shore, for which we would express the general sentiment of
gratitude. The total loss is estimated at $8,000; the amount insured at
$4,000.”
There is no statement, in this account, that the building owned by Mr.
Campau on the northwest corner of Griswold Street and Jefferson Ave-
nue was destroyed in this fire, but in his petition he says that he had a
building on this lot and that it was destroyed by fire, and that the walled
cellar was still intact and he was about to rebuild on it a large and expen-
sive brick building.
He also states that he had a frame dwelling house on lot 67, and that
the city authorities cut the building asunder and drove the tenant into the
street. “His enclosures and other fixtures were razed to the ground and
sold or destroyed, and the section of said house disposed of for the trifling
sum of $25.” The price offered him for his property was entirely
inadequate. He said that he could readily obtain $5,000 for that part
of the lot on Jefferson Avenue which was proposed to be taken and he
had been offered and refused $8,000 for the two parcels and considered
them worth $10,000. For all of this he was only awarded $2,150.
Henry Chipman represented Mr. Campau in this suit. The following
is indorsed upon the bill of complaint:
“In the matter of the within bill of complaint being duly considered, the
injunction prayed for is denied. -
“ROSS WILRINS.
“April 29, 1833.”
This ended the litigation and the city took forcible possession of the
land and opened the street as it has been since maintained.
1058 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Several persons were interested in the opening of the other portions
of Griswold Street, but they were usually settled with without the liti-
gation that was had with Mr. Campau. It took several years, however,
before the street was fully opened. Some of the lands were already owned
by the city and in these cases there were no private owners to be dealt with.
Shortly after the military reservation came to be owned by the city,
it was divided into lots and sold for dwelling purposes. In the Journal of
January 5, 1831, appeared the following:
“City Improvements—We are informed that it is the intention of a
number of our enterprising citizens to commence a building on the lots
recently purchased by them in Griswold and Fort Streets, in the spring.
If the plan which has been spoken of be carried into effect, we shall see,
at the close of another year, a number of handsome stores finished in mod-
ern style, and One or two public buildings on these avenues. The approach
to the Capitol will be greatly improved by the erection of such structures.”
And again, a week later appeared the following:
“Griswold Street—We understand an application will be made to the
Legislature for an appropriation to aid in the opening of this street to
an equal width from the Capitol to Jefferson Avenue. The access to the
Capitol has been so much improved by the opening of the street at the
expense of the city, and will be so much more improved by individual
Operations the next Spring, that we think there is not only good ground
for the present application, but that the granting of it will be but an act
of justice, and for the benefit of the territory.”
Such a petition was presented to the legislative council on the 25th
of January, 1831, by John McDonell, a member of that body. The object
was to obtain a grant to aid in purchasing the Campau property at
Jefferson Avenue. The bill passed to a first reading and was lost sight of.
In the new plan of the Military Reserve, made in 1830, Griswold Street
was laid down as ninety feet wide from Larned to Congress Street.
In that Section lying between Congress and Fort streets, the private
owners were John McDonell, James Abbott and David Cooper. All three
were prominent citizens. McDonell in later years lived on the northwest
corner of Shelby and Fort streets in one of the large buildings that had
been in the old cantonment. His dwelling was torn down to make way
for the Whitney Opera House and that in turn was destroyed to be re-
placed by the present new post office. McDonell held many public offices
in the city and was at One time president of the legislative council.
David Cooper in 1814 owned one of the lots lying directly in the line
of Griswold Street. He also owned lot 20 on the northwest corner of
Congress and Griswold streets. Before Griswold Street was opened he
sold to John Clark. Mr. Cooper's son, the Rev. David M. Cooper, said
that his father lived in Griswold Street. It is very likely that the house
Owned by David Cooper was either built or moved to the west side of
Griswold Street and was later owned and occupied by Barnabas Campau.
Mr. Cooper subsequently built on Michigan Grand Avenue (Cadillac
Square) a fine brick residence, which was converted into the “Central
(Courtesy of Burton Historical Collection)
WHITNEY OPERA HOUSE IN 1876
Northwest corner of Fort and Shelby Streets, Detroit
Site of present Post Office
OLD ABBOTT HOMESTEAD, SOUTHEAST CORNER OF GRISWOLD AND FORT
Built in 1835; torn down in 1881. Now site of the Hammond Building



WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1061
Market,” and was recently taken down to be replaced by the fine store
of Messrs. Gregory, Mayer and Thom. Mr. Cooper died July 27, 1876,
a very wealthy man, aged eighty-six years, and was buried in Elmwood
Cemetery.
There was another lot in the line of Griswold Street owned by Nancy
Geel, wife of Abraham Geel. The title to this land also came into posses-
sion of Mr. James Abbott and from him passed to the city with his other
lands.
James Abbott was at all times a prominent citizen. His father, James
Abbott, was a merchant when Michigan was under British control, and
had remained with his family in Detroit when it passed to the Americans
in 1796. The younger James was a merchant, landowner and local officer.
He was also the postmaster for many years. The older citizens will
remember the brick house in which he lived on the site of the present
Hammond Building. Notice of the letting of the contract for this build-
ing appeared in the Journal, August 26, 1835. It was described as “A
three-story dwelling house, including the basement; forty-four by thirty-
two feet, cellar seven feet slide under the whole.”
In this house Mr. Abbott died in 1858. His family continued to reside
in the same place until a few years since. The house fronted on Griswold
Street and the great brass railings, polished every day until they shone
in the sunlight, attracted the attention of every passerby on the street.
But more of this anon.
It was in 1837 that Griswold Street was finally opened through the
Abbott property. In February, Mr. Abbott agreed to relinquish all claims
for lands taken to open Griswold Street on condition that the alley south
of Fort Street should be changed to conform to the alley on the west side
of Griswold Street. The deed from Mr. Abbott to the city was prepared
by James A. Van Dyke, city attorney, and was accepted March 1, 1837.
CONGRESS STREET STRAIGHTENED
Congress Street was at this time being straightened and graded be-
tween Bates and Randolph streets. It ran through the old French Catholic
burial ground, east of Bates Street and Alexander Chapoton superintended
the removal of the bodies to the new cemetery, now Clinton Park. Mr.
Van Dyke also prepared the proper deed of conveyance from Ste. Anne's
Church to the city for the opening of Congress Street and it was accepted
at the same session of the common council March 1, 1837.
OPEN NORTH OF MICHIGAN AVENUE
Proceedings were begun in 1836 to open Griswold Street north of
Michigan Avenue. The persons interested were John R. Williams, Jona-
than Kearsley and Jonathan O. Howland. Amicable settlements were had
with Williams and Kearsley. Williams was granted the old street lying
west of the present Griswold Street in exchange for his land and he paid
the city $200 in money.
Some trouble was encountered with Howland. The proceedings to take
1062 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
his land was carried through the courts and concluded, but so long a time
elapsed between the date of the award and the tender of the amount of
damages due Howland, that he was justified in refusing to accept it.
Proceedings were then again started to condemn the land. In the
meantime other rights had intervened. John Chamberlain fenced up the
street, claiming to own it, and Major Torry gave notice that he was the
owner of part of it. All of the parties were finally settled with and the
street opened as we now have it.
LOG-WAY UP GRISWOLD STREET
The opening of this street was a necessity. The capitol building was
located on Capitol Square and there was no way of reaching it except
to pass up Woodward Avenue to State Street and then across back from
that avenue along State Street.
Most of the people lived west of Woodward Avenue and it was quite
out of the way to reach the Capitol by the road mentioned. The want of
sidewalks and paved streets in the early days was great, and for Some
years there was a log-way on which people walked up Griswold Street.
In the very wet season of the year this log-way was difficult to walk
over, as the logs, partly floating in the water, would roll over under the feet
of the traveler and he had to make a quick move to gain a firmer foothold.
Gen. Friend Palmer, who came to Detroit in 1827, thus describes Gris-
wold Street as he remembered it:
“Griswold Street from Jefferson Avenue out, had but a very few
buildings on it and none at all beyond the State House, in 1830.
“The dry bed of the Savoyard with its well defined banks, crossed the
street diagonally from Congress Street to the alley by the old post office
building; across it on that side was a small wooden bridge with a hand
rail on either side of it. This same bridge was in evidence when the
Savoyard was a live thing, so I have been told.
“Thomas S. Knapp, the sheriff, lived about the center of the east side
of the block in a cottage surrounded by fruit trees and flowering shrubs.
“On the corner of the alley in the rear of Ives Bank, Edwin Jerome,
Our One-time schoolmaster, had a grocery store, assisted by his brother,
‘Tiff" Jerome. The latter died a few years ago in Saginaw, almost, if
not quite, a millionaire. 3.
“On the corner of Larned Street, where is now the Campau Block,
was an old wooden building with a cupola on top, in which there was a
bell. The bell as used to call together the children who attended the
school kept there by Mr. McKinney and his wife. They kept school there
until the building was sawed in half, and one half with the bell was sold to
John Farmer and moved away. F. and T. Palmer once occupied this
building with their stocks of goods before the completion of their brick
store on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Griswold Street (1821).
“In 1827 there was a short section of cedar pickets standing in Larned
Street, midway betwen Griswold and Shelby streets, the sole remains
of Old Fort Pontchartrain.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1063
“Later on, Peter Desnoyers occupied, until his death, the fine brick
building (where is now the old post office building) which was built by
Francis P. Browning. His office was in a small wooden building adjoin-
ing on Larned Street. Here he also had the remnant of his old stock of
goods from his Jefferson Avenue store. Uncle Peter was a genial gentle-
man, fond of a joke and a good anecdote. Mr. Desnoyers built two other
houses on this lot on Griswold Street. Doctor Terry occupied one of them
and Doctor Farnsworth the other.
“Henry V. Disbrow had a house a little farther along on Griswold
Street and Lewis Goddard, at a later time, built a small brick residence
on the southwest corner of Congress Street.
“Goddard kept a store on the southeast corner of Jefferson Avenue and
Griswold Street in 1832. He died in 18—. After his death Barnabas
Campau occupied the house until his fine new residence on Woodward
Avenue between State Street and Grand River Avenue was completed.
“Farther up Griswold Street on the south side of the present Moffat
131ock, James Williams lived in a fine brick building and on the upper
end of the block, on the corner of Fort Street, John Palmer in 1829 built
a grand brick residence.
“Across the street James Abbott had forty or fifty hives of bees in
the rear of his house.”
Thus far we have examined the records regarding the opening of the
street. Now we will return to Jefferson Avenue and note the changes
in the buildings and see who were the occupants.
The new wooden building on the northeast corner of Jefferson Avenue
and Griswold Street erected in 1831 after the fire in January of that
year was occupied by T. Dwight and Company. This was later occupied
as a book store and bindery by A. H. Stowell. On May 14, 1834, Alex-
ander Hamilton Stowell and George Ricks Griswold formed a partnership
to carry on the book business at this place, but the partnership lasted
only until July 29, of the same year, when it was dissolved and Mr.
Stowell carried on the business alone. At one time Mr. Stowell had as a
partner Sidney L. Rood, and they had a bindery on the second floor. Mr.
Stowell for a long time lived on the same street near Grand River Avenue,
where the Y. M. C. A. Building was erected later.
The Journal of February 25, 1833, contained the announcement that
the firm of Dean and Hurlbut (Jerry Dean and Chauncey Hurlbut) was
dissolved and that Jerry Dean would continue the business of selling sad-
dles, harness and leather goods “at the old stand, corner of Griswold
Street and Jefferson Avenue.”
In 1845, and possibly at an earlier date, Robert Banks, a colored man,
had a clothing store in this building.
Just north of Banks’ store was a small one-story building with roof
sloping to the street, which Mr. Campau leased April 14, 1837, to Thomas
Stokes Mason, and William Stokes, Jr., confectioners, for three years.
The house was one and one-half stories high and one of the conditions of
the lease was that the tenants should improve the property by making
1064 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
two openings in the front of the building on Griswold Street and put in
two good sash and panelled double doors with panes of glass, 11 by 16
inches and make and finish off in good style a store with good counters
and shelves all around the room and put drawers under the counter and
take down the chimney and rebuild it in some other place so as to take
up less room. They were to lathe and plaster the interior and clapboard
the front of the house. “The store is to be finished in the same style as
one belonging to said Joseph Campau now let to D. J. Campau and at
present occupied by H. A. Nagle, Confectioner.” This building was at
one time occupied by Daniel Horan. After this lease expired the build-
ing was, for a time, occupied by Pat. Collins.
Between the above building and the alley was a space fifteen feet
front on Griswold Street by thirty-seven feet in depth. Patrick Hollan
had a lease on this for ten years from September 4, 1837. In 1845 Orrin
Warriner, a tailor and dyer had a shop here. He advertised that he
“dyed to live.”
John S. Bagg, Asahel Smith Bagg and John H. Harmon next rented
the entire lot from Mr. Campau for thirty years from April 30, 1849, for
$30,000, or $1,000 per year. They agreed to remove the buildings then
On the lot and erected a four story brick building thereon in 1849 and
1850.
“Just as the new owners of the buildings were planning to tear down
or remove the buildings a fire (fortunately or unfortunately) accom-
plished the work for them. In the early morning of March 28, 1850, a
fire broke out in the building occupied by P. Collins as an eating saloon
and consumed the entire block of wooden buildings on the northeast cor-
ner of Jefferson Avenue and Griswold Street. The buildings east of the
corner buildings of Bagg and Harmon were owned by Charles and John
Piquette. They were occupied by R. Marsh, jeweler, and Doctor Mott,
druggist. Bates and Henderson, tailors, and Roe and Company, oyster
depot, were also in this building. The next store had formerly been oc-
cupied by James A. Cargill as an auction store, but at the time of the fire
the store was vacant. Next along Jefferson Avenue came L. Rankin’s
shoe store and Robert Bank’s clothing store.”
Messrs. Bagg and Harmon, lessees of the now vacant corner of Gris-
wold Street and Jefferson Avenue were the proprietors of the Free Press
and it was in the building that was soon erected on this site that the paper
was removed when the building was completed. John Atkinson, painter,
had his shop next door north of the Free Press. The occupants of parts
of the building have been too numerous to chronicle, since this building
was first used. This building was taken down in 1917 and a hotel
(Norton House) erected on the site.
The present Equity Building occupies two lots, 64 and 65, extending
from the alley north of Jefferson Avenue to Larned Street. The history
of the title has been already recited. There were several buildings on
these lots. The southerly building, next to the alley, was used for a
paint shop by William Skell. The next building was used by James Doo-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1065
little, a baker, and subsequently by David S. Osborn, also a baker. From
this point to Larned Street and thence easterly along Larned Street to
the alley next to Woodward Avenue there was a row of small log houses
Occupied at various times by Mathew Oliver, plasterer, William Con-
nerton, Charles Bartley, and others.
THE CITY HALL USED AS A THEATRE
John S. Potter was conducting a theatre in the building at the south-
east corner of Gratiot and Farrar Street, the old Methodist Church, when
that building burned in 1849. After the fire he tried to obtain the right
to occupy the city hall with his theatre but his application was denied.
He proposed to A. S. Bagg to erect a building for a theatre on the site
of the present Equity Building and the buildings on the south side of the
lot that had been occupied by Osborn and Skell were torn down.
They began the excavations for the new theatre and had progressed
a little way when Potter got entangled in debt and ran away. The new
building was abandoned. The hole filled with water and as there was no
way for it to run off, there was soon a small lake that the boys paddled
in and floated logs and pieces of wood. After a time the common council
notified Bagg to abate the nuisance and a way was made for the water
to escape into the sewer at Woodward Avenue. That ended the boys’
fun along that line. Where the buildings were torn down, a row of one-
story brick buildings was erected.
On the corner of the alley William Clear had a billiard room. Clear
had formerly been located on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Shelby
Street. William Lambert, tailor and clothes cleaner, was also in this
building, which was called “Bagg’s Block.” On the corner of Griswold
and Larned Streets, James Westaway had a copper and tin works. This
was probably the first tin manufactory in the northwest. About 1851 or
1852, John McLeod and A. S. Bagg tore down all the buildings on this
site and erected the Rotunda Building.
John S. Newberry, a member of Congress and James McMillan,
United States Senator, purchased the property and erected the present
building. It was first called after their names and subsequently was
called the Newberry Building. It was in the fourth floor of this building
that the Bell Telephone was located for several years. A few years ago
Edward W. Voigt took the property in settlement of a long controversy
over the ownership of the interurban car line extending to Farmington.
A large amount of property owned by Mr. Voigt was lost in the enter-
prise, but he accepted this building as a settlement of all controversies
and considering it as his equity in the transaction, he gave the building
that name, “Equity.”
On the northwest corner of Griswold Street and Jefferson Avenue
was a two-story frame building, on a stone foundation, having a base-
ment that was used for a saloon or refreshment rooms. These places
were frequently called “retreats” or “shades” in the early day.
This was the second building on the lot and was erected after the
1066 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
street was opened. In 1837, John B. Piquette had a store at 97 Jefferson
Avenue, probably this lot. He was a jeweler and manufacturer of gold
pens. Around the corner on Griswold Street (No. 29), Sidney L. Rood
had a book bindery. Edwards Brooks was also at this place upstairs.
He is put down as a land agent and was a famous auctioneer. At the
next number (31), George M. Bull had his law office. He was one of the
first lawyers to have an office on the street above Jefferson Avenue.
General Friend Palmer says that his father occupied a store on the
Southwest corner of Larned and Griswold streets, with a stock of goods,
in 1821. This was the building that occupied a portion of the present
street and was cut in two by the city marshal. The buildings had been
used as a schoolhouse and it had on it a bell which was sold at auction to
John Farmer. Mr. Farmer was a school teacher and had a private school
on Bates Street, at the intersection of Farmer Street. After the Campau
Building was cut in two it seems to have been allowed to fall into disuse,
as no mention of any occupant on that lot is made in the directory of 1837.
In 1846, Mr. William Carson, Sr., who was born in Ireland, came to
New York City and there met Mr. John B. Piquette. The latter per-
suaded Carson to come to Detroit and open a restaurant at the corner of
Jefferson Avenue and Griswold Street, beneath his jewelry store. Mr.
Carson and his family lived in the building known as “Cobweb Hall” but
conducted business in the Piquette Building until 1851 or about that time.
It was called the “American Coffee House.” The “Piquette” Jewelry
Store remained on the ground floor, but in 1850 and 1851 was under the
management of Charles Piquette.
In 1851, William Ives, Caleb Ives and Stephen H. Ives, obtained a
lease of the entire lot and a small part of the lot adjoining on the west,
from Joseph Campau, for a period of twenty-eight and one-third years
for a total rental of $15,916.66. The lessees were within one year to
build a brick building on the entire lot, to have one store on Jefferson
Avenue and two stores on Griswold Street. The present building was
erected that year under the terms of the lease.
In 1850, S. H. Ives and Company, exchange brokers, were at 98 Jeffer-
son Avenue. This was the door next west of the corner.
Albert Ives was then carrying on a grocery on the south side of
Jefferson Avenue, between Cass and First streets.
In 1852, S. H. Ives and Company had moved to 151 Jefferson Avenue
in the new building and Albert Ives of the firm of Ives and Tomlinson,
was making soap and candles on the South side of Atwater Street near
Bates Street. Albert Ives was born in Wallingford, Connecticut, Sep-
tember 26, 1810, and came to Detroit in 1837. He was engaged in var-
ious pursuits in this city. The banking business with which he was con-
nected was started in 1847 by S. H. Ives and Company, composed of
Stephen H. Ives, a cousin and Caleb Ives, a brother of Albert Ives.
In 1854, S. H. Ives retired and Albert Ives assumed his place in the
new firm of C. and A. Ives. In 1864 Caleb Ives withdrew and the firm
name was changed to A. Ives and Son, the new partner being Albert
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1067
Ives, Jr. Within a short time another son (Butler) was admitted and
the firm name was changed to A. Ives and Sons.
The banking firm of “A. Ives and Sons” bore an enviable reputation
for many years and it was on this corner that they remained until the
final failure a few years ago.
Albert Ives had grown old in the work and had been compelled to re-
tire from old age. It was then the business declined. The business
enterprise and the life of Mr. Ives went out together. It was stated,
at the time of his death, that he knew nothing of the failure of the bank,
supposing that he left a propserous business behind him.
Lewis H. Ives, portrait painter, had a studio in the third floor over
151 Jefferson Avenue.
The north half of the lot before the Ives Building was erected was
Occupied by a one-story building in which was a shoe shop run by a man
named Lee. Edwin Jerome had a grocery store here at a later period.
Mullen and Hanley (Edward Mullen and John Hanley) opened a tailor-
ing establishment just north of Jefferson Avenue on Griswold Street
in 1846.
John and G. D. Gregory had a saloon the first door above Jefferson
Avenue in 1852–3. This was a two-story building and the Detroit Fire
and Marine Insurance Company had their offices in the second story.
This insurance company is not the same company as the present Detroit
Fire and Marine Insurance Company. It was incorporated.
Directly across the street was the Detroit Free Press.
The second store on the west side was occupied by the dry goods store
of H. S. Belcher.
The next is the alley and across the alley on the north side John
Snooks had a “furniture warehouse.” The Snooks Building was torn down
by John W. Daley (afterwards city marshal), who put up another two-
story frame building in its place.
Albert Ladsberg had a lease of the property from 1863 to 1867. He
had the “New York House of Refreshments” at 51 Griswold Street in
1855.
In later years this was occupied by George W. Pattison as a second-
hand book store. Pattison was a printer, editor and newspaper man.
He was well read and somewhat eccentric. I think he lived in Grand
Rapids before he came to Detroit. His father was a minister. In more
recent years Pattison’s book store was on the south side of Michigan
Avenue, west of Griswold Street.
Next to Pattison’s book store was a vacant lot frequently used by
Osborn for his wood pile. Mr. Campau leased this at one time to Charles
Tryon; Counselor Tryon he was frequently called. His lease was for
ten years from April 10, 1848, but he only kept the property till 1853.
John L. Whiting and Charles S. Adams were the next lessees, but it is
probable that these parties built on the lot, for Whiting and Adams oc-
cupied the upstairs over No. 53 Griswold Street in 1855. It was a brick
1068 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
building. Lansing (Edward A.) and Anderson next occupied it for an
insurance office.
Just north of this was the “City Bakery” kept by David S. Osborn,
and a famous bakery it was. Even now some of the older residents recall
the good things purchased at this corner. In another place will be found
a description of the building that was on this corner before Osborn built,
which was cut in two by the city authorities. Mr. Osborn had occupied
a store on the east side of Griswold Street, nearly opposite, but moved
across in 1847 to the west side. He lived over the bakery on the west
side.
Joshua Buffum owned the bakery in 1859.
In 1857 it became known that the new post office building would be
located on Griswold Street, and Mr. James A. Roys, who was then keep-
ing a news depot and book store in the Mariner’s Church on Woodward
Avenue, endeavored to get a place on Griswold Street as near as possible
to the post office.
The post office was located in the Mariner's Church until the Griswold
Street building was completed. Mr. Roys purchased the lease of the
building on the southwest corner of Griswold and Larned streets, paying
a bonus of $600, an enormous price at that time, for the property. His
lease ran for five years from March 1, 1857, but he did not move into the
building until April 21, 1860. The notice of his purchase of the Buffum
lease appeared in the Tribune of November 11, 1859.
Tribune, November 11, 1859:
“Sale of a lease. The lease for two years and a half of the two-story
house and lot, formerly occupied by J. Buffum, baker, at the corner of
Griswold and Larned streets, was yesterday sold at auction for $600 cash.
J. A. Roys was the purchaser. When the post office is removed to its new
Quarters, we presume Mr. R. intends to remove his News and Periodical
Depot to this eligible location.”
He remained there until the building was torn down.
On the north side of Larned Street we first meet the lots known as
the Military Reserve. In the first plan of the reserve, the lots on the
northwest corner of Larned and Griswold streets were numbered 18, 19
and 20, fronting each fifty feet on the north side of Larned Street.
Griswold Street was only fifty feet wide. When it was decided to make
the latter street ninety feet wide, a new plan was laid out and the lots
were made to face on Griswold Street and was numbered 1, 2 and 3. This
is where the old post office, or Federal Building, is now located.
These lots were at one time designated as a site for the City Hall, but
as that plan was not carried out, they were offered to the Methodist
Church Society in exchange for their Farrar Street property. The prop-
osition was submitted to the mayor (John Biddle) and aldermen, Peter
J. Desnoyers and Jerry Dean, as a committee of the council, but the trade
could not be carried through and the lots were then sold to Francis P.
Browning.
Mr. Browning was one of the most enterprising merchants and promi-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1069
ment citizens of the place. It was he who had applied for the donation
lot for the Baptist Church in 1828 and he was one of the leading members
of that church organization.
Mr. Browning erected a fine two-story brick building on the lots now
Occupied by the customs house, and occupied it for a short time.
During the year 1833 he advertised the property for sale but found
no purchaser. Mr. Browning's advertisement for the sale of his prop-
erty appeared in the Contrier of April 17, 1833, as follows: “The new
two-story brick house on the corner of Griswold and Larned streets, to-
gether with the lot on which it stands, and the lot and the building on
Larned Street. These will be sold separately or together as may be de-
sired. The property is in a perfectly finished state, with pavements,
etc.” He died of cholera in the summer of 1834 and in order to close up
the estate in the Probate Court the property was sold to Peter J. Des-
noyers in 1835.
Gen. Friend Palmer in writing of this house and its owner says:
“This fine mansion was built by Mr. Browning for his own use. He was
a merchant well known here many years for the philanthropy and the
zeal with which he supported his political opinions. He was also the
head and front of the Baptist Church here, and he was, besides, an abo-
litionist of the most radical stamp. Mr. Desnoyers' house was the center
of attraction for many of our most refined citizens. The elegant old
fashioned furniture and plate, costly wines and luxurious tables were
suggestive of wealth, good taste and pleasant associations.”
Mr. Desnoyers had previously been in the dry goods business on Jef-
ferson Avenue and wishing to retire, he sold everything he could from
the store and placed the remainder in a small building annexed to his
house facing on Larned Street. Here he disposed of what he had as
parties called for it, but he did not keep a general store. He died sud-
denly in this house June 3, 1846, at the age of seventy-four years. He
had erected two other houses on the lots, both fronting on Griswold Street.
Edward A. Lansing (of Lansing and Thurber, insurance agents)
lived in the first house in 1852.
Dr. A. T. Terry lived and had his office in the second house in 1852.
After the death of Mr. Desnoyers the property was occupied by mem-
bers of his family for some years.
One of his daughters (Victoire) was the wife of Henry S. Cole, a bril-
liant lawyer and noted wit of his time. He died too early for the good of
the city, but he left a name that will always be recalled with our early
history. Another daughter, Elizabeth, became the wife of James A. Van
Dyke who was a brilliant lawyer and politician. He was later mayor of
the city. His name is familiar to us today through his children and
grandchildren. The names of his three sons are well known to us; Rev.
Ernest Van Dyke of St. Aloysius and the late George W. Van Dyke and
Philip J. D. Van Dyke, a prominent lawyer. -
In the partition of the Desnoyers' Estate this property was set off to
his daughter, Miss Josephine S. Desnoyers, afterwards Mrs. Henry Bar-
1070 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
nard, and she sold it to the Government for a post office November 13,
1855, for $24,000.
Ground was broken for the post office in August, 1857, the cornerstone
of the building was laid May 18, 1858, by ex-Governor William M. Fenton,
grand master of Grand Lodge, F. and A. M. The roof was put on in May,
1859, and the building was first opened for business at noon, January 30,
1860. Henry N. Walker was the postmaster. The building cost $162,800,
not including the site. The architect was A. H. Jordan. In construction
it is one of the most solid in the city.
The postmasters who officiated in this building were Henry N. Walker,
Alexander W. Buel, William A. Howard, Henry Barns, Frederick W. Swift,
John H. Kaple, George C. Codd, Alexander W. Copland, John J. Enright,
Ellwood T. Hance.
Across the alley north of the post office was a dwelling owned and
occupied by Dr. Benjamin S. Farnsworth, who had his dental office in the
same building. The property was purchased by Frederick and John Henry
Seitz and the following copied from the Tribune of March 2, 1860, shows
the next step with this parcel: “Within the past week the brothers Seitz,
the well known and popular head clerks in the post office, have purchased
the double house and lot next north of the post office, recently occupied by
Doctor Farnsworth, dentist, for $300 per foot on twelve years time. The
lot is 40 by 110 feet. They intended immediately to erect a handsome three-
story brick block on the lot to be used for stores on the first floor and
offices above, to be completed by midsummer. Property on Griswold Street
and Woodward Avenue has taken enormous rise during the past year, at
the expense of Jefferson Avenue. It now affords the most profitable in-
vestment in the city.”
The building erected by the Seitz Brothers was four stories in height.
Before the building was begun it was determined that Griswold Street
was better fitted for financial institutions than for stores, and the new
buildings were put up for banks and insurance offices.
Alexander H. Dey occupied the first building. His private bank soon
became the American National Bank and this bank occupied the place for
many years. The American National Bank was organized in 1865 and
entered into business in July of that year at 73 Griswold Street. The
officers were: President, Alexander H. Dey; vice president, Lorenzo M.
Mason; cashier, George B. Sartwell; other directors, Jacob S. Farrand,
Edward Kanter, Eber B. Ward, Charles Root, Martin S. Smith, Franklin
Moore and John J. Bagley.
Frederick L. Seitz and Brother (owners of the building) had a private
bank in the other part of the Griswold Street front. They prospered dur-
ing the war but eventually failed in the hard times of 1873. Their offices
were then taken by Archibald Lindsay for an insurance office. The office
later became the Lindsay-Brown Company, Mr. B. Ross Brown being the
second member of the firm.
On the upper half of the lot, between the Seitz Building and Congress
Street was a large two or three story frame building. It had two full
(Courtesy of Burton Historical Collection)
OLD POST OFFICE AND U. S. CUSTOM HOUSE,
DETROIT

WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1073
stories and a large attic which, before its destruction, was used as a gym-
nasium. It is owned by Henry C. and Porter Kibbee, but the building had
become so old and dilapidated that it was difficult to lease it to permanent
tenants. Joseph Kuhn, justice of the peace, had an office here at one time,
as also did James D. Weir, one-time judge of Probate.
In February, 1860, Christian H. Buhl purchased the property of Mr.
Kibbee for $334 per foot. It was 80 feet front on Griswold Street by
110 feet deep.
Henry V. Disbrow put up a building near the southwest corner of
Congress and Griswold streets. The building was probably not exactly at
the corner, for, from other evidences, it appears that the Kibbee Building
was erected on the corner. There was a mortgage on the Disbrow prop-
erty on which default had been made and the mortgagee, David J. Boyd,
was forclosing it. The amount due was $1,512.82, August 15, 1835.
The owner of the house was quite anxious to dispose of it and adver-
tised it for sale. The notice of sale appeared in the Journal, July 29, 1835,
as follows: “Lots 5 and 6 in section two of the City of Detroit being on
the corner of Griswold and Congress streets, together with the improve-
ments thereon, which consist of one two-story building well finished, and
built in 1829 or 1830. The building is 23 by 30 feet and kitchen attached,
16 by 18 feet, and other necessary out-buildings with a great variety of
choice fruit trees and shrubbery. This is one of the most desirable pieces
of property in the city, either for a man of business or leisure, being on
the street leading from Jefferson Avenue to the Capitol, and within three
minutes walk of the center of business.”
Behind the Disbrow lot was another parcel of land that the Seitz
Brothers bought, making their lot an L shape. On this back parcel was a
large frame house, called the John Hale House, that was moved up Jeffer-
son Avenue. The entire Seitz property was afterwards sold to Mr. C. H.
Buhl.
On the north side of Congress Street was the dwelling of David Cooper
mentioned above. This was purchased by Barnabas Campau and here in
1837, he was living with his family, including his two sons, John Barna-
bas Campau and Alexander Macomb Campau. The property remained in
his family until it was recently sold to Mr. J. B. Ford.
John Barnabas Campau married Miss Alexandrine M. Sheldon. She
was a beautiful woman and lovely character. They went to live in a fine
brick dwelling on the west side of Woodward Avenue about halfway be-
tween State Street and Grand River Avenue. December 16, 1859, John
Barnabas Campau mysteriously disappeared and a few days later his body
was found in the river at the foot of Bates Street. Three men were ar-
rested, charged with making way with him but they were released with-
out trial as it was decided that Mr. Campau was accidentally drowned.
Some years later, his widow married Richard Storrs Willis and they have
both passed from among the living quite recently.
Alexander Macomb Campau has gone from us so short a time that we
have not ceased to miss him. He was a courtly and affable gentleman, al-
1074 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
ways interesting and attentive in conversation. He lived to a great age and
is affectionately remembered by a host of friends.
On the site of the Campau home on the corner of Griswold and Congress
streets, there was erected about 1852 a two-story and basement brick
office building. This was owned by Albert Crane and William B. Wesson
(Crane and Wesson), lawyers and real estate dealers. When Chicago
began to show its wonderful growth, Mr. Crane moved to that city and
Mr. Wesson became the owner of the building. As originally planned,
there was not a large basement to this building, but when it was proposed
to make an office under it the entire building was raised several feet and
new banking rooms made a little below the grade of the street. It was the
first brick building moved in the city. It was in the basement of this
building that the Wayne County Savings Bank was born in 1871. Mr.
Wesson was the president of the bank and one of the largest—if not the
largest—real estate dealer in the city. He had his office on the first floor
above the bank and here he remained until the building now occupied by
the Federal Reserve Bank on Congress Street, was erected. The first
officers of the Wayne County Savings Bank were: William B. Wesson,
president; Dr. Herman Kiefer, vice president, and S. Dow Elwood, secre-
tary and treasurer.
Just above this building, farther up Griswold Street, was a fireproof
brick structure erected by George S. Frost and Charles Noble for the St.
Mary’s Ship Canal Company. After the affairs of the Canal Company
were wound up, or placed in such a situation that no office building was
needed in the city, the buildings were rented for real estate and law offices.
Mr. George W. Thayer, who recently died in Grand Rapids, for many
years had an office in the Second floor, the same office subsequently for
many years occupied by Mr. James H. Pound.
Julius H. Stoll, a son of Police Justice Julius Stoll, Jonathan Thomp-
son and others had offices on the first floor.
Between this building and the alley next north was a lot belonging at
one time, to Mr. James Williams. It was used for garden purposes by
Mr. Williams, but he had on it a barn or frame building in which he sold
oats, bran and hay.
After Mr. Williams Sold the property there was put up a row of one-
story brick stores occupied by various people. There was a drug store in
the South apartment for Some years owned by Johnson and Wheeler.
In the upper store Isaac Flowers had a restaurant. Flowers was a
colored man, but very white. -
Across the alley were the lots now covered by the Moffat Building.
The South part was owned by James Williams and he had a large elegant
dwelling in which he lived and in which his family lived after his death.
He left a widow and four daughters. Elizabeth, Cornelia, Harriet E.
(Lugenbeel) and Mary E. (Buckley). Mr. Williams paid $331 for the lot
in 1829 and his family sold it to Mr. Hugh Moffat in 1869 for $20,000.
On the upper part of the lots was a fine square brick building erected
in 1829 in which John Palmer lived. This was also sold to Mr. Moffat
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1075
and was torn down to make way for the present Moffat Building. Mr.
Palmer paid $1,054.84 for the three lots in 1827 and sold them for $60,000
in 1869.
Hugh Moffat was born in Scotland in 1810 and came to Detroit in his
twenty-seventh year. As a contractor and builder he erected many of the
largest and best of the buildings of his day. He was a typical Scotchman,
determined in his character and set in his ways. His honesty was beyond
question and when the city was casting about for some one with strength
of character to withstand the leeches that were trying to engulf the city
in unnecessary debt, in 1871, he was chosen as the mayor. He did just
what he was elected to do. Schemes were maturing for the bonding of
the city for a large amount for public improvements and for the pur-
chase of a great park outside of the city and along the river bank. It was
only by reason of his stubbornness, and refusal to comply with the dic-
tates of the party in power, that he saved the city from great debt and
possibly bankruptcy. He died in 1884 leaving three daughters and one
son. His second wife was a sister of Sen. T. W. Palmer.
In connection with the administration of Mr. Moffat, and also closely
connected with the romantic history of Griswold Street, was an episode
that took place in 1871 and 1872. This was the riot that caused the estab-
lishment of the Board of Estimates.
CITIZENS’ MEETINGS AND BOARD OF ESTIMATES
The meeting of the citizens en masse for the purpose of fixing the
budget for the tax roll was instituted with the beginning of the city gov-
ernment and grew with the city. It was indiscriminately referred to as the
Citizens’ Meeting or Meeting of the Freemen. -
The first charter of Detroit, passed in 1802, provided that “The free-
holders, householders and residents, shall, at their annual meeting have
the power to vote such sums of money as a majority of the voters present
deem proper, to maintain the public expenses for the ensuing year.”
There was no provision in the charter for calling extra or special meet-
ings of the citizens for extraordinary events. Voters were designated as
freeholders, or householders paying an annual rent of forty dollars, and
such other persons as might be admitted to the freedom of the town by
a vote of the citizens.
In the charter of 1806, Detroit is designated as a city. The city was to
be governed by a mayor appointed by the governor and by a council con-
sisting of two houses, with three members in each house. The members of
the council were to be elected annually. The council, with the approval of
the mayor, could “lay and collect taxes and pass all laws necessary to give
effect and operation to their powers.”
The charter of 1806 did not work satisfactorily and it was repealed
after a trial of three years. In 1809 the governor and judges, the legisla-
tive body of the Territory of Michigan, assumed control of the affairs of
the city as well as of the territory and maintained this control until after
the War Of 1812.
1076 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
In 1815 another charter was given to the city which was practically a
reenactment of the 1802 charter.
Again it was provided that the “freeholders, householders and resi-
dents” of the city should at their annual meeting fix the tax budget for
the ensuing year.
In 1824 another charter was granted to the city. In this charter the
office of mayor was, for the first time, made elective and the council of five
aldermen was also elective.
The recorder, who could act as mayor on certain occasions, was to be
appointed by the council. The official name of the city corporation was
“The mayor, recorder, aldermen and freemen of the City of Detroit.”
The mayor or recorder, with the consent of any two of the aldermen,
could call a meeting of the freemen of the city, “and the mayor, recorder,
aldermen and freemen, when so convened pursuant to notice, shall from
time to time have power to direct by a majority of the votes present, the
levy of a tax on the real and personal estate of all the freemen within” the
city. This tax, however, could never exceed one-fourth of one percent on
the real and personal estate.
The meeting of the freemen was to be called by the mayor or recorder
whenever he was requested so to do by a petition signed by twenty-four of
the freemen.
In 1827 it was provided that the mayor, recorder and aldermen should
be called the Common Council, and should have authority to prescribe “the
manner of warning the meetings of the freemen of the city, and the Com-
mon Council thereof, and the time and place where they shall be holden.”
The right or duty of calling the meeting of the freemen was not, however,
changed from the provision in the charter of 1824.
A slight change was made in 1833, in the method of making the tax
budget. The freemen being called together were to consent to the levy of
an annual tax, not to exceed one-fourth of one percent of the value of the
property in the city, and thereupon the council could levy the tax so
approved. There was no provision in any of these acts, that the citizens
or freemen could pass upon the various items that were included in the
tax levy.
The proper course to be pursued was probably so well understood that
it was not thought necessary to specify the method in the charter.
In 1835 an act of the Legislative Council was passed authorizing the
city to borrow $50,000, provided the freemen, in a public meeting as-
Sembled, should authorize such a loan. Before this time the Common
Council was authorized to issue bills of the city to an amount not exceed-
ing $5,000, for current expenses, without calling upon the freemen for
their approval.
In 1841 the tax limit was raised to one-half of one per cent. The school
tax was fixed, by the act of 1841 at $1 for each child in the city between
the ages of five and seventeen years. This tax was compulsory and was
not submitted to the freemen for their approval. The council was also
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1077
authorized to levy a poll tax of $1 on each person, whenever such tax was
authorized by a vote of the qualified electors of the city.
In 1857 a radical change was made in the process of fixing the tax
budget. The act of that year, which was an extensive revision of the city
charter, provided that the tax levy should be composed of thirteen funds,
General, Contingent, Interest, Sinking, Fire Department, Poor, General
Road, District Road, Sewer, Street Opening, Street Paving, Public Build-
ing and Recorders Court Funds and such other as the Council might con-
stitute. Before any taxes could be levied for the General Fund, Con-
tingent Fund, General Road Fund, Street Opening Fund, District Road
Fund, Fire Department Fund, Poor Fund, Sewer Fund and Recorders
Court Fund, the estimate of the amount was to be made by the city con-
troller and submitted to the Council. After this estimate was revised by
the Council, that body should direct the mayor to call a meeting of the
citizens to whom the estimates must be submitted. The citizens’ meeting,
so-called, could approve the estimate in whole or in part or could reject
the same altogether, or could increase the amounts if thought proper.
If the estimate was entirely rejected the Council could call a second
meeting of the citizens to approve it. There was no provision for calling
another meeting if the estimate was not approved at the second meeting.
If a portion of the estimate, only, was approved, that portion could be
placed upon the assessment rolls. Nothing is here said about school taxes,
but elsewhere in the charter was the provision for raising money for that
purpose and it was provided that the tax should not exceed $2 for every
child between the ages of four and eighteen years, and that “the tax shall
be collected in the same manner as the moneys raised to defray the general
expenses of this city.” Inasmuch as the amount of the tax was fixed, de-
pending only on the census to determine the number of children in the
city, it is probable that there was no necessity for submitting the matter
at a citizens’ meeting. There was a provision enacted in 1847 that the
Council could levy a tax of not more than $1,500 a year, for the purchase
of school lots and the erection of school buildings. This amount could
not be levied unless approved at a meeting of freemen, called for that
purpose. This sum was increased from $1,500 to $20,000 by the act of
March 7, 1861.
In 1865 another change was made in the method of collecting school
taxes. The entire school tax budget, originating in the board of education,
should be sent to the Council and placed in the city tax budget. The Coun-
cil could not refuse to accept and levy the amount as fixed by a board of
education unless the amount asked for exceeded $3 per child in the school
census. If the amount exceeded the $3, the excess only was to be submitted
to the approval of the freemen or citizens’ meeting.
In 1870 the population of the city had reached about 80,000. There
were, then, about 16,000 tax payers and voters in the place. It would have
been an impossibility to gather in one assembly that number of people who
could intelligently have discussed and passed upon the city’s estimates.
Practically the meetings, though public, were attended by only a very
1078 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
few of the citizens, the remainder being either willing to let the few man-
age the affair, or being well assured that they could have little voice if they
attended.
Of course, there were diverging opinions about the amounts to be an-
nually levied, but no great excitement at any time brought any great num-
ber of voters to these meetings.
The abolition of the citizens’ meetings and the substitute of the board
of estimates grew out of an effort of some of the citizens to buy a large
tract of land on the river front, about the location of the present Van Dyke
Avenue, which was then outside the city limits, for a public park.
The park plan was discussed and agitated in 1871, and an act of the
Legislature obtained for the appointment of park commissioners. The
commissioners were authorized to purchase a park to cost not to exceed
$200,000 and the city could raise the money by an issue of bonds.
It was provided that the bond issue should be first approved at a
citizens’ meeting to be called for that purpose. In November, 1871, the
park commissioners notified the Council that they had located a site for
the park. The Council approved the location and directed that $200,000 in
bonds be issued to pay for the land, and directed the calling of a citizens’
meeting to take action on the bond issue. -
The mayor, William W. Wheaton, vetoed the resolution of the Council
on December 12, 1871. He based his reasons for his veto upon the uncon-
stitutionality of the Park Board Act.
The resolution having been returned to the Council with the mayor’s
veto, was passed over the veto on December 19th. The citizens’ meeting
was called to meet in the Circuit Court room in the then new City Hall on
the 27th of December, 1871. The circuit judge was Jared Patchin and he
was holding court at the hour set for the meeting. He was aware of the
approaching meeting and, it seems, resented the proposal to occupy his
room, for he gave notice that any one who disturbed the court proceedings
would be summarily arrested. Mr. George V. N. Lothrop, then a leading
member of the bar, went to the platform where Judge Patchin was pre-
siding and Spoke a few words to him. The judge immediately left the
bench and the court-room, without adjourning the court, remarking that
the court would remain open. Mr. Lothrop then moved that Alanson
Sheley be appointed presiding officer. Elijah W. Meddaugh was, at the
same time, chosen secretary. Mr. Lothrop then read or undertook to read,
a resolution authorizing the bond issue passed by the Council. There was
much confusion and noise and even the officers on the occasion were unable
to understand what was going on, or whether the resolution offered by
Mr. Lothrop was voted on or whether those present understood it. Mr.
Meddaugh said that he did not know whether any vote was taken, but the
president, Mr. Sheley, said that the motion was carried and he so re-
corded it.
During this great confusion the mayor, Mr. Wheaton, entered the
room with a number of persons. He proceeded to the platform and oc-
cupied it jointly with Mr. Sheley.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1079
To add to the confusion the mayor requested Henry Starkey to read
aloud the call for the meeting. Mr. Thomas W. Palmer moved that Mr.
Wheaton act as chairman and Mr. Luther Beecher moved that Henry
Starkey act as secretary. Both motions were declared carried and then Mr.
A. Smith Bagg moved that the meeting adjourn to the Woodward Avenue
front of the City Hall. This also was carried and a part of the body left
the court-room while the others remained and perfected their work under
Mr. Sheley.
The detachment that went to the front of the City Hall sent an official
report of their proceedings to the Council, having unanimously voted
against the bonding proposition, while the others sent a report in favor of
the bond issue. Both reports having been laid before the Council were
referred to the committee on ways and means. Here again there was a
division and two reports were handed in. The minority report was made
by James A. Allison. In summing up his report he says:
“In view of the turbulent and boisterous character of the citizens’
meeting, and the opportunity that it affords interested parties to secure
the attendance at such meetings of the friends of their measure, or for the
appropriation of money for a certain purpose, it must be apparent to all
tax payers that with the rapid growth of the city, some other and more
practicable method must be devised for obtaining an expression of the will
of the people on all questions of expenditure. I would, therefore, recom-
mend that the Council, at its earliest opportunity, take the matter into
consideration, and apply to the Legislature for such changes in our city
charter as may be deemed advisable.”
As the Council of 1871 expired a few days later, no action was taken
on the reports and it was left for the new Council to begin the matter over
again.
Hugh Moffat, the new mayor, took office with the new Council.
The first effort was made in April, 1872, when Alderman Smith R.
Wooley moved that the mayor be requested to call a second meeting of citi-
zens to consider the park bond issue. After a reference to the judiciary
committee to consider the legality of such a citizens’ meeting, the motion
was adopted and a proclamation was issued, calling the meeting to be held
May 1, 1872, at 10:30 o'clock in the forenoon. The excitement in the city
was very great and a large crowd was anticipated at the meeting. The City
Hall was not large enough to hold the people and the Griswold Street side
of the City Hall was chosen for the meeting place. -
The mayor, Hugh Moffat, was chosen chairman and Charles H. Borg-
man, city clerk, was selected as secretary. A rope was strung across Gris-
wold Street from the steps of the City Hall to the alley on the westerly side
of the street.
The motion to approve the issuance of bonds was offered by Jerome
Croul and the voters were required to divide themselves on either side of
the rope, in such a manner that those who favored the measure should
remain on one side of the rope, and those who opposed it, should move to
the other side. The chairman and secretary, together with the two tellers,
1080 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Stanley G. Wight and John Gibson, then went upon the balcony over the
door of the City Hall and undertook to count the voters. Many citizens
coming to the meeting were late and they continued to come down the
streets from the north side and joined those who were upon that side of the
rope. If they had all been counted as voting upon that side it would ap-
parently have been an unfair enumeration. The report of the Officers was
that, “After mature deliberation the chairman announced it a tie vote or
a drawn game, and declared himself unable to decide.”
This report was accepted by the Council and further action was in-
definitely postponed.
Thus ended the citizens’ meetings of Detroit in fiasco.
In January, 1873, the city counselor, Dewitt C. Holbrook, was in-
structed to draft a bill to be submitted to the Legislature.
This bill, which was intended to be an amendment to the city charter,
provided for the calling of citizens’ meetings and the preparing of ballots
to be used in voting on the annual budget and on all other occasions. The
ballot should show the various items that made up the budget. This bill
was not passed by the Legislature. It did not provide that the voter could
alter the amount provided for in the ballot. He could vote for or against
the measure but could not in any manner increase or decrease the amount.
The bill to some extent decreased the privileges the citizens had there-
tofore possessed, for under the law then in existence, they could by resolu-
tion require a vote to be taken upon the increase or decrease of any item
in the budget.
Another proposal was offered by Alderman Simeon, March 26, 1872.
It was not proposed to obtain from the Legislature something to take
the place of the citizens’ meeting.
John J. Speed, a member of the Lower House in 1873, introduced a
bill to abolish citizens’ meetings and to subsitute a board of estimates in
their place, January 11, 1873. The bill, as first introduced, gave authority
to the Common Council to impose taxes for extraordinary purposes, such
as the purchase of a park without the sanction of the tax payers.
On January 21, 1873, Joseph Greusel, member of the House from De-
troit, presented the following remonstrance:
“The undersigned citizens and tax payers of the City of Detroit re-
monstrate against the passage of the bill recently introduced into the
House of Representatives” to abolish citizens’ meetings in said city, “or
the passage of any other act giving to the Common Council or said city
authority to impose on Said city taxes for extraordinary purposes, such
as the purchase and establishment of a public park without the sanction
and approval by ballot, of the tax payers of said city. Detroit, January
17, 1873.”
This remonstrance was signed by Eber B. Ward, Christian H. Buhl,
John Stephens, Allan Sheldon, Fred K. Buhl, Henry P. Baldwin, C. M.
Danton, William A. Moore, Colin Campbell, Alexander H. Dey, Charles A.
Kent, R. W. King, Mark Flanigan, Newcomb, Endicott and Company, S.
Ferdinand and Brothers, George Peck and Company, E. B. Smith and
(Courtesy of Burton Historical Collection)
RUINS OF THE DETROIT OPERA HOUSE, DETROIT
Photographed October 9, 1897, two days after the fire
| -
-- -
|-
-
hi
| H.
sºlº sº."
(Courtesy of Burton Historical Collection)
DETROIT OPERA HOUSE AND SURROUNDINGS, DETROIT, 1878
Showing spire of the First Presbyterian, or First Protestant, Church in the
background, which stood on the site of the present Hudson store


WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1083
Company, C. D. Farlin, Charles Root and Company, Caleb Van Husan,
Whitbeck and Chittenden, Scotten, Lovett and Company, T. W. Palmer.
The bill was referred to the committee on municipal corporation of
which John J. Speed was chairman. It was reported out without amend-
ment, on the same day.
Mr. Speed presented a large petition in favor of this bill, January
21, 1873.
The bill was passed through the committee of the whole without amend-
ment January 22, 1873.
Henry P. Baldwin wrote a letter to the House, January 22, 1873, in
which he advocated the abolition of the citizens’ meetings but said: “I
believe it to be wise to allow the people the right to vote by ballot on all
questions of taxation for extraordinary purposes.”
The use of Legislative Hall was granted to the citizens of Detroit to
discuss this bill and others affecting the city, January 30, 1873.
The methods pursued by the Detroit representatives who forced the
measure through the House without proper discussion, aroused Repre-
sentative Garvelink who introduced the following preamble and resolu-
tion:
“Whereas the City of Detroit, the metropolis and leading city of this
state, has called upon this Legislature to empower the park commissioners
to locate a park, and the Common Council to levy a tax, or loan money and
issue bonds, for the erection of said park, therefore
“Resolved, By this House of Representatives, that we sincerely hope
and request that this example will not be followed by the rest of the cities
and villages of our beloved State, that the Legislature may not be called
upon again to perform a so painful duty, to take away the ballot, which
an American citizen alone may be proud of.”
This resolution was laid on the table, and was never taken from “its”
resting place. .
The bill passed the Senate, March 26, with some minor amendments.
It was sent back to the House for agreement in the amendments, and
passed the House the same day. It was then sent to the governor and ap-
proved March 28, 1873.
COBWEB HALL
In order to keep the history of the street in somewhat of a connected
form, we will next take up “Cobweb Hall” at northeast corner of Larned
and Griswold streets, being lot 103. At the time Mrs. Belcher bought the
lot, May 11, 1809, she was a widow for the second time. Her first husband,
whose name was Welch, had died leaving her with two children, George
and Catherine, and by her Second marriage, with Mr. Belcher, she had a
third child, William.
Mrs. Belcher died during the war period, July 27, 1813, aged thirty-
nine years, leaving the three children above mentioned.
The dwelling house came to be known as the Welch House from her
son, George, who lived there for some years.
1084 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Mrs. Belcher was a woman of some means for the times and owned
another house and lot on the south side of Larned Street near Shelby
Street, which she had purchased of William McDowell Scott in Novem-
ber, 1809.
Her daughter, Catherine, was married three times. Her first husband
was a Mr. Seymour. They did not live in Detroit during his lifetime, but
after his death, she returned and married Lieut. James Bailey. She lived
in the village until 1816, but he was killed by the Indians some time be-
tween January and August, 1814. There was one child born of this mar-
riage. Her third husband was Elijah Willits. They were married January
17, 1817. Their first child died an infant, September 29, 1818.
Elijah Willits and Isaac Willits were in Capt. Antoine Dequindre's
company of Detroit militia in the War of 1812 and were both taken pris-
oners at the surrender of the city by Governor Hull to the British gen-
eral, Sir Isaac Brock, August 16, 1812. Only a few of the militia were
carried to Montreal as prisoners of war. Most of them were liberated upon
giving parole that they would not again engage in the war, and it was
upon that condition that Willits was allowed to remain at home.
After the death of their first child early in 1819, Elijah Willits and
his wife moved to Birmingham (then called Hamilton), Oakland County,
and were among the first settlers at that place. Here the child by Lieu-
tenant Bailey died.
There were several children born of the third marriage. In 1820 Wil-
lits was a member of the first grand jury called in Oakland County. He
kept the tavern at Birmingham and his son, Wellington, was born there in
1820. There were only four dwellings in this place at that time, owned
by Elijah Willits, John W. Hunter, Elisha Hunter and John Hamilton.
Willits had, before moving to Oakland County, been in possession of
lot 103 and collected the rents of it after he left it.
In the Detroit Gazette for April 30, 1824, he advertised the lot for sale
and described it as a house and lot formerly occupied by him as a tavern
on Griswold Street, now occupied by Julius Eldred. “The house is in good
repair and there are on the lot two stables and an excellent garden spot.
It is on the corner and is 100 by 60 feet.” The notice contains some other
information regarding the property. The lot was originally fifty feet wide
but Some One of its former Owners had encroached upon the street and
had taken ten feet to add to the original lot. This was done prior to 1824.
The frame building, called the tavern, was erected some years before 1824,
but it was still in good repair in the latter years.
It is possible that Willits occupied the lot as a tavern after 1820 and
that he moved from Birmingham to Detroit and then returned to Bir-
mingham. If that were not the case, his occupation of the lot as tavern
site must have been before 1819 and very likely Julius Eldred occupied
the land from that date until 1824. Willits was an ensign in the Oakland
County Militia in 1824. He was the son of Thomas Willits and was born
in Pennsylvania, August 23, 1792, and died in Oakland County in May,
1868. For the twelve years prior to his death he was bedridden. His second
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1085
wife was Rachel Hannon to whom he was married April 23, 1829. His son,
William Willits, was born in Birmingham, September 19, 1836, and died
in Detroit July 17, 1891. He enlisted as a private in the Twenty-second
Michigan Infantry, Col. Moses Wisner commanding and was with the
regiment through the war when not in rebel prisons. He was in Suc-
cession, sergeant, second lieutenant, first lieutenant, and was captain
when the war closed. He was a prisoner in various rebel prisons for eleven
months. At his death he left one daughter, Mrs. Henry Ten Eyck, and
two sons, Frank and George Willits.
A word more might well be said of Wellington Willits, son of Elijah
Willits who was so well and favorably known years ago, in this city.
In his youth, on the farm at Birmingham, he was a studious boy and
worked at his books long after his day’s work was over. The teacher from
whom he received the greatest assistance was Mr. James Corson. Willing-
ton married Martha Jane Beardsell, April 30, 1846, and moved to Detroit
in 1848, where he was employed as a teacher in the public schools.
His first School was Old “First Ward’’’ School which was afterwards
combined with the new “Eighth Ward” School and was later known as
the Houghton School. He afterwards taught for a time in the Bishop
School. He entered the Union service in the Civil War, enlisting October
15, 1862, and was captain in Company “E” of Seventh Michigan Cavalry.
He was captured by the rebels, July 6, 1863, and held a prisoner of war in
Libby Prison until December of the following year.
Upon being liberated he returned to Detroit broken in health which
he never recovered. He died three months later, May 7, 1865, at his house,
93 Locust Street, Detroit. &
Many of his old pupils still living in our city can attest to his worth as
a teacher and upright citizen.
Julius Eldred, who kept the tavern up to 1824, was born in New York
in 1787 and came to Detroit in 1816. He was first engaged in keeping a
general store and his associates, at various times, were Orville Cook, Levi
Cook and William Thurber. His name frequently occurs in our early rec-
ords in connection with business and political affairs. According to the
notice in the Gazette he was in 1824 engaged in keeping a tavern on the
Welch lot. In all probability this was more of a boarding house than an
inn, for Mr. Eldred had another business to attend to. He was engaged
with David French, his brother-in-law, in running a mill in the neighbor-
hood of Franklin, Brush and Randolph streets.
The story of the life of Julius Eldred is too long to be incorporated
here and only a few items will be given. He was the first person to lay
cedar block pavements in the streets of Detroit. This was in 1845 in
Jefferson Avenue in front of his own property.
In 1841 he transported to Detroit the great copper rock from the bed
of the Ontonagon River. This was placed on exhibition in Detroit but was
subsequently claimed by the Government and was removed to Washington
City. He died in Detroit, March 26, 1851.
George A. O’Keefe was a witty lawyer of the city who came to Detroit
1086 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
about 1819. In common with most of the lawyers of his time, he was
prone to indulge unduly at intervals. This habit did not seem to deprive
him of his practice for he stood as high as any in his profession.
For a short time he lived in St. Clair County where he held public
office. He was also located in Mount Clemens for a short time. He then
made Detroit his premanent home and in 1834 his sister Ellen came from
Ireland to preside over his bachelor quarters.
Robert Ross in his history of the Bench and Bar of Detroit, quotes from
Richard R. Elliot, a personal friend of Judge O’Keefe and of his sister re-
garding the coming of Miss Ellen O'Keefe, as follows: “Her coming was
a great advantage to the domestic life of her brother and her influence
was soon apparent in the changed appearance of the bachelor establish-
ment.
“Miss O’Keefe soon took that place in the leading Detroit society of
the city to which her education and refinement entitled her.
“In the coterie of ladies allied to the old Catholic representative fam-
ilies she became a favorite and led the movement set on foot by the laity
for the promotion of religion, education and charity.”
Their home in 1837, and probably for some years about this time, was
in the house on lot 103. Here they lived when George A. O’Keefe was
elected to the office of judge of probate for the County of Wayne. He
served in this office from 1837 to 1840. His sister afterwards became the
wife of Judge Elisha Strong of this city.
Dr. G. Jones had an office in the log house on the north side of lot 103
in 1837.
No sooner had Elijah Willits advertised the lot for sale than he found
a purchaser for it. His advertisement appeared in the Gazette on April
30, 1824, and on the following June 9th, the sale was consummated and the
deed executed to Joseph Campau and with him the title vested during his
life.
The city directory of 1837, the first directory published in Detroit,
gives the occupant of the house as George A. O’Keefe, judge of probate.
From this time the buildings on lot 103 were used for dwellings, lunch
rooms, restaurant and saloon at different times.
William Carson, Sr., for a short time, kept a restaurant in connection
with his residence on lot 103. This was called the “American House of
Refreshments.” Over the door of the restaurant was the single word
LUNCH. The lease of lot 103 to Carson is dated October 6, 1846. He was
to pay $6 per month. The lease was subsequently extended to April 5,
1848. One of the conditions of the lease was that Mr. Carson should keep
the chimneys clean. After the written lease expired Carson still continued
to maintain the “American House of Refreshments” as late as 1852. At
the same time “Pat” Collins was conducting the “New York House of Re-
freshments” on the west side of Griswold Street, three doors below Larned
Street.
In 1852 William Bonninghausen, a tailor, had his shop in the same
building with Mr. Carson.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1087
At a later date (1859) Mr. Carson carried on the “Rotunda Saloon”
at 52 Griswold Street.
In the rear of the “Lunch” house, on the same lot and on the north
side of Larned Street, next to the alley, was a small log house, which was,
at one time, occupied by McCaran.
This log building was taken down and a small two-story brick building
was erected in its place. This was, at one time, occupied by John Bull as a
saloon. The lease of the premises ran to Edward A. Elliott and it is pos-
sible that he became responsible for the rent and let Bull occupy the prem-
ises. Elliott was a man of considerable means and a broker or speculator.
He lived for many years at the northeast corner of Rowland Street and
Michigan Avenue. The older residents will remember him as having one
glass eye.
In the second story of this little brick building on the rear of lot 103
were two small rooms. The stairway that led to them was on the west side
of the building, on the inside. One of the small rooms was, at one time,
Occupied as an office by Miles J. O’Reilly, a lawyer, who had once been a
school teacher. He was a very witty Irishman.
The two buildings on the front of the lot, occupied by Mr. Carson, came
to be known as “Cobweb Hall.” They were usually occupied by the same
tenant. The frame building on the corner was two stories high and was
rented from the owner of the restaurant or saloon underneath.
Mr. Carson, after a time, left the building and opened a restaurant in
the basement of the Rotunda Building, across the street.
In 1855-56, there was a barber shop kept in the corner house by two
colored men named Henry Moore and John W. Henry. Richard J. Byron
and Peter Ulrich had it under a lease which expired December 10, 1859.
The next tenant of Cobweb Hall was Alfred Thomas. His lease was
dated December 10, 1859, and was to run till December 9, 1862, at the rate
of $150 per year. He called the place the “Terrapin Lunch.” This was at
the time the new post office was erected and the place should have been
well patronized. Thomas, however, did not make it pay and was sued for
non-payment of rent. A judgment was obtained against him for $154.28
the day after his lease expired. -
In 1862 Alfred W. Caswell succeeded Thomas and had a lease of the
property running to December 10, 1864. This was assigned to Peter
Deginder who was a tenant until 1866, but was ejected for non-payment of
rent, December 22, 1866. A part of the time the rent was $800 per year,
but in 1866 it was fixed at $500.
Theodore J. Campau, who represented the estate of his father, on De-
cember 2, 1864, “rented to George Dorbush the two-story brick house on
Larned Street, rear part of lot 103, section 2, Governor and Judges plan
with yard in rear same width as house, at $500 per year.” Dorbush was a
tenant for several years.
In May, 1865, Peter Austin, justice of the peace, rented a strip of land
Seventeen feet wide on Larned Street next west of the Dorbush parcel.
1088 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
This parcel was apparently vacant until the lease was made to Austin
and he put up a small building for his office.
About the same time, E. A. Elliott and Henry Metz rented the Seven-
teen feet in width next westerly of the Austin parcel.
It seems that they also built on the lot for the lease contained a privi-
lege “of resting their joists on the brick building now built on the rear
part of said lot.” They were to pay $200 per year.
The building fronting on Griswold Street was next occupied by James
W. Lanergan, an actor, and Charles F. Mack, under a lease for One year
from January 10, 1867, at $1,000 per year. They sold liquors, coffees, teas,
cigars and fancy groceries. The next year Charles F. Mack was alone.
Next came John Swan and Delivan MacCready with a similar stock of
goods. “Tom’’ Swan was with them occasionally as a clerk, but he had
the job of selling papers, candies, etc., on the railroad and that paid better
than a store. However, in 1869, he bought out the establishment and ran
it for many years. It was during his time that it obtained the name of
“Cobweb Hall.” -
In the front Swan sold fruit, oysters and canned goods. In the back
part there was a saloon. The old log house was occupied by Walker and
Company, bill posters, and was generally in a “littered up” condition. John
Walker, “bill poster,” was at 32 Larned Street in 1869. Upstairs James
Kelley and William Christian, for a time, had a small printing establish-
ment, but light as the rent must have been for the dirty quarters, they
were unable to pay it and were forced to leave.
In the partition of the estate of Joseph Campau, lot 103 was set off to
his daughter, Matilda V. Chapoton. She and her husband, Augustus B.
Chapoton, sold the land to Simon Mandelbaum, December 2, 1870.
In 1872 the descendants of Bridget Belcher set up claim to the lot be-
cause of some irregularity in the conveyances through the Probate Court,
and begun a suit in the Circuit Court against Simon Mandelbaum to re-
cover the property.
The Superior Court of Detroit was organized in 1873 and Lyman Coch-
rane was the first elected judge.
The cause involving the title to lot 103 was transferred to this court
and was one of the first cases in its calendar.
The court-room was in the Seitz Block on the west side of Griswold
Street north of the post office building. *
The case was a very interesting one and was closely watched by the
newspapers and by the citizens generally. It was finally decided in favor of
Mr. Mandelbaum. This decision settled the title to the property and greatly
increased its market value. Mr. Mandelbaum and his wife sold the lot to
Gov. Henry P. Baldwin for $45,000, April 9, 1873, and the title vested in
Mr. Baldwin’s estate until the recent sale to Standard Savings and Loan
Association. *
In 1878 Mr. Sidney D. Miller leased the ground for twenty years at
$2,250 per year and On May 15th of that year the old buildings were de-
stroyed and erection of the present building was begun.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1089
The new building was intended for the Detroit Savings Bank and the
Citizen’s Street Railway offices. Mr. George Hendrie and Mr. Miller were
officers of the Street Railway Company at that time and had offices in the
building. The upper rooms were occupied for law and insurance offices.
Mr. Miller assigned the ground lease to John H. Bissell and he assigned
it to the Detroit Savings Bank in 1893.
A recent lessee of the building and occupant of the ground floor was
the Stormfeltz-Loveley Company, extensive real estate dealers.
Some of the earlier occupants of the lot enclosed the north ten feet of
Larned Street, so that, at this place, that street is ten feet narrower than
it was originally planned.
It was in the present building on this lot that Sophia Lyons (Burke)
got wild with a revolver some years ago. No one was hit.
Lot 102, next north of “Cobweb Hall,” was given to Joseph Cote by
the governor and judges as a donation in 1809. It remained in his fam-
ily until sold to Samuel Lewis for $1,000 in 1845.
George B. Pease lived here in 1852. In 1859 John Slater was at 58
Griswold Street and Jonathan S. Mortimer at 60 Griswold Street.
Mr. Lewis sold the north half of the lot to William A. Butler in 1859
for $6,250 and Mr. Lewis’ children sold Mr. Butler the south half in 1882
for $29,000. The north half was subsequently sold to the late James
Burns.
WALL STREET OF DETROIT
In the Advertiser of May 27, 1859, the following items appeared re-
garding the improvements then in progress on lot 102:
“New Buildings—The frame dwellings have been moved, and two
brick buildings are about to be erected on the east side of Griswold be-
tween Larned and Congress streets, immediately adjoining the Terrapin
Lunch. They will be twenty-five feet front each, four stories high, and
will run back eighty feet to the alley. The first stories will be of stone
and the others of brick. The ground is owned and the buildings will be
put up for William A. Butler and Mr. Samuel Lewis. Both structures
will be fitted up as banking offices, and Mr. Butler will move into his as
Soon as it is completed, while that owned by Mr. Lewis will be to rent.
The buildings will be an ornament to the thoroughfare, which is des-
tined to become the Wall Street of Detroit.”
The next lot farther north numbered 101 was donated to Archibald
Horner in 1809. Horner left two daughters, one of whom died quite
young and the other (Sarah) became the wife of Lewis Davenport. Mrs.
Davenport's daughter was the wife of the later Dr. George Black Russel,
well known to everyone in the city.
Mrs. Davenport sold lot 101 to Augustus T. McKinstry in 1832 for
$1,525 and he sold it to Thomas S. Knapp in 1834 for $1,500. Mr. Knapp
was a prominent citizen in his day and was, at one time, sheriff of the
county. While he was sheriff a man named Simmons was convicted of
murder and was sentenced to be hung. Knapp was the proper officer to
1090 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
do that work but he did not like it and resigned his office rather than per-
form that duty. Benjamin Woodworth, the old hotel keeper, was ap-
pointed sheriff in his place. He died of cholera in 1834, leaving a widow,
Eliza Knapp, and two children, Eliza A., who married Frank L. Hunt,
and Lafayette Knapp, who married Cornelia Wales.
Mrs. Eliza Knapp was a daughter of Abraham Cook, one of the early
settlers of Detroit, one who came with “Mad” Anthony Wayne in 1796.
Some time after the death of her husband, Mrs. Knapp became the wife
of John Owen, then a prosperous and later a wealthy merchant. Mrs.
Eliza Owen died a few years later and Mr. Owen married her sister,
Jane. James H. Cook (ship chandler), a brother of Mrs. Owen, lived
in the upper one of the houses on lot 102 in 1827, Mrs. Knapp living in
the lower house which was numbered 48 at that time.
In connection with this piece of land and to show the rapid increase in
values of real estate in the city, a true story might be told.
In the partition of the estate of Thomas S. Knapp this lot 101 and lot
28 in section 7 on Woodward Avenue (where Newcomb and Endicott's
store stands), were set off to the daughter, Eliza A. Hunt. In 1848, Mrs.
Hunt, who was then a minor, petitioned the Court of Chancery for per-
mission to sell lot 28 for $1,300 and to mortgage lot 101 for $1,100 in
order to pay for a farm on Grosse Ile. In her petition she said that her
husband had no trade or profession and if he could get the farm he could
make a living for them. Regarding the lots she said that they were both
occupied by dwelling houses and that they would continue to be so oc-
cupied. “They are not in the business portion and the entire revenue
derived from them does not exceed $150 annually.” Her petition in the
court was granted and so she parted with a parcel of land on Woodward
Avenue that is worth today, nearly fifteen times as much per foot as she
got for the entire sixty feet seventy years ago. The farm on the island
is worth but little more than it was in 1848.
Lot 100, the next lot up the street was obtained by Robert Smart as
a donation in 1808. He sold in 1811 to Augustin Longon, who became
the owner of the next lot, reaching to Congress Street, and the two cor-
responding lots on Woodward Avenue. The entire parcel was purchased
by Mary Deveaux for $1,500 in 1822. Mrs. Deveaux lived on Woodward
Avenue and occupied a portion of the frontage on the street for a nursery
of young fruit trees at one time.
Mrs. Deveaux had but one child, a daughter, Theodocia, who inherited
her property at her death. Theodocia was the wife of William W. Petit,
who was a nephew of Gov. William Woodbridge. Petit was a lawyer
and at one time judge of probate for Wayne County. After his death,
Mrs. Petit married Eurotas P. Hastings. Mr. Hastings was also promi-
nent in certain works in the city, particularly charitable and religious
works. He was also the trusted man of the community like Charles C.
Trowbridge, David Cooper, James V. Campbell and some others whose
names are frequently met with in the records of the past. Hastings
was for a long time president of the Bank of Michigan. In 1839 he and
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1091
his wife sold the four lots owned by Mrs. Hastings to that bank for
$26,000.
The south forty feet of lot 100 was owned as follows: By Henry P.
Baldwin in 1841, by Ichabod Goodrich in 1845, by Charles G. Hammond
in 1851, by John H. Harmon in 1852. William F. Chittenden owned it
in 1855 and Samuel Lewis bought it in 1863 for $9,650. The courthouse
was built on the north forty feet of lot 99.
Frederick and Christian H. Buhl bought the Baldwin piece for $1,350
in 1841.
In the list of owners of lot 100 appears the name of Henry P. Baldwin.
There was a dwelling house on this lot in which Mr. Baldwin lived during
the time of his ownership of it. He was still living there in 1846. Mr.
Baldwin was born in Rhode Island and came to Detroit in 1838. He
held several important offices and was elected governor of the state in
1868, Serving four years in that office. He also served the unexpired
term of United States Senator Zachariah Chandler, after the latter’s
death in 1869.
Charles G. Hammond lived in the house a short time. His owner-
ship lasted only for about a year in 1851 and 1852. Mr. Hammond was
born in Smyona, New York, and came to Michigan as early as 1836. He
was auditor general in 1842-5, and a man in whom the public placed
great confidence for his uprightness of character. He moved to the west
and did not die in Detroit.
John H. Harmon owned the property from 1852–1855.
Mr. Harmon was born in Ohio in 1819. He was editor of the Free
Press for many years succeeding 1842.
John W. Johnston, who dealt in real estate on an extensive scale, lived
at 80 Griswold Street in 1859.
There was a dwelling house on the upper part of the lot, next South
of the courthouse building. Here Christian H. Buhl lived from 1846 till
1852 and perhaps later.
The building was not removed until the present building was erected
in 1859. Of the two brothers, Frederick and Christian, who had so much
to do in the building up of the city, something more ought to be said.
They were both prominent in business and in political affairs. They
were born in Pennsylvania and came to Detroit about 1833. They were
partners in trade in buying, selling and manufacturing furs. Frederick
Buhl was mayor of Detroit in 1848 and Christian H. Buhl was mayor from
1860 to 1862. The Only instance in the city where two brothers have
occupied that office.
Frederick Buhl died May 12, 1890, leaving three children, Walter
Buhl, Mrs. Fredericka Ford, and Mrs. Grace Moffat, and two grandchil-
dren, Hazel and Harry Buhl, children of a deceased son, Harry Buhl.
THE COURTHOUSE
The Courthouse, or County Building, occupied the north twenty-five
feet of lot 99 and ten feet of Congress Street.
1092 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Mrs. Mary Deveaux got lot 99 with lot 100. She enclosed ten feet of
Congress Street and kept it so long that she became the owner by adverse
possession and the title passed with the north twenty-five feet of lot 99
to the Bank of Michigan and thence to Wayne County in 1843 for $7,960.
The property came to be owned by the Bank of Michigan as already
stated, and when the bank failed in 1842 the assignees, Charles C. Trow-
bridge, Robert Stuard, and John Owen deeded the property to the County
of Wayne as part payment for the indebtedness of the bank to the county.
The bank was the depository for county money and had in its charge
at the time of the failure, all of the county funds. -
In 1842 there was a small house on the lot that had formerly been
owned by Mary Deveaux, but no other improvements.
The county held several other parcels of land that it had obtained
from the bank, but it was unable to sell any of them owing to the hard
times. There was great need of a building in which to hold the courts
and public offices and the board of supervisors resolved to make use of
the lot for such purposes, although it was the lowest lot in town and on
the bank of what was once a little stream of water, at this time only a
ditch. William B. Hunt and John Farrar were appointed a committee
to superintend the erection of the building and it was completed and oc-
cupied in 1845.
On June 6, 1845, the following appeared in the Free Press: “Wayne
County Court House—This neat and tasteful edifice, situated on the cor-
ner of Congress and Griswold streets, is among the many other great
improvements of our city, about completed. The work certainly does
credit to the contractors, Messrs. Jackson and Perry, and to Messrs.
Hunt and Farrar much credit is due for their able and faithful superin-
tendence in its construction.
“The building has been most economically erected at an expense of
about one-half the cost usually expended in the erection of buildings for
that purpose. The courtrooms and jury rooms above are spacious and
airy. The offices below are built with an eye to durability and conveni-
ence. The entire building is fireproof and a decided ornament to our
city.” *
The completed building was first occupied on Monday, June 9, 1845,
and the bar of Detroit tendered a vote of thanks to William B. Hunt, John
Farrar, Henry E. Perry and Charles Jackson.
Daniel Goodwin was the circuit judge and the associate judges were
Joseph H. Bagg and James Gunning.
Benjamin F. H. Witherell was judge of the District (Criminal) Court.
Although the building was used for public purposes from 1845 until
the completion of the new city hall in 1871, it was poorly and cheaply
constructed and was soon in a dilapidated condition and was only patched
up to make it hold together until a more suitable building could be ob-
tained.
In the summer of 1859, Mr. C. H. Buhl erected the block of buildings
on Griswold Street next below the County Building. In excavating for
OLD AND NEW CITY HALLS
(Courtesy of Burton Historical Collection)
REMOVAL FROM OLD CITY HALL, DETROIT


WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1095
the erection of Mr. Buhl's building the wall of the County Building was
undermined and fell. The wall was soon repaired but the erection of the
Buhl Building completely shut out the light from that part of the County
Building occupied by the register of deeds. Horace S. Roberts was the
register and he rented the rooms diagonally across the street from Crane
and Wesson and moved the register’s office and records to that building.
In January, 1860, a serious fire in Grand Rapids destroyed the Court-
house and all of the county records of Kent County. The people of De-
troit were much afraid that a fire might destroy the Crane and Wesson
Building and all of the Wayne County records.
A special meeting of the board of supervisors was called to take the
matter into consideration.
Mr. Roberts recommended the erection of an entirely separate and
fireproof building to hold the public records of the county.
The supervisors did not agree with the register but ordered the old
quarters repaired and the records removed to the old County Building
and placed in the vault originally built for their protection.
The following is copied from the Free Press of June 10, 1859:
“THE COUNTY COURTHOUSE TUMBLING DOWN
“Last evening about 9 o'clock a portion of the south wall of the Wayne
County Building, at the corner of Griswold and Congress streets gave
way, taking with it the rear of the offices occupied by the register of deeds
and the judge of probate. The immediate cause of the disaster was the
excavation made on the lot adjoining on the south, where a cellar is now
in process of being dug for the erection of a block of stores. Between
the line of this lot and the County Building there was a strip of land
about three feet in width, which, at the point where the wall fell, had
caved in, leaving the foundation of the building exposed. The founda–
tions extend but about three feet beneath the surface of the ground,
which, in this vicinity, is made land, it having originally been a hollow
through which a small stream of water ran. The soil is a mixture of
clay and sand, and by no means solid. It is this peculiar nature of the
land that caused the settlement sometime since of portions of this build-
ing, and which at this time rendered it, when exposed, too weak to Sup-
port the weight that rested upon it. The entire South wall would un-
doubtedly have fallen but for the support given by the partition walls
between the offices which occupy the first floor, and the arched ceilings of
those offices. The condition of the building was, however, quite pre-
carious at a late hour in the evening, and doubts were entertained of its
standing till morning. Whether it can be repaired or not can only be
determined by an examination of competent mechanics. It would be a
decided benefit to the appearance of the city should it be removed. It
has long been an eyesore, besides being an inconvenient and unsuitable
building for the purposes for which it was designed. The county offices
are altogether too small and are dark, dingy places, more Suitable for
cattle stalls than public offices. The courtroom is also much too con-
1096 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
tracted and wholly inferior to the just demands of the first county in the
state. In fact there is not a county in Michigan that has not more
eligible and commodious as well as beautiful buildings than Wayne. Its
jail is a by-word and reproach that is a disgrace to it. The Courthouse is
but little better. We hope there will be no attempt to patch up the old
concern, but let a commendable spirit be displayed, and a new building
erected that can accommodate the large and increasing business of the
county and be an ornament to the city.”
This is from the Tribune of June 11, 1859:
“The board of county auditors on June 11, 1859, agreed to allow
F. Buhl $500 to repair the County Building “after which the property is
to be sold at auction.’
“The register’s office has been removed to the second story of Crane
and Wesson’s Building, corner of Congress and Griswold Streets.”
Another extract from the Free Press of June 18, 1859, reads as
follows:
“Patching Up—The old County Courthouse is being repaired, prepara-
tory to being sold at auction. At least this was the determination of the
Board of Auditors at their last meeting. A new foundation has been
put in on the dilapidated side and the crumbling wall has been displaced
and a new brick wall is now in process of being built.”
The building and site were sold to Christian H. Buhl for $12,500,
July 30, 1859, but the county continued to occupy the property until the
new city hall was completed in 1871.
In connection with the completion of the brick block of Christian H.
Buhl in 1860 an incident occurred that was related in the Free Press of
June 19, of that year. Mr. Buhl was mayor of the city at that time and
a prominent member of the republican party, then just coming into
ascendancy. The editor of the Free Press was the noted Wilbur F.
Storey. Mr. Storey was a rabid “fire in the rear” democrat of the species
usually called “copperheads.” He omitted no opportunity to abuse the
republicans and universally referred to them in his paper as “black re-
publicans.” He related the story as follows:
“A Family Quarrel—The Mayor a Prisoner—The Sidewalk Ordinance
Enforced by the Mayor Against a Prominent Ex-Alderman and by
the Ex-Alderman Against the Mayor.
“A very amusing episode in the municipal history of our city is now
transpiring, which while it affords abundant opportunity to the people
for laughter, verifies an old adage, slightly modified: when officials fall
out the laws will be enforced. The dramatis personae of this laughable
entertainment are no less personages than the present black republican,
Mayor Christian H. Buhl, and Ex-Alderman Alanson Sheley, one of the
bright lights of that party in this state.
“It will be remembered that a few months since an ordinance was
passed by the present black republican common council requiring all
walks thereafter to be built on certain main avenues and streets, includ-
ing Woodward Avenue from the river to the Grand Circus, to be con-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1097
structed of flag-stones at least two feet square. The ordinance, since
its passage, has been generally observed in respect to the material of the
walks built, but no attention whatever has been paid to the size of the
Stones used, many walks being laid with stones, scarcely a foot square.
Last week Mr. Sheley commenced the reconstruction of the walk in front
of his residence on Woodward Avenue, laying down plank instead of flag-
Stone. The matter was brought to the attention of the mayor who di-
rected the city marshal to notify the transgressor and order him to desist.
On the reception of the notification the ex-alderman, with a determina-
tion to show his utter contempt of the ruling powers, directed his work-
man to proceed with the walk. Whereupon a complaint was lodged in
the Recorder's Court, and the rebellious individual was taken into custody
On Saturday evening, though released immediately on his recognizance
to appear for trial. These proceedings aroused the ire of the accused,
who vowed vengeance upon the mayor and yesterday morning set out,
accompanied by suitable witnesses, to examine the recently laid flag-
walks in front of the stores built this season by Mr. Buhl on Griswold
Street, finding quite a fair proportion of the stones much under the re-
quirements of the ordinance as to size. The same was the condition of
a walk, built since the passage of the ordinance, in front of the store on
Woodward Avenue occupied by C. C. Tyler and Co., shoe dealers, and
owned by Mr. Buhl.
“A complaint was thereupon speedily lodged, and yesterday afternoon
the mayor found himself a prisoner, charged with a violation of the ordi-
nances he was especially sworn to enforce. It is proper to add that he
was likewise discharged upon his own recognizance to appear for trial.
Both cases are therefore now pending and their trial will attract no little
attention.”
The records in the Recorder's Court show that the case against Alan-
son Sheley proceeded to a trial before a jury July 2, 1860. The jurors
were Cornelius Coughlin, John King, Anthony Moross, James Craig,
Michael Mullany, Buckminster Wight, William Davis, Daniel Sullivan,
W. W. Howland, Daniel Donovan, Willis Allen and John M. Davis.
From the names of the prominent citizens composing the jury it is
quite evident the trial was hotly contested. It ended in the acquital of
Mr. Sheley.
ABBOTT OWNED CITY BLOCK
Mr. James Abbott owned all the land south of Fort Street on the east
side of Griswold Street as far down as Congress Street and on the lower
half of the block, where now the Union Trust Company’s building stands,
which was for some time a lumber-yard, and, at a later date, a stone-yard
managed for some time by “Sam” Peters. Samuel E. Peters was quite
a character in his way. In later years he was known as “Pie Peters.”
When invited to participate with others in a treat he declined to drink
but always chose instead a piece of pie from the free lunch counter.
Hence his name. He at one time occupied and leased the building at the
1098 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
southeast corner of Bates Street and Cadillac Square and at another time
had a stone-yard on the north side of Michigan Avenue a short distance
east of Griswold Street. When his stone-yard was on the Abbott lot, he
did not occupy the entire premises. There was a small two-story frame
building on Congress Street near the alley, which was at one time oc-
cupied by a man named Wilmot, who was an architect and had an office
there.
On the upper end of the lot was a livery stable. This in 1855 was
run by Smolk and Drew, composed of Charles Smolk and George A. Drew.
Old citizens connect Abram Smolk with the ownership or management
of the stable. Abram Smolk was a contractor and was the person who
in 1836 leveled down the Cass farm front and filled in the ground now
occupied by the Michigan Central Railroad.
The part of the Abbott lot south of the alley was leased by Mr. Abbott
to Mathew W. Birchard in 1852 for twenty-five years at $600 per year.
Mr. Birchard built on it a hotel which was called the Howard House, from
the name of his son-in-law, Hon. William A. Howard, member of Con-
gress. Mr. Howard was at one time postmaster in Detroit. At a later
time the hotel came to be managed by Van Est and Graves and was re-
christened the Griswold House.
Mr. Birchard formerly lived on the northeast corner of State and
Rowland streets, but he lived in the hotel from the time it was erected
until his lease expired and he was then too old to engage in new enter-
prises and moved to Adelaide Street, where he passed the remainder of
his days, dying at the extreme age of 102 years.
The Howard House was not all built at one time. The part on the
corner of Congress and Griswold streets, extending about half way to
the alley, was first erected before 1853. At that time the Smolk livery
stable, then run by Charles Smolk, occupied the remainder of the lot.
James Abbott, as before stated, owned the entire Griswold Street
frontage from Fort to Congress streets. He died March 13, 1858, aged
eighty-two years, nine months and twelve days, leaving but one child,
James Whistler Abbott.
James Whistler Abbott died March 23, 1860. His children were:
Catherine Frances (who married Guy F. Hinchman), Eliza Jane (who
married Robert G. Chandler), Thomas Henry Abbott, Alice (who mar-
ried Alfred Chesebrough), and George Whistler Abbott, who died Octo-
ber 4, 1868, leaving one child, James G. W. Abbott.
It was not until 18—, that the estate of James Abbott was divided
among his heirs. At that time the estate was quite large. It was par-
titioned among the grandchildren and great-grandchild above named.
The Griswold House site, in the partition, fell to Alice Chesebrough
and Catherine F. Hinchman. The Chesebrough share or portion was
sold to Hubbard and King.
In 1892 the Union Trust Company purchased the interest of Mrs.
Hinchman in the old hotel for $190,000 and proposed to tear the building
down in order to rebuild on the site. The hotel was deserted and re-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1099
mained unoccupied for a long time before any new work was done. In
1893 a new corporation was formed, called the Union Trust Building
Company. The Union Trust Company and Hubbard and King conveyed
their interests to the new company and soon the new building was under
way. At the time it was erected the only rivals in the city were the
Hammond Building and the Chamber of Commerce. The upper part of
the Abbott property, where the Hammond Building now stands, was so
divided by the partition proceedings of the Abbott estate that the upper
portion, including the old homestead, fell to Ex-Gov. John J. Bagley and
the Hon. Levi J. Barbour who had purchased a share in the estate. The
lower portion, where the barn had formerly stood, fell to Mrs. Eliza Jane
Chandler, a granddaughter of Judge Abbott. Mrs. Chandler or her hus-
band, Robert G. Chandler, erected a three-story brick building, used for
stores and offices. One of the stores was occupied by Joseph Lesher as
a merchant tailor and in the upper rooms Richard H. Hall (“Dick” Hall)
the brick maker, Philo Parsons, Sylvester Larned and some others had
offices. William Foxen had a real estate office on the ground floor.
The old house, a famous house in its day, was occupied for a time as
a restaurant called the “Detroit Restaurant.” George C. Bates makes it
the starting point for his series of articles, “Bye Gones of Detroit,” that
appeared in the Free Press. Mr. Bates, in describing this house, says:
“At that time (1835) except the homes of John Palmer and James
Williams directly opposite and where the Moffat Building now stands, and
a small wooden building at the rear of what was the Baptist Church, then
occupied by Mason Palmer and Mechanics’ Hall, then a small, rickety old
shanty, there were no buildings in the neighborhood, and when his new
home was completed Judge Abbott flattered himself that he was forever
outside of and beyond the reach of business wants, or business prop-
erty; that in future years there he and his children and his children's
children could have a quiet country home, where in peace and quiet they
could live and die.”
After the land became the property of Governor Bagley and Mr.
Barbour, it was practically unproductive until they built a row of one-
story buildings around the whole of the property, leaving the old house
in the midst, connected with the new structures. These buildings were
not exactly an ornament to the city, but it was about all that the Owners
could do with the property at that time. They were waiting the finding
of a purchaser who could and would put up a large building on the land.
In 1886 Frank Butterworth saw a good opportunity to make Some
money and leased the parcel belonging to Bagley and Barbour for ninety-
nine years. This is one of the earliest long-time leases in the city, but
not the earliest, for the lease of the Biddle House property ante-dated
this by some years. The lease was assigned to George H. Elderbrook
in 1887 and he prepared to clear the land for a new building. He also
made arrangements with Mr. Chandler to buy his part of the land.
Everything went along finely until they wanted to tear down the Chand-
ler Building, when it was ascertained that Mr. Lesher had an interest
1100 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
that Chandler neglected to purchase. Elderbrook attempted to drive
him from his quarters but Mr. Lesher stood his ground. It was some
time before the matter was concluded but Lesher won out in the end. In
the meantime the other buildings had been razed and the work of exca-
Vating and rebuilding was progressing.
The way in which the building came to be called the Hammond Build-
ing is as follows: Mr. George H. Hammond, a wealthy and very enter-
prising citizen of Detroit, at the time of his death left his large estate
in the control and management of his wife, Mrs. Ellen Hammond. Also
at the time of Mr. Hammond’s death work on the building had but just
begun and Mrs. Hammond, having a large sum of money, part of the
estate, uninvested, was persuaded to purchase the building. It had not,
at that time, been given a name, but with the change in ownership it be-
came quite appropriate to give it the name of one of the great men of our
city. Mrs. Hammond paid $100,000 for the Chandler portion and $250,-
000 for the Bagley and Barbour portion.
Tenants in the Hammond Building have been numerous. The People’s
Savings Bank for a long time occupied the building on the southeast cor-
ner of Congress and Griswold streets, and moved to the southwest corner
of Fort and Griswold streets in the Moffat Building. This corner had
been formerly occupied by the E. B. Smith Book Store—the largest book
store ever in the city. The book store afterwards was owned by Thorn-
dyke Bourse and then went out of business, the larger portion being pur-
chased by John McFarlane and moved to Woodward Avenue. The next
occupant of the Moffat corner was the American Express Company. The
People’s Savings Bank came next and here the bank remained for some
years and then moved across the street to the Hammond Building. When
the consolidation of the People's Savings Bank and the State Savings
Bank took place, the new bank, called the People’s State Bank, harbored
both concerns in its beautiful building on the site of the Mary Thompson
home, southeast corner of Shelby and Fort streets. The next tenant of
the Hammond Building was the Dime Savings Bank but it has outgrown
its suit of clothes and has now moved into larger and better quarters,
across the street to the northwest corner of Griswold and Fort streets.
The Wayne County and Home Savings Bank was formed by the consoli-
dation of the Wayne County Savings Bank, the Home Savings Bank and
the Michigan Savings Bank. The Wayne County and Home Savings
Bank owned the land at the northeast corner of Griswold Street and
Michigan Avenue and razed the building for the purpose of putting up a
better one. Pending the completion of the new building the three banks,
in consolidation, occupied the Wayne County Savings Bank Building On
Congress Street. They sold this building and moved into the Hammond
Building where they continued to do business until the present building
of the Wayne County and Home Savings Bank was completed.
The lots on which the Baptist Church stood, where the new Dime
Savings Bank Building stands, fronted on Fort Street, but did not reach
as far as the alley south of the McGraw Building. There was a small
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1101
lot north of the church and between it and the alley on which a frame
building was erected many years ago. The church lots were donated by
the city to the Baptist Church in 1828.
The directory of 1837 contains some matters connected with this
church which may well be copied here. “The Rev. Henry Davis, now of
Brockport, New York, was the first regular minister who remained any
length of time. He came in the latter part of 1826 and continued for
about a year and a half. During this period the members composing the
Conference, being joined by some persons belonging to the Baptist de-
nomination, were regularly constituted into a church. This took place on
the 21st of October, 1827. At that time they met for public worship in
the Academy. In 1837 they applied for admission into The Michigan
Baptist Association and were successful in their application. About this
time a small church was erected for their accommodation at the corner
of Fort and Griswold Streets, on a lot of land that was generously given
to them by the city.”
This small building was used during the week by a select school with
various teachers. It was situated on the westerly side of the lot, pur-
posely put there in order to allow the vacant space to be occupied by a
new brick church which was commenced in 1833 but was not dedicated
until 1835. The new building was seventy feet long and fifty feet wide,
a magnificent structure for the time.
The growth of the city and the increase in wealth of the congregation
warranted a larger and better building and the second edifice was taken
down in 1859 to be replaced at once by a still larger and finer one. The
cornerstone of the new church was laid September 8, 1859, by Rev.
James Inglis. The address was delivered by Rev. George Duffield. Dur-
ing the time that the building was being put up, the Baptists held Serv-
ices in the old Congregational Church on the corner of Jefferson Avenue
and Beaubien Street.
The Baptist Church was abandoned for church purposes and was sold
to Hiram Walker, January 11, 1871, for $50,000. Mr. Walker converted
the property into business uses as far as possible. The auditorium was
converted into a theatre and show rooms. Garry A. Hough and William
H. Hough used it as a theatre in 1874 and later years. In 1877 it was
called the Coliseum.
The basement of the building was fitted up for offices and so occupied
for a time. Mr. Charles E. Swales at one time had a real estate office
there. Then, as an improvement, the walls were extended to the line of
Griswold Street and stores were fitted up, one story high and the interior
was divided into offices. Goodrich Brothers, Orrin Wardell and Sons,
Elisha Taylor, Judge Daniel Goodwin and others were tenants. The
office of the Fort Wayne and Elmwood Avenue Street Railway was on
the corner of the two streets, upstairs, for many years. Their rooms
were subsequently occupied, for a short time, by Dr. C. H. Burton as
a dental office. The University Club rented the corner and the third
1102 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
floor and occupied the rooms several years. The third floor was oc-
casionally used for lodge rooms by different societies.
Just north of the Baptist Church was a two-story wooden building,
intended for a dwelling and so occupied for many years. Oliver New-
berry bought the lot in 1832 for $251 and probably erected the building.
In 1837 Bishop Samuel A. McCosky lived there, but it does not appear
how long he remained. It is related that while he was a tenant, he was
driven from the building one night by fire and in very scanty attire made
his way down the street to a more hospitable place. As the bishop was
very dignified and austere, it would seem quite a contrast to his usual
habits to run through the streets as he was required to on that occasion
and in that style. -
Mason Palmer at one time lived in the place. He was a cousin of
Thomas and the Elder Friend Palmer. He bought the property from
Oliver Newberry in 1850 for $2,000 and after his death the executor of
his will sold it to David Preston for $14,800 in 1871. As business began
to creep up Griswold Street, the house was changed into a store and
offices were fitted up in the second floor. A brick addition was made
in the rear to which entrance was had by the alley. In this rear building
Peter Guenther had a justice office, and at a later time Charles H. Borg-
man, who had been city clerk, held his justice courts for some years. Mr.
Borgman was a real estate dealer and money lender as well as justice,
and carried on a large business.
In more recent times the place has been occupied as a restaurant
under the name of Sharp's Chop House. A bulletin board was erected
on the second floor and nearly every day in the summer season thousands
of people would gather in the street and on the space around the city hall
opposite, to watch the score of the baseball games as they were telephoned
to the proprietors of the restaurant.
Whenever a game was won by the favorite of , the crowd, a shout
would go up that could be heard for many blocks.
The last sale, prior to the recent purchase of the site of the new build-
ing, was by David Preston to Hiram Walker in 1873 for $20,600. This
lot, as well as the Baptist Church lot, are now covered with the new mag-
nificent Dime Bank Building.
North of the alley and extending to Lafayette Avenue (or Boulevard)
are two lots that were given by the city to the Mechanics’ Society in 1828.
The Mechanics’ Society had been, for some time, an applicant for a
lot on which to build a hall and library and on August 22, 1828, the com-
mon council ordered a deed to be executed and delivered to the society
for the land on the east side of Griswold Street, north of Fort Street.
This is the same parcel now occupied by the city hall. This deed was
directed to be made in pursuance of a vote of the Freemen of January 11,
1828, and was upon condition that if the plan of the city was changed
before any building was erected on the lot, the council could take back
the deed and give another lot in its place. The action was rescinded
about seven months later (August 29, 1828), and the two lots on the
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1103
Southwest corner of Griswold Street and Lafayette Avenue were given in
place of the city hall lot.
The Society included most of the worthy mechanics of the olden time
and was quite prosperous. It not only held meetings and listened to
good lecturers, but it had accumulated a fine library devoted to the ob-
jects of the Society. It made many improvements on the lots and was, in
a way, quite prosperous.
On the South side of the lot was a two-story frame building, the lower
floor of which was used for some time by Police Justice Patrick C. Hig-
gins for the Police Court. Higgins was police justice from 1852 to 1856
and was then succeeded by B. Rush Bag, who was elected for two succes-
sive terms, of four years each. His first term began in 1856 and his sec-
ond in 1860. He also held court in this building (111 Griswold Street)
during most of his term. It was in the time immediately following the
commencement of the Civil war (1861) that Detroit sunk to the lowest
depths of civic degradation. Crime was rampant and the papers of the
period were filled with stories of debauchery and moral degradation.
There were more houses and buildings destroyed by fire in the early years
of the war than there were built, in the same period. It was in February,
1863, that the negro riot took place. A negro named Faulkner was ac-
cused of assaulting a young girl. Faulkner was arrested, tried and con-
victed upon the testimony of the girl. Sentenced to serve ten years in
prison, he was hurried off to Jackson before the mob could reach him.
There were a number of scoundrels in the city who did not propose to be
cheated out of their chance for vengeance by this act of the authorities.
They roused the people to a frenzy and a riot was soon going that the
local police could not control. The troops, for there were large num-
bers of troops in camp waiting to be called southward, were called out to
protect the city. It was not until after the death of several negroes and
the burning of more than thirty houses, that the riot was finally checked.
After several years the girl who had accused Faulkner confessed that her
charges were entirely groundless and had been made to create a sensa-
tion. Faulkner was set free after serving some five years of an unjust
Sentence.
Six months prior to this riot, in June, 1862, a worthless female whose
subsequent record in the criminal courts demonstrated her abandoned
character, preferred charges against the police justice, B. Rush Bagg. In
spite of his protests and in spite of the good character that he had pre-
viously borne, her story was believed and Mr. Bagg was removed from
his office.
Bagg was not holding court on Griswold Street at this time, as he had
been driven out by a fire about a year before this.
The first story of the above described building was used for a school
for some time. Oren Marsh opened school here July 8, 1834. This was
only a few days after the building was completed. Mr. Marsh was the
first state librarian when Detroit was the capital.
In 1837, Mrs. Mitchell kept a select school here and Miss Ann Clancy
1104 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
is put down as a “school mistress” at the same locality. Patrick Hig-
gins had a school here in 1848 before he became police justice.
The Police Court was afterwards on the first floor, then numbered
111 Griswold Street, and in 1849 the Christian synagogue occupied the
rooms overhead. Messrs. Kellner and Patterson also kept School here
and Philo Patterson retained the building after Mr. Kellner left. His
work was in preparing young men to enter the university. This was the
last use of the building before its removal.
Rev. Zarah H. Coston on the 18th of March, 1828, in behalf of the
Methodist Church, applied to the common council for a grant of the two
lots on the northwest corner of Griswold and Larned streets in exchange
for the lot then occupied by that church on the southeast corner of Gra-
tiot Avenue and Farrar Street. The council took the matter under con-
sideration and directed the two lots to be reserved from sale for the
time being.
A committee consisting of Mayor Biddle and Aldermen Jerry Dean
and Peter J. Desnoyers, was appointed to confer with the church society.
After debating the matter for two or three weeks this committee reported
that no agreement could be reached with the church society, and the sub-
ject was indefinitely postponed. - -
REFUSE LOTS FOR METHODISTS
The petition was subsequently renewed (May 16, 1828) by the Rev.
Mr. Coston and Thomas S. Knapp and a new committee (Aldermen
Campbell, Jackson and Wait) appointed to examine the application of the
church “and also to report at the same time as to the expediency of re-
serving city lots one and two on the west side of Griswold Street (the
same lots) for a site for a city hall.”
CITY HALL ON SITE OF FEDERAL BUILDING
The committee reported June 29, “That the proposals of the church
Society are inadmissable and further that it is inexpedient to reserve city
lots 1 and 2 on the west side of Griswold Street for a city hall.” Although
the city was, at this time, the owner of the military reservation under
the Act of Congress of 1826, there was an unfulfilled condition connected
with the donation. The city was obliged, as a consideration for the trans-
fer, to furnish a new arsenal and barracks for the soldiers.
“This work had not been done. Edwin Reeder, who then claimed to
be the owner of the farm called the Crane farm or Reeder farm or
Harvey farm, officially known as private claim No. 39, lying near the
eastern line of the present fort (Wayne), offered to sell this farm to the
city for the purpose of erecting the military works for the garrison. The
council appointed a committee consisting of the mayor (Biddle), the re-
corder, B. F. H. Witherell, and Alderman H. M. Campbell to confer with
Reeder and make a conditional arrangement for the purchase of the farm
“in the event of the passage of a law authorizing the removal of the public
buildings from the limits of the city.”
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1105
The offer of Mr. Reeder was not accepted, as we all know, but the
mention of the Reeder farm brings before us an object of great histori-
cal romance. The story of this farm has been told many times and need
not be here repeated, but to one who is interested in historical romance,
the story is of never ending interest.
MANY EVENTS IN 1829
The year 1829 saw many other matters of importance proposed for the
little city. The opening of various streets and alleys, such as the alleys
in the blocks bounded by the Campus, Woodward Avenue, Jefferson Ave-
nue, and Griswold Street. The opening of Shelby Street and the sale of
the building at Jefferson Avenue that stood in its way (this building was
moved to the corner of Shelby and Congress streets, was owned by Cook
and afterwards became famous as Parker’s Chop House); the extension
of the Fort Gratiot Road into the city, for it was proposed to bring it in
at right angles to Woodward Avenue, about a mile north of the Campus,
and the carrying out of this plan was only prevented by a mass meeting
of the citizens held as a protest on June 26, 1828. Mayor Henry Whiting
was the officer in charge of laying out this military road, and he laid the
same out as requested by the citizens and council.
POPULATION 2,222 IN 1830
The land for a reservoir and public well on the south side of Fort
Street (the south end of lot 8), was granted to Rufus Wells, June 7, 1829.
All of these matters evidenced the growth of the city and census of
1830 gave us the population as 2,222.
Nearly every church and society in the city applied for lands on which
to erect buildings for churches or for the use of the societies. Thus the
northwest corner of Griswold and Fort streets was given to the Baptist
Society, and lands in other parts of the city were given to the Young
Men's Society, the Episcopal, Roman Catholic, Methodist and Presby-
terian churches. The Baptist Church was dedicated, Sunday, January
11, 1835.
It was at this time, September 15, 1829, that the land now occupied
by the city hall was set aside for a female Seminary.
This grant was made in response to a resolution of a citizens' meeting
held September 15, 1829, at which Jonathan Kearsley presided and John
J. Deming was secretary.
The seminary building was erected in the year 1834 and was opened
June 4, 1835, under the supervision of Mr. and Mrs. William C. Kirk-
land of Geneva, N. Y. In 1837 the trustees of the seminary asked the
council to grant them permission to sell the grounds. A resolution Was
adopted (March 8) granting the permission asked for upon condition that
the trustees execute a bond for $50,000 to the city conditioned that the
trustees should, within two years, purchase another site and erect another
building thereon. It was further provided:
“That the real estate so to be purchased shall never be disposed of or
1106 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
appropriated to any other use and purpose than as aforesaid, without the
consent of the said common council, and this stipulation shall be em-
braced in the conveyance to the said trustees.”
It is difficult now to determine why the trustees wanted to sell the
Seminary. It certainly was located in a good quarter of the town. Fine
residences were springing up along Fort Street, and across the street
from it were the Baptist Church and the Mechanics' Hall. The seminary
Was not disposed of at this time, nor for several years.
WRITES NEIGHBORHOOD GOSSIB
Mrs. C. M. Kirkland, who with her husband, had charge of the semi-
nary for some years, was a gifted lady. She was the author of several
works, “Autumn Hours and Fireside Reading,” “Memoirs of Our
Country,” and a dozen other books and articles. The work which created
the greatest sensation was produced under the name of Mary Clavers,
and related mainly to her Michigan frontier life. It was entitled “Our
New Home in the West, or Glimpses of Life Among the Early Settlers.”
The characters were so faithfully painted that, though fictitious names
were given, they were easily discerned and the neighborhood gossip laid
bare to the world.
In 1824 another petition was presented to the council, and on March
4 of that year the trustees of the seminary were granted permission to
sell the property to the regents of the University of Michigan. The only
condition attached to this permission was that the board of regents should
continue in Detroit a school for the promotion of female education. This
Sale was not carried out, and in the following May another resolution
was passed by the council, granting permission to the trustees to lease
the premises for any length of time they desired. There was a building
on the lot used for an engine house. This was not to be included in any
lease that might be made. It was erected by Engine Company No. 2.
A meeting of the trustees was held March 24, 1843, at which there
were present Eurotas P. Hastings, president; Jonathan Kearsley,
DeGarmo Jones, Henry Chipman, Edward Brooks and Charles C. Trow-
bridge. A short history of the transactions connected with the semi-
nary was drawn up in the form of resolutions, and was presented to the
common council at its meeting of May 2, 1842.
VALUE SEMINARY LOT AT $5,000
From this report it appears that the buildings and fixtures on the
seminary lot were valued at $5,000 and that their cost was $7,325, of
which $4,290 was borrowed from the Bank of Michigan and $3,035 was
subscribed and paid by various citizens and in case of a sale of the prop-
erty for $5,000 that sum was to be divided between the bank and the
subscribers.
The bank was indebted to the board of regents of the university in
the sum exceeding $7,300 and they agreed that a lease of the seminary
lot should be executed to them for nine hundred and ninety-nine years in
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1107
full satisfaction of the claim of the bank which at this time with inter-
est, amounted to $6,016 and the regents would pay the subscribers the
amount due each of them.
It was thereupon resolved that the trustees of the seminary execute
to the regents a lease of nine hundred and ninety-nine years of the semi-
nary lot and the premises granted “by deeds dated the 29th of March,
1830, and the 1st of April, 1837, being the Female Seminary grounds on
Campus Martius and Griswold Street.”
TITLE WESTED IN UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
These resolutions were referred to the council and included in the
official proceedings. Thus the title to the property became vested in the
university.
The university regents in 1854, conveyed the land to the State of
Michigan for the express consideration of $8,095. The state must have
had a larger amount than that invested in the property for their posses-
Sion and part ownership was evidenced as early as 1853.
CENTRAL RAILROAD STATION
In 1836 the city permitted the Central Railroad, then owned by the
state, to occupy the northerly part of the present city hall site, for a rail-
road station. The track ran down Michigan Avenue and the station was
on the southerly side of that avenue. The railroad buildings were on the
south side of Michigan Avenue and the repair shops were on the Wood-
ward Avenue side nearer Fort Street.
The railroad, as a state institution, was a failure and the state dis-
posed of it to the Michigan Central Railroad Company in 1847. Between
that date and 1849 the railroad tracks were taken up and diverted to the
foot Of Third Street.
In 1853, the state executed a lease to John Ladue for eight years, from
February 1, 1853, of that part of the lot lying north of “the Yellow State
Building.” This lease included all of the old buildings that had for-
merly been occupied by the Michigan Central Railroad. John Ladue
subsequently assigned this lease to Andrew Ladue and Francis E. Eldred.
There was a fire in these old buildings in 1859, of which the following is
an account taken from the Free Press of June 16 of that year:
“Fire—A fire was discovered, between nine and ten o’clock last eve-
ning, bursting from the roof of the old wooden building at the corner of
Michigan Avenue and Griswold Street, known as the old railroad depot.
When first discovered the fire appeared to be in the garrets of two tin
shops situated at about the middle of the building. It is a one-story
frame building, about one hundred feet in length, divided by frame par-
titions into seven shops. These were occupied as follows: commencing
at the east end, J. Sabine, saddlery and harness shop; R. J. Foster, busi-
ness not ascertained; William Sales, tin shop; N. McCarran, tin shop;
Thomas Rawson, fruit stand and saloon; Jacob Wien, boots and shoes,
1108 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
and F. F. Eglinton, saloon. The stocks of all excepting the last named
were removed with more or less damage.
“They were all small dealers, and of course the losses were not heavy,
Mr. Sales was insured in the Atlantic of Providence (A. G. Noyes, agent)
for $400; and Mr. McCarran in the Roger Williams of Providence (B. B.
Noyes, agent), for $750.
“This will probably cover their loss. There was insurance on some
of the other stocks, but we were unable to learn particulars.
“The building was owned by Mr. F. E. Eldred and was insured, but
for what amount or in what companies we could not learn. The eastern
half of it was pretty much destroyed. Mr. Eldred will also suffer some
loss from the removal of his own stock of leather and findings in the ad-
joining building on the east. He is fully insured. -
“The origin of the fire is a mystery. The building was partially de-
stroyed a year or two ago by a similar mysterious fire, originating in the
garret.”
The business of R. J. Foster was stated in the Tribune to be that of
a “Fruit and FOwl Store.” -
In 1856 the state conveyed the land to the city for $18,816.66. Then
began the agitation for the erection of the city hall.
In 1859 proceedings were taken in the Recorder's Court to vacate the
west part of the campus in order to enlarge the lot sufficiently to allow
for the erection of the city hall.
Some of the people who lived in the neighborhood did not want the
city hall erected and a suit was begun in 1860 by Guy F. Hinchman and
others to restrain the city from building.
The mayor of the city was the late Christian H. Buhl and the reso-
lution of the council alleged as a reason for vacating the campus that it
“has always remained in a neglected condition and has never been useful
to the public for purposes of recreation as a park.” }
On the other hand, Mr. Hinchman who lived in the Abbott homestead
where the Hammond Building now stands, stated that the city hall would
be “large, massive and three stories high” and would greatly damage his
property and prevent his enjoyment of the public Square.
The Supreme Court decided against Mr. Hinchman and the city pro-
ceeded with its building. This was just as the Civil war was breaking
out and all thoughts of levying additional taxes for building were aban-
doned. It was not until some time after the war was ended that the
people felt like going on with the work.
The first contract was let in 1866, but the building was not completed
until 1871.
Now let us pass on to the north side of Michigan Avenue. Lot 46 in
section 8 is sixty feet wide fronting on the north side of Michigan Ave-
nue east of the New Home Bank Building lot. It is now owned by the
estate of the late William A. Butler. In 1859 there were three stores on
the lot, the block being called the “Mechanics’ Block.” The middle store
was No. 20 Michigan Avenue, occupied by Asa P. Morrman.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1109
Lot 47 is on the corner of Griswold Street and what was left of lot
48, after Griswold Street was opened through north of Michigan Avenue,
is on the east side of Griswold Street a little north of the avenue. Lot
47 was donated to Charles Stewart (or Stuart) in 1807 and he sold it to
George Wyeth for thirty dollars and Jonathan Kearsley bought it from
Wyeth for $130.
There were several small buildings on the lot, all owned by John Daly
who had a lease from Kearsley. Daly had a grocery and house on the
corner of the two streets. Daniel Daly lived with him. The buildings were
sold to Barney Sweeney and he sold them to various parties. Mathew
Hickey occupied a part of the corner in 1856 with Sweeney.
In 1859 Sweeney occupied the building on the corner. At one time
there was a school maintained in the upper rooms of the building on the
corner. Mr. George N. Brady says that he went to school there when a
boy and he remembers as two of his schoolmates the late Sen. Thomas W.
Palmer and James Scott. The corner building had been formerly occupied
by William Ellis, a milkman.
The next building north of Sweeney’s was occupied by Daniel Bresna-
han and Florence Griffin. In 1852 Daniel Dwyer had a grocery there.
The next parcel extended to the alley and was occupied by Cornelius Bres-
nahan and Bartholomew Gallivan. The east part of the lot fronting on
Michigan Avenue was occupied by Jeremiah Ready. There was an alley or
passage way along the east side of the lot and one or more houses in the
rear faced on the public alley. Pat Conner, a paver, lived in the alley.
Major Kearsley was the owner of the land at the time of his death
and his son, Edmund R. Kearsley, and his granddaughter, Sarah M. W.
Sterling, sold the property to Robert P. Toms and Christopher Stadler.
Toms got the entire parcel at a cost of $43,000 between 1871 and 1879.
In 1879 there were two brick buildings on the lot, the easterly building
being three stories high. The first floor was generally rented for a saloon
and Jeremiah Falvey for some years had his grocery there.
It was somewhat difficult to rent the upper stories. We did not have
elevators at that time. For some years the upper rooms were rented to a
sign painter. John Whay had a fruit store on the corner of Griswold
Street for a long time.
The buildings were all destroyed in 1893 and an eight story brick and
steel building was erected by the Home Savings Bank. The bank occupied
the corner and rented the inside store to Waring H. Ellis for a tobacco
store, but after the death of Mr. Ellis, enlarged the bank so as to occupy
the entire ground floor. The upper rooms were rented for law offices, ex-
cepting the first floor which was occupied for twenty years by the Burton
Abstract Company.
The title of the buildings and the lease was transferred to James C.
McGregor. When the lease expired the Home Bank, now called the Wayne
County and Home Savings Bank, purchased the real estate and razed the
building to make way for the new building just completed in 1915.
Nearly all of the lot 48 was taken to open Griswold Street; a small part
1110 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
of what remained is attached to lot 47, south of the alley and the remain-
der forms part of lot 78 north of the alley.
Lot 48 was given to Charles Gouin as a donation lot in 1807 and it was
sold to Joseph W. Torrey for $100 in 1827. After the street was opened
the portion left was sold to Oliver M. Hyde for $300 in 1853. He put up
a small building on the lower part of the lot, that he used for an office.
Hyde leased the office to John Seeley (“Cheap John Seeley”) for six years
from 1866.
Lot 78 was donated to Daniel Larzeher in 1825 who sold it to Abraham
Lazeher for $50 in 1833. Jonathan O. Howland bought it in 1837 for
$1,500. The price would indicate that there was a house on the lot.
Lot 78 was a very long lot and faced on Griswold Street as it was first
laid down. There was quite a good sized lot left after the street was opened
and Oliver M. Hyde purchased it in 1842 and had his home on this lot and
the small fraction of lot 48, adjoining. Hyde was mayor of the city at one
time and collector of customs. He had some trouble with the government
in settling his accounts and the United States began suit against him and
seized this property, but afterwards relinquished it when a settlement
was made with Mr. Hyde. Through some transfers to various members
of his family the property was retained by them and was sold in 1863
to William C. Duncan and Simon Mandelbaum. A part of the property
passed through the hands of Henry Weber, but in 1873 it had all been
gathered in the name of Duncan and Mandelbaum. The next owner was
Mrs. Sara C. Duncan, now Mrs. Dr. McLean, and she sold it to Clark J.
Whitney for $67,039.26. Stephen Baldwin bought it for $260,000 in 1894.
It is now owned by E. D. Stair, a corporation.
While it was owned by O. M. Hyde he built on it a fine two-story house,
facing Griswold Street. The house had two wings, one on either side.
After he left the house it was used for various purposes. A Chinese
laundry occupied the northerly wing. The southerly wing was used for a
saloon as was also the main part of the house.
In 1875 the Hyde home was torn down and a row of two-story brick
buildings erected in place of it. At No. 170 Griswold Street, on the north-
erly side of the alley, was the office of the Water Board.
After the Water Board purchased Fireman’s Hall in the old Armory
on Jefferson Avenue, which had been their previous home, the store, 170
Griswold Street, was occupied for a drug store.
In 1894 Clark J. Whitney who had long been connected with musical
properties and theatres, built what is now known as the Garrick Theatre
and office building, covering the entire site of the old home of Mayor Hyde.
Across the street on the northwest corner of Griswold Street and
Michigan Avenue were located lots 49 and 50, extending to what was
Griswold Street of the original plan of the city, and lot 51 was on the
north side of the avenue next beyond the old vacated street.
All of this land, extending about 150 feet on the avenue to the line of lot
51, belonged to Gen. John R. Williams. He leased it to William Shaw for
seven years from May 2, 1846. The lease was cancelled November 15, 1852.
*
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1111
The amount of the rent reserved indicates that there was a building
on the lot at this time. There certainly were buildings on the lot before
the end of the lease. William Shaw here had a hotel and the hotel and
barns connected with it were destroyed by fire September 23, 1850. The
hotel was called the Michigan Railroad House and at the time of the fire
was owned and kept by William Garrett. Not only were these buildings
destroyed by the fire, but also the dwelling house of O. Cook and a dwelling
house and barn of Oliver M. Hyde. Mr. Hyde's house was, at the time of
the fire, occupied by Charles H. and Thomas S. Sprague, who had in it a
large quantity of garden seeds.
The property On the corner remained vacant for several years. In 1862
David A. Ross established a lumber yard which remained for many years.
Theodore P. Hall and William B. Wesson purchased the property from
the heirs of John R. Williams and the property is still owned by the estate
of these two gentlemen.
Historic Political Campaigns
By William Stocking
STATE DEMOCRATIC IN EARLY DAYS
In its territorial and early state period Michigan was almost uniformly
democratic. The influence of the federal administration and office holders
and the dominance of General Cass, one of the most prominent democrats
in the country, both tended that way. Upon the three questions which in
the largest degree separated the two great parties of the United States
Bank, internal improvements and the tariff, Michigan sentiment naturally
turned toward the democrats. Under the tidal wave that swept the coun-
try, the state gave a small majority for Harrison for President in 1840
and a still smaller one for William Woodbridge for Governor in 1839. But
these elections furnished the only gleam of light for the whigs. In every
other election from 1836 to 1852 the democrats had substantial pluralities
and generally a clear majority. It was the rising tide of anti-slavery senti-
ment that brought about the revolution in Michigan politics, and lead to
the historic campaign of 1854.
ANTI-SLAVERY SENTIMENT
Under its fundamental charter, the Ordinance of 1787, and in the senti-
ment of a majority of its people, Michigan was opposed to the system of
slavery in itself, and especially opposed to its extension into new territory.
The harsh methods sometimes used in enforcing the fugitive slave law of
1793 and the more severe law of 1850 were sources of constant irritation.
The feeling first found political expression in a small way in 1840 when
the “liberty party” in Michigan gave James G. Birney, a resident of the
state, 321 votes for President. Four years later, under the same name it
gave the same candidate 3,639 votes. In 1848, under the name of “Free
Soil” it gave Martin Van Buren 10,393. In 1852 the free soil vote fell to
7,237.
1112 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA CONTROVERSY
The overwhelming democratic majority in the country in the latter
year and the assurance of the democratic platform and of President
Pierce that the compromises of 1850 should be accepted as final, seemed
likely to quiet agitation for a time, but the proposition to open the Way
for slavery in new territories by the repeal of the Missouri Compromise,
reopened the subject under conditions that generated intense feeling and
strife. It came about in this way. At the opening of Congress in Decem-
ber, 1853, Senator Dodge, of Iowa, introduced a bill to organize the terri-
tory west of Missouri and Iowa into the single Territory of Nebraska.
Sen. Stephen A. Douglas, for the committee to which it was referred,
reported the bill back creating the two territories of Kansas and Nebraska
and providing that “the section of the act preparatory to the admission
of Missouri into the Union, was superseded by the principles of the legis-
lation of 1850” and was declared inoperative. This movement to repeal the
Missouri Compromise and thus practically to open all the territory to
slavery, became the storm center of contemporary politics. Opposition
to it became the rallying point about which all divisions of anti-slavery
sentiment gathered, creating a new party and made the year 1854 memor-
able in political history. In this movement Michigan took the lead.
THE FIRST JACKSON CONVENTION
The first of the three gatherings which brought about this result was
a state convention called by the free democratic party “to effect a complete
Organization of the free democracy in the state, and to nominate candi-
dates for state offices.” The call was issued on January 12, 1854, and
the convention was held at Jackson on February 22d. In the meantime
numerous county conventions and mass meetings were held to give expres-
Sion to anti-slavery sentiment. The largest and most significant of these
was held in Detroit on February 18th, four days before the state conven-
tion. It was called simply as an “Anti-Nebraska” meeting, was attended
by both free Soilers and whigs, who heard vigorous speeches and adopted
strong resolutions against the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill or any
further concessions to slavery. It did not send delegates to the free demo-
cratic convention, but was the first large meeting to give voice to the
Suggestion that all anti-slavery elements should unite. The Jackson con-
vention nominated a full state ticket, and adopted a long platform which
was progressive in its utterances both upon national and state issues. It
conceded that slavery in the states in which it then existed was politically
beyond reach, but denounced and abhorred the system. Its utterance upon
the issue immediately pending was as follows: “The attempt now pending
in Congress to repeal the act by which the vast territory north of the Mis-
Souri Compromise line was dedicated to freedom is an outrage upon
justice, humanity and good faith; one by which traitorous ambition, con-
federated with violation of a solemn and time-honored compact is seeking
to inflict upon the nation a deep and indelible disgrace. We denounce the
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1113
scheme as infamous, and we call upon the people to hold its authors and
abettors to the most rigid and righteous accountability.” The convention
gave places on the platform to two leading whigs and advised the calling
of a mass convention to take appropriate action.
MASS GATHERING AT KALAMAZOO
The passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill by Congress and its approval
by President Pierce, May 30, 1854, furnished the occasion for holding
such a convention. The call, a long and stirring one, parts of which might
almost be called hysterical, was signed by several members of an indepen-
dent democratic committee. The convention was held in the courthouse in
Kalamazoo, June 21st. It included both whig and free soil leaders and
was earnest, harmonious and enthusiastic. It adopted a series of strong
resolutions. The one which was historically the most important declared
that the free democracy of Michigan “are confident that the deeply
aroused feeling of the masses in this state will seek a suitable expression
in a convention springing from themselves irrespective of any political
organization, and if such a movement shall be animated and guided by
the principles expressed in the resolutions of this convention and shall
contemplate an efficient organization to give effect to our principles in this
state, we shall willingly surrender our distinctive organization and with
it the state ticket nominated at Jackson on the 22d of February last; and
we commit the execution of this purpose to a committee of sixteen, two
persons to each judicial district.”
A ROUSING APPEAL
The committee of sixteen appointed in accordance with this resolution
issued a stirring call addressed to “The People of Michigan,” and com-
mencing with the words, “A great wrong has been perpetrated. The slave
power of the country has triumphed. The Missouri Compromise, a solemn
compact, entered into by our Fathers, has been violated, and a vast terri-
tory, dedicated to freedom, has been opened to slavery.” A long recital
of the evil consequences resulting from this act was given, ending with
the following invitation. “In view therefore, of the recent action of
Congress upon this subject, and the evident designs of the Slave power
to attempt still further aggressions upon freedom, we invite all our fellow
citizens, without reference to former political associations, who think that
the time has arrived for a union of the North to protect liberty from being
overthrown and downtrodden, to assemble in mass convention on Thurs-
day, the 6th of July next, at One o'clock at Jackson, there to take such
measures as shall be thought best to concentrate the popular sentiment of
the state against the aggressions of the slave power.”
Copies of this appeal were at once printed and circulated. In less
than a fortnight 10,000 signatures were obtained and they kept coming in
up to the day of the convention. The list from Detroit contained an
astonishing number of the leading citizens including whigs, free soilers and
many democrats.
1114 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
THE GREAT CONVENTION
On the day appointed a crowd variously estimated at from 3,000 to
5,000 assembled at Jackson. There were too many to be accommodated in
any hall, and adjournment was taken to a nearby grove of oak trees. The
crowd was an unwieldy body, too large to be held down to parlimentary
procedure, and it contained men of diverse views on many subjects. There
were whigs who desired to retain the old name and organization if possible,
and whigs who had been working for months to break up the old parties
and to organize a new. There were free soilers who distrusted the whigs,
and free soilers who thought the whigs as a party were at one with them-
selves on the vital issue. There were Anti-Nebraska democrats who, On
every other question, agreed with their own party, and there were tem-
prance men who wanted a prohibition plank in the platform. But there
was sufficient unity of purpose to fuse these incongruous elements. The
platform, which was finally and almost unanimously adopted, was long,
containing about 2,250 words. It touched very lightly upon state affairs,
being devoted almost entirely to the issues raised by the slavery question.
The delicate task of selecting a state ticket, to be submitted to the con-
vention for approval was delegated to a committee selected from the sena-
torial districts and numbering eighty-eight members—a fair sized con-
vention of itself. The ticket nominated at the convention February 22d
had been withdrawn, but the committee retained its candidate for gov-
ernor, Kinsley S. Bingham, who had been twice elected to Congress as a
democrat, but who had revolted on the slavery question. The rest of the
ticket was made up impartially of old whigs and free democrats.
Many of the ablest leaders of the old parties were among the speakers
at the convention. There was a strong feeling in favor of a complete
union, a willingness to surrender old party ties and sentiment, and a sup-
reme confidence in the success of the movement.
The campaign that followed was carried into every county, almost
every School district, and was one of the most spirited ever made in the
state. The state ticket was elected together with three out of the four
congressmen, and a good working majority in both houses of the legisla-
ture. This was the last of democratic supremacy in Michigan for many
a weary year. From that day to this the republicans have elected every
governor but three, and have had a majority in every legislature but one.
NAME AND PERSONNEL OF THE PARTY
There had been some controversy at different times as to priority in
the use of the name for the new party thus launched, and claims have been
made both for Wisconsin and Massachusetts. But the evidence of the
dates is conclusive. In the voluminous declaration adopted at Jackson
was a resolution “That in view of the necessity of battling for the first
principles of republican government, and against the schemes of aris-
tocracy the most revolting and oppressive with which the earth was ever
cursed or man debased we will coöperate and be known as republicans
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1115
until the contest be terminated.” This was July 6, 1854. The Wisconsin
State Convention which was held in Madison a week later, July 13, adopted
the same name. The convention at Worcester, Massachusetts, which
adopted the name republican, was held six days later, July 19th. A claim
of priority was once set up for the Republican Association of Washington,
but that was not organized till June 29, 1855. The fact remains that
the republican party was born and christened “Under the Oaks” at Jack-
SOIl.
Of the men who were sufficiently prominent in this epoch-making con-
vention to be mentioned in the published reports as officers, speakers or
committee members, five were afterwards United States senators. They
were Kinsley S. Bingham, Zachariah Chandler, Jacob M. Howard, Isaac
P. Christiancy and Henry P. Baldwin. Fernando C. Beaman was ap-
pointed United States senator but declined the office. Bingham and Bald-
win also held the office of governor as also did Moses Wisner, Austin Blair,
John J. Bagley and Charles M. Crosswell. James M. Turner was once
nominated for governor but was defeated at the polls. Five prominent
members of this convention became judges of United States or state high
courts, seventeen became members of the lower house of Congress, and
many more held high appointive positions at home or in the diplomatic
Se]"VICé.
A NEW CURRENCY ISSUE
The morning after the April election in 1878 the republican leaders in
Michigan contemplated the returns with a dazed look and much confusion
of mind. A party to which they had given little heed had invaded their
strongholds, carried a few cities and elected a majority of the supervisors
in some of the most reliable republican counties. It was the greenback
party that had done the mischief. The party was not new, but it had
not hitherto polled votes enough in any campaign to furnish an indication
of any great latent strength.
A brief statement of antecedent conditions is essential to an under-
standing of the situation. To meet the needs of the war, Congress in July,
1861, passed an act authorizing the issue of non-interest bearing notes
of small denominations and $60,000,000 of such notes were placed in cir-
culation. They were redeemable in coin at any United States sub-treasury
and thus violated none of the established principles of sound finance. This
issue facilitated the negotiation of loans and sufficed for war needs for that
year. Under the pressure of increasing demands, the first issue of the
legal tender currency, which came to be known as greenbacks, was author-
ized by act of February 25, 1862. These were not redeemable on demand,
but in order to secure their circulation they were made a legal tender for
all purposes except the payment of customs duties and of interest on the
public debt. The lack of the redemption feature and the compulsory cir-
culation of the notes were repugnant to the financial ideas of many of
the congressmen who nevertheless voted for the bill on account of the
necessities of the situation. The first issue was $150,000,000, with the
1116 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
stipulation that the $60,000,000 of treasury notes previously paid out
should be retired. By subsequent acts the amount of greenbacks outstand-
ing was increased to $400,000,000.
After the close of the war the secretary of the treasury, Hugh Mc-
Culloch, began retiring the currency with the view of restoring the finances
of the country to a specie basis. The plan was to convert the greenbacks
into interest bearing bonds, and to depend upon national bank notes for
the currency of the country. This aroused strong opposition and in 1868
an act was passed forbidding the further retirement of the greenbacks.
The outstanding amount was then $376,000,000, and it remained at that
figure throughout the whole period of currency agitation. In 1874 an act
was passed providing for the resumption of specie payments January 1,
1879.
During this whole period there was a constant struggle between two
ideas, one to increase the greenback issues and one to retire them. Under
various phases and forms of expression the greenback party favored the
issue of all currency by the government, in sufficient volume for the wants
of trade. It denounced the national bank currency, opposed the resump-
tion of specie payments and would make the greenbacks legal tender for
all purposes, including customs duties and interest on the public debt;
“What is good enough for the people is good enough for the bondholder”
was one of its slogans.
As a separate party it held its first national convention at Indianapolis,
Indiana, May 18, 1876, and nominated Peter Cooper for President. Its
platform declared in favor of the immediate repeal of the resumption act,
and the issue of notes by the government “direct to the people” and con-
vertible on demand into bonds, bearing a rate of interest not exceeding
3.65 per cent, the notes to be legal tender for all debts “except such as by
existing contracts are payable in coin.” Upon this platform the party
polled 9,060 votes in the whole of Michigan, and this at a Presidential elec-
tion. Seventeen months later at purely local spring elections it gave its
candidates for supervisor and other local officers over 70,000 votes and
put the republican leaders in a panic.
AN AGGRESSIVE AND SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN
A solemn conclave, called by the republican state central committee,
was held at the Russell House to consider the situation. A few of those
in attendance advised concessions in the hope of bringing back the green-
back vote. Gov. Charles M. Crosswell, who, in accordance with custom,
was a candidate for reelection, urged that the party should not waver in
its declaration for a sound currency. For himself he preferred defeat on
such a platform to a victory won by a surrender to unsound theories. His
view was accepted with but little dissent, and an aggressive campaign was
planned. Ex-Senator Chandler, who had been the most consistent ad-
vocate of a Sound currency of any Senator from the West, was naturally
called upon for leadership, and it was determined to offer him the chair-
manship of the convention and of the state central committee. He had at
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1117
that time completed plans for a European trip and one of his timid friends
suggested that his chairmanship of the national committee and his con-
templated trip would furnish a valid reason for declining to assume these
new duties. They would, it was urged, make him responsible for a doubt-
ful campaign and might seriously impair his political prestige. His char-
acteristic reply was “... ------- you are a d - d coward in politics. I am
going to be chairman of the convention and chairman of the state central
committee and if the Michigan republican party goes down on a sound
money issue, I shall go down with it.”
It was under these circumstances that the national greenback party
met in state convention at Grand Rapids, June 5, 1878, and nomin-
ated Henry S. Smith for governor. The financial part of its platform
had fine planks, demanding the unconditional repeal of the resumption
act; the issue of all paper money by the General Government, the same to
be a full legal tender for all debts, public and private; that no more inter-
est bearing bonds of the Government of any kind or class be issued, and
that the bonds then Outstanding be paid as speedily as possible; that the
coinage of silver be placed on the same footing as that of gold, and that
the national banking law be repealed.
The republican convention was held in Detroit, June 13, 1878. It was
probably the strongest in its personnel of any delegate political convention
ever held in the state, and included in its membership many of the veterans
who had helped form the party at Jackson twenty-two years earlier. The
financial plank of its platform was long enough to constitute an essay on
debt and currency. Some of its most meaty sentences were the following:
“We denounce repudiation in every form. We regard the plighted faith
of a community as binding upon all its members, and failure to fulfill a
public obligation as a stain upon both public and private honor. We
insist that the debts of the nation shall be paid with the same fairness
and integrity with which the honest man seeks to pay his individual debts.
We assert that the value of paper currency, whether issued by the govern-
ment or the banks is derived from its promise to pay and the credit that
promise is worth; that the full benefit of such currency cannot be realized
unless it is convertible on demand into gold and silver; that this country
is too great to submit to a subordinate place among commercial nations
and its people too homest to be content with unredeemed and irredeemable
promises; and in the name of all the producing classes, and every honest
working man, we demand a currency that is not only worth its face value
all over the Union, but will command respect, recognition and its full value
in every market of the world.”
The ringing utterances of the platform attracted country-wide atten-
tion. Among others the New York Times said of it: “The Michigan
republicans have done well. Their platform has about it the clear ring
of honest convictions, undulled by any half-hearted and halting com-
promise. So bold and courageous an enunciation of the financial creed of
the republican party has certainly not been made this year, nor has the
irreconcilable hostility of the party to all forms of tampering with public
1118 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
credit and national honor become as resolutely and judiciously stated as
in the Detroit convention.”
The democratic convention was held in Detroit, July 10th. Its plat-
form was brief, but continued an adherence to the traditional hard money
doctrine of the democracy in the following language: “We declare that
gold and silver coin are the money of the constitution, and that all paper
money should be convertible into such coin at the will of the holder. We
are opposed to the further forcible reduction of the volume of currency,
and we approve the action of Congress prohibiting such reduction.” Or-
lando M. Barnes was the candidate for governor.
The campaign that followed was the hottest up to that time in Michi-
gan politics; eminent speakers were brought from other states, the republi-
can list including James G. Blaine, James A. Garfield and Gen. Stewart
L. Woodford. Hundreds of schoolhouse meetings were held and a series
of joint debates were arranged. Such was the popular interest that peo-
ple often remained after the meetings propounding their financial theories
till after midnight. The campaign resulted in a republican triumph. The
vote on governor was, Crosswell, 126,280; Barnes, 78,508; Smith, 73,313.
The republicans also elected all nine congressmen and a good majority in
both branches of the Legislature.
THE MICHIGAN CLUB AND ITS WORK
A political movement that was far-reaching in its effects was inaugur-
ated in Detroit early in 1885. The election in 1884 was a disappointment
to the republicans. The party majorities in the state on governor and
president were much smaller than usual, the First Congressional District
was lost and for the first time since the Civil War a democratic president
was elected. In a conversation between Col. John Atkinson, the defeated
republican candidate for Congress, and the chairman of his campaign com-
mittee, Henry A. Haigh, emphasis was given to the need of better organ-
ization and a campaign of education. A conference with party leaders was
arranged by Colonel Atkinson and the idea took definite form in January,
1885, when a number of Detroiters of business and political prominence
met at the Russell House and drew up a plan for a club, the object of which
should be “the promotion of the study of political and social science, and
the collection and dissemination of knowledge concerning the civil and
political institutions of the state and nation.” Articles of incorporation
were signed a month later. The charter members were twenty-five in
number, all prominent business and professional men, only three or four
of whom would in the ordinary acceptation of the term have been styled
politicians. On the 22nd of February the first officers were chosen. Chris-
tian H. Buhl was president and Henry A. Haigh, secretary. This was
considered the natal day of the Organization and was the date of all future
annual meetings, elections and banquets. The organization was christened
“The Michigan Club” and the name continued for twenty years to be a
synonym for intelligent and efficient political action. As the first step an
attractive and centrally located club room was opened and supplied with
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1119
good political literature. Arrangements were made for general meetings
and for club talks at Smaller gatherings, eight of the former and sixteen
of the latter being held the first year. A Young Men's League was also
formed and held eleven meetings. By the end of the year the club had
reached a membership of 2,000 and the League had 250 members.
A SERIES OF NOTABLE BANQUETS
The culminating event of the year was the first annual banquet held in
the Princess Theatre on the evening of February 22, 1886. This was well
staged and set the pace for subsequent functions. The banquet hall itself
was a scene of elaborate and tasteful decoration. The menu, though mostly
of cold dishes was appetizing and was well served, the music was well
selected and the speaking was of a superior order. Sen. Thomas W. Pal-
mer was toastmaster and Governor Alger gave the address of welcome.
The speakers for the evening were Sen. William M. Evarts, of New York;
Gov. J. B. Foraker, of Ohio; Congressman Richard Guenther, Of Wiscon-
sin; Gen. John A. Logan, of Illinois; Sen. Charles F. Manderson, of Ne-
braska; Sen. Omar D. Conger and Congressman Roswell G. Horr, of
Michigan. Letters of regret were read or filed from James G. Blaine,
John C. Fremont, John Sherman, and a host of cabinet ministers, United
States senators and other political lights. Senator Evarts had for the
text of his address “Washington the Nationalist, the Federal Union, the
Consummation of His Work.” Other toasts appropriate to the day were:
“Washington the Republican,” “Washington the Surveyor and Farmer,”
“Washington the Soldier,” “Washington the Protectionist,” and “The Day
We Celebrate.” Still others were, “Our State Governments,” “The Amer-
ican Citizen” and “Our New Empire, the Rowdy West,” the response to
the latter being by Senator Manderson.
This first banquet was typical of those that followed. They were all
marked by elaborate decorations both flag and floral, an elegant spread,
and political addresses of the highest order and upon a great variety of
subjects. Among the speakers within the next five years appear the names
of Senators Henry Cabot Lodge, of Massachusetts; John P. Dolliver, of
Iowa, one of the most eloquent of political orators; Warner Miller, of New
York; Jacob H. Gallinger, of New Hampshire; Blanche K. Bruce, of Mis-
sissippi, the only colored man ever elected to the United States Senate;
John M. Thurston, of Nebraska; William P. Frye, of Maine, and Anthony
Higgins, of Delaware. Gen. Stewart L. Woodford, of New York, was on
the list three times, and Gen. Horace Porter once. A number of cabinet
officers and governors of other states attended, while many Michigan
governors, senators and congressmen helped swell the lists. At other ban-
quets there were toasts to “Washington the Revolutionist,” “Washington
the Unionist,” “Washington the Soldier,” “Washington the Prototype of
American Republicanism,” and “Washington, the Virginian,” the re-
sponse to the latter being by John S. Wise of that state. But the toasts
were not by any means all devoted to the Father of His Country. In the
1120 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
course of twenty years they covered most of the essential principles and
purposes of the republican party and a number of its slogans.
The banquet of 1888 was a notable one from the fact that the three
principal speakers were all recognized as presidential aspirants or at least
as presidential possibilities. They were Joseph R. Hawley, who was Con-
necticut’s “favorite son,” with other New England support in two national
conventions, Benjamin Harrison and William McKinley, who were the
next two republican presidents. Presidential prospects were freely dis-
cussed at club gatherings, and presidential timber was not lacking on the
programs. During the first five or six years the following were on the list
of speakers and they all figured later as candidates in republican national
conventions: Thomas B. Reed, of Maine; John Sherman, of Ohio; John A.
Logan, of Illinois; Russell A. Alger, of Michigan; Charles W. Fairbanks,
of Indiana, and William B. Allison, of Iowa. Among the speakers in the
latter years of the club were Frank O. Lowden, and Gen. Leonard Wood,
both of whom cut a large figure in the national republican convention of
1920. Of all the presidential possibilities who addressed the club, Hawley
and McKinley were favorites. Senator Hawley spoke at two banquets and
sent letters of regret to two others. McKinley was among the chief speak-
ers at three banquets before 1896 and once after he became president.
PROPAGANDA WORK
The organization and literature of the club played up individuals
strongly. An account of the proceedings one year showed sixteen on the
general executive committee, 120 members picked from all over the state
on the reception committee, and twelve other committees with from six
to fifteen members each. The presidents were generally business men,
and not politicians nor office holders. The first nine in succession were
Christian H. Buhl, James L. Edson, Clarence A. Black, William H. Elliott,
Hazen S. Pingree, Horace Hitchcock, Thomas Berry, George S. Davis and
Magnus Butzel.
In the odd numbered years when the state elections were held in the
Spring it became the custom to hold the republican state convention in
Detroit on the 22d of February or the day before. The Michigan Club
kept open house on these occasions. General Alger also commonly opened
his home for a reception to club members and convention delegates. This
was always a brilliant Social event, while the smoking room and the room
adjoining were the scenes of more or less political conference. How many
governors, congressmen and other officials were made and unmade in these
two days of convention, banquet and club house conferences the public
could never conjecture.
The banquets were the most conspicuous of the club's functions, but
its other activities were great. In the second year the directors held
twenty-five meetings, steps were taken through the Young Men's League
to organize every election precinct in the city, and branch clubs, with an
average of 400 members each, were organized in fifteen counties. The
fourth annual report covering mostly the calendar year 1888 showed con-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1121
tinued work in the organization of branches, and a League of Michigan
republican clubs. The parent club was also identified in a conspicuous way
with the republican national convention at Chicago, where it established
headquarters. In the campaign which followed the club had ninety-one
speakers on its list and arranged for 131 meetings in Wayne County.
The influence of the club was not confined to its own county or state.
Two of the speakers at its first banquet, William M. Evarts of New York,
and Governor Foraker of Ohio, were so much impressed with the value
of the club plan for political work that they took steps to secure similar or-
ganizations in their own states, in both of which large numbers of separate
clubs were susequently established, and consolidated into state leagues.
The movement extended still further, for upon invitation of the republican
club of New York, delegates from clubs throughout the country met in that
city in December, 1887, and organized the Republican League of the United
States. At this meeting, the Michigan Club, as the first organization of
its kind in the country, was given a prominent place and the delegates were
among the leaders in the councils of the convention. The League of Col-
lege Republican Clubs was a later outgrowth of the same movement. The
original organization in Detroit thus became a veritable incubator of
political clubs.
THE LATER POLITICAL CAMPAIGN
Aside from the three here summarized the political movements in
Michigan did not vary greatly from those in other northwestern states.
The free silver campaign of 1896 was the most hotly contested of any. It
weakened old party lines and shattered old alliances. It appealed to busi-
ness men, as such, more strongly than any other; was marked by more
meetings, more speeches and a far greater volume of literature than any
other contest. It was in this campaign that noonday meetings at the fac-
tories were first conducted on a large scale. A large room on the ground
floor of an office building, then under construction, was used for meetings
every noon for several weeks. Open air meetings on the Campus Martius
had such a hold upon participants that they were reluctant to let go.
Arguments and exhortations were vocal from the city hall steps from 8
o'clock in the morning till 2 o’clock the next morning. Even on election
day when half their hearers had already voted three of these curbstone
orators were still vociferous in the enunciation of their views. It was
the greenback campaign over again with added intensity and duration.
The circulation of documents was enormous. On the silver side it had been
going on for two years. On the other side sixty different documents to
the number of more than 4,000,000 copies were sent out by the republican
state central committee alone, and larger books of reference were fur-
nished in great numbers to the speakers. The result was a substantial
majority for McKinley, both in city and state. As a progressive state
Michigan naturally went to Roosevelt in 1912, but returned to its repub-
lican allegiance in 1916, and remained there very decidedly in 1920.
1122 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Slavery and the Underground Railroad
By William Stocking
SLAVERY AND THE NEGROES IN MICHIGAN
Although the Ordinance of 1787 dedicated the Northwest Territory to
freedom from both Indian and negro slavery, both existed in Michigan
for some time after that, as an aftermath of the British rule. The few
Indian slaves were mostly captives from the Pawnee tribe, frequently
mentioned in the early records as “Pani slaves.” The original source of
supply of negro slaves was southern plantations from which marauding
bands of Indians brought fugitives. The number in bondage at one time
was never large, though most of the leading families were in possession
of one or more of this class. They were generally employed as house
servants or personal attendants, and in the War of 1812 several accom-
panied their masters into the field. Joseph Campau, George McDougall,
James Duperon Baby, James Abbott, Judge James May, Gen. John R.
Williams and John Askin are among those mentioned in the early annals
as possessing this kind of property. In 1792 the Canadian authorities
forbade the further importation of slaves, but the order was not strictly
observed. After the surrender of the forts in 1796, in spite of the Ordi-
nance of 1787, slaves were still held in accordance with the stipulation
in the Jay Treaty that the inhabitants should be protected in their prop-
erty. Slavery, however, whether Indian or negro, was a very minor
incident in the life of the town. It gradually died out and the sentiment
not only of Detroit but of all Southern Michigan became in time quite
hostile to it. The Constitution of 1835 expressly prohibited slavery in
the state. In 1837 one of the first anti-slavery societies in the West was
organized in Detroit. It was short-lived, but the feeling that gave rise
to it had already found expression in two very practical ways, passive
resistance to the enforcement of the existing fugitive slave law and
active aid to fugitives escaping from the South.
ADOPTION OF “THE HIGHER LAW’’
There was a large body of men in the North, and Michigan had its
full share of them, who were law abiding in most respects but who were
uncompromisingly hostile to the Fugitive Slave Law. That act was
legally adopted and was of unquestioned constitutionality. But the
“Higher Law” doctrine held by these men was that congressional enact-
ment could not make binding upon the conscience nor the acts of citizens
a law which was in itself morally wrong. They considered the whole
slavery system an iniquity, and the Fugitive Slave Law as not only wrong
in principle, but as harsh in its terms and wantonly cruel, irritating,
mischievous and unjust in the methods of its enforcement. In some
states they sought to destroy its efficacy by personal liberty laws, but
as individuals they simply disobeyed it. For the most part, however,
they did not counsel revolution, secession nor armed resistance. Many
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1123
of them supplemented the higher law by the doctrine of “passive resist-
ance.”
If a man of this type knew of a fugitive concealed in Detroit or
making his way to Canada he did not consider it a part of his duty to
inform the United States marshal of that fact. If he was caught aiding
or abetting the escape of the fugitive he would not resist arrest. If he
was imprisoned he would bear it with composure. But as God was his
judge no power on earth could make him assist to enforce a law which
he considered morally wrong and an outrage upon the rights of man. The
attempts made in Detroit to enforce the old Fugitive Slave Law led to
a few very dramatic events, and had much to do with the enactment of
the severer law of 1850.
THE BLACKBURN RESCUE AND RIOT
Runaway slaves frequently found their way to Detroit, generally
with the view of crossing over to Canada, though some took the risk of
remaining here. Among the latter were Thornton Blackburn and his
wife who ran away from their master at Louisville, Kentucky, and came
to Detroit in the year 1830. The husband labored for Thomas Coquillard
until the summer of 1833, when his master, having obtained information
of the whereabouts of his two slaves, sent his agent to this city to claim
them as “fugitives from labor.” After a trial before Justice Chipman,
the runaways were delivered into the custody of Sheriff John M. Wilson,
and lodged in the jail, which then stood where the downtown public
library now (1920) stands. This occurred on Saturday; and, on the
following Monday, the slaves were to be delivered on board the steamer
Ohio, which had been delayed two days beyond her usual time to receive
them. Wilson and his deputy, Lemuel Goddell, were, each to receive $50
for the safe delivery of the fugitives at the dock, at the foot of Randolph
Street, then the leading business point in the city. On Sunday Mrs.
Blackburn was visited in the jail by two friends, Mrs. Madison J. Light-
foot and Mrs. George French. The latter exchanged clothes with Mrs.
Blackburn, who walked out of the jail unsuspected. Mrs. French was
released from her voluntary incarceration on a writ of habeas corpus,
was subsequently rearrested, but finally escaped to Canada. When being
taken from jail to the boat on the Monday following his arrest Blackburn
himself was rescued by a mob of colored men and their friends, rushed
out Gratiot Avenue, then around the city to the Rouge and across the
river to Sandwich. In the melee attending the rescue one negro was shot
and the sheriff sustained a fractured skull, his teeth were knocked out
and he was otherwise injured.
There was great excitement over this event which was afterwards
known as the “First Negro Insurrection.” The military were at once
called out. A company of horsemen, with General Williams at their
head, patrolled the streets. Bugles were sounded, and the firebells added
to the alarm. The announcement was made at every corner that “the
niggers have risen and the sheriff is killed.” Every colored man and
1124 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
woman found in the streets was arrested and lodged in the jail, which
was crowded to the door. Those who were innocent of participating in
the riot were set free on giving bail for their good behavior. Those who
could not give the proper security were kept in prison. The guilty ones
were fined in various sums, or sentenced to work on the streets, with
ball and chain at their feet. The more guilty had to work and pay a
fine in addition. Lightfoot was confined three days, because he was
Supposed to know who gave Blackburn the pistol, and refused to tell.
French made tracks for Windsor. Mrs. Lightfoot was fined $25 for
being “the prime mover in the riot.” This she never denied although
the real leader was a one-handed barber named Cook. Blackburn and
his wife were arrested on the other side, detained for a while, then re-
leased and went to Amherstburg. They finally moved to Toronto where
Blackburn became prominent and acquired considerable property. Ten
years later he took the risk of going in disguise to Louisville and stole
his mother from slavery.
OTHER SLAVE RESCUES
The contemporary records give accounts of fugitive slaves rescued
from their southern pursuers, though no others quite so dramatic as the
Blackburn case. There were always bright resourceful blacks and plenty
of their white friends ready to aid in baffling the slave hunters and the
latter complained that even the local officials were either indifferent or
obstructive.
One of the last cases under the old law, the Cromwell-Dunn case,
illustrated both these phases. Robert Cromwell, a young colored man,
left his master, David Dunn of St. Louis, taught school for some years in
Indiana and then moved to Detroit. Dunn learned of his whereabouts,
came to Detroit, and secured his arrest and detention in the United
States Courthouse. Cromwell, however, was aided to escape to Windsor,
while Dunn was himself arrested, under Michigan law, on the charge of
abduction. In default of the high bail demanded he remained in jail
six months before his case came to trial and then barely escaped convic-
tion. The ultimate result of this case was not so favorable to the fugi-
tives in general. Dunn was a man of political prominence in Missouri,
on intimate terms with Senator Thomas H. Benton and the recital of his
experience had much to do with the enactment of the Fugitive Slave
Law of 1850.
One of the first cases brought under that law was that of Silas Rose.
He had escaped from slavery in Kentucky and had lived in Detroit several
years. After the law went into effect he was betrayed by a fellow work-
man on the Woodbridge farm, was tried in the United States Court and
remanded to his former master. Preparations were made to resist his
rendition, the Scott Guards were called out and there was every indica-
tion of a serious conflict. But a more peaceful course was adopted. A
subscription paper was headed by General Cass and money enough was
raised to purchase Rose’s freedom.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1125
The enactment of the second Fugitive Slave Law, that of 1850, had
a depressing effect upon the colored people of Detroit. Many of them
Sacrificed their property to get away, not knowing how soon they might
be carried back into slavery, and it was found necessary by the leading
men of the community to assure them that the danger was more imag-
inary than real. But a sense of security could hardly be established
among them. The aiding of fugitives to escape, however, continued to
prosper, the number of fugitives crossing at this point became larger
than ever, as many as forty-three having been run over in one night, and
if the negroes were afraid to live in Detroit, the slave-hunters also gave
the place a wide berth. Isolated minor cases of slave arrests happened
from time to time, but little excitement attended them, and no more
Slaves were returned from this point.
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
During this whole period Detroit people took a very active part in
the fugitive slave rescue work that went under the name of “The Under-
ground Railroad.” This secret line of communication between Kentucky
and Canada had many ramifications and devious routes. The principal
“way stations” in Michigan were White Pigeon, Kalamazoo, Battle Creek
and Marshall. Dependable “agents” were at all these stations. The
most Successful one was Erastus Hussey, a Quaker, living in Battle Creek,
who in the course of his long service aided 1,300 fugitives to escape.
Charles T. Gorham, a leading citizen of Marshall, was once tried and
fined for his participation in the work. Zachariah Chandler headed a
paper with a subscription for paying the fine, but Mr. Gorham preferred
to settle with the court out of his own funds. In Detroit the shrewd
and efficient “agent” was George DeBaptist, a colored man, and associated
with him was another well known colored resident, William Lambert.
DeBaptist began his rescue work in 1829, when as a mere lad he aided
a fugitive to escape from Richmond, Virginia. In 1838 he became the
station agent at Madison, Indiana, which was one of the main crossing
points from the slave to the free states. He remained there eight years
and during that period he started 108 fugitives toward the North in his
own wagon, besides assisting many times that number in other ways.
After eight years at Madison he moved to Detroit and continued the work
there. The following is condensed from an account once given by De-
Baptist to the writer of the methods pursued in the rescue work: The
principal stations on the Ohio River were Cincinnati and Madison, from
these there were lines extending through the South. From the Ohio
River, a chain of stations, a short distance apart, extended to White
Pigeon in this state. The fugitives were generally the most intelligent
negroes of the South. Frequently they were nearly white, and some were
pure white. [sic]. Agents of the road were constantly traveling in all
the southern states. It was their business to convey passengers as far
as the Ohio. On the arrival of a fugitive near that river, notice was
sent to agents on this side. As it was not safe to write in any letter any
1126 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
intimation of the business of the road, secret means of communication
were devised. For instance, Mr. DeBaptist would receive a letter stating:
“There is a chance to purchase a horse that will suit your purposes. He
is a mahogany bay, young, well broken, large and is just the thing for a
minister. You can see him on Tuesday afternoon. Price $100.” From
this letter, the agent would understand that a large mulatto, who was a
church member, desired his aid to escape north ; that he would be at the
station in Louisville, Tuesday night, and that he had $100 to pay his
expense. If the letter had described a light brown filly, he would have
known that the fugitive was a light colored girl. If it was said that the
price would be cheap, he would know that the fugitive had no money, or
but very little, and must be provided for by the railroad company. Or
the letter would state that “I have secured for you a pair of black and
tan pups—good ratters, but young. They will be ready for you next
Monday.” That would mean two fugitive children. Sometimes the writer
would state that the animals, whatever they were, would be sent across
the river. In that case, on the day mentioned, the agent, or one or more
friends, would go down to the bank of the Ohio, after dark, a wagon in
waiting a mile or two away, and lie perhaps for hours, at the water's
edge, listening for the sound of muffled oars, which were always used
to propel a skiff across the river. On landing, the fugitive would be
put in charge of runners, to take from station to station either in wagons,
on foot or on horseback. Often the horse’s feet would be muffled, by hav-
ing the shoes removed, and sometimes by wrapping a bit of carpet over
each hoof.
But crossing the Ohio River, which was well guarded by a patrol on
the Kentucky shore, and by fugitive slave-hunters, on the lookout for a
reward, on the northern shore, was a difficult business. To attempt the
feat with a skiff was a dangerous experiment, since, if the skiff were
captured, all who were in it would be liable to imprisonment, if white;
and if colored, to be sold into slavery. Consequently other means were
resorted to, by which the passage was made on the steamboats. Generally
the white agent, dressed to represent a southern planter, or a merchant,
would get on board the boat at Louisville, or even farther down the
river, and secure a stateroom. Immediately on purchasing his ticket, he
would inquire anxiously of the clerk of the boat if a boy, or a woman, as
the case might be, had brought a bundle aboard for him. The clerk would
answer no. The agent would anxiously expect such a messenger. An-
other agent on the bank, catching a signal, would notify the fugitive who
would presently board the boat, with a bundle of clothes, bearing the
card of some well known clothing-house, or with a basket of clean linen,
and inquire for “Massa Delmar,” or whatever name was given by the
agent. The agent would recognize his bundle, and proceed to point out
his stateroom. The fugitive, having slyly received the key, would go
boldly to the stateroom, and lock himself in. The agent would linger
outside, in the cabin, or on deck, play cards, or join in conversation with
passengers, and not go to his stateroom at all, or until very late at night.
(Courtesy of Burton Historical Collection)
THE OLD FINNEY BARN AT NORTHEAST CORNER OF STATE
AND GRISWOLD STREETS, DETROIT
Site of the Detroit Savings Bank. This old barn was a place of refuge for
slaves who were escaping to Canada by the “Underground Railroad”

WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1129
When the boat arrived at Cincinnati, or some other good stopping place,
a southern passenger, with his servant, would land, or the fugitive would
slip off alone. Frequently women were employed to bring away women
in this way. Agents rarely or never spoke to each other, and never
spoke to the fugitives in their care in the presence of others. If any
one should turn traitor, or be discovered and arrested, nobody could
suspect the others of ever having known him.
One of the principal “passenger depots” upon the northern end of
the underground railroad in Detroit was that conducted by Seymour
Finney, a native of New York State, who came to Michigan in 1834.
Mr. Finney was a tailor by trade and followed this vocation in Detroit
until 1838, when ill health forced him to seek other occupations, among
them being that of hotel-keeper. It was in this connection that he be-
came of service to the fugitive slaves. In the year 1850 he purchased
a site at the corner of Woodward and Gratiot avenues, where later stood
the Finney House; he also bought the lot at the corner of Griswold and
State streets, where now stands the Detroit Savings Bank Building, and
here he erected a commodious barn which he operated in connection with
his tavern, then known as the Temperance Hotel. Being strongly sympa-
thetic with the cause of the escaping slaves, Mr. Finney employed every
means to assist those that were sent to him across the river into Canada.
His barn served as a hiding-place for the negroes until they could reach
the river bank, whence they either swam across or were transported
in small boats, invariably at night. Hundreds were taken care of in this
way by Mr. Finney and his descendants relate that many of the black
men, in their gratitude, assumed his name after reaching Canada. Many
times, when his hotel housed the pursuing slave-masters, he was “accom-
modating” the pursued in the nearby barn.
There were countless variations in the methods of reaching Detroit,
every story almost constituting a separate romance. If a fugitive once
reached this city he was comparatively safe. There were plenty of sym-
pathizing friends here with sure places of concealment, and secret means
of getting across the river. The fugitives who settled in this part of
Canada, between 1840 and 1860 were counted by the hundreds.
THE RIOT OF 1863
In 1863 came an anti-negro riot that was not connected with the
slavery question. At that time there had arisen a bitter feeling against
the negroes in many northern cities. Many democratic papers had been
charging that the war was caused by the Abolitionists. They pointed to
the negro as the cause of all the sufferings of the nation. They declaimed
against the draft that was then approaching and stirred up a feeling
against the provost marshal who was then preparing for carrying out
that measure. Many of them sympathized with the Knights of the Golden
Circle and other secret disloyal associations that had correspondents here,
and in many ways they inflamed the passions and prejudices of the mob.
The city was close to the Canadian refuge of deserters, bounty jumpers
1130 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
and fugitives from the impending draft. Thursday, February 26th, a
man named William Faulkner, having a trifle of negro blood in his veins,
was arrested charged with having outraged the person of a girl named
Mary Brown. Though young, she was even then of doubtful reputation
and afterwards became a prostitute and common thief. The first day set
for the trial the proceedings were prevented by a mob which assaulted
Faulkner when on his way from the jail to the courtroom, and he was
barely rescued from their hands and returned to jail. The next day the
trial proceeded, and on the testimony of the girl Faulkner was convicted
and sentenced to prison for life. Attempts were made by the mob to
secure his person for the purpose of lynching, but those were frustrated
by a squad of soldiers from the provost marshal's office. The mob then
turned against other negro residents. Black men, women and children
were savagely attacked, and houses were pillaged and set on fire. In the
course of the day and evening thirty-five houses were burned, two per-
sons were killed, four others received pistol wounds, a dozen or more
others were maimed or disfigured for life, while many fled to Canada
for safety. The local military companies were called out and five com-
panies of the volunteer army were brought from camp at Ypsilanti. By
midnight order was restored.
Faulkner always strenuously maintained his innocence and his claim
came to be generally accepted, as the girl also confessed that it was a
“put up” job. But he remained in prison for seven years, when he was
pardoned by Governor Baldwin.
THE JOHN BROWN RAID
The plans for John Brown's raid were matured in this city. He ar-
rived here with fourteen slaves from Missouri in the summer of 1859.
It happened that Frederick Douglass was lecturing in this city the same
evening that Brown arrived. After the lecture the leaders of the in-
surrectionary movement got together in the house of William Webb, on
Congress Street, near St. Antoine Street, and arranged the plan for the
raid on the South, which broke out prematurely at Harper's Ferry. Lead-
ing colored people of Detroit and Chatham were present at the meeting.
Douglass objected to Brown's plan, which originally was to make raids
on single plantations until he had collected a force of about 1,000 slaves,
and then Swoop down on the large towns and cities, collecting force and
material as he progressed. Brown became angry, and asked Douglass
if he was a coward, and referred to his successes in Kansas as an augury
of the Virginia campaign. Douglass replied that he was not a coward,
and would give material aid to the plan even if he did not approve of it,
or did not go himself. George DeBaptist also disapproved of the plan,
but proposed a gunpowder plot, by which some of the largest churches
in the South would be blown up on a fixed Sunday. Brown objected to
that plan on the score of humanity, asserting that by his plan not a hun-
dred lives would be lost, his intention being not to shed blood unless it
became absolutely necessary. DeBaptist still urged radical measures,
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1131
declaring that Brown's plan would fail, and perhaps cause the loss of a
million of lives before the troubles likely to ensue would be ended. He
cited in support of his position the fact that the Nat. Turner insurrec-
tion, in 1831, by which fifty-three white lives were lost, had had the
effect of causing the next Virginia Legislature to consider a bill for the
gradual emancipation of the slaves, which was lost by only two votes.
Ossawatomie's counsel finally prevailed, and the only favor, besides
money and advice, that he asked of his Detroit friends, was to furnish
him one man, which they did—a Chathamite. The news of the disturb-
ance at Harper’s Ferry, which took the nation with so much surprise, was
perfectly well understood by the colored people of this city. They antici-
pated the event, since one Foster had divulged in Washington the plans of
Brown, who, in consequence, was obliged either to abandon his enterprise
or precipitate matters. He chose the latter alternative, though aware that
he was taking a desperate chance.
AN ENFRANCHISEMENT CELEBRATION
Thursday, February 7, 1870, was a memorable day for the colored
people in Detroit, for on that day the full citizenship that the fifteenth
amendment to the Constitution brought them was commemorated. The
celebration called out most of the colored people in the city, and many
from Windsor and Sandwich, with a host of sympathizing white friends.
The national flag was displayed on the post office and many private
buildings. In the procession with which the celebration opened were a
squad of the metropolitan police, the full band of the Twenty-eighth United
States Infantry, one hundred and fifty members of the Union League,
the Youths Mental Improvement Company, members of the Negro Ma-
sonic fraternity, officers and speakers of the day, the Light Guard Band,
a chariot carrying twenty-nine girls representing the twenty-nine States
that ratified the amendment, and hundreds of citizens on foot. On the
banners that were carried in the procession were portraits of William
Lloyd Garrison, Charles Sumner, Thaddeus Stevens, President Grant,
President Lincoln, Senator Revels and John Brown. There were many
appropriate inscriptions, and George DeBaptist displayed on his place
of business a “Notice to all stockholders of the Underground Railroad,
This office is closed. Hereafter all stockholders will receive dividends
according to their merits.”
At the opera house where the exercises were held the veteran William
Lambert presided, and Governor Baldwin made the opening address. Let-
ters were read from William Lloyd Garrison, Senator Carl Schurz, Sen-
ator Jacob M. Howard who framed the fifteenth amendment, Frederick
Douglass and others. A poem was read by J. Madison Bell, of Toledo,
“the colored poet of America.” The orator of the day was John D. Rich-
ards, an associate of DeBaptist and Lambert in the earlier struggles of
the race, and one of the best known and most talented colored men in the
West. Other speakers were William A. Howard and William Jennison.
The exercises were continued in the evening at Merrill Hall, where
1132 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
the first address was by Lewis Clark of Canada, the “George Harris” of
“Uncle Tom's Cabin,” and congratulatory speeches were made by about
a dozen others, both white and colored. The celebration, taking it all
together, was one of the most notable and most interesting ever held in
the city, and the colored people of Detroit thus entered upon their new
duties and privileges with high hope and keen anticipation.
Detroit Men in Public Life
By William Stocking
Many of the activities of the Michigan men who were most prominent
in public life are recounted in other chapters of this publication, but
the men themselves may properly be grouped in this chapter. The most
striking fact about the history of the state in its formative period is the
great preponderance of men of New England birth. In 1823 when rep-
resentative government first took form the governor, the territorial secre-
tary, all four of the Supreme Court judges and more than half of the
territorial council were from that section. The two men, Cass and Chand-
ler, who were successively the dominant figures in Michigan politics from
1813 to 1879, were from one little corner of New Hampshire. Every
New England state furnished Michigan with one or more governors and
eleven United States senators had their birthplace in the same prolific
a.I’êa. f
The career of General Cass occupies first place in the early history
of the state. He was born at Exeter, New Hampshire, October 9, 1782.
He started for the Northwest Territory in 1801, crossed the Alleghany
Mountains on foot, studied law in Marietta, Ohio, and practiced there
and in Zanesville till 1812, when, as colonel of the Third Ohio Militia, he
accompanied General Hull's army to Michigan. He was appointed gov-
ernor of the territory in 1813, and held that office for eighteen years. As
governor he promoted the security and expansion of the settlements in
the Northwest by Indian treaties, made wide journeys of exploration,
inaugurated a comprehensive system of territorial roads and promoted
the adoption of representative government in territory, county and town.
He was secretary of war in President Jackson's cabinet, 1831-36; min-
ister to France, 1836–42; United States Senator, 1845-48 and 1849–57;
democratic candidate for President in 1848 and might have had the same
honor in 1856 but declined it. He was secretary of state in President
Buchanan’s cabinet, 1857-60. He was chairman of an immense union
meeting in Detroit, April 24, 1861. The last act of his public life was
to appear on the platform at a recruiting meeting in Hillsdale, August
13, 1862, and lift his voice once more for the preservation of the Union.
The most intimate associate of Governor Cass in territorial affairs
was William Woodbridge, who was born in Norwich, Connecticut, Au-
gust 20, 1780. He followed his father to Marietta, Ohio, in 1791, and
lived alternately in Connecticut and Ohio till 1806 when he was admitted
to the bar in the latter state. He was a member of the Ohio Assembly
and Senate, and prosecuting attorney of his county. He came to Michi-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1133
gan in 1819 as territorial secretary and ex-officio collector of customs
and was the first delegate in Congress from the territory. He coöperated
with Governor Cass in promoting local self-government and in securing
the territorial roads. He was presiding justice of the territorial Supreme
Court from 1828 till 1832, and was elected governor in 1839, the only
whig governor ever chosen in this old democratic state. He was elected
United States Senator in 1840 by vote of the democrats and a few whigs
who had bolted their party nominee, J. Wright Gordon. It was this
event, together with the succession of two other governors to the sen-
atorship during that period which led to the adopting in the Constitution
of 1850 of a clause which made the governor ineligible to any office or
appointment from the Legislature. -
Intimately associated with these executive officers in moulding the
character of the young commonwealth were the judges of the Supreme
Court.
When the executive, legislative and judicial departments were sep-
arated in 1823 this court was reorganized. James Witherell was ap-
pointed chief justice; Solomon Sibley, John Hunt and James Duane Doty,
associates. Judge Doty was assigned to remote parts of the territory.
The other three were resident in Detroit, where they all took part in
public affairs as well as performing their judicial duties.
Judge Witherell had a varied career. He was born in Mansfield,
Massachusetts, in 1759, enlisted as a private in the Revolutionary Army
when sixteen years old and served through seven years of the war. He
then settled in Connecticut, studied medicine, went to Vermont to prac-
tice, then took up the study of law, served on the bench, in the Legis-
lature and in Congress. In 1808 he was appointed one of the judges of
Michigan Territory and contributed to the unique history of the gov-
ernor and judges' rule. When the War of 1812 broke out he took com-
mand of the local militia, known as the Legion, as its colonel. He re-
fused to surrender his command in compliance with the terms of Hull's
capitulation, and told his men to disband and go home. He was, himself,
taken prisoner and held till 1814 when he was paroled and returned to
his judicial duties. His term as chief justice expired in 1828, when he
became territorial secretary and continued in that office till the retire-
ment of Governor Cass in 1831.
Solomon Sibley was born in Sutton, Massachusetts, in 1769, and came
to Detroit in 1797. Two years later he was elected to represent Wayne
County in the General Assembly of the Northwest Territory, and was
largely instrumental in securing the act incorporating the Town of De-
troit in 1802. He was the first mayor after the town was incorporated
as a city in 1806. He was auditor of the territory from 1814 to 1817,
United States district attorney from 1815 to 1823, elected delegate in
Congress in 1821 and was a justice of the Supreme Court through four
national administrations from 1824 to 1837. He was characterized as
“one of the wisest and best men that ever lived in Michigan.”
The third Supreme Court justice, John Hunt, was a native of Massa-
1134 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
chusetts and came to Michigan in 1819. He was active in politics, espe-
cially in the exciting four-cornered congressional campaign of 1823 when
he was manager for Austin E. Wing, the successful candidate. He died
in 1827 and was succeeded by Henry Chipman who was born in Vermont
in 1784. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in that state, but
practiced for twenty years in Charleston and Waynesborough, South Caro-
lina, before coming to Detroit in 1824. He was, for three years, one of
the publishers of the Michigan. Herald. He was on the Supreme Court
bench from 1827 to 1832, and was active in whig politics and in public
affairs for thirty years after that. -
In 1832, for political reasons, President Jackson appointed George
Morell and Ross Wilkins in place of Woodbridge and Chipman. From
that time until Michigan was admitted as a state in 1837, the judges
resident in Detroit were Chief Justice Morell, and Associates Sibley and
Wilkins.
Judge Morell is described as a man of very commanding presence.
He was over six feet in height, well proportioned, with an erect and dig-
nified carriage, a large Websterian head, prominent nose, blond com-
plexion, grayish blue eyes, firm, well-shaped mouth and thick, curly iron
gray hair. On the bench he wore a blue coat with brass buttons, buff
vest, high collar, black satin stock and ruffled shirt. He was punctilious
in manner, but considerate to litigants. º
A contemporary account of Judge Wilkins describes him as “a re-
markable man. He was about five feet ten inches in height, well pro-
portioned, lithe and graceful, with long hair, expressive eyes, and a facial
resemblance to Lord Byron. His motions and his intellect were both
quick and his reasoning was clear and lucid. While reading and studying
the evidence and papers before him he was always moving restlessly in
his chair, and when he had finished he would rise and going to the back
part of the courtroom, would fill and light his long pipe and smoke as
he walked around, always paying the strictest attention to the proceed-
ings. When a case was finished he always had his decision ready. Some
of his charges will compare favorably with the best efforts of both Ameri-
can and British courts.”
It has been said that the bar of Michigan during this period was
hardly surpassed by that of any other portion of the Union. The judges
of this court were all men of strong character and aside from their
judicial position were prominent in moulding the institutions of the terri-
tory.
When in 1857 the State Supreme Court was organized in entire sep-
aration from the circuit courts, James V. Campbell of this city, then
only thirty-five years old, was one of the four judges elected. He was
retained on the bench by subsequent reelection till his death in 1890.
It was during his incumbency that under the “illustrious four,” Judges
Campbell, Cooley, Christiancy and Graves, the court attained its highest
rank, being regarded as one of the ablest courts in the country. In the
modern period the justiceships of the Supreme Court have been well
HENRY P. BALDWIN JOHN J. BAGLEY
RUSSELL. A. ALGER HAZEN. S. PINGREE
DETROIT MEN WHO BECAME GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN


WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1137
distributed through the state. Those from Detroit in addition to Judge
Campbell have been John W. McGrath, William L. Carpenter and Flavius
L. Brooke.
Detroit has had only one justice of the United States Supreme Court,
Henry B. Brown, who was district judge at Detroit from 1875 to 1890
and in the higher court from 1890 to 1909.
One of the most versatile men who ever figured in Detroit affairs was
John R. Williams, whose activities covered the whole period from 1812
to 1850. In the course of that long period he held military, judicial, civic
and political positions, his roll call of offices figuring up to about twenty.
He was best known as mayor of the city, which position he held from
1824 to 1830 and in 1844. He had been considered invincible when run-
ning for this position, but was beaten by Zach Chandler in 1850. He
was colonel of militia in 1812, commander of Michigan troops in the
Black Hawk war in 1832 and was adjutant general of Michigan from
1818 to 1829. He was associate justice of the county court in 1818. At
other times he held such diverse positions as official auctioneer, county
commissioner, trustee of the University of Michigan, member of the
board of education and member of the city council. In business he was
a merchant, one of the founders of the Free Press, president of one bank
and a director in two. He was a good Catholic, but the parish priest
offended him by persisting in abandoning his church to become a mem-
ber of Congress. Williams left the church and never afterward attended
it. It required two parallel streets to perpetuate his name, John R Street
and Williams Street, though the latter was afterwards changed to With-
erell.
THE ROSTER OF GOVERNORS
The governors of Michigan resident in Detroit have been as follows:
William Hull, 1805–1812; Lewis Cass, 1813–1831; George B. Porter,
1831-1834; Stevens T. Mason (secretary and acting governor : he was
the first elected governor after the formation of the state in 1835), 1834-
1839; William Woodbridge, 1840; Henry P. Baldwin, 1869-1873; John
J. Bagley, 1873–1877; Russell A. Alger, 1885-1887; Hazen S. Pingree,
1897-1901; Alexander J. Groesbeck, 1921—.
George B. Porter was appointed governor to succeed Lewis Cass when
the latter was called to a seat in President Jackson’s cabinet. He be-
longed to a distinguished Pennsylvania family, living at Lancaster, and
was the head of the “Lancaster Regency,” a potent factor in Pennsylvania
politics, the other members of which were James Buchanan, Benjamin
Champneys and Rhea Frazer. Surprise was expressed at his leaving such
an influential position in one of the old states to come to this remote
territory. He may have seen possibilities of future preferment through
helping to mould the territory into a state and in helping to secure its
admission into the Union. His career here was short, ending with his
death from cholera during the epidemic of 1834.
Stevens T. Mason, the “Boy Governor,” was appointed territorial
1138 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Secretary from Virginia. Before he was of age he filled that position and
was also acting governor during a prolonged illness and absence from
the state of Governor Porter. He was the last governor of the territory
and the first governor of the state. He was an enthusiast for internal
improvements, and it was during his administration that the state entered
upon its unprofitable experiments in canal digging and railroad building.
His full length figure in bronze on Capitol Square is one of the very
few fine monuments erected in Detroit in memory of its public men.
Among the distinguished governors of the early period was Alpheus
Felch, whose home was in Ann Arbor, but whose official duties in vari-
ous positions kept him much in Detroit. He was born in Limerick, Maine,
in 1805, came to Michigan in 1832, was a member of the first State Legis-
lature in 1835 and was reelected for the next two succeeding terms. He
was one of only four members who voted against the general banking
law, was one of the first bank examiners and was chiefly instrumental in
breaking up the wildcat banks; was chosen auditor general in 1842, was
a judge of the Supreme Court 1843–45, and was elected governor in the
latter year. After serving fourteen months in this office he was elected
to the United States Senate. He was afterwards chairman of the com-
mission to adjust Spanish and Mexican war claims in California. In
1879 he was appointed Tappan law professor in the University of Michi-
gan and retained that position until old age compelled his retirement.
The gubernatorial campaign of 1852, the last campaign before the
whig party went to pieces brought into rivalry two men whose paths
crossed or coincided in after years. Robert McClelland was the demo-
cratic candidate and won. He served his term as governor and was
afterward secretary of the interior in President Pierce’s cabinet. The
whig candidate was Zachariah Chandler, of Detroit, and the free demo-
cratic, or free soil, as it was more commonly called, was Isaac P. Chris-
tiancy of the nearby Town of Monroe. Two years later Christiancy was
among the most active of the free soil leaders in bringing that organiza-
tion into the union which formed the republican party. Chandler was
equally prominent in advocating the same line of action for the whigs.
In 1875 Chandler was nominated for a fourth election to the United States
Senate, but Christiancy was elected by a combination of democrats with
a few bolting republicans. But senatorial duties were distasteful to him
and in the latter part of 1878 he resigned to accept the position of am-
bassador to Peru, when Chandler was again elected to the Senate. Mr.
Christiancy’s chief fame was not gained in the Senate nor in the diplo-
matic service, but as one of the distinguished four who constituted the
Michigan Supreme Court during its best days.
Henry P. Baldwin’s services as senator in the Legislature of 1861
paved the way for his subsequent promotions. He was chairman of the
finance committee in the Senate and his wide acquaintanceship and high
reputation were of immense value in negotiating the loans needed for
the state's participation in the war. As governor and subsequently as
United States senator he was an industrious and prudent official.
JOHN R. WILLIAMS, 1782–1854
First mayor of Detroit, 1824-5
SENATOR WILLIAM WOODBRIDGE SENATOR JAMES McMILLAN


WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1141
John J. Bagley, before his nomination for governor, had served ac-
ceptably in the Detroit common council. He was the prime mover in
Securing legislation creating the metropolitan police department of De-
troit and was on the first board of police commissioners. The distinc-
tive feature of his administration as governor was the watchful care and
development of the state educational and reformatory institutions.
Hazen S. Pingree's energetic and progressive administration as
mayor of Detroit opened the way to the governorship. A remodeling
of the state assessment and taxation system was the most conspicuous
result of his accession to the latter position.
THE SENATORIAL LIST
The United States Senators resident in Detroit have been as follows:
Lucius Lyon, 1836-1840; John Norvell, 1835-1841; Augustus S. Porter,
1840–1845; William Woodbridge, 1841-1847; Lewis Cass, 1845–1848,
1849-1857; Zachariah Chandler, 1857-1875, 1879; Jacob M. Howard,
1861-1871; Henry P. Baldwin, 1879-1881; Thomas W. Palmer, 1883–
1889; James McMillan, 1889–1902; Russell A. Alger, 1902–1907.
The activities of Senators Woodbridge and Cass, and the earlier serve
ices of Senator Chandler have been fairly well covered in other para-
graphs of this publication. There were two notable incidents of Chand-
ler's last term. In the closing hours of the Forty-fifth Congress a bill
for pensioning soldiers in the Mexican war was pending. On a motion
to exclude Jefferson Davis from the benefits of any pension bill there
Were many eulogies of the former Confederate chieftain which called out
from Senator Chandler a remonstrance commencing with the sentences:
“Twenty-two years ago tomorrow, in the old Hall of the Senate, now
occupied by the Supreme Court of the United States, I, in company with
Mr. Jefferson Davis stood up and swore before Almighty God that I
would support the Constitution of the United States. During four years
I sat in this body with Mr. Jefferson Davis and saw the preparations
going on for the overthrow of this Government. With treason in his
heart and perjury upon his lips he took the oath to sustain the Govern-
ment that he meant to overthrow.” The speech was widely published
and found a place in school declamations. The state campaigns of 1879
turned largely on the money question and Mr. Chandler was in great de-
mand. He had not been popular with the Massachusetts politicians. He
was not up to their standard of culture and he had been opposed to the
civil service reform movement. He was greatly pleased that in com-
bating financial heresy cultured Boston should send an urgent request to
the rough Westerner to “come over into Macedonia and help us.” One
of the best of his hard money speeches was made in Chicago on the night
before his sudden death, November 1, 1879.
Among the distinguished statesmen that figured in Michigan affairs
during and after the Civil war period was Sen. Jacob M. Howard. He
was born at Shaftsbury, Vermont, July 10, 1805, graduated at Williams
College in 1830, studied law at Ware, Massachusetts, and came to Detroit
1142 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
in July, 1832, and speedily took high rank at the bar. He was elected to
the Legislature in 1840, was active in promoting the mass convention at
Jackson in 1854, and was chairman of the committee that gave to the
new party its platform and name. He was nominated for attorney-
general against his wish and served three terms in that office. In 1862
he was elected to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy occasioned
by the death of Kingsley S. Bingham, and was reelected for the full term
in 1865. He was considered one of the best constitutional lawyers on the
judiciary committee of that very able body, and was the author of the
fifteenth amendment to the constitution which is inscribed on his monu-
ment in Elmwood Cemetery.
During a large portion of the time which James McMillan was in the
Senate he was chairman of the committee on the District of Columbia
which is the governing body of the City of Washington. He was largely
instrumental in developing plans for the improvement of the city and
for restoring, as far as possible, the original design made by L'Enfant
under President Washington’s direction. *
Although Russell A. Alger had been active in Michigan politics from
the time of his first residence in Detroit in 1866, he did not appear in
official life until 1884. He was a delegate to the republican national con-
vention and the same fall was elected governor. In the national conven-
tion of 1888 he was, through thirteen ballots for president, third in the
list. He was secretary of war in President McKinley’s cabinet in
1897-9, and was elected to the Senate in 1902.
Up to 1873 Wayne County was in congressional districts with other
counties. It was then for forty years a district by itself and since 1913
Detroit alone has had two members of the lower house. About a dozen
members all told have been residents of this city. The member who
reached the highest national reputation was William A. Howard, who
represented the district in the Thirty-fourth, Thirty-fifth and Thirty-
sixth Congresses. He was one of the most effective stump speakers in
the country. In Congress he headed the committee to investigate affairs
in Kansas, and his report on this subject did more than almost any other
one document to crystalize anti-slavery sentiment and make the election
of Lincoln possible. Mr. Howard was a delegate at large to the repub-
lican national convention in Cincinnati in 1876, and was mainly instru-
mental in turning the Michigan delegation from Blaine to Hayes at a
critical moment.
CABINET MEMBERS AND FOREIGN MINISTERS
Residents of Detroit have been members of presidents’ cabinets as
follows: Lewis Cass, secretary of war, 1831-6; secretary of state, 1857–
61; Zachariah Chandler, secretary of the interior, October 19, 1875, to
March 4, 1877; Don M. Dickinson, postmaster-general, December 6, 1887,
to March 4, 1889; Russell A. Alger, secretary of war, March 6, 1897, to
August 1, 1899; Truman H. Newberry, secretary of the navy, 1908 to
March 5, 1909. Edwin Denby, a sketch of whom is presented in another
WILLIAM E. QUINBY THOMAS W. PALMER

WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1145
volume of this work, was appointed secretary of the navy under the
Harding administration in 1920.
Three of these cabinet officers held numerous political positions as
noted on other pages of this publication. Mr. Dickinson never held any
elective office in city or state, though serving on local commissions and
trusteeships. He was a brilliant lawyer, and one of the most active and
prominent democratic leaders in the state, and the representative of
Michigan on the national committee of that party.
Mr. Newberry is a prominent Detroit manufacturer, was one of the
organizers of the Michigan Naval Brigade in 1893, was in the naval serv-
ice throughout the Spanish-American war, was both assistant secretary
and secretary of the navy and was elected United States senator in No-
vember, 1918.
Five residents of Detroit have represented the country at foreign
courts: Lewis Cass, minister to France, 1836–42; Lewis Cass, Jr., min-
ister to Rome, 1852–60; George V. N. Lothrop, minister to Russia, 1885-
89; Thomas W. Palmer, minister to Spain, 1889–91; William E. Quinby,
minister to the Netherlands, 1893-97. They were all eminently fitted by
temperament and education for the diplomatic service. In 1921, Charles
B. Warren, of Detroit, was appointed ambassador to the Japanese Em-
pire and, with his family, sailed for his post in the early part of Septem-
ber. (A biographical sketch of Charles B. Warren may be found in
another volume of this work).
General Cass was, at the time of his appointment, one of the leading
men in public life in the whole country, a French scholar and an author-
ity on international affairs. Lewis Cass, Jr., was the son of Gov. Lewis
Cass; he died in Paris about 1879. Mr. Lothrop was a democrat during
the long period of republican ascendancy in Michigan and therefore did
not reach official preferment at home, though he was the candidate of his
party for the highest political and judicial positions. He served on many
local commissions and committees. He was at the head of the Detroit
bar and an eloquent and polished orator. Mr. Quinby was at the head of
the leading democratic paper in the state, and was prominent in the party
councils. Senator Palmer had lived in Spain during his student days
and was familiar with the language.
Parks and Boulevards of Detroit
By William Stocking
THE FIRST PLATTING OF THE TOWN
The complete destruction of the Town of Detroit by fire in 1805 Sup-
plied the opportunity for the laying out of a modern city. There were
no houses left to interfere with the drawing of entirely new street lines.
Accordingly the old streets were vacated, the old lot deeds canceled, and
in place of them a new lot was assigned to each resident. Judge Augustus
B. Woodward, who was the dominant figure in the local government, had
seen and admired L'Enfant’s plan for the City of Washington and set
1146 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
out to reproduce that plan in Detroit. He proposed that the center of
the new town should be a circle, intersected by two streets each 120 feet
wide. Radiating from the circle should be avenues, alternately 200 and
120 feet wide. At the distance of half a mile or so from the circle should
be new focal points from which other avenues should radiate. To the
streets and avenues he proposed that historic names should be given.
The plan was ridiculed and was never half carried out. But as far as it
did go it gave to Detroit its most distinctive features. To it we owe the
avenues that were named after the first five Presidents of the United
States. To it we owe Grand Circus Park, the Campus Martius, several
of our widest avenues and the few triangular parks that remain near the
center of the city, together giving an impression of space and openness
unusual in the business center of an American town. The work thus laid
out was afterwards supplemented by the intelligent platting of farms on
either side of Woodward Avenue. That avenue passing through the
Campus Martius and the Grand Circus has always divided the city into
two nearly equal parts, and for a long period was the most conspicuous
residence street in the city. On either side of it the Cass and Brush
farms were subdivided into wide streets and spacious lots, making to-
gether an area which was considered one of the best residence sections
in the whole country. Detroit, to quote a common newspaper characteri-
zation, “with its wide, well paved and well shaded streets, its numerous
small parks, its palatial residences and its imposing churches, ranks
among the most beautiful cities in the country.” With this reputation its
citizens were too well content, and for a long period but little attention
was paid to park development or improvement. Even the Grand Circus,
which was without embellishment, and left almost without care, was sur-
rounded with a high picket fence with gates opened only a few hours on
Sunday. In fact there was such smirking satisfaction with what they
had that the people threw away two opportunities for acquiring magnifi-
cent new parks at very little expense. One of these, Linden Park, in the
eastern section, was a tract of forty acres, with the most diversified forest
growth of any tract of similar size in the county. It was offered by
NMoses W. Field as a free gift with the sole condition that the city should
expend $3,500 on its improvement. The city did not comply with this
condition and the property reverted to the owners. The opportunity to
acquire, at a very low price, a park of 340 acres, including fifteen acres
of river front, in the same section of the city was, after two years of
wrangling, finally thrown away and a number of other suggestions for
park improvement were turned down. In 1879, however, the people of
Detroit awoke to the importance of improvements in this line and steps
were taken which resulted in giving to the city its two chief adornments,
Belle Isle Park and the Grand Boulevard.
THE GRAND BOULEVARD
Detroit's Grand Boulevard is now well within the city limits at every
point, but it was originally more of a township than a city proposition.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1147
Its earliest and most zealous promoters lived in Greenfield. Its first
prophet was Edward Chope of that township, a man of means, consid-
erable leisure and abundant zeal. In 1876, he commenced a boulevard
campaign on his own account. In personal interviews, in newspaper
communications and in committee hearings, whenever he could get a com-
munity together, he urged the importance of securing right-of-way for a
boulevard before land in the suburbs had become so valuable as to make
the first cost prohibitive. He was ably supported in this campaign by
J. P. Mansfield, another Greenfield man.
In the Legislature of 1877, Edwin F. Conely introduced a bill “to pro-
vide for the construction of boulevards in the townships of Greenfield,
Springwells and Hamtramck and on the line between these townships and
the City of Detroit, and in the City of Detroit.” He afterwards substi-
tuted for this a bill “to provide for the establishment of a boulevard
around the City of Detroit from Jefferson Avenue in the township of
Hamtramck to the River Road in the township of Springwells.” This
bill went through all of the preliminary stages, but lacked three votes
of the number necessary for final passage. There was a strong lobby
against the measure, and one of the leading citizens, in his vigorous Op-
position, declared that the boulevard, if it ever materialized, would be a
“goose pond in spring and fall, and a goose pasture in summer,” also “a
burden and a nuisance.”
Notwithstanding this defeat, the agitation continued, and in the next
Legislature Eber W. Cottrell, a member of the house from Greenfield, in-
troduced and championed a similar bill, which, as a companion to the Belle
Isle purchase bill, finally passed. The act sought to secure a joint inter-
est on the part of the township and the city. It provided for one com-
missioner from each of the townships and gave the towns authority to
appropriate money for the improvement after securing for such appro-
priation the approval of a popular vote. It protected the city from ex-
cessive expenditures by providing that the location of the boulevard and
all appropriations for its improvement must be approved by the common
council and board of estimates.
The attempt to interest the towns was not successful. They did not
care to spend money for an improvement that they knew would ultimately
be brought within the city limits, and none of them ever voted a cent
for it. The city was for a time not much more liberal. In 1880 it ap-
propriated $250 for the expenses of the commissioners; in 1882, $2,500;
and in 1881 and 1883, nothing. Public-spirited citizens paid out of their
own funds for much of the preliminary expense incurred. There was a
long controversy over the route to be selected. One party favored the
“inside route,” which would have brought the whole north line inside the
railroads. The “outside route,” which was finally adopted, was opposed
by many as being too far away from the business and residence portions
of the city. The decision was largely influenced by liberal donations of
right-of-way on the proposed line. It was not until 1883 that a con-
clusion was reached and the line was located very nearly as it exists today.
1148 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
The first land given for the boulevard was the south half of the right-
of-way through the old Bagg farm, from Woodward Avenue to Russell
Street, donated by Frisbie & Foxen. Colonel John Atkinson donated the
north half of the same line, and thus the first half mile of boulevard, 150
feet wide, was made public property. On a pleasant afternoon in the
latter part of 1883, a formal dedication was made by a meeting of citi-
zens near the junction of Woodward Avenue. A luncheon of sandwiches,
beer and pretzels was served, a brass band provided music, and Sylvester
Larned, Colonel Atkinson and James P. Mansfield made speeches. The
fences were taken down, the first sod was turned, and afterwards sold
for $100, and the small assembly scattered.
This was only a meager beginning and subsequent progress was slow.
The first house on the line of the boulevard was built by James A. Ran-
dall in 1884. The first house on the east side was built by William Stock-
ing in 1888, and for several years after that there was only one other
house to obstruct the view from Congress Street near Jefferson to the
point where the boulevard turned toward the west, a distance of more
than two miles. The first improvements on the west side were made by
Bela Hubbard, who was always a liberal supporter of the enterprise.
The city appropriations were small, $20,000 in 1885; $15,000 in 1886;
and $25,000 in 1887; but in the meantime individual effort was not
wanting. At different times, William Foxen, B. Lauder, James A. Ran-
dall, John V. Ruehle, William W. Wheaton, John T. Foxen and others
worked on committees to secure the right-of-way, and a considerable
fund was subscribed and expended in buying land from persons who op-
posed the improvement, the right-of-way through these tracts being
afterward donated by the purchasers. As finally opened from Jefferson
Avenue on the east around to Fort Street on the west, the highway was
11.29 miles in length and covered an area of 213 acres, fully nine-tenths
of which was donated. The land was worth at that time all the way from
$500 to $2,500 an acre, some of it as high as $40 or $50 a front foot. As
thus laid out this promise of a magnificent thoroughfare was largely a
tribute of private energy, zeal and munificence. The sections between
Jefferson Avenue and the river on the east and Fort Street and the river
on the west were subsequently acquired by condemnation and purchase at
considerable expense. *
In 1887 James A. Randall took hold of the enterprise with a zeal and
activity that earned him the title of “Boulevard Randall.” At this time
the Small city parks were in charge of the board of public works, Belle
Isle in charge of one commissioner and the boulevard of another. There
was often a clashing of interests and a general lack of unity of purpose,
and plan. Mainly for the purpose of changing this, Mr. Randall got him-
self elected to the Legislature of 1889 and secured the passage of an act
bringing the boulevard and all the parks under one commission, of which
at a later period he was very properly appointed a member. His greatest
service, however, was in securing authority to the city for borrowing
$500,000 for paving the roadway of the boulevard. This was really the
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WASHINGTON BOULEVARD, DETROIT, 1930


WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1151
start of the work, which, with subsequent appropriations, has given to
the city its magnificent twelve-mile driveway, which is surpassed in popu-
larity and use by but very few in the country. James E. Scripps and
Bela Hubbard were also leaders among those who made the boulevard
possible for Detroit.
Even after the roadway had been made easy for teams the progress
in building was exceedingly slow. Sections of the thoroughfare were still
considered “to far out.” There was no street car line parallel with it
and, except at a few crossings, it was comparatively inaccessible. Many
of the owners who bought frontage on speculation put such a high price
on their lots as to discourage investment, and they had to consent to re-
ductions in price before the public “took hold.” The length of the line
was also a drawback to its early occupation. A stretch of over eleven
miles was suggestive of isolation and a lack of neighborliness. In the
end it was really the automobile that was the making of the boulevard.
Its broad, Smooth roadway offered facilities for pleasure riding and made
all portions of the line accessible to everyone with a car. Late in the
’90s, the writer, with a real estate dealer, took a ride over the eight miles
of boulevard from Jefferson Avenue around to Grand River. They met
or passed less than a dozen vehicles on the whole trip. Before the auto
came into general use, not more than one-fourth of the lots on the boule-
vard were occupied. Now, there are very few vacant. It is unfortunate
that neither building restrictions nor a building line were adopted when
this thoroughfare was first opened. There have been a few manufactur-
ing and business encroachments on its line, but, for the most part it is
Occupied by residences, varied in design and many of them of very pre-
tentious architecture.
As noted before, the smaller downtown parks, or breathing spaces,
such as Capitol, Library, Grand Circus parks and the Campus Martius,
were part of the governor and judges plan for the platting of the city.
Until about 1844, these small tracts were places of deposit for refuse
mostly; no effort was made to improve them. As the years went by,
however, the ground was raised, trees and flowers planted, walks and
fountains placed within the areas, and other efforts made to add beauty
to them. Two of the oldest parks in the city given by individuals are
Elton and Crawford, presented by Crane & Wesson in 1850. Cass Park
was given to the city by Lewis Cass in 1860; Stanton and Macomb, both
by S. K. Stanton, in 1861; and T. J. and Daniel J. Campau gave Adelaide
Campau Park to the city in 1865. Hon. Thomas W. Palmer gave the
beautiful acreage known as Palmer Park in 1893. Many of the smaller
parks were originally swales and sloughs, filled up by their owners, and
then presented to the community as points of beauty. Clark Park was
half donated by John P. Clark and half bought by the city; Owen Park
was the gift of John Owen; Perrien Park came from Joseph Perrien, and
so on down the list. The names of the principal parks and drives are
Adelaide Campau Park, Arden Parkway, Belle Isle Bridge Approach,
Belle Isle Park, Boston Boulevard Parkway, Brush Boulevard Parkway,
1152 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Cadillac Square, Campus Martius, Capitol Park, Cass Park, Chicago
Boulevard Parkway, Clark Park, Clinton Park, Crawford Park, Elton
Park, Grand Boulevard, Grand Circus Park, Hamilton and Virginia
Parkway, Harmonie Park, Lafayette Boulevard, LaSalle Boulevard,
Macomb Park, M. C. R. R. Esplanade (Roosevelt Park), Medbury Boule-
vard, Northwestern Park, Owen Park, Palmer Park, Parker Boulevard,
Perrien Park, Pingree Park, Scripps Park, Second Avenue Parkway,
Stanton Park, Virginia Park, Voight Park, Washington Park, West Park.
PLANS FOR PARK EXTENSION
For about forty years after the acquisition of Belle Isle and the in-
auguration of the boulevard movement the people of Detroit rested upon
the reputation thus acquired.
Finally through the prodding of certain progressive city officials and
civic organizations, the people were aroused to the fact that while the
area of the city had increased from sixteen to eighty square miles and
the population had increased six-fold, the park area had remained nearly
stationary. From being among the cities well provided in this respect
Detroit had dropped to a very low rank. Under this impetus the citizens
in the spring of 1919 voted a bond issue of $10,000,000, the proceeds to
be spread over a series of years in the development of a park and play-
ground system. The carrying out of this purpose was entrusted to the
city plan commission working in conjunction with the recreation commis-
sion and the park and boulevard department.
The city plan commission was fortunately well prepared for this duty.
From a survey made years before at the instance and expense of the
board of commerce, and from reports and recommendations made by its
own official predecessors (city plan and improvement commission), the
commission inherited a mass of material which greatly facilitated its
work. It was able speedily to map out a general plan of parks and play-
grounds which it transmitted to the common council with the recom-
mendation that the site selected be purchased outright or condemned.
The latter body at once set about carrying out the recommendation.
The ambitious plan thus formed contemplates an increase of the park
acreage from about 1,100 to 3,100. The new purchases are well distrib-
uted geographically. The most valuable is on the north, where an addi-
tion of 172 acres to Palmer Park more than doubles the area of that
charming pleasure ground, besides giving it a mile of Woodward Avenue
frontage. To the extreme east is Connor's Creek Parkway of 192 acres
extending along that stream from Kercheval Avenue north to Gratiot.
Near this Parkway is a tract of 225 acres including the Campau Woods
and called the East Side Park. On the opposite side of the city is Fern-
dale Park in the village of that name. It is near the Fordson plants on
the River Rouge and covers seventy-two acres. In the northeastern part
of the city there are two smaller additions, Nardin Park of five acres and
the Sullivan tract of forty acres. Independently of these outside schemes
the additions to the park system for the year included Roosevelt Park,
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1153
twelve acres in front of the Michigan Central Station, and Memorial
Park, on the river front between Owen Park and the water works.
But the crowning acquisition of the whole system is the River Rouge
Park of 1,060 acres stretching along that river from Warren Avenue
north to the Pere Marquette Railroad, a distance of two and a half miles.
For half a mile the east line of the park follows the banks of the river.
For the rest of the distance that sinuous and picturesque stream is near
the center of the park. The territory is mostly farm and pasture land,
although along the Rouge and the creeks that flow into it there are many
beautiful groves. The timber is varied, including several kinds of oak,
maple, elm, willow, basswood, walnut, hickory, poplar, and a great variety
of shrubs. The land is particularly adapted to the purpose to which the
city plans to put it. There is everything that could be desired in the way
of a playground. Meadow land can be converted easily into ball dia-
monds and fields for every sort of sport, and great stress has been laid
On the golf courses, which are expected to be one of the prominent fea-
tures of the park.
The far-reaching plans of the city for park improvement were sup-
plemented in the latter part of 1919 by the donation to the county of a
magnificent site by Alice S. and Charlotte C. Church, and Elliott S.
Nichols, in honor of their mother, Mrs. Elizabeth J. (Slocum) Nichols.
It consists of 155 acres on Slocum’s Island near the mouth of Detroit
River. This is a wooded tract about twenty miles from Detroit city hall
and accessible by trolley line and boat. It has been accepted by the county
and a commission appointed for its development and care. This is to be
known as Elizabeth Park.
PLAYGROUND DEVELOPMENT
The playground movement in Detroit was the growth mainly of the
previous ten years when the new plans were formulated but it had al-
ready become a large and very useful adjunct to the city’s educational and
recreation system. There were in 1918 summer recreating centers to
the number of eighty-four, of which forty-seven were in the school yards
and sixteen were special garden centers. The total in winter was eighty-
two of which forty were at the schools, and nine at the branch libraries,
while fourteen were skating rinks. The systematic activities were twenty
in number. The service was in charge of a recreation commission, with
seventy permanent members and one hundred additional summer workers.
In the new scheme of development this branch of work and play is to
receive large consideration. In 1919 alone the commission established
seventeen playground and five playfield sites. Of these, sixteen are lo-
cated in the area bounded by the Grand Boulevard, and particular at-
tention was paid to the badly overcrowded east side neighborhoods. To
aid the city plan and recreation commission in this connection, maps
giving the density of child population throughout the city were prepared
and districts showing the greatest density drew the majority of play-
grounds. s
1154 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Of the playfields—the difference between a playfield and a playground
-being that a playfield is large enough to include baseball diamonds, foot-
ball gridirons and tennis courts, while a playground is considerably
Smaller and is intended primarily for young children—the largest is lo-
cated in the northeastern section of the city. It will be seventy-five acres
in extent and will include, according to the recreation commission’s plans,
in the neighborhood of forty baseball diamonds and fifty tennis courts.
In the fall the diamonds will be blocked off for use as football gridirons.
A realization of the importance of the acquisition of this one playfield is
obtained when it is explained that the number of municipal baseball dia-
monds available before that was thirty and of tennis courts less than fifty.
The final accomplishment of those promoting the new improvement
scheme is the forming of a plan for a second grand boulevard extending
from Grosse Point on the east to the river in Ecorse on the west. It will
follow nearly the outer boundaries of the city and will link together a num-
ber of the parks. A part of the eastern link from Kercheval Avenue north-
ward was the first to be approved. Detroiters look forward with confi-
dence to the time when the city will be famous the country over for its
driveways, parks and pleasure grounds.
LAKE AND RIVER CHARMS
The summer attractions of Detroit are by no means confined to the
parks and boulevards. Its location on the strait connecting the upper
and lower lakes gives it advantages for lake and river trips that are un-
surpassed by any place on fresh water. This is the home port for the
largest fleet of tourist and excursion steamers of any port in the country
except New York. Their number exceeds thirty with a tonnage of 38,000
and licensed carrying capacity of 60,000 passengers. The largest boats
are licensed to carry 3,500 or 4,000 passengers each, and frequently leave
the docks with a full complement. Most of the boats make daily trips
and some of them two or more a day. Such is the variety that one may
take a separate excursion every day for a fortnight and find something
new and interesting with each trip.
To take the boats that make the most easterly ports, there is a night
trip each way between Detroit and Buffalo, and both day and night boats
between Detroit and Cleveland. The four boats that are on these two
lines are the largest and best equipped side wheel steamers on any waters.
There is only one boat on the eastern sounds or rivers that even ap-
proaches them, the Washington Irving on the Hudson, and they had to
come to Detroit to get a designer for that craft. Two boats make daily
round trips through the islands of Lake Erie, one of them terminating
its trip at Put-in-Bay and the other going on as far as Cedar Point, the
“Atlantic City of the Lakes,” and Sandusky. There are two boats daily
between Detroit and Toledo, stopping each way at Sugar Island, an old
and popular picnic resort. Large boats furnished with excellent orches-
tras and spacious dancing floors make three or more trips daily to
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DETROIT SKY
LINE, 1930

WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1157
“Bob-Lo,” a large island at the mouth of Detroit River with a great va-
riety of attractions.
Starting in the other direction the route from Detroit to Port Huron,
the most famous of the up-river trips, covers a dozen points of interest.
The Steamers pass Belle Isle—the emerald gem of Detroit's park system,
the government canals through the shoals at the head of Lake St. Clair.
the continuous village built wholly on ground made by dredging and
filling in the flats, Harsen’s Island with Tashmoo Park and other resorts,
and the picturesque St. Clair River lined with fertile farms and thriving
villages. hree steamers a day carry the thousands who throng this
route.
A unique route, less widely known, is the “scenic trip” through part
of the interior waters of Ontario. It runs through Detroit River, Lake
St. Clair and the St. Clair River to a point nearly opposite Algonac, and
then enters the narrow and winding Sny Carte (Chenal Ecarte—“Hidden
Channel”) following this and the Sydenham River to Wallaceburg at the
mouth of Bear Creek. These interior streams are so narrow at points
that one could toss a biscuit from the boat to either shore. A very simi-
lar trip is that through the western part of Lake St. Clair and up the
narrow River Thames to Chatham.
These are the short trips about Detroit. They are thoroughly ap-
preciated and multitudinously followed. Nearly every convention, state
or national, that is held in Detroit, and they are very numerous, takes a
river trip as one of its diversions, and it is no unusual thing for conven-
tion members to hold their business sessions on the upper deck of a
steamer. For longer lake journeys Detroit offers every advantage. It
is either the home port or a port of call for steamers for all of the Upper
Lake ports. Goodrich, Mackinac, Georgia Bay, The Soo, Port Arthur,
the iron and copper towns and Duluth all wait on passengers who take
the boats at Detroit. Including passengers crossing the river on ferries
as well as those starting for excursion, tourist or business trips the gov-
ernment inspectors report between ten million and eleven million yearly
as the number who step from Detroit dock to boat.
CHAPTER XXIV
DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
THE OLD INDIAN TRAILS
The first routes of land travel leading out of Detroit were the Indian
trails, some of which were in use long before the white men settled in this
vicinity. Indian villages dotted this part of the state, being located
mostly along the streams, and the lines of communication between them
followed the most natural routes of travel. As shown by one of the
United States Government Ethnographic reports, they formed a network
of trails, extending over a large part of Southern Michigan. The one best
known to the early settlers was that from the rapids of the Miami or
Maumee through the present site of Toledo, Monroe and Brownstown to
Detroit. Near the present location of Trenton was the Indian village of
Monguaga which gave name to the present township of Monguagon. The
longest continuous trail in Lower Michigan was that from Detroit to
Fort Dearborn, on the present site of Chicago. This and the Miami
trail were intercepted by another, passed near where is now the City of
Adrian and following the Raisin River to the old village of the Wyandots.
There were two trails in the “Saginaw Country.” One led from De-
troit northwesterly through Howell, to an Indian village near the present
site of Corunna, and thence to and down the Shiawassee River to the Sagi-
naw Valley. The other went through Pontiac where Machainies village
was located, and thence to the Falls of Flint River, known to the first
settlers as Grand Traverse Village. Both trails reached Sagina’s village
near the present City of Saginaw.
Still another of the old trails went through Segins wins village, now
Mount Clemens, and on to the outlet of the Lake of the Hurons, where
Fort Gratiot was afterwards built. There were several minor trails and
a number of other Indian villages with some degree of permanent occu-
pation.
It is an interesting fact that the best known routes of modern travel
followed the lines marked by these Indian trails. The first military road
constructed in the territory was that from Urbana, Ohio, to Detroit, and
that followed quite closely the Miami (or Maumee) trail. The military
road to Fort Gratiot extended over nearly the same route as the earlier
trail in the same direction.
The territorial roads, construction of which commenced in the early
'20s, followed the same routes. The Fort Dearborn Trail became the
Chicago Road, the most traveled highway in the entire territory, with
1159
1160 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Michigan Avenue, Detroit, at one end of it; Michigan Avenue, Chicago,
at the other, and a number of Michigan Avenues in the intermediate
cities. Woodward Avenue, Detroit, and Saginaw Street, Pontiac, are
parts of the old trail to Sagina’s village, while Gratiot Avenue follows
in part the line of the trail to the Lake of the Hurons. The road to Mount
Clemens (the present Gratiot Avenue) was opened and cleared of timber
by the Moravians in 1780–81.
The first steam railroads followed nearly the same routes, the main
line of the Michigan Central, for example, paralleling for many miles
the line of the Chicago Road. The territorial roads, mostly dirt and cor-
duroy, were changed in time to plank and gravel roads, then in many
cases were taken in part of their width as right of way for electric rail-
way lines. Finally hundreds of miles of them have been paved and are
given over to the most modern travel. Along the same courses which
first felt the moccasined foot-fall of the Indian and the tread of the
Indian pony have gone in succession the emigrant wagon, the farmer's
team, the passenger stage, the steam coach and Pullman, the interurban
electric, the pleasure automobile and the motor truck.
The trails themselves served the military and early settlers a useful
purpose in transportation. The ponies which abounded in the woods were
very serviceable for traveling through the country on these narrow path-
ways. It is recorded that in March, 1818, shoes for the troops were sent
by packhorses from Detroit to Green Bay, and winter carriage for the
upper country was conducted by dog trains.
THE EARLY HISTORY OF ROAD BUILDING
The first roads were along the river and lake, made for the conveni-
ence of settlers whose narrow farms fronted on the water. The first
inland road in this part of Michigan was begun as early as 1782, to con-
nect Detroit with the Moravian settlement on the Huron (now Clinton)
River, a much shorter route than the roundabout shore line. But the
first complete plan of road building was inaugurated by Governor CaSS
in 1821. The territory had suffered much from the misrepresentations
of government surveyors, who in 1815 were sent here with a view of
locating bounty land for soldiers. They were instructed to survey the
land from the southern boundary northward for a distance of fifty miles.
Their report described the country as an unbroken series of tamarack
swamps, bogs and sand barrens, “with not more than one acre in a hun-
dred, and probably not one in a thousand, fit for cultivation.” As a
result of this and other similar reports, the bounty lands were located
farther west and south, and the settlement of Michigan was greatly
retarded. *
Governor Cass knew better than almost anyone else the falsity of these
reports, for he had traversed the country from the Ohio River to Sagi-
naw Bay on the north, and from Detroit to Lake Michigan on the west.
He had also helped to cut the army path through the forests from Urbana,
Ohio, to Detroit. He had traversed one of the Indian trails from Detroit
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1161
to Saginaw, and in an early day had traveled the Indian trail that led
from Detroit to Fort Dearborn.
With a view to counteracting the effect of the damaging reports that
had been made, and of retaining in Michigan some of the migration that
was then setting westward from New England and New York, he applied
to the United States Government for an appropriation of lands for the
opening of roads through the territory. His efforts were ably supported
by William Woodbridge, territorial secretary, acting governor during
the frequent absences of Cass from Detroit, and the first delegate in
Congress from the territory. Woodbridge, like Cass, had come overland
from Marietta, Ohio, by way of Urbana and the military path. It was
through their joint efforts that the long lines of communication radiating
from Detroit were commenced.
The official history of these was briefly as follows: In 1824 Con-
gress appropriated $20,000 for the construction of the road from the
foot of the Maumee Rapids at Perrysburg to Detroit. In 1827 a like sum
was appropriated for the road from Detroit to Chicago. In the same
year appropriations were made for a road from Detroit to Saginaw Bay
and one from Detroit to Fort Gratiot. In 1833 Congress made appro-
priations for the road from Detroit through Shiawassee County to the
mouth of Grand River and one from La Plaisance Bay to the Chicago
Road.
EARLY MODES OF TRAVEL
The modes of travel in the early days were almost as varied as the
routes. There are numerous records of business or official journeys from
Detroit to New York, Philadelphia and Washington on horseback. It
was not always the case that “when two get to horse one must ride be-
hind.” For trips across the state the “ride and tie” method was some-
times used. In such cases the first traveler would ride a few miles, then
tie the horse and go ahead on foot. The second traveler would start on
foot, and when he reached the horse would mount, ride a few miles past
the first, then tie again and walk on. This lap streak method of making
a journey would obviously not answer in territory where there was danger
from horse thieves or hostile Indians. For local travel through the
French period, and even later, the two-wheeled cart for summer and the
light sleigh for winter were about the only vehicles. As late as 1822
there was only one four-wheeled wagon in the city, and it was a dozen
years later than that before the two seated carriage became a common
sight. In 1815 Governor Cass brought his family from Ohio in a carriage,
but as there was but little occasion for so elegant a turnout for pleasure
riding it was sold and turned to a more useful purpose as a hack.
THE STAGE COACH LINES
The era of the stage coach about which much of the excitement and
romance of travel in the middle of the nineteenth century centered, com-
menced in June, 1822, when a regular route was established between
1162 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Detroit and Mount Clemens. It left Detroit after the arrival of the steam
boat from Buffalo, at whatever hour that happened to be. A regular
line to Ohio towns started five years later. In winter when the boats
were not running the line across Canada was an important link in travel.
Stages leaving Niagara on Monday morning were due in Sandwich on
Saturday morning. The taverns along the line at which regular stops
were made attained considerable fame among travelers. One of them
was called “The Goose Tavern,” for the reason that the piece de resist-
ance for the hot supper was always a roasted goose. Time for this trip
was ultimately reduced to four days, fare five cents a mile, which was
a very common rate for stage travel.
By 1832 the system was well established and was quite comprehensive,
as is shown by the following announcement made by Benjamin Wood-
worth : “The Sandusky Line, passing through Monroe and Maumee,
leaves the hotel every evening at six o'clock. The St. Joseph line pass-
ing through Ipsilanti, Saline, Clinton, Jonesville, White Pigeon, Mott-
ville, and Niles leaves the hotel every morning at seven o’clock during
the summer season and three times a week during the winter season. A
branch of this line leaves Ipsilanti immediately after its arrival for Ann
Arbor, Jacksonburgh 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 for Ypsilanti
at 12 o'clock. As almost all of the above routes are regular mail routes,
the traveling public may depend upon a safe and speedy conveyance.
Extra carriages will be furnished at all times for any part of the country.”
The hotel referred to was “Uncle Ben” Woodworth’s Steamboat Hotel
at the northeast corner of Woodbridge and Randolph streets. It was
headquarters for passengers by sail vessel and steamboat, the loca-
tion of the offices of all the stage lines, and the scene of the most im-
portant social functions of the time. Woodworth built his first hotel
here in 1812, replaced it by a larger one in 1818, and it continued in
operation till 1848 when it was destroyed by fire.
The stage continued to be one of the principal means of travel till
the railroads began to cover the same routes. It then fell off rapidly, and
the last of the regular lines went out of existence in 1873. The stage
coach was an eminently social mode of travel but was not always com-
fortable. In winter the passengers suffered from cold, and in the spring
and fall, they sometimes had to work their passage, by helping to extricate
the coach from the mire.
The first regular line of street omnibuses in Detroit was started in
1843. The first regular route was from the Michigan Exchange out
Jefferson Avenue to Hamtramck, covering part of the same route as that
subsequently taken by the first motor-bus line in July, 1920. The bus
line established in 1843 and another in 1850 were both short lived. But
in 1853 a line was established, predecessor of the Detroit Omnibus Com-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1163
pany, which continued in the passenger business until a recent date. In
1883 it took over the coupes and express business of the Detroit Carriage
and Express Company.
THE CANOE, THE FIRST WATER CRAFT
To the Indian and the fur trader the birch bark canoe was one of the
first essentials of existence. From the mouth of the Ottawa River, up
that stream to its sources, through Georgian Bay, the Straits of Mackinac
and the Sault, along the shores of the Great Lakes and up every stream
that empties into them, this graceful craft made its way. It furnished
the quickest method of travel and the most available means of trans-
porting furs and trading stores. The canoe was easy of propulsion and
a light weight for the portages. In its smaller forms it was readily
propelled by a single paddle and easily carried by two men. The longer
craft were six feet wide and thirty-five or more feet in length. One
, of this type would carry fifty or sixty packs of furs of 100 pounds each,
besides the necessary provision for a crew of eight men.
They were used not only by the Indians in their travels, but by the
French missionaries and traders and later by the American explorers.
It was in craft of this kind that Governor Cass and his party made their
famous voyage of exploration to the Upper Lakes in 1820. In the party
with the governor were his distinguished fellow-townsmen, Henry R.
Schoolcraft, Charles C. Trowbridge, and six others, ten Canadian voy-
agers, seven United States soldiers, ten Indians, an interpreter and a
guide. The flotilla consisted of four birch bark canoes and the long
journey was made without a single mishap. Through the writings of the
governor and Mr. Schoolcraft it contributed a vast amount of useful
information in reference to the region of the Upper Lakes. The next
year Governor Cass and Mr. Schoolcraft used the same kind of craft
in a journey from Detroit to the head of Lake Michigan by the way of
the Detroit River, Lake Erie, the Maumee, Wabash, Mississippi and Illi-
nois rivers. These were the most noted canoe voyages out of Detroit.
A variation from the birch bark canoe was “the dugout,” made by
hollowing out the trunk of a single large-sized tree. Another variation
was known as the pirogue made from a single large cedar tree. A later
device used by English and American traders was the “Mackinaw boat,”
built of oak or pine boards. It was flat bottomed, high at the sides, and
with bow and stern shaped alike. It was considered a very capacious
and unusually safe craft.
THE “GRIFFON,” THE PIONEER SAIL VESSEL
The first sail vessel used on the Great Lakes above Niagara Falls was
the Griffon. Of its inception Father Hennepin gives this account in his
“New Discovery,” according to a very early tradition:
“The next day, which was the first of the year 1679, after the ordi-
nary Service, I preached in a little Chapel made of Barks of Trees and
1164 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
afterwards we had a Conference with 42 old Men, who made up their
Council. One of our own Men, nam’d Anthony Brossard, told their AS-
sembly, First, That we were come to pay them a Visit, and Smoak with
them in their Pipes.
“Secondly, We desir'd them, in the next place to give Notice to the
five Cantons of their Nation, that we were about to build a Ship, or
great woodden Canow above the great Fall of the River Niagara, to go
and fetch European Commodities by a more convenient passage than the
ordinary one, by the River St. Lawrence, whose rapid Currents make it
dangerous and long; and that by these means we should afford them
our Commodities cheaper than the English and Dutch of Boston and New
York.
“On the 14th day of January we arrived at our Habitation of Niagara,
very weary of Fatigues of our Voyage. On the 20th arrived M. de la
Salle from Fort Frontenac, from whence he was sent with a great Barque
to supply us with provisions, Rigging, and Tackling for the Ship we
design'd to build at the Mouth of Lake Erie; but that Barque was un-
fortunately cast away on the Southern Coast of Lake Ontario, by the
fault of two Pilots, who could not agree about the Course they were to
steer, tho’ they were then only within two Leagues of Niagara. The
Sea-Men have call'd this place the Mad-Cape. The Anchors and Cables
were saved but several Canows made of Barks of Trees with Goods and
Commodities were lost.
“On the 22nd of the said Month, we went two Leagues above the great
Fall of Niagara, where we made a Dock for Building the Ship we wanted
for our Voyage. This was the most convenient place we could pitch upon,
being upon a River which falls into the Streight between the Lake Erie
and the great Fall of Niagara. The 26th the Keel of the Ship and some
other pieces being ready, M. de la Salle sent the Master-Carpenter to
desire me to drive in the first Pin, but my Profession obliging me to de-
cline that Honour, he did it himself, and promised Ten Louis d’Or's, to
encourage the Carpenter and further the work.”
The vessel thus commenced was speedily completed, to the great amaze-
ment of the savages who “could not apprehend how, in so short a time,
we had been able to build so great a Ship.” “It might have been called
a moving fortress, for all the savages inhabiting the lakes and rivers for
five hundred Leagues together were filled with Fear as well as Admira-
tion when they saw it. She carry’d five small guns, two where of were
Brass, and three Harquebuze. The Beak head was adorned with a flying
Griffon, and an Eagle above it.” This device was taken from the coat
of arms of Count Frontenac, the patron of the expedition. “M. de la
Salle used to say of this Ship, while yet upon the stocks, that he would
make this Griffon fly above the Ravens.” The writer also adds that after
the vessel was completed “we fired three guns, and sang Te Deum, which
was attended with loud Acclamations of Joy; of which those of the Iro-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1165
quese Who were accidently present were also Partakers for we gave them
Some Brandy to drink.”
After several short trial trips the Griffon started on her long journey,
having on board Robert Chevalier de La Salle, Father Louis Hennepin,
Gabriel de la Ribourde and thirty-three others and arrived in Detroit on
August 10th. Her arrival was thus commemorated in verse by Judge
James V. Campbell at a celebration two centuries later, as follows:
“Never had vessel along this shore
Cleft these quiet waves before.
No better craft was ever seen
Than brave La Salle's stout brigantine.
Out from the prow a Griffin springs,
With scales of bronze and fiery wings,
And the ship that earned so wide a fame
Bore on the scroll a Griffin’s name.”
La Salle left the vessel when he started from the Lake Michigan shore
On his long journey of exploration to and down the Mississippi. The
Griffon, with a valuable cargo of furs, started back from Washington
Island in that lake September 20, 1679 and neither the vessel nor any of
the crew was ever seen again. As she was the first of the thousands of
Sail vessels that have vexed the waters of the Upper Lakes, so she was
the first of hundreds that have gone beneath the waves.
No sail vessel again visited Detroit for eighty-four years. During the
Pontiac siege in 1763 the small armed sloops Charlotte and Gladwin
brought supplies to the beleagured garrison. After the siege was raised,
they, together with the Beaver, plied regularly between Detroit and the
Niagara River. The Beaver was wrecked in 1769 with the loss of seven
lives and a valuable cargo. The first vessel built in Detroit was the
Enterprise, launched in 1769. Vessel building with craft of very moderate
tonnage flourished from about that time on. In 1782 there were nine
armed vessels in these waters, all built in Detroit. The largest of these
was the brig Gage of 154 tons and carrying fourteen guns. The home-
made craft of those days were small but they laid the foundation for
the immense shipbuilding industry of later years.
THE FIRST STEAMERS
The first venture in steam navigation on the Great Lakes was made
in 1818 when the Walk-in-the-Water, named after a Wyandot Indian
chieftain, made her first trip. The vessel was built at Black Rock, was
towed through the strong current to Buffalo by sixteen yoke of oxen, a
“horned breeze” as they were humorously called. She left Buffalo at
1:30 P. M., August 23rd, 1818, and arrived at Detroit at 10:30 A. M.
August 27th, a run of three days and twenty-one hours. Her log was
officially given by William Woodbridge, collector of the port, as follows:
1166 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
“She left Buffalo at half past one on the 23rd, 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 to pass that place where she took in a supply of wood.
At half past seven she left Erie, and reached Cleveland at eleven o’clock
On Tuesday; at twenty minutes past six sailed and arrived off Sandusky
Bay at one o'clock on Wednesday; lay at anchor during the night, and
then proceeded to Venice for wood; left Venice at three P. M. and an-
chored in Detroit River during the night.” *
Half the population of Detroit were out to cheer her when she ar-
rived at Wing’s wharf at the foot of Bates Street. On the afternoon
of her arrival she took a distinguished party of Detroit ladies and gentle-
men on an excursion to Lake St. Clair, thus setting an example which
has been followed thousands of times by her successors. In 1819 she made
a trip to Mackinac and Green Bay. During the rest of her existence
she made round trips between Buffalo and Detroit once in two weeks.
Although the fare between those cities was high, $18 a single, trip, the
boat was well patronized, carrying sometimes as many as a hundred
passengers. She was wrecked in a storm near Buffalo in the fall of 1821.
The founders of Detroit made the first approach to the site of their
settlement in bateaux and they and their successors have been engaged
in constructing some sort of river and lake craft ever since. They have
passed through all of the successive steps from the canoe and the dug-
out to the largest of the modern craft. Work at Detroit yards has in-
cluded tugs, two, three and four masted schooners, coarse freight wooden
steamers, package freight, and passenger steamers with wooden hulls,
steam barges, passenger ferry steamers, the largest car ferries, iron and
steel freighters of every class, ice crushers, a floating dry dock, pleasure
yachts, and the finest side-wheel passenger carriers that sail in any waters.
The first merchant sail vessel, the Enterprise, was built in Detroit in 1769.
The Angelica, of forty-five tons, followed in 1771. In 1796 twelve mer-
chant vessels were owned here, as well as numerous brigs, sloops and
schooners. In 1797 the U. S. schooner Wilkinson was built in Detroit
under the direction of Captain Curry. This vessel was later renamed
the Amelia and formed a part of Commodore Perry's squadron. The Argo
in 1827 was the first steamer built in Detroit, followed in 1833 by the
Michigan, built by Oliver Newberry. In the year 1837 there were thirty-
seven steamers on lake waters, of which seventeen were owned in this
city. At the present time there are more passenger steamers owned in
Detroit and with a larger passenger carrying capacity than in any other
port in the country except New York. With joint tonnage of nearly
50,000 and licensed to carry 65,000 passengers, they visit every port On
the Great Lakes from Buffalo to Mackinac. The largest steamers carry
more tourists and excursionists than do the steamboats of any other port
on the Great Lakes. These vessels are nearly all of Detroit build, engine
and boiler as well as hull.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1167
LATER SHIPBUILDING HISTORY
The Season of 1911 brought a unique feature in lake shipbuilding.
This was in the form of contracts for the construction of steamers and
barges for the Atlantic trade. Two factors brought these contracts this
way. The first was the ability to build vessels of the type wanted more
quickly than the ocean shipyards are able to do it, and the other was
the lower cost at which the work could be done here. The vessels are
limited in size to the capacity of the Welland Canal. During 1917 and
1918 almost all shipbuilding was under Government direction for ocean
service.
The increase in tonnage of vessels built in Detroit has been almost
as striking as the change in material and type of construction. In 1882
the record cargo of iron ore was 1,604 gross tons; in 1885, 2,254; in
1890, 2,744; in 1895, 3,843; in 1900, 7,045; in 1905, 10,629; in 1906,
13,294. That almost reached the limit of cargo possible with the present
depth of channels though in 1919 a maximum of 14,000 tons was reached.
The record cargo of wheat from 1839 to 1845 was that of the Osceola,
Chicago to Buffalo, with 3,678 bushels. Cargoes in recent years have
exceeded 420,000 bushels. People in Detroit see more freight cargoes
in the navigation season than do residents of any of the country’s ship-
ping ports except New York City. The report of the army engineers
for the year 1920 indicated that 73,091,000 tons of freight were carried in
boats in the Detroit River, and during the past decade these figures have
increased to an enormous total freight tonnage. In value of cargoes, in
late years, Detroit ranks along with New York, Norfolk and Philadelphia,
and is gaining ground year by year.
Detroit as a shipping port is one of the most important in America;
and in all probability the city will continue to hold its place as a shipping
port among the leading cities of the North American continent.
NAVIGATION COMPANIES OF DETROIT
The first passenger and freight service to be established between the
cities of Detroit and Cleveland was initiated in the year 1850, when the
steamers Southerner and Baltimore were placed in commission between
these ports by Capt. Arthur Edwards. These two steamers covered the
route during the seasons of 1850–51, and were succeeded in 1852 by the
Forest City, completed that year for John Owen and associates and run
jointly with the steamers St. Louis and Sam Ward, owned by E. B. Ward
& Company. In 1853 the steamers May Queen, built that year, and the
City of Cleveland, built the year previous, succeeded the former vessels
on the route. In 1855, the steamer Ocean was added with a view to
operating both day and night lines. This plan continued during the
season of 1855, and a portion of that of 1856, when the May Queen was
laid up, due to unremunerative business. The seasons of 1857-61, inclusive,
saw the route covered by the May Queen and the Ocean. In 1862, the
Morning Star was completed and displaced the Ocean, and then during
1168 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
the latter part of the season the City of Cleveland displaced the May
Queen. The route was covered during the years 1863–66, inclusive, by
the Morning Star, and the City of Cleveland. In 1867 the R. N. Rice was
completed and displaced the City of Cleveland. The business at this time
was operated as the Detroit & Cleveland Steamboat Line and was run in
connection with the Michigan Central Railroad, affording the latter com-
pany a water route to Cleveland from Detroit, at that time its eastern
terminus; and the service was known and advertised as the Michigan
Central Railroad Line. The business was conducted under the manage-
ment of John Owen, who was heavily interested, and its local affairs
were taken care of by Keith & Carter, at Detroit, and by L. A. Pierce, at
Cleveland, acting as agents. The business had grown to Such a volume
during the seventeen years of operation, that it was necessary to Weld
the various private interests which controlled its vessels more closely,
and during the winter of 1867–68, John Owen and David Carter per-
fected an organization which resulted in the incorporation in April, 1868,
of the Detroit & Cleveland Steam Navigation Company, with the follow-
ing incorporators: John Owen, David Carter, Capt. Ira Davis, Capt. E. R.
Viger, W. B. Watson, James Moreton, W. McKay, Joseph Cook and S.
Gardner, of Detroit, and L. A. Pierce and George B. Burton, of Cleveland.
The company was incorporated with a capital of $300,000 and granted a
thirty-year charter by the State of Michigan. Its first election of officers
was held in May, 1868, when John Owen was elected president and treas-
urer, and David Carter, secretary. Its vessels were two in number, the
steamers R. N. Rice and the Morning Star. The latter steamer was lost
in collision with the schooner Cortlandt on the 20th of June, 1868, with
a loss of tweny-six lives. Her place on the route was filled by the steamer
Northwest, which with the R. N. Rice was run continuously until the
close of navigation in 1876. During the winter of 1876–77, the Northwest
was rebuilt at a cost of $80,000 and the following summer the R. N. Rice
Was practically destroyed by fire, while lying at her moorings in Detroit,
the Saginaw taking her place on the route for the remainder of the sea-
Son. The first vessel to be built for this company was the City of Detroit,
a composite hulled steamer, completed in 1878 at a cost of $175,000. This
Steamer, with the Northwest, took care of the traffic on the Cleveland
route until 1886. The second vessel constructed was the City of Cleveland,
which was built in 1880, and placed on a route between Detroit and
Houghton, Michigan, remaining in this service during the seasons of
1880-81-82. In 1883 the third vessel, the City of Mackinac, an iron
Steamer, costing $160,000, was completed, and in connection with the
Steamer, City of Cleveland, whose name had been changed to the City of
Alpena, the company inaugurated the service on the route between De-
troit and St. Ignace, and known as the Lake Huron division. The fourth
Vessel to be built for the company marked a great advance in lake pas-
Senger Steamers, being the first steel-hulled steamer constructed for pas-
Senger Service on the Great Lakes and the first to be equipped with
feathering wheels. This steamer was completed in 1886, at a cost of
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1169
$300,000, was named the City of Cleveland, and replaced the Northwest,
which was sold to the White Star Line, and by them rebuilt and named
the Greyhound. In 1889, the fifth vessel was completed for the company,
a steel steamer costing $350,000 and named the City of Detroit. This re-
placed the older vessel of that name on the Detroit-Cleveland route. The
latter steamer was known as the City of Detroit No. 1, during the season
of 1889, and was run on the route between Chicago and St. Joseph, Michi-
gall.
On the expiration of the charter granted to the Detroit and Cleveland
Steam Navigation Company in April, 1868, and running until April,
1898, the company was reincorporated as the Detroit & Cleveland Naviga-
tion Company, with a capital of $1,500,000.
During its life the company had as executive chiefs the following:
John Owen, who with David Carter was one of its most active organizers.
Mr. Owen was its first president and treasurer and remained its executive
head until he was succeeded by the late Senator James McMillan, who,
upon his death in 1903, was in turn succeeded by his son, William C.
McMillan; upon the death of the latter in 1907, his brother, Philip H.
McMillan, was elected to the office, and after his death was succeeded in
1919, by A. A. Schantz, who had been connected with the company for
almost forty years. With the history of the company the name of David
Carter is indissolubly linked.
The White Star Line was organized in 1896, in which year it was
incorporated under the laws of the State of Michigan, receiving its charter
in February of that year and basing its operations on a capital stock of
$85,000. In 1899 the capital was increased to $200,000 and the progressive
policy and attendant success of the company was further shown in 1907,
when the capital stock was further increased to $750,000. The repre-
sentative citizens who effected the organization of the company were:
Aaron A. Parker, Byron W. Parker, John Pridgeon, Jr., L. C. Waldo and
Charles F. Bielman. The executive officers chosen were as follows: A. A.
Parker, president; L. C. Waldo, vice president; John Pridgeon, Jr., treas-
urer; C. F. Bielman, secretary and traffic manager; and B. W. Parker,
general manager.
The first steamer put into commission by the company was the City
of Toledo, and in 1899 the Greyhound No. 1 was added to the line. In the
following year the company built the steamer Tashmoo, at a cost of
$350,000, and in 1903 the Greyhound No. 2 was built at a cost of $300,000.
In 1904 the Owana was built and placed in commission at a cost of
$150,000. -
The Ashley and Dustin organization had its inception in the '80s as
the firm of Ashley & Mitchell. Edwin A. Dustin succeeded Mitchell in
1894 and Oliver S. Dustin took Ashley’s place on the latter’s death in
1897. The firm title, which had become Ashley & Dustin was retained.
The firm was incorporated in 1911 as the Ashley & Dustin Steamer Line
Company. At that time the boats Put-in-Bay and Frank E. Kirby were
operated between Detroit and Put-in-Bay Island.
1170 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
PRESENT STEAMSHIP LINES
At the present time the Ashley and Dustin Company operate the new
steel steamer Put-in-Bay between Detroit and Put-in-Bay. The capacity
of this vessel is 3,500 persons. The company also operates the steamer
Chippewa between Sandusky, Lakeside, Kelly’s Island and Put-in-Bay.
The Northern Navigation Company operates three large passenger
steamers between Detroit and Duluth, Minn., under the name of “Duluth
Cruises.” The vessels are called the Hamonic, the Huronic and the NO-
ronic,
The Great Lakes Transit Corporation operates steamers for passenger
traffic between Buffalo and Duluth, leaving the port of Detroit on regular
schedules during the summer season. These three fine Steamers are
named the Juniata, the Tiomesta and the Octorara.
The White Star Navigation Company continues to operate the Tash-
moo and the Florida from Detroit to the St. Clair Flats, Tashmoo Park
and Port Huron. - -
The Detroit and Cleveland Navigation Company known as the D & C
Lake Lines now operates steamers for passenger traffic between Detroit,
Cleveland, Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Mackinac Island, St. Ignace and Chi-
cago. Their steamer, the Greater Detroit, is known as the “Leviathan of
the Great Lakes,” while the steamer, Greater Buffalo, is referred to as
the “Majestic of the Great Lakes.” The company also operates the
steamers, City of Detroit III, City of Cleveland III, the Eastern States and
the Western States, the latter two being used on the Detroit and Chicago
route.
Thus the City of Detroit is fortunate in its navigation development,
and the people of the city enjoy rare opportunities for a vacation in the
Great Lakes country. In fact, no other city in the Great Lakes area has
such a wide opportunity for lake travel to so many different points of
interest.
DETROIT'S PORT DEVELOPMENT
The secretary of the Detroit Port Commission, L. G. Macomber, re-
cently reviewed the past and present port development of the City of
Detroit. The report shows that exclusive of sand and gravel carriers
and passenger steamers, 16,384 vessels traversed the Detroit River dur-
ing the season of 1927, compared with 18,405 during the 1926 season.
This was at a rate of 64 vessels a day for the 255 days of navigation, or
a vessel passage every 23 minutes. These vessels carried in excess of
90,000,000 tons of freight.
Detroit is rapidly progressing in port development through a port
commission consisting of chairman, William Robert Wilson, chairman of
the board of the Copeland Products Corporation; Guy W. Ellis, promi-
ment real estate operator and former president of the Detroit Real Es-
tate Board; Charles Baisley, manager of the Great Lakes Engineering
Works; Charles H. Lincoln, Detroit manager of the American Bureau
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1171
of Shipping; and L. G. Macomber, director of Traffic-Transportation of
the Detroit Board of Commerce.
At a meeting on December 18, 1928, in the mayor's office, the first
official move toward a forward-looking development of Detroit's water
front was launched. The meeting was attended by the City Council, the
members of the Port Commission, and various other officials. The City
Council adopted a resolution upon the recommendation of the Port Com-
mission, requesting that engineers of the United States Army take no
action toward changing the harbor line, which had been proposed in
Congress by Congressman Clarence J. McLeod. Perry A. Fellows, city
engineer, submitted a report, prepared at the suggestion of the mayor
and the Port Commission, which set forth the many conditions that must
be taken into consideration in formulating a comprehensive port develop-
ment program. This includes the question of sewage disposal, river front
drive, port development, seaplane landing stations, port recreational facil-
ities and general river front appearance.
Engineer Fellows’ report was supported by considerable detail, includ-
ing photographs, for which work he was highly commended by the officials
of the city.
The Mayor’s Port Commission’s present status is that of an advisory
body, and if the recommendations contained in Mr. Fellows’ report are
carried out, and the experience of other ports is taken into consideration,
the Port Commission will no doubt be eventually set up as an authorita-
tive body that will control for the best interests of the city generally, the
entire waterfront available in the Detroit area. While there are many
obstacles to be overcome, it is believed that the City of Detroit will make
proper preparation not only for its local requirements in the way of
transportation, beautification and recreation, but also to insure recog-
nition as a world port of first rank, upon completion of the Great Lakes-
to-the-Ocean Waterway.
RECENT TRANSPORTATION DEVELOPMENT
The recent growth of transportation facilities in the City of Detroit
has been most remarkable. Its steam railway connections are of the
very best, including at least five of the great railway systems of this
continent. The Detroit shipper has before him the choice of land routes
that lead to every section of the United States and Canada. Altogether
nine steam lines profit by a Detroit connection, and here receive a large
Volume of business.
As an international city, with its famous new Ambassador Bridge,
Splendid ferry service, one railway tunnel and a vehicular tunnel under
construction, all connecting United States territory with Canadian, the
combined enterprises representing a total value of nearly $100,000,000,
the City of Detroit enjoys an enviable position as a center of transporta-
tion.
The City of Detroit Department of Street Railways is the largest
municipally-owned transportation system in the country. At the present
1172 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
time it operates 1,733 street cars, 539 motor coaches, serving in all an
area of 144 square miles. The main offices of the Department are located
in the Administration Building, at Saint Jean and Shoemaker avenues.
The Street Railway Department is governed by a Board of Street Rail-
way Commissioners, consisting of three members, who at the present time
are John J. Barlum, John J. Gorman and Frank Couzens. Rufus G.
Lathrop is Secretary to the Commission, Del A. Smith is General Man-
ager, L. Reynolds is General Superintendent, and John Ross is Chief
Engineer.
When the City of Detroit purchased the street railways from the
D. U. R. On May 15, 1922, there were 273 miles of track and 1,457 cars
to all of which the D. U. R. released title. At that time there were 4,500
employees. Since 1922, the department has been actively engaged in
improving and extending the transportation facilities of the city by the
construction of new car lines, rebuilding established lines, purchasing
new rolling stock, etc.
MOTOR TRANSPORTATION
From the first part of the year 1925 the Department of Motor Trans-
portation has been establishing motor coach routes to serve the newly
developing sections of the city. The Department of Motor Transportation
had its inception on May 1, 1919, having been established by a City Ordi-
nance passed in March, 1919. The Department supervises the care, cus-
tody, control, repair, purchase, and disposition of gasoline-propelled
vehicles owned by the City of Detroit, except the equipment owned and
operated by the Board of Water Commissioners, Fire Department, Board
of Education, Department of Street Railways and the Public Library.
Detroit is the first city in the country to centralize the control of its
motor vehicles. Other cities are rapidly following in line after having
seen what Detroit has accomplished. Detroit today has the first real
municipal garage. This garage is the largest and most modernly equipped
garage in all the world, occupying nearly Seven acres of floor space. The
building is a three-story structure; the first floor is exclusively for motor
trucks; the second floor serves passenger cars and motor-cycles, while the
third is the most efficient and up-to-the-minute automobile repair shop to
be found anywhere in America. Connected with the garage are three
15,000-gallon gasoline tanks piped from a railway siding. The yearly
consumption of gasoline for the city vehicles is 2,054,870 gallons.
The City of Detroit has eighteen departments operating motor vehicles
classified as follows: Passenger cars—light, medium and heavy; school
busses, ambulances, patrols and council busses; commercials; one-ton
trucks; two-ton trucks; three- and four-ton trucks; five-ton and over
trucks; Special equipment; motorcycles; tractors, and trailers, making in
all a grand total of 1,467 motor vehicles.
Detroit has a total of 800 automatic traffic signals, which protect 400
intersections. Most of the main arteries are controlled by a progressive
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1173
System of signal control providing for an almost uninterrupted 20-mile
rate of Speed. A number of traffic signals have been installed at schools,
with a Switch located in the schools for the protection of children crossing
dangerous intersections near the schools.
At the present time 170 patrolmen control traffic in the downtown
area. These include twenty mounted men who patrol alleys. A traffic
director under whom is assigned a survey bureau with a number of
investigators, Supervise all traffic situations, parking restrictions, etc., in
the entire city.
NEW TRACKLESS TROLLEYS
Detroit's latest form of transportation, the trackless trolley, was in-
augurated on Plymouth Road between Grand River Avenue and Rouge
Park on June 14, 1930, with appropriate ceremonies. Officials of Detroit
and Dearborn, headed by Mayor Charles Bowles of Detroit, and Mayor
Clyde M. Ford of Dearborn. Business leaders of the Plymouth Road dis-
trict rode in the first of the six electric coaches to begin regular service
on the line. Residents of the neighborhood were invited to make a free
trip on the other five coaches.
Led by motorcycle patrolmen, the coaches started the inaugural trip
from Grand River Avenue. A stop was made in front of the Kelvinator
Corporation, whose 2,000 employees will be served by the line. A dele-
gation of the employes, with a huge banner greeted the officials. Mayor
Bowles addressed them briefly. Swinging in and out of the heavy Satur-
day afternoon traffic, the coaches moved on to Rouge Park, passing the
bathing pools which are visited daily by 7,500 persons. Patrons of the
pools also will benefit by the new service. At the Outer Drive, the trolleys
swung around the terminal loop beside a speakers' platform, where the
D. S. R. band and several hundred persons were gathered.
Mayor Bowles in his address said in part, “This day marks the intro-
duction of the most modern means of transportation, the trackless trolley.
It is the aim of the management of the D. S. R. and the city administra-
tion to have the department operate for the general benefit of all the
citizens of Detroit. The Street Railway Commission, after due delibera-
tion, recommended the installation of the trackless trolley and decided to
buy these six vehicles. There is no doubt in our minds but that the
service will be a success. In Chicago, a similar installation has been a
great success. These trackless trolleys will open this great park to the
people of Detroit, as never before.”
The trackless trolleys will be able to give six-minute service on the
line, while the fare is set at ten cents. The rubber-tired coaches, with
their flexible overhead trolleys, drive to the curb to take on or discharge
passengers. Slow moving vehicles or obstacles in the street are passed,
thereby avoiding the delays often encountered by street cars.
Similar in appearance to a street car, the coaches have the riding
qualities of a high grade automobile. There being no projecting hood,
as in the case of gasoline driven vehicles, the entire length of the coach
1174. WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
can be used for passenger space. Seats are leather upholstered, each
coach seating forty-two passengers, compared with twenty-one passengers
on the gasoline-driven coaches. The maximum speed is nearly forty
miles an hour, with rapid and easy acceleration. The electric coaches
cost $12,080 each. In cold weather the coaches will be heated electrically.
They are operated by electric power from two overhead wires. Two fifty-
horsepower motors propel each vehicle.
The city officials in addition to Mayor Bowles, who witnessed the
inaugural of the electric coach service are as follows: Del A. Smith,
general manager of the Detroit Street Railways; Henry W. Busch, com-
missioner of parks and boulevards; John C. Nagel, president of the City
Council; William P. Bradley, member of Council; Louis G. Palmer, presi-
dent of the Better Business Bureau; and Frank H. Dohany, street railway
commissioner.
Others who made the trip to Rouge Park for the ceremonies, included
Clyde M. Ford, Mayor of Dearborn ; Councilman Anthony Esper of Dear-
born ; Otto Keagel, a merchant of Seattle, Washington, who is making a
study of the coaches for the mayor of that city; Charles G. Oakman,
George W. Drennan and George M. Frischkorn, Detroit real estate deal-
ers; G. W. Perkins, assistant to the president, Kelvinator Corporation;
Paul W. Tara, Attorney-at-Law; William G. Markley, Circuit Court Com-
missioner; Ross Schwam, vice president of the Twin Coach Company, of
Kent, Ohio, manufacturers of the electric coaches and former general
manager of the D. S. R.; Joseph E. Mills, commissioner of purchases and
supplies; Inspector Louis Berg, director of traffic; Edward A. Mitte, chief
of detectives; Capt. Leonard Blesser, of the motorcycle division; Milton
Hinckley, vice president in charge of sales, Westinghouse Manufacturing
Company; Joseph A. Mullaney, General Motors Corporation; William
Cameron, assistant manager, Detroit division, General Electric Company;
A. L. Drumm, president of the Eastern Michigan Railways; James M.
O'Dea, vice president and general manager of the Graham-Paige Com-
pany of Michigan; and G. Hall Roosevelt, vice president of the American
State Bank.
GROWTH OF AERIAL NAVIGATION
The growth and development of aerial navigation in the City of
Detroit in recent years has been almost phenomenal. In fact, at the
present time Detroit has attained high rank as a center of aerial naviga-
tion and manufacture, and just as the city has taken first place in the
manufacture of automobiles, so it seems that it will soon occupy first
place in the construction and manufacture of aircraft.
Power-driven planes had made successful short flights before 1903,
but in that year, at Kittyhawk, North Carolina, Wilbur and Orville Wright
made the first successful flight in a powered plane carrying a pilot.
The World war supplied the sudden and great impetus to development
of airplanes. It was then that Detroit first came prominently into the
picture of the new art. Why?
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1175
Detroit, in 1914, had become established as the world’s foremost cen-
ter of development of internal combustion engines. Here the automobile
industry had gathered the best engineers of the world in this class of
research and design. When the United States entered the World war,
unprepared, un-winged, it was to Detroit that the Government looked
chiefly for aid in the quick design and realization of “the best possible”
motor for aircraft. Col. Jesse D. Vincent, of the Packard Motor Car Co.,
a company which had been drawn from Ohio to Detroit as nearly as 1903,
because “Detroit is the place” for mechanical achievement, brought to the
consulting engineering board in Washington the experience and highly
developed technique of Detroit's automotive engineering, and the great
“Liberty Engine” resulted, closely resembling the Packard twin-six motor.
The all-metal plane, and the metal-covered airship, have had their
chief development in Detroit, along with scores of other types of air-
craft which are accepted as standard in commercial and passenger air
transportation.
Admiral Richard E. Byrd used a Stout all-metal tri-motored plane,
made by the airplane division of the Ford Motor Company, in his flight
to the South Pole in 1929. On August 27, 1927, Edward F. Schlee and
William S. Brock, of Detroit, left Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, in a
Stinson-Detroit monoplane, crossed the Atlantic Ocean, crossed Europe
and Asia, landing at Kasaminguara, Japan, September 14th, having cov-
ered 12,300 miles without serious mishap.
Sir Hubert Wilkins used Stinson–Detroit biplanes in the Detroit News-
Wilkins Arctic Expedition of 1927. He tried to take a Fokker plane from
Fairbanks to Point Barrow, on the same expedition, but the Fokker
refused to function, though through no fault of the Fokker design, for it
was the same type of plane, powered by the same engine, the Liberty,
Byrd had used in 1928 in his flight to the North Pole from Spitzbergen.
THE AIRCRAFT INDUSTRY TODAY
According to reports by the United States Department of Commerce
for 1926, the products of all aircraft and aircraft motors that year was
valued at $24,161,752, and this was an amazing increase of 60.3 per cent
over the previous year.
Less than one year after this report, a survey of Detroit’s aircraft
industry showed that there were forty-two aircraft accessories manu-
facturing and jobbing concerns in this area, with an investment of more
than $18,000,000 and an annual aviation payroll of $2,500,000, employing
1,320 men.
By the end of 1929, this investment had jumped to $26,045,000 in
Detroit, the year marking new plants built by Stinson, Warner, Buhl,
Cirrus and Ex-Cello; the successful development of the Packard Motor
Car Co.'s Diesel airplane engine; and a new type of airplane engine by
Continental Motors Corp.
The value in 1929 of all airplanes and parts produced in the Detroit
area, including Wayne Industrial Airport, Grosse Ile, Dearborn, and
1176 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
other nearby locations of plants in the industry, was $22,500,000, divided
as follows: Planes, $7,000,000; engines, $5,000,000; parts, $10,500,000,
an increase of 50 per cent over the production of 1928, and very close to
the total United States production of planes and airplane parts for 1926.
Out of Detroit, every year, goes the Reliability Air Tour. Out of
Detroit has come much of the money supporting scientific and exploratory
expeditions by airplanes to the top and bottom of the earth.
To the forty-two aircraft and allied concerns in Detroit in 1927, today
are added forty, an increase in two years of almost exactly 100 per cent.
At the All-American Aircraft Show, held at the $1,000,000 Detroit City
Airport, Detroit welcomed another new producing company, the Issoudin
Aircraft Manufacturing Corp., headed by Maj. Thomas G. Lanphier, one
of the central figures in the notable group which has sponsored and
guided the aircraft development of Detroit.
Detroit is air-minded. This is clearly indicated by observing the fol-
lowing list of aircraft and aircraft motor companies, all of which are
huge concerns:
AIRCRAFT
Aircraft Development Corp. (Division of Detroit Aircraft Corp.),
Grosse Ile. All-metal airships, mooring masts.
Buhl Aircraft Company, Marysville. Cabin biplanes.
Detroit Aircraft Corporation, 115 Campau. Parks training planes.
Eastman Aircraft Corporation. (Division Detroit Aircraft Corpora-
tion), 115 Campau. Flying boats and amphibians.
Gliders, Inc. (Division Detroit Aircraft Corporation), 115 Campau.
Motorless gliders.
Hise Aircraft Company, 5625 Saint Clair. Three-motored, cabin mono-
planes.
E. P. Hurd Company, 5822 Fischer. Airplanes.
Stinson Aircraft Corporation, Detroit-Wayne Industrial Airport,
Wayne, cabin monoplanes.
Stout Metal Airplane Company. (Division Ford Motor Company),
Dearborn. Tri-motored all-metal cabin monoplanes.
Towle Aircraft Company, Inc., 261 Saint Aubin. Amphibian airplanes
and flying boats.
Verville Aircraft Company, 7424 Melville. Cabin monoplanes.
Wolverine Aircraft Corporation, (experimental), 5452 Twenty-fourth
Street. Eight place, three-motor monoplanes.
AIRCRAFT MOTORS
American Cirrus Engines, Inc., Marysville.
Continental Motors Corporation, 12801 East Jefferson.
Packard Motor Car Company, 1580 East Grand Boulevard.
Warner Aircraft Corporation, 20263 Hoover.
OLD BELLE ISLE BRIDGE, DESTROYED BY FIRE
BURNING OF BELLE ISLE BRIDGE


WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1179
THOMPSON AERONAUTICAL CORPORATION
At the present time the Thompson Aeronautical Corporation operates
airplane passenger service on daily schedules from Detroit to Cleveland,
Chicago, South Bend, Ind., Grand Rapids, and all important cities through-
out the State of Michigan. The Thompson “Air Depot” is located at
7700 East Jefferson Avenue. Airplanes to and from Cleveland take off
from and land on the Detroit River at 7700 East Jefferson Avenue, just
east of the Belle Isle Bridge. Planes to and from Michigan cities, Chi-
cago and South Bend take off and land at the Ford Airport at Dearborn.
On the Michigan division, Stinson–Detroiter cabin mail planes are used,
while on the Marine division between Detroit and Cleveland, Keystone-
Loening Amphibian “Air Yachts” are used. These planes are equally at
home on land or water. The corporation also operates sight-seeing flights
in amphibian planes over Belle Isle and the downtown section of Detroit.
OTHER AIR LINES
Stout Air Services—Operating from the Ford Airport to Jackson,
Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, South Bend and Chicago, where connection is
made for points in the West and Southwest. Another Stout line operates
to Toledo and Cleveland, connecting with Eastern and Southeastern routes.
Mason & Dixon Air Lines, Inc.—Passenger Service to Toledo, Lima,
Dayton, Middletown and Cincinnati.
Stout-D. & C. Air Line—This company has begun the operation of
flying boat service to Cleveland and Buffalo, having inaugurated the plan
in the spring of 1930. *
Ford Motor Company—Operates a private line to Buffalo and Chicago
for freight only.
Capitol Airways, Inc.—Began in the Spring of 1930 to operate air-
plane service to Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, West Baden and Louisville.
Middle States Airlines, Inc.—Beginning in the Spring of 1930, operates
service to Toledo, Akron, Canton and Pittsburgh.
A consolidated air travel ticket office is maintained by the Detroit
Automobile Club at its headquarters, 139 Bagley Avenue.
Hence, the City of Detroit is now connected with the airways of the
nation by a group of lines operating out of the city to almost every sec-
tion of the country.
THE BELLE ISLE BRIDGE
Bringing to realization a noted civic improvement upon which the City
of Detroit's dreams had been centered for twenty-five years, the new
three million dollar bridge to Belle Isle was formally opened to the public
On November 1, 1923.
No less than six times since 1900, when the growing popularity of
Detroit's island playground and the phenomenal growth of the automo-
bile industry made apparent the wholly inadequate facilities of the old
$295,000 bridge, finished in 1889, were the voters asked to provide for a
1180 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
modern structure, such as the one brought to completion six years ago
after twenty-nine months of work. It was in 1902 that the far-sighted
city planners proposed a $600,000 appropriation for a new bridge, which
Was rejected at the polls, and similar proposals repeated at frequent inter-
vals met the same fate up to 1915, when on April 27, fire destroyed the
SuperStructure of the old span, making action imperative. A temporary
Wooden structure was erected, until the new bridge was finally completed.
The new structure of massive design in reinforced concrete, is regarded
as One of the Outstanding examples of Detroit’s progress.
Formal ceremonies marking the city’s acceptance of the structure were
held on Thursday, November 1, 1923, in the presence of a distinguished
company of city officials and prominent citizens, with an address by Wil-
liam Livingstone, late president of the Lake Carriers’ Association.
The bridge is a Cantilever type of nineteen spans. The total cost was
$3,000,000 while the cost of the subway approach was $467,000. The
bridge is 2,193 feet long and 85 feet wide. There are twenty piers and
nineteen openings, the maximum clearance of the openings being thirty
feet. The maximum elevation of the bridge above the river is thirty-
seven feet. Piles used—6,366, averaging from 40 to 50 feet in length;
total length of piles, end to end, 56 miles. The piles are grounded 75
feet below the water surface. The foundations of the piles contain 7,300
cubic yards of poured concrete and 549,000 pounds of reinforced steel.
The interior contents of the coffer-dams amount to 56,000 cubic yards and
lined with 650 tons of sheet steel. The piers contain 18,000 cubic yards
of concrete. The superstructure is supported by eight steel ribs, contain-
ing 3,018 tons of structural steel, with 20,000 cubic yards of concrete.
The paving of the bridge is asphalt. The lighting is that of decorative
clusters of three frosted lights.
DETROIT AND CANADA TUNNEL
At this time work on the international vehicular tunnel under the
Detroit River is progressing rapidly. The value of this gigantic under-
taking, when finished, cannot be overestimated. The Ambassador Bridge
having recently been dedicated, completion of the tunnel will mark the
accomplishment of two of the most gigantic and useful feats of engineer-
ing on the American Continent.
Suggestions for a vehicular tunnel under the Detroit River were pro-
posed as early as the late ’90s. The tunnel is now only four years old,
Mr. Fred Martin being responsible for its success, the work having been
started early in 1926. The first publicity on the new tunnel was released
in June, 1927, and official announcement of the project was made in
Canada on July 12, 1927.
When a derrick was set up in front of the Canadian Bank of Com-
merce in Windsor, Alderman C. R. Tuson, acting mayor, formally opened
drilling operations. On November 8, 1927, formal approval of the electors
of Detroit at a regular election was given the new undertaking. In May,
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1181
1928, formal announcement that a $17,000,000 bond issue and debentures
were entirely sold out. On June 4, 1928, the Hon. William Finlayson,
Ontario Minister of Lands and Forests, at a great public ceremony re-
moved the first scoopful of clay from the river bed. Developments since
that time are as follows: June 20, 1928, 20,000 yards of clay removed;
July 5, 1928, mid-channel work commenced; March 24, 1929, land opera-
tions on the Canadian shore began; June 6, 1929, the first of the nine
steel tubes comprising the sub-aqueous portion of the tunnel sunk in the
Detroit River; June 16, 1929, work began on the American ventilation
tower; September 30, 1929, last tube launched at Ojibway, Ontario;
November 26, 1929, excavation of the Canadian shield-driven segment of
the tunnel, 1,243 feet long, began at Windsor. Sinking of the last tube
and completion of the Canadian shield boring are scheduled for the pres-
ent time, with the final completion of the tunnel assured late in the
Summer of 1930.
THE NEW AMBASSADOR BRIDGE
A most phenomenal record in construction was finally consummated,
amid very impressive ceremonies, held on November 11, 1929, Armistice
Day, with the completion nine months ahead of schedule, of the new
Ambassador International Bridge, the world’s longest suspension span
connecting the City of Detroit, with the border cities of Canada. This
gigantic feat of engineering was accomplished in spite of a serious set-
back due to defective cables, all of which had to be replaced.
The building of the longest suspension bridge in the world, at a cost
of $22,500,000, and with the full approval and coöperation of two nations
and more than a score of minor political units, brought into reality the
dream of the people of the State of Michigan and the residents of the
Province of Ontario for more than half a century.
The operation of this wide and lofty roadway over the Detroit River
bringing together the people of two nations, in the opinion of leading
men of both countries, will ultimately have powerful political and eco-
nomic consequences. The gigantic span will ever be a visible, tangible
bond of the international friendship that has not been strained for a
period of 115 years.
The bridge is approximately 7,400 feet in length. Adjoining the ends
of the bridge proper are the two terminals, each being about the size of
a city block. From one entrance to the other is 9,000 feet, or a grand
total of nearly two miles in length. The main span, between the towers,
is 1,850 feet in length, and until the Hudson River Bridge is completed
in New York in 1933, will be the longest suspension span in the world,
having taken the honor from the Philadelphia-Camden Bridge across the
Delaware River, which has a total suspension length of 1,750 feet. The
new bridge carries an unobstructed roadway forty-seven feet wide, de-
signed for five lanes of traffic, and an eight-foot sidewalk. The number
1182 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
of lanes of traffic used in any one direction will be varied to suit condi-
tions of traffic during the day.
The span hangs 152 feet above high water in the center and 135 feet
at the sides. This is rated to be twenty feet higher than needed by any
Vessel now plying the Great Lakes, and sixty feet higher than any present
freighters. The extreme height was fixed by Maj.-Gen. Edgar Jadwin,
Chief of Engineers, United States Army, in the expectation of ocean .
traffic developing upon the completion of the Saint Lawrence Waterway
program. At 152 feet the roadway is one foot lower than the Bear Moun-
tain Bridge over the Hudson River near West Point, a structure that is
swung from the tops of two very high palisades.
The steepest approach grade is five per cent for a distance of 1,000
feet, a grade that engineers declare is entirely negotiable by trucks and
other heavily-loaded vehicles.
Because of the necessity for customs and immigration inspection, ter-
minal areas have been provided on each side of the bridge large enough
to sort out traffic, route the through vehicles straight ahead with the least
possible delay and thereby shunt the traffic requiring detailed inspection
to one side.
Across each roadway at the terminals, a row of islands have been
built, between which traffic is guided. Inspectors at the islands sort out
the traffic. A shortage house for custody of articles sent through in bond
is provided, and very substantial structures have been constructed to
house the inspection, personnel and the administrative staff of the bridge
company. It is estimated that 5,000 vehicles an hour can be handled
either way.
The bridge is lighted by modern series street lighting with 600 C. P.
lamps about twenty feet above the pavement, adequately mounted and
with scientifically correct reflectors. The terminals are flood-lighted in a
manner not to dazzle the eyes of the person driving through.
On both sides the bridge is connected with main local streets and
through highways. Vernor Highway in Detroit is the route of the Dixie
Highway, now improved as far as Miami, Fla., and in Canada the Huron
line road leads directly from the bridge to Talbot Road, the highway to
Toronto and the East.
In Detroit, traffic reaches the bridge head at Twenty-first and Porter
streets by way of Lafayette Boulevard, the Grand Boulevard, Michigan
Avenue or Vernor Highway.
In Sandwich, the terminal opens directly on Wyandotte Street, leading
to Windsor. That the great span is advantageously located may be seen
from the fact that it lies on the direct route used by the early Indian
tribes before the settlement of Detroit. There the Detroit River is nar-
rowest, and primitive traffic advantages were so obvious that the original
Canadian settlement, Sandwich, grew up at that point because it was an
Indian meeting place.
Since Henry F. Joy first proposed a bridge in 1874, only two locations
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1183
have been considered—the one where the Ambassador Bridge now stands
and Belle Isle.
The present bridge is the result of a need created by the tremendous
growth of highway traffic within the past few years. The construction
of this gigantic span was undertaken in 1924, when the McClintic-Mar-
shall Company succeeded in interesting Joseph A. Bower, Vice President
of the New York Trust Company, in the great possibilities of such a
bridge.
In order to construct the bridge permits were obtained from the United
States and the Canadian Governments, from the President of the United
States and the Governor-General of Canada; the State of Michigan and
the Province of Ontario; from the cities of Detroit and Sandwich. The
Structure was approved by the Lake Carriers’ Association and the Domin-
ion Marine Association, by the Minister of Public Works in Canada, and
the United States War Department. Twelve communities along the bor-
der have at various times voted endorsement of the project.
The bridge is owned by the Detroit International Bridge Company and
a subsidiary, the Canadian Transit Company.
In the construction of the bridge there were used : 11,000 miles of
cable wire weighing 24,000 tons; 25,000 cubic yards of concrete masonry;
and 2,000,000 rivets.
Completion of this great international bridge draws attention to the
remarkable boom in bridge-building that has taken place in the last four
years, a boom due, construction authorities believe, to the following facts:
Growth in the construction and use of the automobile, motor-bus and
truck has brought about the improvement of more highways, and these,
in turn, have created an urgent need for substantial bridges. Toll bridges
have proved profitable as business enterprises, and money for their con-
struction is, therefore, available. The tendency today, however, is toward
financing by cities and states, and tolls are removed when the structures
have paid for themselves. Engineers also point to the fact that this is
the day of huge construction jobs. In 1921, a million dollar contract was
notable. In one month of 1929, three contracts totalling $30,000,000 were
reported. Bridging a wide river is therefore no longer the enormous
undertaking it once seemed.
Such is the story of the Ambassador Bridge. For years to come it
will remain as a monument to the power and skill of the science of engi-
neering, and will ever reflect the genius of the mind of man.
The great bridge was designed by the McClintic-Marshall Company
of Pittsburgh, Pa. G. Lewis Taylor of Pittsburgh was the chief engineer;
Jonathan Jones, Pittsburgh, assistant chief engineer; and E. J. Paulus,
Detroit, engineer of construction. They were assisted by the following
engineering firms: Charles Evan Fowler, New York City, engineering
preliminaries; Monsarrat and Pratley, Montreal, engineering criticism;
Smith, Hinchman and Grylls, Detroit, architectural criticism; Moran,
Maurice and Proctor, New York City, foundations; Leon S. Moisseiff,
1184 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
New York City, suspended structure; and the Perry Testing Laboratory,
Detroit, concrete field tests; sub-contractors were The Foundation Co.,
New York City, pneumatic foundations; and the Canadian Bridge Co.,
Ltd., Walkerville, Ont. Engineering consultants were Coverdale and Col-
pitts, New York City, and Modjeski and Chase, New York City. The
resident engineer was R. G. Cone, Detroit.
The officers of the Detroit International Bridge Co., owners of the
bridge, are: J. A. Bower, president; J. L. Fozard, vice president and
general manager; J. M. Austin, vice president; Sherman D. Callender,
secretary-treasurer; Frederick G. Brown, assistant secretary; David
Graham, assistant treasurer; and Alfred A. Cook, Alfred C. Dent, and
Jansen Noyes, directors. The bankers and underwriters are: Hemphill,
Noyes and Co., 37 Wall Street, New York City, and Peabody, Smith and
Co., Inc., 38 Wall Street, New York City.
CHAPTER XXIV (Continued)
DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSPORTATION_THE RAILROAD
THE DETROIT & PONTIAC RAILROAD, THE FIRST IN THE
NORTHWEST TERRITORY
The Detroit & Pontiac Railroad, with its successors and extensions,
passed through pretty much every range of experience that has fallen to
the lot of pioneer enterprises, including raw experimentation, bankruptcy,
reorganization and endless litigation. It was planned first to connect
Detroit with the rich agricultural region of Oakland County, and the
flouring mills which were already operating in that section. Its charter
bore date of July 31, 1830, and this was the first railroad incorporated
within the limits of the Northwest Territory. It was also the first to
actually lay rails and to use a locomotive for the operating power. The
charter stipulated that the road should be completed to Pontiac within
five years, but the incorporators failed in some of their plans. The
charter was abrogated, and in 1834 another was granted to the Detroit &
Pontiac Railroad Company, an entirely new corporation, which was sub-
sequently authorized to establish the Bank of Pontiac. The principal
promoters and stockholders of both institutions were Sherman Stevens
and Alfred Williams, the latter commonly known also as “Salt” Williams
on account of his once having broken a corner in that commodity. He
and his associate seem to have had a genius for high finance. They not
only succeeded in borrowing $100,000 from the State of Michigan, but a
like sum from the State of Indiana. That commonwealth happened to
have idle money in the treasury, but it must have required an enticing
persuasiveness to induce the officials to invest the funds in an unbuilt
railroad backed only by a wildcat bank in another State.
Actual construction had to wait on finance, and even after work was
commenced progress was slow. It was not until April, 1836, that the con-
tract was let for grubbing the first fifteen miles, and then a swamp with a
few deep sink holes near Royal Oak delayed progress. In 1837, while
the internal improvement fever was on, the state was authorized to pur-
chase what there was of the road, but no action was taken under this
authority. Instead of that, the state loaned the company $100,000 and in
the end had neither the money nor the road. In July, 1838, the road was
opened to Royal Oak, and August 16, 1839, to Birmingham. Up to this
time the cars had been drawn by horses, but now a locomotive was pur-
chased. It was built by Baldwin of Philadelphia, founder of the Baldwin
Locomotive Works, which to this day are the largest works of the kind in
1185
1186 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
the country. The engine was first named the “Sherman Stevens” and
afterwards the “Pontiac.” It was evidently of superior workmanship, for
it was in use as a switch engine nearly forty years later.
In 1840, parties in Syracuse having claims upon the road, procured its
Sale under an execution. It was bid in by the late Gurdon Williams, of
this city, and Giles Williams and Dean Richmond, of Albany, New York,
but soon after transferred to other parties in Syracuse. It was finally
completed to Pontiac in 1843, and the event was duly celebrated on the
4th of July of that year, Governor Barry, Atty.-Gen. Henry N. Walker,
and others participating. The road was soon after leased by the Syracuse
Owners for ten years to Gurdon Williams, who was to pay a graduated
amount of rental, averaging about $10,000 a year.
The track and equipment of this pioneer road were very primitive.
The track was a strap rail spiked to wooden stringers. Nothing was
easier than for the spike, after a little wear, to come out of the end of the
rail, which would then stick up from three inches to six feet. In one
instance one of these rails pierced the car and came up through a barrel
of flour, the end protruding twelve inches above the head of the barrel,
the car coming into Detroit in that plight. Instead of the conductor car-
rying a machine with which to punch tickets, he was only equipped with
a hammer for nailing down “snakeheads.”
The first passenger coaches were divided into three rooms, the pas-
Sengers entered at the side and the seats were arranged lengthwise. The
only brake was on the tender and was worked by the fireman. The maxi-
mum speed was fifteen miles an hour. The time between Detroit and
Pontiac was indefinite. The train was very accommodating. It would
Stop anywhere to take on or drop a passenger. On one recorded occasion
the engineer took his gun along, and after a good shot, stopped the train
long enough to get off and pick up his game. “Salt” Williams himself,
principal promoter of the road, usually, when on business, drove in from
Pontiac, on the ground that he could make better time that way, and he
“wouldn’t ride on such a railroad as that, anyhow.”
The legislature of the state in 1837, taking their cue from the British
Parliament in reference to “the safety of passengers conveyed by steam
on roads partly constructed of iron,” summoned a number of gentlemen
connected with the different projected roads of the state, before a special
committee. The questions propounded were eighty in number. One of
the witnesses being no other than “Salt” Williams, was asked question
No. 79, “How many, if any, accidents endangering life have occurred
during the past year’?” The witness, after carefully considering the im-
portance of the question, and satisfying himself that he duly compre-
hended its nature, replied that “no accidents of any consequence had oc-
curred except one, and that was to a middle-aged couple who left Detroit
for Birmingham, and died of old age before they reached that delightful
rural village l’’
The first line of the road in Detroit was down Dequindre Street at
grade to Larned Street, where the depot was established. The company
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT II.87
proposed to cross Jefferson Avenue and so reach the river, but could not
obtain consent. It therefore, in 1843, with permission from the common
council, turned down Gratiot to Farmer Street. This new roadway was
laid in the mud on wooden stringers. The construction of the track
showed a disregard for the rights of owners of wagons and other vehicles,
and after a moderate rainfall the street could not be traversed by any-
thing on wheels. The people became exasperated and the storekeepers
and property owners were furious. The common council was bom-
barded with petitions, demanding a change, but the company did nothing
to allay the storm. After some delay the common council pronounced
this part of the track a nuisance and ordered its removal. The com-
pany ignored the order and people along the line took the law into their
own hands. On the evening of December 12, 1849, a party of citizens,
reported to be “from sixty to one hundred in number,” gathered on
Gratiot Street near what was then the head of Beaubien Street, and pro-
ceeded to tear up the tracks. They pried off the strap rails with crow-
bars, sledge hammers and hand spikes, rooted out the stringers, and cast
them on One side of the highway. In all about 400 feet of track was torn
up. Arrests were made of a number of leading citizens for participation
in this act, but no jury would convict them and they escaped penalty.
For several weeks the cars stopped at the corner of Gratiot and De-
quindre; then the track was repaired, but it was again torn up. After
some vicissitudes, permission was finally given the company to cross
Jefferson Avenue, the Gratiot Street track was abandoned, and in 1852
cars commenced running into the Brush Street depot, and for the first
time on T-rails.
OTHER CHARTERED RAILROADS
While the Detroit & Pontiac was thus going on its tempestuous course,
the Oakland & Ottawa Railroad Company was chartered, April 3, 1848,
to continue the line from Pontiac to Lake Michigan. In 1855 the two
companies were consolidated under the name of the Detroit & Milwaukee
Railroad. Building then went on with reasonable expedition. The road
was opened to Fentonville in 1855, to Owosso in 1856, to St. Johns and
Ionia in 1857, and to Grand Rapids and Grand Haven in 1858. From
the latter point regular steamer connections were made with Milwaukee,
and the road became a favorite for travel to the Northwest. Though
never profitable to the stockholders, the road was a very important factor
in the development of the third tier of counties. Each of the constituent
portions of the road was heavily mortgaged and additional encumbrances
were taken after the consolidation. Under foreclosure of second mort-
gages the Great Western Railroad of Canada bought in the road in 1860,
its ownership being subject, of course, to the first mortgage claims. After
several years these were foreclosed and from 1875 to 1878 the road was
in the hands of Charles C. Trowbridge as receiver. In 1878, under court
decree, the Great Western became the purchaser and the road was reor-
ganized under the name of The Detroit, Grand Haven & Milwaukee Rail-
1.188 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
road. It still retains that name, though both it and the Great Western
have been incorporated in the Grand Trunk System. No part of this
System ever came under state ownership and it is the only one of the
early roads of which this is true.
Preliminary plans for a railroad from Detroit to Lake Michigan
through the first and second tiers of counties were made in 1831 and took
legal form the next year. The Detroit & St. Joseph Railroad was char-
tered June 29, 1832, but the work of taking subscriptions to the stock did
not commence till 1835. The same year the incorporators were author-
ized to establish a bank at Ypsilanti. Citizens of Detroit subscribed for
$100,000 of the stock of the road and the city itself took $50,000 worth.
Residents of Ypsilanti who expected much from this improvement also
Subscribed quite liberally. The first contract for grubbing the roadway
was let in May, 1836. Up to March, 1837, when the state was authorized
to purchase the road, the stockholders had expended $117,000, but had
not completed any section of the track. With the purchase by the state,
the name was changed to the Michigan Central. As such it became the
most important link in the state's railroad properties. Subsequently
under private ownership it developed into Michigan's greatest railroad
system. It was always most intimately associated with the business in-
terests of Detroit.
The next road chartered was the Erie & Kalamazoo. It was author-
ized to run from Toledo, through Adrian, to Marshall, or some other
point on the Kalamazoo River. It was completed to Adrian in October,
1836. It now forms a section of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern
Railroad.
The fourth railway to be chartered was the Detroit & Shelby Rail-
road, extending to Utica in Macomb County. It was twenty miles in
length, constructed with strap rail and operated by horses. It was com-
pleted in 1838. With the rotting out of the ties and stringers the road
was abandoned, though its right of way is now occupied by the Bay City
Division of the Michigan Central.
In 1836 the Allegan & Marshall Railroad was chartered, and $100,000
loaned to the company by the state. Its route was identical with that of
the present Michigan Central between Marshall and Kalamazoo, some
portion of which was graded, but no part completed. In the same year
the River Raisin and Lake Erie Road was chartered to run from La
Plaisance Bay on Lake Erie through Monroe to Blissfield on the Erie &
Kalamazoo Railroad. It was partly completed and now forms the Mon-
roe branch of the Lake Shore. Also in 1836 was chartered the Palmyra
& Jacksonburg Railroad, extending from Palmyra on the Erie & Kalama-
Zoo, through Tecumseh, Clinton and Manchester, to Jackson. It was im-
mediately built between Palmyra and Tecumseh. It now forms the Jack-
son branch of the Lake Shore.
Charters were granted to several other roads between 1833 and 1838,
none of which was built. In the latter year the state entered upon its
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1189
grand scheme of internal improvements, and all of the above roads were
merged into its system.
STATE OWNERSHIP OF RAILROADS
The people of Michigan along in the '30s of the last century had very
exalted notions of the future of the state. On the face of it there was
Some reason for this. They had seen the population increase from 8,896
in 1820 to 31,639 in 1830, about 85,000 in 1834 and 175,000 in 1837, and
the rush, though somewhat abated, was still continuing in great volume,
While the natural resources of the state were great and capable of in-
definite expansion. The opinion very early began to prevail that the
State Should own the means of transportation and derive whatever bene-
fits there were from their possession. The Constitution of 1835 echoed
this sentiment in the following provision: “Internal improvements shall
be encouraged by the government of this state; and it shall be the duty of
the legislature, as soon as may be, to make provision by law for ascer-
taining the proper objects of improvement in relation to roads, canals
and navigable waters; and it shall also be their duty to provide by law
an equal, Systematic, economical application of the funds which may be
appropriated to these objects.”
Governor Mason, who was an enthusiast, urged the subject of internal
improvements upon the legislature in 1836 and 1837, and in the latter
year urged that the state should take control of any railroads or canals
that might be built. These avenues of transportation, he argued, would
not only benefit the whole people, but the profits derived from them would
probably pay the whole expense of the state government. At the session
in 1837 a committee of the house made a report which surpassed all the
governor’s productions in its rhetorical flourishes and the optimism of
its conclusions. The following is a part of the picture as it appeared
in the House Journal of that year:
“Not many years since, the peninsula of Michigan was scarcely known.
A few military and trading posts were the sole traces of civilization upon
the broad expanse of her magnificent solitudes. Shut out, apparently, by
a wide waste of waters from the East, and almost destitute of internal
communication with the West and South, she seemed to the careless eye
doomed to a perpetual desolation. Within the memory of some of her
living inhabitants, such was her condition. The contrast which her
present state exhibits can find no parallel but in the annals of our own
country. The progress of centuries in other lands, is here realized in as
many years. The sound of the falling forest is everywhere heard.
Farms, villages and cities spring up on every side, under the magical hand
of intelligent labor—the wide embracing arms of her surrounding seas
bear to her indented shores a thousand keels, freighted with tribute to the
enterprise and industry of her numerous and enlightened population.
The romance of the past age is the reality of the present.”
The committee advanced many arguments to show that the “high
road to national prosperity” was internal improvements, and gave reasons
1190 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
why Michigan should take advantage at once of her position and resources.
In the first place, they said internal improvement was no longer an ex-
periment but had been tested all over the country; and a study of the im-
provements in each of the states showing extent, cost and results, “would
have presented a safe guide to the judgment upon undertakings of this
character.” Again, internal improvement would bring the immigrant
to the state, and increase in population would increase industry, the only
Source of wealth ; the land would increase in value; railroads and canals
would make it unnecessary to use horses for transportation of goods, and
thus effect in the products of the soil a saving calculated at about one-
third of that now consumed in the support of these animals: Michigan,
it was claimed, was in a position to supply the “missing link” in the line
Of communication between the Mississippi and the Atlantic. By building
roads and canals, she gains the markets of the East and becomes the
“middle ground” for the exchange of products of the Northwest. The
principal argument, however, and the one which had most influence was,
that the money so applied was not an expenditure but an investment, and
an estimate of the income to be derived from this investment was given.
This remarkable mathematical calculation figured out in the next twenty
years a sufficient profit to pay the loan of $5,000,000 required to con-
struct the railroads and canals, and give a surplus of $2,925,000 “besides
the possession of the works which have yielded this immense profit.”
It was with such optimistic anticipations that the state entered upon
its grand scheme of internal improvements.
In March, 1837, the Legislature created a “board of commissioners on
internal improvement,” with authority to construct three railroads across
the state to be known respectively as the Southern, the Central and the
Northern ; also three canals. The Southern Railway was to extend from
Monroe through the southern tier of counties to New Buffalo on Lake
Michigan; the Central was to run from Detroit through Ypsilanti, Jack-
son, Marshall and Kalamazoo to St. Joseph, and the Northern, starting
from Port Huron, was to pass through Lapeer, Flint, Owosso and Grand
Rapids, terminating at Grand Haven. The board was authorized to pur-
chase any existing roads whose interests might be antagonized by the
state lines. The three canals were the St. Mary’s Ship Canal, around the
falls at the Soo; the Clinton & Kalamazoo Canal, extending to Mount
Clemens on the Clinton River across the state to the mouth of the Kala-
mazoo River, and the Saginaw Canal, connecting the Saginaw River with
the Grand, thus establishing water communication between Saginaw and
Grand Haven. The entire cost of this ambitious system of internal im-
provements was estimated at $7,712,079.
The first commissioners were L. B. Mizner, of Wayne; Levi S. Hum-
phrey, of Monroe; James B. Hunt, of Oakland; William A. Burt, of
Macomb; Edwin H. Lothrop, of Kalamazoo; Hiram Alden, of Branch,
and Rix Robinson, of Kent. The funds for the work were to be derived
from any surplus of State revenue, five per cent of the proceeds of sales
of state lands, and a $5,000,000 loan running twenty-five years at six
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1.191
per cent. The profits of the public works were to constitute a sinking
fund for the payment of the bonds.
Of the canals but little need be said here. The only one that was
constructed, that at the Soo, came at a much later date and under differ-
ent auspices. The Clinton & Kalamazoo was completed from Mt. Clemens
to Utica at a cost of $400,000, took in $90.32 in tolls, and was then
abandoned. Upon the Saginaw Canal $42,098 was expended, but it never
got far enough along to take any tolls.
The management of the $5,000,000 loan was a series of mishaps.
The negotiation of the bonds was entrusted to Governor Mason, who was
not skilled in finance, and he was accompanied on his mission to New
York by Theodore Romeyn of Detroit. They made an arrangement with
the Morris Canal and Banking Company, which undertook the sale of the
bonds at two and one-half per cent commission, reserving the right to
purchase on their own account. On this agreement the bonds were all
delivered to the banking company, which afterwards failed, and the state
realized only $2,841,063 for its investment. Owing to this unfortunate
outcome the state did not proceed far with any of its grand Schemes ex-
cept the Southern and Central railroads. The former was located in
1837 under direction of the first board of commissioners. It was to com-
mence at Monroe and passing through the southern tier of counties, ter-
minate at New Buffalo. It was completed to Adrian in 1840, it was
opened to Hillsdale in 1843 and stopped there. Up to the end of 1845 it
had cost $1,054,000, and the total receipts had footed up to $170,446,
hardly enough to pay running expenses. The state was glad to unload
the burden, which it did in 1846 by selling the whole property to the
Michigan Southern Railroad Company for $500,000. It eventually be-
came part of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad System. This
system has been of great benefit to Detroit, and especially useful in de-
veloping the Southern tier of counties, but its headquarters have never
been in this state.
HISTORY OF THE MICHIGAN CENTRAL
When the state took possession of the Detroit & St. Joseph Railroad
and named it the Michigan Central, it acquired a survey, a right of Way,
a very little completed road bed, and a lot of contracts. The line was
established to a point two miles west of Ann Arbor, and work had been
done in places between Detroit and Ypsilanti. Construction in this Sec-
tion of the road was especially difficult, as it was through a dense forest
growth, with frequent stretches of deep swamp. The estimated cost of
the road, in addition to the $117,000 already expended, was $1,381,000.
The state assumed all the contracts and followed the method of the com-
pany in construction. The road bed consisted of an embankment about
fourteen feet wide, drained on either side by ditches. The Superstruc-
ture consisted of longitudinal sills, not less than five by twelve inches,
bedded in two parallel trenches with connecting planks under the ends.
Cross ties were placed on the sills. White oak rails, 5 by 7 inches, were
1.192 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
keyed into this and the whole surmounted by iron plate rails. Partly be-
cause of the time required for the settling of the embankments, but more
because of the low marshy surface of the country, a new foundation was
advised and used where the nature of the country made it more suitable.
Holes were dug to the solid ground, eight feet apart lengthwise, and five
feet apart crosswise of the road. Blocks two feet in diameter cut to suit
the grade were placed endwise in these pits, and were settled by ramming.
On these blocks were placed heavy timbers, which formed two parallel
strings five feet apart, and formed the foundation of the road. The
superstructure was the same as given above, the embankments were then
finished and carried up to within three inches of the iron. Where the
surface was marshy, the road was built on piles. The work of construc-
tion was slow. The funds were not always available as fast as needed,
and in some cases the contractors had to be coaxed along on credit. The
contractor for the entire section between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti fell
behind in his work, and an extra force was required under new contracts.
The jealously existing between partisans of the Central and Southern
systems impeded legislation and sometimes occasioned more direct hind-
rances. One of the latter cases is thus described in the Joint Legislative
Documents for 1841: “The Central road had been completed to within
two and a half miles of Dexter. This portion was ready for the iron.
The board, knowing that there was a quantity of iron at Monroe, which
had not been appropriated, directed the superintendent at Monroe to
forward it. After waiting for some time an agent was sent, but he re-
turned without the iron. Finding that the feeling in Monroe was such
that no assistance could be obtained there, the commissioners gave David
French authority to employ hands and remove the iron to the pier of La
Plaisance Bay. He was defeated, as he reported, by such a demonstra-
tion of feeling on the part of the authorities and citizens of Monroe, as
rendered it, in his judgment, impossible for him to carry into effect the
orders of the board, without endangering the public peace, or putting in
peril the safety of his party.”
However, work progressed so that the road was opened to Dearborn
in January, 1838, to Ypsilanti February 3d of the same year, to Ann
Arbor October 17, 1839, to Dexter June 30, 1840, and to Jackson Decem-
ber 29, 1841. It reached Battle Creek in November, 1845, and Kalama-
zoo in February, 1846. Stages were run from the latter point to St.
Joseph, where connection was made with the boats to Chicago.
Owing, doubtless, to different methods of bookkeeping, the statements
of profits during the period of state ownership vary. In 1841, the net
profits were reported at $63,076, or about six per cent of the cost of the
road up to that time. In 1842 they were given at $75,026, with the pre-
diction that when the road was opened to Battle Creek they could be
doubled. The report for 1845 was optimistic. The estimate for receipts
was $275,000 and the cost of keeping the road in repair at $30,000. This
was the last of the rosy views. The friends of the road were dismayed
when they learned at the end of the year that the receipts had been over-
("ourtesy of Burton Historical Collection)
MICHIGAN CENTRAL DEPOT, DETROIT, 1853–83
--
-- - - tº - - - -
- - ----- __ - - - - - -
ºs- -º-º: -*. - s
--- - -
- - - - - -
---
-
--
-
(Courtesy of Burton Historical Collection)
MICHIGAN CENTRAL RAILROAD BUILDINGS, DETROIT, IN 1861
Site of present City Hall










WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1195
estimated by $72,000, and that almost the whole had been absorbed by
running expenses, repairs and new material. There were no net pro-
ceeds for the payment of interest, the redemption of state scrip or pro-
viding a sinking fund. It was stated, moreover, that the physical condi-
tion of the road was bad, that it ought to be rebuilt, laid with T-rails and
Supplied with new equipment; in short, that it was bankrupt in finances
and breaking down in service. The people, discouraged, were about
ready to throw off the burden and the chance to sell came very op-
portunely.
Among the earliest proceedings of the Legislature of 1846 was the
adoption of a resolution, presented by Judge Hand, the sole representa-
tive from Detroit, for the appointment of a committee of seven to con-
sider the expediency of selling the public works. That committee had a
bill ready to report, providing for the sale of the Central road, when
J. W. Brooks, of Boston, made his appearance in Detroit as the repre-
Sentative of a number of eastern capitalists, and made a tender for its
purchase. The committee entered at once into negotiations, the result
of which was that a charter for the Michigan Central Railroad was
drawn up by Judge Hand and reported for the approval of the Legisla-
ture, conditioned upon the payment of $2,000,000 as purchase money, a
Sum sufficient to reimburse the state for all expenditures. After a pro-
longed struggle the required two-thirds of each house was obtained in
Support of the bill. Among the prominent participators in the discussion
upon this important measure were Gen. Isaac E. Crary, George W. Peck,
Austin Blair, Judge Edmunds, David Noble, James P. Sanborn, Augustus
C. Baldwin, John P. Cook, and other well-known and influential men.
Previous to this time, so large a sum as $100,000, it is said, had never been
brought into the western country from the East for investment in any
one enterprise. Yet this act of incorporation contemplated the expendi-
ture of from $6,000,000 to $8,000,000, of which $500,000 had to be paid
before the state would relinquish possession. The bill passed in March,
but it was not until the ensuing September that a company of sufficient
strength could be organized to assume the obligations of the charter, at
which date the Michigan Central Railroad Company paid in the $500,000
required, took possession of the road, and the charter took full effect.
While the charter had necessarily to be a favorable one for the cor-
porators, in order to induce capitalists to venture their money in the
West, the interests of the public were also well protected. The charter
included provision by which all freight was required to be forwarded in
the same order of precedence in which it was received at the stations, a
provision which obviated a species of favoritism, about which great com-
plaint had been made. By another provision the company were pro-
hibited from making warehouse charges for shortage until they had given
one day’s notice in Detroit or four days’ elsewhere in the state. Pro-
vision was also made limiting the charges for freight and passengers to
the average rates of the Boston and Providence, Boston and Worcester,
and Boston and Lowell roads. The company were required to complete
1196 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
the road to Lake Michigan with T-rail of not less than sixty pounds to
the yard, and it was also stipulated that all the old road should be relaid
with similar rail. The company were authorized to change the western
terminus to any point in the state on Lake Michigan and they were sub-
Sequently allowed to extend the road to Chicago. There was a great
strife between the Central and Lake Shore roads as to which should reach
that city first, but the Central came out a day ahead, running its first
train into that city May 20, 1852.
John M. Forbes was the first president of the road and John W.
Brooks, who came from Rochester, New York, was the first superintend-
ent. Mr. Brooks brought with him from the Auburn and Rochester Rail-
road, C. H. Hurd and Henry Hopper, and from Massachusetts, Reuben
N. Rice and F. W. Warren. At the same time U. Tracy Howe came from
Cincinnati and became a part of the new management; Mr. Hurd became
freight agent, Mr. Warren cashier in freight department, Mr. Howe local
treasurer and Mr. Rice secretary to Mr. Brooks. Among the new officials
was John M. Berrien, constructing engineer, who had his office and corps
of assistants at Kalamazoo, the then terminus of the road. Maj. George
C. Hopper was roadmaster, and he afterwards gave interesting reminis-
cences of early railroading. He said: “The equipment consisted of six
single-driver locomotives and one double-driver of very antiquated pat-
tern. There were not more than eight or ten passenger and baggage
cars, and the freight equipment consisted of four flats, four-wheel and
eight-wheel box cars of very ancient type. A load for a single car, as
the Small ones were called, was thirty-four barrels of flour; for the larger
ones, twice that amount. The flats were rigged with ridge poles length-
wise, over which a canvas was drawn when it was necessary to use them
for freight. A load for the small engines was six eight-wheel or twelve
four-wheel cars.
“The passenger train time was twelve hours to Kalamazoo. and they
usually ran close to time; there were no time schedules for the freight
trains; their business was to keep out of the way of passenger trains and
not run into each other. The dispatcher would be in the yard at Detroit
in the morning and give verbal instructions to the freight engineers as
to where they were to go, and at what points to meet and pass each other.
There were no freight conductors and but two passenger conductors, who
were called captains. There was a station a mile and a half west of
Chelsea called Davison’s, at which trains dined. When the road was com-
pleted to New Buffalo the dining rooms and shops were located at
Marshall.
“When Mr. Brooks assumed control of the railroad, the passenger
business was so mixed with the stage and steamboat traffic that the
ticket seller at Detroit was empowered to sell tickets for the railroad
and for the steamboats across Lake Michigan from St. Joseph to Chicago.
The railroad tickets proper were colored cards sold to ‘All Stations from
Detroit.’ They were taken by the conductor and returned to the agent
to be resold. The second class tickets were similar in form and color to
MICHIGAN CENTRAL TERMINAL
MICHIGAN CENTRAL DEPOT YARD ABOUT 1868


WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1199
the first class tickets, but with one corner cut off. Conductors on taking
up the tickets returned them to the ticket seller without any statement
as to how many there were, but the agent made a statement to the local
treasurer as to his sales from day to day. The conductors made written
Statements on their return trips from Kalamazoo of their collections out
and return, and paid the cash to balance these reports.”
The incorporators of the road were twenty-seven in number, all men
of means, and almost all residents of New York, Albany or Boston. They
had previously been interested in the operation of the pioneer railroads
in the East. They were very fortunate in being able to associate with
themselves at the very outset a young Detroit attorney, James F. Joy,
who afterwards gave this account of the way it came about: “In the
Summer of 1845 John W. Brooks paid a visit to Detroit, bringing letters
to me from friends in New England. He came to the office of Joy and
Porter, and after several conversations upon the subject of the Michigan
Central Railroad, I unfortunately took the step which led me away from
the practice of the noble profession of the law to become a railroad man.”
This transfer of allegiance from law to transportation was a very for-
tunate thing for the railroad and for the City of Detroit, for in all his
railroad building and terminal activities, extending over a period of fifty
years, Mr. Joy always had the interests of Detroit in mind.
A detailed history of the Michigan Central would fill a volume. Its
policy and general course of its development were fully determined by the
men who were in at the start. J. M. Forbes was president from 1847
to 1856, J. W. Brooks from 1856 to 1867, and James F. Joy from 1867
to 1877. Throughout the thirty years of these successive administra-
tions the importance of the road as a part of the through east and west
trunk line system and the value of feeders within its own territory were
both kept in view. Subsequent presidents were Samuel Sloan, 1877;
William H. Vanderbilt of New York, 1878 to 1883; Henry B. Ledyard,
successively president and chairman of the board from 1883 until his
death on May 25, 1921. Mr. Ledyard, a native of Detroit, was always
solicitous for the interests of the city as well as those of the road. When
Mr. Ledyard became chairman of the board he was succeeded by Alfred
H. Smith of New York as president.
The first of the Central’s outside enterprises was the promotion of a
line across the Ontario peninsula. Two rival Canadian companies, the
Great Western and the Detroit & Niagara River Railroad had been making
very slow progress toward construction when in 1846 the men at the
head of the Michigan Central took hold of the Great Western project.
They also enlisted New York Central interests, and funds were provided
for pushing the work, so that the road was opened from Niagara Falls to
Hamilton, November 10, 1853, and to Detroit, January 17, 1854. The
arrival of the first train at Detroit was the occasion of an enthusiastic
celebration ending with a great supper in the freight house. Previous
to this date the Buffalo connection with the Michigan Central was made
by lake steamers. As soon, however, as connection was made with the
1200 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Great Western, continuous night trains were put on. The first sleeping
cars were operated by the Michigan Central in 1858. They were of the
Woodworth pattern and were day coaches altered by the railroad
COmpany.
One of the first railroads in central Michigan was that from Lansing
to Owosso, called on account of its many curves the “ramshorn road,”
and One of the next was a road from Jackson to Lansing. The incor-
porators of the latter then acquired the Owosso line and extended it to
Saginaw, under the title of the Jackson, Lansing & Saginaw. It was
afterward acquired by the Michigan Central and extended to Mackinac.
This is the longest of the Michigan Central divisions within the state,
being 297 miles from Jackson to Mackinac. As a feeder to the Central,
the Detroit & Bay City was organized in 1871 and was speedily pushed
to completion. About the same time the Canada Southern and the
Chicago & Canada Southern companies were organized. A road was built
from Buffalo to Amherstburg. Trains were taken across Detroit River
by ferry to Stony Island, then by bridge to Grosse Ile and by another
bridge to Trenton. The track was carried a short distance into Indiana
and another track was run from Trenton to Detroit. Both roads fell
into a bad way financially and structurally, and were acquired by the
Michigan Central. By building a new line from Essex Center to Wind-
Sor, the Canadian division became the Michigan Central’s main line east-
ward, and the Trenton branch became part of its Toledo division. The
Grand River Valley division from Jackson to Grand Rapids, the Air Line
from Jackson to Niles, the Detroit, Hillsdale & Indiana, the Jackson &
Fort Wayne and the Kalamazoo & South Haven are other lines that were
built or promoted by the Michigan Central interests. In addition to its
main divisions, that company controls about twenty short branches, all
tapping territory which is valuable for the additions which it gives to
both freight and passenger traffic. In 1930 its various lines had a total
of 2,000 miles of track.
The additions which the Central has made to its terminal facilities in
Detroit in the last few years are many and of vast importance. As part
of the general Scheme of improvements was the construction of the im-
mense new passenger station and office building at Michigan Avenue and
Fifteenth Street, with many miles of new track and sidings. This termi-
nal station, costing over $2,500,000, was opened in 1914. Preceding this
by a few years was the tunnel under the Detroit River, completed in 1910.
It consists of twin steel tubes each 262 feet long and 23 feet high. They
were built at the shipyard in St. Clair, floated down the river, then sunk
into position in trenches dug in the river bed and encased in cement.
The length of the tunnel proper is 2,260 feet and of the approaches 5,340
feet, a total length of a mile and a half. It is well ventilated and lighted
and cars are taken through it by electrically propelled locomotives. Its
use not only expedites the transfer of cars in summer, but obviates the
delays that ice formerly caused to the car ferries in winter. The cost
of the tunnel and approaches was between nine and ten million dollars.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1201.
The number of cars passing through the tubes in the first year of their
Operation was 243,027, and this hardly represents one-tenth of their
capacity.
THE PERE MARQUETTE SYSTEM
The Second of the great railroad systems with headquarters in De-
troit, the Pere Marquette, was of slow and piece-meal construction. Al-
though it has vast interests in the western part of the state it is also one
of the roads of peculiar value to this city. It gives Detroit communica-
tion with a large proportion of the interior cities and villages of the state.
The first link in the system was a road from Flint to Saginaw, completed
in 1864. Two years later a continuation of the road was made west-
ward through the woods to the crossing of the Tittabawassee River. A
line from Flint to Holly was then picked up. About this time Capt. Eber
B. Ward became interested in the road. He sought to enlist the aid of
Detroit capital. Failing of success he aided in organizing the Holly,
Wayne & Monroe road and told Detroiters in effect that his road would
side-track their town, and if they wanted to ride on it, they could come
out to Wayne to take the cars, which they were obliged to do for several
years. The different bits of construction were put together under the
name of the Flint & Pere Marquette, and the road was extended straight
through the wilderness and across the state to Ludington. It passed
through 150 miles of pine woods and was the pioneer in developing a
whole tier of counties. In the hands of a receiver the road was once
reorganized as the Pere Marquette. By absorption and construction it
has acquired a larger mileage of track, 2,247 in all, than any other Michi-
gan road. Its original line from Toledo to Ludington via Bay City covers
330 miles. From Pere Marquette, now Ludington, it runs car ferries to
Milwaukee and Manitowoc. It has a line from Chicago along the Lake
Michigan shore to Ludington; from Grand Rapids to Petoskey; from
Detroit to Grand Rapids with a number of branches; from Saginaw to
Muskegon and from Port Huron two lines through the Thumb district.
In Canada, it has one line from Sarnia to Rand Eau on Lake Erie, with
ferry to Conneaut, Ohio, and another line from Detroit to Port Stanley
with ferry to Conneaut.
One of the projects fostered by the Board of Trade and favored by
Detroit people generally while it was in the making, was the road that
connects the commercial metropolis with the capital of the state. Its
first link was the Detroit & Howell and then the Detroit & Lansing Com-
pany was organized. The first attempts were based partly on aid voted
by towns through which the road was to pass. After the Supreme Court
declared the act authorizing such aid to be unconstitutional larger private
subscriptions to stock were obtained. The road was completed to Lansing
in 1876. It was then merged with the Lansing and Ionia, under the
name of the Detroit, Lansing & Northern, and was pushed on to Howard
City. It eventually became one of the most valuable portions of the
Pere Marquette system.
1202 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
THE WABASH RAILROAD
Through the whole period of railroad construction the Detroit Board
of Trade was an earnest supporter of the new roads. It sympathized
with the movement for city and county aid to new roads and advocated a
considerable bonus from Detroit to the Lansing road. After the Supreme
Court declared the railroad aid act unconstitutional, the board promoted
stock sales for both the Lansing road and the Detroit, Hillsdale & Indiana.
Its favorite project, however, was the bringing of the Wabash to Detroit.
For this purpose it aided in the promotion of the Detroit, Butler & St.
Louis Railroad, which was organized to build a road 113 miles in length
from Detroit to Butler, Indiana, there to connect with the Wabash Sys-
tem. The Board of Trade voted a bonus of $13,000 out of its own treas-
ury and individual members aided in bringing the total bonus from the
city up to $200,000. The survey for the road commenced April 12, 1880.
Fourteen months from that time, June 12, 1881, Jay Gould, president of
the Wabash, came into the city over the new line. The first through
train arrived from St. Louis August 14 of that year. Passenger trains
at first went around the city by the Grand Trunk tracks to the Brush
Street depot. Tracks were afterwards laid along the river front, and a
small passenger station was built at the foot of Twelfth Street. Freight
and switching yards extended several blocks west of this and a large
elevator was built to accommodate the grain coming in over the line.
The new road opened up a large amount of new territory to local trade
and gave direct access to the central corn belt. The year before the road
was built the receipts of corn at Detroit were only 428,000 bushels. They
speedily ran up to a total of 4,000,000 or 5,000,000 annually. The Wabash
is now one of Detroit’s most valued lines. In 1920 the Wabash renewed
for twenty-one years its lease from the Grand Trunk for the line from
Windsor to Black Rock.
THE UNION DEPOT
Up to 1889 the Wabash and the Canadian Pacific occupied a small
passenger station at the foot of Twelfth Street, while the Detroit, Lansing
& Northern and the Flint & Pere Marquette came in over leased tracks
to the Michigan Central. James F. Joy conceived the plan of providing
a centrally located station for these and other roads and organized the
Union Depot Company. Property at the corner of Fort and Third was
acquired for the station, and after protracted efforts and much litigation,
the right of way was secured. This involved the occupancy of part of
River Street, the closing of part of Fourth and Fifth streets and the
building of an elevated approach. It was a very expensive undertaking.
Owners of property along the line were very exacting in the price de-
manded for the property acquired and in damages caused by building the
approaches. The cost of right of way alone exceeded $1,000,000. Oppo-
sition was also encountered from the Michigan Central and other inter-
ests, and hostility was met with in the Legislature to granting the
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1203
authority needed for carrying out the plans of the company. All ob-
stacles were at length overcome, and the first train ran into the station
January 21, 1893. Both the Wabash and the Pere Marquette built a
large amount of new track through the western part of the city in order
to make direct connection with the new station. The station is used for
trains of the Wabash, Pere Marquette, Canadian Pacific and Pennsyl-
vania lines.
THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILWAY
The latest addition to Detroit's railroads, and it is a very important
one, is an extension of the Pennsylvania System from Toledo to this city.
The new line avoids the congested section of Toledo and connects with the
Pere Marquette, over which it has trackage rights, to Carleton, Michigan.
From there to the River Rouge it comes over its own newly constructed
road, and enters the Union Depot over the Pere Marquette tracks. It
commenced running its own through trains from Detroit to Philadelphia,
New York and Washington in May, 1920, the first train leaving Detroit
on the 23d. While this addition to Detroit's passenger facilities is of
high value, the effect upon the freight situation is of immensely greater
importance. By sending its freight trains around the congested section
of Toledo, it avoids the delays so common at that point. For the handling
of freight at this end of the line elaborate preparations have been made.
One of the first pieces of new construction was a belt line from the Delray
district to the Ford plant in Highland Park, thus giving connection with
many existing factories, and opening up sites for new establishments.
This belt line will eventually be extended to the Fairview manufacturing
district.
To provide for the proper yard facilities to meet any abnormal de-
velopment in the down-river section, a large tract of land was acquired
on the Detroit River in River Rouge village. A further large tract of
land was acquired for the main receiving classification and storage yard
west of the River Rouge. In the northern section of the city, near Liver-
nois Avenue, on the belt line, a large tract of land was acquired for local
yard purposes, which will be developed to a capacity of about one thou-
sand cars. Another large tract has been acquired on the east side to
have a capacity of one thousand cars. For central freight service, Space
has been acquired fronting on Third Street and extending back three
blocks along Larned Street and Jefferson Avenue west. The improve-
ments here involve an expenditure of between $15,000,000 and $20,000,000.
DETROIT, TOLEDO AND IRONTON RAILROAD
The year 1920 witnessed another railroad event of considerable im-
portance to Detroit. This was the purchase by Henry and Edsel Ford
of the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad. This road was made up of
a number of consolidations, the Detroit end of it having come to the city
as the Detroit & Lima Northern. The whole road has 454 miles of main
track and 155 miles of sidings, and gives access to the Ohio and West
1204 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Virginia coal fields. The Fords found that with the addition of the capi-
tal which they were able to furnish, the road insured to Detroit at all
times an abundant supply of coal. It passes through no congested centers
between Detroit and the coal fields. It avoids Toledo by striking south
through Adrian ; avoids Columbus by going through Springfield, fifty
miles west, and avoids Cincinnati by taking a southeasterly course from
Springfield to Ironton. Solid trains of coal may be run directly through
to Detroit and other points in Michigan without being held up or diverted.
CORPORATE HISTORY OF D., T. & I.
Incorporated March 1, 1914, in Delaware; successor under foreclosure
to the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railway Company. As of May 1,
1916, acquired the capital stock and leased and assumed the management
and operation of the Toledo—Detroit Railroad. Leases and operates De-
troit & Ironton Railroad owned by Ford interests.
Control of D., T. & I. was taken over by Henry Ford on July 9, 1920,
by the purchase for cash of about 97% of the Adjustment 5s, 1954, at
$600 cash for each $1,000 bond and by purchase of preferred stock at $5
per share and of common at $1 per share; all but less than 600 shares
of the $12,489,948 capital stock became the property of the Ford interests.
In June, 1929, C. D. Barney & Company, New York, bankers, pur-
chased control of the D., T. & I. Railroad on behalf of an undisclosed prin-
cipal. It was announced officially on July 16, 1929, that the Pennroad
Corporation was the purchaser. Nature of Lien—Secured by a first
mortagage on 393.44 miles of road, appurtenances, equipment, etc. The
valuation of the property as of January 1, 1929, was estimated at ap-
proximately $25,584,748.
PRESENT RAILWAY LINES
Detroit has quite close connection with nearly all the roads in Michi-
gan, and is a terminal point for the following lines, eighteen in all:
Michigan Central, five divisions; Pere Marquette, three divisions; Grand
Trunk, three divisions; Wabash East and West Divisions; Lake Shore and
Michigan Southern ; Pennsylvania; Canadian Pacific ; Detroit, Toledo &
Ironton; Detroit & Toledo Shore line.
EASTERN MICHIGAN RAILWAYS
The interurban cars of the Eastern Michigan Railways (formerly
Detroit United Railway) continue to operate over the Department of
Street Railways, City of Detroit, tracks in and out of the city.
The Eastern Michigan Railways consists of Flint, Pontiac, Orchard
Lake and Wyandotte Divisions and Eastern Michigan-Toledo Railroad.
Track mileage January 1, 1930: Eastern Michigan Railways was 246.5
miles, while the track mileage of the Eastern Michigan-Toledo Railroad
was 85 miles; the total amounting to 331.5 miles. These two companies
operate through freight and passenger service, connecting with all elec-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1205
tric roads of Michigan, Indiana and Ohio, covering approximately 5,000
miles of electric railway.
The Eastern Michigan Motorbusses, a subsidiary of Eastern Michigan
Railways, operates an extensive system of modern parlor car buses out
of Detroit to Port Huron, Pontiac, Imlay City, Flint, Lansing, Grand
Rapids, Ann Arbor, Jackson and Monroe, Michigan, and to Toledo, Ohio,
and with connecting bus lines, sells tickets and gives parlor car service to
most of the large cities of the country.
The Eastern Michigan Trucking Company and Federal Transit Cor-
poration operates trucking service in the same territory as the busses,
including pick-up and delivery in Detroit and larger cities.
TRAFFIC, RAILROADS AND EXPRESS
During the first eleven months of 1929, 1,424,867 car loads of freight
were received and shipped from Detroit, as compared with 1,365,618 cars
for the same period in 1928. These are based upon actual figures com-
piled by the Traffic-Transportation Department of the Detroit Board of
Commerce, from data supplied by the railroads of Detroit.
The cars received at Detroit during the first eleven months of 1929
totaled 851,766, compared with 813,551 cars during the same period in
1928. There were received at Detroit during that period 24,877,100 tons
of freight, compared with 23,431,235 tons for the year 1928. There were
shipped from Detroit 9,387,106 tons in 1929 as compared with 8,233,603
tons in 1928.
The eight trunk line railroads handle through their terminals every
day an average of nearly 20,000 cars. This figure represents the num-
ber of cars originating at or destined for Detroit, as well as cars passing
through. There are nearly 1,500 industries having their own private
sidings, and a similar number which take delivery of their freight from
team tracks.
The American Railway Express Company reports that the number of
packages handled in and out of Detroit during the year 1929 amounted
to 5,954,691 pieces, compared with 5,705,252 in 1928, an increase of
249,439 packages.
CHAPTER XXV
FINANCIAL HISTORY: CITY AND COUNTY
WAYNE COUNTY AND DETROIT FINANCES
There have been a few changes of methods in conducting the finances
of Wayne County. In the early days its financial affairs were in charge
of three county commissioners appointed by the court of quarter sessions.
In 1818 the appointment of the commissioners was given to the governor,
and in 1825 they became elective. In the absence of sufficient funds to
meet expenses the commissioners began, as early as 1818, to issue due
bills in amounts of $1, $1.25, $1.37%, $1.621/2 and so on up to $10. These
bills had considerable use as currency. In 1830 they were held at 25 per
cent discount, but the commissioners and their successors kept on issuing
them until 1840. In 1827 the office of county commissioner was abolished.
It was revived in 1838, but finally discontinued in 1842, its duties then
having been turned over to the board of supervisors.
The latter body was created by act of March 20, 1827. Its members
were elective, one from each township. As first constituted, Detroit was
rated as a township and had only one member of the board. In 1842 the
six ward assessors were made members, in 1842 the senior alderman from
each ward, and in 1857 all the aldermen became members. Under the
apportionment existing in 1919-20 the city had thirty-four members, and
the rest of the county twenty-five. Under the act creating the board, the
members were authorized “to examine, allow and settle all accounts,”
estimate the expenses of the county and make the tax levy. They were
also authorized to repair the county buildings, and, illustrative of the
condition of the young community, they were authorized to offer boun-
ties for the killing of wolves and panthers. Their sessions were limited
to one of eight days annually and their pay was $1 a day for the time
they were actually in session. In 1832, the pay was raised to $2, later
on to $3 and finally to $4. From 1832 to 1846, the board was required
to hold two sessions a year, but the revision of that date fixed upon an
annual session commencing on the second Monday of October. During
most of the time since then this has been the only regular Session, though
special sessions are frequently called in the spring. The board has quite
a wide range of legislative duties, inasmuch as it is sometimes termed
“The County Legislature,” but its financial functions are limited. It
equalizes the valuations of property for assessment purposes, and ap-
portions to each city and township its share of the annual tax levy. Its
approval is also necessary for the submission of bond issues to popular
Vote.
1207
1208 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
THE COUNTY AUDITORS
The board of county auditors has, during a large part of its existence,
been supreme in financial affairs. It was created by act of March 11,
1844, and consists of three elective members, with three year terms.
The original act provided that no city or village should have more than
One member of the board. In actual practice Detroit frequently had none
at all, although paying two-thirds or more of the taxes. An act of 1883
remedied this by providing that two members of the board should be
residents of Detroit.
The powers of the board are great. As originally constituted, it was
their business to estimate the amount needed for county expenses, to
audit all bills, to make all disbursements, to appoint three superintend-
ents of the poor and two county physicians. By the constitution of 1850
they were given “exclusive power to prescribe and fix the compensation
for all services rendered for, and to adjust all claims against, the county
and the sum so fixed and adjusted shall be subject to no appeal.” This
remained in force until the constitution of 1908 was adopted, giving the
right of appeal to the circuit court in such manner as may be prescribed
by law. By act of May 24, 1879, the auditors were further empowered
to determine the number of clerks in all county offices, and the wages
to be paid them, and to fix the compensation of the coroners and the Sal-
aries of all county officers. They also kept a record of all receipts and
expenditures of the county treasurer, countersigning all tax receipts made
by him. Under these enlarged powers, and with usually one or two men
of dominant personality on the board, the auditors came to be known as
“The Kings of Wayne County.”
This system of concentrated authority has had the merit of efficiency
and generally of prudent counsel. The affairs of the county have been
well managed and the debt is small. The county tax for 1919–20, in-
cluding $800,270 for good roads, was $3,367,602, of which $2,638,978, or
over 78 per cent, was apportioned to Detroit.
THE CITY FINANCIAL SYSTEM
In the various stages of its growth the city has had diverse methods
of assessing property, levying and collecting taxes, of making appropria-
tions and of safeguarding expenditures. A recital of them all would be
tedious. A statement of the methods reached after a wide experience is
sufficient. The assessments of property for purposes of taxation are
made by a board of three assessors appointed by the mayor. Each as-
sessor has a personal assistant, and there is an ample clerical force. The
constitution requires that all assessable property shall be rated at its
full cash value, and assessments in recent years have approximated that
basis. The field work on real estate occupies nearly all the fall and win-
ter and the assessment rolls are completed in May. The common council,
sitting as a board of review, holds sessions to listen to complaints from
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1209
interested property holders, and the rolls are then turned over to the city
treasurer for making out the tax bills.
From 1802 till 1873, the tax levy was passed upon by a “citizens’
meeting,” an inheritance from the old New England town meeting system.
The citizens were called together in the council chamber and the pro-
posed tax levy was submitted to them, item by item, and passed upon by
Viva Voce vote. The attendance at the meetings was generally not large,
and the budget was practically decided by a few of the leading citizens.
This answered very well at times when there was not much interest in
the budget, but it broke down completely in 1873, over a hotly contested
issue. The question was upon the voting of $200,000 in bonds for the
purchase of land for a park. The subject had been discussed for months
and feeling ran high. The council chamber was to small to hold a tenth
part of the citizens who gathered, and the meeting was held at the west
entrance of the city hall. The crowd that gathered filled a whole block
of Griswold Street and overflowed into Fort. In the end it became a
mob. There were numerous fist fights and one irate citizen procured a
halter, with which he proposed to hang the mayor. It was impossible
to hear the speakers, and the viva voce vote was inconclusive. An at-
tempt at a division was equally futile. This was the last attempt at a
citizens’ meeting. Legislative enactment provided for a board of esti-
mates to take its place. This board served a very useful purpose for
nearly forty years. It was composed of two members from each ward,
elected upon ward tickets and five members at large elected on a general
ticket. The president pro tem of the common council, the chairman of
the ways and means committee and the heads of departments were ex-
officio members of the board, with the right to speak, but not to vote.
The heads of departments were required to submit to the controller, on
or before the first Tuesday of February in each year, their estimates of
the amount of money required for their respective departments for the
ensuing fiscal year. The controller was required, by the first Tuesday
In March, to transmit them to the common council, together with such
other funds as were mandatory under the charter. The common council
had until the 28th day of March for their consideration, when they were
transmitted to the board of estimates. That body had about a month
for their consideration. It might reduce or eliminate items but could not
increase any item nor add new ones. Its members had no patronage,
nor any other official duties that could influence their action on the esti-
mates. The membership generally included many substantial taxpayers
and its influence was generally conservative and prudent. The city justly
boasted of a low tax rate and a small public debt.
Under the present charter, adopted in 1914, the estimates go to the
common council which has a month for their consideration. They then go
to the mayor, who may decrease or disallow any items, and his action
on such items is final unless subsequently overruled by a two-thirds vote
of the council. The budget must go to the city treasurer by the fourth
Tuesday of April, and the taxes are payable, without percentage added
1210 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
from the 15th of July till the 15th of August. The assessment list upon
which city taxes are based is also used for the state and county taxes in
December.
PRIMITIVE CURRENCY ISSUES
The settlement at Detroit had a varied experience with currency be-
fore any experiment with banking was ever tried. In the earliest trade
with the Indians wanpum had its use, and fire water cut an important
part. Furs and peltries had a fairly well defined value in trading for
other products, beaver skins establishing the best accepted standard.
Tobacco also had some use as a medium of exchange. None of these,
however, furnished a very convenient or flexible currency and, during
the Revolution, Detroit merchants issued their own due bills which passed
for currency in the community. In 1779 the governor officially recog-
nized such issues, the amount allotted to each merchant being regulated
by the estimated value of his stock on hand. The amount of coin in
circulation was not large, and the practice arose of cutting Spanish dol-
lars into halves, quarters and eighths as a substitute for small coin.
THE FIRST BANKING VENTURE
It was under these conditions that the first proposition for a bank of
issue was made. When the territory was organized the legislative powers
which Congress conferred upon the governor and judges were construed
by that body to include the granting of charters. At their meeting
March 27, 1806, a petition was presented by six Boston gentlemen for
authority to establish a bank with a capital of $400,000. The future
historian of early Michigan banking, Governor Alpheus Felch, with full
knowledge of the business requirements and facilities of the time had
this to say in his retrospect of the situation:
“This was at a time when the local business could scarcely have de-
manded a banking institution, or have afforded much promise of its suc-
cess. The small Town of Detroit had just been laid in ashes. The
population of the entire territory was inconsiderable. The country was
possessed mainly by the Indians, and the small French settlements were
neither enterprising nor prosperous. No roads pierced the forests to the
interior; no manufactures existed ; agriculture yielded nothing for mar-
ket, and navigation had scarcely begun to vex the waters of the rivers
and the lakes. The multifarious transactions of commercial and civilized
communities, which require bank and banking facilities, were almost
unknown in the frontier settlement.”
The only exception to this general statement was the fur trade, and
that was financed mostly from the East. It was from Boston men, there-
fore, headed by Russel Sturgis, that the petition for a bank came. It
was possible that the long distance of the locality from the centers of
business may have been a consideration in seeking this charter. If the
promoters could issue bills and give them circulation in the Atlantic
states they would be slow in finding their way back to Detroit for redemp-
tion.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1211
THE FIRST TERRITORIAL BANK
An act of the governor and judges of Michigan Territory was passed
September 19, 1806, entitled “An Act Concerning the Bank of Detroit.”
It provided “That a bank shall be established at the City of Detroit, the
capital stock whereof shall not exceed one million dollars, to be divided
into ten thousand shares.” Subscription books should be opened the next
day and be closed in four days thereafter. The official name of the cor-
poration was the “President, Directors and Company of the Detroit Bank.”
The corporate life was fixed one hundred and one years. The officers were
to consist of a president and four directors. Bills of the bank payable
on demand “shall be receivable in all payments to the territory.” The
governor was authorized to make a subscription to the bank in behalf of
the territory.
These were the prominent features of the act. There was no limit
to the emission of bills, unless fixing the capital at one million of dollars
can be construed as a limit. No security was required by the act for
the redemption of the bills. This act was signed by William Hull, gov-
ernor, Augustus B. Woodward, chief judge, and Frederick Bates, senior
associate judge. It was attested by Peter Audrain, secretary of the
governor and judges in their legislative department.
The petitioners for the incorporation of this bank were citizens of
the eastern states, being Russel Sturgis, Henry Bass, Jr., Benjamin
Wheeler, Samuel Coverly and Nathaniel Parker, all of Boston. Associated
with them were Andrew Dexter, Andrew Dexter, Jr., and Samuel Dexter,
personal friends of Judge Woodward. Some of these men had been en-
gaged in the Michigan fur trade for years and experienced the necessity
of a bank at Detroit. They asked for a bank with a capital of $80,000
and not more than $400,000.
The petition for the establishment of the bank is dated March 31,
1806, showing that the matter was under discussion by the local authori-
ties some time before the act of incorporation was passed.
William Flanagan, of Boston, was sent on here to take charge of the
bank, to superintend its organization and to act as cashier. He gave a
bond to the “bank which is contemplated to be organized,” in the sum
of $15,000 and his bondsmen, in addition to the names above enumerated,
were David S. Eaton, Eliphalet Williams, Dudley S. Bradstreet, George
Odurne and Barzillia Holmes, also of Boston.
The stock was subscribed within the time limited by the law and many
of the best informed citizens of Detroit became stockholders. Among
others we find the names of:
James May–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 46 shares
John Griffin ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 10 shares
Solomon Sibley –––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 100 shares
James Henry ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 100 shares
Samuel T. Dyson—--------------------------- 10 shares
1212 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
William Hull ------------------------------ 5 shares
William Brown ---_________________________ 50 shares
Elijah Brush ----------------______________ 100 shares
Richard Pattinson -- ... -- - - - - - - - - 5 shares
Robert and James Abbott ------ -- - - - - -, -- *** -- *- - - - - - -, -º 10 shares
Territory of Michigan --____________________ 10 shares
Henry B. Brevoort ----------------_________ 10 shares
William McDowell Scott -----_________ _______ 1 share
Augustus B. Woodward ---...--______________ 1 share
Woodward became the first president. The bank purchased two lots
on the north side of Jefferson Avenue west of Randolph Street. That
street was opened eleven feet further east than it is now, at first, and
the vacated portion was added to lot twelve which now stands on the
corner. The first deed recorded in the city registry is one from the
governor and judges to the Detroit Bank of the lots eleven and twelve
above described, November 10, 1806. The vacated street on the corner
was conveyed to William Flanagan March 18, 1809. On these lots the
corporation erected a small brick building (the first brick structure in
the territory) and opened a bank. Immediately after the charter was
granted bills to the amount of from $80,000 to $100,000 were issued and
sent to Boston for disposal, the officers hoping that only a part of them
would ever return to Detroit for redemption.
Some opposition to the formation of the bank, originating probably
in Boston, reached Congress and on the 8th of February, 1807, a com-
mittee was appointed to present a bill disapproving of the bank act.
Josiah Quincy was chairman of this committee. The disapproving bill
was reported to the lower house on February 24, 1807. A few days
later it passed the House and on the third of the following month it
passed the Senate without noticeable opposition. This was the only
Michigan act ever disapproved by Congress.
In December, 1808, the subject of the bank’s title to its banking house
and lot in the city was presented to the governor and judges in Detroit
and the attorney general of the territory was requested to give an opin-
ion as to the ownership of the land. His answer was as follows: “The
governor and judges of Michigan on the 19th day of September, 1806,
adopted a law incorporating a bank at Detroit under the name of The
President, Directors and Company of the Detroit Bank, to whom, as
commissioners under the act of the Congress of the United States of the
21st of April, 1806, they did deed in fee simple absolute, two certain
lots of ground in the City of Detroit. Subsequent to this and on the third
day of March, 1807, the aforesaid law incorporating the Bank of Detroit
aforesaid was negatived by Congress by reason whereof the said incorpor-
ation became dissolved; the question then is, in whom is the fee of these
lots vested that were thus deeded as aforesaid to the corporation, they
having never made any disposition of the same. Answer: There are
in general two kinds of incorporations, aggregate and sole; created either
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1213
by the common law, by legislative authority, as by the acts of parlia-
ment, by prescription or by charter. To a corporation created by one
of the foregoing means they have incident to them certain things, and
that, too, without any express words in their charter to authorize them,
as for example to purchase and alien lands, to sue and be sued, implead
and be impleaded; so likewise are they liable to lose their corporate fran-
chise and be destroyed in a variety of different ways and means, as for
example in a corporate sole by a reunion with itself, and antecedent
corporate right granted out. So likewise in aggregate corporation by
surrender, by forfeiture and last by the dissolution of its corporate fran-
chise by legislative authority, which Mr. Blackstone considers as boundless
in its operation.
“The question, then what is to become of the lands that a corporation
thus dissolved were seized and possessed of at the time of its dissolution,
these agreeable to the common law of England must revert to the grantor,
donor or their heirs, for the law, saith the same learned authority, doth
always annex a condition to every such grant, that if the corporation be
dissolved the grantor shall have the lands again, because the cause of
the grant faileth, which, in contemplation of the law, is only supposed to
be made during the life of the corporation and this is said to be the only
instance where a revision can be expected on a grant in fee simple
absolute. -
“With very great respect
“I have the honor to be the Legislature's most obedient and very
humble servant,
“E. Brush.”
“To the Legislature of
the Michigan Territory.”
Andrew Dexter, Jr., one of the original corporators, began buying
up the stock which had been issued and had completed the purchase, with
the exception of one share held by Judge Woodward, when on the 12th
of April, 1809, a deed of the same property was made to him by the
governor and judges. Subsequently a judgment was obtained against
Dexter and a levy made upon the property. Dexter had conveyed the lots
to Elijah Brush, who died in 1814, still holding the title. The creditors
under the judgment assigned their claims to the Bank of Michigan and
that institution began suit against Brush’s heirs to obtain the title al-
leging that Brush held it in trust only. Many years passed before the
matter was finally determined and then, in 1833, under a decree of the
Supreme Court the title passed to the Bank of Michigan.
After the charter of the Detroit Bank was annulled by Congress the
bank officials continued to carry on the concern as a private bank. James
Henry became president and a new issue of bills was made which were
payable out of the assets of the bank, but for which the stockholders be-
came personally liable. In the first issue the assets only of the bank were
holden for the bills. An attempt was made in the Legislature to pass
1214 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
a bill that would put an end to the bank, but the action failed because
Judges Woodward and Griffin would not consent to it. Hull and With-
erell, however, bided their time and on December 9, 1808, they passed
“An Act for the punishment of Crimes and Misdemeanors.” Section 28
of this act prohibits the issuance of bills by private banks under a pen-
alty of twice the amount of the bills issued. A day or two afterward,
James Henry, the president, William Brown, one of the directors and
William Flanagan, the cashier of the bank, sent a petition to the Legis-
lature asking that the act passed December 9th, be repealed. The act
was not repealed and the bank necessarily went out of existence.
No attempt was made for some years to found another bank. The
War of 1812 occupied every thought and attention and the destruction
of property, and poverty of the citizens prevented, for years, the return
of business or of prosperity. It was not until 1817 that the pressure of
local business drove the people to take up again the organization of a bank.
OTHER EARLY BANKS
An act to incorporate the Bank of Michigan was passed by the Legis-
lature, then consisting of Lewis Cass, governor, and Judges Augustus B.
Woodward, John Griffin and James Witherell, December 19, 1817. The
act provided that the capital stock should be $100,000, in shares of $100.
The first directors were Solomon Sibley, Stephen Mack, Henry J. Hunt,
Abraham Edwards, John R. Williams, Philip Lecuyer and William Brown.
The Official name of the bank was “The President, Directors and Company
of the Bank of Michigan.” There is a detailed history of the bank in
volume thirty of the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society publication
and it would be needless here to repeat it. Much has already been written
concerning the defalcation of the cashier, James McCloskey. The bank
was quite small as we reckon banks of today, and the stealing of $10,300
nearly ruined it, or would have done so if the shortage had not at once
been made good. The following notice on the subject was printed in the
Michigan. Herald: -
“Bank of Michigan
“Detroit, May 19, 1825
“Messrs. Chipman and Seymour:—In answer to your request to be
made acquainted with the later occurrences at this bank which has led to
the removal of the cashier, James McCloskey, with a view to its publica-
tion, I am authorized by the board of directors to state that on the 17th
inst. a defalcation was ascertained to exist and from subsequent investi-
gation it was satisfactorily proved that the stigma arising from that fact
alone, rests with the late cashier. And I will state for your satisfaction,
and that of the public, that no injury will arise ultimately to this institu-
tion, nor any present inconvenience result from it.
“Respectfully your ob’t servt.
“E. P. Hastings
“Pres.”
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1215
John R. Williams was the first president and he retained the office
for many years. During the time of his presidency, David Stone became
a Small stockholder and in 1823 began urging the increase of the capital
stock. In a letter of July 23, 1823, he calls attention to the fact that only
$15,000 has been paid in, in money, and that the expenses of carrying
On the bank would be $2,100 per annum, making a loss that would en-
tirely wipe out the principal in ten years. He understands that some
One has offered the bank $5,000 for its charter. This offer should be
accepted, he thought, and the money divided among the stockholders,
paying them about thirty-three cents on the dollar.
Williams was greatly incensed at this letter and told Mr. Stone that
his premises were wrong and that the bank was making money, not losing.
But, he said, “There can be no doubt that if the active capital could be
increased it would be greatly to the advantage of the stockholders.”
Mr. Stone’s efforts to increase the size of the bank were successful.
Henry Dwight of Geneva was solicited to purchase two hundred shares
of the stock and thus become a large, perhaps the largest, stockholder.
The stock was purchased in the name of James Abbott, but this was only
for the purpose of concealing the name of the real owner. Williams went
to Geneva, in July, 1824, and from there writes: “Mr. Dwight informs
me that the stock subscribed by Mr. James Abbott is for himself and his
connections, but he does not wish to give publicity to the fact for the
present.” The arrangement for issuing and disposing of the bills of the
bank were that $1,000 in bills should be left at Geneva with Mr. Dwight
and $5,000 of par money. The balance of the bills should be taken down
to New York as soon as convenient.
When the time came to increase the capital stock, Williams resisted
because he thought it would be putting the control of the bank in the
hands of a monopolist and taking the management of affairs out of the
hands of Detroit citizens. He resigned his office. His letter of resigna-
tion recites the reasons for it as follows:
“Detroit, Nov. 7, 1824
“Gentlemen :
“It is now more than six years since I was first elected president of
the Bank of Michigan and during that period I have been annually re-
elected. The operations of the institution commenced at an epoch remark-
able in the history of the United States for its peculiar difficulties in a
pecuniary point of view. Never, perhaps, since the period of the Revo-
lution did the inhabitants of the United States, and particularly of her
commercial cities, experience a more general or universal state of dis-
tress and bankruptcy. Our territory then inundated with depreciated
currency, the stamp of uncertainty and loss was fixed upon every com-
mercial transaction until some time after the establishment of the Bank
of Michigan, when the introduction of a currency founded on a solid
basis caused all the miserable and depreciated trash soon to disappear.
The manner in which the affairs of the institution have hitherto been
conducted, has secured public confidence and restored to our territory a
1216 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
fixed and respectable circulating medium. The widespread prejudice and
distrust created by the mismanagement of a former banking system, have
been done away with and the character of this community retrieved from
unmerited obloquy and stigma.
“For several years past I have felt the responsibility of the trust con-
fided in me—and as I have no personal interest to advance distinct from
the general advantage of this community, I looked forward with solici-
tude to the moment which I might divest myself of a change without in-
curring responsibility or reproach. That moment seems now to have
arrived. The institution is in a flourishing condition and its credit estab-
lished on the most flattering basis, the undivided confidence of community.
“I, however, feel myself bound to declare to you that I do not approve
of any measure calculated to subject the institution to the disposition or
control of any individual or company however high their standing or
character may be. Monopolies are at all time injurious to the general
interests of community and in the transfer of stock the monopolizing
attempts of individuals should be guarded against.
“As it now appears to me that I can no longer be useful to the insti-
tution, I therefore feel free to retire. I therefore do gladly avail myself
of the opportunity now offered to me to relinquish a charge which has
been a great tax upon my time and frequently interfered with my private
interest and domestic comfort. I cannot, however, take this step without
expressing, however imperfectly, the feeling which, at this moment in-
fluences me and the recollection of the harmony and friendship which
have for so many years attended our public and united labors will never
be obliterated and will always claim a place among my happiest recollec-
tions. I leave you then, my fellow laborers, with best wishes for your
future success in the management of the Bank of Michigan and prayers
to the divine Disposer of all things for your individual happiness and
prosperity.
“John R. Williams.
“P. S. At the same time I wish it to be distinctly understood that I
entertain no other feelings than those of friendship, towards Mr. Dwight
and that the course which I have taken is purely in obedience to what I
conscientiously believe to be the only correct and proper view of the
subject predicated on a fair construction of the charter.
“I also wish the Board of Directors to appoint a person to receive the
papers in my possession belonging to the institution. After that is done
I shall still have left the consolation of having served the institution and
worn out my health and eyes upward of six years without the least com-
pensation.”
A meeting of the directors was held November 20th and presided
over by Stephen Mack as president pro tem. The other directors present
were Thomas Palmer, Philip Lecuyer, Peter J. Desnoyers and DeGarmo
Jones. Peter J. Desnoyers was elected president. James McCloskey was
the cashier at that time, his defalcation being discovered a few days later.
John R. Williams presented a bill for his services from the first Tuesday
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1217
in June, 1818. Part of the first year he acted as both president and
cashier. For the first year he charged $1,000 and for each subsequent
year $500, making a total of $4,000.
If the bank was prosperous before 1824, it was doubly so after its
capital was increased. It was the only bank in the Northwest and its
Services were greatly needed. Even its large issue of bills was not
Sufficient to supply the needs of business and many dealers issued shin
plasters to be used as fractional currency. The bank had, at various
times, associated with it some of the very best men in the city and terri-
tory. We find Eurotas P. Hastings, Charles C. Trowbridge, Oliver New-
berry and many others who were foremost in the city’s business interests.
The bank officials varied somewhat, although Trowbridge and Hastings
Were connected with it for some years and the following names appear
as directors at different times: James Abbott, Peter J. Desnoyers, Henry
J. Hunt, DeGarmo Jones, Stephen Mack, Henry Stanton, Ralph Wadhams,
Darius Lamson and William Brewster.
The following is the report of the finances of the bank, made at the
request of the Legislative Council in 1827.
Bills at par and funds in deposit in New York - - - - - - - - - - - - - $21,617.74
Bills in Specie paying banks . . . . . . . . . . . 1,266.00
Specie on hand ---------________________________________ 18,356.85
Total ------------------------ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - $41,240.59
Debts due the Bank im Sending drafts in transit -----_________ 68,008.46
Bills discounted ----------------------------------------- 55,043.02
Forfeited stock ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2,520.00
Banking house and furniture ----- -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - __ 3,180.41
Capital stock actually paid in -------- - - - - - - - - - - - - _____________ 69,900.00
Bills in circulation ----. ------— — — — — — — — — — — — — —--—— — — — — — — — — — — 66,880.00
Amount of deposits ---------------------------------------- 28,951.64
In the original act of incorporation the charter was granted to expire
in June, 1839, and the capital was limited to $500,000. In 1831 the Coun-
cil extended the charter to twenty-five years beyond the date fixed in the
original act, and in 1834 the authorized capital was increased $350,000.
In this act of 1834, a branch bank was authorized to be established at
Bronson (now Kalamazoo) in the County of Kalamazoo. On June 23,
1837, the bank suspended specie payment.
The report of the bank commissioner in December, 1837, gives the
total assets of the bank as $1,719,722 and the principal items of the lia-
bilities as follows:
Capital stock paid in ------------------------------------ $500,000.00
Circulation --------------------------------------------- 410,330.00
Deposits ---------------------------------------------- 169,439.41
Due the United States Treasury and public officers -----_____ 539,536.73
1218 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
In 1836 Trowbridge had resigned as cashier and Henry K, Sanger
Supplied his place. Both men were honest, capable and diligent. The
directors of the bank were men of ability and experience and yet, with
every effort that they could make, the bank was forced to close its doors.
It would be unprofitable here to enter into a long discussion of the causes
that led to the downfall of this bank and of the ruin and desolation that
Spread over the entire country following the panic of 1836 and the fol-
lowing years. It was not alone this bank, but all the other banks and
commercial houses of the country that suffered and failed or were barely
able to weather the great financial tornado.
Governor Mason in his message in 1839 says:
“The unparalleled agitation which has existed throughout the coun-
try for the past two years makes it my imperative duty to call your at-
tention to the subject of the currency. It certainly is one of the highest
duties of the Legislature to guard the public against the evils of a spuri-
ous and vitiated currency. Ours has hitherto chiefly consisted of the
paper issues of the State banks. These institutions, if properly conducted,
are not only highly useful, but may be considered as essential to the pros-
perity of the country. The object of legislation should therefore be, not
to destroy, but to correct the abuses incident to the present system of
banking.
“In reviewing the history of the embarrassments that have so re-
cently convulsed the American continent, the distant observer must be
struck with little wonder when seeing a nation at the very height of its
prosperity, and almost without any apparent cause, suddenly plunged
into bankruptcy and ruin. To him, however, who watched the progress
of events at home, the approaching catastrophe was inevitable.
“But a short time previous to the revulsion throughout the country,
our commercial affairs and grade in general, were greatly extended and
chiefly conducted on credit. The means for sustaining this state of
things were furnished by the immense amount of paper currency issued
by the innumerable banks established by the different states. This in-
crease of currency, if it can be called a currency, occasioned increase in
prices, fluctuation in the circulating medium and finally a total derange-
ment of the laws of trade and as the profits of the banks were in propor-
tion to their discounts, the approaching demand for specie, by a return
of their issues, was overlooked. The period arrived, however, when the
demand for specie to pay foreign debts, must be made and the inability
in the banks to meet it, produced the general suspension of specie pay-
ments which has been so destructive to the country.
“No state, perhaps, has suffered more from the evils of a deranged
currency than our own.”
One of the many things that led to the financial embarrassment of
the times was the continued quarrel between President Andrew Jackson
and the Bank of the United States. The bank charter expired in 1836
and a renewal of it, though passed by both houses of Congress by a good
majority, was vetoed by the President. The President ordered the de-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1219
posits of the United States that were in that bank removed and distrib-
uted among certain state banks. The Secretary of the Treasury refused
to obey the order of the President and resigned his office. His successor,
Roger B. Taney, was more compliant and the moneys were removed. The
immediate result was widespread commercial embarrassment and distress.
In Detroit the public was called to meet at the Capitol, April 4, 1834,
“to remonstrate against the acts of the President in removing the de-
posits.”
This was the largest meeting that had ever been held in the city up
to that time. Levi Cook presided, Shubael Conant was first vice president
and John Palmer was second vice president. The secretaries were Henry
V. Disbrow and Horace Hallock.
Twenty-four men were appointed to prepare a memorial and resolu-
tions. These men were Oliver Newberry, Theodore Williams, Jacob M.
Howard, William S. Abbott, Alexander D. Fraser, Tunis S. Wendell,
Jerry Dean, John Watson, Phineas Davis, Jr., Job F. Howland, Lewis
Godard, Nathaniel T. Ludden, Alanson Sheley, Edward Bancroft, Horace
Hallock, Thomas S. Knapp, Benjamin Woodworth, George L. Whitney,
Enoch Jones, Abram C. Conniff, Henry Howard, Frederick H. Stevens,
John Farrar and J. T. Penny.
The memorial to Congress drafted by this committee, deprecated the
avowed hostility of the President to the Bank of the United States and
maintained that the action of hostility had unsettled business and caused
distress and bankruptcy to overspread the nation. It charges President
Jackson with attempting to usurp all the powers of government. Nor
was this opinion confined to the citizens of Detroit. It was the freely
received and expressed opinion of many of the best people of the country
that Jackson was establishing a “one man power;” that he was attempting
to manage the affairs of government without consulting either house of
Congress and was relying upon his popularity and the interest he took
in the “common people” to maintain himself in office. The government
deposits were divided among the various state banks and the Bank of
Michigan, as we see by the report of 1837, obtained over $539,000 of these
funds. The bank paid interest on this amount to the general Govern-
ment and used the money in its ordinary business. This distribution had
spread the surplus of the United States Treasury far and wide over the
country and a period of speculation of the wildest sort immediately fol-
lowed. The government debt was completely extinguished and the sur-
plus began to pile higher and higher.
Much of the wild speculation was in western lands and any one curious
to ascertain the facts regarding this species of speculation can find suffi-
cient proof by examining the land records of Wayne County for the
years 1835-36 and '37. “Everyone knew that the public lands had hith-
erto been the great source of the surplus and expected that it would
continue to be so in the future.” (Von Holst, Vol. 2, p. 187).
Speculation was the order of the day. How to make debts, not how
to pay them, was the effort of every one. Jackson undertook to remedy
1220 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
this evil in a manner that only tended to increase the trouble. “Bank
notes had been issued in enormous quantities and it was necessary to
check the evil.” On the eleventh day of July, 1836, the President had a
circular issued to the various land offices, directing the receivers of public
moneys to accept nothing but specie for lands they were selling. Imme-
diately the persons who were to purchase these lands applied to the bank
for specie in exchange for their bank bills. The drain on the banks was
too severe to be withstood for any length of time and they were forced
to suspend specie payment. The bank did not at once close its doors but
obtained a large sum of money, $300,000 or more, from the Dwights, its
eastern stockholders, to bring it back to its normal condition. Its assets
consisted largely of real estate and real estate securities, neither of which
could be readily sold.
Eurotas P. Hastings, who had been president for some time, gave up
his office to Charles C. Trowbridge. It was, however, useless to try to
save the institution. In 1841 the bank made an assignment of its prop-
erty to Charles C. Trowbridge, John Owen and Robert Stuart in trust for
its many creditors. The trustees attempted to dispose of the real estate
and mortgages and were fairly successful for a time, until Scott began
a suit in the Court of Chancery to declare the conveyance to the trustees
void because of partiality in the payment of creditors. The court ap-
pointed Shubael Conant receiver and the trustees assigned all of the
property to him. He settled the balance of the property that came into
his hands and the bank ceased to exist.
The first banking office of the Bank of Michigan was on the northwest
corner of Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street. In 1831 the bank
erected a stone building on the south side of Jefferson Avenue.
In 1836 the bank purchased the lot on the southwest corner of Gris-
wold Street and Jefferson Avenue and erected the building now located
there. The history of this lot is to be found on another page of this work.
The third banking establishment organized in Detroit was The Farmers
& Mechanics Bank. &
In the article on the Bank of Michigan it was stated that John R.
Williams resigned the presidency of the bank upon the increase of stock
and the turning over of the institution to the eastern capitalists. He
also presented a claim for $4,000 for his personal Services, which was not
paid and upon which he subsequently began a suit. At this time he was
liable to the bank for a note or endorsement which he wanted to pay by
offsetting his personal claim. In the early part of 1827, Mr. Williams
was in New York, but hearing of illness in his family he hastened home
and upon his arrival wrote a letter to Hermanns Bleecker, his attorney in
Albany, which shows the state of ill feeling that existed between the
bank and himself. This letter is dated May 28, 1827, and in it he says:
“You will perhaps be somewhat surprised to learn that a couple of days
after my arrival in New York, I was again arrested at the Suit of the
President, Directors & Co., of the Bank of Michigan for the same note
and matters for which I was arrested and gave bail at Albany. I waited
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1221
on the attorney of Mr. Ward, the agent of the bank, in the same building
Opposite the Exchange on the left side of the second floor fronting Wall
Street, who, after being informed of the facts in relation to the matter,
observed to the sheriff that he would pay the costs, remarking that it
Was Mr. Ward's fault, who had urged that I should be arrested that very
day. The attorney seemed to think it extraordinary that their attorney
at Albany had neglected to apprize them of the state of the case. The
Sequel will show that the matter was not to rest there. I arrived at Buf-
falo on the night of the 22d inst. and on the 23d, being about to embark
On board the Superior for Detroit, was again arrested on a writ at the
suit of the same President, Directors & Co. for the same demand. As
the suit was for $4,500 the sheriff required bail to the amount of $9,000,
which I was compelled to find or remain in custody. So that I have been
arrested three times at different places on the same demand and prob-
ably would have been arrested at every village and town through which
I passed if they had been apprized when I passed by. Is not such con-
duct more than malicious and villainous?” With this display of vicious-
ness on the part of the bank it is hardly to be wondered at that Mr.
Williams felt inclined to do whatever he could to injure the bank that he
had founded and for which he had worked so long. Williams was a man
of great energy, wealthy and of more than ordinary political ability, as
is evident by the number of times he held the office of mayor in the city.
The formation of a new and rival bank was then, to him, “a consummation
devoutly to be wished.”
An act of the Legislative Council was passed November 5, 1829, for
the establishment of “The President, Directors and Company of the Farm-
ers & Mechanics' Bank of Michigan.” The charter was granted to John
R. Williams, Levi Cook, Orville Cook, Henry V. Disbrow, John Hale,
Elliot Gray, Tunis S. Wendell, Daniel Thurston and Henry Sanderson,
who were the first directors.
The capital stock was $100,000 and not to exceed $500,000.
One tenth of the stock subscribed for was to be paid in specie.
Of the directors, a majority must be residents of Michigan.
All banks chartered before 1849 were banks of issue and in the case
of the Farmers & Mechanics' Bank no bank notes should be issued for
less than $1. The total issue and all other outstanding debts should never
be more than three times the amount of stock issued less the specie on
hand.
The life of the bank was fixed at twenty years.
A copy of the charter was sent to Ebenezer Johnson at Buffalo and
he soon wrote to John R. Williams on the subject of subscribing to the
stock. He said he was sorry to see the name of Daniel Thurston as a
director, as he thought they would not get along with him. Johnson said
that he and his brother, Elisha Johnson, of Rochester, would take one
half of the stock.
In January, 1830, Ebenezer Johnson made another proposition to sub-
scribe for three-fourths of the stock and pay the required money in order
1222 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
to Open the bank. He asked that he name the president, John R. Williams,
and the cashier, Henry M. Sizer. Regarding Mr. Sizer he said that he
Was a young gentleman of good address, in whom he had great confidence.
Upon the receipt of this offer the board of directors was called in
Session and a resolution passed February 2, 1830, accepting the proposi-
tion and directing the necessary public notice to be given of the opening
of the books for subscriptions. At this board meeting all of the directors
were present except Gray, Thurston and Sanderson. Johnson was noti-
fied of this action of the directors and Williams thought he could divert
from twenty to thirty thousand dollars in good loans from the old bank
to this bank at once. He said he was willing to act as president but only
upon condition that his services were paid for. In the following July,
Elisha Johnson visited Detroit for the purpose of subscribing for three-
fourths of the stock of the new bank for himself and his brother.
The bank paid fair dividends till the collapse of 1837, suspended pay-
ments in 1839, but kept its charter alive, renewed business in 1849 and
wound up its affairs in 1869, with all debts paid and a moderate return
to stockholders. It was the longest lived of any of the early banks.
The Michigan Insurance Company of Detroit was incorporated by an
act of the Legislative Council March 7, 1834. The incorporators and first
directors were: John R. Williams, Barnabe Campau, Levi Cook, Enoch
Jones, Peter J. Desnoyers, James Abbott, John Palmer, Oliver Newberry,
Henry Howard, Solomon E. Mason, Hart L. Stewart, Stilman Blanchard,
Oliver Johnson, Anson Brown, Michael Dousman, Christian Clemens and
William Draper.
John R. Williams was the first president.
It will be seen from the list of names that several of the incorporators
were not residents of Detroit.
The object of the association, as stated in the preamble of the act, was
“to enable them the better to carry on and to extend the business of in-
surance on land and water, and of insurance upon houses, goods and lives,
which are the useful purposes of their institution.”
It was to exist until the first day of June, 1860.
The stock, estate and property of the concern should never exceed
$500,000.
The general object of the association is stated in the preamble, but
the company was also authorized to ransom persons in captivity.
The corporation could not begin business until $20,000 of the capital
stock was paid in.
There was no provision in the act permitting the corporation to en-
gage in banking.
MICHIGAN STATE BANK
The first intimation we have of the organization of this bank is the
somewhat imperfect record of a meeting at Woodworth’s Hotel. This
record is as follows:
“At a public meeting held at Woodworth’s Steam Boat Hotel, pur-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1223
Suant to public notice, on Monday evening 16th March 1835, in relation
to obtaining a charter to incorporate the stockholders to the Michigan
State Bank.”
John R. Williams was called to the chair and John Truax appointed
Secretary. The object of the meeting having been stated by the chairman,
On motion a committee was appointed to draft and report resolutions to
this meeting. The memorial which was prepared on this occasion, and of
which only the first draft appears to be in existence, reads as follows:
“To the Honorable, The Legislative Council of Michigan. The Me-
morial of the undersigned citizens of the United States inhabitants of
Michigan.
“Respectfully sheweth
“That from the great and rapid increase of the population and im-
provements of the Territory; the expansion of commerce on Our waters
and the growing importance of the City of Detroit as a point of concen-
tration to emigrants from the States of the Union and from Europe; ex-
perience of the past and the prospects of the future importance that await
our territory become every day more striking and less problematical.
But it devolves upon the inhabitants that now occupy the busy stage of
life to fulfill their part in order to satisfy the judgment of posterity and
carry into effect the beneficent favors of Providence:
“Your Memorialists deem it unnecessary to expatiate on the natural
or acquired advantages of the State which is about being formed and
which will add another star to the bright constellation of independent
sovereignties that constitute our Union. The transition about to take
place is too important to fail in attracting our interest and vigilant at-
tention. In view of the great developments, which are evidently near
at hand, the present is therefore an epoch highly interesting to the people
of Michigan. The prospects before us should stimulate every good citi-
zen to exertion. And above all the legislative authority should, we re-
spectfully suggest, second the efforts of our enterprising citizens. The
increasing exigencies of the country and City of Detroit for moneyed
capital are universally acknowledged. Were it necessary to offer any
argument to show that there is a great want of capital in this city, it
would be sufficient, perhaps, to advert to the fact that for some time past
considerable sums have been loaned by individuals in the city to safe
borrowers at the enormous rate of sixty per cent per annum, notwith-
standing the statutory provision fixing the legal rate of interest at seven
per cent. The existence of such usurious practices in the face of the law
affords the strongest grounds to show the absolute and indispensable
necessity of an increase of the monied capital of the country.
“It is a well established fact that the demand for houses and tena-
ments within the city has been such that capital vested in dwelling houses
and other buildings yields from twelve to twenty per cent to the owner,
and the demand for houses continues almost unabated notwithstanding
that the navigation is being closed.
“The value of property, or the incentive to acquire it, is greatly dimin-
1224 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
ished unless it can be represented by a fair proportion of monied capital
wherever it may be situated. The assessed value of property in the city
alone is nearly two million dollars. The amount of the capital stock paid
in the two banks now in operation here is said to be three hundred thou-
sand dollars and even allowing for the excess which they are permitted
to issue by the provisions of their respective charters, it is evident that
their capital must be entirely inadequate to the circumstances of the
country or the wants of the community at large, inasmuch as a large
proportion of their issues are loaned to inhabitants of Ohio and the whole
interior of the Territory. •
“For these and various other good reasons that may be adduced, your
Memorialists beg leave to ask your Honorable Body to grant an act to
incorporate a bank to be located in the City of Detroit, with a capital of
two hundred thousand dollars—with privilege to increase the same under
certain regulations to five hundred thousand dollars, to be styled the State
Bank of Michigan.” g
The charter for the bank was granted March 26, 1835. The Original
incorporators were John R. Williams, John Hale, Robert McMillen, Ed-
ward C. Mathews, Ellis Doty, Barnabas Campau, Abraham S. School-
craft, Cullen Brown and John Truax. The capital stock was fixed at one
hundred thousand dollars, one-tenth to be paid in specie. The capital
might be increased to five hundred thousand dollars. The official name
of the company was changed somewhat from the memorial, and was “The
President, Directors & Company of the Michigan State Bank.”
In one particular General Williams carried out a provision that he
desired and that he found lacking in the charter of the Bank of Michi-
gan, and that was that the majority of the directors should be residents
of Michigan.
The existence of the bank was limited to twenty years from March
26, 1835.
The bank had great encouragement from New York capitalists at
once. General Williams was so well and so favorably known that people
of means were willing to go into almost any enterprise in which he was
interested. He placed the matter of the organization of the bank before
Thomas W. Olcott, one of the wealthy men of Albany and at that time
cashier of the Farmers & Mechanics' Bank of Albany. Mr. Olcott's reply
to Williams’ proposal was as follows:
“Albany, May 16, 1835.
“John R. Williams, Esq.
“Dear Sir :
“Since the receipt of your letter, in which you intimated a desire to
have Some of your bank stock taken in this quarter, I have mentioned
the matter to Erastus Corning, Esq., President of the City Bank of this
place, John Delafield, Esq., Cashier of the Phenix Bank of New York
and two other gentlemen, James Porter and Lot Clark, who have con-
sented to take with me $10,000 each, making $50,000, or one-half of your
capital stock. This alliance will embrace interests here the nature and
CHRISTIAN H. BUHL FREDERICK BUHL
HENRY LEDYARD ZACHARIAH CHANDLER


WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1227
importance of which to your Bank and to those concerned in it, you will
know how to appreciate, and I would add that it will give us pleasure
to furnish Such reasonable and temporary facilities as you and your
friends may require to enable you to take an interest equal to your wishes
in the stock of the bank. We do not suppose that you will be pressed with
applications for stock, but in case you are we should not particularly ob-
ject to having our share reduced to $7,000 or $8,000 each though we
Should prefer each $10,000. For the subscription money for us and for
yourself and friends, should it be required, please draw at sight on Mr.
Corning and myself. I presume you can, without inconvenience, obtain
the specie at the Banks in your place.
“On receipt of this please write me what we have to expect and be-
lieve me, whether we obtain stock or not,
“With great regards,
“Yr. O. B. S.,
“Tho. W. Olcott.
“I do not wish our name mentioned or used unless there is a clear
prospect of success. If you use the names, which you are authorized to
do, I repeat they are Erastus Corning, Jno. Delafield, Lot Clark, James
Porter and my own.”
The bank was most unfortunate in beginning business just before the
general financial collapse that followed the year 1836. It was unable to
stand the pressure of the hard times and in 1839 it was forced into the
hands of an assignee. It was indebted to the State of Michigan in the
sum of $500,000. In February, 1840, the Legislature authorized the audi-
tor general, state treasurer and secretary of state to settle with the bank
on the best available terms. The charter of the bank had been declared
forfeited because of its failure to pay in specie as provided in the charter.
The bank refused to settle with the state until its charter was renewed
or its forfeiture annulled. A month later (March, 1840) another act was
passed revoking the annulment of the bank charter on condition that it
settle with the state and resume specie payment before April 1, 1841. It
was subsequently decided by the Supreme Court that the state could not
invalidate the bank’s charter for the cause alleged. The bank resumed
specie payment within the required time, but did not undertake to re-
sume the banking business as the suit with the state, over the settlement
of its accounts, was pending in the courts. During the years of waiting
it redeemed its circulation. Its stock was sold at about 15 per cent of its
face value to a new set of stockholders and in 1845 the bank was again
ready to open its doors with a ready capital of $70,000 and a prospect of
$100,000 in a short time. The men who were now connected with the
bank were Henry P. Baldwin, James F. Joy, Henry Ledyard, Frederick
Buhl, George F. Porter, Zachariah Chandler and Christian H. Buhl.
Charles C. Trowbridge was the president and Alexander H. Adams,
cashier.
As soon as it was ascertained that the bank was preparing to begin
anew, Gov. John S. Barry called the attention of the attorney-general,
1228 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Henry N. Walker, to the matter by a letter dated October 6, 1845, in
which he said: “I am decidedly of opinion that the revival of this insti-
tution will be attended with the most disastrous consequences to the public
and that it is your duty at once to institute the necessary judicial pro-
ceedings to prevent such a result by procuring a forfeiture of its charter
to be judicially declared, if on examination of the subject a reasonable
probability of success shall be found to exist.” The attorney-general
began suit October 14, 1845, to test the right of the bank to continue in
business. This bank continued until the charter expired in 1855.
FIRST GENERAL BANKING LAW
When the Territory of Michigan made ready for statehood, there were
in existence fifteen incorporated banks, four or five of which had branches.
The total amount of capital which they were authorized to employ was
about $7,000,000, which would seem to be ample for a population of less
than one hundred thousand in sparsely settled territory. But the specu-
lative spirit was rampant and there was a cry for more money. To meet
the demand the Legislature of 1837 passed a general law, granting what
was practically free banking but containing safeguards which were
thought to be sufficient. It permitted any twelve or more freeholders re-
siding within a county to organize, take subscriptions to the stock of a
bank and to select directors and officers. The minimum capital allowed
was $50,000 and the maximum $300,000. Before any bank could go into
Operation, the whole capital stock was required to be subscribed, and
30 per cent on each share paid in specie. Before an association com-
menced banking it was the duty of the bank commissioner to visit the
banking house, count the specie, and make such examinations into its
affairs and condition as would satisfy him that the requirements of the
act had been complied with in good faith; and, if he should be satisfied
with regard to these facts, to make certificate of the same, and give
public notice of it in the state paper, and in the county newspaper, and
give a like certificate to the association.
The directors, before entering upon the duties of office, were re-
Quired to make oath or affirmation that they would, once at least every
three months, examine fully into the condition and operations of the
bank, and write in a book kept for the purpose a true statement of its
condition, and subscribe their names to the same; and that they would
faithfully perform all the duties of their offices, and faithfully report to
the bank commissioner whenever they should discover any violation or
abuse of privilege granted the association by the act. When the prelimi-
nary requisitions of the act had been complied with by the president,
directors and stockholders they were to file a certificate in the office of
the Secretary of state, stating the name, location, and amount of capital
stock of the association, of which the secretary of state was required to
give public notice. The amount of bills and notes issued or put in cir-
culation as money, or the amount of loans and discounts at any time was
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1229
never to exceed two and a half times the capital stock then paid in and
actually possessed.
Provision was made for the appointment of three commissioners,
whose duties were prescribed by law, and every association was pro-
hibited from issuing any bill or note without the endorsement of a bank
commissioner's name upon the back of the same, in his official capacity.
Before he endorsed any bill or note he was required to examine the vault
of the banking association and ascertain the amount of specie then on
hand, and administer an oath to a majority of the directors to the effect
that a certain amount named was on that day possessed in specie by the
bank, and that it was the property of the bank, that it had been paid in
by its stockholders toward the payment of their respective shares, or
that the same had been received in legitimate business and not for any
other purposes, and that it was intended to remain a part or whole of
the capital of the association. The commissioners were further required
to make an examination of every bank at least once in three months, and
whenever required by the governor.
The bill passed the Legislature with only four negative votes, one of
which was cast by Alpheus Felch, who, as one of the first bank com-
missioners, was afterwards instrumental in exposing abuses and break-
ing up the system.
“THE WILDCAT BANKS’’
The law remained in force only about a year, but in that time forty-
nine banks were organized with aggregate capital of $4,000,000. This,
with the chartered banks, gave a total capital of $11,000,000, at least
three times as much as the legitimate business of the state called for.
Although the law seemed, on the face of it, to be well guarded, every
one of its restraining provisions was recklessly disregarded. When the
commissioners came to make their examinations a few weeks later they
were led a merry chase. It was learned afterwards that when they started
on their tour of examination they were trailed by Spies, and their move-
ments were anticipated so that accounts could be cooked up to await their
inspection. A number of the devices to which resort was had were
illustrated in the Bank of Brest. This was located in a paper town at
the mouth of Swan Creek, seven miles from Monroe, a town that was
never on any authentic map of Michigan. The bank was organized with
a nominal capital of $100,000. On August 2, 1837, the commissioners
examined the bank and found that its principal resources consisted of
loans on bonds, $16,000; bank stock, $10,000; specie, $12,900. It ap-
pears that of the specie $10,500 belonged to Lewis Godard, and had been
received by the bank the day before examination, and was drawn out the
day after examination. The $16,000 loan on bond and mortgage was a
loan to secure the trustees of the Town of Brest, to Secure which the bank
received an assignment of the bonds executed by Lewis Godard for the
sum of $35,400, and also of mortgages of 118 city lots in Brest. On the
day after the examination the directors assigned the bond and mortgage
1230 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
back to the trustees of Brest, having received nothing for the same.
Seven days later an unexpected investigation of the affairs of the bank
showed that the amount of specie on hand amounted to $138.89, while
the whole amount of bills of the bank which were in circulation was
$84,241. The same $10,900 in specie that was counted in the assets of
this bank did similar service a few days later in the Bank of Clinton,
where it reposed during the one day when the examiners were there, and
was taken away the next day.
The Bank of Sandstone at Jackson never had any specie, and although
its liabilities exceeded $38,000 it had no assets of any kind at the time
when it was examined. The Exchange Bank of Shiawassee threw open
its safe to disclose only seven coppers and a very small amount of paper,
while it had bills in circulation to the amount of $22,261. The Jackson
County Bank placed before the commissioners a number of ponderous
and well-filled boxes, but on opening them and examining their contents
the top was found covered with silver dollars, but below was nothing but
nails and glass. Another box containing silver was then brought from
another room and sworn to by a director, but he afterward brought an
action for it against the receiver of the bank, claiming it as his own indi-
vidual property. This bank, with an indebtedness of some $70,000, had
not more than $5,000 of available assets. The use of stock notes for capi-
tal and specie certificates and specie checks in lieu of coin was common.
Perjury and fraud prevailed throughout the system, and in the windup
not one of the forty-nine banks met all its obligations. The memory of
these “wildcat” banks and currency remained for long a stain upon the
financial reputation of the state.
One result of this orgy was that the constitution of 1850 contained a
clause prohibiting the enactment of any general banking law without
first submitting it to popular vote, as though a referendum could always
insure wise legislation and vote integrity into the men who are to act
under it. It was under that provision that the banking laws of 1858
and 1888 were adopted. The latter was modeled largely upon the Na-
tional Bank Act of 1862, and under its provisions has grown up the sys-
tem of solid state banks now existing.
The complete failure of the wildcat banks discredited the charter
banks. At the end of 1839 only four of these and four organized under
the general law survived, and of these eight, four failed within the next
year. The banking system had to be built up anew. Of the ultimate
result of this experience Judge Cooley said in his “History of Michigan”:
“But the lessons it taught needed to be learned at some time and were
not likely to be learned except with experience as teacher. One of its
lessons was that neither real estate nor anything else not immediately
convertible into money can support the credit of bank currency. But for
the experience in several states in 1837-38 who shall say that the National
Currency Act, when it came to be passed, might not have been as little
guarded against dangerous schemes as some of its state predecessors?”
THOMAS MCGRAW GEORGE JEROME
WILLIAM C. MAYBURY JOSEPH L. HUDSON


WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT - 1233
THE OLDEST BANK IN MICHIGAN
In a Special souvenir booklet written for distribution at the time of
the removal of the bank to its new quarters at State and Griswold, Mr.
George B. Catlin wrote as follows concerning the Detroit Savings Bank:
“On March 5, 1849, the Detroit Savings Fund Institute was founded
and articles of incorporation were filed. Governor Epaphroditus Ransom,
who signed the authorizing act, appointed the following trustees to take
charge of the affairs of the new institution: Elon Farnsworth, ex-
chancellor of the state, Shubael Conant, Dr. Zina Pitcher, David Smart,
Charles Moran, George M. Rich, John Palmer, Levi Cook, James A. Hicks,
Benjamin B. Kercheval and Gurdon Williams. The Savings Fund Institute
differed from the other banks in that it was a simple trust, without cap-
ital stock and modeled after the early banking systems in New England.
There is still a survival of this system in New York and some other states
where the state banks have no capitalization or stockholders, the latter
being represented by depositors who share alike in the profits under a
strictly coöperative plan.
“The late Alpheus Felch, governor of Michigan in 1845–47, wrote as
follows regarding Chancellor Farnsworth : “When the court of chancery
was established in 1836, public attention was at once directed to him as
the man most eminently qualified for the duties of the presiding officer
of a court of equity. Always calm, deliberate and cautious, counsel and
litigants had perfect confidence in his ability and integrity. None but
those who were in the wrong ever feared the result of his deliberations or
the announcement of his decision. So satisfactory did he discharge the
duties of this office that although compelled to resign in 1843, he was
urgently pressed to resume the position, and thence-forward he continued
as chancellor until the court was abolished. Soon after this, when the
Detroit Savings Fund Institute was incorporated by special act of the
Legislature, he was induced to accept the presidency and remained in
office until his death in 1877, a period of twenty-eight years.
“‘The characteristics governing him as chancellor were carried into
the administration of the bank during its formative period and have
always influenced his successors. As a banker he was clear-headed, pru-
dent, of sound judgment, inflexible in the discharge of his duties, straight-
forward and above reproach. He left a record most clean as a man of
Spotless honor and complete integrity.’
“Chancellor Farnsworth became president in March, 1849, and Alex-
ander H. Adams cashier in April, 1855. Up to the year 1855 the bank
had no cashier. Mr. Adams came to Detroit from Cincinnati in 1836.
For a time he was connected with the Michigan Central Railway and
later he became cashier of the old Michigan State Bank. He was Junior
Warden and Treasurer of Christ Church from the time of its organization
up to the time of his death in 1883. He lived at 207 East Larned Street
forty-five years, and he was widely known and universally respected,
The other incorporators are men whose names have figured prominently
and honorable in the upbuilding of the City of Detroit.
1234 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
“For a long time after its founding, the bank had no competition in
its chosen field and it was the sole place of deposit for wage earners and
small tradesmen, the purpose for which it was originally intended. The
following men subsequently held office as trustees of the bank as the orig-
inal members of the board passed away: Henry N. Walker, Governor
Henry P. Baldwin, Henry Ledyard, Samuel Lewis, Henry P. Bridge, Ed-
ward Lyon, Willard Parker, Edmund Trowbridge, Alex Chapoton, Sr.,
Thomas Ferguson, George Jerome, W. K. Muir, Alex. Lewis and Sidney
D. Miller. All these men have joined the great majority, leaving behind
them honorable records as men and citizens.
“The affairs of the Detroit Savings Institute were always managed
conservatively and it soon became one of the city’s solid financial insti-
tutions. It was reorganized July 10, 1871, under a statute approved at
the session of Legislature immediately preceding. A new charter was
taken out under the title ‘The Detroit Savings Bank,’ with a capital of
two hundred thousand dollars and with the double liability clause incor-
porated in the new law for the protection of depositors in saving insti-
tutions. On the death of Chancellor Farnsworth in 1877, Alex. H. Adams
was elected president, and he also acted as cashier until 1882, when he
resigned that office but continued to act as president until his death in
1883. During all these years Mr. Adams was practical manager of the
bank with unlimited power and discretion. The trustees of the old insti-
tution and the directors of the bank which succeeded it having entire
confidence in his ability and good judgment.
“Upon the death of Mr. Adams, the board of trustees elected Sidney
D. Miller as his successor. Mr. Miller had been a trustee and attorney
for the board since 1855. Mr. Miller was a native of Michigan, having
been born in Monroe in 1830. His father, Dan Bramble Miller, known
as “Honest Dan,’ had a bank, a flour mill and a general store at Monroe.
Mr. Miller graduated from Michigan University in the literary class of
1848 and afterward studied law at Harvard. He was a practicing attor-
ney when he became a member of the board of trustees of the Detroit
Savings Fund Institute. Before that appointment he had been attorney
for the Michigan State Bank and in 1861 he married Mrs. Katherine
Rodgers, daughter of Charles C. Trowbridge, president of that bank. He
had acted as counsellor and attorney for railway and other large corpora-
tions but his service with the Detroit Savings Fund Institute was his
first banking connection. After he became president of the Detroit Sav-
ings Bank he gave up the practice of law.
“For more than thirty-five years Mr. Miller was a vestryman of Christ
Episcopal Church and a member of the standing committee of the dio-
cese. He was president of the Young Men’s Society when it was the lead-
ing literary organization of Detroit and it was largely through his efforts,
while a member of the Board of Education that the public library was
founded. He was also a member of the police board from 1868 until
1891 and in that capacity he was instrumental in the establishment of the
signal box system. Like his predecessor in office Mr. Miller had the entire
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1235
confidence of the board of directors and the management of the bank was
left largely to his discretion.”
This bank, which rightfully styles itself now as the “oldest bank in
Michigan,” moved, in the early part of 1921, from its old location in the
Penobscot Building to the former Chamber of Commerce Building, which
structure has been renamed the Detroit Savings Bank Building.
FIRST NATIONAL BANK IN DETROIT
With the passage of the National Bank Act in 1862 commenced the
history of modern banking. From that time on Detroit became more
and more the banking and business center of the state and the remainder
of this history will concern chiefly the institutions in this metropolis.
The Articles of Association of the First National Bank were signed
June 21, 1863, the first meeting of the stockholders was held September
2d and the bank opened for business October 5th. The capital was
$100,000. Philo Parsons was president and Henry C. Kibbee, cashier.
In December, 1864, the State Bank of Michigan acquired a majority of
the stock of the First National, and the business of the two was com-
bined with Samuel P. Brady as president, Lorenzo E. Clark, vice presi-
dent, and Emory Wendell, cashier. In 1865 the capital was increased to
$200,000. Three years later the old and wealthy Insurance Bank was
consolidated with the First National and the capital was further increased
to half a million. The history of the First National continued as it had
begun to be one of consolidation and absorption. It acquired successively
the business of the Commercial National Bank and the Merchants’ &
Manufacturers’ Bank, the former of which had already absorbed the
Preston National. In 1913, previous to its merger with the Old Detroit,
the First had capital and surplus of $3,000,000, deposits, $24,960,000, and
total resources of $29,508,000.
The Second National Bank was organized on a liberal scale in 1863
with capital of $500,000, which was increased two years later to $1,000,-
000, making it one of the largest national banks in the West. Sen. Zach-
ariah Chandler was interested in its organization, and its first board of
directors contained other men of political, as well as business prominence.
They included C. H. Buhl, Eber B. Ward, Henry P. Baldwin, James F.
Joy, Allan Sheldon, John Stephens, Chauncey Hurlbut, Duncan Stewart
and N. W. Brooks. Henry P. Baldwin was the first president and Clement
M. Davison, cashier, both serving for many years. The bank was to an
unusual degree conducted by the directors, who met daily. When its
first twenty-year charter expired the bank was reorganized as the De-
troit National and at the end of the next twenty years it became the Old
Detroit National. The American Exchange National was taken over by
the Old Detroit in 1912. Previous to its merger with the First the Old
Detroit had capital of $2,500,000, deposits of $23,000,000 and resources
of $26,396,000.
The merger of these two institutions under the name of the First &
Old Detroit National Bank took place in 1914. It then became one of the
1236 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
strongest national banks outside of the financial centers of New York and
Chicago, and has increased its business steadily since then. When the
June, 1920, statements were made, it had capital and surplus of $7,500,-
000, deposits, $79,496,000. The bank until 1922 occupied a larger part
of the first floor of the Ford Building. In 1919 it bought the Pontchart-
rain Hotel property, corner of Woodward Avenue and Cadillac Square,
and in February, 1922, completed on the site the tallest bank building in
Michigan. This, one of the most costly blocks in the city, is primarily
for the use of the bank, the First National Association, a stock and bond.
organization established under the auspices of the bank, and the Central
Savings, which was combined with the First and Old Detroit. In Janu-
ary, 1922, the name of the institution, First and Old Detroit National, was
officially changed to the First National Bank in Detroit. Emory W. Clark
Was chosen president, with a long list of directors, vice presidents and
a cashier.
WAYNE COUNTY AND HOME SAVINGS BANK
The record of the Wayne County and Home Savings Bank is one of
continued progress from its start. The present institution is a combi-
nation of several prosperous banks consolidated in order to give greater
power for the transaction of business and to unite under one head all of
the various activities that pertain to banking at the present time.
It came into existence just at a time when Detroit was awakening to
the necessity of more banks, and of a kind of bank not known up to that
time.
It, at first, was a savings bank exclusively. The violent antipathy
against all banking institutions that started with the failure of the banks
of 1836, and continued unabated for many years, began to subside in
1857. The state constitution of 1850, while acknowledging the necessity
of banks, undertook to so hedge around their management, that the Leg-
islature was nearly powerless to aid them. Only two banking institu-
tions, for Detroit service, were chartered between 1837 and 1857. The
views of the public were so far changed by 1857 that a general banking
law was passed and adopted, as required by the constitution, by a general
vote of the people.
Then began efforts to collect money for organization. Although the
necessity was felt, confidence was lacking. No banks were organized.
In 1861 came the War of the Rebellion and the organization of National
banks.
For a time it was thought that the Federal banks would be sufficient,
but there was no provision for taking care of the savings of the laboring
people, nor was there any provision for loaning money for the building
of homes. No money could be obtained for aiding a family in distress by
loaning money on a mortgage on their real estate.
Private bankers and money loaners took advantage of the situation
and the rate of interest rose far above the legal limit of 10 per cent.
Several unimportant amendments were made to the law of 1857 and all
**
S
THE NEW FIRST NATIONAL BANK BUILDING
ERECTED 1921 ON SITE OF OLD RUSSELL
HOUSE AND PONTCHARTRAIN HOTEL


WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1239
of them were submitted to be voted upon and were approved at the elec-
tions. It was found that it was too difficult to follow a bill through the
Legislature and then submit it to a general vote in order to amend the
law. Much time was taken and energy wasted. The constitutional pro-
vision did not work properly. In 1862 an amendment to the constitution
Was Submitted to the people and adopted. This simplified the bank law so
that amendments could be made by a two-thirds vote of the Legislature.
In 1869 an act was passed by the Legislature permitting the estab-
lishment of Savings institutions. This act did not pretend to permit the
establishment of savings banks but the organizations were more in the
nature of building associations. Several institutions were organized
under this law, but the act was so uncertain that none of the so-called
“banks” were willing to continue under the provision of the act.
The bill for the establishment of savings banks was introduced in the
Legislature early in its session in 1871 and was carefully watched by
those of Detroit who were interested in it. It was an amendment of the
law of 1857. It was enacted March 31, 1871, and became operative July
16th, following. It provided that the capital stock of each bank should
not be less than $50,000, of which three-fifths should be paid in. It could
receive money on deposit from mechanics, clerks, servants, married
Women, minor children and others. One peculiarity of the law was that
married women and minor children were to act independent of the hus-
bands of the women or the guardians of minors. This was a very early
emancipation of these classes of persons. The affairs of the bank were
to be managed by “Trustees or Directors” and the early officers selected
were deemed “trustees.” All such banks were to be designated as savings
banks. The banking department was under the state treasurer.
Immediately upon the passage of this law a number of Detroit citi-
zens got together and signed a call for a public meeting to organize a
savings bank. The call was dated April 10, 1871, and the meeting was to
be held April 28th, 1871, in the office of T. W. Palmer in the Merrill
Block.
The banking law did not become operative until ninety days after the
final adjournment of the Legislature, so that there was ample time to
perfect the articles for the organization of the institution before that
date. The prominent feature of the bank, a plan that was then adopted
and ever afterwards closely adhered to, was that it should be strictly
a savings bank; that no commercial business should be transacted; that
the loans of the bank should be on mortgages and collaterals and not on
endorsed paper.
Its first president was William B. Wesson, who was one of the chief
organizers and principal stockholders. He was an extensive land owner
and dealer. He did more than any other single individual of his time in
providing homes for people of small means. That Detroit for many years
was known as the City of Homes is largely due to Mr. Wesson.
The secretary and treasurer at the first organization was Samuel Dow
Elwood. He had been in the city and connected with it for many years.
1240 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
He was one of the Argonauts of '49 and for a short time carried on a
bank at Petrolia in Canada. With these exceptions most of his business
life was spent in Detroit, managing a book store until the formation of
the Wayne County Savings Bank in 1871. Of the several men in the or-
ganization, he was the only one who had had any previous banking ex-
perience. It was largely through his efforts that Mr. Wesson became
interested, and his ideas of the operation of such a bank entirely agreed
with those of the president.
The capital stock of the new bank was fixed at $50,000, the lowest
amount allowed by the law. The articles of association were drawn up
and dated September 18th, 1871, and the stock entirely subscribed for
and the articles filed with the state treasurer. The list of incorporators
differed but slightly from the list attached to the original call. The in-
corporators were: 4.
William B. Wesson, S. Dow Elwood, Jacob S. Farrand, Stanley G.
Wight, Paul Gies, David Knapp, Jerome Croul, William C. Duncan,
Francis Adams, Martin S. Smith, David M. Richardson, Lemuel P.
Knight, John B. Sutherland, John J. Bagley, George F. Bagley, William
A. Moore, Dexter M. Ferry, Herman Kiefer, Traugott Schmidt, Jefferson
Wiley, Thomas W. Palmer, Kirkland C. Barker.
Only thirty thousand dollars was paid in at the time of the opening
of the bank.
The building on the northwest corner of Congress and Griswold
streets was erected about 1852 by the firm of Crane and Wesson (Albert
Crane and William B. Wesson). This building was at first called the
Crane and Wesson Building, but when Mr. Crane moved to Chicago, the
partnership practically ended and the building then became the property
of Mr. Wessen and was known by his name. When preparations were
being made to organize the new bank and a location was needed, the Wes-
son Building was raised from its foundation and another story placed be-
neath it. It was the first effort in Detroit to raise or move a brick build-
ing. In the basement or first floor of this building the Wayne County
Savings Bank was first opened for business on Monday, October 2, 1871.
The first board of trustees consisted of John J. Bagley, Jerome Croul,
J. B. Sutherland, Jefferson Wiley, M. S. Smith, S. G. Wight, D. M. Ferry,
Paul Gies, L. P. Knight, William B. Wesson, Traugott Schmidt, D. M.
Richardson, William C. Duncan, T. W. Palmer, Herman Kiefer, Francis
Adams, K. C. Barker, George F. Bagley, J. S. Farrand, David Knapp,
William A. Moore and S. D. Elwood. It would have been impossible to
have searched the city through and have found a better or more repre-
sentative list of directors.
These were all responsible and well known business men of the place.
From among their number they elected William B. Wesson, president;
Dr. Herman Kiefer, vice president; S. Dow Elwood, secretary and treas-
urer, and William A. Moore, attorney.
A savings bank was a new thing for Detroit, but the officials were so
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1241
well known that great confidence was reposed in it from the very start
and the Savings deposits began to come in at once.
The business grew so rapidly that in a few years it became apparent
that new and larger quarters for the bank would be needed. The land on
Congress Street just west of the Wesson Building was occupied by Dr.
Nehemiah Stebbins as a residence. The capital of the bank was increased
to $100,000 and with the additional money the Stebbins lot was purchased
in September, 1875, and a new building begun for a banking house and
offices. Into this new building the bank moved on the 15th of Decem-
ber, 1876.
The bank, by amended articles of association, changed its name to the
Wayne County and Home Savings Bank, April 29th, 1913. It continued
to Occupy the Congress Street quarters until the new building was com-
pleted at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Griswold Street. The Con-
gress Street lot was sold January 1st, 1916, but the bank retained the
right to occupy the premises for some time.
The Wayne County Savings Bank had but three presidents during its
separate existence. The first president, William B. Wesson, served from
1871 till his death June 18th, 1890. S. Dow Elwood succeeded him and
served until his death in 1898. His successor was Charles F. Collins who
remained president until the consolidation in 1913.
The Wayne County and Home Savings Bank, on April 29th, 1913, had
a capital of $2,000,000 and surplus of $2,000,000.
The capital was increased October 7, 1914, to $2,500,000; again April
6, 1916, to $3,000,000, and on May 26, 1920 was raised to $4,000,000.
HOME SAVINGS BANK
The Home Savings Bank was organized in 1888. The first meeting of
the stockholders of the proposed bank was held at the office of William C.
Maybury, November 8th, 1888, and forty-one persons were present.
Carlton H. Mills presided and J. S. Schmittàiel was chosen secretary.
It was resolved to name the new bank the “Home Savings Bank of
Detroit.”
The following persons were then elected directors:
James McGregor, W. J. Gould, Charles C. Yemans, C. C. Blodgett,
George W. Radford, William C. Maybury, Carlton H. Mills, E. Ferguson,
C. V. Bryan, Augustus Rouff, Waring H. Ellis, John S. Schmittàiel.
Two days later the directors met and elected James McGregor, presi-
dent; William C. Maybury, vice president, and John S. Schmittàiel,
cashier. It was resolved to rent the banking office at the southerly Gris-
wold Street entrance to the McGraw Building, for the bank. It was at
first intended to fix the capital of the bank at $100,000 but on December
11th, 1888, the capital was increased to $200,000.
On the second day of January, 1889, the bank opened for business.
The property on the northeast corner of Michigan Avenue and Gris-
wold Street was owned by Robert P. Toms. Mr. Toms at his death de-
vised it to his wife, Sarah C. Toms, and from her it passed to her sister,
1242 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Mrs. Julia F. Owen. A building was erected on this site, the inside por-
tion being occupied by Mr. Waring H. Ellis, who was a tobacconist, the
corner being occupied by the bank. The quarters were better and more
commodious than the old location.
The building was completed and occupied by the bank May 30th, 1894.
The ground floor only was used for banking purposes and the upper
floors were rented for offices. The land was leased by Mrs. Owen to the
Home Savings Bank, March 2nd, 1892, and the lease was assigned to the
Home Savings Bank Building Company in 1893 and again assigned to
James McGregor in 1895. In 1911 the bank purchased the land and in
1913 became the owner of the leasehold interest as well.
James McGregor, who had served as president of the bank since its
organization, died February 19th, 1909, and at the meeting of the direc-
tors on March 3rd following, Julius H. Haas was elected president to
succeed him.
The prospects of the new bank encouraged the directors to begin the
erection of a larger and more commodious building on the Michigan Ave-
nue and Griswold Street corner and the Home Bank was moved to the
Hammond Building, April 14th, 1914, and the old building was taken down
and the present building erected. At that time the bank was divided into
three sections: The Home Bank in the Hammond Building, the Michi-
gan Bank in the Moffat Building and the Wayne County Bank in its old
quarters on Congress Street.
The Michigan Bank soon surrendered its location to the Security Trust
Company and moved across the street to the Hammond Building. On
the 20th day of December, 1915, the three banks were united in the new
building at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Griswold Street.
MICHIGAN SAVINGS BANK
This bank was organized February 17th, 1877, and opened its doors
for business on the second day of April in that year. Its original capitali-
zation was $60,000, which was increased to $150,000, May 1st, 1882.
The first board of trustees consisted of:
Thomas McGraw, Archibald G. Lindsay, Nicol Mitchell, Newell
Avery, Julius Stoll, Joseph Kuhn, George Peck, H. Kirke White, George
W. Balch, William Perkins, Jr., Horace M. Dean, Samuel R. Mumford.
The banking office was in the McGraw Building on the southwest cor-
ner of Lafayette Boulevard and Griswold Street. Thomas McGraw, then
owner of the McGraw Building, was the first president of the bank, and
Samuel R. Mumford was the first secretary and treasurer. Mr. McGraw
resigned the presidency in 1880 and George Peck was elected president
and retained the office by continued reelection until his death, and Mr.
Charles C. Jenks was elected to the office and remained there until the
consolidation with the Wayne County and Home Savings Bank, October
21st, 1914. The banking office was moved from the McGraw Building to
the Moffat Building in 1908.
The establishment of branch banks in different parts of the city for
WAYNE COUNTY AND HOME SAVINGS BANK
Sºº
-
º, cº-

WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1245
the accommodation of districts remote from the principal bank in the
down-town district was a matter unheard of in Detroit or elsewhere up
to the year 1889. On May 1st of that year the Home Savings Bank
opened a branch at the intersection of Junction Avenue and the Michigan
Central Railroad crossing. The idea was well liked and the branch soon
became popular. This is probably the first branch bank opened by any
bank in the country. The branch bank was later moved to Michigan Ave-
nue at the Western Market and was now known as the Michigan Avenue
Branch.
MICHIGAN NATIONAL BANK
The Michigan National Bank was organized under the National Bank-
ing Law. The stock of the bank was purchased in the interest of the
Stockholders of the Wayne County and Home Savings Bank, December
22nd, 1916. The banking office was located at the corner of Mack and
St. Jean avenues and was converted into a branch bank December 30th,
1919.
WAYNE COUNTY AND HOME BAN K OF HIGHLAND PARK
Another bank, the stock of which is owned in connection with the
Wayne County and Home Savings Bank, is the Wayne County and Home
Bank of Highland Park. It was opened for business in its own building
on the corner of Glendale Avenue and Hamilton Boulevard, November
3rd, 1920.
The capital stock was $100,000.
The directors in 1922, were Julius H. Haass, George Wiley, John A.
Mercier, John M. Donaldson and Clarence M. Burton.
The officers were Julius H. Haass, president; George Wiley, vice presi-
dent; Hugh R. Burns, vice president and cashier, and Raymond W. Laden-
dorf, assistant cashier.
TRUST COMPANY
There was another law passed by the Legislature in 1871 for the or-
ganization of trust companies. Under this act there was incorporated
January, 1872, the Trust, Security and Safe Deposit Company of Detroit.
Vaults were fitted up in the rear of the Wayne County Savings Bank on
the corner of Griswold and Congress streets and four hundred boxes were
prepared for leasing. The law under which the company was organized
permitted it to carry on a general trust business. In the words of the
act the company “shall have power to accept and execute any trust
which may be created by instruments in writing, appointing such cor-
poration trustee, and to act as such trustee in all matters embraced in
such trust; to take and receive from any individual or corporation, On
deposit for safe keeping or storage, gold and silver plate, jewelry, money,
stocks, securities and other valuable property, and may have power to
collect coupons, interest and dividends on said Securities and to rent out
the use of safes and other receptacles on their premises upon Such terms
1246 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
and for such compensation as may be agreed upon ; to become security
for administrators, guardians or other trustees or persons, in cases where,
by law or otherwise, one or more securities are required, for a rate of
compensation, and upon such terms and conditions as shall be established
by the directors of such corporation.”
This is the first trust law of the State of Michigan and the Trust, Se-
curity and Safe Deposit Company of Detroit was the first trust company
in the state. Trust companies, as operated at the present time, were un-
known in Michigan in 1871 and for many years thereafter and this trust
company confined its operation to owning and managing and renting the
vaults and boxes mentioned. The capital was $250,000 of which $30,000
was paid in. The stockholders were nearly the same as those of the
Wayne County Savings Bank.
The directors, with the consent of the stockholders, sold all of the
property of the corporation, including its franchise, to the Wayne County
Savings Bank, July 7th, 1900, and filed a dissolution of the company,
January 5th, 1901. - -
As this bank was the first in Detroit to establish safety deposit vaults
to be leased to customers for the protection of their valuables, so it has
kept pace with all the modern improvements in that line. These vaults
are in the main bank building at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Gris-
wold Street beneath the bank. Rooms for the accommodation of patrons
are well apportioned and abundant. The vaults are marvels of fine and
artistic work and are guarded and protected by everything that is neces-
sary to make them secure. There are at present 7,602 boxes. There are
also safety deposit vaults in Boulevard and Woodward office.
PEOPLES STATE BANK
The largest of the state banks have also been the result of consolida-
tions. The general banking law of 1858 did not make adequate provision
for savings banks, but in 1871 the law was amended by the addition of
twelve sections, which remained in force until the general law of 1888
was enacted. The first bank organized under the amendments was the
Peoples Savings Bank. -
The Peoples State Bank had its beginning in 1871, when a company
of ten men, including Francis Palms, Anton Pulte, John Schulte, William
Foxen, Aaron Karrer, John Heffron, C. J. O'Flynn and M. W. O'Brien,
subscribed $3,000 each, or a total of $30,000, and associated themselves
as a banking company. These men had a vision of a popular “people's
bank,” standing for frugality and coöperation, and chose a bee-hive for
the bank emblem. Mr. Francis Palms was chosen president, and Mr.
M. W. O'Brien, who had been induced to close out his lumbering business
in Saginaw, and come to Detroit to join in the new enterprise, was made
cashier. The building at 55 Woodward Avenue, near Jefferson, was oc-
cupied by the new bank, where it opened for business January 2, 1871.
Articles of amendment to the State banking law were passed by the
Legislature during that year, and the Peoples Savings Bank was organized
FRANCIS PALMS
PEOPLES STATE BANK



WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1249
under the new laws January 2, 1872. This was a most important year
to the bank, as it not only incorporated under the new State Savings
Bank Law, but doubled its capital to $60,000, and moved to the Telegraph
Block, corner of Griswold and Congress streets, in the very heart of the
“financial district.” There it remained for nearly twenty years.
During the “panic of 1873,” which threw many enterprises into bank-
ruptcy, the Peoples Savings Bank not only stood the strain, but seemed
to thrive in spite of discouraging financial conditions. In January, 1874,
the capital stock was increased to $120,000, and in 1876 the bank again
found it necessary to increase its capital—this time to $250,000, and five
years later, in 1881, the capital stock was doubled, bringing it to $500,-
000. In November, 1886, Mr. Palms died, having served continuously
as president for over fifteen years. In May, 1887, Mr. O’Brien was ad-
Vanced to the presidency, being succeeded as cashier by Mr. S. B. Coleman.
In January, 1890, the bank moved to the Moffat Block, and the same
year Mr. George E. Lawson was elected cashier, succeeding Mr. Coleman,
resigned. In January, 1907, the bank amalgamated with the State Sav-
ings Bank, changing the name to the Peoples State Bank. The State
Savings Bank had been organized in 1883 by two Kentucky capitalists,
Messrs. David Hamilton and T. S. Anderson. Having ample means, they
found it unnecessary to seek local stockholders, but realizing their need
of a cashier who was thoroughly acquainted with local banking, they
tendered this position to Mr. R. S. Mason, who was then a paying teller
in the First National Bank. Mr. Mason accepted the position, and later
become one of the vice presidents of the consolidated banks. This bank
opened for business at 88 Griswold Street, and later moved to the Buhl
Block and in 1890 to the Hammond Building. In 1889, Mr. Anderson re-
signed as president, and sold out his interest. He was succeeded in the
presidency by Mr. George H. Russel, under whose administration a new
building was erected at the corner of Fort and Shelby streets, which was
completed in 1900, and which is the present home of the Peoples State
Bank. The consolidated banks opened as a united institution on June 1,
1907, with Mr. Russel as president.
In November, 1909, the United States Savings Bank was acquired by
purchase. This bank had its beginning in 1877, when Andrew McLellan
and George Anderson started in the banking business in the basement of
92 Griswold Street, under the name of “McLellan & Anderson, Bankers,”
and continued under this name until 1908, when the name was changed to
the United States Savings Bank.
Mr. Russel continued as president of the amalgamated banks until
his death in 1915. During his administration the Peoples State Bank
grew so rapidly that it was finally found necessary to enlarge the build-
ing by an addition extending through to Congress Street. This extension
was planned in harmony with the original building, and gave the bank a
floor area of 100 by 296 feet, making it one of the largest banking offices
in the country. The site and building represented a value of more than
$2,000,000.
1250 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Mr. Russel was succeeded by Mr. George E. Lawson, who served as
president but One year, passing away very suddenly in February, 1916.
Mr. James T. Keena, who was then vice president, was elected to the
presidency in 1916, and remained in this office until January, 1919, when
he was made chairman of the board of directors, and Mr. John W. Staley
Was advanced from the position of vice president to that of president.
In the last few years the bank has made rapid strides in growth and
financial strength. In 1923 it was one of the six largest west of the At-
lantic Seaboard, with a capital stock of $5,000,000 and surplus and un-
divided profits exceeding $9,000,000. It is a member of the Federal Re-
Serve System, and cóoperated with the Government to the fullest extent
during the World war. Twenty-six branches, scattered throughout the
city, render banking service to the community at large. In 1920 the safe
deposit vaults in the main building were enlarged to meet the demands
Of customers, and the Peoples State Bank now contains one of the largest
Single bank vault spaces in the city, with 9,000 individual boxes, besides a
safety room 32 by 16 feet for valuables of large bulk.
NATIONAL BANK OF COMMERCE
The announcement of the merger of two big national banks of De-
troit in 1907, paved the way for the launching of the National Bank of
Commerce of Detroit.
It fell to the lot of Henry H. Sanger then assistant cashier of the
Commercial National Bank to interest capital in the new enterprise. The
original contemplated capital was $500,000 and surplus $100,000, but
the amount was so thoroughly over-subscribed it was decided to increase
the capital to $750,000. The stock was sold at $120 per share, thus giving
the bank a surplus of $150,000. The official staff was organized with
Richard P. Joy, former city comptroller as president; Wm. P. Hamilton,
well known woolen manufacturer as vice president; Henry H. Sanger,
cashier, and Charles R. Talbot as assistant cashier. The bank was opened
On June 1st, 1907, with deposits of $837,504.41. For a year it occupied
the first floor of the Union Trust Building. October 1st, 1907, marked
a new era in the bank’s growth. On this date it entered the new banking
house at 144 West Fort Street.
The bank in 1922 had a capital of $1,500,000 and surplus funds of a
like amount with undivided profits of $634,000. Its total resources were
in excess of $36,000,000 with deposited surplus in excess of $29,000,000.
DIME SAVINGS BANK
The Dime Savings Bank was organized in the year 1884 and opened
for business on May 1 of the same year, with a capital stock of $60,000.
The personnel of the first board of directors was as follows: A. M.
Henry, S. M. Cutcheon, J. E. Scripps, William Livingstone, Jr., J. L.
Hudson, William Hull, R. J. F. Roehm, E. W. Voight and C. A. Warren,
and the first officers of the institution were Sullivan M. Cutcheon, presi-
dent; James E. Scripps, vice president, and Frederick Woolfenden,
| Sussi
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---
CITY HALL AND DIME BANK BUILDING





WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1253
cashier. A. M. Henry served as temporary president from May 1st until
the 24th. On Mr. Cutcheon's death, on April 18, 1900, William Living-
Stone was elected president and has served in that capacity ever since.
The capital stock of the company has been increased at various times
until in 1920, it reached the sum of $3,600,000, while the resources of
the bank totaled $42,000,000. The first location of the Dime Bank was
in the Fisher Building, at the junction of Michigan and Lafayette. The
bank was moved to the Hammond Building on June 10, 1900, where it
remained until moved to its new banking and skyscraper office build-
ing in 1914.
MERCHANTS NATIONAL BANK
In the spring of 1914 the First National Bank and the Old Detroit
National Bank consolidated and shortly afterward the announcement was
made that a number of well known business men were assisting Mr. John
Ballantyne to start a new national bank. It was finally decided to capital-
ize for $1,000,000 with $250,000 surplus, to call the bank the Merchants
National Bank, and to occupy the quarters recently vacated by the Old
Detroit National Bank in the Buhl Block, corner of Griswold and Con-
gress streets. On August 25, 1914, the bank was opened for business with
the following officers: John Ballantyne, president; David Gray, vice
president; John P. Hemmeter, vice president; Benj. G. Vernor, cashier.
The bank met with instant success, the deposits being over $1,000,000 the
first day, and on December 31, 1914, were $3,103,172.86. In April, 1920,
so as to take care of its increased business, it was decided to sell 10,000
additional shares at $140, increasing the capital $1,000,000 and the Sur-
plus fund $400,000. As the bank had already passed $350,000 to its Sur-
plus fund from earnings, this made the capital $2,000,000 and surplus
$1,000,000.
OTHER BANKS OF DETROIT IN 1922
The Peninsular State Bank, located in its own building at 138 Fort
Street, West, was organized August 27, 1887. J. H. Johnson was presi-
dent of this institution from 1907 to 1924. In 1920 it had a capitaliza-
tion of $3,500,000 and assets of about $45,000,000. Herbert L. Chitten-
den became president in 1924.
The American State Bank of Detroit, with main office at 637-47 Gris-
wold Street, was organized in 1906 and had a capital stock of $1,400,000,
including the surplus. Walter J. Hayes was the president of this bank.
The Bank of Detroit, organized in 1916, occupied its own building on
Fort Street, West, and was under the presidency of James Couzens. This
bank had a capital stock of $1,000,000.
The Central Savings Bank, in the Majestic Building, was organized
for business April 19, 1888. The founder of this bank was Joseph C.
Hart, previously in the insurance business in Detroit. Gilbert Hart was
the first president; the president in 1922 was Harry J. Fox. The capital
stock of this institution was $1,000,000.
1254 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
The Commercial State Savings Bank, in the Penobscot Building,
opened its doors for business August 1, 1921, with a paid-in capital of
$1,000,000 and a surplus of $200,000. Elbert H. Fowler was the president.
The Commonwealth-Federal Savings Bank, in the Hammond Building,
a combination of the Federal, organized 1909, and the Commonwealth,
organized 1916, was established in the year 1916. J. W. McCausey was
president of this institution; the capital and surplus in 1920 amounted
to $753,500.
The Continental Bank of Detroit was organized in 1921 with Walter
G. Toepel as president. In 1920 the capital and surplus amounted to
$840,000. The bank was located at 1309 Broadway.
The First State Bank, located in the McGraw Building, was the out-
growth of the private banking business started by Edward Kanter in
1853, which became the German-American Bank in 1871. In 1920 the
capital stock was $1,000,000. George H. Kirchner was president.
The Industrial Morris Plan Bank of Detroit was incorporated in
August, 1917, and is located in the Farwell Building. The capital stock
in 1920 was $500,000, and the president, James A. Hoyt.
The Michigan State Bank of Detroit, 4701 Chene, was incorporated
April 24, 1916, with a capital of $250,000. Frank Schmidt was the
president.
The Northwestern State Bank, at 94.79 Grand River, was incorporated
in 1915. Wales C. Martindale is president.
The United Savings Bank, which occupied its new building on the
west side of Griswold near State in 1922, was the successor of the De-
troit United Bank. It was incorporated November 27, 1901. The capital
of this bank in 1920 was $500,000; the president was Frank B. Leland.
THE TRUST COMPANIES
Under the trust company sections of the general banking act of 1891
passed by the Legislature the Union Trust Company was organized and
in October of that year was opened for business. This sort of company
was new to Detroit people and for some time the officials had to carry
on a campaign of education as to the functions of the new institution
under the new state law. The original capital of the company was $500,-
000, but by 1920 the capital and surplus had been increased to $1,500,000
and the total resources were $7,826,000. H. M. Campbell is chairman of
the board of directors and Frank W. Blair is president. In addition to
its business within the scope of a trust company, the Union Trust main-
tains a complete abstract department.
The second company under this classification was the Detroit Trust
Company, articles of incorporation for which were approved by the State,
December 8, 1900. The directors first named were: Henry Stephens,
Theodore D. Buhl, Henry P. Baldwin, James N. Wright, Henry L. Kanter,
Chester G. White, Elisha H. Flinn, Sidney T. Miller, Ammi W. Wright,
George Peck, James E. Davidson, Edwin C. Nichols, Henry B. Joy, Ras-
mus Hanson, Edward H. Butler, Eldridge M. Fowler, James McGregor,
PENOBSCOT BUILDING, DETROIT



WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1257
Frank W. Eddy, Charles A. Dean, James Edgar, Charles M. Heald, John
H. Avery, Merton E. Farr, Fred E. Driggs, Oren Scotten, Alexander Mc-
Pherson, and Frank W. Gilchrist. The first president was Alexander
McPherson. The company started business January 5, 1901, on the sec-
ond floor of the building at 82-84 Griswold Street, but now occupy their
own structure at Fort and Shelby, southwest corner. Ralph Stone, who
came with the company May 6, 1901, as assistant secretary, was the
president of the Detroit Trust Company. The company in 1920 had a
capital and surplus of $3,000,000.
The Security Trust Company was organized in July, 1906, with a
paid-in capital of $500,000 and a surplus of $500,000, the first offices hav-
ing been located in the Campau Building. Two years later the company
moved to its present location at the corner of Griswold and Fort streets,
at that time Occupying the space jointly with the Michigan Savings Bank.
In 1915 it took the whole space. The first president of the company was
M. J. Murphy, followed in 1910 by Charles C. Jenks. In 1921 the capital
of the company was raised to $1,000,000 and the surplus to a like amount.
The American Loan & Trust Company, 439 Griswold Street, was in-
corporated May 11, 1906, and by 1920 had a capital and surplus amount-
ing to $400,000. R. G. Lambrecht was president of this institution.
The Guaranty Trust Company, at 432 Griswold, was established for
business in 1916 by a group of prominent Detroit citizens. The presi-
dent was F. H. Bessenger. The company is capitalized, according to
figures of 1920, for a sum of $300,000.
The Bankers Trust Company of Detroit was incorporated May 12,
1917, and located at 156 Congress, West. The company had a capital
stock of $500,000 and the president was Arthur Webster.
HOUSING COMPANIES
One of the problems confronting the City of Detroit during its un-
precedented industrial growth was the housing of the new citizens. With
this problem in mind there grew up Several companies the purpose of
which was to build houses in quantity and sell them to those who wished
to acquire a home quickly and in convenient manner. The Detroit So-
ciety for Savings was organized December 4, 1916, and the Detroit House
Financing Corporation was started July 24, 1919, both under the auspices
of the Board of Commerce. Hundreds of houses, of varying size and
quality, have been constructed along this plan in Detroit and have proved
a decided benefit to the development of the city.
The Detroit Mutual Savings & Loan Association was organized Sep-
tember 29, 1921, as a savings and loan association for those who desired
to build houses for a reasonable interest rate, without premiums or dis-
count. The company had an authorized capitalization of $500,000 and
its president was Frank J. Trippensee.
Another company, the Provident Loan Society of Detroit, was or-
ganized in 1906 by D. M. Ferry, J. L. Hudson and Tracy W. McGregor,
for the purpose of lending money to Worthy people at a minimum cost.
1258 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
By the end of 1919 the society had loaned about $3,000,000 in sums averag-
ing $60. The management of the company was in the hands of John D.
Ryan in 1922.
WAYNE COUNTY BANKS
The corporate communities of Highland Park and Hamtramck, both
within the Detroit city limits are necessarily an essential part of the
city’s business. The banks and officials in these two cities in the year
1922 were as follows:
The Hamtramck State Bank was incorporated May 11, 1909, and the
capital stock is now placed at $25,000. F. A. Schulte was president;
William Blanck, vice president; and J. C. Friedel, cashier.
The First State Bank of Hamtramck was established and incorporated
in 1916. The capitalization is $100,000, and the officers, according to
the 1921 Bankers Directory, were: Edward Leszczynski, president; M. A.
Wosinski and R. Sadowski, vice presidents; C. J. Wierzbicki, cashier.
The Liberty State Bank of Hamstramck was organized in the year
of 1918. The capitalization is now $100,000 and the officials were: Joseph
Chronowski, president; Stanislaus Chronowski, vice president; and Basil
J. Treppa, cashier.
The Peoples National Bank of Hamtramck was established in 1917,
and is capitalized now for $100,000. The officers were: Harry J. Fox,
president; John C. Schulteis and George J. Haas, vice presidents; and
C. G. Munn, cashier.
The Dime Savings Bank of Hamtramck was incorporated December
20, 1920, and has a capital stock of $100,000. The officials of this insti-
tution were: W. L. Dunham, president; T. W. P. Livingstone and J. B.
McKay, vice presidents; Frank Winiker, cashier.
The Citizens Bank of Hamtramck was established in 1921 and was
officered by the following: John Beger, president; A. A. Stefanowski
and W. J. Rachow, vice presidents; W. J. Rachow, cashier.
The Merchants & Mechanics' Bank of Hamtramck was opened for
business in 1919, officered by: George J. Kolowich, president; Adolph
Kolowich, J. J. Kolowich, vice presidents; and J. J. Kucharski, cashier.
The capital stock was placed at $10,000.
The Highland Park State Bank was organized and incorporated in
the year 1909. The capitalization was $1,000,000 and the deposits in
1922 were in excess of $15,000,000. The officers, as given in the 1921
Bankers Directory, were: J. T. Whitehead, president; George H. Van
Buren, G. R. Andrews, A. L. Couzens and F. E. Quisenberry, vice presi-
dents; F. E. Quisenberry, cashier.
The American State Bank of Highland Park was organized in 1910.
The capitalization was $200,000 and the officers were: W. J. Hayes,
president; H. B. Wallace and F. W. Dalby, vice presidents; R. F. Wallace,
cashier.
The Peninsular State Bank of Highland Park was established in 1917
and capitalized for $100,000. The officials were: Henry A. Haigh, presi-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1259
dent; J. H. Johnson and E. O. Krentler, vice presidents; H. B. Ward,
cashier.
The Peoples State Bank of Highland Park was organized in 1920 and
its officers in 1922 were: John W. Staley, president; A. H. Moody, J. R.
Bodde, H. P. Borgman, vice presidents; and G. P. Fraser, cashier. The
capital stock is $100,000.
The Wayne County & Home Bank of Highland Park had its inception
in 1920. Julius H. Haass was president; George Wiley and H. R. Burns,
Vice presidents; H. R. Burns, cashier. The capital stock of this institu-
tion was placed at $100,000.
The Peoples State Bank at Belleville was established in 1913. The
officers of this bank, which was capitalized for $20,000, in 1922 were:
J. R. Clark, president; F. L. Robbe, vice president; and F. H. Clark,
cashier.
The Dearborn State Bank, established in 1910, was under the execu-
tive control of Henry Ford. The vice presidents were Herman Kalmbach
and E. G. Leibold, and the cashier was C. R. McLaughlin. The capital
stock of the bank was $100,000.
The American State Bank of Dearborn was established in 1919 and
capitalized for $100,000. W. J. Hayes was president; F. W. Dalby and
S. B. Long, vice presidents; A. R. Little, cashier.
The Ecorse State Bank was opened for business in 1918. Capitaliza-
tion, $50,000; officers: J. H. Means, president, Joseph Salliotte and George
H. Kirchner, vice presidents; O. C. Bauer, cashier.
The State Savings Bank of Flat Rock: established 1912; capital stock,
$20,000; officers in 1922 were J. F. Lindsay, president; F. S. Peters, Julius
Neifert, vice presidents; M. S. Walker, cashier.
Grosse Pointe Savings Bank: established 1914. Its officers were: F. W.
Hubbard, president, L. S. Trowbridge, vice president; C. D. Ransom,
cashier. Capital stock, $30,000.
Peoples State Bank of New Boston: established 1916. Capitalization,
$20,000. Officers: G. T. Clark, president; F. J. Grandfield, vice presi-
dent; F. H. Clark, cashier.
Lapham State Savings Bank of Northville: established 1907. Officers:
F. S. Harmon, president; R. Christensen, F. S. Neal, vice presidents;
E. H. Lapham, cashier. Capitalization, $50,000.
Northville State Savings Bank: established 1892. Capitalized for
$25,000. Officers were: L. A. Babbit, president; R. C. Yerkes, vice
president; and C. W. Wilber, cashier.
Oakwood State Bank: established 1918. Officers: E. H. Fowler, presi-
dent; Dean Lucking and Hugh McLean, vice presidents; A. C. Milne,
cashier. Capital stock, $75,000.
The Plymouth United Savings Bank: established 1890. C. A. Fisher,
president; J. W. Henderson and F. A. Dibble, vice presidents; and E. K.
Bennett, cashier. Capital stock, $100,000.
The Peoples State Bank of Redford: established 1914. L. N. Tupper,
president; C. G. Shear, chairman of the board; A. L. A. David, R. H.
1260 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Burgess, Thomas Sherwood, vice presidents; C. H. Krugler, cashier. Cap-
ital stock, $100,000.
Redford State Savings Bank: established 1909. C. A. Lahser, presi-
dent; A. G. Houghton and A. M. Bosworth, vice presidents; A. A. Bruder,
cashier. Capital stock, $100,000.
River Rouge Savings Bank: organized, 1906. H. C. Burke, president;
E. M. Lamb, vice president; D. J. Goniea, cashier. Capital stock, $50,000.
River Rouge State Bank: established 1919. Howard C. Wade, presi-
dent; John Cassidy and George H. Kirchner, vice presidents; Edward T.
McLachlan, cashier. Capital stock, $50,000.
Rockwood State Bank : organized 1911. Capital stock, $20,000. Of-
ficers: A. B. Chapman, president; David Valrance and William Milli-
man, vice presidents; H. A. Wager, cashier.
Romulus State Bank: organized 1913. J. R. Taylor, president; R.
Holland, vice president; Delmer H. Rood, cashier. Capital stock, $20,000.
Trenton State Bank: established 1912. A. Church was president;
E. W. Yost, vice president; F. A. Lautenschlager, cashier. Capital stock,
$25,000.
Peoples State Bank of Wayne: established 1916. Capital stock, $30,-
000. Officers: J. J. Marker, president; F. H. Fellrath and W. A. Be-
Gole, vice presidents; W. A. BeGole, cashier.
The Wayne Savings Bank: established 1890. George M. Stellwagen,
president; Jacob J. Stellwagen, chairman of the board; Joseph Waltz,
vice president; John Truesdell, cashier. The capital stock was $50,000.
The First Commercial Savings Bank of Wyandotte was organized in
1893. H. P. Borgman, president; S. T. Hendricks, vice president; and
O. C. G. Lutz, cashier. Capital stock, $50,000.
The Wyandotte Savings Bank was organized November 20, 1871, with
John S. Van Alstyne as the first president and W. Van Miller the first
cashier. The capital stock in 1920 was $200,000 and the officers were:
F. E. Van Alstyne, president; S. T. Miller and J. C. Cahalan, vice presi-
dents; A. T. Burns, cashier. This is the oldest bank in the county out-
side of Detroit.
The Strathmoor State Bank, at Grand River and Westlawn, was or—
ganized in 1921 and was capitalized for $25,000. G. H. Kirchner was
president; F. W. Bristow, H. C. Wade, vice presidents; F. O. Tasche,
cashier. Howard C. Wade, James H. Means, George H. Kirchner and
John S. Haggerty were the organizers.
DETROIT’S BANKING SUPREMACY
Most impressive are the bank figures for Detroit. It is scarcely neces-
sary to have them undergo a process of elaboration to carry to citizens,
in full measure, the wisdom of the organization of the city’s banks, or
point with Detroit pride to the illuminating character of executive man-
agement. Very powerful has been the influence the financial institutions
of the city have exercised upon business, especially upon those lines that
have generated amazing activities in industrial circles. Detroit's bankers
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1261
have been discriminating in supplying funds, but they have at the same
time been whole-heartedly with the creators of plants in their efforts to
reach out for trade, and more trade. A high average of civic pride
Stands out in the practical partnership that exists between the men of
industry and the men of finance to create an atmosphere of mutual trust
So that from the associations daily experienced may evolve such scientific
planning and constructive operations as to carry Detroit into a splendid
future. The local banks form the connecting link that unites the worker
With the employer; moreover, they assist in making smooth the pathway
of the promoters of legitimate home enterprises. By thus aiding indus-
trial Detroit, the banks of the city are making strong their own position
in the world of finance. The outside world senses the unparalleled team-
work in finance and industry that is marking Detroit's progress.
With the total capital and surplus of the city’s banks and trust com-
panies at $134,920,339 and deposits amounting to $960,373,926, local busi-
ness interests are assured of service of the most useful character, to
earn which they have only to step along the path that in the past has been
traversed with so much success by industrial and commercial organiza-
tions careful of their own good name as well as that of the city.
BANKS REFLECT INDUSTRIAL GROWTH
Detroit's banks stand as the source of the vast and ever-growing in-
dustrial system. Too much praise cannot be given them for aiding those
manufacturing concerns that since the days of their organization have
attained a world-wide reputation. Legitimate business has at no time
been neglected when capital was needed. The view of those in authority,
occupying vantage ground as they do in relation to city developments,
has consistently been favorable to industrial projects giving promise of
future developments of a sound character. There has been to describe
the situation in a few words, coöperation of effort in developing here One
of the world’s most notable and prosperous manufacturing cities. The
abnormal success attending the policy of Detroit’s city builders is written
into the pages of United States trade history and does not here require
to be enlarged upon.
At the present time there are in Detroit two national and fourteen
state banks, and ten trust companies, with a combined capital and Sur-
plus of $134,920,339 and deposits of $960,373,926. There is an impressive
lesson in finance, public faith and community loyalty in these figures.
Only an optimistic citizenship, soundly conservative, and yet wisely ag-
gressive, could make such figures possible.
Turning back the pages of banking history in Detroit for seven years,
one finds that the deposits have almost doubled in the intervening period.
Capital and surplus have grown proportionately. Truly are Detroiters
thrifty. Having taken full advantage of the wonderful period of pros-
perity, their actions permit of the publication of the figures given above.
Huge sums have been applied to the purchase of homes and in the acquire-
1262 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
ment of life insurance policies, made possible by the inculcation of the
principles of thrift in every strata of society.
Following is a comparison of bank clearings for November for the
past Seven years:
November, 1923 –––––––––––––––––––––––– $555,865,683.27
November, 1924 -------------------------- 587,461,624.64
November, 1925 –––––––––––––––––– ––––– 724,357,122.40
November, 1926 –––––––– --______________ 697,032,974.58
November, 1927 – ---_____ _______________ 714,655,836.59
November, 1928 –––––––––––––––––––––––– 949,738,009.55
November, 1929 –––––––––––––––––––––––– 892,688,131.28
BANK MERGERS
Gigantic mergers, designed to strengthen the financial situation in
Detroit, have been effected during the past two years. In 1928 the First
National Bank absorbed the Central Savings Bank; the People’s State
Bank and the Wayne County & Home Savings Bank combined under the
name of People's Wayne County Bank; the Detroit Trust Company and
Security Trust Company combined under the name of Detroit and Se-
curity Trust Company, and the National Bank of Commerce absorbed the
Griswold First State Bank.
In 1929 the Dime Savings Bank absorbed the Merchant’s National
Bank and changed its name to the Bank of Michigan. Directors of the
People's Wayne County Bank, First National Bank, Bank of Michigan,
Peninsular State Bank and Detroit & Security Trust Company recom-
mended to their stockholders a consolidation. The name of the holding
company is The Detroit Bankers Company. This consolidation was rati-
fied by the stockholders in January, 1930. The institutions involved will
retain their various identities.
Also during 1929 the Guardian Detroit Union Group, Inc. was formed.
The leading financial institutions that merged to form this group were
the Guardian Detroit Group, Inc., which included the Guardian Trust
Company, Guardian Detroit Bank, Guardian Detroit Company, Highland
Park State Bank, Highland Park Trust Company, and several banks in
smaller communities in the state, and the Union Commerce Corporation,
composed of the Union Trust Company, National Bank of Commerce,
Union Title and Guaranty Company, Michigan Industrial Bank and many
subsidiary companies and affiliated banks. This new group also takes
in the Bank of Detroit and Keane, Higbie & Company. When details of
the merger are completed, three financial institutions of first importance
will result: The Guardian Detroit Bank, including the business of the
National Bank of Commerce; the Union Guardian Trust Company, merg-
ing the business of the Union Trust Company and Guardian Trust Com-
pany, and the Guardian Detroit Company, which will handle the securities
business and will include the former Keane, Higbie & Company.
In the early part of 1930 the American State Bank absorbed the
Guaranty State Bank, and the Equitable Trust Company and the Central
DETROIT
FISHER BUILDING
Sºº
* º

WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1265
Trust Company combined under the name of Equitable & Central Trust
Company.
TRUST COMPANIES
The trust company as an institution, conducted as it is in Detroit, has
come to be regarded as a valuable instrument of monetary conservation.
without which the financial world of this city would lack some of its
Smooth-running facilities. The mere fact that no less than ten trust
companies are entrenched in Greater Detroit’s financial quarters indi-
cates how the public appraises them as depositories of savings and forti-
fied trustees, closely associated with practically all lines of trade and
commerce. The immensity of the volume of business done by the ten insti-
tutions is a convincing tribute to the place they occupy in the estimation
of the public generally. There is no gainsaying the fact that a well-
managed trust company is a tower of strength to a community. To De-
troit the companies have given service that is ideal in its relation to those
affairs to which concern is given by managements—managements pe-
culiarly able to cope with financial problems of a city that is adding
thousands to its population yearly and loking on favorably while one
new industry a day takes its place in the city’s manufacturing ranks. On
December 31, 1929, the total savings in trust companies amounted to
$104,985,104.40. These figures are significant in relation to the strong
position of these institutions and their partnership in thrift activities.
Men and women who save have faith in them, as they make for the invest-
ment of surplus funds at home, a method of distribution that has been of
enormous benefit to the industries of the city.
FEDERAL RESERVE BANK
(Branch Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago)
The Detroit Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is the
depository for the reserve balances of 130 member banks located in its
territory, which comprises the following nineteen counties in Michigan:
Bay, Genesee, Hillsdale, Huron, Ingham, Jackson, Lapeer, Lenawee, Liv-
ingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, Saginaw, St. Clair, Sanilac, Shiawas-
see, Tuscola, Washtenaw and Wayne.
In addition to its office of serving as depositary for the reserve bal-
ances of its members, the Federal Reserve's principal functions, which
represent services extended to member banks only, may be briefly sum-
marized as follows:
Granting loans.
Supplying currency and coin.
Collecting both cash and non-cash items.
Handling securities for safe keeping.
Transferring funds by wire.
The Detroit Branch also acts as fiscal agent of the United States
Government in the redemption of unfit and mutilated currency and coin,
also maturing government obligations.
The following figures taken from the report of operations of the De-
1266 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
troit Branch for the year 1929 indicate the large volume of business trans-
acted. Approximately twenty-five million checks and drafts, aggregating
over $8,904,000,000 were handled. Its wire transfers totaled more than
$5,907,000,000, and its currency operations for the same period, repre-
senting cash received and paid out, totaled approximately $1,240,000,000.
BANKS AND TRUST COMPANIES
The names of the banks and trust companies in Detroit are: Ameri-
can State, Bank of Michigan, Commonwealth Commercial State, Detroit
Savings, First National, Peninsular State, Peoples Wayne County, United
Savings, American Trust, Bankers Trust of Detroit, Detroit and Security
Trust Company, Equitable Trust, Fidelity Trust and Guaranty Trust.
BUILDING AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS
Were he to return to earth, Benjamin Franklin, apostle of thrift,
would be delighted over the absorption of his lessons and his principles by
the people of Detroit, who have established strong building and loan as-
Sociations. These organizations have been of great assistance in leading
tens of thousands of citizens to save and build, their acceptance of the
basic call of the system unquestionably having done much to stabilize
Detroit’s labor market. As listed in Polk’s 1929–30 City Directory, these
associations appear to the number of ten : Co-Operative Savings & Loan
Association, Detroit and Northern Michigan Building & Loan Asociation,
First Croatian Building & Loan Association, National Loan & Investment
Company, St. Casimir's Savings & Loan Association, Society for Savings,
Capitol Savings & Loan Company, Hebrew Free Loan Association, Solvay
Savings & Loan Association, and Standard Savings & Loan Association.
BANK MERGER CLOSES COLORFUL HISTORY
Consolidation of the Peninsular State Bank with other units of the
Detroit Bankers Company, now the largest bank and trust combine be-
tween New York and Chicago, with resources of $691,513,000, marks the
culmination of a series of bank mergers which, within a period of two
years, has transformed Michigan’s financial horizon. Resources of the
Peninsular Bank, amounting to $52,963,686 on March 27, were absorbed
by the Peoples Wayne County Bank, one of the principal units of the new
grOup.
Bank consolidations have added an important chapter to the business
history of Detroit in recent years. Two huge banking groups now domi-
nate the financial field with resources of over $1,000,000,000 and em-
bracing eighteen banks and trust companies in the Detroit area which,
two years ago, had been separate institutions. In addition, several other
banks and trust firms have merged.
Absorption of the business of the Peninsular Bank closes the history
of an institution which for close to half a century played a leading part
in the financial affairs of Detroit. The bank was chartered in 1887 by
a group of Detroit and Ann Arbor capitalists with paid-in capital amount-
ing to $250,000 and surplus of $4,850. Alexander Chapoton, a name fa-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1267
miliar in the business history of Detroit in the '80s, was first president.
The first statement issued by the bank in 1888 showed resources of
$713,514 and $446,324 in deposits.
From this modest beginning, the Peninsular Bank, under able man-
agement, expanded at a rapid pace to meet the requirements of a com-
munity which was entering upon a period of growth unequaled in the
history of American cities. By 1906, resources had passed the $4,000,000
mark, deposits were $3,642,000 and invested capital was $378,000.
In 1907, John H. Johnson succeeded Mr. Chapoton as president. Mr.
Johnson had entered the employ of the bank as a clerk in 1888 and served
the institution the greater part of his life. During his tenure, the bank
enjoyed unprecedented growth which came with the rapid development
of the automobile industry. When Mr. Johnson was succeeded in 1924
as president by Herbert L. Chittenden, the resources of the Peninsular
Bank had increased to $39,000,000 and deposits to $34,000,000.
The Peninsular Bank in 1909 figured in a business transaction that
is outstanding in automobile history. William C. Durant, then head of
the newly-organized General Motors Corporation, deposited with the bank
$3,400,000 for the purchase of the Cadillac Motor Company. A certified
check was then given to the Old National Bank to complete the deal. The
officer’s signature on the check was that of Ernest G. Liebold, then as-
sistant cashier and now general secretary to Henry Ford.
A five-story bank building on Fort Street near Griswold was occupied
by the Peninsular Bank in 1912. The structure cost $500,000 and is
elaborately finished in granite and bronze. With the absorption of Penin-
sular, the bank home is idle.
Capital stock of the bank grew slowly in relation to resources. It
was $1,000,000 in 1912 and was increased to $2,500,000 in 1915. This
was the amount out when the bank’s affairs were taken over by the hold-
ing company. The rapid expansion of the bank is shown by the growth
of deposits from $22,829,000 in 1917 to $48,369,000 last year. The bank’s
surplus increased from $1,177,000 in 1917 to $2,240,000 in 1929.
Officers of the Peninsular Bank are now officers of the Peoples Wayne
and First National Banks. E. J. Hickey chairman of Peninsular, is a
director of First National and Mr. Chittenden, president of Peninsular,
is chairman of the executive committee and director of First National.
The Detroit Bankers Company, which controls Peoples Wayne, First
National, Bank of Michigan and Detroit and Security Trust Company,
is headed by the following officers: President, Julius H. Haass, chairman
of Peoples Wayne; vice presidents, McPherson Browning, president of
the First Detroit Company, an investment unit, and Mark A. Wilson,
former Clearing House Examiner; secretary-treasurer, Eugene R. Lew-
right, and comptroller, Joseph F. Verhelle.—The Michigan Manufacturer
and Financial Record of May, 10, 1930.
PERSONNEL OF BANK OFFICIALS
The officers of the banks in the City of Detroit at the present time as
reported by Polk's 1930 “Bankers' Encyclopedia,” are as follows:
1268 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
The American State Bank: John J. Barlum, chairman of board;
Robert M. Allan, president; Walter Van Goethem, cashier. There are
Seven vice presidents of the bank, six assistant cashiers, and numerous
branch banks throughout the city.
The Bank of Detroit: C. H. Haberkorn, Jr., chairman of board;
George B. Judson, president; W. R. Laing, cashier. There are seven vice
presidents and eight assistant cashiers. T. L. Higgins is the auditor.
The Bank of Michigan: John Ballantyne, chairman of board; T. W.
P. Livingstone, president; Alfred T. Wilson, cashier. There are twelve
vice presidents, three assistant vice presidents, six assistant cashiers and
thirty-three directors. Alex MacLennan is manager of foreign depart-
ment, and Charles E. Gray, manager of branches. This bank has twenty-
eight banking offices in the city.
The First National Bank: Emory W. Clark, chairman of board; Wil-
liam J. Gray, vice chairman of board; D. Dwight Douglas, president;
George S. Hoppin, Jr., cashier. There are thirteen vice presidents, nine
assistant vice presidents, seven assistant cashiers and twenty-nine direc-
tors. Garnet W. O'Neil, comptroller; George R. Tait, auditor; George H.
Zimmerman, manager of foreign department; Dennis A. Darin, manager
of credits; Charles Mazzie, superintendent of branches.
The Federal Reserve Bank, Detroit Branch : William R. Cation, man-
aging director; Harlan J. Chalfont, cashier; George T. Jarvis and John
G. Baskin, assistant cashiers; Floyd L. Bowen, assistant auditor; Isadore
Levin, assistant counsel; George B. Morley, William J. Gray, David Mc-
Morran, James Inglis, W. P. Hull, Julius H. Haass and William R. Cation,
directors.
The Guardian Detroit Bank: Fred T. Murphy, chairman of board;
Robert O. Lord, president; John B. Dew, cashier. There are eight vice
presidents, two assistant vice presidents, and five assistant cashiers.
The Guaranty State Bank: Frank G. Smith, president; Charles M.
Michael, cashier; Charles H. Wagar, assistant cashier; Mernie R. Jerome,
auditor.
The Michigan Industrial Bank: Allan A. Templeton, president; Carl
M. Heck, vice president and treasurer; S. P. King, secretary.
The National Bank of Commerce of Detroit: Henry H. Sanger, presi-
dent and chairman of board; Samuel R. Kingston, cashier; E. Schulz, au-
ditor. There are three executive vice presidents, seven vice presidents,
three assistant vice presidents, fourteen assistant cashiers and two assist-
ant auditors.
The Northwestern State Bank: W. C. Martindale, president; A. H. F.
Martindale, vice president and cashier. There are three vice presidents
and three assistant cashiers.
The Peninsular State Bank: E. J. Hickey, chairman of board; H. L.
Chittendon, president; M. S. Webb, vice president and cashier; H. B.
Stead, auditor. There are nine vice presidents and five assistant cashiers.
The Peoples State Bank of Redford : J. G. Judson, chairman of board;
S. L. Pell, president; J. H. Meehan, cashier and manager bond depart-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1269
ment; J. D. Hawthorne, A. L. A. David, and Roy H. Burgess, vice presi-
dents; R. H. Russell, assistant cashier.
The Peoples Wayne County Bank: Julius H. Haass, chairman of
board; John R. Bodde, president; D. E. Leuty, cashier; George J. Pipper,
auditor. There are fifteen vice presidents and sixteen assistant cashiers.
This bank has 103 banking offices located throughout Detroit.
The Redford State Savings Bank: C. A. Lahser, president; A. A.
Bruder, cashier; H. C. Houghton and John Venns, vice presidents; A. M.
Bosworth, Jr. and R. J. Shefferly, assistant cashiers.
The Union Joint Stock Land Bank: F. W. Blair, president; O. P.
Gossard, vice president and manager; J. N. Stalker, treasurer; M. C.
Adams, secretary. There are four vice presidents.
The United Savings Bank of Detroit: Laverne Bassett, president;
Thos. E. Bryan, cashier; three vice president and three assistant cashiers.
The Industrial Morris Plan Bank of Detroit: Eugene W. Lewis, presi-
dent; A. G. Ropp, treasurer; C. L. Rugg, Secretary.
The Bankers Trust Company: W. C. Brandon, president; H. W. Han-
son, secretary and treasurer.
The Detroit & Security Trust Company: Ralph Stone, chairman of
B. Yerkes, vice president and general counsel; R. R. McDaneld, treasurer;
Kenneth C. Thom, secretary; H. C. Van Every, auditor.
The Equitable and Central Trust Company: Thomas Neal, president;
L. J. O’Brien, secretary; James A. Venable, treasurer; Norman Lane,
auditor.
The Fidelity Trust Company: Luther D. Thomas, president; George
B. Yerkes, vice president and general counsel; R. R. McDaneld, treasurer;
C. B. Nairn, auditor.
The Guardian Trust Company of Detroit: Henry E. Bodman, chair-
man of board; Robert O. Lord, president; Lewis K. Walker, vice presi-
dent and secretary; Charles A. Meyer, trust officer. This company has
eleven vice presidents and four assistant secretaries.
The Guardian Detroit Company: Carlton M. Higbie, chairman of
board; John C. Grier, Jr., president; Frederick W. Pritchard, comptroller;
Gerald E. Miller, secretary. This company has nine vice presidents, Seven
assistant vice presidents.
The Guaranty Trust Company of Detroit: F. G. Smith, president;
Louis F. Dahling, vice president and treasurer; G. A. McKaig, Secretary
and treasurer; M. R. Jerome, auditor.
The Metropolitan Trust Company: Harvey B. Wallace, president;
with Walter C. Cole, executive vice president and five other vice presi-
dents. There are five divisions of banking service carried on.
The Standard Trust Company: Louis F. Wojcik, president; John A.
Blaska, vice president and treasurer; H. D. Newberry, Secretary.
The Union Trust Company: Frank W. Blair, chairman of board;
John N. Stalker, president. The company is governed by forty-six offi-
cials including twenty-four vice presidents.
The United States Trust Company: John S. Haggerty, president;
H. C. Wade, vice president and treasurer; W. A. Porter, Secretary.
CHAPTER XXVI
DETROIT INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL GROWTH
PART I
Agriculture, the First Industry
EARLY HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE
The first farming in Wayne County was done by the men who came
with Cadillac in the late summer of 1701. The first wheat was sown
On the 7th of October of that year. As a large number of the Frenchmen
who came at that time were soldiers, and as the fur trade was the prin-
cipal reason for the establishment of the Detroit post, little attention
was paid to agriculture during the early years of the settlement. Game
Was plentiful, hence the French pioneers had little need of domestic ani-
mals for food. Elk, moose, deer, bear, and smaller animals such as
Squirrels and rabbits abounded and any desired quantity of meat could
soon be obtained by a skillful hunter. The lakes and the Detroit River
contained an inexhaustible supply of fish, while waterfowl of all kinds
were so tame that they could be killed without difficulty. In a letter to
one of the Paris officials, dated October 8, 1701, Cadillac said:
“The gabbling goose, the duck, the widgeon and the bustard are so
abundant that to give an idea of their numbers I must use the expression
of a savage whom I asked before arriving if there was much game. “So
much', said he, “that they draw up in lines to let the canoes pass through’.”
Wild fruits, too, especially grapes, plums and various kinds of ber-
ries, grew in profusion. From the Indians were learned the arts of
cultivating Indian corn and making maple sugar, and swarms of wild
bees stored their honey in the hollow branches of the trees. In a country
where Nature had done so much to provide for the wants of man, it is
not surprising that agricultural progress was slow for some years after
the founding of the colony. The first farms were small and poorly tilled,
chiefly because there was no incentive to greater effort, the only market
for the surplus product of the farms being that afforded by the soldiers
of the garrison, the few tradesmen and their families.
An article by Mr. Burton on early farm history says:
“The farm lands, so far as we can now know, were nearly all granted
up stream from the fort. One grant, the only one of which we have
positive knowledge, up to the discovery of the transfers I have recently
unearthed, was to de Lorme. This farm is still called the de Lorme
1271
1272 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
farm, from its original proprietor, and is situated in the Township of
Grosse Pointe, a short distance east of the present water-works.
“Every farm had a narrow frontage on the river. Only a few acres
were cultivated, but a log house was built and an orchard planted. There
Was a road along the front as close to the river as possible. During the
Wet Seasons of the year this road was impassable and the neighbors
communicated by boats on the river; for every family had a canoe. The
people had cattle, sheep and horses. The latter were originally brought
from France. There is no evidence that the Indians, in this part of the
country, had any ponies before the coming of the Europeans. Mention
is made of one horse, Colon, which Cadillac had in the village at the
time of his command, as the only equine in the country.
“The farms were all very narrow and each fronted on the river. There
was a two-fold reason for this way of dividing the country. Every farm
had its own water right and the dryest season never prevented a supply
of Water for necessary purposes. The farms were so narrow, and the
houses on them so near to each other, that in case of danger, each house
could signal to the next one without much delay or trouble. * * *
The lands in the country in the rear of these farms were never granted,
either by the French or British governments. The first grant of any
considerable size was that made by the United States to Michigan Terri-
tory in 1806 of the ten thousand acre tract, now partly in the City of
Detroit.”
The list of those who had contracts for gardens around the fort fol-
lows: M. D’Argenteuil, Pierre Mallett, Jacob De Marsac, Jacques L'Ang-
lois, Louis Normand, Pierre Esteve, Jerome Marliar, Michel Disier,
Estienne Bontron, Bonnaventure Compien, Chantelon, Pierre Porrier and
Pierre Leger. All of these claims were of one half arpent, except that
of D’Argenteuil, which was of one arpent.
Although the terms on which the first land grants were made were
So Onerous as to discourage intelligent efforts at farming, when the
grantees were assured of their tenure of possession, agricultural condi-
tions were greatly improved. After 1707 there was usually a good crop
of wheat every year, and it is said that 2,400 bushels were exported in
1714. Besides wheat, Indian corn and a variety of vegetables were cul-
tivated, enough produce being raised to supply the needs of the garrison
and the villagers. There are but few recorded instances of food scarcity
between the year 1710 and the surrender of Detroit to the English in
1760. In 1747, when the rivalry between the French and English for
control of the fur trade became so intense that war was imminent, a
large number of Indians collected at Detroit and they were supplied with
food in order to hold their allegiance. This caused a shortage so serious
that Le Moine, the commandant, appealed to the authorities at Montreal
for aid. On September 22nd, 1747, Captain Celoron arrived with several
bateaux loaded with provisions and about one hundred and fifty men,
among whom were a number of traders and their servants.
Two years later Compte de la Gallissoniere, governor-general of New
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1273
France, decided to encourage immigration to Detroit and on May 24,
1749, issued the following proclamation :
“Every man who will go to settle in Detroit shall receive gratuitously,
One Spade, one axe, one ploughshare, one large and one small wagon. We
will make an advance of other tools to be paid for in two years only.
He will be given a cow, of which he shall return the increase, also a sow.
Seed will be advanced the first year, to be returned at the third harvest.
The women and children will be supported one year. Those will be de-
prived of the liberality of the King, who shall give themselves up to trade
in place of agriculture.”
Under this liberal offer more than one hundred men came to Detroit
during the next two years, several of them bringing their families. A
census taken in 1750 showed a resident population of 483, who owned
160 horses, 682 cattle and a large number of domestic fowls. More immi-
grants came in 1751 and 1752, but in the latter year the crops were almost
an utter failure and immigration practically ceased. Prosperity evidently
returned to the colonists, for Bougainville, who visited Detroit in 1757,
Wrote :
“There are two hundred habitations abundantly supplied with cattle,
grains and flour. The farmers can raise as many cattle as they want, as
there is abundant pasture. They gather, in ordinary years, 2,500 meas-
ures of wheat and much oats and corn. * * * It would be well for
the authorities to encourage the inhabitants of Detroit in the cultivation
of their land and afford them facilities for selling their produce. It would
be a great advantage to procure from them all the provisions needed in
the garrisons of the forts Presque Ile, Marchard, Riviere-de-Boeuf and
Duquesne, as the expenses of transportation from Montreal are ex-
cessively high, and there is such great difficulty in getting the provisions
that the garrisons are often in danger of being in need.”
PROGRESS IN AGRICULTURE RETARDED
After the surrender of Detroit to the English in 1760, agriculture
languished. This was due to several reasons. In the first place there
were the unsettled conditions which naturally came with a change of
government. Then, about the time the English authority was firmly
established, came the Pontiac War. A few years later the industries of
the community were greatly disarranged by the English policy of ban-
ishing those suspected of entertaining disloyal sentiments. The farms
were all owned by Canadians, many of whom fell under the ban of suspi-
cion. Some writers have asserted that the French farmers were slothful
and negligent. Perhaps this is true, but it should be remembered that
there was no inducement for them to be more industrious and frugal.
If they raised a large crop the surplus had to be sold in a restricted mar-
ket at unremunerative prices; and if any one dared to utter a sentence
unfavorable to the British he was liable to be arrested and sent into
exile. The fur trade was the only business that brought an income from
abroad. Within a very few years this trade was monopolized by the
1274 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
English. The farmers then began to raise merely enough to supply
themselves and families, spending much of their time in hunting and
fishing.
The result of all this was that there were more famines during the
thirty-six years of British rule than there had been during the fifty-nine
years while the French were in control. In 1768 there were Over five
hundred acres under cultivation and nearly ten thousand bushels of corn
were harvested, yet only two years later food was so scarce that a famine
was threatened. The worst conditions occurred early in the year and
were caused by the late opening of navigation. Several boats which tried
to cross Lake Erie early in the season were frozen in the ice, some of
them within forty miles of Detroit, and a number belonging to traders
were destroyed by storms.
After the beginning of the Revolutionary war local farmers were
still further discouraged. Great quantities of provisions were shipped
from Montreal, to feed the large parties of Indians almost constantly
gathered at the post, and the resident farmers were rarely depended upon
for supplies. If a shipment was delayed a scarcity was certain to result.
On March 10, 1780, Colonel De Peyster, then commandant, wrote to Col.
Mason Bolton at Niagara, urging him to forward a consignment of pro-
visions with haste, because “The distress of the inhabitants here is very
great for want of bread; not an ounce of flour or a grain of corn to be
purchased.”
Two days later he wrote to Lieut.-Gov. Patrick Sinclair at Michili-
mackinac : “Everything here is in the greatest tranquility except the
cry for bread, the inhabitants being so much in want without the assist-
ance of the King’s stores many must starve.”
According to David Zeisberger, the Moravian missionary, flour was
so scarce in Detroit in June, 1784, that it sold for £7, 13s. per hundred
pounds, and mention is made of one instance where a man offered a baker
a Spanish dollar for a single loaf of bread. In his diary for July 17,
1789, Mr. Zeisberger wrote:
“From Detroit two white people came here on their way to Pittsburgh,
who told us there was such a famine there that most of the French were
living upon grass; that neither corn, flour nor bread was to be had in the
city for money, and that fine children in the settlement had starved to
death. There is a common famine in the whole country and what was
this year planted has been eaten by worms, so that the fields stand bald
and bare.”
DNITED STATES SURVEY'S ESTABLISHED
On March 26, 1804, President Jefferson approved an act of Congress
establishing a land office at Detroit. Frederick Bates was appointed re-
ceiver and George Hoffman register. This office was opened about ten
months before the Territory of Michigan was created, and only a small
part of the public domain in the vicinity of Detroit had been surveyed
preparatory to settlement.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1275
Under the act of May 16, 1812, Aaron Greeley was employed by the
United States Government to survey the private claims in Michigan and
the register and receiver of the Detroit land office were appointed com-
missioners “to examine and report on all claims under French and Eng-
lish grants.” After much delay and subsequent legislation on the subject
by Congress, the titles of 733 private claims were confirmed by the United
States Government.
Early in the year 1815 Congress passed an act providing for the
appointment of a surveyor-general for the unsurveyed lands in the State
of Ohio and the Territories of Indiana and Michigan. Edward Tiffin
was appointed surveyor-general and located his office at Chillicothe, Ohio.
The first public surveys in Michigan, under a general law, were made
under Mr. Tiffin’s direction. On November 30, 1815, after a casual ex-
amination of the country around Detroit, he wrote to the commissioner
of the general land office at Washington : “There is not one acre in a
hundred, if there is in a thousand, that will in any case admit of culti-
vation. It is all swampy and sandy.”
About two weeks later he made another report, in which he said:
“Subsequent investigations confirm my previous statements and make
the country out worse, if possible, than I had represented it to be. * * *
Detroit and the private claims near by are somewhat better, without So
many swamps and lakes, but the region as a whole is extremely sterile
and barron.”
The effect of these reports was to discourage immigration to Michigan
for a time and, outside of the immediate vicinity of Detroit and along
the Detroit River, but few farms were opened in Wayne County until
about 1820. The first auction sale of public lands in Michigan took place
at the old council house in Detroit on July 6, 1818, pursuant to a procla-
mation of President James Monroe, issued on May 1, 1818. Not many
bidders presented themselves and the average price per acre paid for
lands at that sale was $4, a few choice parcels near the city bringing as
much as $40.
Persons who purchased lands at the auction sale and began farming
were soon convinced of the inaccuracy of the surveyor-general's reports.
On December 13, 1825, the following item appeared in the Detroit
Gazette:
“We mention as a singular fact, and entirely new to this territory,
that a wagon-load of flour arrived in town last week from the interior.
It was made at Colonel Mack's Mills at Pontiac, and we understand that
there are several hundred barrels there which will be brought in soon.”
Such news as this, with letters written by the pioneers to their friends,
started a steady stream of immigration that continued for several years
after Michigan was admitted to statehood. Between the years 1830 and
1840, according to the United States census reports, the population of
Wayne County increased from 6,781 to 24,173 and over ten thousand of
the newcomers settled in the rural districts. During this decade the Sur-
1276 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
vey of the county was finished, most of the public lands was taken up
and farming became a permanent and well established industry.
THE SWAMPS RECLAIMED
Originally much of the land in the county was too wet for cultivation.
On March 15, 1861, Governor Blair approved an act of the Legislature
authorizing county boards of supervisors, in counties where there were
swamp lands, to appoint three drain commissioners to superintend the
work of reclaiming such lands by proper drainage. Some attempts to
reclaim the swampy tracts had been made prior to the enactment of this
law, but for lack of intelligent direction and concerted action on the part
of the land owners, these efforts had been only partially successful. L. J.
Ford, T. P. Martin, and Franklin M. Wing were appointed drain commis-
sioners in Wayne County and they inaugurated a system of drainage
that in the end reclaimed many acres of the county’s wet lands, hitherto
regarded as worthless.
At first the drain commissioners met with some opposition, some
farmers objecting to the cost of ditches, but after the first swamp lands
were drained and found to be the most productive in the county, these
objections vanished. By the act of March 22, 1869, the drainage law was
amended, so that only one drain commissioner was allotted to a county,
and he was to be elected by the voters on the first Monday in April, an-
nually. The amended law of April 13, 1871, provided for the election of
a drain commissioner in each township, “to locate and construct ditches
for drainage purposes,” all ditches to be made under his direction. By
this township system many small drains were constructed, connecting
with the larger ditches made by the county drain commissioners. A few
years later, the swamp lands having been drained, the office of drain
commissioner was abolished. It was revived, however, in 1910, when it
was found that some one with authority was necessary to keep the ditches
open and in good working order.
THE OLD FRENCH ORCHARDS
Apple, cherry and pear trees were planted by the early French settlers
and many of them were still bearing when the Americans came into
possession in 1796. Concerning the old French orchards, Bela Hubbard,
in a paper read before the Detroit Pioneer Society on May 2, 1872, said:
“Though many of the farms so closely crowded along the river banks
had orchards comprising several hundred of these fruit trees, and few
were entirely destitute, it is singular that little is known of their history.
In answer to inquiries, old people will tell that their ancestors obtained
the trees from Montreal, to which place they were brought at a still earlier
date from Normandy or Provence; but they have no knowledge when or
from whence. The prevailing opinion is that the seeds were brought
from France and planted as Soon as the first permanent settlements were
made on the Straits, about a century and a half ago.”
Then, after describing Some of the varieties of apples, including the
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1277
Colville, Pomme Caille, Snow, Detroit Red, the russets, pearmains, etc.,
Mr. Hubbard continued :
“But the crowning glory of the French orchard was the pear tree.
Nearly every homestead possessed one, some two or three, few exceeded
a half-dozen. Such was its wonderful size and productiveness that one
Specimen usually amply satisfied the wants of a family. These pear
trees were and still are conspicuous objects in the river scenery, and for
size, vigor and productiveness are truly remarkable. Many show a cir-
cumference of trunk of eight or nine feet and rear their lofty heads
seventy and sometimes eighty feet from the earth. They bear uniform
crops; thirty to fifty bushels being often the annual product of a single
tree. The fruit is of medium size, ripening about the end of August and,
though as a table fruit superseded by many sorts which an improved
horticulture has introduced, it still holds a fair rank, in some respects
not surpassed, if equaled, by any. The flesh is crisp, juicy, sweet and
spicy. For stewing and preserving it is quite unrivaled.”
The “improved horticulture” mentioned by Mr. Hubbard, introduced
numerous varieties of small fruits, berries, etc., and as the City of Detroit
grew in population many of the adjacent farmers turned their attention
to “truck raising,” the city affording a profitable and convenient market.
Dairy farming has also received considerable attention in recent years,
the number of milch cows has greatly increased and creameries have been
established in several of the larger villages of the county.
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES
On April 24, 1837, a meeting was held at the city hall in Detroit for
the purpose of organizing a county agricultural and horticultural society.
David C. McKinstry presided and Henry G. Hubbard acted as secretary.
The meeting was well attended by the farmers residing within easy
reach of the city and the result was the organization of the Wayne County
Agricultural and Horticultural Society. At this meeting was made the
first proposition to organize a state agricultural society, which culminated
successfully a few years later. The Wayne County organization con-
tinued in existence for several years, when it was succeeded by the De-
troit Horticultural Society, which held annual exhibitions for a number
of years.
The first annual fair given by the Michigan State Agricultural Society
was opened on September 25, 1849, and continued for three days. The
fair grounds at that time were on Woodward Avenue, about four blocks
north of Grand Circus Park. State fairs were afterward held in other
cities, but of later years they have been held at the State Fair Grounds
north of Palmer Park. The State Agricultural Society has given way
to the Michigan State Board of Agriculture, under whose auspices the
fairs are now held annually.
Work formerly undertaken by the county and local agricultural socie-
ties is now carried on much more intelligently and systematically by the
county agricultural agent and farmers’ institutes, assisted by the State
1278 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Agricultural College. The Wayne County Farmers' Institute is held
every year at one of the county towns, and here several hundred of the
farmers meet for a three or four days’ session. Each of these institutes
consists of a forenoon and afternoon session, at which a state speaker or
instructor presides. By this medium the work of the Agricultural Col-
lege has been brought to the farmers’ very doorstep, by giving them
instruction in the various subjects in which they are directly interested,
Such as rotation of crops, fertilization of the soil, spraying of fruit
trees, etc.
As an example of what this work has done for the farmers of the
county, observations conducted at Plymouth have disclosed the fact that
the latest killing frost in the spring, since the observations commenced,
occurred on the 28th of May, and the earliest killing frost in the autumn
On the 2d of September. The average dates in spring and fall are shown
to be May 7th and October 3d. With this knowledge, the farmer under-
Stands that his average season is one hundred and forty-nine days for
planting, cultivating and harvesting his crops, hence he is not likely to
plant too soon in the spring or delay the gathering of his crops until they
are injured by frost.
Naturally, in a county like Wayne, where there is a city of a million
or more inhabitants, less publicity is given to the agricultural interests
than in a county that has no large metropolitan center. Yet, a tour
through the county will convince the most casual observer that the farm-
ers of Wayne are as progressive in their ideas as any in the State of
Michigan.
THE FERRY SEED FARMS
One of the important factors in successful agriculture and horticul-
ture is good seed for planting. Detroit for years has been noted for the
Quantity and quality of Seeds supplied to farmers and gardeners in all
parts of the Union. As early as 1820, James Abbott, then postmaster,
conceived the idea of raising seeds for the post gardeners and scattered
frontier farmers in Michigan. His “farm” was a portion of the block
bounded now by Woodward Avenue, Atwater, Griswold and Woodbridge
Streets. From the tough paper wrappers that came around mail pack-
ages, he made a number of Small bags for his crop of seeds. The fol-
lowing spring, as Soon as navigation opened, a few dozen bags were sent
to Saginaw, Michilimackinac, and Green Bay, to be sold to the post
gardeners and the few farmers near the post. The seeds grew well and
the next year there was a demand for more, but Mr. Abbott was not in
a position to supply that demand and finally gave up the business
entirely.
In 1852, Dexter M. Ferry, then not quite twenty years of age, came
to Detroit from New York State and obtained a position as clerk in the
book store of Elwood and Company. Four years later he formed a part-
nership with M. T. Gardner and began the seed business. The business
prospered and a farm of 300 acres in Greenfield Township was purchased.
After several changes in the personnel of the firm, the business was in-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1279
corporated in 1879 under the name of D. M. Ferry & Company, with
a capital stock of $750,000. The first headquarters of this concern was
in a small store-room on Monroe Avenue, which was destroyed by fire
in January, 1886. Mr. Ferry died November 10, 1907, but the business
he established survives and annually millions of dollars' worth of seeds
are shipped to every state of the Union and to several foreign coun-
tries. The seeds supplied by this firm are intended principally for truck
farmers and gardeners.
D. M. FERRY
D. M. FERRY AND COMPANY


CHAPTER XXVI
DETROIT INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL GROWTH
PART II
Commerce and Trade
EARLY COMMERCIAL TRANSACTIONS
The early commercial transactions of Detroit were confined almost
exclusively to the fur trade, the Indians being the principal customers.
In 1703, Detroit was only two years old, yet it was one of the most im-
portant trading posts in the Great Lakes region. The greater portion
of the stocks of goods carried by the traders of that period consisted of
bright-colored cloths, gewgaws, etc. intended for the Indian trade,
though a small quantity of staples was kept for the accommodation of
the few white settlers. Spirituous liquors were also an important part
of the traders’ stocks, as the savage was never so amenable to a pro-
fitable trade as when under the persuasive influence of rum, or with a
barrel of it in prospect.
Between Cadillac, the founder of the post, and the Company of the
Colony of Canada, there arose a controversy over the control of the trade,
which had a tendency to retard the growth of the village. An account of
this controversy is given in one of the earlier chapters of this history.
Before many years after the French put into operation the custom of
issuing licenses, or selling traders’ permits became general, the number of
traders or merchants increased and they soon discovered they had to
pay tribute, not only to the commandant of the post, but also to the
minor officials, including the chaplain. The cost of these permits to en-
gage in trade so handicapped the merchants that their profits frequently
were on the debit side.
Detroit was surrendered to the English on November 29, 1760, and
on September 3, 1761, Sir William Johnson, who had been appointed
superintendent of the Indian tribes, arrived. He expressed his desire
to regulate trade and put the commerce of the colony on a firmer basis.
To this end he notified the traders that they would be required to obtain
a license from him or his deputy, Capt. George Croghan, and that only
one fee would be exacted. Despite Sir William’s promises and precau-
tions, frauds occasionally were reported and in the Spring of 1766 he
appointed Jehu Hay as resident commissioner of trade, with power “to
supervise the dealings of the merchants and redress grievances between
the whites and Indians.” Under his administration as commissioner
1281
1282 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
there was more uniformity of prices, goods of better quality were brought
in and the commerce of Detroit took on a healthier tone.
Jehu Hay remained in Detroit until the Revolutionary War, was
promoted to the rank of major, accompanied Hamilton to Vincennes,
where he was captured and after being exchanged was appointed lieu-
tenant-governor of Detroit, and here died. He was the only commissioner
of trade of which there is any record. Even with the improvements he
introduced, the intense rivalry between the merchants continued. On
June 8, 1772, Capt. James Stephenson, a former commandant, wrote to
Sir William Johnson : “Two-thirds of the traders will acknowledge that
I have been the most indulgent commanding officer they ever had. They
are a sad set, for they would cut each others’ throats for a raccoon skin.”
FIRST ENGLISH MERCHANTS
Within a few years after the English took possession, Detroit was
recognized as the center of the Indian trade in the Northwest. Dutch
merchants of the Mohawk Valley in New York made frequent trips to
the trading post.
William Edgar was at Detroit in 1763. Chapman Abraham was
caught by the Indians shortly after the war began in 1763, held prisoner
and plundered all of his goods. He escaped and carried on a successful
business in the village. His goods were restored in part by the French,
who had recovered them from the Indians. Benjamin James and Ed-
mund Pollard formed a partnership for the general Indian trade in June,
1765. Nearly all of the French were traders to some extent, but some
were of more importance than others. The names of Baby, Campau,
Labadie and Marsac are familiar ones of the time in this trade. James
Rivington was a trader in 1766.
John Macomb came to Detroit as a merchant at a very early day and
his Son, Alexander, is noticed in the public records as early as 1766.
John Macomb's two sons, Alexander and William, were among the most
prominent of the local merchants and with John Edgar formed the great
firm of Macomb, Edgar and Macomb, which carried on an extensive busi-
IlêSS.
In 1767 the licensed merchants and traders were: Baby & Chapoton,
Peter Baron, William Bruce, James Cassity, Charles Curtoise, William
Edgar, Benjamin James, Samuel Lyons, Richard McNeall, Edmund Pol-
lard, Obediah Robbins, John Robinson, Henry Van Schaack, Isaac Todd,
and Thomas Williams. George Knaggs, David Meldrum, John Stedman,
James Rankin and Richard Van Allen were others. During the next five
years James Abbott entered into partnership with William Edgar; Wil-
liam Macomb & Company, John Porteous, and James Sterling entered
the field. In 1775 the firms of Edgar & Abbott and Macomb & Company
were the leading mercantile concerns in Detroit.
The primitive method of transportation was a serious drawback to
the development of the commercial interests. Goods had to be brought
to Detroit in canoes or bateaux and rarely arrived within less than eight
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1283
or nine months from the time they were ordered. Throughout the winter
Season a brisk trade was carried on, exchanging merchandise for furs,
which were in turn sent to the London and Paris markets, consequently
it required about three years—sometimes more—for the merchants to
“turn over” their capital and count the profits.
The “store” of that day did not present the orderly arrangement of
the Twentieth Century establishment. The building in which the busi-
ness was conducted was usually a log structure, with a low ceiling, and
every inch of space was utilized. Upon the arrival of a consignment of
goods, the Original packages were taken to the store and piled around
promiscuously, to be opened as their contents were needed. Snow shoes,
large and small steel traps, strings of wampum, rifles profusely orna-
mented with silver, copper kettles, frying pans, etc., were suspended
from the ceiling; bales of skins occupied one corner, casks of rum and
boxes of tobacco another; cheap jewelry, small mirrors, colored beads,
brilliant calico and gaily colored cloths were displayed to advantage to
arouse the Indians’ interest; pewter plates, tinware, queensware, moc-
casins, high-topped hats, vermillion and other pigments, hardware, belts,
blankets and hundreds of other articles were carried by every trader.
Detroit experienced its first boom in 1779–80, following the enlarge-
ment of the fort as a protection against a possible invasion by the Amer-
ican forces under Gen. George Rogers Clark, and to serve as a place of
confinement for prisoners from Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the Ohio
country. The entire village was brought within the palisades, the fort
occupying the site of the present post office, at the intersection of Fort
and Shelby streets, and the citadel was near the present junction of Cass
and Jefferson avenues. The garrison was increased, the British sent
large quantities of goods for the Indians, and Detroit became one of the
liveliest of the frontier posts. A reaction came after the close of the
Revolutionary War, but under American rule, which began in July, 1796,
the growth of Detroit and its commercial interests was along lines which
promised greater permanency, though the fur trade continued to be an
important factor until about 1830, or even later.
Under the French regime accounts were kept in French currency.
When the English came in 1760 they quickly substituted pounds, shill-
ings and pence for the livre, sou and denier. The American merchants
were not satisfied with either system and introduced the currency of
the United States. It is worthy of note that this change was made with-
out disturbing the business interests, and without objection on the part
of the inhabitants.
FIRST AMERICAN MERCHANTS
About the time of the American occupation in 1796, Thomas Emerson
came from Vermont and soon after his arrival formed a partnership with
Stephen Mack, which lasted until 1817, when Mr. Emerson returned to
Vermont. Shubael Conant then became a partner of Mr. Mack and the
firm of Mack & Conant was for many years one of the leading mercan-
1284 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
tile concerns of Detroit. Emerson, who has been described as an eccen-
tric Yankee, did not leave Detroit because of a lack of faith in the city’s
future. After he returned East he loaned money to Detroit merchants,
and his son, Curtis Emerson, subsequently became a resident of Michigan.
By 1820 practically all of the Detroit trade was in the hands of
Americans. Among the leading merchants of that time were: James
Abbott, who was the agent of the American Fur Company and post-
master, William Brewster, Abram C. Caniff, M. Chapin & Company, Levi
Cook, Abraham Edwards, Henry J. Hunt, DeGarmo Jones, Benjamin B.
Kercheval, Mack & Conant, Palmer Brothers, a firm composed of Thomas
and Friend Palmer, O. Penniman, Tunis S. Wendell & Company, John L.
Whiting, and John R. Williams. All of these early merchants were men
of character and integrity, and took a commendable interest in the affairs
of the municipality. James Abbott, Abraham Edwards, Henry J. Hunt,
DeGarmo Jones, Stephen Mack, and John R. Williams were among the
organizers of the Bank of Michigan in 1818; Dr. Marshall Chapin, Levi
Cook, Henry J. Hunt, DeGarmo Jones, and John R. Williams all served
as mayor of Detroit, and Thomas W. Palmer, a son of Thomas Palmer,
represented Michigan in the United States Senate and was Minister to
Spain.
Prior to 1826, goods bought in New York were sent up the Hudson
River in boats to Albany, where they were transferred to wagons for
the trip to Buffalo. At Buffalo they were again loaded on boats bound
for Detroit. The completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 obviated the
long haul across the State of New York in wagons and this gave the
Detroit trade a new impetus.
There was at that time no wholesale trade worthy of mention. Most
of the retail stores were then located on Jefferson Avenue or at the foot
of the streets running to the river. Currency was scarce and many small
debts, wages of employes, etc., were often paid in orders on the stores.
Farmers would drive in for miles, their wagons loaded with produce,
which was gladly accepted by the merchants in exchange for goods.
In 1828 Jacob S. Farrand, afterward the head of the wholesale house
of Farrand, Williams & Company, became a clerk in the drug store of
Rice & Bingham. Much of the business was then done on credit and
Mr. Farrand enjoyed relating Levi Cook’s method of collecting outstand-
ing accounts. When the time came for him to make his annual trip to
New York to buy goods, he would make out bills against his customers
who were in arrears and place them in the hands of a trustworthy clerk,
with instructions to “sue every mother’s son of them if necessary while
I am away.” A trip to New York was then a matter of several weeks.
If the clerk followed instructions, most of the accounts would be collected,
or at least compromised, during Mr. Cook’s absence. Upon his return
he would find many irate customers, but he would apologize for the clerk,
call attention to the fine line of new goods he had added to his stock, and
the people would soon forget the humiliation of a lawsuit in the pleasure
of examining and buying the new goods.
. THEODORE H. HINCHMAN
RICHARD H. FYFE
CHRISTOPHER. R. MABLEY
tº ſº
º, cº


WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1287
WHOLESALE TRADE DEVELOPED
Between the years 1820 and 1830, a few of the larger Detroit mer-
chants accommodated country dealers by selling them small quantities of
goods Occasionally, and from this modest beginning a wholesale trade
gradually developed. One of the oldest wholesale firms, that of Hinch-
man & Sons, began business in 1819, under the firm name of M. Chapin
& Company, Dr. Marshall Chapin and Hiram Pratt being the partners.
In 1829 John Owen acquired Mr. Pratt’s interest and the firm became
Chapin & Owen. In 1842 Theodore H. Hinchman, who had been in
the employe of the house for several years, came in as a partner and in
1853 the firm of Owen & Company was succeeded by T. H. &. J. Hinch-
man. This old house, after several more changes in its personnel, is
still in existence in 1930 under the name of Williams, Davis, Brooks &
Hinchman Sons. During its century of existence it has sold millions of
dollars’ worth of goods in Michigan, Northern Ohio and Indiana, and
even to merchants in more distant territory.
Almost comtemporary with M. Chapin & Company, O. Penniman be-
gan selling drugs and groceries in Detroit. A little later Dr. Justin
Rice purchased an interest and after about two years became sole pro-
prietor. Then Edward Bingham brought some new capital to the busi-
ness, the stock of goods was enlarged and the firm of Rice & Bingham
was formed. Doctor Rice retired in the spring of 1830 and in May, 1836,
Jacob S. Farrand, who had entered the store as a clerk in 1828, acquired
a partnership, the firm becoming E. Bingham & Company. The store
was destroyed by the big fire of January 1, 1842, but the business was
reestablished by Mr. Farrand. William W. Wheaton became a partner
in 1856, when the firm of Farrand & Wheaton was formed. Mr. Wheaton
retired on January 1, 1858, and a few weeks later Alanson Sheley took
his place, the firm then adopting the name of Farrand & Sheley. Wil-
liam C. Williams entered the firm as a partner in 1861. He had been with
the house since boyhood and upon his becoming a partner the firm name
was altered to Farrand, Sheley & Company. Harvey Clark, also an old
employe, was admitted to partnership in 1871, and four years later James
C. Davis became a partner, the firm then taking the name of Farrand,
Williams & Company. For more than one hundred years this house has
been one of the wholesale landmarks of Detroit. Since the reorganization
of the business by Mr. Farrand, no groceries have been handled, the firm
devoting its entire attention to drugs, and operating in 1930 under the
firm name of Farrand, Williams & Clark.
About 1832 Zachariah Chandler (familiarly called “Zach”) came to
Detroit and opened a drygoods store in the brick addition to the old brick
residence erected by General Hull in 1806, on the corner of Jefferson
Avenue and Randolph Street. Soon afterward he embarked in the job-
bing trade in a small way, Mr. Chandler was one of the youngest mer-
chants in the city. He was also one of the first traveling salesmen, mak-
ing his trips on horseback to solicit orders, and his customers would
1288 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
employ teamsters to transport their goods. A little later the firm of
Chandler & Dwight was formed and occupied the building on the corner
of Jefferson and Woodward avenues. Here Mr. Chandler laid one of
the first sidewalks in the city. When Mr. Chandler was elected to the
United States Senate in 1857 his firm was succeeded by Allan Sheldon &
Company. This house retired from business at the close of the year 1890,
after a successful career of fifty-seven years.
The heavy tide of immigration to Michigan between the years 1830
and 1840 increased the demand for goods and a number of new whole-
sale merchants entered the field. Among the concerns that began busi-
ness in Detroit in this period were: The grocery house of John J. Gar-
rison (afterward Garrison & Depew), which was established in 1829;
the hardware house of Alexander W. Newbould (later Buhl & Son), 1835;
Moore, Foote & Company, wholesale grocers, 1838; T. B. Clarke, whole-
sale grocer, and the drug house of Theodore H. Eaton & Son, 1838.
The rapid growth in population led to an era of speculation, espe-
cially in real estate. This boom was rudely checked by the financial panic
of 1837, which resulted in many failures all over the country. After the
depression real estate values were greatly depreciated and business of
all kinds was adjusted upon a firmer foundation. Between that time and
the close of the Civil War in 1865, more than a score of wholesale houses
were established in Detroit. In the grocery line, Johnson & Wheeler be-
gan business in 1845; Thomas A. Parker, 1846; John Stephens & Com-
pany, and L. W. Tinker & Company, 1849; Fitzsimons & Company, 1852;
Phelps Brothers, 1856; Joseph B. H. Bratshaw and C. W. Inslee & Com-
pany, 1863; Gould & Fellers, 1864, and William and Robert Millar, 1865.
Other wholesale houses opened during this period included the queens-
ware business of Robert W. King, which was started in 1848; the hard-
ware house of C. B. James & Company, Freedman Brothers, millinery,
and Richmond & Backus, wholesale paper dealers, 1850; Heineman &
Butzel, clothing, 1852; Schloss Brothers, in the same line, and The De-
troit Paper Company, 1854; Hoffman & Mayes and Dunlap, Donaldson
& Company, ship chandlers, 1856; Charles Root & Company, dry goods,
1860; Ducharme, Prentiss & Company, hardware, 1863; M. C. Higgins,
fancy goods and notions, 1864; the crockery business of Fiske & Jenness
and the boot and shoe house of W. D. Robinson & Company, 1865.
During the quarter of a century following the Civil War, the jobbing
trade of Detroit enjoyed an era of uninterrupted prosperity, except for
a few years immediately after the panic of 1873. Commenting upon the
general trade conditions, the Detroit Tribune of January 15, 1891, stated:
“A tour of the jobbing houses of Detroit, and an inquiry into their
history, give at once the impression that they are eminently sound and
prosperous. Many of them are of long standing, houses that have grown
with the growth of the city and state, have made one generation of
proprietors rich and are contributing materially to the wealth of a sec-
ond and third. Their credit is good, their manner of dealing is honor-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1289
able and their reputation in every way first class. Their trade extends
all over Michigan and considerable portions of Ohio, Indiana and Wis-
consin, and even of states farther west. Their sales aggregate many mil-
lions yearly and the quantity of goods they handle would surprise any-
one who has not visited their warehouses or seen the immense shipments
by lake and rail. And yet the trade of the city has not, on one account,
grown as rapidly as it ought. The merchants of Detroit, though enter-
prising and active in their own branches of business, have not given the
same encouragement to railroad enterprises that the solid men of some
other cities have, nor looked as sharply as might be after new railroad
connections, and the merchants of Chicago and Toledo have not been
slow to take advantage of this, and to divert a portion of the trade which
would naturally have sought this city.”
The neglect of Detroit business men regarding transportation facil-
ities mentioned by the Tribune has been corrected in recent years, and the
wholesale trade of the city has been correspondingly expanded. When
Chandler & Dwight announced that their sales for 1850 reached $50,000,
it was considered a wonderful achievement and many thought the zenith
of Detroit as a jobbing center had been reached. Now there are over
five hundred wholesale houses in the city, having annual sales of many
millions of dollars.
GROWTH OF RETAIL TRADE
During the first quarter of the Nineteenth Century, the streets such
as lower Woodward, Woodbridge and Atwater were busy trade centers
and the amount of trading done was large for the size of the town.
In 1819 there were twenty-four retail dry goods and grocery stores,
and sixteen which were classed as “grocery and provision stores and ale
houses.” Among the merchants at this time appear the familiar names
of Henry J. Hunt, Mack & Conant, John L. Whiting, J. and A. Wendell,
DeGarmo Jones, Oliver Newberry, and John R. Williams. Business slowly
crept up Woodward Avenue, and after the rush in immigration reached
its peak in 1836 all available Jefferson Avenue fronts were occupied as
stores. Among the prominent retailers who were pioneers on lower
Woodward Avenue were Zachariah Chandler, dry goods, and Henry P.
Baldwin, boots and shoes. Mr. Chandler afterwards became the largest
wholesale dry goods dealer in the city and Mr. Baldwin, who was elected
Governor of Michigan, continued business as a manufacturer and jobber.
In 1852–53, according to the city directory published at that time, the
population of Detroit was 26,648. There were in the city seven stone
buildings, 601 brick buildings, and 4,077 of wood. The retail business of
the city was Summarized by the following table of establishments: gro-
cery, provision and liquor stores, 286; boot and shoe stores, fifty-four;
Warehouses, thirty; bakeries, thirteen; blacksmiths, thirty-seven; harness
and saddlery shops, nine; steam flour mills, two; pork and sausage stores,
six; clothing stores, fifteen ; cabinet shops, seven ; jewelers and watch
makers, fourteen ; hat, cap and fur stores, four; dry goods stores, twenty-
1290 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
nine; auction and commission stores, five; leather stores, four; confec-
tionery and toy stores, nine; drug stores, thirteen ; hardware stores, six-
teen ; and variety stores, three.
In the Detroit City Directory written by Julius P. Bolivar Maccabe
in 1837 and printed by William Harsha of Detroit, the following is stated:
“There are three markets—the city market, on the first floor of the
City Hall, the Berthelet at the corner of Randolph and Woodbridge
streets, and the Washington Market at the corner of Wayne and Larned
streets. These are kept in good order by the inspector of provisions,
and well supplied with everything that can be desired at similar places.
There is a great variety of vegetables, and also of fish, of which there
are an abundance in the river of a most delicious flavor, and wild fowls,
geese, ducks, brant, etc., abound in the neighborhood. Pork and mutton
in great plenty, equal in quality to any in the Eastern states. Venison,
Veal, poultry, including turkies, wild and tame, rabbits, squirrels, etc.,
are common; in fine, although not quite equal to that of Philadelphia, it
contains all the necessaries and many of the luxuries of a good market.”
The first attention given to a market was on March 20, 1802, when
the trustees of the village passed an ordinance that the market should
“be without the pickets and next to the river, between the old bake-house
and the east line of pickets.” Tuesdays and Fridays, from daylight to
noon, were set apart as market days. At one time no less a person than
James May was fined for selling diseased beef at this market. No further
record of markets is found until 1816, when a building was started by
B. Woodworth and completed the following year and was located in the
center of Woodward Avenue just below Jefferson; this building was 30
by 70 feet, one story in height, and was known as the Woodward Avenue
Market. It was demolished in 1835.
On August 5, 1825, Peter Berthelet was given wharf rights at the
foot of Randolph Street on consideration that he give the city a lot,
50 by 90 feet, at the northwest corner of Atwater and Randolph Streets,
upon which to erect a market. Further negotiations resulted in Berthe-
let constructing a building for market purposes, and which was pur-
chased by the city August 31, 1834. Subsequently, the city met difficul-
ties because the lot had not been deeded, but the building was used as a
market until it burned in the fire of May 9, 1848.
The vegetable market in the rear of the old city hall was completed
in November, 1843. The entire market occupied the central part of Cadil-
lac Square from the Campus Martius to Randolph Street. The front por-
tion, including the city hall, was taken down and removed in the fall of
1872. The other part was not burned, as has been stated, but was also
removed. The iron shed was taken to Belle Isle and was used as the
shelter at the head of the island. The larger vegetable market, extending
from Bates to Randolph Street, was built in 1860. Several attempts to
finance the construction of a more pretentious market building fell
through, until finally on April 22, 1879, the city council requested the
board of estimates to consider an appropriation of $50,000 for a central
OLD MARKET ON CADILLAC SQUARE
Central Market Building and County Building in the background
BROADWAY MARKET


WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1293
market building. This movement went along successfully and on August
23, 1880, the contractors turned over the completed building to the city,
and it was opened for business on September 11th.
The Washington Market was located on the northest corner of Larned
and Wayne Streets, and was erected by order of the council in 1835. It
Was not a success as a market, however, and after years of service for
School, fire department and private purposes, was torn down in 1870.
The Cass Market, a one-story brick, 30 by 40 feet, on the south side
of Adams Avenue at its intersection with Grand River Avenue, was first
opened as a market August 17, 1866, but was never a success. The G.
A. R. memorial hall occupies this site now.
In the Detroit of the present day the needs of a public market, where-
in farmers and growers market their produce during the season, is sup-
plied by five large markets, all devoted to the sale of every kind of food
commodity, and located in convenient marketing districts.
THE BUSINESS MEN OF 1870
In the early '70s retail business had moved up Woodward Avenue as
far as the Campus Martius and for some time had stopped there. One
of the most showy stores on the avenue was M. S. Smith's jewelry store,
northwest corner of Woodward and Jefferson. The Merrill Block ex-
tended halfway across the block on the east side of Woodward, north of
Jefferson. Frederick Stearn's drug store and laboratory was built on
the southwest corner of Woodward and Larned. Stephen Smith's shoe
store was on the northwest corner. Into the Stephen Smith building Tom
Swan moved from his Griswold Street “cobweb corner” some time later
and opened the most pretentious restaurant in town. St. Andrew's Hall,
built for a Methodist Church, and which was the scene of many festivities
as well as dramatic and literary events, was where the Siegel Store now
stands. Many were the regrets when the old hall was removed to give
place to business.
The Finney House was on the southeast corner of Woodward and
Gratiot, and Alanson Sheley, who for many years lived in the next block
north, had, with other old residents, recently moved up town. Sheley’s
old home was moved to Stimson Place, a short distance east of Cass Ave-
nue, and is there now. The Finney Hotel Barn was where the Chamber
of Commerce building, now Detroit Savings Bank, is located. The third
building of the First Presbyterian Church or, strictly speaking, the First
Protestant Society, was at the northwest corner of Farmer and Gratiot.
When Joseph L. Hudson bought that property, years afterward, some
people predicted his failure because he was exchanging a place on the
avenue for a remote and obscure corner.
J. W. Weeks & Company’s city directory for 1873 contains the names
of a few firms that are still in existence, and of many others that were
familiar down to recent times. H. D. Edwards & Company and G. & R.
McMillan occupied the same sites then that they do now. Newcomb &
Endicott were in the Opera House Block and have made only one re-
1294 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
moval since. Wright, Kay & Company were in the Coyl Block, next to
the Opera House. Richard H. Fyfe was at 101 Woodward. A. Krolik
& Company were at 158 Woodward, but afterward went over to Jeffer-
Son. Traub Brothers were at 212, and Louis Black, optician, was at 194
Woodward.
Christopher R. Mabley had the biggest store in Detroit, adjoining the
Russell House. The site of the Majestic Building, to which he afterward
moved, was then occupied in part by the little frame building which for
a generation housed Farnsworth’s shoe store. The Majestic Building was
not finished until after Christopher R. Mabley’s death. This building was
to have been called the “Mabley Building,” but was changed to “Majes-
tic.” Just beyond this was the Weber Building, the first five-story build-
ing constructed north of the Campus Martius. This ambitious structure
seems to have been ahead of its time, for the furniture business of Henry
Weber therein located became encumbered financially, and the building
itself did not make a good return on the investment for some years. Two
other business failures, those of James W. Frisbie and Company, dry
goods, and Freedman Brothers, dry goods and millinery, also occurred
in this building.
Woodward Avenue was well lined with dry goods stores. They in-
cluded James W. Frisbie, Burns & Smith, C. K. Gunn and C. H. Locke,
(Gunn & Locke), Colin Campbell & Sons, who conducted the “Scotch
Store,” Linn & Stansbury, James Lowrie & Sons, James Nall, Jr. & Com-
pany, George Peck & Company, and S. Simon & Company. Abbott &
Ketchum specialized in carpets, and Freedman Brothers, 147-151 Wood-
ward, carried millinery as one of their chief lines. The predecessor of
all one-price stores was Hiram Gay’s “dollar store” at 94 Woodward.
Among grocers loomed Hull Brothers’ big store on the Campus, next
to the Opera House, while John Blessed of the firm of Blessed & Camp-
bell, and J. S. Smith & Company had ventured far afield, both having
gone above Grand Circus. The principal retail hardware dealers were
M. Limbach, William A. Morhaus, and Fisher & Stoddard. The Singer,
Weed, Wilson, Domestic, and Wheeler & Wilson Sewing Machine Com-
panies were all represented on the Avenue, and the following are a
few of the well known names in other lines: W. G. Penfield, agricultural
warehouse; Elliott Brothers, Richard R. and James R., merchant tailors;
Tunis and Parker, J. M. Arnold, books, and E. B. Smith & Company,
books; John P. Weiss, pianos; Frederick Wetmore, glassware; A. W.
Copeland, baker, under the Russell House; Edward Orr, auctioneer; Wal-
ter Buhl & Company, hats, and James S. Conklin, jeweler. Small gro-
cery, notion and general stores had extended out Gratiot and Michigan
avenues, but the great central district that is now given over to trade
was then almost entirely in residence.
The tremendous growth of the retail trade of Detroit during the last
five decades requires little comment. The pretentious stores of yesterday
would be insignificant beside the immense retail business corporations
º ===== º º
|EEEEEEEsºs
THE DAVID WHITNEY BUILDING
SITE OF THE DAVID WHITNEY BUILDING, CORNER OF
WOODWARD AND PARK, 1881
The houses shown were built by H. H. Leroy
Sº º
º, cº-







WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1297
of 1930. Values in down-town properties have risen to great heights, as
shown by the subsequent account of the development of prominent sites.
A noteworthy example of the striking increase of value in business
property is that of the site of the David Whitney Building. This site
Originally comprised three lots, adjoining what was then considered a
country road, when Henry H. LeRoy, a building contractor, purchased
One of them (Lot 22) from Mrs. Eustache Chapoton for $1,000 about a
century ago. LeRoy later acquired the other two lots and three frame
buildings were erected on the corner. These buildings were there in
1885, when David Whitney, Jr., purchased the land for $90,000, then
thought to be an enormous price for the corner. Mr. Whitney erected
an eight-story office building and for some time this ranged as one of the
city’s finest office structures. It was demolished in 1915 to give place to
the skyscraper now known as the David Whitney Building, and occupied
in greater part by the medical profession. In the intervening years the
value of the land has enhanced until it is now assessed at more than
$1,150,000, exclusive of the building, which is valued at another million.
On the same side of Woodward Avenue and only two blocks south of
the David Whitney Building is another piece of property, the possession
of which would have created a fortune in the last one hundred years.
Originally described as lot No. 33 of section No. 8 of the governor and
judges' plan, this property, with a frontage of sixty feet on the west side
of Woodward and one hundred feet on the south side of Grand River
Avenue, was sold in 1823 by the governor and judges to Judge John L.
Leib for about $1.50 a foot front. In 1834 it was purchased by John B.
Piquette, for $300. Mr. Piquette occupied part of it with his jewelry
shop for several years. In 1859 the corner was purchased from Edward
Shepherd by Alexander Chapoton, building contractor, for $12,000. The
frame building that had been constructed on the corner in 1849 was re-
moved by Chapoton in 1867 to another location and the four-story brick
building now on the corner was erected. In 1917 the heirs of the Chapo-
ton estate, through Homer Warren, sold the corner to Edward J. Hickey,
clothier, at a valuation of $20,000 a front foot, or $1,200,000.
On West Grand Circus Park is another lot, with a frontage of 105
feet on the west side of Woodward Avenue and 48 feet on the north side
of West Adams Avenue, now occupied by the twelve-story Fyfe Building.
This lot formed part of a tract of five acres which Dr. William Brown, a
retired physician, purchased from the governor and judges in 1812. In
1827 Doctor Brown offered to sell the five acres to the city for $800, pro-
posing that it be used as a cemetery, replacing one at Woodward and
Larned. The aldermen rejected the offer. In 1834 a syndicate of ten
prominent business men acquired fifteen acres, including three acres of
Doctor Brown's holdings, and a year later sub-divided the tract, which
had cost them $6,000. The corner lot, on which the Fyfe Building stands,
was sold to Cullen Brown for $50. In 1842 it was transferred to Robert
Stuart, and in 1850 was purchased in bankruptcy proceedings by John
Humphreys for $500. A frame hotel was built on the corner and after
1298 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
the destruction of this building by fire in 1865, a two-story frame house
was built there. This house was later occupied by the Bates Restaurant
for several years. Mr. Richard H. Fyfe bought the corner in 1892 for
$60,000 and about a year later sold his business partner, Mack B. Stevens,
a one-third interest for $20,000. The corner lot now is worth close to
$1,000,000.
The southeast corner of Griswold Street and West Fort Street, on
which stands the city’s first skyscraper, the ten-story Hammond Build-
ing, also presents a story of great growth in value. The land was for-
merly lots Nos. 51 and 52 of section No. 2 of the governor and judges’
plan. The former was purchased by Catherine Godfrey in 1809 for a
nominal price and was sold by her in 1829 to Joseph W. Torrey for $200.
Three years later Torrey sold the lot to Judge James Abbott for $1,000.
Margaret McNeal acquired lot No. 52 in 1808. Following her death, the
heirs, in 1815, sold the lot to Jacob Smith, who in 1818 sold the property
to Judge Abbott and Robert Smart for a small amount. In 1836 Judge
Abbott acquired full ownership for $1,500 and proceeded to erect a home
on the two lots. Following his death in 1858 his widow and daughter
continued to occupy the home until 1877, when the property was sold to
Levi L. Barbour, Elijah Smith and Eliza Jane Chandler. Mr. Barbour
constructed a one-story brick building nearly surrounding the Abbott
home. Afterward George H. Hammond acquired a long time lease of the
premises. He died shortly after starting construction on the Hammond
Building, and in 1889 his estate purchased the site for $350,000, and
completed the building. The land value is now more than $1,000,000.
These are but a few instances to show the development of down-town
property.
DETROIT, A PORT OF ENTRY
Detroit was made a port of entry by the act of Congress, approved
by President Adams on March 2, 1799, and in June of the same year
Matthew Ernest was appointed collector. The act provided that the col-
lector should receive a salary of $250 per year and 3% on the amount
collected. For the first twenty years the port records were poorly kept
and it is impossible to ascertain the volume of business done with any
degree of accuracy. Reuben Atwater, secretary of Michigan Territory,
was also collector of customs in 1810. His report for that year shows the
expense of the office as follows: Salary, $250; Fees, $356.50; Commis-
sion, $46.05; Rent, $36.00; Stationery, $6; Total, $694.55.
Two years later Detroit was surrendered to the British. It was re-
Occupied by the Americans in the fall of 1813, but for several years after
the War of 1812 trade relations with foreign countries were unsettled
and direct importations of goods by Detroit merchants were light. In
1818 the customs report showed licensed vessels belonging to Abraham
Edwards, Henry J. Hunt, Benjamin F. and George B. Larned, and David
C. McKinstry. Seven years later there were more vessels registered at
Detroit than at Buffalo. This was largely due to Oliver Newberry, a
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1299
large boat owner and builder, who was known as “the admiral.” From
1825 to the present time there has been a steady increase in the exports
and imports. The total amount of exports going from the port of De-
troit in the year 1920 amounted to a value of $195,926,156, while from
the Michigan district, including the ports of Port Huron and Sault Ste.
Marie, it amounted to $343,226,322. As in previous years the largest
general class of exports was foodstuffs. In direct exports, automobiles
and their parts go to a larger number of countries than any other De-
troit product. They go to every continent and to many isles of the sea.
The Second rank of Detroit product for exportation is taken by druggists’
preparations, and the third is adding machines. Detroit exports in greater
amount to Canada first, followed in order by England, Belgium, France,
Germany, South Africa, Argentine, East Indies, Scotland, Australia,
Newfoundland, Spain, New Zealand, Netherlands, Sweden, Philippine
Islands, Brazil, Uruguay, Ireland, Japan, Switzerland, and China.
In Order to obtain a glimpse of commercial Detroit as it was seventy
years ago, there are interesting items in the board of trade report for
1860 which should be noted. It begins with a list of “imports and ex-
ports” by commodities, comparing them with 1859. Although the terms
imports and exports are used they obviously refer to local receipts and
shipments and not to foreign trade. The commodities listed numbered
fifty-seven. The largest item was wool, which is now a negligible article
in Detroit business. The second largest item was wheat and the third
butter. Among the other items were pot and pearl ashes; bark and
hides, there being eleven tanneries in the town; coal, total receipts, 2,583
tons, all coming in by water; furs, for which Detroit was then one of the
principal markets in the country; lumber, lath and shingles, an impor-
tant trade, Detroit then having seven steam sawmills in operation; oils,
with 200 barrels a week, to supply the lard, oil and coal oil refineries;
whisky, with twelve houses in either importing or distilling the liquor.
There were three standard brands of this consoling beverage, quoted all
the way from 19 to 30 cents a gallon. The record of some of the other
prices then prevailing is of interest at the present time. Apples, choice
fruit, $1.25 a barrel; barley, lowest price 53c a bushel; corn, 40c ; flour,
from $4.50 to $7.37 a barrel, the latter price prevailing just before navi-
gation opened in the spring; tallow, 9C a pound; butter, 11c to 15c ; eggs
in April, 9C a dozen, and potatoes just after digging time in the fall, 43C
a bushel.
EARLY HISTORY OF COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS
In a comprehensive and interesting article upon “Detroit Commercial
Organizations,” published by the Michigan. History Magazine, the late
William Stocking wrote:
“For about 70 years commercial organizations have played an im-
portant part in the history of Detroit. Formed primarily for trade they
have eventually shared in nearly every phase of civic as well as business
life. They have taken the initiative in almost all steps for the improve-
1300 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
ment of railroad facilities and terminals. They have encouraged and Sup-
ported the immense shipping interests of the city. They have fostered
mercantile trade in all its branches and have been among the chief pro-
moters of the great manufacturing ventures which have made the city
famous. They have frequently been heard in advocacy of wise legisla-
tion; have promoted local charities and have participated in every phase
of municipal affairs. They have written convincing memorials on many
subjects and have issued many valuable reports.”
About the earliest reference to a commercial organization is a manu-
script memorial found among the papers of Gen. John R. Williams, Sev-
eral times mayor of Detroit. It is dated December 31, 1827, is signed by
General Williams and James Campbell, is addressed to the mayor, re-
corder, aldermen and freemen of the City of Detroit, and cites the need
of a hall to house the Mercantile Society as the commercial needs of the
city had grown extensively. The response of the officials addressed was
to call a meeting for the evening of Friday, January 11, 1828, to consider
the matter. No record exists of this meeting, but the building plan was
evidently not carried out, as the Mercantile Society held its meetings at
the Michigan Exchange Hotel.
The second attempt at commercial organization occurred in 1847. On
October 19th of this year a meeting was held at the office of B. L. Webb,
with Charles C. Trowbridge as chairman and John Chester as Secretary,
and a committee was appointed to formulate a plan of organization. At
a second meeting, held October 20th, the report of the committee was
approved and the Detroit “Merchants' Exchange and Board of Trade”
was organized by the election of the following officers: William Brew-
ster, president; Charles Howard, vice president; John Chester, secretary;
Anthony Dudgeon, treasurer; James Abbott, A. S. Kellogg, Samuel Lewis,
Franklin Moore, Henry P. Bridge, Zachariah Chandler, and Frederick
Buhl. The committee of reference to whom all disputes between mem-
bers were to be taken, was composed of John Owen, B. L. Webb, and
Chauncey Hurlbut. The object of the board was stated to be the pro-
motion of “just and equitable principles in trade, to correct abuses and
generally to protect the rights and advance the interests of the mercan-
tile classes.” The first part of the association name was dropped and it
continued under the name of the Board of Trade. Meetings of the mem-
bers for business were held daily. Regular meetings of the directors were
held quarterly and special meetings on call of the president, vice president
or standing committee. The fees were $2 admission and the same amount
annually. The membership at the outset was 134. On March 14, 1848,
the organization was incorporated by the Michigan Legislature and
granted authority to erect a building of its own. A week later a com-
mittee, composed of Zachariah Chandler, Samuel Lewis, George E. Hand,
Thomas W. Lockwood, and Uriah T. Howe, issued a call for a public
meeting to be held “at the room occupied by the Board of Trade on the
corner of Woodward Avenue and Atwater Street, on Thursday, the 23rd
of March, at 3 o'clock P. M., to hear the report of the committee in rela-
(Courtesy of Burton Historical Collection)
NORTHEAST CORNER OF WOODWARD AND JEFFERSON AVENUES,
DETROIT, IN FEBRUARY, 1858
WOODWARD AVENUE FROM GRAND RIVER TO CLIFFORD, 1876


WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1303
tion to the erection of a Merchants' Exchange Building in this city.” The
legislative bill had also authorized the Young Men's Society and Old Fire-
men's Society to take $10,000 each in the proposed structure. The meet-
ing was well attended and much interest manifested, but when it came to
putting up the funds for the new building enthusiasm waned and no
progress was made. Another trouble also arose. The principal support-
ers of the association were the forwarding and commission merchants
and they had not learned the lesson of cooperation. For the most part
each firm had its own clientele and its own warehouse and they were in-
clined to pursue business each in his own way. Outside rivalries in-
creased, attendance at the daily meetings decreased and after about two
years the exchange was abandoned.
Four years later another board was organized on similar lines, with
Charles Howard as president. Meetings were held in the old warehouse
at the site of the Wayne Hotel, but with the close of navigation in 1853
sessions were suspended and they were never resumed.
ORGANIZATION OF THE BOARD OF TRADE
The necessity soon arose for some kind of cooperation among the
business men and the regulation of trade in Detroit. The first step to-
ward instituting a new association was a meeting at the office of E. G.
Merrick on June 5, 1856, when Samuel Lewis and Robert McChesney
were appointed a committee to prepare a constitution and by-laws. On
July 15, 1856, the board was finally organized. Henry P. Bridge was
elected president; Duncan Stewart and Robert McChesney, vice presi-
dents; Milo D. Hamilton, secretary; Henry K. Sanger, treasurer; Joseph
Aspinall, William H. Craig, George W. Bissell, James E. Pittman, Wesley
Truesdale, John B. Palmer and John W. Strong, directors.
The constitution bears date in 1857 and has thirty-seven signatures
attached, among them several of the names appearing above, and the
following of men who for a long time were prominent in Detroit affairs:
Augustus E. Bissell, Elon W. Hudson, James P. Mansfield, Moses W.
Field, and Richard Hawley. The board held daily meetings until the
close of navigation December 1st and then suspended them until March 1,
1857. They were resumed on the latter date and have not missed a day
in the more than half century that has passed since then.
On March 19, 1863, Governor Blair approved an act of the Legislature
incorporating the Detroit Board of Trade and Chamber of Commerce,
and the former was the first body to take advantage of its provisions.
On June 23d a constitution framed by Joseph Aspinall, E. R. Mathews
and Bernard O’Grady was adopted. A joint stock building company was
organized out of members of the board and on October 20, 1863, the lot
at the southeast corner of Shelby and Woodbridge streets was purchased
and the cornerstone of a large building laid June 10, 1864. The building,
which cost with the lot $38,000, was first occupied February 22, 1865.
This continued to be the home of the board and the chief center of De-
troit's commercial activity for fourteen years. With the laying of the
1304 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
cornerstone the membership had reached 200, representing 139 firms.
The board has moved three times since then. From February 19, 1879
until 1895, it occupied quarters in a building erected mainly for its use
at the southeast corner of Jefferson and Griswold; then was housed upon
the third floor of the Chamber of Commerce Building on the northwest
corner of Griswold and State, and upon the remodeling of that structure
for the Detroit Savings Bank in 1920, the board rooms were transferred
to the Murphy Building on Congress Street, East.
In the course of the first thirty years of its corporate existence the
board considered almost every transportation problem which came up,
including the proposed ship canal on the American side of Niagara Falls,
the enlargement of the Erie Canal, enlargement of the Welland Canal,
direct shipments to Europe by way of Montreal, the Sault and St. Clair
Flats, the Lime Kiln crossing and the 21-foot channel from Duluth to
Buffalo. It was the chief local promoter of the Wabash Railroad exten-
sion from Montpelier to Detroit, and manifested great interest in nu-
merous other railroad projects.
FIRST COMMERCIAL CONVENTION
One of the most notable achievements of the Board of Trade occurred
two years after its incorporation. This was the so-called commercial
convention held in Detroit July 11 to July 14, 1865, which brought the
interests of Detroit merchants and manufacturers to the attention of the
whole country and many other lands. The first move toward securing
this convention was a resolution adopted by the board on March 6th, re-
questing the president “to address circular letters to the presiding offi-
cers of the several boards of trade in the loyal states and British Prov-
inces, asking the appointment of delegates to attend a convention to be
held during the approaching summer for a consideration of the following
subjects: Commerce, Finance, Communications of Transit from the West
to the Seaboard, Reciprocal trade between the United States and the Brit-
ish Provinces, and such other business as may come before the conven-
tion not of a purely local or political character.”
When the convention met representatives were present from boards
of trade in nearly every border state and from many of the Canadian
provinces, including one from the Canadian Northwest. There were in
all four hundred and sixty accredited delegates, among them many men
prominent in national affairs of the time. The “Great Convention,” as
it afterwards came to be known, was purely commercial in character and
was composed of merchants almost exclusively; politics had little play
upon the floor of this meeting. Again to quote from William Stocking:
“The subject that attracted most attention was that of reciprocity.
Congress had already given the requisite twelve-months’ notice of its pur-
pose to terminate the reciprocity treaty of June, 1854. The question
whether a new treaty should be negotiated in place of the old was a vital
one. The discussion was long and sometimes heated. The anger roused
by raids from Canada into the United States and by the course pursued
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1305
by the mercantile and governing classes in Great Britain during the
progress of the Rebellion in the South found ample expression. But the
keynote to the strongest opposition to a new treaty was the idea which
had been industriously circulated by a few politicians that the complete
abrogation of reciprocal trade with Canada would result in the annexa-
tion of the Provinces, ‘Starve the Canadians into annexation’ was the
Cry. Mr. James F. Joy, at the close of a powerful argument in favor of
reciprocal trade, Scoffed at this idea as presenting a motive unworthy of
a great nation, and as absurd in itself. He argued that by the adoption
of hostile trade measures we should re-open the fisheries and other vexed
questions and should “acquire a war instead of an addition of states.’
“Hon. Joseph Howe, of Nova Scotia, whose speech was the great event
of the convention, said “that for one ton of goods and one young man
sent to aid the southern cause they had sent 50 tons and 50 able-bodied
soldiers to the north.” One of his own sons had been for two years in an
Ohio Regiment and had fought in all its battles. He continued: ‘I know
that it has been asserted by some and I have heard it said, since I came to
this convention, that if the reciprocity treaty is annulled the British
Provinces will be so cramped that they will be compelled to seek an-
nexation to the United States. I make the assertion that no consider-
ations of finance, no question of balance for or against them upon inter-
change of commodities can have any influence upon the loyalty of the
inhabitants of the British Provinces, or tend in the slightest degree to
alienate the affections of the people from their country, their institu-
tions, their government and their Queen. There is not a man who dare,
on the abrogation of this treaty if such should be its fate, take the hust-
ings and appeal to any constituency on annexation principles throughout
the entire Dominion.’”
The result of the open discussion of the question resulted in the adop-
tion of resolutions requesting the President of the United States to enter
into negotiations with Great Britain for a treaty of reciprocal commer-
cial intercourse. Many other subjects were considered and discussed by
the convention before it adjourned. The meeting resulted in the organ-
ization of the National Board of Trade, which held its first meeting in
Philadelphia, in June, 1868.
THE MERCHANTS’ AND MANUFACTURERS’ EXCHANGE
In 1878, owing to the increase of the mercantile and manufacturing
interests of Detroit, the need of an organization with broader purposes
than the Board of Trade became apparent. Accordingly, in this year,
the Merchants’ and Manufacturers' Exchange was established. The pur-
pose of this association was stated in its constitution as follows:
“The object of this association is the adoption of a plan for the gain-
ing of reliable information as to the standing of merchants with whom
the members do business, in all sections of the state, and for the econom-
ical and thorough examination of insolvent estates in which members
may be interested; to guard against unnecessary extensions of credit,
1306 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
and to encourage the higher personal and economical integrity in and
among those engaged in the various branches of business represented
in this association; and for all other purposes consistent with the pros-
perity and advancement of the merchants and manufacturers of this
city.”
Not alone was the work of the exchange related to the business in-
terests of its members. It took up subjects of public concern and lent its
influence toward helpful legislation and other matters of public nature.
The exchange planned a number of things of permanent value. Its traffic
bureau was active and efficient and laid the foundation for the present
traffic department of the Board of Commerce. It was also a pioneer in
the movement to bring interior merchants on visits to Detroit and to
take Detroit merchants on excursion visits to the interior. It established
a very useful credit bureau, the precursor of the Detroit Association of
Credit Men of later days. The exchange was also the first organization
in the city to have open forum meetings for the discussion of general
public and municipal affairs, and it was noted that many of its mem-
bers were interested in the formation of the Municipal League, precursor
of the present Detroit Citizens’ League. Finally it took the initial step
toward the coordination of diverse interests in the formation of the
Board of Commerce.
FIRST DEEP WATERWAY PROJECTS
In the year 1891 the Board of Trade, the Merchants’ and Manufac-
turers' Exchange, and the Vessel Owners’ Association called together the
assembly known as the Deep Waterway Convention, which was in ses-
Sion December 17 and 18, 1891. This meeting was for the purpose of
furthering a movement toward the systematic development of the lake
and river channels, and which has been only recently taken up again in
larger scope. The problem then was the securing of 20 and 21-foot
channels from the head of Lake Superior to the eastern end of Lake
Erie, in other words, from Duluth to Buffalo. In order to do this, costly
improvements were necessary at four points: first where the falls in the
St. Mary's River were flanked by the canal, then known as The Lake
Superior & Sault Ste. Marie Ship Canal, or The Soo Canal; second, be-
tween the canal and Lake Huron there were serious obstructions to over-
come; third. a 20-foot channel was needed at the St. Clair Flats Canal;
and fourth, the channel at the Lime Kilns crossing near the mouth of the
Detroit River needed improvements. Harbor improvements, lighthouses,
fog signals, ranges, buoys, and other aids to navigation, were also con-
sidered, as well as communication between lake ports and foreign coun-
tries.
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ORGANIZED
In the '80s the organization of a Chamber of Commerce was first dis-
cussed in view of the rapidly enlarging business interests of the city.
Among the foremost in this agitation was William H. Brearly, who ad-
WILLIAM H. BREARLEY
NORTHEAST CORNER WOODWARD AND CAMPUS MARTIUS ABOUT 1881
Corner building still standing


WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1309
vocated the idea in his newspaper, The Detroit Journal, in September,
1891. The first active step was the circulation of a petition for signa-
tures, each signer agreeing to take an amount of stock. The Merchants’
and Manufacturers' Exchange endorsed the project, and by October
enough names had been secured to warrant further action. A prelim-
inary committee of conference was named, consisting of William S.
Crane, J. H. Donovan, Don M. Dickinson, George H. Barbour, and Wil-
liam H. Brearly. To this committee were afterwards added W. J. Staple-
ton, Edward C. Van Husan, Alfred Russell and A. A. Boutelle.
On January 5, 1862, a public meeting was held in Philharmonic Hall
and approval given to the acts of the committee. At this meeting an
association was formed and the following officers and directors chosen :
George H. Barbour, president; Rufus W. Gillett, Hazen S. Pingree, vice
presidents; A. A. Boutelle, secretary; Michael W. O’Brien, treasurer;
Magnus Butzel, C. C. Bowen, John N. Bagley, Walter S. Crane, Bruce
Goodfellow, J. D. Hawks, William Livingstone, Jr., J. H. Donovan,
George S. Davis, Archibald G. Lindsay, Cyrenius A. Newcomb, George H.
Russel, Edward C. Van Husan, and Luther S. Trowbridge, directors. The
constitution, which was adopted with the by-laws drawn up by the com-
mittee of organization named before, provided for an association with
$100,000 capital stock in shares of $100 each. It was a part of the orig-
inal plan that $100,000 should be raised by the sale of shares and the
amount invested in a site for an office building. A finance committee was
appointed and the work pressed. By the first of May, 1892, the amount
had been subscribed and a meeting was held in Philharmonic Hall, where
a committee was named to select a site. Sealed proposals were invited.
Many sites were offered and many more considered and for several months
the task of selecting a place and of clearing away the many difficulties
continued. Gradually, however, public favor inclined to the Finney Hotel
Barn site, at the corner of State and Griswold (Mention is made in the
article upon the “underground railroad” of the Finney Hotel barn, where-
in the owner, Seymour Finney, hid numerous slaves who were escaping
to Canada). Finally, through the personal efforts of F. H. Cozzens in
greater part, the price of $118,000 asked was raised and the site pur-
chased. Plans for the construction of the building went ahead and upon
June 16, 1894, the cornerstone was laid and the structure rushed to com-
pletion. However, the subsequent history of the building is a record of
misfortune. Burdened with mortgages, suffering from depreciated ren-
tal values, and in competition with the newly-erected Union Trust Build-
ing, the building finally passed into other hands through a second
mortgage foreclosure. The Chamber of Commerce and the Convention
Bureau continued to occupy quarters in the building until they were
merged in the Board of Commerce in 1903. In 1920–21 the three lower
floors of the Chamber of Commerce Building were extensively remodeled
to suit the needs of the Detroit Savings Bank.
As with other local organizations, one of the chief distinctions of the
Chamber of Commerce was its connection with a convention of interna-
1310 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
tional importance. Upon its invitation, the National Reciprocity League
held its first annual meeting here December 10 and 11, 1902. This was
among the last of the general activities of the Chamber of Commerce as
a separate organization.
THE BOARD OF COMMERCE ORGANIZED
Of the situation in 1903, one writer of Detroit history, stated:
“There were then in existence the Board of Trade, which had aban-
doned most of its former civic activities and confined its work chiefly to
trading in grain, flour and seeds; the Real Estate Board, which was
neither very strong nor very active; the Chamber of Commerce, an or—
ganization in financial straits and with purposes not very well defined;
the Convention League, which was somewhat closely affiliated with the
Chamber of Commerce; and the Merchants’ and Manufacturers' Ex-
change, which was the most active and efficient of all.”
In the face of these conditions some of the more progressive business
men saw the advantages of consolidation of these bodies, inasmuch as a
duplication of work would be avoided and a more concentrated effort
realized. Consequently, in February, 1903, the membership committee
Of the Merchants’ and Manufacturers' Exchange was instructed to open
negotiations with the other organizations with a view to a combination
of interests. Through joint committees a plan for a central organization
was reported on March 28, 1903, and this plan was adopted by the va-
rious bodies. It provided for a civic as well as a commercial organization
and a canvass was at once commenced for the proposed one hundred
charter members. The project met with such general approval that be-
fore the end of June two hundred and fifty-three charter members had
been obtained. The formal organization of the Board of Commerce was
effected June 30, 1903, and the first meeting of the board of directors was
held on the 10th of July.
After careful consideration the Board of Trade decided to retain its
separate identity for trading purposes only, many of its members becom-
ing identified with the Board of Commerce. The Real Estate Board
reached the same conclusion, though it has always maintained am–
icable relations with the Board of Commerce. In 1907, the Conven-
tion League and the Wholesalers’ Bureau withdrew and for a time it
seemed rather dark for the new organization. Better relations were
soon established, however, and though the Convention and Tourist Bu-
reau still maintains a separate organization, it is acting in hearty accord
with the Board of Commerce. The Wholesalers’ Association was again
merged with the Board in 1911.
Meetings of the Board of Commerce were first held on the tenth
floor of the Hammond Building. Permanent quarters were then secured
in the State Savings Bank Building, and the project to erect a home for
the organization was launched in 1912. The cornerstone was laid in Feb-
ruary, 1913, and the structure was formally dedicated on October 7, 1913.
The building is three stories in height, with basement, covers a space 103
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1311
by 130 feet on the northwest corner of Wayne Street and Lafayette Ave-
nue, and it is believed to be the only building in the country devoted ex-
clusively to a single commercial organization. It contains the executive
Offices, a lobby and reading room, a dining room with accommodations
for 350 guests and an auditorium with a seating capacity of 1,200, in
addition to the customary committee rooms, etc. Its cost was $260,000.
During the World War, the Board of Commerce Building was the
headquarters for the Liberty Loan drives and other activities in con-
nection with the prosecution of the war. After the signing of the
armistice on November 11, 1918, the organization was active in caring for
disabled soldiers and particularly in “making Americans” of the large for-
eign population of Detroit. An alien information bureau is maintained
for the purpose of giving information to foreigners regarding govern-
ment regulations, how to become naturalized citizens, the duties of citi-
zenship, etc.
The membership of the Board of Commerce pays annual dues of $25,
and in addition to this considerable sums have been raised by subscription
for special purposes. Among the things accomplished by this organiza-
tion are better transportation facilities for Detroit shippers; a better
system of advertising for Detroit business men ; the improvement of
Wayne County roads, and the introduction of more systematic methods
of collecting and disposing of garbage. In fact, it might be said that the
Board has been interested in every movement for the betterment of De-
troit and the improvement of general conditions.
Some of the major activities of the Board of Commerce may be de-
scribed as follows: under the department of public affairs come the ac-
tivities such as aeronautics, Americanization, banking and currency,
building laws and regulations, city conditions and ordinances, clean-up
and paint-up, education, equalization, fire prevention, good roads, inland
waterways, military training, national guard, national legislation, port
development, public improvements, recreation, rifle, social insurance,
State legislation, trademarks and patents, and zoning; under the
department of business affairs come foreign trade, industrial activ-
ities, merchant marine, postal affairs, and transportation; under the de-
partment of organization affairs comes the management of the annual
lake cruise of members, employment, entertainment, finances, general Of-
fice, house, library, and publication; and under the department of affil-
iated Organizations comes the work of the Adcraft members, motion plc-
ture exchange managers, retail merchants and wholesale merchants.
Other commercial organizations of the city include the Detroit Stock
Exchange, the Detroit Transportation Association, the Retail Grocers'
Association, the Retail Druggists’ Association, the Lumber Dealers’ Asso-
ciation, the Builders’ and Traders' Exchange, the Credit Men's Associa-
tion, the Coal Exchange and the Real Estate Board. Each of these has
for its field a particular line of business to the improvement of which its
efforts are directed. All of them cooperate with the Board of Commerce
in every way.
1312 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
DETROIT A CITY OF MANY INDUSTRIES
By A. M. Smith, in the Detroit News, March 26, 1930
People of every city, town and hamlet in the wide world know De-
troit, U. S. A., as “The Automobile City.”
Detroit started the automobile industry back in the late ’90s. In De-
troit the industry grew with unbelievable rapidity and to proportions
which, if prophetically stated 20 years ago, would have been considered
an idle dream.
The great majority of all automobiles used in every part of the world
were designed and built in Detroit. Everybody knows this. It is known
so well, in fact, that most people do not know where else automobiles are
manufactured unless they happen to own one not made in Detroit.
Whenever an automobile attracts attention by its new lines, new
mechanism, or even by its strange behavior, it is a reminder of Detroit
to all observers, even if the machine happens to be one of the few not
manufactured in Detroit. If lines and mechanism and behavior are
good, it is a good advertisement for Detroit. If they are bad, as some
Detroiters might admit of some cars not built in Detroit, and as some
Detroit auto-makers might whisperingly suggest about the product of
some other Detroit auto-makers—just to help them do better—it is De-
troit publicity anyhow. Friendly criticism, of the infra-city type, is one
of Detroit’s assets.
As automobiles have increased in number and in world distribution
the reputation of Detroit has flown to the four corners of the world. But
it is an automobile reputation. Detroit's population has increased since
1900 from 285,704 to more than 1,500,000. Automobiles did it—that is,
they were the chief push. But there have been other pushers, other
industries coming into Detroit in recent years at a rate which, as a mat-
ter of comparative statistics, is astounding.
A classified list of all producing concerns in the Detroit metropolitan
area today totals 2,435, according to a report by the Detroit Board of
Commerce. How many of these concerns are listed as makers of auto-
mobiles or allied to the automobile industry? Only 178. Most people,
even in Detroit, know little or nothing of the remaining 2,257. We are
still thinking of industrial Detroit in terms of automobiles.
These 2,257 producing concerns make 172 principal products, along
with hundreds of minor and accessory products, and this volume of De-
troit-produced goods flows, like automobiles, to all parts of the world.
Within the last ten years there has been an amazing migration of
industries to Detroit. There are in the Detroit area today 759 factories,
not one of which was here ten years ago, and these 759 alone brought an
influx of 30,000 new workmen.
Even in tough 1929, with business and markets throughout the
(Courtesy of Burton Historical Collection)
EARLY VIEW OF CORNER OF LAFAYETTE AND
MICHIGAN AVENUES, DETROIT


WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1315
country suffering convulsions which called for medicine nationally admin-
istered, seventy-two new producing concerns moved into Detroit.
There is not another city in the United States—probably not in the
World—which can equal that ten-year record, or that record (in the
United States) for 1929.
Reasons? The automobile, of course, is in the center of the picture,
and will doubtless remain there. But if the automobile is the power plant
of the great industrial machine of Detroit, these other products, hun-
dreds of them, are no less important parts of the machine. The factories
are here. They are producing. They belong. Detroiters, at least, should
know Something about them, fatten their civic pride and whet ambition
and endeavor on knowledge of them and their contribution to the growth
and prosperity of the city. -
- The growth of the city alone would make it an increasing market for
all kinds of goods. If supply of this growing demand can be combined
with supply of world demand, that would be ample reason for starting
any new industry here, as it has proved, as will be shown in subsequent
articles, the reason why many concerns long established elsewhere have
migrated to Detroit.
For example, more than one-third of all machine tools manufactured
in the United States are actually sold in Detroit. And every maker of
machine tools in the country is represented by established agents—
literally totaling thousands—in Detroit. If one is making machine tools
which may be shipped to Japan or Timbuctoo, and if approximately one-
third of the output is to be sold to users in Detroit, the logical thing would
be to get close to the big market.
Not only in the case of machine tools, but with respect to hundreds
of other products, that is the logic underlying the remarkable migration
of industries to Detroit until it can no longer be called “The Automobile
City,” but must be known as “The Automobile City Plus.”
Draw a circle about Detroit, with a radius of approximately 100 miles.
This area, Detroit's shopping territory, would include a population of
5,000,000, conservatively estimated. It would include Pontiac, Toledo,
Jackson, Flint, Lansing, Saginaw, Battle Creek, and hundreds of Smaller
cities. Moreover, Detroit is midway between Chicago and Buffalo, and
with New York only 690 miles distant. The population of Wayne County
alone is nearly 2,000,000. -
Here, regardless of the rest of the world, is a great market, with
Detroit close to the center of the area, and serving most of the important
cities of the United States east of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio
River by direct rail lines–Canadian Pacific, Detroit & Toledo Shore Line,
Detroit, Toledo & Ironton, Grand Trunk, Michigan Central, Pere Mar-
quette, Pennsylvania and Wabash Railroads.
Steam, electric and truck lines, regular airplane schedules, and lakes
shipping, soon to be open to the seaboard for ocean steamers, it is con-
fidently behieved, add to the strategic location of Detroit as a producing
and shipping center.
1316 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
The operating mileage of the railroads entering Detroit is 35,631
miles, or 13.5 per cent of the total railway mileage in the United States.
If any producing concern in the United States makes anything people
want to eat, wear, look at, play with, or otherwise use, where in the
country could there be found a better location with respect to shipping
combined with local market?
“Detroit is the place,” 2,345 such concerns have said, and the present
year will see nearly 100 more saying the same thing, bringing their or-
ganizations and clerical personnel, their tool kits and office ware and
thousands of employes to the “automobile city plus,” buying land, build-
ing factories, getting into the swing of industrial Detroit, giving and
taking prosperity. This is the history of this industrial town, and it is
still in the vigorous making.
*
THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY
Nature ordained that Detroit should be a great manufacturing city.
Its situation on the strait connecting the upper and lower lakes, assuring
easy access to the raw materials from forest, soil and mine, its location
at the gateway through which east and west passenger and freight traf-
fic would naturally go; the infusion into its population of the best blood
of New England, New York and Ontario—these elements all combined to
forecast for the place a secure industrial position.
One of the first needs of a new country after settlers begin to come
in is a mill for grinding grain, and Cadillac met this need by setting up
a water mill on the Savoyard River where it crossed what is now the
Cass Farm. The toll which he first fixed for grinding wheat was one-
eighth, but in 1709 the Government required him to change it to one-
fourteenth. The annual income from this mill reached as high as 500
crowns. When Cadillac gave deeds of land it was usually with the stipu-
lation that the grain raised should be ground at this mill. About 1720
a Second water mill was authorized to be built by Charles Campau on
May's Creek, near the crossing of the present Fort and Twelfth streets.
At a later date a number of windmills were established along the river.
They were of circular form with broad, sloping stone foundation and
upright Wooden body surrounded by a conical roof, which was turned
by a long Sweep So as to bring the sails into position. The mill which
gave name to Windmill Point, and Knaggs Mill in Springwells Township,
lasted until the middle of the nineteenth century. Such “hand trades”
as that of the blacksmith, locksmith, armorer and brewer were carried
On under license of the commandant.
These primitive modes of manufacture sufficed for the community
until after the American occupation. Even then the town was slow in
coming to its heritage as a manufacturing center.
In the earlier days of the town, capital was scarce, rates of interest
Were high, and markets were few. It was not until after the adoption
of a national state banking system as completed in 1861 and the organiza-
tion of institutions under the national bank act of 1863 that means could
VIEW FROM CITY HALL TOWER, LOOKING WESTWARD ABOUT 1877
tº
Sºº
º

WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1319
be commanded for the conduct of large operations. The census of 1850
showed a manufacturing product in Wayne County valued at $1,950,983,
and this included a considerable product of the grist and saw mills out-
side of the city. The product in Washtenaw County was then half as
large as that of Wayne, and Lenawee and Oakland were not far behind
Washtenaw. From 1860 to 1870 the capital invested in manufacturing
in Wayne County, being nearly all in Detroit, increased 256 per cent,
and the value of the product 303 per cent. This was a period of inflated
Values and the value of the product increased by a much larger per-
centage than the quantity of the output. From 1870 to 1880 was a
period of declining values, and while the quantity of manufactured goods
increased, the aggregate value remained nearly stationary. From 1889
to 1890 the value of the product increased 156 per cent, and from 1890
until 1899 about thirty-five per cent. The total value of that year was
$88,639,000 and the number of employes was about forty-five thousand.
Jn 1880 Detroit was the nineteenth city in the country in the value of
its manufactured products: in 1890 the sixteenth, having passed Jersey
City, Louisville, Lowell and Milwaukee, and being passed by Minneapolis.
In 1899 it was the fifteenth. In 1909 it had risen to ninth place and
five years later it was sixth. In 1916 it reached fourth place, and in
recent years has taken a position along with such cities as New York,
Chicago and Philadelphia. In 1919 the number of industrial employes,
as reported by the state labor commissioner, was 310,000, and the value
of the manufactured product was $1,450,000,000. In 1930 there were
nearly a half million employes in the Detroit area, and the manufactured
products were valued at $3,100,000,000.
as DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF THE INDUSTRIES
In its advanced position in this respect Detroit is noted, as it has
been at various other periods, for three things: its superiority over all
other cities in a few 'special lines, the great range and variety of its other
products, and the wide distribution of its manufacturing districts. It
was the pioneer in the West in the conversion of iron ore into pig, in
the making of Bessemer steel and in the rolling of steel rails, though its
Supremacy in those respects long since passed away. It was among the
earliest cities in the West to engage in car building, was the original
home of the Pullman car, and afterwards became the largest manufac-
turer in the country of freight cars, a business which has now very
nearly ceased. It took from Albany, Troy and Buffalo the supremacy
in Stove making and held first place in this for more than two score years.
It has for a long time boasted the largest single manufactory of pharma-
ceutical preparations, and is second only to New York in the total value
of that product. It has recently reached second place and will soon
hold first in the casting, rolling and manipulation of brass. It is one of
only three cities that have a large lead in aluminum castings. It is one
of only two, and far the largest of the two, in the making of soda ash
and kindred alkalies. At one time it made ninety per cent of all the
1320 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
computing machines assembled in the country, and is still far in advance
of all competition in that line. It has now a world-wide Supremacy as
well as a world-wide fame, in the making of automobiles and has a world-
wide market for its product in this line. It was by far the largest pro-
ducer of aeroplane engines, notably the Liberty Motor, during the World
War.
Aside from the specialties, in which it is beyond competition, the city
is remarkable for the variety of its products. It is not specially known
as an iron city, yet its iron industries are large and varied, and it is one
of the largest consumers of pig iron in the country. The brass and copper
industries are almost as varied as those of iron, including nearly every
variety of mechanical appliance in which precision is desired, and every
article of household furniture and use. Michigan was for many years
the leading white pine state, and is still one of the large producers of
ornamental and useful hard woods. Among Detroit’s industries are in-
cluded a great variety of those in which wood is the chief material. The
city is not a large producer of textile fabrics as a whole but excels in
certain special lines, notably overalls. It makes many varieties of elec-
trical appliances and a host of other things. This diversity of manu-
facture is one of the best elements of its prosperity. Skilled mechanics
are trained in every branch, and work is to be had in almost every line.
More important yet is the home market that is created for a variety
of products. In many manufactured articles Detroit is its own best
customer. g
Detroit’s manufacturing industries are not, as in some cities, collected
in a single congested and unwholesome district. They throng the river
front and adjacent streets from Woodward Avenue to Belle Isle Bridge.
They make a sizable manufacturing city by itself of the Milwaukee Junc-
tion district, and one almost equally large about West Detroit Junction.
They occupy a number of separate blocks in the down-town districts.
They scatter along the banks of the River Rouge, and their tall chimneys
and derricks dot the landscape along the salt and soda district for eight
miles west of the city limits. They occupy nearly all the sites along the
inner belt line railroad and have already taken up several miles of front-
age on the outer line, or Detroit Terminal Railway as it is called. This
separation of industries over large areas gives great advantage of profit,
convenience and accessibility. It prevents the crowding of freight into
One section. It prevents the raising of factory sites to a prohhibitive or
Speculative price. It gives opportunity to intersperse the factory districts
with cottage districts so that wage earners may live reasonably near their
work.
OTHER INDUSTRIES COME
The period from 1904 to 1910 was especially marked by the removal
of manufacturing companies from other cities to Detroit. This was
partly due to exceptionally good industrial conditions in this city, which
was then, as now, more of an “open shop” town than any other large
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WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1323
industrial center in the country. It was partly due also to the fact that
general conditions for manufacture and shipment were excellent and that
residential attractions were superior. The rise of the automobile industry
Was a still more important factor in this result, acting as a magnet in
drawing hither many factories engaged in allied production. In the
Space of four years thirty companies moved here from other cities or
established branches here. In the number were some which have since
taken rank among the largest in the city.
Early in 1903 the Packard automobile was being manufactured at a
Small plant in Warren, Ohio. A little group of young men in Detroit,
with inherited wealth, business training and prophetic vision, bought
the machinery and business and moved them to Detroit.
The same year the Aritomometer Company, now the Burroughs Add-
ing Machine Company, moved here from St. Louis, mainly to escape the
trade union domination in that city. Along with the machinery they
brought on special trains 253 families.
Morgan & Wright, one of the constituent organizations of the United
States Rubber Company, moved here from Chicago, primarily to be near
the best market for their product. They commenced with 800 men mak-
ing a variety of rubber goods. They have since employed 4,800 at one
time, working mainly on automobile tires.
What is now the Timken-Detroit Axle Company brought machinery
and a working force from Canton, Ohio, coming because this was their
best market for automobile axles. The machinery was speedily set up
in a factory, fortunately found vacant, and the employers announced
that they would ultimately employ 1,000 men. They actually increased
their force within a few years to nearly 5,000.
Those given are, perhaps, the best examples of the impetus given to
Detroit industry by factories moving from other cities. But there are
numerous others. A list of twenty-one companies, selected on account
of their rapid growth, shows a total of 5,245 employes when they started
at various periods. The same companies had 48,000 on their rolls in the
latter part of 1917. They came to Detroit not by reason of artificial in-
ducements, such as bonuses, stock promotions, free sites, free water or
exemption from taxation, for no such inducements were offered, but for
business and residence considerations alone. It is noticeable also that
the period that was most fruitful in this respect was coincident with the
early activities of the Board of Commerce, an organization that was in
many ways helpful to these new enterprises.
BEGINNING OF MODERN INDUSTRY
It was in the decade before the Civil War that the foundation of a
number of modern industries was laid. In 1853 the first car works were
built, and in 1856 the first match factory. Both of these were large
industries for more than half a century thereafter. In 1852 the first
large vessel was launched and one of the large shipbuilding plants of the
present day is in direct succession from that venture, retaining even the
1324 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
same location. In 1863 the first marine engine was built and the second
of today’s large ship yards was the outgrowth of that enterprise. In
1858 the first varnish factory was built, and the business is still conducted
in the same location and under the same family name. In 1860 the first
stove was built here. Its maker, Jeremiah Dwyer, in after years, or—
ganized the first two stove companies, saw the city reach the front rank
in that line of industry, and fifty-nine years after his first venture, was
still president of one of the largest stove companies in the country. The
“Mayflower” tobacco was first manufactured here in 1853. It has been
made by the same family and has gone under the same name ever since.
It is interesting to take Detroit’s leading industries topically and
chronologically. The town was located on the edge of the forests. The
whole county and all the surrounding country, for that matter, were
densely wooded. Besides that an abundant supply of logs could be easily
and economically floated down lake and river from the immense pine
areas farther north. Working in wood was naturally one of the first in-
dustries to be organized on a large scale, and the sawmill was the first
method of this development. In the early '50s the river front in Detroit
and Springwells was lined with sawmills and the foundations of several
good family fortunes were laid in this business. Statistics of this industry
were not regularly compiled, but in 1859 there were eleven mills in
operation with a cut of 30,000,000 feet a year. The industry lasted into
the Twentieth Century, lasted, in fact, until the log supply from the Lake
Huron shore was exhausted, and Canadian export restrictions had cut
off the supply from the Georgian Bay district.
A PIONEER IN CAR BUILDING
Manufactures in which wood was the chief material greatly surpassed
the sawmill in importance. Among these, car building was among the
first and for many years far the largest. In 1853 George B. Russell and
other parties secured premises on the Gratiot Road and commenced the
manufacture of twenty-five cars for the Detroit and Pontiac Railway.
This was the inauguration of car building west of Albany. In 1854 the
co-partnership became Robinson, Russell & Company, which was, in 1868,
merged into an incorporated concern—the Detroit Car & Manufacturing
Company—the works having been removed from Gratiot Road to the
foot of Beaubien Street. In 1856 the company built shops on Croghan
Street. At that time there were no houses in that vicinity, and the subse-
quent settlement of that portion of the city is directly traceable to the
location of these works.
In 1871 the business was sold to the Pullman Company, which, in a
few years, enlarged the works so as to cover the whole block between
Croghan Street (now Monroe Avenue), St. Aubin and Macomb streets
and the Detroit & Milwaukee Railroad. Then came an incident charac-
teristic of the Detroit authorities of those days. The company wanted
to expand their works over much larger space, and asked that Macomb
Street be vacated for a single block. The common council refused; the
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1325
company began to look elsewhere for a site, and finally located near Chi-
cago, founding the Town of Pullman. It retained the shops here as a
branch till 1893, when they were abandoned. The Detroit Car Company
built, in 1872, extensive works on Adair Street but did not last many
years. Meantime the Michigan Car Company, organized in 1864, built
large works at Grand Trunk Junction, and the Peninsular Car Works
followed in 1885 at Milwaukee Junction. The Michigan Central and the
Grand Trunk railroads had car shops in or near the city and the street
railway company followed at a later period. The Russell Wheel & Foun-
dry Company also did an extensive business in the building of logging
C3, C.S.
The Detroit branch of the great manufacturing institution, the Ameri-
can Car & Foundry Company, is comprised of what was formerly known
as the Peninsular Car Company, located at Ferry and Russell streets, the
Michigan Car Company, the Detroit Car Wheel Company and Detroit
Pipe & Foundry Company, located at Michigan and Clark avenues, and
the Baugh Steam Forge, located on the river at the foot of Clark Avenue.
All of these properties were merged into the Michigan–Peninsular Car
Company in September, 1892, and in March, 1899, were acquired by the
American Car & Foundry Company with other plants located in Chicago,
St. Louis, Buffalo and other cities. The plants in Detroit are designated
as the Peninsular Department, Michigan Department and Forge Depart-
ment. In 1884 the Peninsular Car Company purchased twenty-five acres
of land at Ferry and Russell streets, erected buildings and installed first-
class equipment. Then it was only necessary to arrange for the con-
struction of wooden cars. When the demand for steel cars made it ap-
parent that eventually the wooden car would give way to the car of steel
construction, large shops were erected at this plant and equipped with
machinery adapted to this work. The buildings alone now cover about
twenty acres and the total acreage occupied is fifty-two. There are also
foundries at this plant in which are made the wheels and castings for
cars turned out. The Michigan Department, at Michigan and Clark ave-
nues, occupies thirty-nine acres. The Forge Department occupies nine
acres on the Detroit River. Statistics of the state department of labor
show that in 1919 there were 2,423 people employed at the Detroit plants
of this company. The company’s general offices are in St. Louis, Missouri.
Representative Detroit capitalists who were formerly identified with the
car building industry in Detroit are: Col. Frank J. Hecker, C. L. Freer
and James McGregor, and the late James McMillan, John S. Newberry,
Christian H. Buhl, Theodore D. Buhl, Russell A. Alger, James F. Joy, and
William C. McMillan. The car business reached its high water mark in
1907, when it employed over 9,000 men and had a production valued at
$28,000,000. The two big freight car plants were then building 100 cars
a day. During the late war the immense plant of the American Car &
Foundry was given over to the making of munitions and when fully
organized was turning out war materials in tremendous quantities.
During the period of its ascendancy, car building added more to De-
1326 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
troit's fame as a manufacturing center than any other industry. Its
products rolled over the rails in every state and territory in this country
and were sent also to Canada, Mexico, Spain and Russia. In its latest
stages it was much more of a metal than a wood industry, but was always
a large consumer of forest products.
Shipbuilding was the next great industry in which wood was the
chief raw material, but this is deserving of treatment in a section by
itself. For hulls, iron, steel and latterly, concrete have since displaced
wood. Next to house building the greatest use of wood in the city is in
the making of automobile bodies and following that is furniture making,
both very important industries. Originally the whole country was heavily
wooded. From its forests there came not only valuable house and ship-
building timber, but the wood that for half a century furnished the fuel
for its brick kilns and charcoal iron furnaces.
A PIONEER IN IRON MANUFACTURE
Surprise has often been expressed that Detroit, with all its varied
industries, in many of which iron is the basic material for manufacture,
should not have taken a more prominent position in the making of iron
itself. It was in fact among the pioneers in various phases of this in-
dustry. The first iron blast furnace in this country west of Pittsburgh
was built in Hamtramck in 1859 by Dr. George B. Russell. From that
time till 1905 “The Hamtramck Iron Works” was One of the landmarks
of Eastern Detroit industry. The site of this plant, now Over three miles
within the city limits, was at the foot of Concord Avenue.
Beyond the city on the west, in the large township of Ecorse, Capt.
E. B. Ward established in 1854 the Eureka Iron & Steel Works. That
and the Wyandotte Rolling Mills, whose construction followed, consti-
tuted for many years the largest industrial plants in the county. They
were built partly with Detroit capital, but were located in what is now
the City of Wyandotte, because that was on the edge of one of the finest
tracts of woodland then left in Southern Michigan, whose thousands of
acres promised a supply of charcoal for many years to come. It is an
interesting fact of local history that the first steel rails made in this
country were rolled at the Wyandotte Mills, and that the first Bessemer
steel produced in this country came from the same mills. In 1862 William
Franklin Durfee, who had studied the Bessemer steel process in England,
went to Lake Superior to test the suitability of its iron ores for the manu-
facture of steel, under a process invented by William Kelley. He suc-
ceeded in making ingots of steel, and established the fact that some of
the best Bessemer ores in the country were in the Lake Superior district.
He interested Captain Ward in his experiments, and the first steel rails
made in this country were rolled at the Wyandotte Mills, May 25, 1865.
Mr. Durfee also constructed at that point the first analytical laboratory
built in the United States as an adjunct to steel works. It was a great
aid in the study of the Bessemer process and in the use of regenerative
furnaces. After the success of Mr. Durfee's plan for making steel rails
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1327
became apparent, the Wyandotte Mills were found not to have sufficient
capacity for their economical production. A difference of opinion arose
between Captain Ward and his associates, as to the advisability of en-
larging the plant. The result of the disagreement was the withdrawal
of two members who were largely interested in the concern, and the
establishment of the South Chicago Rolling Mills. This enterprise after-
wards developed into the Illinois Steel Company’s immense works, the
largest steel rail producers in the world. The mills at Wyandotte ceased
operations in the ’90s, after about thirty years of successful operation.
It has long been a theory of commercial writers that Detroit should
be a large manufacturer of coke iron as well as of charcoal iron. The
arguments to support this position have been numerous and apparently
convincing. The answer to them was for a long time short but con-
clusive. The freight rate on iron ore from the Lake Superior region to
Lake Erie ports was the same as to Detroit, while the former were much
nearer to the coal fields. It requires about one and one-half tons of ore
and two tons of coke to make one ton of iron, and the advantage was,
therefore, with the Lake Erie ports. An expert who made a thorough
examination of the whole subject in 1903 said that when pig iron sold
at $28 a ton it might have been made very profitably in Detroit, but when
it came down again to $14 or $15 a ton, which was the price then ruling,
it could not be profitably made here with Pennsylvania coke; nor could
coal be advantageously coked at this point except under especially favor-
able conditions. These favorable conditions had then arisen, and the
same gentleman who formerly advised against the establishment of coke
iron furnaces became the chief promoter of the initial enterprise of this
character. These conditions are, first, the opening of new railroad con-
nections with the coal fields of Ohio and West Virginia; second, and much
more important, the building of coke ovens in connection with the great
alkali manufactories in this district. The economic use of heat, power,
and material which this combination secures makes it possible to lay
down at the door of the furnace a superior quality of coke that will en-
able Detroit to compete with any of the lake cities in the production of
coke pig. The initial enterprise of this kind, the Detroit Iron & Steel
Company, established and incorporated in 1902, located on Zug Island,
has had a successful career, but remains thus far without an imitator.
That, and the Detroit Iron Furnace plant on Wight Street, successor to
three of the old charcoal iron companies, are the sole producers of “pig”
in this city. -
Detroit is, however, one of the largest consumers of pig iron in the
Country. Among its numerous and varied manufactures, those into which
Steel enter as among the most important materials form no inconsiderable
portion. Its immense shipbuilding interests, its automobile plants, now
the most important in the country, its stove works, its steel spring works,
its manufactories of spring beds, its structural steel works, its bridge
building, its steam-fitting and heating, its malleable iron and grey iron
Works, and a host of others are constantly using or manipulating iron or
1328 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Steel in Some form. The monthly export tables mention nearly 150 classes,
including thousands of individual articles, in which iron is an essential
part.
PRODUCTS OF THE SALT BEDS
It is very rarely, except on the discovery of precious metals or dia-
monds that a new industry comes into such sudden and so great promi-
mence as that achieved by the salt and soda industry of the “Down River
District” in Wayne County. Up to 1888 there was no district along the
eastern shore of Michigan that appeared to be less promising than the
river front from Fort Wayne to Wyandotte, and again from the other side
of Wyandotte to Trenton. There was an old glass factory on the east bank
of the tortuous and sluggish River Rouge. There was a sawmill, which had
seen its most active days, at Ecorse and one at Wyandotte. For the rest,
the fifteen miles of marsh fronting on the most magnificent waterway
of the continent, was put to but little industrial use. A few reels and
tumble-down shanties indicated occupation during the comparatively
short season, when commercial fishing could be carried on at a profit. At
the two mouths of the Rouge, and at some other points along Detroit
River, the amateur sportsman took a few bass and perch, and swapped
many lies or fired at the elusive duck. With these exceptions the only
frequenters of the marsh that watched the mighty fleet of vessels, passing
and repassing on the river, were the frog, the muskrat, and the mudhen.
In summer a few vessels were towed up the muddy Rouge to the manu-
factories on the higher ground beyond the marsh.
Borings were made below Wyandotte in the hope of finding gas or
oil for use in the iron works at that point, but salt was found instead, and
that laid the foundation of a new industry. The pioneer work in the
development of the salt beds was done by Capt. J. B. Ford of Ford City,
Pennsylvania, a large manufacturer of plate glass, and consequently a
large consumer of soda ash, for which the country was then dependent
upon Belgian and English manufacturers. A series of borings followed
by very careful examinations of the salt brought up, of the water from
the river, and of the limestone which crops out a few miles distant, con-
vinced the captain that this was the ideal place for the manufacture of
soda ash, and in 1889 work was commenced, which became Plant No. 1
of the Michigan Alkali Company.
The new concern had to feel its way along through various experi-
ments with the ammonia process, and as an officer of the company says,
expended over a million dollars before it began to get any practical and
satisfactory results. One of the things it had to contend with was the
strong competition of the English manufacturers, who pooled together
and put their product on the American market at less than cost in order
to break down the manufacturers in this country. Captain Ford, how-
ever, was a man of grit as well as capital, and maintained a sturdy fight.
Finally, the pendency of the Dingley tariff bill afforded an opportunity
to check that kind of English competition, which was done by levying a
SEM ET-SOLVAY COMPANY

WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1331
duty of three-eighths of a cent a pound on soda ash, and three-fourths of
a cent on bi-carbonate of soda and caustic soda.
After the experimental stage was over the works became very pros-
perous, and it was upon the foundation thus laid that the immense chem-
ical plants at Wyandotte and Ford City were built. In 1895 the Solvay
Process Company of Syracuse, New York, purchased the old exposition
grounds of sixty-seven acres, with the buildings standing thereon, for a
manufacturing site, and Brady Island, just across the Rouge, comprising
232 acres, was added. They began the development of the salt beds
underlying Zug Island, and now this is much the largest industry in the
Delray district. -
The discoverers and patentees of the ammonia, or Solvay, process in
the Soda ash industry were two brothers, Ernest and Alfred Solvay, of
Brussels, Belgium, and the process was perfected in 1863. By this process,
ash, under ammonia treatment, is made from a purified solution of salt,
charged with ammonia and treated with purified carbonic acid. After
filtering and drying, it is ready for market as an exceedingly fine carbonate
of soda. This is used in bleaching, purification of oils, tanning of leather,
desulphurization of ores, purification of gas, scouring of wool, tempering
of steel and principally in the making of glass. It is an essential raw
material for soda, baking powder, borax, lye, paper, paint, soap and
varnish. These are just a few of the principal uses among hundreds for
the manufactured product.
The Solvay Process Company, the Semet Solvay Company, the Michi-
gan Alkali Company, the Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company,
and the Detroit Rock Salt Company are incorporated companies manu-
facturing soda ash and salt products in Detroit, Wyandotte and River
Rouge districts. In a period of good production the various industries
of this class in the down river district employ over ten thousand men,
with a product running high into the millions in value. This industry
has a national as well as a local significance and value. The year before
the companies mentioned commenced to put their product on the market
in quantities, Detroit imported 450,000,000 pounds of soda ash and ex-
ported none. In 1918 the city exported 238,435,000 pounds and imported
none. In the latter year, 97,378,000 pounds of caustic soda and 40,969,-
000 of other sodas were also exported. The manufacturing establish-
ments engaged in this industry in Wayne County are either a part of, or
controlled by, national corporations of vast extent.
THE SHIP BUILDING INDUSTRY
A “forty-niner,” who was first a miner and afterwards a vessel owner
and explorer along the coasts and up the rivers of California and Oregon,
told on his return to Detroit years afterwards of a queer craft which he
saw enter the harbor of San Francisco in the early '50s. The vessel was
built originally upon the lines common in those days for an ocean-going
schooner, but was flattened amidships as if pressed in an immense wise.
Examination showed that she had been shaved off on either side, so that
1332 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
for Some distance along the waist her lines were straight and parallel.
Inquiry brought out the fact that she was built in Detroit for ocean
travel, She proved to be too wide for the locks in the Welland Canal.
Accordingly, her master had her planed off inch by inch until she could
barely pass through the narrowest locks, the tightest squeeze, doubtless,
that any vessel ever had in that passageway. This was only one of the
ingenious devices employed by Detroit builders in an industry that de-
serves a place here, for boat and shipbuilding as classed in the govern-
ment tables as manufactories.
The founders of Detroit made the first approach to the site of their
settlement in bateaux and they and their successors have been engaged
in constructing some sort of river or lake craft ever since. They have
passed through all the successive steps from the canoe and the dugout
to the largest of modern craft, even to the steel ocean-going freighter.
Work at Detroit yards has included tugs, two, three and four masted
schooners, coarse freight wooden steamers, package freight and passenger
steamers with wooden hulls, steam barges, passenger ferry steamers, the
largest car ferries, iron and steel freighters of every class, ice crushers, a
floating drydock, pleasure yachts, and the finest side-wheel passenger
carriers that sail any waters.
The first merchant sail vessel was built here in 1769 and was called
the Enterprise. The Angelica, of forty-five tons, followed in 1771. In
1782 there were nine armed vessels afloat in these waters, all built in
Detroit and all in good order, the largest, a brig named the Gage, having
fourteen guns; the others were the Dunmore, Hope, Angelica, Felicity,
Faith, Wyandotte, Adventure, and a gun boat. In 1796 twelve merchant
vessels were owned here, as well as numerous brigs, sloops, and schooners.
In 1797 the United States schooner Wilkinson was built at Detroit under
the direction of Captain Curry. This boat was later renamed the Amelia
and became part of Commodore Perry’s squadron.
The Argo, in 1827, was the first steamer built in Detroit, followed in
1833 by the Michigan, built by Oliver Newberry. The Mayflower, owned
by the Michigan Central Railroad, was launched on the 16th of Novem-
ber, 1848. She was a vessel of 1,354 tons. The Mayflower sunk Decem-
ber 11, 1851, while steaming from Buffalo to Detroit, after having been
damaged by floating ice. Silas Farmer, in his “History of Detroit,” gives
a list of over 175 steamboats constructed at this port between 1827 and
1887.
The modern great ship building industry goes back in its roots to the
middle of the last century. The construction of drydocks began also
about the same time. The floating dock of O. M. Hyde was completed in
December, 1852, and at the same time the docks of the Detroit Dry Dock
Company were constructed at the foot of Orleans Street. Under the
names of G. Campbell & Company, Campbell & Owen, Detroit Dry Dock
Company, and the Detroit Shipbuilding Company, business was conducted
at the same location, the Wyandotte yard (established by E. B. Ward in
1872) having been added in 1879. The company was a part of the large
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1333
American Ship Building Company. It retained its old name, however,
and was last incorporated March 31, 1899, and had an authorized cap-
ital stock of $1,450,000. The Detroit plant at the foot of Orleans Street
covered fifteen acres and was equipped with docks, drydock and shops.
The Wyandotte plant, covering twenty-four acres along the river, had
two large building berths and shops. After the World War period the
Detroit Shipbuilding Company went out of business after many years of
success as a great corporation.
In 1863 the firm of Cowie, Hodge & Company commenced the building
of marine and other classes of engines at the foot of Rivard Street. Under
the successive names of Hodge & Christie, Samuel F. Hodge, and the
Riverside Iron Works, the same business was continued and expanded
until 1902, when the property was acquired by the Great Lakes En-
gineering Works. A shipyard was equipped at Ecorse, subsequently an-
other was purchased at St. Clair and the work of the Rivard Street shops
was turned almost entirely into marine channels. In 1910 the St. Clair
yards were abandoned and extensive works were commenced at Ash-
tabula, Ohio. In September, 1920, New York interests headed by An-
tonio C. Passano purchased the property of the Great Lakes Engineering
Works for $1,850,000.
Prior to the advent of the last-named company, Detroit had been sec-
Ond or third among the lake shipbuilding ports in the amount of work
turned out in any given year. But with the coming of the new company,
it jumped at once to the front rank. In 1905, the lake ship yards launched
thirty-one big freighters with a total tonnage of 285,400. Of these the
two Detroit companies were credited with fourteen and a tonnage of
134,400. The nearest competitors were the Cleveland companies, which,
at their yards in Cleveland and Lorain, launched ten vessels with a ton-
nage of 85,500. Amid various fluctuations in the demand for this kind
of tonnage, the Detroit companies have kept well to the front.
The season of 1911 brought an unique feature to lake shipbuilding.
This was in the form of contracts for the construction of steamers and
barges for the Atlantic trade. Two factors brought these contracts this
way. The first was the ability to build vessels of the type wanted more
quickly than the ocean ship yards were able to do it, and the other was
the lower cost at which the work could be done here. The vessels are
limited in size to the capacity of the Welland Canal. During 1917 and
1918 almost the entire construction work at both companies was in ves-
sels built under government direction, for ocean service.
RECENT HISTORY OF SHIPBUILDING
In an article prepared for the Detroit Legal News, in 1915, Charles B.
Warren, then president of the Board of Commerce, said:
“An industry in which Detroit has been pre-eminent for more than
half a century is that of shipbuilding. The first large vessel was launched
here in 1852. The first double-decked vessel for carrying ore was built
here. The first yard in the West for constructing iron hulls was located
1334 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
in Wyandotte. Vessel construction of every type known on the lakes has
been carried on in Detroit yards.
“During the booming years for the big freighters, 1905-15, Detroit
continued in the lead in this kind of construction. In 1907, the biggest
year of that period, its two largest shipbuilding companies launched
seventeen freighters with a total tonnage of 135,000, against a total of
85,500 for the next largest shipbuilding port on the lakes.
“Prior to 1915, the largest and best-equipped sidewheel steamers on
any waters were launched at the Wyandotte yards, and when eastern
builders wanted a passenger steamer of which they could boast they got
one with the label “Made in Detroit’.”
But it was precisely during those booming days that Detroit got SO
automobile-minded that all the capital Detroiters could rake and Scrape
for investment went into automobile and auto accessory manufacturing
COI) CéFIAS. *
One shipbuilding concern, however, the Great Lakes Enginering Com-
pany, held on. It started operations in Ecorse, in 1903. It lived through
the auto-investment period of Detroit, was fairly overwhelmed with
orders from the Government in 1917-18, and now is so strongly entrenched
in shipbuilding that it bids fair to be the first of several concerns to
bring back to Detroit its one-time glory as a shipbuilding center.
The company, located on 100 acres at Ecorse, is capitalized for $3,000,-
000. Its stock, all common, is issued to the extent of $2,112,000, and
it has $2,500,000 invested in the yards at Ecorse and in its engine works
at the foot of Rivard Street, Detroit. Its employment roster at present
is 700, with an annual payroll of $1,900,000.
Since the founding of the company in 1903, it has built 229 ships in
the Ecorse yards, and 45 in the branch yards at Ashtabula, Ohio.
At the yards in Ecorse there are now nine vessels under reconstruc-
tion. The Windsor and Walkerville ferry boats were built by this com-
pany, as was also the car ferry Detroit, of the Wabash Railroad, and the
Michigan Central Railroad’s steel tunnel under the Detroit River.
Between May and November, 1919, sixty-one ships went to ocean
Waters from the yards of the Great Lakes Engineering Company, and
the Petroit Shipbuilding Company, (the latter going out of business
after the World War). On September 21, of that year, the Great Lakes
Engineering Company was given the Government award for speed in
Shipbuilding, as the result of delivering the 3,500 dead-weight ton steel
Steamer, Crawl Keys, thirty-four calendar days after her keel was laid
down.
When you ride on one of the six palatial steamers of the Detroit &
Cleveland Navigation Company, that sail daily to Cleveland and Buffalo,
or go during the summer as one of the 6,000 passengers that might be
carried at Once in the company's lake boats (that’s about all of the sta-
tistics on that!—except that the D. & C. represents an investment of
$11,000,000) you will pass by the docks and yards of the Great Lakes
REAL ESTATE EXCHANGE
OLD PONTIAC TREE AT MICHIGAN STOVE WORKS IN 1881


WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1337
Engineering Company where any kind of ship the world wants built or
repaired can be delivered in record time.
It is the only shipbuilding concern in the Detroit area at present, but
Detroit is Surely coming back to its own as a center of this great indus-
try. Navigation to the sea is bound to come. Great steel production and
steel mills are opening. Shipping through the waterways of the Great
Lakes and the St. Lawrence will increase rapidly in the next quarter
century.
Detroit is in the middle position for both production and shipping.
DETROIT-WORLD'S STOVE-MAKING CENTER
Detroit ranks as the greatest stove-producing city in the world and
has held this position for nearly a half century. Cooking stoves and
ranges, heating Stoves, gas ranges and heaters, electric heaters, and fur-
naces of all kinds are manufactured in the city by three great companies,
two of them the largest in the world. The combined annual output of all
Detroit stove factories is approximately 600,000 stoves, ranges and fur-
naces. One company alone manufactures over four hundred different
models. The plants occupied by the companies cover over forty acres of
ground and the number of employes closely approaches the five thousand
mark.
The pioneer company of this group is the Detroit Stove Works, which
was first incorporated in 1864, and again in 1907. The beginning of
this company really dates back to 1861, when Jeremiah Dwyer, his brother
James, and Thomas W. Misner organized the J. Dwyer & Company. Jere-
miah Dwyer was a native of Brooklyn, where he was born in 1838, and
was brought to Detroit by his parents the same year. After his educa-
tion he eventually became an apprentice in the old Hydraulic Iron Works,
where he learned the trade of foundryman, and from this he stepped
into the stove manufacturing business, with which he remained prom-
inently identified until his death in January, 1920. The plant of this
small company first organized by Mr. Dwyer was located near the site
of the present Michigan Stove Company and the first stoves were sold
by personal solicitation among the residents of the city. Two years
after the organization, Misner's interest in the firm was purchased by
William H. Tefft, but the firm name remained the same. Within a few
years after his start, Mr. Dwyer became acquainted with Charles Du-
Charme, one of the wealthy Detroiters of that period and a member of
the firm of Buhl, DuCharme & Company, hardware dealers. From them,
J)wyer bought his pig iron and similar materials for the manufacture of
stoves. DuCharme influenced Dwyer to expand his business, consequently
in 1864 the Detroit Stove Works came into existence, the founders having
been Jeremiah Dwyer, James Dwyer, Merrill I. Mills, Edwin S. Barbour,
and William H. Tefft. In 1869 Mr. Jeremiah Dwyer sold out his interest
in this company on account of health and sojourned in the South until
1871, when he returned to Detroit. The Detroit Stove Works, when
1338 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Working at capacity, employed close to one thousand men. The “Jewell”
brand of stoves featured the output of this plant.
Jeremiah Dwyer and his brother were the first Michigan foundry-
men to apply engineering to the foundry trade. Before this, molders
in Detroit had worked by “rule of thumb.” William H. Keep, the first
mechanical engineer in foundry work in the state, introduced the use
of metal mixtures for stove molding, and was the first in Michigan to
develop the utilization of southern irons in mixtures for “thin plate”
molding.
After returning from his southern trip, with renewed health, Jere-
miah Dwyer again became active in business and in the autumn of 1861
brought about the incorporation of the Michigan Stove Company, in
association with Charles DuCharme, Francis Palms, Richard H. Long,
Merrill I. Mills, and George H. Barbour. The original executive officers
were: Charles DuCharme, president; Jeremiah Dwyer, vice president and
manager; Merrill I. Mills, treasurer; and George H. Barbour, Secretary.
Charles DuCharme died in January, 1873, and was succeeded in the presi-
dency by Francis Palms, who also retained the position until his death.
Jeremiah Dwyer was the next president and held the office until his de-
cease in 1920, whereupon George H. Barbour became the leading official.
The Michigan Stove Company began the actual manufacture of stoves
on September 12, 1872. The first year a small variety of models were
made, with sales valued at $300,000. In 1922, the annual production was
about three million five hundred thousand dollars worth of stoves, ranges
and furnaces, with more than four hundred models. The original plant
covered about five acres, while the present plant on East Jefferson Avenue
covers about sixteen acres. In 1922 the plant capacity was 150,000 an–
nually and the number of employes was approximately one thousand two
hundred. Soon after the organization of the company, all of the products
were trade-marked under the name of “Garland.” The products first
sold in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, but now they are sold throughout
the United States and Canada. The company was first capitalized for
$300,000, but the capitalization was $3,000,000 in 1923.
The Peninsular Stove Company was incorporated March 23, 1881, and
reincorporated in 1903. The plant was located at the corner of Fort and
Eighth streets. The original officers of this company were: W. B. Moran,
president; W. N. Carpenter, vice president; James Dwyer, general man-
ager; Robert McD. Campau, Secretary; and Clarence Carpenter, treas-
urer. It is recorded that in 1883 the company made 273 varieties of
Stoves, ranges and furnaces, producing 20,000 articles. In the first year
of its existence, the company shipped its product to sixteen states, which
territory has now grown to cover the entire United States and Canada.
The company in 1923 had a capitalization of about $3,000,000 and its
officers were the following: John M. Dwyer, chairman of the board; F. T.
Moran, president; J. M. Dwyer, vice president; Daniel T. Crowley, vice
president and general manager; Edwin L. Dwyer, treasurer; Albert E.
Dwyer, purchasing agent; Alfred B. Moran, secretary; F. C. Moran, man-
MICHIGAN STOVE COMPANY
S**t
º, es

WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1341
ager furnace department. Approximately one thousand men were em-
ployed by the Peninsular Stove Company during the good seasons.
The Art Stove Company was incorporated in 1888 and in 1923 was
capitalized for $600,000. This concern manufactured “Laurel” stoves,
ranges and furnaces. The officers were: William A. Dwyer, president;
John O. Campbell, vice president and general manager; Harry C. Ken-
dall, treasurer; and Hugh Ledyard, secretary.
The Detroit Vapor Stove Company, incorporated in 1894 and located
at 12345 Kercheval Avenue, manufactures what is probably the best
oil cook stove on the market, with a yearly production of 100,000 stoves.
About five hundred employes are retained at the height of production,
and the officers of the company in recent years were: John S. Sherman,
president; Edwin P. Harms, vice president and secretary; George H.
Harms, treasurer; and A. G. Sherman, manager. The capital stock au-
thorized is $450,000.
THE STOVE-MARING INDUSTRY TODAY
At the present time the two largest stove-making industries are the
Peninsular Stove Company, and the Detroit-Michigan Stove Company.
The latter company is a result of a merger, completed in 1925, of the
Detroit Stove Works and the Michigan Stove Company; the Art Stove
Company in the meantime, 1923, having been absorbed by the Detroit
Stove Works, -
The general offices of the Detroit-Michigan Stove Company are lo-
cated at 6900 East Jefferson Avenue, and the offices of the Peninsular
Company are at Fort Street and Trumbull Avenue.
In addition to the two largest stove manufacturing companies in the
world there are in Detroit at the present time numerous heating-equip-
ment companies, with an immense annual output of products. There
are nine companies making industrial furnaces and ovens; five companies
make oil-burners; four make radiators; eight make furnaces, ranges and
heating supplies; and four companies manufacture water-heaters.
THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY
Detroit ranks first in the value of its manufactured pharmaceutical
products. Having at least two companies of world-wide reputation, the
manufacture of drugs and kindred products is as distinctive to the City
of Detroit as the making of automobiles, stoves or adding machines.
The most notable of the pioneers in the drug-manufacturing business
was Frederick Stearns. Mr. Stearns came here from Buffalo in January,
1855, and in April following established himself in the retail drug trade
with L. E. Higby, and later acquired the entire ownership. Mr. Stearns
was ambitious to become a pharmaceutical manufacturer and he first
undertook the work in a limited way in 1856, with one room, a cooking
stove, and one girl as an assistant. He marketed his own products by
canvassing the towns along the railroads west of Detroit and soon built
up a reputation which warranted the addition of steam power and mºl).
I342 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
ing and extracting machinery, much of which was of his own invention.
Twice his establishment was destroyed by fire, but he persisted and each
time repaired his losses and started anew. In addition to his manufac-
turing, he continued his retail drug business. He was an enemy of the
patent medicine, which he knew to be based upon quackery, and in 1876
he created the idea of counteracting trade of this type by putting up
ready-made preparations, or prescriptions, suitable and useful for com-
mon ailments, with the formula plainly inscribed upon the label, also
simple directions for its use. This departure was then known as the
“New Idea.” It was immediately successful and soon he built up a large
trade through the drug stores of the United States and Canada.
While he began with a single room, twelve feet square, in 1856, he was
constantly forced to increase his facilities until eventually his manufac-
turing establishment covered four acres of floor space, while his employes
numbered over four hundred in addition to thirty-five traveling sales-
men. His retail business, which had at first yielded about $16,000 yearly,
constituted the nucleus of a trade which sometimes brought him more
than that sum daily. His patronage also came from the West Indies, the
Spanish-American republics, and Australia. In 1881 he disposed of his
retail business, which at that time was the largest in Michigan, and in
1882 incorporated the manufacturing enterprise under the name of Fred-
erick Stearns & Company, for the accommodation of which he erected a
plant at the corner of Twenty-first and Marquette streets. He continued
actively in the management until 1887, when he turned this duty over
to his sons, Frederick K. and William L., and retired to well-earned rest
and the opportunity to gratify his desire for study and travel. Mr.
Stearns died January 13, 1907. The present building erected at 6533
East Jefferson for the accommodation of the rapidly-growing business
was occupied in February, 1900.
In addition to the making of drugs, the company manufactures a high-
class and complete line of toilet preparations, the best known of which
are marketed under the trade name of “Day Dream” products. The
officers of the company in 1923 were: Frederick K. Stearns, chairman of
the board; Willard Ohliger, president and general manager; Frederick
S. Stearns, treasurer and first vice president; David M. Gray, secretary
and second vice president. On the death of Frederick K. Stearns in 1924,
Frederick S. Stearns, grandson of the founder, became chairman of the
Board Of Directors.
On May 7, 1867, Dr. Samuel P. Duffield, Harvey C. Parke and George
S. Davis Organized a company under the name of Duffield, Parke & Com-
pany, and prepared to engage in the manufacturing of pharmaceutical
preparations. Their first laboratory was established at the corner of
Henry Street and Cass Avenue. In 1869 Dr. August F. Jennings suc-
ceeded Doctor Duffield as a member of the firm, and the title was then
changed to Parke, Jennings & Company. In 1871 Doctor Jennings re-
tired and William H. Stevens and John R. Grout became special partners.
With this change came the present firm name—Parke, Davis & Company.
-- º: º
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-----
FREDERICK STEARNS & COMPANY
PARKE, DAVIS & COMPANY















WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1345
Under this title the business was incorporated January 14, 1875, with
an authorized capital stock of $125,000, which has since been increased
to $12,000,000. The first board of directors and incorporators consisted
of Harvey C. Parke, George S. Davis, John R. Grout, William H. Stevens
and Harry Tillman. Mr. Parke was president, Mr. Davis, the secretary,
and Mr. Tillman treasurer. The quarters at Cass and Henry soon be-
came too small and in 1873 a new site was secured on the east half of the
block bounded by Joseph Campau, Guoin, McDougall and Atwater. Upon
this site a two-story brick building was erected. From time to time
this tract has been added to and new buildings constructed as the require-
ments of the growing business demanded. Nearly twenty acres of floor
Space are occupied by the company. The number of employes ranges
between two thousand and two thousand seven hundred and fifty. The
company sets forth that they are manufacturers of pharmaceutical prod-
ucts, new chemicals, digestive ferments, empty capsules and other gela-
fine products, pressed herbs, etc., propagators of vaccines, serums, anti-
toxins, and importers of crude vegetable drugs and oils. Branch
laboratories in 1923 were maintained in London, England, in Canada
and in New South Wales, and branch houses are located in England,
Canada, Australia, Russia, India, Brazil, Cuba and Japan.
Today the Parke, Davis & Company has laboratories in London, (estab-
lished forty years ago), Sydney, Bombay, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires,
Mexico City, Santiago, Havana, Walkerville, and in sixteen other cities
in the United States besides Detroit. +
The partners incorporated in 1875, with paid-in capital of $81,905.
The present assets of the company run into many millions. The plant,
at the foot of McDougall Avenue, on the Detroit River, is the largest
of its kind in the world.
Nelson, Baker & Company, also devoted to the manufacture of phar-
maceutical preparations, was founded in the late ’80s by E. H. Nelson.
In 1893 the company erected a laboratory on Lafayette Avenue and Brook-
lyn and this original home has been enlarged to suit the growth of the
company. The company manufactures full and complete lines of phar-
maceutical preparations. Incorporation of the company occurred in 1889
and now the authorized capital stock is $1,000,000. The officers of late
years are: Edwin H. Nelson, president; Alfred Lucking, vice president;
Frank W. Keyser, general manager; J. S. Black, secretary, and C. R.
Burrell, treasurer. An average of two hundred and fifty people are em-
ployed by this company. -
It is true that automobiles alone, the bulk of which are made in the
Detroit area, account for 12 per cent of the country’s total export. But
in Detroit, drugs and medicines were manufactured nearly a half century
before the automobile, and the three large pharmaceutical concerns here
sketched merely head the list, in age and size, of the total fifty-five con-
cerns in this area manufacturing drugs and druggists' Sundries.
In 1929, the volume of business by pharmaceutical manufacturers in
Detroit was more than $50,000,000, easily leading any other city in the
1346 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
world. The number of employes in the industry was approximately
4,000.
In the Detroit area there are the following additional manufacturers
of drugs and supplies in the field of medicine and related practice:—28
companies making druggists sundries, medicines, etc.; 20 companies mak-
ing toilet preparations; 5 companies making surgical instruments, and
16 companies manufacturing dental supplies.
PAINT AND WARNISH INDUSTRY
The manufacture of paints and varnishes and kindred products has,
from a very early day, carried the name and reputation of Detroit
throughout the United States and foreign countries. There are several
companies at the present time engaged in this class of manufacturing.
The oldest and most important of these is the firm of Berry Brothers,
known for over a half century wherever varnishes and allied products
are marketed. The manufacture of varnish in itself is an absorbing
Story.
Fine varnishes are combinations of copal gum, linseed oil and tur-
pentine. The gum is melted and the solvents added while the gum is in
liquified form, after which the mixture is strained, filtered and consigned
to huge tanks for a prolonged sojourn to get ripe and mellow.
Copal is of vegetable origin, being the fossilized resin of an extinct
race of trees and is found in places now treeless and barren, at depths
ranging from two to twelve feet or more, in Africa, New Zealand, the
Philippines, the Baltic, and other parts of the world.
The usual method of procuring the gum is very primitive. With a
Spear sharp enough to penetrate the ground the digger prods the soil
until it encounters something hard. He then digs with his spade, and
although the obstruction is not always gum, he is often rewarded with
the desired prize, and keeps on digging anyhow. While not the most
lucrative job in the world, the industrious gum digger earns a satisfac-
tory income. Copal gums differ widely in hardness, and also in color,
which ranges from transparent white to a very dark brown. The varia-
tions in the grades of gum, and the proportions of gum, linseed oil and
turpentine used in varnish-making determine the adaptability of varnish
for various uses. Substitutions of inferior materials for copal gum,
linseed oil and turpentine, and the use of adulterants, produce poor and
unsatisfactory varnish.
The firm of Berry Brothers rose from the most humble origin, the
business having been established in 1858 by Joseph H. and Thomas Berry,
On an extremely modest scale. The infant industry speedily grew into
lusty manhood, however, and has kept on growing until the present mam-
moth factory is one of the show places of Detroit.
The first factory used in 1858 was just a frame shack with a brick
chimney, located on the Detroit River where they are still situated. The
site of this old building is now occupied by some of their large storage
BERRY BROTHERS PLANT

WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1349
Warehouses. At their private dock on which these warehouses are built,
they ship and receive goods by the big lake freighters.
They soon outgrew the cramped conditions and meager facilities of
the little shack, and the steadily growing demand for their varnishes
necessitated larger quarters. In the early '60s the little frame shack
gave place to a substantial group of brick buildings that not only had
the appearance of a real varnish factory, but as a matter of fact formed
a very completely equipped little plant.
It was here that “Hard Oil Finish” was born, an interior finish that
Berry Brothers originated and christened, and which became world
famous. It is now known as Luxeberry Wood Finish, a registered trade
name they adopted many years ago to protect buyers against numerous
inferior varnishes having no fixed standard of quality or price, and
wrongfully called “Hard Oil Finish.”
A new factory building completed in the ’70s, showed a remarkable
expansion both in the manufacturing equipment and storage capacity. It
was a large up-to-date factory for that period, including ample gum melt-
ing facilities, a four-story main building, and several substantial smaller
buildings for raw material and manufacturing purposes.
This factory met with disaster, the main four-story structure hav-
ing been completely destroyed by fire in 1877. New buildings were
started while the ruins of the old plant were still smoldering, and busi-
ness was continued without interruption.
In the '80s the factory was again greatly enlarged, the equipment at
that time consisting of two extensive batteries of kettles, larger and more
Substantial buildings, greatly increased storage capacity and improved
shipping facilities. The side track in front of the factory, and the Detroit
River at the rear, give rail and water transportation right at the fac-
tory doors.
In the early ’90s expansion was again necessary, and extensive addi-
tions were made to the plant, affording facilities for a greatly augmented
output. Ten years later, the volume of business again necessitated en-
largement.
The popularity and success of the house of Berry Brothers rests upon
a number of solid foundation stones. They have introduced and mar-
keted many finishes that have become staple commodities in varnish
using circles.
Prominent among the architectural finishes they have introduced are
the “Luxeberry” line, embracing wood finishes, spar varnish, wall fi-
nishes, cement coating, enamels, etc. Other architectural finishes that
are universally known and used are Liquid Granite floor varnish, Berry-
craft stain finish, Lacklustre, Dulgloss finish, Lusterlo, Lionoil, and
Shingletint, all of which are Berry Brothers’ exclusive products.
They are equally prominent in the production of finishes used in the
Various manufacturing industries, and especially in connection with the
automobile trade where their Raven Japans are in great demand for
producing the black lustrous surfaces seen on pleasure cars.
1350 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Besides varnish, Berry Brothers manufacture a line of coach colors,
fillers, surfacers, etc., and operate what is said to be the largest shellac
bleaching plant in the world.
The geographical ramifications of Berry Brothers embrace in addition
to the factory at Detroit, a complete factory and storage facilities at
Walkerville, Canada, and representatives and branch offices in Great
Britain, Europe, Australia, Cuba, and South America.
The home affiliations consist of eight branch offices and warehouses
in the United States, and the general administration building in Detroit
consists of six large private offices, and a spacious main office in which
the entire factory of 1858 could be exhibited as a curio. A more tangible
idea of the magnitude of this plant will be conveyed from the fact that
the little frame shack of 1858 has grown into an aggregation of forty-
eight buildings which comprise the present manufacturing plant. The
little thirty-gallon melting kettle first used has been retired and is now
represented by three batteries of kettles numbering forty-five in all, hav-
ing a combined capacity of 11,500 gallons at a single batch, and in the
storage tanks is maintained a million and a half gallons of varnish. The
daily normal capacity in the shellac department is 15,000 pounds of
bleached shellac, and 5,000 gallons of cut shellac.
The death of Mr. Joseph H. Berry some years ago, and the more recent
passing of Mr. Thomas Berry, although a sad loss to their many friends
and employes, had no lasting effect on the standing or conduct of the
business, except such official changes as became necessary, and today the
company is doing the largest business in its history.
All the old traditions upon which the house of Berry Brothers was
built are preserved and maintained by the company. The business policies
are also earnestly supplemented by the various heads of departments,
many of whom have been connected with the house for long periods of
years, and whose interest in the successful conduct of the business is
based upon personal regard for the house as much as for interested mO-
tives, and with such an “esprit de corps” no house can do otherwise than
proSper.
In 1923 the personnel of the house of Berry Brothers was: Frederick
L. Colby, president; Edward W. Pendleton, vice president; William R.
Carnegie, treasurer and general manager.
Berry Brothers was last incorporated December 31, 1913, and has an
authorized capitalization of $3,000,000.
The Detroit White Lead Works dates back to 1865, when J. H. Worces-
ter established on Jones Street, between Third and Fourth, a small fac-
tory in which he began operations under the title of the Detroit White
Lead & Color Works. After a failure, Worcester again took up the
Work and continued until 1880, when Col. Fordyce H. Rogers purchased
the entire plant, and organized the Detroit White Lead Works, which
was incorporated December 22, 1880, with a capital stock of $50,000.
The original president of the company was F. D. C. Hinchman. On Feb-
ruary 27, 1896, the factory was destroyed by fire, but was rebuilt upon .
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1351
a more extensive scale on Milwaukee Avenue. Operations in the new
plant were begun November 6, 1896. The company was reincorporated
in 1910, with an authorized capitalization of $300,000.
The Acme White Lead & Color Works, now owned by the Sherwin-
Williams interests of Cleveland, Ohio, and located at St. Aubin and the
Michigan Central Railroad, had its beginning in 1884, when William L.
Davies and Thomas Neal started in business in a small rented building
on the old “circus grounds” on the Jones Farm, in the vicinity of Grand
River Avenue and Fourth Street. Neal and a paint-maker were the only
employes then. In the second year, Albert E. F. White and H. Kirke
White became financially interested in the concern, and at the end of the
year an additional building was secured. This was the beginning of a
growth which was scarcely interrupted. New buildings were added and
the capital stock increased as the growing trade warranted. The com-
pany was first incorporated in December, 1884. In March, 1920, as
stated before, the Acme White Lead & Color Works was purchased by
Sherwin-Williams of Cleveland, but the old name was retained for trade
purposes, although a new corporate title of Motor City Paint Company
was adopted. The most recent incorporation was January 6, 1920, at
which time a reduction in the capital stock was authorized. This com-
pany, which employs about 400 people, manufactures lead products, paints,
enamels, stains, varnishes and colors.
The Detroit Graphite Company, located at 550 Twelfth Street, manu-
facturers of ready-mixed paints for exterior and interior use in the
protection of metal surfaces from corrosion, was organized in 1892,
chiefly through the efforts of Alexander A. Boutell, secretary of the
Chamber of Commerce and treasurer of the Baraga Graphite Company,
Owners of graphite deposits in the Upper Peninsula. The first officers
of the company were: A. G. Boynton, president; Ralzemond A. Parker,
vice president; Alexander A. Boutell, treasurer and general manager;
William F. Monroe, secretary. The first plant was located on Twelfth
Street, near Fort, and for the first four years little progress was made.
However, in 1896, the company got its products before the Ordnance de-
partments of the United States Army and Navy, and after the most
rigid tests, they were adopted by the Government for general use in both
branches. This insured the success of the company and the growth has
been steady since that time, with a consequent increase of plant facilities.
The company was reincorporated in 1907 and now has an authorized
capitalization of $1,100,000. The company was the first to use graphite
as a material in paint manufacture and the process is now covered by
a patent. In addition to the above, there are nearly fifty other companies
making paints and allied products in the City of Detroit.
THE BURROUGHS ADDING MACHINE
There is no story in American industrial history more absorbing, more
replete with human interest, than the story of the inventor of the adding
machine and his years of disheartening labor to perfect his creation. The
1352 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
immense manufactory known as the Burroughs Adding Machine Com-
pany, with its 12,000 employes, its vast organization, and its yearly out-
put of over 125,000 calculating machines, is built upon the dreams, the
ambitions, the creative genius and the struggles of one man, whose name
is now perpetuated in the title of the company.
William Seward Burroughs was the son of a mechanic and was born
in Rochester, New York, January 28, 1857. While he was still a lad, his
parents moved to Auburn, New York, where he and his brothers were
educated in the public schools. According to the father’s desire that his
youngest son should choose a “gentleman’s” vocation, young Burroughs,
after his graduation from high school, entered the Cayuga County Na-
tional Bank of Auburn as a clerk. This was not in accordance with the
young man’s wishes, for he had a natural love and talent for mechanics
and the boredom and monotony of clerical life weighed heavily upon him.
Seven years in the bank caused his health to break and he was forced
to resign.
During the time he was employed in the bank, Burroughs had recog-
nized the need of some system or device to relieve the tiresome duties
of a bank clerk. A mechanism for this purpose did not at once assume
form in his mind, but the germ of the idea was created. In 1882, when
he was in his twenty-fifth year, Burroughs went to St. Louis, Missouri,
where he obtained a job in a machine shop. These new surroundings,
which appealed to him more, hastened the development of the idea he had
in mind and the tools of his new craft gave him the opportunity to put
into tangible form the first conception of the adding machine. Accuracy
was the foundation of his work. No ordinary materials were good enough
for his creation. His drawings were made on metal plates which could
not stretch or shrink by the smallest fraction of an inch. He worked
with hardened tools, sharpened to finest points, and when he struck a
center or drew a line, it was done under a microscope. His drawings
are today a marvel of accuracy.
Burroughs gave up his regular employment and looked around for
a small, well-equipped shop where he could rent bench space and obtain
an assistant to carry on his work. He finally located the shop of Joseph
Boyer, at 244 Dickson Street, where he set up his tools and started out
to make the adding machine commercially practical. His funds soon dis-
appeared, but the development of the idea did not lag, the chief reason
being that Burroughs had met Joseph Boyer, who, next to the inventor
himself, was the greatest factor in making the present industry a possi-
bility.
Seldom has an inventor with a great idea been compelled to struggle
under such conditions as faced Burroughs during the time he was de-
veloping his ideas for the first practical adding machine. With every
penny of his own money and all he could borrow spent, he still fought
on. He set out himself to raise money by the sale of stock in the projected
enterprise. With this money he would then begin his experiments again,
but about the time he was well under way, the bottom would drop out
BURROUGHS ADDING MACHINE COMPANY

WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1355
of the treasury. However, at the Boyer shop, activities continued un-
abated in Spite of these obstacles. A small organization was built up,
which made in brass the adding machine parts, which the inventor de-
sired. Finally, in the latter part of 1884, the first model of the machine
was displayed and was the basis for the Burroughs patents, which were
secured in 1885.
There now came a protracted period of new discouragements. The
first machines proved unsatisfactory, principally because the human equa-
tion had not been taken into account. One person would operate with
a heavier touch than another, consequently the results obtained on the
machine varied. The stockholders complained and the general opinion
was formed that the new machine was a failure. But the setback was
Only a Whip to Burroughs’ determination. He began work again not-
withstanding the fact that he was upon the verge of a physical break-
down. In fact, he did all of his earlier work under the handicap of grad-
ually declining health. He knew himself and his endurance as well as
he knew the ultimate value of his brain-child, so in feverish desperation
he set about to remedy the defect in his first model. At his bench he
toiled for hours, without food or sleep, and on the morning of the third
day he had eliminated the one great defect of an automatic controller, or
dashpot, substantially the same as is used today on all adding machines.
With this addition, the machine became practical, in that it could be
operated by even a novice.
Then came the problem of manufacturing and selling the machines.
In January, 1888, there was organized at St. Louis the American Arith-
mometer Company, which was incorporated with a capital stock of $100,-
000. The original officers were: Thomas Metcalfe, president; William S.
Burroughs, vice president; Richard M. Scruggs, treasurer; and A. H. B.
Oliver, secretary. William R. Pye was also one of the original stock-
holders. A contract was entered into with the Boyer Machine Company
for the manufacture of the device, the selling operations were established
and from time to time different models were put out, the beginning of
the long line of models now manufactured. Twice, while in St. Louis,
the company was compelled to enlarge its floor space, in order to fill the
increasing number of orders for the machines.
In 1904 conditions seemed to favor the removal of the plant from St.
Louis. Trade union domination in that city was a restriction upon the
proper development of the concern, also Joseph Boyer used his influence
to accomplish this removal to a more advantageous location. Special
trains brought the machinery, together with 253 families, to Detroit,
arriving here in the afternoon. By means of arrangements made through
the real estate committee of the Board of Commerce, most of the people
were comfortably housed the same night, many of them in places which
they afterwards bought. This was one of the most remarkable “hegiras”
in manufacturing history.
The Burroughs Adding Machine Company, organized in Detroit, was
incorporated in January, 1905, and succeeded the American Arithmometer
1356 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Company. The first buildings in Detroit, located at Second Avenue and
Amsterdam Street, contained 70,304 square feet of floor space, but the
increase in production and sales has been such that these quarters have
been enlarged from time to time until now there are 1,000,000 square
feet of floor space in the Detroit factory alone. The first officers of the
new company were: Joseph Boyer, president; Henry Wood, of St. Louis,
vice president; Benjamin G. Chapman, secretary and treasurer; Alvan
Macauley, general manager. New models were continually added. Con-
spicuous among these were the electric drive, developed in 1905; the
Duplex machine, put on the market in 1910; automatic carriages, intro-
duced to meet the demand for cross tabulating of numbers and amounts,
and a long line of sutbtracting, bookkeeping and calculating machines.
Burroughs himself did not live to see the wonderful development of
his invention and its tremendous popularity, but he did live to see hun-
dreds of practical machines of the early model used in the banks of the
country, and to reap a substantial reward from his original holdings in
the company. His death occurred September 14, 1898.
Joseph Boyer became president of the old company in 1902 and of
the new company upon its organization, and so continued until 1920.
Alvan Macauley became general manager of the business in 1902 and was
actively in charge of it until 1910 when he became associated with the
Packard Motor Car Company. He was succeeded by Andrew J. Lauver.
Benjamin G. Chapman, also in 1902, became director and was elected
Secretary and treasurer, serving the old and the new companies suc-
cessively in that capacity until his retirement from business in 1920. In
1913 Claiborne W. Gooch, formerly European manager, became a direc-
tor and the active vice president, in which capacity he was in charge of
the business until 1920. In January, 1920, Standish Backus, a promi-
ment attorney of Detroit, who had for several years been a vice president
and a member of the board, was elected president and became active in
the business, while Joseph Boyer became chairman of the board, retain-
ing, however, his active interest in the business.
The company now has an issued capital stock amounting to $24,-
750,000 par value, and an authorized capital stock of $30,000,000. It
controls the following subsidiary companies: Burroughs Adding Ma-
chine Limited, a British corporation which conducts the manufacturing
and selling activities of the company in Great Britain and under whose
Supervision its European operations are directed; Burroughs Machines
Limited and Burroughs Adding Machine of Canada Limited, two Cana-
dian corporations which supply the Canadian and part of the foreign
demand; Societe Anonyme Burroughs which operates with headquarters
at Paris, France; Societa Italiana Addizionatrice Burroughs, with head-
quarters at Milan, Italy; Sociedad Anonima Burroughs, with headquar-
ters at Barcelona, Spain; the General Adding Machine Exchange, Inc.,
and the Moon-Hopkins Company. The business of the Moon-Hopkins
Billing Machine Company, of St. Louis, Mo., was acquired in 1921 and its
product added to the long line of Burroughs models.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1357
Besides its Detroit factory the company owns and operates manufac-
turing plants in Windsor, Ontario, and Nottingham, England. In nor-
mal times the company affords employment to upwards of 10,000 per-
Sons. The Selling organization reaches into nearly all civilized countries
with agencies in some 400 important business centers of the world, of
which more than half are in the United States.
At the January meeting in 1921 the following officers were elected :
Joseph Boyer, chairman of the board of directors; Standish Backus,
president; C. W. Gooch, first vice president; B. G. Chapman, vice presi-
dent; F. H. Dodge, vice president and general manager; A. J. Lauver,
treasurer; G. W. Evans, secretary, and L. A. Farquhar, comptroller.
THE STORY OF DETROIT'S GREATEST INDUSTRY
A motion picture of any business street in the world would reveal a
Detroit-made car. Although not the birthplace of the first automobile,
Detroit was the foster-mother of the infant industry and nurtured it
through the first months of tribulation. However, this same infant was a
husky one, a prodigy, and quickly grew to maturity. The rise of the
automobile industry is one of the romances of modern business and in
Detroit it found its best expression.
The first gasoline auto driven on the streets of Detroit was by Charles
B. King in 1894. The car had four cylinders and a speed of about twenty
miles per hour. Henry Ford came out with his car about a year later.
He was at this time an engineer in the Edison Company and lived in an
humble cottage on Bagley Avenue. In a shed at the rear of his home
his first car was put together, some of the parts for which were donated
by King. The last-named did not follow up his invention for some years;
eventually he organized the King Motor Company, which put out the
pioneer eight-cylinder car.
A number of cities have laid claim to the honor of having been the
home of the first horseless carriage and many of them have advanced
facts which have seemed convincing, but upon analysis of the early days
of the industry, if it might have been so called, it appears that the first
commercially practical car had its origin at Lansing, Michigan, and was
built by Ransom E. Olds, whose popular curved-dash, $650 Oldsmobile is
well remembered. However, this odd little car was not Mr. Olds’ first.
Ransom E. Olds was a native of Geneva, Ohio, where he was born
June 3, 1864. He received a common school and business education and
in 1885 purchased an interest in his father’s shop, a small affair, but
which was the home of the first practical automobile. In this shop he
built a vehicle which would run under its own power supplied by steam
generated by gasoline. This was in September, 1886. Mr. Olds usually
chose the early hours of the morning for experimentation in the open,
for then he had the street to himself and there were fewer horses to scare,
also fewer people to give vocal expression to their sense of humor. Mr.
Thurlow Pope, in a paper prepared at the request of and read before the
1858 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society and later published in the Michi-
gam Manufacturer and Financial Record, states in part:
“In 1886 Ransom E. Olds built a car at Lansing, and the record bears
out the statement that this car was bought, sold and used for practical
purposes, which is the true beginning of the automobile for commercial
purposes in the world. * * * In a comparatively brief sketch it is
well, in order to avoid misleading ideas, to keep in mind the difference
between the automobile as an experiment, a toy for the rich only, and the
automobile in its relation to trade and commerce. Michigan's claim is not
to the birthplace of the automobile idea, but to the birthplace of the
automobile as a practical element in progress—in short, the place of
Origin of a vehicle which could be built within the limits of trade prices.
The inventive genius of Ransom E. Olds brought forth through years of
obscurity, poverty and hard work a machine which moved without the
help of an animal and in which gasoline was used as a means of power, in
September, 1886.
“H. L. Barber, in his book ‘The Story of the Automobile,’ makes the
statement that the first commercial transaction in automobiles was the
sale of a car by Alexander Winton to Robert Allison of Port Carbon, Pa.,
in 1898. The data for automobile history is very scarce and Mr. Barber’s
statement should be corrected while proof is still extant, for the immense
industry will some day demand its historian. The above error, which is
unintentional, should of course be excused, but at the same time the facts
should be supplied to show where Mr. Barber is mistaken.
“Mr. Olds strengthened and improved his invention very much in the
Succeeding six years, and proved his success to such an extent that the
Scientific American, which was probably our foremost mechanical jour-
nal of that day, sent a representative to Lansing, who after due trial
and testing wrote an extended article for his magazine describing the
machine in detail. The car was used for practical purposes during the
years it was being improved and in 1893 was sold by Mr. Olds to the
Frances Times Company, of London. The transaction took place in New
York City, completing the first automobile transaction as an act of com-
merce. The car was afterward shipped to one of the Times company’s
branches at Bombay, where it saw service for a number of years. This,
then, we may pass to history’s record as the first commercial dealing in
an industry which, during the generation which created it and within the
lifetime of the man who invented and built the car, was to pass from a
business of $500 to a business involving thousands of millions.”
Olds continued his experimentation until 1894, when he evolved a
gasoline-driven car instead of his old steam-powered machine. In 1896,
E. W. Sparrow, of Lansing, became interested in the new invention of
Olds and persuaded S. L. Smith and Henry Russel to invest some money
in the new proposition. The result was the organization in 1896 of the
Olds Motor Vehicle Company, with a capital stock of $5,000.
During this time other experiments were being made in different
parts of the country. The Selden machine was being perfected in the
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1359
East. Charles E. Duryea was tinkering with a gasoline machine in
Springfield, Massachusetts, and he, with his brother Frank, organized the
Duryea Motor Wagon Company, which was the first automobile company
in America. Elwood Haynes' first car had been built in the shop of the
Apperson Brothers in Kokomo, Indiana, and Alexander Winton, Cleve-
land manufacturer of bicycles had made a motor-bicycle in 1893 and his
first motor car in 1895. Following the example of Duryea, who put his
car on exhibition with Barnum & Bailey’s circus, Olds placed his car on
view at county fairs in 1898 and 1899.
Then came the construction of the first automobile factory in Detroit.
Mr. Olds journeyed to New York City and Newark, New Jersey, to in-
terest eastern capital in the manufacture of his car. He was received
with hospitality and invited to look over proposed sites in Newark but
when it came to the actual putting up of cash, the easterners were a bit
reluctant, and Olds returned west. En route to Lansing, he stopped in
Detroit, where he met S. L. Smith, wealthy copper mine owner. The
latter let it be known that he had money to invest in the business, also
wished to start his two sons, Frederick L. and Angus S., into business
life. The result was that Mr. Olds consented to remain in Detroit, and
the Olds Motor Works was incorporated as a reorganization of the Olds
Motor Vehicle Company and the Olds Gas Engine Works of Lansing,
with a capital stock of $350,000, of which $150,000 was paid in. S. L.
Smith and Henry Russel supplied most of the capital, and Frederick L.
and Angus S. Smith became officials in the new company. The first De-
troit factory of this company was located on Jefferson Avenue on the
site of the present Morgan & Wright Building. This was the first auto-
mobile factory in the city.
Mr. Olds, Mr. Smith and others went to New York City to arrange for
the distribution of their cars in the eastern markets. At the same time
Roy D. Chapin drove one through under its own power to prove the dura-
bility of the car, also the driver. Space for exhibiting the car was se–
cured in Madison Square Garden. A. G. Spalding & Company had previ-
ously agreed to operate the New York agency for the car, but at the last
moment failed to do so, and R. M. Owen and Roy Rainey secured the
agency for both New York and Ohio. The first year they sold 750 cars
in New York alone. This first car manufactured by the Detroit company
was designed to sell for $1,250, but despite the fact that it embodied many
new mechanical features it was not a success, but was the forerunner of
the popular-priced, “curved-dash” car which Mr. Olds designed and placed
On the market for $650. In 1900 about four hundred of these novel cars
were manufactured and in 1901, so fast had the demand grown, that
four thousand of them were built. At this time other manufacturers in
the country such as Winton, the Pierce-Arrow, E. R. Thomas, Haynes, the
Locomobile, Colonel Packard, F. B. Stearns, Clark Brothers and Nordyke
& Marmon, were producing cars, but in numbers very small compared to
the Olds production. This little runabout hit the popular fancy and the
1360 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
promoters reaped a bountiful reward. It was not long until the capital
stock had been increased by stock dividends from $350,000 to $2,000,000.
This phenomenal success of the Olds Motor Works brought immediate
fame to Detroit and gave the city a flying start toward the goal of being
the foremost automobile manufacturing city on the globe. Not only that,
but it developed a group of men who were destined to be leaders in the
motor industry, many of them to be founders of gigantic manufactories of
their own. Among these men we recognize such names as Henry M.
Leland, Horace E. and John F. Dodge, Roy D. Chapin, Howard E. Coffin,
B. F. Everitt, William E. Metzger, Benjamin Briscoe, J. D. Maxwell, R. B.
Jackson, J. J. Brady, Charles B. Wilson, H. T. Thomas, Frederick O. Ben-
zer, Charles D. Hastings and Charles B. King. The Olds plant on Jef-
ferson Avenue was not a manufacturing institution in the sense that we
now recognize the term. It was simply an assembling plant. The Leland
& Faulconer Machine shop, for instance, contracted to supply the motors
for the runabout; the Dodges made the transmissions, the Briscoe Manu-
facturing Company made the radiators. William E. Metzger was the first
sales agent for the company.
A frequent and interested visitor to the Olds works in those days
was Henry Ford, who was building a machine of his own. In 1901 the
Henry Ford Automobile Company was formed, but Ford soon dropped out,
and in 1903 the present Ford Motor Company was organized. Ford’s first
company lost money. However, William H. Murphy, A. E. F. White,
Lem W. Bowen, and Clarence Black were enthusiastic and with Henry M.
Leland, organized the Cadillac Automobile Company, using an improved
engine that A. L. Brush, a young mechanic, had designed while making
motors for the Olds car. When two Cadillacs had been manufactured,
William E. Metzger, the first general sales manager, took them to the New
York Show, and returned with orders for 2,200 cars, only three of which
were actually built at that time. The rise of the Cadillac from this time
until its absorption by the General Motors Company in 1909 was the sec-
ond remarkable event of the automobile industry as developed in Detroit.
In 1904, through differing opinions with the directors, Mr. Olds re-
signed from the company which he had started. The company then
started to build a high-priced car, but it could not take the place of the
little curved-dash machine. In 1907 the company was combined by Wil–
liam C. Durant with the Buick Company to form the General Motors
Company.
After his retirement, Mr. Olds again became interested in an automo-
bile venture with his friends and eastern capitalists and in 1905 the Reo
Motor Car Company was organized and the car they made became one
of the most successful in the country.
From the Olds organization of 1903 can be traced the genesis of sev-
eral other companies. J. D. Maxwell went out to organize the Northern
Automobile Company with G. B. Gunderson, W. T. Barbour, and William
E. Metzger. This company was later merged with the Wayne Auto Com-
pany, which had been organized by B. F. Everitt, to make the E. M. F.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1361
(Everitt-Metzger-Flanders) car. The E. M. F. car was one of the first
successful medium-priced, full-sized automobiles and won an excellent
reputation. After this car had been sold out to the Studebakers, Everitt,
with William Kelley and William E. Metzger, organized the Metzger
Motor Car Company. Later the Flanders company was organized with
Everitt as president but afterward sold out to the Maxwell. Roy D.
Chapin graduated from the Olds factory and in 1906 with E. R. Thomas
of Buffalo began to make the Thomas-Detroit car, later called the Chal-
mers–Detroit. An off-shoot of the Chalmers enterprise was the Hudson
Motor Car Company, later taken over by Chapin, Coffin, Jackson and
Benzer. The Detroit Electric car made by W. C. Anderson, was the
pioneer electric car of the city. The Lozier was also brought here early.
This, in brief, is the history of the beginning of the automobile manu-
facture in the City of Detroit. Intelligent, far-seeing men these pioneers
of the industry were, but in their most optimistic moments they could not
have prophesied the extent to which the business would grow. The success
of the Olds company encouraged others. In 1901 there came the incorpora-
tion of the Cadillac company, and in December, 1903, the Packard began
operations. In June, 1903, the Ford Motor Company was incorporated
with an authorized capital of $150,000, but only $28,000 paid in, and the
company was located in a small plant at the crossing of the inner belt line
at Mack Avenue. These were the small beginnings of an industry that in
the course of thirteen years from 1903 enormously enhanced the pros-
perity of four Michigan cities, and in Detroit alone had increased its
product to 960,000 cars valued at $610,000,000, and employing in their
making 130,000 persons in shop and office.
Automobile making did not appear in the census tables as a separate
industry till 1904. In view of the proportions to which it has since at-
tained it is worth while to reproduce here the modest tabulation which
officially appeared at that time.
Bodies
and Parts Automobiles Total
Number of establishments . 7 12 19
Capital $464,027 $2,982,949 $3,446,976
Wage earners . . . . . . . . 470 1,564 2,034
Total wages -----____ __$226,021 $733,012 $959,033
Miscellaneous expense $ 39,883 $1,287,160 $1,327,143
Cost of materials $431,232 $2,199,277 $2,630,509
Value of product . . . . . $857,839 $5,382,212 $6,240,051
In 1917 the report of the Michigan commissioner of labor listed
twenty-three companies in Detroit and suburbs which assembled cars,
employing, at the time of inspection, 92,772 people in factory and office.
There were also 132 companies whose sole or principal business was the
making of automobile parts and accessories and their employes numbered
43,804, making a total of 136,576 in this metropolitan district dependent
upon this industry alone. They, with their families would make a good
1362 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
sized city of themselves. The number of cars produced was 1,000,000,
with a value of $880,000,000.
It is difficult to grasp these figures of themselves. An illustration or
two may help. A million cars on parade, at a distance of only 50 feet
from the front of one car to the front of the next, would make a procession
9,470 miles long. If transported on steam railroad they would fill
114,218 large freight cars, making a train 969 miles long. Taking an
average working day of ten hours and working 300 days in the year,
there is an average production of a car every eleven seconds.
In 1904, when the auto industry first appeared in the census reports,
it contributed a little more than one-thirteenth to the city’s industrial
population and a little over one twentieth to its manufactured product.
Five years later, 1909, it had about one-sixth of the employes and more
than one-fourth of the product. Four years later yet it contributed more
than two-fifths of the employees and about one-half of the product. It
now gives employment to just about as many workers as all other indus-
tries in Detroit combined. It is also a high priced article, its value being
nearly double that of all other manufactured products combined. The
Ford Company has at some periods had over 40,000 men on its payroll
at one time, three others employ over 10,000 and seventeen others between
1,000 and 6,000 each. Detroit makes about 60 per cent in number of all
the automobiles made in the country, as it is peculiarly the home of the
low priced car, the value of the product falls a good deal less than that
percentage.
The rapid and immense growth of the automobile industry in Detroit
was not accidental. The chief honor for this development goes to the men
of Southern Michigan who had the courage and ambition to take hold of
the new idea and see it through. Although many other cities had equal
facilities as a shipping port, Detroit was the possessor of other advant-
ages which aided materially in the growth of the business of automobile
making. Michigan was, at the earlier stages, manufacturing more marine
gas engines than any other state in the country, and Detroit itself had
more expert gas engine workers than any other city. It was not necessary
to import or to train this important class of skilled workers. They were
already at hand. Michigan surpassed every other state in the manufac-
ture of carriages, buggies and wheels. Its workers in this line could im-
mediately adapt their plants to the making of any style of body or ton-
neau required for the automobile. Detroit and the three other Michigan
cities of Pontiac, Lansing and Flint supplied, for the first three years,
nearly all the bodies used here without the erection of a single additional
plant for that purpose. It was a fact established by careful inquiry that
Michigan could then make auto bodies for 60 per cent of the cost of like
bodies made in eastern cities. Again, Detroit is the center of the malleable
iron manufacture in this country, and this material entered largely into
the making of the first cars. Old plants in Detroit and two other cities
were equipped for supplying the springs needed. The city was well sup-
plied with manufactories of copper and brass, which could readily turn
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1363
their machinery to the production of those auto parts that are made of
these metals. It was therefore possible for the first manufacturers to
obtain the essential parts of an auto as required. It should be added also
that Detroit is the home of fine color work for painting, and a fine and
durable gloss finish is an essential to all first-class autos. Finally, Detroit
is a good distributing point for the whole central, southern and western
trade of the country. Capital, energy and foresight, assisted by these
advantages naturally brought the rest. It was the most noticeable case
in the history of the city where intelligent enterprise seized upon op-
portunity.
It is not alone in the manufacturing end of the automobile business that
Detroit has excelled. No other business in the city has ever been so well
advertised and no other has ever employed as many or as energetic or
ingenious salesmen. Detroit cars have been displayed in nearly every
public exhibition in this country and many in Europe. They have been
entered in every speed and endurance test and cars have been sent on
private tours under almost all conceivable conditions. If there was a
rough road anywhere that a car could “negotiate,” some adventurous
Detroiter has made the attempt and published the results.
Not only has this country been thoroughly explored but foreign coun-
tries have been invaded. The distribution of Detroit-made cars has been
world wide. Proximity to this country pointed out Canada, Mexico and
the West Indies as natural markets. Sales have been made in France, the
original home of the auto car, and in England and Germany, although
the manufacturers of those countries make the greatest efforts to keep
the markets in their own hands. Spain, Italy and once Russia furnished
better markets. Norway, Sweden and Denmark have been good pur-
chasers. Of the British dependencies, India, Burma, Australia, New
Zealand and South Africa have all furnished customers. Sales have
been made in Yucatan, a number of the South American states, China,
Siam, Japan, Siberia, the Hawaiian Islands and the Philippines. There
is hardly any country with passable roads that has not seen the Detroit
auto car speeding over them. Even such out of the way places as Mon-
tenegro, Iceland and the Faroe Islands have been mentioned in the Gov-
ernment reports as destinations of American-made cars.
Most of the direct exports of the cars from this customs district go to
Canada and England. Their total value in 1904 was $162,529 and they did
not pass the half million mark till 1909. The next year they were above
$2,000,000 and continued increasing until in 1917 and 1918 they were
about $20,000,000. In the fiscal year ending June 30, 1920, they amounted
to $48,612,000. Exports to other countries, except as they are redis-
tributed from England, go mostly through the Atlantic and Pacific Sea-
board ports, and do not appear on the books of the local custom house.
Their amount is not definitely known but it is very large. During the
World war the shipments of Detroit-made trucks, ambulances and messen-
ger cars to the front in France assumed immense proportions. A very
common sight during the freight congested winter of 1917-18 was long
1364 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
lines of khaki-covered Packard trucks starting under their own power to
Philadelphia and Baltimore, thence to be shipped to France. Many of
them carried loads and they made better time to the seaboard than they
could have done if shipped as freight over the steam roads. They met
a grave European need and solved a serious transportation problem at
the same time.
During the latter part of 1917 and nearly the whole of 1918 the auto-
mobile companies were engaged in making munitions and other war ma–
terials, which is described in a later paragraph of this chapter. Several
months in 1919 were required to return fully to the normal type of pro-
duction.
In The Detroiter of January 21, 1922, Mr. William Stocking wrote:
“Up to the present time, 1920 ranks as the banner year in the automo-
bile production, registration and export. An exhaustive canvass made by
the Cleveland Trust Company showed 7,092,990 cars carried over from
1919 and 2,205,197 produced in this country in 1920. There were 100
imported and 180,207 exported. This leaves 9,118,000 used at some time
during the year. Of these something less than a half a million were re-
tired during the twelve months. The total number under registration at
the end of the year is given by another authority at 8,914,197, of which
7,957,504 were passenger cars and 956,693 commercial. The proportion
of commercial cars, including the various grades of trucks, recently pro-
duced is larger than that, reaching as high as one in five of the total
production.
“Of the cars produced in 1920 the Fords numbered 1,027,677, or 46
per cent of the whole. The Detroit companies together made 58 per cent
of the whole. During the first ten months of the year almost every auto
and accessory company was working with full force. The time since then
has told a different story. There was a tremendous drop in production
in November and December of 1920, a revival in the first part of 1921 and
another drop in the latter part of that year. Aside from the Fords, which
maintained a high rate of production during the summer months, the total
was probably not 50 per cent of that for 1920.
“The direct exports of automobiles and parts from this district for
the first ten months of 1920 aggregated $48,559,665 in value. In the cor-
responding period of 1921 they were only $16,370,157. In the first eleven
months of 1920 the total exports in this line from the whole country
were $274,614,127; in 1921 only $76,387,435. The collapse of the foreign
market was a large contributing cause to the depression in Detroit.”
Such cars as the Ford, Packard, Cadillac, Dodge, Paige, Chrysler and
others have been notable successes in the field at Detroit. Half a dozen
other companies have been prosperous, but the automobile business has
not been all profit. In the number of companies incorporated there have
been many more failures than successes. The failures have generally
come in the attempt to build up a market for a car which did not meet
public favor. There have been only a very few cases where a company
once well established has been obliged to retire from the field, although
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1365
at times more than one of them has been on the very brink of financial
disaster.
The benefits of the industry to Detroit and Michigan are many and
varied. Not the least of these is the impetus which it has given to the
good roads movement. The automobile manufacturers, working with such
associations as the Detroit Automobile Club, have done everything within
their power to create for this county and state a road system of excel-
lence. There are other automobile towns in Michigan, but Detroit’s
interest in the business is much greater than that of all the rest com-
bined. According to the report of the state labor commissioner the num-
ber of persons employed in the industry here in 1917 was 135,000. The
number similarly employed in the five other automobile cities was as fol-
lows: Flint, 18,262; Lansing, 7,875; Pontiac, 5,747; Jackson, 4,683; making
a total of 36,567. In Flint, Pontiac and Lansing, this business accounted
for much more than half the whole number of industrial employes.
The foregoing paragraphs have treated the industry as a general topic.
It is the province of a dignified publication in itself to present the vast-
ness of detail covering the organization, development and scope of each
of the automobile companies which are operating and have operated in
Detroit and Wayne County. One writer has said: “Very little has the
record of the automobile been touched. In all of the books on Michigan
history, copious treatment is given the money represented by our agri-
culture, our lumber interests, our salt industry our furniture output, our
mining product; yet this giant industry, which far overtops them all, not
only in money values but in its far-reaching influence, is dismissed in
this manner: ‘Automobiles are made in many cities, etc., etc.,’.” This
statement is very true, for the automobile industry awaits its historian.
The builders have not had time to keep records; they have been crowded
to keep pace with their own industry. Even at this early day in the busi-
ness, the historian finds conflicting statements as to the pioneers of the
work, the making of the motor cars, and thousands of other details. This
generation of founders has not yet passed away and it is from them that
the true history must be compiled in its tremendous scope. In this chap-
ter dealing with the manufacturing history of Detroit it has been the pur-
pose to collect sufficient facts of the automobile history to build a sub-
stantial framework anecdote concerning Michigan’s greatest industry.
In presenting some of the concrete facts of the automobile history to build
a substantial framework upon which the future historian may lay his
structure of facts, figures and anecdotes concerning Michigan’s greatest
industry. In presenting some of the concrete facts concerning the larger
companies now in the field, we begin with the Cadillac as the pioneer of
the now existing group.
The inception of the Cadillac motor car dates back to June, 1902, when
several of Detroit’s prominent citizens and capitalists, Clarence A. Black,
Lem W. Bowen, William H. Murphy, A. E. F. White, and a few others,
with Henry M. Leland, organized the Cadillac Automobile Company. At
1366 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Once the company proceeded with preparations to make cars on a hitherto
unknown scale. The company purchased the plant of the old Detroit
Motor Company and in 1903 the works were considerably enlarged to
meet the demands of the new institution. In this way they were equipped
for business in every way except the manufacture of motors. The Leland
& Faulconer Manufacturing Company was then a company with a high
reputation for making marine and automobile motors, as well as high
efficiency machinery, gears, etc. Their cooperation was secured and a
contract made for the manufacture of 3,000 Cadillac single-cylinder en-
gines, a very large contract for the time. Before the close of the year
1902 a number of cars were built and tested. The following year about
2,000 cars were made and sold. The remainder of the 3,000 motors were
used within a few months and a second large order placed. In April,
1904, the company suffered a disastrous loss by fire, in which a consid-
erable portion of the plant was destroyed. Not disheartened, however, the
officials immediately began the rebuilding of their plant and within one
week the shipping of cars was resumed. The company continued the
manufacture of one-cylinder cars for about five years and produced in all
about 20,000 machines of this type. In the meantime, in 1905, the com-
pany placed its first four-cylinder car on the market.
In 1905, the interests of the Cadillac Automobile Company and the
Leland & Faulconer Manufacturing Company had become so closely iden-
tified that a consolidation of the two was effected under the name of the
Cadillac Motor Car Company, and the general management of the new
concern was assumed by Henry M. Leland, assisted by his son, Wilfred
C. Leland, who was elected secretary. The company was incorporated
with an authorized capitalization of $1,500,000. The old company had
been incorporated for $300,000. The business is now controlled by the
General Motors Corporation.
In 1906 a new model was added to the line and another in 1907. A
new era in the matter of production began in 1908, when the new model,
known as the Cadillac “Thirty,’” to be sold for $1,400, was placed upon
the market. This model was variously refined and enlarged from time
to time. In 1904 the new Cadillac “Eight” appeared and in many re-
spects has been the most popular model ever presented by that company.
There are a number of other models which have met with success.
Henry M. Leland was succeeded in the general managership of the
company by Wilfred C. Leland about July 1, 1909.
In 1921 the new plant of the Cadillac Motor Car Company, located at
2860 Clark Avenue and consisting of eight buildings, was occupied. This
replaced the old plant, which consisted of some seventy-seven old type
Structures scattered about Detroit. The largest of the new buildings is
the manufacturing unit, 800 feet long and 600 feet wide, having a floor
Space of 970,000 square feet. This building is so arranged that raw ma-
terials can be brought into one end of the building and the completed
chassis run out from the other end under their own power. Other build-
ings are the assembly building, administration building, heat treating,
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1367
storage, oil storage and Salvage buildings. All are of four stories in
height and combined total 2,100,000 square feet of floor space. Forty-six
acres of ground are provided for the plant and the area is bounded by
Michigan, Scotten, Clark and Trombley avenues.
FORD AND OTHER MOTOR COMPANIES
The Ford Motor Company came into existence on June 16, 1903.
Twelve years before this, Henry Ford, as an employe of the Edison Com-
pany, began his experimental work on gasoline-driven motor cars, but
On account of the lack of gasoline engine parts here he constructed the car
with his own hands. He required two years to do this, but the car would
run, whereupon five more years were spent experimenting and building
up a second car. During this period no effort was made to commercialize
his invention. Both the Henry Ford Automobile Company and the De-
troit Automobile Company were formed at this time, but neither com-
pany survived.
In 1902, Henry Ford formed a co-partnership with A. Y. Malcomson,
coal dealer, and from this partnership there finally emerged the Ford
Motor Company, now the world's largest automobile manufactory. The
basis of this partnership was the agreement made by Mr. Malcomson to
pay all the expenses of the company up to $3,000. A one-story structure
at the Mack Avenue crossing of the inner belt line was rented as a fac-
tory and production begun. The $3,000 soon disappeared and an addi-
tional $4,000 had been forthcoming from Malcomson before results were
obtained. Then the quest for more stockholders began and the search was
a difficult one. Capital appeared to be scare. At last a few venture-
some investors were unearthed and Ford and Malcomson held 51 per cent
of the stock for their invention and original investment rights. John F.
and Horace E. Dodge, then operating a machine shop in Detroit, sub-
scribed for $5,000 worth of stock each, the money to be paid out of
profits on 650 chassis which they contracted to manufacture. John W.
Anderson and Horace H. Rackham, law partners, who drew up the pa-
pers when the company was organized, threw in $5,000 each. John S.
Gray was persuaded to invest $10,000, with the presidency of the com-
pany as an added incentive. James Couzens, at that time a clerk in Mal-
comson’s coal office, managed to raise $2,500, which he put into the com-
pany, and was made secretary and business manager. Albert Strelow
was another $5,000 investor.
The venture was a success from the very start. Five months after
the organization of the company, a dividend of 2 per cent was paid; a
month later a 10 per cent dividend was declared; in January, 1904, there
came a 20 per cent dividend and six months later another of 68 per cent.
By the end of the first year the stockholders had received back every dollar
they had invested. Despite the unprecedented dividends there were
those of the stockholders who desired to withdraw. In 1906 Mr. Malcom-
son withdrew from the company, and received $175,000 for his share.
1368 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
• Strelow later sold his stock to Couzens for $25,000, this stock having
netted him 400 per cent.
About the time of the purchase of the Malcomson stock, when Henry
Ford gained control of the company, the factory on Mack Avenue be-
came inadequate for the increasing production. A modern three-story
factory building was then put up on Piquette Avenue and Beaubien Street
and in 1906 the offices and machinery were moved therein. The value
of this move is shown by the fact that in 1906 there were only about
1,600 cars made, while in 1907 the output reached 8,423. The Highland
Park plant, greatly enlarged to meet the tremendous growth of the busi-
ness, was constructed on what was formerly a race track in Highland
|Park. The site of the plant covered something over 300 acres, with about
ninety acres of floor space under roof.
About this time there began the series of litigations known as the
Selden patent suit, which was one of the first legal difficulties encoun-
tered by the Ford Company. The patents upon which this suit was based
were those of George B. Selden, the inventor of the first gasoline motor
car, and which were owned by the Electric Vehicle Company of Hartford,
Connecticut. These owners claimed that the patents covered every kind
of gasoline-driven vehicle. After litigation extending from 1905 to 1911,
the Ford Motor Company was released from the Selden patent claims by
the New York Court of Appeals, which reversed a former decision of a
lower court in favor of the patentees. Henry Ford’s first car figured in
the suit and helped to win it, for by actual demonstration it was shown
that the Ford car was running in the streets under its own motive power
before the Selden patent was granted.
In 1914 there was inaugurated the first profit-sharing plan of the
Ford Company, when it was announced that the company would share
$10,000,000 in profits with the employes. The result was a storm of ap-
plications for positions. The employment offices of the company were
Subjected to a mass attack of thousands of people anxious to be on the
payroll of a company which should do such an unheard of thing as to
share profits with the employes. In September, 1914, a balance sheet of
the business was published and it showed a surplus of $50,000,000 and
$27,000,000 in cash on hand or in banks. Even as the published figures
astounded the financial world, the innovation of profit-sharing was de-
clared by rival companies to be impractical. However, it worked, then
and frequently in subsequent years.
Previous to the adoption of this plan, 40,000 men were employed each
year to maintain a working force of 10,000. In 1913, the year before the
profit-sharing began, with an average working force of 13,632, the num-
ber of employes who left the Ford Motor Company was 50,448. When
profit-sharing had been tried for three years, the company had a work-
ing force of 40,903 men and that year the number of men to leave the
employ of the company, for every reason, was 7,512. The rules govern-
ing the eligibility of an employe to participate in the profit-sharing plan
after six months on the payroll were laid down as follows:
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1369
“1. Every employe twenty-one years of age who leads a clean and
constructive life, and is of proved thrifty habits. A married man must be
living with and taking good care of his family.
“2. Any employe under twenty-one years of age who lives with and
is the sole surviving support of a mother, next of kin, and leads a clean
and constructive life.”
A board of 200 advisers, employes of the company, passed on the
qualifications of their fellow-employes for a share in the profits. The
first year 70 per cent were found to be qualified. Three years later, 991/2
per cent of the employes came under the qualification,
Concurrently with the profit-sharing plan, and in accordance with
the Ford idea of benefiting the social and financial condition of the em-
ployes, there was established the Ford English School. There were hun-
dreds of employes who were unable to speak English, which hampered
their development and also their value to the company. In May, 1914,
the School was organized with one teacher and twenty pupils. The same
month five experienced teachers took up the work and in September a call
for Volunteer teachers was made. The result was soon an enrollment of
2,200, which number reached 4,000 by 1920, the pupils ranging in age
from eighteen to seventy-two years.
Notwithstanding the rapid progress of the company and the steady
flow of wealth engulfing the stockholders, there were those of the latter
who did not agree with the Ford policies of expansion, etc. Perhaps the
first open break in the situation came with the resignation of James
Couzens from the company. In November, 1916, the Dodge brothers, in
their position as minority stockholders, began suit against Mr. Ford as
the majority stockholder to compel a larger division of earnings among
the stockholders. Previously Mr. Ford had announced the intention of
the company to establish its own blast furnaces on the River Rouge, also
to double the size of the plant. As part of their suit, the Dodge brothers
sought to preevnt Mr. Ford from carrying out his designs. They took the
position that the Ford Motor Company had not the legal right to indulge
in industry aside from the manufacture of motor cars, and also main-
tained that the company as then constituted, was a violation of the Mich-
igan laws in that it represented investment in excess of $25,000,000 to
which corporations were restricted by the state laws. The Dodge broth-
ers also assailed the policy of Mr. Ford in reducing the price of the
product as production itself increased. Filing of the suit disclosed the
enormous profits which had been made for the stockholders. Among
these disclosures was that in 1914, on a capital of $2,000,000, dividends
totaling $21,000,000 were paid. In May, 1915, a special dividend of
$10,000,000 was paid, and in October of the same year $5,000,000 was
distributed. In 1916, it was stated, the company earned $60,000,000.
Work on the River Rouge blast furnaces had already started when
the Dodge brothers began their suit. An injunction was issued restrain-
ing Mr. Ford from carrying on the work, but the court later allowed the
work to proceed upon the filing of a bond by Mr. Ford for $10,000,000
1370 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
to secure the Dodge brothers against loss if it should be decided that the
company could not build furnaces. While the court contest was being
waged, the Legislature also became a battle ground for the two sides.
A bill was introduced at Lansing to remove the limit on corporate capi-
talization, which had the support of the Ford interests, the Detroit Board
of Commerce and large corporations here. It was opposed by the Dodge
brothers. The contest took its way through the local courts and up to
the Supreme Court and finally decided on sort of a compromise basis, in
that both sides received compensation The right of the company to
expand was upheld, also its right to build furnaces on the River Rouge.
The minority stockholders were satisfied by the order of the company to
disburse from its surplus $19,000,000 in dividends.
The next indication of individual disagreement with the Henry Ford
expansion policy was the resignation of certain of the officials. The first
was that of Norval A. Hawkins, general sales manager. Then came the
resignation of C. Harold Wills, who had been associated with Mr. Ford
from the very beginning and was regarded as not only the mechanical
genius of the organization, but as one of the highest-priced men in the
industrial world. Mr. Wills was the designer of many of the labor-sav-
ing machines used by the Ford Motor Company and many of the improve-
ments in the product. He was also a steel expert and has to his credit
the perfection of processes which marked an epoch in the use of steel.
After his retirement from the Ford Company, Mr. Wills organized and
promoted a new automobile company, located at Marysville, Michigan,
where the Wills Ste. Claire car was manufactured, and where was per-
fected the new steel known as molybdenum. Mr. Wills’ resignation was
followed by that of John R. Lee, former head of the sociological depart-
ment of the plant, and lastly by that of Frank L. Klingensmith, later the
president and one of the organizers of the new Gray Motor Corporation.
In the early part of the year 1919, Henry Ford himself stepped down
from the active presidency of the company in favor of his son, Edsel B.,
who then assumed the presidency. This was followed by the purchase
by the Fords of the entire stock of the minority stockholders, a deal in-
volving vast sums of money and which indicated a value for the whole
property of about $250,000,000. This gave to Henry Ford and his son
free rein to develop the business along the lines which they conceived to
be “for the greatest good for the greatest number.” The company ex-
panded in every direction, including the making of the low-priced tractor
at the Dearborn plant, the development of the River Rouge plant, the
purchase of a railroad to insure a coal supply, and in 1922 the purchase
of the Lincoln Motor Company to manufacture the Lincoln car.
Regarding Ford’s production of ten years ago, it may be said that a
large day’s production was on October 28, 1920, when 4,688 completed
cars were turned out. All of the Ford cars were made upon one style of
chassis, with four styles of body—roadster, touring, coupe and sedan, in
addition to the one-ton truck. The reports of the state labor commis-
sioner for 1904 credited the Ford Motor Company with thirty-one em-
§§
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DODGE BROTHERS MOTOR CAR COMPANY





WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1373
ployes at that time and 229 in 1905. The same commission in its report
for 1919 listed the Highland Park plant with 41,489 employes, with al-
most 17,000 at the River Rouge plants, including shipbuilding, and 4,013
at the Dearborn tractor plant. At one time in 1920 there were 56,000
people on the payroll. The company maintains wholesale branches and
assembly plants in all of the larger cities of the country.
In 1903 the Packard car was being manufactured at Warren, Ohio,
by J. W. and W. D. Packard. The business was first incorporated in
September, 1900, the original company having been the successors to
the business carried on by the Packard & Weiss and the Ohio Auto Com-
pany. The car then being produced was a mechanical marvel for the
time, but the marketing of the car was not being carried on in the most
advantageous manner. It so happened that Mr. Henry B. Joy, of Detroit,
first saw a model of the car while visiting the annual automobile exhibi-
tion in New York City and immediately recognized its merits and value
as a commercial product. With this in mind, Mr. Joy soon visited the
Ohio plant, with the intention of buying into the company, but the owners
were reluctant to become partners with outside capital, but at the same
time were much impressed by Mr. Joy’s ideas concerning the manufacture
and distribution of their product. Consequently, within a comparatively
short time, Mr. Joy had entered the company as general manager and
director. Immediately the business methods introduced by Mr. Joy be-
came effective and he was soon allowed almost unlimited latitude in his
work. This was the actual beginning of the great Packard manufactory
development.
At this time Detroit was becoming known as the automobile manu-
facturing center of America and offered much greater advantages than
Warren, Ohio, for the production of the Packard car. Accordingly, Mr.
Joy succeeded in having the plant moved to this city, J. W. Packard still
being the president of the company. The factory once having been con-
structed and actual manufacturing started in the new field, Mr. Joy was
repeatedly requested to assume the office of president of the company.
In 1905, when the name of the concern was changed to the Packard Motor
Car Company, he was formally chosen chief executive, which position he
held until 1916, and for one year after this was chairman of the board
of directors, resigning to enter the service of this country. Detroit’s
acquisition of such an institution as the Packard Motor Car Company is
almost wholly attributable to the efforts of Mr. Joy, which were also, in
large measure, accountable for the great growth of the Packard here and
its well-earned reputation as the most popular high-priced car in
America.
The company started here in 1903 with $500,000 capital and employed
about 600 men. Every year brought an increased payroll and generally
a substantial increase in capital stock. In 1916-17 there were 16,000
people employed and in 1919 the capital stock reached the maximum of
$50,000,000. The last incorporation was on September 1, 1909. Seventy-
four acres of ground are occupied by the Packard plant, with 116 build-
1374 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
ings and 3,000,000 square feet of floor space. The Packard plant is a
city in itself and combines every advantage and convenience of the social,
as well as the economic, welfare of its army of employes. The Packard
“Twin Six” and truck have become famous the world over, and the
“Single Six” became equally as notable. In 1923 the officers of the com-
pany were: Alvan Macauley, president; F. R. Robinson, secretary; and
F. L. Jandron, treasurer.
The Dodge motor car stands as a tribute to the work of two brothers
—John F. and Horace E. Dodge. As young men they learned the ma-
chinist’s trade in their father’s shop at Niles, Michigan, which was their
home town. In 1886 they went to Battle Creek, Michigan, then after a
brief period to Port Huron and thence to Detroit. Here they found em-
ployment with the Murphy Engine Company. In 1894 they went to Wind-
sor, Ontario, where they became machinists for the Dominion Typo-
graph Company. Their ability to produce excellent machine work and
tools brought them to the attention of Fred S. Evans, a Detroit manu-
facturer. About this time the brothers invented the first ballbearing
bicycle, and after this accomplishment they joined Mr. Evans in organ-
izing the Evans & Dodge Bicycle Company in 1897 and leased the plant
of the Dominion Typograph Company at Windsor, carried on the busi-
ness for two years, then sold out to a Canadian bicycle concern. With
their plant equipment, the machinery and the cash received in the deal,
they came to Detroit and in 1901 opened a machine shop in the Boydell
Building on Beaubien Street. After many discouragements here, their
business began to develop and soon they sought larger quarters, which
they found at Monroe Avenue and Hastings Street. In 1910 they began
the erection of their present plant, but already they had become con-
nected with motor car building, their first contract of this character hav-
ing been for transmission for the original Olds runabout, the Order hav-
ing called for the manufacture of 3,000 sets.
When, in 1903, Henry Ford began the manufacture of his motor car,
he asked the Dodge brothers to undertake the manufacture of engines,
transmissions and steering gears in quantity production. This they did
and so rapidly did their business grow in connection with the develop-
ment of the Ford car, that when they abandoned the Hastings Street
plant in 1910 it was the largest and best equipped machine plant in De-
troit. In the organization of the Ford Motor Company, the Dodge broth-
ers each took $5,000 worth of stock, to be paid out of their profits of the
manufacture of 650 chassis. Later, they acquired additional stock. When,
in 1919, the Fords bought out the minority stockholders, the Dodge
brothers received $27,000,000 for their 2,000 shares.
It was in 1914 that the Dodge brothers decided to manufacture their
Own car and built a million-dollar plant in Hamtramck, this task and the
designing of the motor car having consumed more than two years. Pro-
duction of this car, however, began in 1914, and by 1915 the company
had reached the eighth place in volume of automobile production of
American cars and in 1917 were in fourth place. Six years after the
MAIN FACTORY OF HUPP MOTOR CAR CORPORATION
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HOME OF THE HUDSON SUPER-SIX









WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1377
inauguration of the business, the Dodge Brothers’ Hamtramck plant rep-
resented an investment of $20,000,000, the buildings covering seventy-
five acres, while the product ran from 750 to 1,200 cars daily. By 1917
there were 15,000 men and women employed by the company.
The Hudson Motor Car Company was organized in the year 1909 and
incorporated February 20th, principally through the efforts of Roy D.
Chapin, Howard E. Coffin, Frederick O. Bezner, and Roscoe B. Jackson.
The company at first produced a low-priced roadster model, but has grad-
ually improved its model and increased its production until it is one of
the largest of the moderate-priced car manufactories. The business was
first started in a small rented factory, but the demand for more room
Soon became imperative. Twenty-five acres of land were then procured
on Jefferson Avenue opposite the old Grosse Pointe race track and a
modern, concrete plant constructed. The authorized capital stock of the
Hudson Motor Car Company is now $2,500,000. The report of the state
labor commission for the year 1919 indicated that in that year there were
5,659 people employed by the company.
Affiliated with the Hudson Motor Car Company is the company organ-
ized as a close corporation to manufacture the Essex car, a medium-
priced product of distinctive design and remarkable excellence. This
branch of the company was incorporated September 21, 1917.
The officers of the Hudson Motor Car Company in 1922 were: Roy
D. Chapin, president; Howard E. Coffin, Frederick O. Bezner, vice presi-
dents; W. J. McAneeny, secretary; R. B. Jackson, vice president, treas-
urer, general manager.
On November 8, 1908, there was incorporated the Hupp Motor Car
Company under the laws of Michigan. The company, known as the Hupp
Motor Car Corporation, was incorporated November 24, 1915, and took
over the business and factories of the old company at Detroit and Wind-
Sor, also the plant of the American Gear & Manufacturing Company of
Jackson, Michigan. The business was started by R. C. Hupp. The Hup-
mobile, as the product of this company was called, is known wherever
automobiles are sold and is one of the most popular of the medium-priced
cars on the market. The company was capitalized for $6,500,000 and was
officered by Charles D. Hastings, president and general manager; DuBois
Young, vice president; Arthur Von Schlegell, vice president, secretary-
treasurer. The plant is located at Mt. Elliott and Milwaukee avenues.
About 1,700 people were employed by this company in 1919, according to
the state labor commission report. Since that time the company has
greatly expanded, and is now one of the great industries of Detroit.
The Maxwell Motor Corporation, with its Detroit plant located at
Jefferson Avenue and the outer belt line, had an authorized capitaliza-
tion for $34,471,500. This Organization was incorporated May 7, 1921,
under the laws of West Virginia to effect a reorganization and merger of
the Maxwell Motor Company and the Chalmers Motor Corporation. When
purchasing the assets of the Maxwell Motor Company, the Maxwell Motor
Corporation secured all rights, title and interest in the Maxwell Motor
1378 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Sales Corporation, the Briscoe Manufacturing Company, the Newcastle
Realty Company and the Maxwell Motor Company of Canada, Ltd.
The Maxwell Motor Company, one of the merged companies, was in-
corporated under the name of the Standard Motor Company in Delaware
on December 31, 1912, but adopted the Maxwell name January 18, 1913.
At a receiver's sale in this same month of January, 1913, the company
purchased the United States Motor Company, the Maxwell-Briscoe Motor
Company, the Dayton Motor Car Company, the Columbia Motor Car
Company, the Alden-Sampson Manufacturing Company, the Brush Run-
about Company and the Briscoe Manufacturing Company. In the fol-
lowing April the Flanders Motor Company was bought. On September
1, 1917, the company leased the Chalmers Motor Corporation for a period
of five years, but in 1920 it was shown that the Maxwell owned more
than 95 per cent of the outstanding capital of this company.
In May, 1921, the company, which had been placed in receivership on
April 9th, was sold under an order of the United States District Court for
$10,915,100 and the property was acquired by W. P. Chrysler and H.
Bronner, representing the Maxwell-Chalmers reorganization committee.
On May 7, 1921, as stated before the company was chartered under its new
name. The officers at that time were: W. Ledyard Mitchell, president;
Carl Tucker, vice president; L. W. Linaweaver, secretary ; Walter M.
Anthony, treasurer; T. H. Thomas, comptroller. Plants were operated
at Detroit, Dayton, and Newcastle. In 1925 the manufacture of the
Maxwell car was discontinued.
The Paige-Detroit Motor Car Company was incorporated in 1908 and
had an authorized capitalization of $5,000,000. In 1919 there were 1,534
on the payroll of this company, which had three plants in Detroit, the
principal one located at Fort and McKinstry. Harry M. Jewett was
president of the company.
The Saxon Motor Car Corporation was incorporated November 23,
1915. In February, 1917, the plant of the Saxon company was com-
pletely- destroyed by fire, entailing a loss of $2,000,000. This was the
most costly fire which ever occurred in Michigan. A new plant was con-
structed and leased to the United States Government, but later was sold
to the General Motors.
The King Motor Car Company, formerly a Detroit corporation, in-
corporated in 1912, was purchased at court sale in December, 1920, by
Charles A. Finnegan, of Buffalo, and his associates. The King car was
the pioneer of eight-cylindered machines.
The Liberty Motor Car Company, located at Charlevoix and the De-
troit terminal railway, was incorporated in 1916 and had an authorized
capitalization of $2,750,000. The officers were: Percy Owens, president;
J. O. Low, vice president; D. E. Williams, secretary and treasurer.
The Lincoln Motor Company was first incorporated in 1917 for the
manufacture of Liberty motors, with a capitalization authorized at $8,-
000,000. Henry M. and Wilfred C. Leland were the principal organizers.
On January 17, 1920, the company was reincorporated for the manufac-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1379
ture of automobiles of high grade, with Henry M. Leland as president
of the company. In the latter part of 1921, the business depression and
other reasons forced the company to enter the hands of a receiver. The
plant is located at Warren and Livernois avenues. In February, 1922,
the plant was purchased by Henry and Edsel Ford.
The Studebaker Corporation was incorporated February 14, 1911, as
a consolidation of the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company and
the Everitt-Metzger-Flanders Company, for the manufacture of Stude-
baker automobiles. Factories of this organization are located in South
Bend, Ind., and Walkerville, Ont., in addition to the Detroit plant located
at Brush and Piquette, and in 1919 there were 2,487 people employed.
The Columbia Motor Company, having an authorized capitalization
of $6,000,000, had for its officers: J. G. Bayerline, president; William E.
Metzger, vice president; A. T. O’Connor, secretary and treasurer. The
plant was located at 6501 Mack Avenue. In 1919 there were employed
about 150 men on the average.
Another automobile company organized in Detroit was that pro-
moted by Messrs. Everitt and Flanders and Capt. Eddie V. Rickenbacker,
for the manufacture of a motor car known as the “Rickenbacker.” An-
other organization was that of the Gray Motor Corporation, fostered by
Frank L. Klingensmith and Frank F. Beall, with the object of making a
low-priced car.
The history of the Detroit automobile shows has an important bear-
ing upon the industry itself. The first show was given in 1902 in the
Light Guard armory, which also housed the 1903 and 1904 exhibitions.
From that date, each year. the exhibition of automotive products has
been held as follows: 1905, Riverview Park; 1906 to 1913, Wayne Gar-
dens; 1914, Ford Branch building; 1915, Detroit Lumber Company plant;
1916, Riverview Park; 1917, Billy Sunday tabernacle; 1918, Simons
Sales Company service station; 1919, Crosstown garage; 1920, Ford
Branch building; 1921 and 1922, Morgan & Wright Building. In recent
years the show has been held in the Convention Hall.
The Commerce Motor Car Company, manufacturers of light delivery
trucks, was incorporated January 12, 1911, with an authorized capital-
ization of $700,000. The officers of the company were: Walter E. Par-
ker, president; H. B. Bennett, vice president; Frank A. Bradley, Secre-
tary and treasurer. The plant of this company was located at 7434
Mackay Avenue. About 160 men were employed during full production.
The Federal Motor Truck Company, corner Federal and Campbell
Avenue, was incorporated February 10, 1910, for the manufacture of
motor trucks. Their product consisted of trucks weighing one, one and
a half, two, three and a half, and five tons. The company had an author-
ized capitalization of $2,000,000 and its officers were: Thomas E. Reeder,
president; Martin L. Pulcher, vice president and general manager; W.
C. Rowley, vice president; H. J. Warner, vice president; Charles F. Mel-
lish, secretary; and Edward P. Hammond, treasurer.
1380 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
The Standard Motor Truck Company, 1111 Bellevue Avenue, was in-
corporated in 1912, with half a million dollar authorized capitalization.
The officers were: Albert Fisher, president; A. E. Fisher, vice president;
F. J. Fisher, secretary and treasurer.
The Denby Motor Truck Company was incorporated December 16,
1915, under Delaware laws to succeed the company of the same name
previously incorporated in Michigan.
The Acason motor truck was also manufacturer in Detroit by a com-
pany of which H. W. Acason was president. The plant was located at
2821 Jefferson Avenue.
Among the incidental benefits of this industry to the community was
the impetus which it gave to the good roads movement. The automobile
manufacturers have vied with the owners in the effort to create for this
county and vicinity one of the best highway systems in the country.
There are other automobile towns in Michigan, but Detroit’s interest
in the business is much greater than that of all the rest combined. Ac-
cording to the report of the state labor commissioner the number of per-
sons employed in the industry here was 135,000 in 1917. The number
similarly employed in the five other automobile cities was as follows:
Flint, 18,262; Lansing, 7,875; Pontiac, 5,747; Jackson, 4,683, a total of
36,257. In Flint, Pontiac and Lansing this business accounted for much
more than half the whole number of industrial employes. The industrial
census of 1925 showed practically the same proportion of employees.
Taking all industries together, according to the industrial census of
1925, Detroit and its manufacturing suburbs had a little larger manu-
factured product than all the rest of the state combined. In the following
individual classes in addition to automobiles it had a larger product than
all the rest of the state: brass and bronze products, men’s clothing, wom-
en's clothing, copper, tin and sheet iron products, electrical machinery,
iron and steel work, patent medicines and compounds, printing and pub-
lishing and shipbuilding. In some of these there is a very large percent-
age of excess.
DETROIT'S WAR INDUSTRIES .
The World War, which caused serious disturbances and dislocation
in many kinds of business, severely taxed the resources of the Detroit
manufacturers. In no other city of the country did the war demand
greater changes in method and material of manufacturing production,
and in no other city was the demand better met. The most distinctly
Detroit production of this period was the Liberty motor for aeroplane
U1S62.
In the early part of 1918, the German air forces held the upper hand.
In October following the German Albatross and Fokker were crowded
from the skies. The greatest factor in the accomplishment of this feat
was the Liberty motor—made in Detroit.
The Liberty motor, as finally developed, was considered the finest avia-
tion engine in the world for wartime purposes. The engine itself was
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1381
not an invention, but more of an evolution. Prior to the entrance of
the United States into the World War, the Packard Motor Car Company
had spent two years in the development of an aviation motor. In Sep-
tember, 1915, the Packard Twin Six motor came upon the market, at a
time when aeronautics as a part of the war were being studied by engi-
neers and manufacturers with the view of developing an aeroplane en-
gine of Superlative qualities. The Twin Six seemed to possess distinctive
Qualities which could be developed into an aviation motor. The result
was the construction of the Packard 299, which was finished in February,
1916. Installed in a special racing chassis and driven by Ralph De
Palma, it established new world’s records for speed at distances from
19 to 616 miles. Then came the second engine, the Packard 905, and
improved design, of twelve cylinders as the first model, but of three
times the number of cubic inches piston displacement. The 905 was
completed in December, 1916. Installed in a racing machine this motor
established new speed records from 14 mile to 10 miles at a maximum
of 130 miles per hour. Further distances were impossible owing to the
inability of any tire to withstand the speed. The next model was the
second one of the 905 type, but with distinct improvements. One of these
was the employment of all-steel cylinders instead of cast-iron cylinders.
The making of these cylinders involved new problems in engine con-
struction, such as the welding of different thicknesses of steel without
burning the thinner piece, but eventually these obstacles were overcome.
The second 905 was begun in April, 1917, the same month in which
America entered the war. At this time, the Council of National Defense,
the Aircraft Production Board and other groups were organizing in every
way, and an aircraft program of larger scope was planned. A new avia-
tion engine was needed. The Packard 905 was excellent for war pur-
poses in every way but that of horse-power. The experiences of other
countries taught that engine endurance was subordinate to actual speed,
that certain safety factors should be sacrificed by even one-half in order
to enable the motors to be operated at full speed, if but for a short time.
Col. Edward A. Deeds was chief of aircraft production and his assistant
was Col. Sidney Waldon.
To perfect the proposed motor, J. G. Vincent, Packard vice president
of engineering, and E. J. Hall, of the Hall-Scott Motor Company of San
Francisco, were called into consultation by Colonel Deeds at Washington,
D. C. These two engineers began their work at the New Willard Hotel,
assisted by leading engineers of the country, and five days later it was
announced that the design of the new Liberty motor was completed. This
was in the first week of June. The Government appropriated $259,000
for the building of eleven engines. The drawings were rushed to Detroit
and by day and night work, the first Liberty engine was produced in
the Packard experimental shops between June 13th and July 26. On
July 4th the first motor was exhibited at Washington, followed later by
the remaining ten. The Government ordered 22,000 Liberty motors from
five manufacturers, and the first engine under the production contracts
1382 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
came from the Packard plant on Thanksgiving Day, 1917. Numerous
changes were made in the Liberty as production increased, every one of
which was designed to increase the efficiency and power of the motor.
Of the first 10,000 engines, Packard built 40 per cent. For six weeks be-
fore the armistice, there were being produced in this country over 150
Liberty motors per day.
While not in a strict sense a Packard motor, it was an evolution of
the principles embodied in the Packard aviation engine which had been
developed for two or three years previously. The Packard Motor Car
Company withdrew its name entirely from the motor, so that it might
be known as a national development, surrendered the drawings and de-
signs, patents, and services of its chief engineer, in order that the GOV-
ernment might have the benefit of its work. The Packard Company
blazed the way for the production of these motors in quantity, simply
because it was the only plant equipped to do the work immediately after
the acceptance of the plans by the Government.
The development of the Liberty motor was not without opposition.
Due to the mystery which shrouded everything of governmental nature
during the stress of war times, rumors became numerous that the Lib-
erty was a Packard motor and was so designated on the floor of Congress.
Also, it was stated that Engineer Vincent gave the initial production in
the experimental stages to the Packard, in which company he was finan-
cially interested. Finally, President Wilson authorized Charles E. Hughes
to make an investigation, which he did, in complete exoneration of the
Packard Company and its officials from all the unwari anted charges
which had been made. The knowledge of the development of the Liberty
motor which came after the war brought forth facts which gave the public
a complete understanding of the remarkable work done by the engineers
selected by the Government to carry on the task.
For the production of the Liberty motor, Henry M. Leland and his
son, Wilfred C. Leland, organized the Lincoln Motor Company and with
record speed erected a huge factory in the western part of the city. Also
the Ford and Cadillac plants devoted part of their equipment to the same
work, and the four companies combined—-Packard, Ford, Lincoln and
Cadillac—made over 90 per cent of all the Liberty motors produced in
this country. Before the military campaign closed, the production was
up to the full requirements of the United States and allied governments.
The making of the airplane engine was very naturally accompanied
by the manufacture of other parts and finally of the planes themselves.
There were at one time sixteen companies prominently engaged in the
manufacture of bodies and other parts, and this was one of only two
cities whose work was approved by the senatorial investigating commit-
tee which made a tour of the airplane plants. Eastern airplane producers
were scored as backward in production. Detroit production was officially
declared to be “satisfactory in all respect.” One company not only manu-
factured parts, but assembled the planes themselves. In the latter part
of November its thousandth De Haviland plane was completed and was
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1383
exhibited to wondering crowds in the Liberty Forum on Cadillac Square.
A Smooth field, one-half mile square, well equipped with hangars, com-
pleted the airplane equipment of the city.
During the war period, the Dodge brothers, in a period of four
months, built and equipped a munition plant said to have been unsur-
passed in the world. It covered eleven acres, cost $10,000,000, and was
furnishing employment to 8,000 men just prior to the signing of the
armistice. Moreover, the mechanical genius of the brothers was brought
forth when the Government desired to obtain the intricate recoil me-
chanism on the famous French “155” gun. The French factories could
turn out only five of these guns daily and the United States had pledged
fifty daily. After two great American manufacturing concerns admitted
their inability to make the recoils, the Dodges were asked to attempt the
work and were given a model of the mechanism. For several days they
devoted their time to the study of the model and then announced that
they could build a mechanism, that they would build their own plant
and finance the undertaking, also supply the recoils to the Government
at cost. Twenty-four hours after the acceptance of the offer, they had
1,800 men breaking ground for the new plant and within five days steel
arrived from the Bethlehem Steel Company and the Russel Car &
Foundry Company was ready to make the structural steel for the plant.
The two brothers gave their time night and day to pushing the work.
At length they erected a temporary shelter on the ground, that they
might sleep there, and with a staff of engineers they worked far into the
night, designing the new machinery which made possible the quantity
production of the complicated recoil mechanism. When the plant was put
into Operation, it contained 129 pieces of machinery new to American
industry. The completion of this plant, through the coldest winter in
forty years, involved the extension of water mains, sewers, and a street
car line. In six months time the first machinery was started in a com-
pleted building 800 by 600 feet, covering eleven acres.
Just before the beginning of the year 1918 an officer of the Govern-
ment Munitions Department came to Detroit with the offer of a large
initial contract for the manufacture of shells. In less than twenty-four
hours a company was organized with $2,000,000 capital, and very soon
an incompleted building, started for another purpose, was purchased and
preparations for manufacture were commenced.
A complete transformation of an old plant was that of the American
Car & Foundry Company, which had formerly employed about 4,000 peo-
ple. In 1915 this company began on war orders for the British Govern-
ment. In 1918, the company was devoting its whole force to United
States war contracts. In the meantime, new machinery had been intro-
duced and a force of 19,800 wage earners built up. The production in-
cluded three different sizes of shells, gun caissons, gun limbers and store
WagonS.
The automobile companies were all conspicuous in war work. As an
indication of the tremendous work done by the Ford Motor Company
1384 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
the following facts are cited: 2,000,000 steel helmets, enough to fit out
every man in the A. E. F. Order for 5,000 Liberty motors, delivery near-
ly completed when armistice was declared. Ten thousand caissons, prin-
cipally for 155 mm. guns; more than 8,000 delivered. Order for 112
Eagle boats, 200 feet long, 25-foot beam. Twenty-five were delivered when
the Order was reduced to sixty-two. Eight thousand trucks, 25,000 regu-
lar Ford cars, 6,000 ambulances; 400,000 cylinders for Liberty motors,
also 700,000 bearings for same engine. Much experimental work was done
by the Fords in building three-ton tanks. Work totaling $1,000,000 in
the production of special devices was done for the British Navy.
Early in the war, the Packard Motor Car Company became the lar-
gest manufacturer in the country of auto trucks for use in the field. It
supplied hundreds of these to the allies and to the United States Govern-
ment, and during the severe winter of 1917–18 gave important aid to the
relief of freight congestion. During the coldest weather its cars not only
went under their own power from Detroit to New York and Baltimore
for shipment abroad, but carried loads of freight besides. Strings of fif-
teen or twenty of the large, khaki-covered cars, in charge of army chauf-
feurs and bound for the Atlantic seaboard, were a common sight on the
streets. In addition to its vital part in the development of the Liberty
motor, this company made other important contributions to aeroplane
construction, took large contracts for munitions and other war material,
and was rapidly approaching 100 per cent in war production when the
armistice came.
Every other automobile plant in the city was engaged in Some form
of Government work. Early in the summer the United States Govern-
ment limited the production of pleasure automobiles to 50 per cent of
the normal output. In the fall, production was further limited to 25 per
cent, with the request that so far as possible “non-essential” work should
be entirely eliminated, a condition that was reached by most of the large
plants.
The automobile companies were not alone in essential war industry.
Almost every establishment in the city working in the metals, whether
steel, iron, brass, copper or aluminum, and they number several hundred,
and every wood working, leather and textile establishment as well, was
interested in some form of war order. Through contracts direct with
the Government or through subcontracts fully 90 per cent of the fac-
tories of any magnitude in the city had some share in this essential pro-
duction. The war orders for 1917-18 aggregated about $900,000,000.
The withdrawal of 50,000 men from the factories in Wayne County
for service in camp, field and trench created a shortage of labor. Partly
to supply the demand, women took up factory work in unusual numbers
and in unaccustomed forms. The number of women in the factories be-
fore this extra demand came was about 20,000. In a very few months
this was more than doubled, many of the women being engaged in heavy
machine shop and foundry work.
With the conclusion of the armistice the ability of Detroit manufac-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1385
turers to adapt themselves to new conditions was severely tested. War
contracts were very abruptly cancelled, though settlements with the Gov-
ernment could not be so speedily made. The transition from war to
peace work was more rapid than might reasonably have been expected.
The plants which were built exclusively for war contracts had to be
entirely remodeled, but all except two were more operating on new work
within a few months. The old plants were more readily transformed.
The complaint of unemployment, by those thrown out of work by the
cancellation of war contracts was only temporary. By early spring pro-
duction had become nearly normal and before midsummer of 1919 there
was a scarcity of labor in nearly every mechanical employment. The
establishment of new industries was not very great, but the expansion
of old plants was unprecedented. New building construction undertaken
by manufacturing companies during the year approached $10,000,000, a
figure never hitherto approached.
This condition in the industrial world, however, proved to be only
a brief stimulation, as in the latter part of 1920 and 1921 those dreaded
features of war’s aftermath—financial depression, lack of business, and
unemployment, appeared. This unsettled condition of trade and business
made existence difficult for even some of the largest and most firmly in-
trenched companies.
GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION
The General Motors Corporation, now a vast organization whose hold-
ings show seventy-eight divisions, subsidiaries and affiliated companies,
whose plants are located in thirty-five cities of the United States and
Canada, and consist of over 1,500 buildings, bears an important relation
to Detroit manufacturing. This corporation was incorporated October
13, 1916, under the laws of Delaware and acquired in exchange for its
own stock practically all of the stock of the General Motors Company
(since dissolved). This latter company, of which W. C. Durant was the
moving spirit, was incorporated in New Jersey September 16, 1908, to
manufacture and deal in motors, motor cars and machines, to acquire
from others their business, if of the same general character as that for
which the company was organized; to acquire patents and trademarks;
to acquire and dispose of by sale, mortgage or otherwise, Securities of
other corporations with similar corporate powers and to aid such other
corporations. The first automobile companies to be acquired were the
Buick, Olds, Oakland and Cadillac, in the order named. The Chevrolet
did not come in until May, 1918, and United Motors in December follow-
ing. Originally, each of the affiliated companies continued as a separate
entity and had only a financial relationship with the holding company.
The automobile industry was expanding very rapidly in 1908, and
General Motors acquired control of various companies making major as-
semblies, such as motors and axles and parts. In a little more than two
years the company had ownership or large holdings in Northway Motor
& Manufacturing Company, Weston-Mott Company, Champion Ignition
1386 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Company, Jackson-Church-Wilcox Company, Michigan Auto Parts Com-
pany and Michigan Castings Company. By the end of 1910 the company
had entered the commercial vehicle field by taking in the Rapid and the
Reliance Company; a foundation for operation in Canada was laid by
acquiring a substantial interest in McLaughlin Motor Company, Ltd., of
Ontario.
Rapid expansion in the automobile industry throughout the country
resulted in general trying industrial conditions in 1910 and many com-
panies were unable to continue in business, owing to lack of capital, and
bad management. General Motors proved an outstanding exception. In
the three years from 1912 to 1915, the organization made an impressive
record of sales and earnings, which was possible by its program of pro-
duction on a large scale. Substantial additions were made to the plants
of the Cadillac, Buick and Weston-Mott Companies. In 1915 the com-
pany paid its first cash dividend on the common stock, at the rate of 50
per cent.
In May, 1918, the operating assets of the Chevrolet were acquired,
and the corporation actively entered the field of the low-priced car. In
December of the same year, General Motors absorbed the United Motors
Corporation, which included the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Com-
pany, Hyatt Roller Bearing Company, New Departure Manufacturing
Company, Jaxon Steel Products Company, Remy Electric Company, Har-
rison Radiator Company and Klaxon Company. In 1918 also, General
Motors purchased the Janesville Machine Company, maker of farm im-
plements, and the Lancaster Steel Products Company. Properties ac-
quired in 1918 represented an investment exceeding $40,000,000, most of
which took the form of common and debenture stock of General Motors
Corporation.
In 1919, striking expansion of manufacturing facilities was made.
The Buick factory at Flint, with a capacity of 350 passenger cars a day,
was enlarged to a capacity of 500 cars per day. A new factory for the
Cadillac division at Detroit was begun, providing for a total capacity of
30,000 passenger cars per year. It was completed two years later at a
cost of approximately $15,000,000 and is one of the world’s largest plants
for the manufacture of multi-cylinder cars. Substantial additions were
also made to the plants of the Chevrolet group, the Oakland at Pontiac
and the Olds at Lansing. The Samson division at Janesville was equipped
with new facilities, providing for a capacity of many thousand tractors
per year, while it continued to produce farm trucks and agricultural im-
plements. General Motors truck division at Pontiac was provided with
additions to permit an annual production of 20,000 trucks.
In the same year the corporation acquired an important interest in
the Fisher Body Corporation, the largest maker of automobile bodies in
the world. An investment of more than $27,000,000 was used to expand
and develop the Fisher plant. Other properties were acquired in 1919,
to add new lines to General Motors products. These included Delco Light
Company, producing complete farm and home electric light and power
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GENERAL MOTORS BUILDING
Fifteen stories in height, 504 feet by 322 feet, covering the entire block bounded by West Grand
Boulevard, Cass Avenue, Milwaukee Avenue and Second Avenue, in the exact geographical center of
the City of Detroit. The building is the largest office building in the world, with a total floor area
of thirty acres, containing 1,700 offices with a capacity of 6,000 people. The building was commenced
in 1919. When finally completed, the cost of the building and the appraised value of the land, are esti-
mated at $20,786,000.
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WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1389
plants; Frigidaire Corporation, making a line of mechanical refrigera-
tors; Dayton-Wright Company, Dayton, producing aeroplanes and aero-
plane parts.
In 1919 there began the work on the General Motors Building, in
Detroit. This building, with the General Motors Building at Broadway
and Fifty-seventh Street, New York City, form the two principal office
units of the company. The Detroit building was projected by Mr. Durant
and was at first to have been called the “Durant Building,” but with the
advent of new controlling interests in the corporation this plan was
changed, also the plan to have the Detroit structure house the whole
General Motors Office force.
In November, 1920, Mr. Durant was succeeded as president by Pierre
S. du Pont, representing new interests in the control of the organization,
including E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company and J. P. Morgan &
Company. The organization of the General Motors Corporation in 1922
included, as manufacturing units, the following: Buick Motor, Buick
Manufacturing Company, Cadillac, Oakland, Olds, Sheridan, General Mo-
tors Truck, Samson Tractor, Central Axle, Central Forge, Central Gear,
Central Products, Michigan Crankshaft, Saginaw Products, Northway
Motor & Manufacturing, Buffalo Metal Goods Company, Frigidaire Cor-
poration, Muncie Products Corporation, Samson Tractor of California,
Champion Ignition, General Motors Research, Dayton-Wright Company,
Delco Light, Sunnyhome Electric, Saginaw Malleable Iron and Scripps-
Booth Corporation, under the General Motors group. Under the United
Motors group were the Hyatt Roller Bearing, Remy Electric, Jaxon Steel
Products, Lancaster Steel Products, Dayton Engineering Laboratories,
Klaxon Company, Harrison Radiator Corporation and New Departure
Manufacturing. Under the Chevrolet group were Chevrolet Motor of
Bay City, Chevrolet Motor of California, Chevrolet Motor of Michigan,
Chevrolet Motor of New York, Chevrolet Motor of St. Louis, Chevrolet
Motor of Texas, and Toledo Chevrolet Motor Company. The products of
the General Motors Corporation were: passenger cars, Buick, Cadillac,
Chevrolet, McLaughlin, Oakland, Oldsmobile, Scripps-Booth, and Sher-
idan; trucks were: the Chevrolet, General Motors, Oldsmobile and Sam-
son; Frigidaire, ice machines; accessories and parts were: the A-C Spark
Plugs, Titan Spark Plugs, Delco systems, Harrison radiators, Hyatt rol-
ler bearings, Jacox steering gears, Jaxon rims, Klaxon horns, New De-
parture bearings, New Departure brakes, Remy system. Those named
do not include the General Motors of Canada, Ltd., with its manufactur-
ing units and sales units. The General Motors had thirty-five sales units
in this country, in Canada and in Europe. It also had control over the
Fisher Body Corporation, General Motors Acceptance Corporation, Gen-
eral Exchange Corporation, General Motors Building Corporation, and
the Modern Housing Corporation.
The automobile industry in itself is of recognized magnitude, but the
growth and development of those manufactories which are allied to the
big automobile plants is a subject of less common knowledge. The mak-
1890 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
ing of auto bodies, various accessories, sheet metal, wheels, axles, lamps,
in fact, everything which goes into the making of a motor car, requires
manufacturing plants of vast size and number, each a specialist in one
phase of the industry.
The largest factory of this type, and the largest of its kind in the
world, is the Fisher Body Corporation, now under the control of the Gen-
eral Motors Corporation. The Fisher Body Corporation was incorporated
August 21, 1916, under the laws of New York, and acquired all the prop-
erty of the Fisher Body Company, the Fisher Closed Body Company,
and the Fisher Body Company of Canada, Ltd. The organization known
before as the Fisher Body Company was incorporated July 22, 1908, and
the Fisher Closed Body Company on December 22, 1910. Some concep-
tion of the size of the Fisher Body Corporation may be given by the state-
ment that the organization operates a total of thirty-two plants for the
manufacture of open and closed bodies for automobiles, body hardware
and accessories. Twenty-five of these plants are located in Detroit. The
Detroit plants include a total of 4,500,000 square feet of floor space. All
of the plants of the company have a combined floor space of about 5,500,-
000 square feet, which would be about 280 acres. The Fisher Body Cor-
poration supplies an important percentage and in some cases the total
requirement of the Ford, Cadillac, Buick, Hudson, Essex, Studebaker,
and Chandler cars. The Fisher Body Company of Ohio was incorporated
on October 17, 1919, to build and operate a plant at Cleveland. The Na-
tional Plate Glass Company, a subsidiary concern, was incorporated in
1920. About November, 1919, the General Motors Corporation acquired
control of the Fisher Body Corporation through the acquisition of 300,000
of the 500,000 shares existing at $92 per share. The officers of the cor-
poration in 1922 were: Louis Mendelssohn, chairman of the board; Fred-
erick J. Fisher, president and general manager; Charles T. Fisher, vice
president; Louis Mendelssohn, treasurer; A. Mendelssohn, secretary;
William Butler, comptroller. The corporation was capitalized for nearly
$36,000,000. In 1929 approximately 100,000 people were on the payrolls
of the General Motors and Fisher Body Corporations in the state of
Michigan, receiving many millions in wages and salaries annually.
CHRYSLER CORPORATION
Among the numerous automobile industries which have contributed
to Detroit’s growth, the Chrysler Motor group has played an important
part, advancing since 1924 from the twenty-fourth place to third place.
Starting with the old Maxwell car as a nucleus, Chrysler Motors now
make the Chrysler, Dodge, DeSoto and Plymouth cars, Dodge Brothers
trucks, buses and motor coaches, Fargo commercial cars and trucks, and
the Chrysler marine engine. In the month of July, 1928, Walter P.
Chrysler acquired the numerous plants and equipment of Dodge Brothers.
The Chrysler principles were put into effect so that within ninety days
production efficiency in the Dodge plant was greatly enhanced. After
the death of John and Horace Dodge, Dillion, Read and Company pur-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1391
chased the Dodge Brothers plant from the widows and the Graham
Brothers were put in charge. Soon, however, Grahams left the Dodge
factory to purchase the Paige Motor Car Company, in which they have
made marked success.
Walter P. Chrysler is one of the most colorful figures in the auto-
mobile industry. In 1905 he was superintendent of the Great Western
Railroad shops in Oelwein, Iowa. From there he went to Pittsburgh as
manager of the American Locomotive shops, and after a time he became
head of the Buick factory when C. W. Nash moved up to fill Durant's
place as head of General Motors. In 1921 he took over the Maxwell Com-
pany, and soon after brought out the Chrysler car.
AUTOMOBILE ACCESSORIES
In and around Detroit the production of automobiles exceeds the total
production of the rest of the world. As a result of this tremendous pro-
duction there have come into existence over 400 factories manufacturing
Various parts for the automobile plants. Most of these factories special-
ize in their respective products and because of this are in position to pro-
duce a specialized product in large quantities and at lower costs than can
the individual automobile producer.
The intensive development work of the parts manufacturers has been
of great value to the automobile companies and the parts makers have
contributed to a marked degree in developing their specialties and pro-
ducing them at lower costs.
Due to the numerous parts makers being located in Detroit, the auto-
mobile manufacturers in this district have a distinct advantage over
those located elsewhere. This is borne out by the fact that the most suc-
cessful producers of automobiles are in the Detroit district.
The automobile industry is the world’s largest consumer of steel and
numerous other raw materials, and a large proportion of this material
is used by the parts manufacturers.
The importance of the parts manufacturer is being more generally
recognized by the automobile maker, particularly in these days of low
inventories, as the automobile manufacturer finds it of distinct advant-
age to purchase all of the parts he can from the outside parts makers
rather than attempt to make all of the parts of assembly.
AUTOMOBILE BODIES
Fisher Body Corporation, with its forty-nine plants devoted to the
production of closed bodies for General Motors cars, for the years has
been one of the main factors in Detroit’s growth and prosperity. This
great organization employs over 60,000 workers, has a total floor Space
in excess of 15,000,000 square feet, and produces upwards of 1,200,000
closed bodies annually. Fisher controls its own Supply of fittings and
hardware, plate glass, lumber and similar basic materials. Fisher also
keeps many factories busy supplying paint, upholstery fabrics, cotton and
1392 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
wool padding, glue, varnish, bolts, tacks, sheet steel and the myriad other
products entering into the manufacturing of quality motor car bodies.
Among other body companies in Detroit is the Murray Corporation of
America, which produces bodies for Hupp, Chrysler, Ford and Reo cars.
IRON AND STEEL
Outstanding in the steel industry of Detroit for 1929 was the begin-
ning of construction work in May on the new $25,000,000 plant in Ecorse
for the Great Lakes Steel Corporation. This plant, projected to be put in
operation during 1930 to manufacture basic open hearth steel, is a fur-
ther step in the plans of George R. Fink, president, to establish a com-
plete steel mill operation in Detroit begun in 1922, when he organized the
Michigan Steel Corporation, of which he is also president. The Great
Lakes Steel Corporation on December 2, 1929, was merged with the M.
A. Hanna interests of Cleveland and the Weirton Steel Corporation of
Weirton, West Virginia, through a holding corporation known as the
National Steel Corporation, thus making the Detroit unit a part of one
of the strongest independent steel operations in the country.
The automotive industry is credited with being the largest consumer
of steel during 1929, amounting to 7,239,000 tons, or 18 per cent of the
total output of the United States; which, according to a compilation by
the American Iron and Steel Institute, amounted to 40,333,000 tons. The
railroads were next in consumption, taking 17 per cent of the output, and
building construction third, with 161/3 per cent. Detroit, recognized as
the center of the automotive industry, looms large as a steel consumer,
not only by this industry, but also by its building construction and other
important industries, such as stoves, refrigerators, shipbuilding, wire
goods, tubing, miscellaneous stamping, etc.
Michigan as a whole is credited with an annual consumption of be-
tween four and five million tons of steel annually, and, with Detroit as the
largest community, its proportion of this consumption, it is estimated,
amounts to approximately three million tons. With all this large volume
of steel consumed in Michigan a general investigation of iron and steel
freight rates by the Interstate Commerce Commission in 1925 developed
statistics which caused the commission to make the comment: “With
the exception of Michigan (which ranks fourth), the first five states in
point of consumption are also the heaviest producers. Michigan produces
little steel, its large consumption being principally due to its extensive
manufacture of automobiles and parts.”
This situation existed, although the first commercial production of
steel in the United States by the Bessemer process took place at Wyan-
dotte in 1864, and the first steel rails, in the Wyandotte Rolling Mills.
Henry Ford recognized the advantages of basic steel manufacture in De-
troit, and incorporated blast furnaces and open hearth steel furnaces in
his River Rouge plant. These supply only a portion of his own require-
ments.
The first real attempt to re-establish the steel industry in Detroit to
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1393
supply the ever-increasing demands of the automotive, furniture and
other trades of Michigan, was in 1922, when Mr. Fink, who at that time
represented eastern Steel mills in this area, was successful in organizing
the Michigan Steel Corporation and began production in the plant on the
banks of the Ecorse River in July, 1923. This plant has since been in
continuous Operation. Its process is to bring in from the steel mills in
Ohio and Illinois the rough steel bars and roll them into finished sheets.
A similar plant has since been put into operation by the Detroit Steel
Corporation and one is under construction by the Bopp Steel Company.
The Detroit Seamless Steel Tubes, Inc., operate in somewhat similar fash-
ion in manufacturing tubular products. The new Great Lakes steel plant
will produce raw material for mills such as these, and plans also to en-
gage in the manufacture of finished products of various kinds in its own
plant.
FIFTEEN MILLIONTH FORD MODEL T COMES FROM LINE
(From the Ford News, June 22, 1927)
Before the Ford Motor Company’s engineering laboratory at Dearborn
on May 26, 1927, Model T No. 15,000,000, a touring car, stood beside
Model T No. 1, and the tiny progenitor of all, Ford Car No. 1, made be-
fore model letters or motor numbers for Ford vehicles were thought of.
The resplendently brass bound and angular form of No. 1 marked the
definite adoption of Model T design; the fleet gray lines of No. 15,000,000
embodied its final improvement.
An hour earlier, the fifteen millionth car had come from the assem-
bly line at the Highland Park plant. Henry and Edsel Ford followed it
through the shop, watched it grow, as 14,999,999 of its type had grown
before. The motor that went into No. 15,000,000 was stamped with its
numerals by eight employes whose periods of service date back to the
early 1900’s. They were J. F. Wandersee and A. Degener, employed since
1902; Frank Kurlick (driver of the ten millionth), F. L. Rockleman and
P. E. Martin, (vice president of the company), since 1903; and C. B.
Hartner, C. E. Sorensen and Charles Meida, since 1904.
Edsel Ford drove the fifteen millionth Model T to the Dearborn plant.
Henry Ford rode beside him. P. E. Martin and C. E. Sorensen occupied
the rear seat. In closed cars other officials, cameramen, and reporters
followed through a cold, drizzling rain.
Before the entrance of the Dearborn plant the fifteen millionth was
stopped. Soon it was joined by the first Ford car and the first Model T.
While motion picture and press cameras clicked, Henry Ford talked of
how he had sold the first Ford car and, later, regretting it, had some
years afterward repurchased it as a matter of sentiment. The first Model
T, he said, had been quite difficult to locate. It had been finally purchased
from a man in Ohio a few years ago.
Both the first car and the first Model T were in operating condition.
For the benefit of the cameramen, Henry Ford climbed aboard the first
product of his automotive genius, took the tiller, and made the round of
the broad concreted plaza.
1394 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
The first Model T was produced on October 1, 1908; the millionth on
December 10, 1915; the five millionth on May 28, 1921; the ten millionth
on June 4, 1924; and the fifteen millionth on May 26, 1927. About
25,000 Ford cars of other models had been manufactured between 1903,
when the company was organized, and 1908, when the first Model T
appeared.
Ten million of the fifteen million Model T Ford cars constructed be-
tween October 1, 1908, and May 26, 1927, were still in use on the date
of the construction of the fifteen millionth car.
RIVER, ROUGE PLANT BUILT
When the fifteen millionth car was completed Detroit competitors
had made it necessary that Ford build a new automobile. In the mean-
while the growth of this company had increased so rapidly that a new
plant site had to be chosen. The River Rouge plant was built.
When the end of the Model T was decided the Rouge plant had grown
to where it surpassed the Highland Park plant in size.
The new car was going to require new machinery so it was decided to
close down all production and start rebuilding his factory. It was only
logical that the new plant should be chosen for his new car. Employ-
ment dropped from 125,000 to 55,000. Ninety per cent of these men were
employed in changing the plant.
When the plans had finally been completed for the manufacture of
the new car, to be known as the Model A, employment increased, and
Detroit took on a new growth. Employment continued to increase after
the showing of the new car in December, 1927, and on through until now
the new car is being turned out at a rate of 7,300 daily and 108,000 men
are working in the River Rouge plant.
FORD MOTOR COMPANY IN 1930
Greater Detroit, the home of the automotive industry, is also the home
of the Ford Motor Company, the world’s largest automobile-manufactur-
ing institution. The company has an authorized capitalization of $100,-
000,000. The principal manufacturing units of the company in and near
Detroit normally produce parts of over 8,000 Ford cars and trucks daily.
The company, at its Rouge plant, where the general offices are located,
operates its own power, heat and lighting plant, fire department, tele-
phone and telegraph exchanges, laboratories and great machine shops.
Further, it maintains a boys’ trade school, hospital, safety and hygiene
departments and motion-picture studio. The Rouge plant, with an area
of approximately 1,100 acres, probably the largest industrial plant in the
world; the Highland Park plant, the engineering laboratory at Dearborn,
and the Lincoln Motor Company constitute the main units of the Ford
Motor Company. These units cover a combined area of more than 1,500
acres. Besides Smaller manufacturing plants in various parts of the
country, there are six in close proximity to Detroit—at Northville, Flat
Rock and Waterford, and smaller hydro-electric plants at Phoenix,
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WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1397
Plymouth and Nankin Mills. Other manufacturing plants are located at
Iron Mountain, Michigan; St. Paul, Minnesota; Green Island, New York;
Hamilton, Ohio; Kearny, New Jersey, and Glassmere, Pennsylvania. As-
Sembly plants are located at Atlanta, Georgia; Buffalo, New York; Char-
lotte, North Carolina; Chester, Pennsylvania; Chicago, Illinois; Cincin-
nati, Ohio; Cleveland, Ohio; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas, Texas; Denver,
Colorado; Des Moines, Iowa; Fargo, North Dakota; Houston, Texes; In-
dianapolis, Indiana; Jacksonville, Florida; Kansas City, Missouri;
Kearny, New Jersey; Los Angeles, California; Louisville, Kentucky;
Memphis, Tennessee; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; New Orleans, Louisiana;
Norfolk, Virginia; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Omaha, Nebraska; Pitts-
burgh, Pennsylvania; Portland, Oregon; St. Louis, Missouri; Salt Lake
City, Utah; San Francisco, California; Seattle, Washington; Somerville,
Massachusetts; and Twin City, Minnesota. In addition, service plants
are maintained at Washington, D. C.; Salt Lake City, Utah, and Fargo,
North Dakota.
The Stout Metal Airplane Company, a division of the Ford Airport,
Dearborn, Michigan, where the company builds all-metal commercial air-
planes. Two airlines, one to Chicago and one to Buffalo, are operated
with daily round trips.
The company owns and operates lake freighters carrying ore from
the Northern Michigan mines to the Rouge plant, and Ford coal north to
Duluth on return trips. Other Ford boats operate at sea, carrying auto-
mobile parts to Ford plants on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and to
foreign ports.
In addition to its domestic plants, the company has foreign offices and
associate companies in South America, Cuba, Europe, Mexico and Japan.
Foreign branches or associate companies are located at Antwerp, Buenos
Aires, Barcelona, Berlin, Cristobal, Copenhagen, Cork, Welsingfors, Lima,
Manchester, Mexico City, Montevideo, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, Pot-
terdam, Santiago, Havana, Sao Paulo, Stockholm, Trieste, Pernambuco,
Shanghai, Constantinople, Paris and Yokahama. The Ford Motor Com-
pany of Canada, Limited, located in East Windsor, Ontario, across the
river from Detroit, supplies the trade in Canada and the British Empire,
except the British Isles. It has branches or associated companies in Can-
ada, Australia, Africa, India and Malaysia.
AIRCRAFT INDUSTRY
An analysis of production figures for the Detroit area for 1929 shows
the aircraft industry to be in a healthy growing condition.
Figures for 1928 showed an investment of $18,000,000 in the indus-
try, to which was added during 1929, $3,655,000 for aircraft industrial
plants, $2,200,000 for airport buildings and $2,190,000 for airport im-
provements, excluding land cost. A resume of concerns in the aircraft
industry in the Detroit district shows six manufacturers of heavier than
aircraft and ten more in experiment; one lighter than aircraft company;
four motor plants; fifty-four makers of airplane parts, equipment, ma-
1398 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
terials and accessories; thirty-five branch supply offices, and fifteen air-
plane distributors and dealers. The annual payroll of these companies
approximates two million dollars.
In plane production, figures were obtained only from the three largest
plants in the district. Ford produced 97 planes of the three motored type,
which resulted naturally in the highest valuation, namely $5,000,000. The
Stinson Company showed a gain of 12% per cent in production, with
121 planes as compared to 97 in 1928, for a total value of $1,200,000. This
company produces strictly cabin planes of the single-motored type and
is stated to be the world’s largest exclusive manufacturer of this type
machine. Buhl, with figures slightly below those of 1928, manufactured
30 planes, representing $450,000.
The value of aircraft products—planes, motors and parts—turned out
by factories in the Detroit area for 1929 is placed at $22,500,000, an
estimated increase of $15,000,000 Over the 1928 figures. The sum is
divided into a $7,000,000 aggregate on the value of airplanes; $5,000,000
for engines and $10,000,000 for aircraft parts, equipment and accessories,
a branch which virtually made its debut during the year.
Packard Motor Car Company led the way in the motor end. Its
number of units were not made public, however. Warner increased its
first year’s production. Continental and American Cirrus, both with new
models, were not figured in the total, but are expected to show material
strength in the future.
Some of the high lights of the aircraft industrial expansion pointing
to a bright future were the new buildings of the Stinson, Warner, Buhl,
Cirrus and Ex-Cello companies. Packard’s new Diesel plant and Ford’s
expansion were also noteworthy. The city’s $1,000,000 hangar at Con-
nors and Gratiot avenues topped the airport building.
Airport expenditures, with only the larger projects estimated, showed
$760,000 by the city; $850,000 by the county; $75,000 by the Wayne In-
dustrial Airport, on which the Stinson Company is now located, and
where the newly formed Detroit Aircraft Corporation will center pro-
duction on its many units early in 1930, $105,000 by the Ford Airport
and $400,000 at Grosse Ile.
A review of local aircraft industrial activity lists as outstanding the
Stinson merger with the Cord interests, the formation of the Detroit
Aircraft Corporation, Ford’s heavy expansion program and Continental's
and Packard’s experiments with new design aircraft motors.
Detroit is ideally suited with an industrial background into which
the aircraft industry fits. Manufacturing facilities, engineering genius,
skilled labor and familiarity with mass production methods developed
by the automotive industry are readily adaptable to the development and
manufacture of this new transportation vehicle. Detroit men and money
and Detroit organizing and manufacturing ability have been placed in
the fullest measure in the aircraft business. The wonderful accomplish-
ments and material growth in 1929 is evidence that Detroit means to
Score another triumph in the industrial world.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1399
A Series of events of national importance served to focus the public's
interest on Detroit as an aircraft center during 1929. Such events were
Strictly of a nature to instill confidence in the public to adapt themselves
in the use of the airplane as an economical transportation method.
The All-American Aircraft Show held the first week in April, 1929,
was an overwhelming success both from the standpoint of attendance and
entries. The annual Reliability Air Tour, strictly for commercial planes,
again attracted wide attention. Numerous airplane model contests to
focus the younger generation’s interests in aviation were also held. An
event of national importance was the appointment of an aircraft commit-
tee by the State of Michigan. This committee is one of the first of its
kind and is regarded more or less as an experiment, since its duties are
to coöperate with the Federal Government in the formation and enforce-
ment of a set of statutes that will regulate aviation activities strictly
within the state’s borders. To date the committee’s activities have been, in
practically every case, strictly advisory, but are expected to become of
an enforcing and disciplining nature in the near future.
THE FORD AIRPORT
The Ford Airport, owned and operated by the Ford Motor Company,
is located immediately southeast of the City of Dearborn ; nine and one-
half miles west of the Detroit City Hall and six miles northwest of the
Detroit River, on the River Rouge.
The landing field is irregular in shape; comprises about 600 acres,
has a smooth and slightly rolling surface; is well drained by underground
tile and nearly the entire area is available for landing purposes. The
longest runway is 3,400 feet. During May, 1928, an east-west runway
was constructed and paved with concrete seven inches thick. The runway
is 2,700 feet in length. Additional runways are to be constructed in the
near future.
Structures at the field consist of hangars, manufacturing plant, and
a passenger terminal building, from which the Detroit, Chicago, Cleve-
land and Cincinnati passenger planes leave; three radio towers and a
water tank to the northeast; administration building and small lake to
the northwest and one of the largest mooring-mast in the world for the
use of dirigibles is near the east border of the field. In the Southeast
corner is located a radio beacon tower.
Lighting consists of two 24-inch rotating beacons of 2,000,000 candle-
power, and one 500,000,000 candle-power beacon, together with portable
flood lights; buildings are all flood lighted. Radio towers, mooring mast
and water tank are painted with yellow and black bands and checks, and y
lighted at night with fixed red lights at the top. The mooring mast has
a flashing white beacon at its peak.
Markings consist of the name “FORD" in 180-foot white letters in the
center of the field. A wind direction indicator is displayed from the
hangar and is lighted at night.
Two hangars 300 feet by 150 feet by 20 feet and 150 feet by 75 feet
1400 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
by 20 feet are in service at a nominal daily or monthly rental fee. Tele-
phone, telegraph and radio communication are located at the airport as
well as weather maps and a display board.
Commenting on the Ford Airport, the Detroit Free Press in its issue
of April 11, 1929, said: “Few people who drive past the Ford airport
along Oakwood Boulevard ever take into consideration that this great
enterprise, sponsored by one man is possibly the greatest airport of its
kind in the country. Such tributes were many during the past week or
two when pilots from all parts of the country landed there and received
the finest attention any airport could afford. The Ford airport was the
center of the activities during the great All-American aircraft show and
Dearborn was the city which was proud. Dearborn in no small way
received the hundreds of pilots, mechanics and officials and offered them
all available attention. The Ford airport and the Ford airplane factory
located in Dearborn constitute one of the greatest industries of this kind
in the country, and to Dearborn the eyes of the industries focus constantly
for leadership.”
The Ford Airport was planned soon after the World war period and
the construction and improvements at the port have been going on rap-
idly for several years. The passenger-depot was completed in the fall
of 1927 and in that year 19,000 people took an airplane ride over the
City of Detroit, taking advantage of the Stout Air Services which operate
air tours over Detroit from the Ford Airport at Dearborn.
On November 1, 1927, a passenger air line between Detroit and Cleve-
land, designed to compete with railroad transportation was begun. The
fare was $18 for one way or $35 for the round trip, including transpor-
tation to and from the airport at each end of the line. The flying time
was scheduled at an hour and a half, while a passenger train requires
five hours to make the trip. This first air line was operated by the Stout
Air Services, Incorporation, which used the Ford tri-motored monoplanes,
constructed entirely of metal and capable of carrying twelve passengers
besides a pilot and mechanic. Passengers on these planes sit in an in-
closed cabin, fitted out in much the same style and comfort as a Pullman
chair car.
In the past three years this service has developed to the extent that
air passenger traffic between Detroit and Cleveland is becoming almost
as commonplace among business men as the service afforded by passenger
trains. -
One of the outstanding features at the Ford Airport is the mooring
mast, the largest in the world. It is a great tower 210 feet high, equipped
with high-speed elevators and the most modern type of mooring device.
The mast was designed by the Aircraft Development Corporation of De-
troit and was completed in July, 1925. The mast has long since proved
its worth, as was shown on the occasion of the visit of the United States
Navy dirigible Los Angeles, when it was moored to the tower on October
15, 1926, and when the United States Army dirigible RS-Q moored at
the airport on September 18, 1926. -
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1401
Still another important historical event took place at the Ford Airport
On February 15, 1926, when airmail service was first instituted from
Detroit to Chicago and via Cleveland to New York. On that day a large
gathering of representative Detroit citizens assembled at the airport in
Dearborn to see the first airmail plane depart. Henry and Edsel Ford
assisted Postmaster Charles C. Kellogg of Detroit load the mail bags.
The band played and the plane took off. A new chapter in the history
of Detroit had begun. -
THE DETROIT MUNICIPAL AIRPORT
The official airport of the City of Detroit is located within the city
limits of Detroit, at the intersection of Connors and Gratiot avenues, in
the northeast section of the city, in what was known as Connors Creek
Park. It is five miles northeast of the Detroit City Hall, and four and
one-half miles due north of the Belle Isle Bridge. The property is owned
by the City of Detroit and is being developed, operated and maintained
under the supervision of the commissioner of public works and the city
engineer.
The field is at present laid out in the shape of an “L” with one leg
running southwest-northeast for a distance of 2,800 feet and a width of
500 feet, the other leg running northwest-southeast for a distance of
5,100 feet and a width of 500 feet. Both of these runways are graded
and in use. This area was used in the fall of 1927 when the field was
visited by planes from the Ford Airport, Selfridge Field, and the One
Hundred and Seventh Squardon, Michigan National Guard. About eight
planes landed and took off without trouble, in spite of strong adverse
winds. The very first plane to land on the field was piloted by the late
Henry Brooks. Following this came the three-motored Stout Transport,
and then those from the Army and National Guard and others.
The entire area of the field comprises 270 acres. A complete drain-
age system consisting of laterals, drain tile and catch basins, had been
installed gridiron fashion over the runways, and is connected to the city
sewer system.
Two and one-half miles of concrete and asphalt-paved runways 100
feet wide are in use. Complete marking and lighting has been provided.
One hangar 95 by 100 feet in area was completed in 1929 at a cost
of $55,000. This building has provided accommodations for an average
of fifteen airplanes a day. The authorization of a $5,000,000 bond issue
in 1928 gave impetus to the development of the project, So that by the
spring of 1930 the requirements for a Department of Commerce A-1-A
rating will have been met. The most important result of the bond issue
was the construction of a large hangar and exposition building, 200,000
square feet in area, with a capacity of 175 airplanes, at a cost of $1,000,-
000. This building, the largest and finest hangar in the world, was com-
pleted in February, 1930, and in it was housed the All-American Air-Craft
Show. From June to December, 1929, 5,889 pay passengers were carried
1402 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
at the airport, 3,423 arrivals and departures of airplanes were recorded
and 142,210 persons listed as visitors at the airport.
Two private hangars occupy property adjoining the airport; one being
operated by the Schlee-Brock Aircraft Corporation, and the other, the
private hangar of Lawrence P. Fisher. Excellent and rapid transporta-
tion is available by trolley, taxi, bus or private automobile. Twenty-four-
hour service is provided at the airport, consisting of storage, gas and oil,
fire and police protection, telephone, telegraph and weather reports. The
airport is operated as a division of the Department of Public Works, under
the general direction of Perry A. Fellows, city engineer.
W. J. Wallace of the City Engineer’s office is the airport manager at
the present time.
THE WAYNE COUNTY AIRPORT
In November, 1927, the people of Wayne County voted approval of a
bond issue of $2,000,000 for the purpose of securing a site or sites for
county airport purposes. A committee of the Board of Supervisors was
appointed to select a site. After several months of careful study and the
consideration of 122 sites in various parts of Wayne County, the com-
mittee voted to acquire by condemnation Site No. 16, located at the inter-
section of Goddard and Middle Eelt roads, adjacent to the Wabash Rail-
road, sixteen miles southwest of the Detroit City Hall. The site is ap-
proximately one mile square and contains slightly less than 640 acres.
The purchase price as fixed by the jury was $801,000. r
The task of construction and development was placed under the juris-
diction of the Board of Wayne County Road Commissioners. By the
middle of the summer of 1930 the new airport was ready for use and was
formally dedicated. It is now regarded as one of the most modern and
best equipped landing fields in this section of the United States. Its size
of nearly a square mile will far overshadow other landing fields in the
|Detroit area, and it will no doubt receive a high rating by the Department
of Commerce.
The airport contains four concrete runways, one 3,500 feet long and
three 1,200 feet long. A $100,000 military hangar on the southwest cor-
ner of the port is amply equipped. A new 150,000 gallon water tank
will supply the mains of the port and reduce considerably the fire hazard.
A poly-directional radio has been installed at the port by the Department
of Commerce. The total cost of the airport when it is finally completed
will be $2,500,000.
THE GROSSE ILE AIRPORT
This new airport is controlled and operated by the Aircraft Develop-
ment Corporation of Detroit, and is located on the southerly tip of Grosse
Ile, an island in the Detroit River lying seventeen miles southwest of the
center of Detroit. The land consists of that formerly owned by R. E.
Olds, and includes the magnificent home which he occupied on the lower
point of the island. The area of field is 398 acres, which will ultimately
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1403
contain a circular landing field 3,000 feet in diameter, available for land-
ing planes in any direction.
ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTH AIR SQUADRON FIELD
This landing field is operated by the Tenth Air Squadron, Michigan
National Guard on property owned by the City of Detroit, by permit
from the City Council. It is located south of Plymouth Road on the east
bank of the River Rouge, in a city park eleven miles northwest of the
center of Detroit and four miles north of the Ford Airport.
TRIANGLE FIELD
The Triangle Field, leased and operated by Ivan C. Kay, George E.
Tabraham and Charles Adams of Detroit, under the name of the “Tri-
angle Flying Service,” is located at the intersection of Plymouth Road
and the old Ann Arbor Trail, two miles east of Plymouth, Michigan, and
twenty miles northwest of the center of Detroit.
DETROIT-WAYNE INDUSTRIES
This field is located between Ecorse and VanBorn roads, one mile
southwest of the Village of Wayne, Michigan. The field is being promoted
chiefly as a commercial project for the manufacture of aircraft.
PACKARD FIELD
This field is located on the south side of Gratiot Avenue at Halfway,
Michigan, four miles west of Lake St. Clair and eleven miles northeast
of the Detroit City Hall. It is leased jointly from the Newberry Estate by
the Michigan State Aviation School and the Packard Flying Service, both
Of Detroit.
Other airports in the Detroit area are as follows: Selfridge Field;
Matthewson Field; U. S. Naval Reserve Aviation Base; Scully Field;
Burns Field; Maycock Airport; Royal Oak Flying Club Field; Detroit
Air Taxi Service; Stout Air Service Field; Stinson-Northville Field; Stin-
Son “School of Aviation” Field ; U. S. Naval Reserve No. 2; Aviation
Country Club; and Haggerty Field.
In the year 1929 there were thirty-one available landing fields and
airports in the Detroit metropolitan area, which indicates the rapid strides
made by the aircraft industry in the City of Detroit during the past ten
years.
DETROIT'S INDUSTRIAL SUPREMACY
It is a well known fact that Detroit is today the automotive center of
the universe—the finest example of collective community effort, based on
modern industry, that challenges the power of the pen to adequately
describe.
Detroit now leads the world in nearly forty industries. No less an
authority than Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, the Official jour-
1404 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
nal of the American Chemical Society, is responsible for this statement.
It affirms that Detroit is making great strides toward becoming the rec-
ognized and ideal industrial city of United States, pointing out that not
upon the motor industry alone does this city’s industrial fame rest. De-
troit, it states, leads in adding and accounting machines, with an annual
output of from $30,000,000 to $35,000,000. World leadership in the pro-
duction of vacuum cleaners is bestowed upon this city. Here one-third
of the nation’s supply of soda ash is manufactured. In pharmaceutical
products, Detroit manufacturers turn out about 40 per cent of the world’s
output, the yearly valuation of this industry being estimated at $100,-
000,000.
In the oil burning and electrical refrigeration fields, Detroit is assum-
ing its position as the permanent leader. Iceless refrigeration has sprung
into prominence and it is expected that within the next few years there
will be millions of ice boxes of this type in operation, the bulk of which
will be manufactured in this city. The oil burning industry, also in its
infancy, is becoming attracted to Detroit.
Every country in the world sends flower and vegetable seeds to Detroit
for distribution. Detroit seed houses supply more than one-half of all
the garden seeds used in the United States. The varnish, enamel and
lacquer industries in Detroit are among the leaders of the world, and in
paint production this city maintains a high position. Conservative esti-
mates place the value of these products at $25,000,000 annually.
Detroit has gained supremacy in the marine engine manufacturing
field, and has surpassed Buffalo, which had been the leader for many
years. Both in the value of production and the number of motors made,
the city has gone ahead of its rival. Numerous manufacturers of motor
boats now are located in Detroit and each is being pushed to capacity to
meet the growing demand for motors and motor boats.
Ninety per cent of all hydraulic hoists for dump bodies made are
turned out in the city, and in the gasket manufacturing industry, Detroit
is also the world’s leader.
In stoves, Detroit’s first big industrial enterprise, the city has, for
several decades, led the world.
Wire spring production is another big industry of the city. In this
field Detroit also leads the world in output, turning out 90 per cent of
all the wire springs made. One Detroit plant produces more than half
of all the world’s wire springs.
The other industries and products of Detroit which are among the
leaders of the world in production are: - -
Electric fans, steel window sashes, malleable iron, aluminum cast-
ings, roller bearings, electric soldering irons, pins, disinfectants, lubri-
cating devices, gasoline torches, porcelain insulators, coin machines, elec-
trical furnaces, brass, bronze and copper products, foundry and machine
shop products, computing scales, insulated wire, live stock and meat pack-
ing, Surgical instruments, stone products, sanitary supplies, overalls and
trunks.
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BUHL BUILDING, DETROIT

WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1407
DETROIT'S INDUSTRIAL POSITION
Up to the year 1900, Detroit was a comparatively quiet city with a
diversified line of medium-sized manufactures. It was the largest city in
Michigan, a state that in the beginning of the century was predominately
agricultural.
During the present century, not only has Detroit become a great
industrial city, but the State of Michigan has changed its character from
that of an agricultural state to the sixth industrial state in the Union in
the value of its manufactured products.
The area, within a circle drawn one hundred miles from Detroit, as
a center, is one of the most intensive manufacturing districts in the world,
and the great growth of Detroit in this particular district is due to the
development of the motor car and the demand on the part of the public
throughout the world for transportation. Detroit’s growth is primarily
due to the development of the motor car industry. It is a peculiar thing
that the motor car industry of the world should centralize in a very lim-
ited area about Detroit, and the reason generally ascribed for this con-
centration by the veterans of the industry is that Detroit in the beginning
of the industry had workmen skilled in the manufacture of engines and
gasoline motors. Detroit for many years had been the center of the
gasoline engine business of the country. Steam engines were used for
lake vessels and in shipbuilding. From these engine plants, the key men
for the development of the motor car industry were drawn, and upon their
ability rests, in a measure, the development of mass production on a Scale
equaled nowhere else in the entire world.
The metropolitan area of Detroit, including Detroit proper and a
number of suburbs entirely within or adjacent to, now reaches nearly
two millions.
The payrolls of Detroit make a magnificent sum, which is turned into
the trade and commerce of the city. The peak of employment reached in
1929 found approximately 450,000 men upon the payrolls of Detroit in-
dustry, large and small. Approximately $675,000,000 per year goes to
the factory employes of this metropolitan area. There are more than
150 plants in the city making motor vehicles, bodies, parts and accesso-
ries; and it is estimated that more than 75 per cent of all the automobiles
and motor trucks are manufactured either in, or in the cities quite close
to, Detroit–so close in fact, that the so-called Detroit district can safely
be said to make more than three-fourths of the motor vehicles of the
world.
More copper and brass products are consumed in this hundred-mile
radius from Detroit than any other district in the world. Steel and iron
products by the millions of pounds are used annually. So great has the
demand for steel become that there is a great steel mill development going
on in this area at the present time. The Michigan Steel Corporation
started in the Detroit district less than ten years ago, and has had a re-
markable development in the manufacture of automobile sheet steel.
1408 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Another mill, started by the same group responsible for the unusual
development of the Michigan Steel Corporation, is the Great Lakes Steel
Corporation.
On the shores of Lake Erie, thirty miles below the City of Detroit
proper, the Newton Steel Company is finishng a $10,000,000 construction
program which is expected to become within ten years a $30,000,000
manufacturing project. Other steel mills have options on sites up and
down the Detroit River, and in another decade Detroit’s steel will be
manufactured in its own district, and millions of dollars in freight rates
will be saved in shipping steel from the Pittsburgh and Chicago districts
to supply the tremendous demand in the Detroit area.
It is proper that Detroit should manufacture its own steel. Michigan
furnishes a large amount of iron ore, which, in years past, has been
taken by lake boats past Detroit to the steel mills of Pennsylvania and
Ohio for manufacture, and has been shipped back in finished form for
consumption here.
Two large copper-manufacturing plants also operate in Detroit. The
size and employment of these two factories have increased tremendously.
Michigan also is a great copper-producing state and for a half century,
copper has passed by Detroit’s door going to mills in the East. With
the tremendous consumption of copper products, it is only fitting that
there should be a development of the manufacturing plants using Mich-
igan copper ore.
While the fame of Detroit is assumed to be based largely upon its
motor car development, it has, within its area, approximately seventy
different lines of manufacture, the total value of which is estimated at
$3,500,000,000 for the year 1929. It can be noted that Detroit houses one
of the largest manufacturers of electric flatirons and a large manufac-
turer of vacuum sweepers, and railroad supplies in large quantities are
still produced here.
Practically everyone is familiar with the medicinal capsule, and, yet,
very few people realize that the machine for the manufacture of these
capsules is manufactured in the City of Detroit. The development of
this type of machinery has taken place largely in this city. It also is
well to note that the principal development in the electrical heating units
now used so universally throughout the world took place here. The
research which brought forth the high resistance wire was done in
Detroit.
The Detroit area continues to grow as a manufacturing district. It
will continue as a great mass production center of the world, if all eco-
nomic factors are properly promoted and working conditions are wisely
controlled and regulated fairly and justly between the employer and the
employe.
Detroit products are distributed throughout the world. Being on
the Canadian border, it is the port from which a great many of the ex-
ports into Canada are sent. With the development of waterway trans-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1409
portation, Detroit will become a great port of entry for products made
throughout the world.
Not only does Detroit export its products to practically every country
in the world, but its capital is now being invested in many countries of
Europe and in the Far East in the manufacture of products by Detroit
firms in those countries. American automobiles, carrying the American
trade name, are now being manufactured in several countries of Europe
under the direction of American executives and engineers.
Detroit genius and managerial ability is being taken by other coun-
tries for the development of local industries in those countries.
Raw materials and partly-manufactured products throughout the
world are used in Detroit. Not only does Detroit money pay for products
from one side of the globe to the other, but almost every state in the
Union participates in the distribution of vast sums of money sent out
from Detroit for the purchase of raw materials.
The New England textile mills get a tremendous volume of business
in manufacturing upholstery for the motor cars of Detroit. It can be
safely said that there is no district throughout the world which does not
benefit in the distribution of part of the $3,100,000,000 that comes from
the manufacturing plants of the Detroit area.
COLONIAL LAUNDRY COMPANY
The Colonial Laundry Company of Detroit was organized in 1902 with
John H. Wendell as president and H. S. Sykes as manager. They began
business in a small way at 602 East Congress street, employing from
thirty to forty people. From the outset the business steadily developed,
so that from time to time the plant was enlarged and the number of
workmen increased. In 1908 Mr. Sykes was succeeded as manager by
C. A. Wendell, who was in turn succeeded by Elmer L. Cousino in 1922.
Five years later the company purchased a large tract of land On
Hendrie avenue and St. Antoine and began the erection of what is un-
questionably the finest family laundry plant in the United States. The
vice-president and general manager of the company made a trip of in-
spection to many of the largest cities in the country, going as far as the
Pacific coast, where he studied the construction of the best laundries then
in existence. With his return to Detroit he designed the present Colonial
Laundry, which embodies the best features of all plants that he had
visited, together with many new and original features exclusively its
own. The building is of modern pressed brick and steel construction,
special attention having been given to lighting and ventilation, the roof
and sides having thousands of square feet of glass. There are 60,000
square feet of floor space and all of the latest and most approved type of
equipment has been installed, operated by electric power driven by direct
motors. The company generates its own electricity, which means a large
1410 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
saving in operation. One of the exclusive features of the plant consists
of two large suction fans with four-foot blades, which send 31,000 cubic
feet of fresh air through the building each minute of the working day,
thereby enabling the employes to work in comparative comfort in the
hottest weather and at the maximum efficiency. In fact the whole build-
ing was designed with a view to the welfare and comfort of employes.
A large mezzanine floor extends nearly all the way around, on which are
located rest rooms and lockers. The clothes are also checked, sorted and
marked on the mezzanine floor and then deposited in automatic chutes
which convey the laundry to the various large washing machines on the
ground floor. It is a most interesting sight to look from the balcony and
watch the one hundred and fifty or more people who are doing the work
in a most Sanitary and systematic manner. The plant is a beehive of in-
dustry in which everything is spotlessly clean.
Since the company moved into its new plant in February, 1928, the
business has increased forty per cent and the Colonial Laundry now em-
ploys one hundred and eighty people and utilizes fourteen trucks each
day in gathering up and delivering the thousands of packages which are
turned out in the twenty-four hours. The utmost care is taken of all
work. Colored and white shirts, wool and cotton goods are all washed
separately in a battery of scientifically designed washers one hundred
feet long. These are made of Monel, non-corrosive metal, and the cyl-
inders absolutely prevent discoloration by rust stains. When shirts leave
the form presses, they are placed on an endless conveyor rack, seventy-
two feet in length, for transportation to the finishing department, where
each shirt—sleeves, cuffs and bosom—is finished by hand. Another fea-
ture of the business includes the washing of ladies’ dresses that people
have formerly believed would require dry cleaning. Ivory soap is used
for this washing. The laundry also perfectly cares for work in the
finest fabrics, including old laces. There is a collar ironer, especially de-
signed for the company, which passes the collar between five heavily
padded rolls and one steam roll, and then after careful inspection the
collars are turned over to the finishing department. There is also a
rough dry department wherein the family laundry may be done and in
which all wearing apparel is returned starched and ready for dampening
and ironing. In a word, the Colonial Laundry is the latest expression in
efficiency, service and workmanship that can be given, the business being
carried on under the capable management of H. M. Jewett, president,
and Elmer L. Cousino, vice-president and general manager.
PENINSULAR CASKET COMPANY
For more than two decades the Peninsular Casket Company has fea-
tured in the manufacturing circles of Detroit. The business was estab-
lished in 1909 by Edward Erickson, Herman Gildenpfennig and Charles
Blaskey for the manufacture of burial caskets. Their original plant
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1411
Was a Small one at Alfred and Orleans avenues. The three men each
contributed $300 to the enterprise, making the capital $900 in all. The
business was gradually increased until in 1912 the company added two
more men to their working force and in the same year moved to an old fac-
tory which they purchased on Galster way off Forest avenue. In 1914 the
old building was razed and a new modern two-story brick factory,
102 x 32 feet, was built. In this was installed the latest equipment and
machinery, together with electric power, used in the manufacture of
high-grade burial caskets and special caskets. They carry on hand a
large stock to supply the trade, which covers the state of Michigan and
northern Ohio, about Seventy-five per cent of their sales being in Michi-
gan. They have two traveling representatives upon the road and employ
eleven people in the factory, some of whom are women who do the in-
terior draping. The company keeps well abreast of the times in styles,
which are continually changing, and in the display rooms one can choose
from the simplest to the most elaborate caskets.
Mr. Erickson and the others of the firm are well known all over the
State for their dependability as well as their progressive methods. There
has been no change in the personnel of the company since its organiza-
tion, Mr. Erickson being secretary, treasurer and general manager, Mr.
Gildenpfennig the sales manager, and Charles Blaskey the factory
superintendent.
RILEY STORER CORPORATION
The control of the Detroit plant of the Riley Stoker Corporation was
acquired by that company in 1917 and full ownership was obtained in
1920. Previous to this time the business had been conducted under the
name of the Murphy Iron Works and was founded by Thomas Murphy
about 1873. The first location was at the northeast corner of Third and
Congress streets and in 1896 a removal was made to the present location,
property being purchased from the old Russell Wheel & Foundry Com-
pany, while ground adjacent to the river was purchased from the
Walker estate.
Mr. Murphy, promoter of the business, had previously been captain of
a lake tug and in addition to the towing business had carried on a wreck-
ing business. Later he acquired a wide reputation for floating wrecks.
While acting as captain of tugs and visiting various lake ports he noticed
the great piles of slack coal, which at that time were practically useless,
and the idea of using this for operating his tugs came to him. Accord-
ingly he installed under the tug boilers a triangular type grate and fired
the material by throwing the coal on the top and letting it work down.
Continually studying the question, he gradually added improvements to
care for the feed, clinker and grinders. Gradually his inventive work
was carried on until he had perfected a mechanically operated Stoker.
1412 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
This was the first of the kind produced in America and it was introduced
to the public in 1882. After perfecting his invention Mr. Murphy, who
had other wide interests, largely concentrated his efforts and attention
upon the building and sale of the stoker.
Early in the ’90s, John and Horace Dodge, who were in the employ
of Mr. Murphy, left him in order to engage in the bicycle business. This
was before they dreamed of turning their attention to automobile manu-
facturing.
The Murphy stoker was a natural draft overfeed type stoker and its
principal features have been retained from the outset. For many years
this was the leading stoker on the American market. The size of the
boilers was enlarged and the increased boiler pressures used brought
about a new type of stokers called the forced draft multiple retort stokers.
This was brought out about 1908. R. Sanford Riley, a graduate of the
Worcester (Mass.) Polytechnic Institute, had been chief engineer on
ocean liners and later became chief engineer of the American Ship Wind-
lass Company, which manufactured a stoker of the forced draft multiple
retort type. In 1911, Mr. Riley organized a company of his own to man-
ufacture and market the Riley stoker, an underfeed type which he had
developed. The new enterprise met with marked success and after having
his product made by outside firms for a time he was looking about for a
plant to manufacture his product. Accordingly in 1917 he bought an
interest in the Murphy company and subsequently acquired entire con-
trol. In 1922 the Riley Corporation took over the Underfeed Stoker
Corporation of America, which manufactured the Jones type of stokers.
The Jones stoker was a pioneer in the forced draft underfeed principle of
firing and had been developed from a design for introducing green wood
in the bottom of the firebox of locomotives at the time when wood was
used as the fuel for engines, this green wood being dried out as it was
forced to the surface of the fire-bed. Year by year the Riley interests
developed and in 1924 the company acquired the Harrington chain grate
stoker. A further progressive step was made when the company bought
out the “Atrita Unit Pulverizer,” this consisting of a system for pulver-
izing coal very fine and blowing it under the boilers, where it burned.
Year by year the business has developed and the Detroit plant is today
the main plant of the company, although a branch is maintained in
Toronto under the name of the Riley Engineering & Supply Company,
Ltd., while still another is conducted under the style of the A. W. Cash
Company at Decatur, Illinois. Today the corporation is Organizing com-
panies in the principal countries of Europe and the business is being
steadily expanded. The Detroit plant now covers five acres and includes
a large foundry and machine shop, while the main office is maintained at
Worcester, Massachusetts, where all administrative work and designing
are handled. At the Detroit plant from three hundred and fifty to four
hundred men are constantly employed.
Naturally with the passing of the years changes have occurred in
ownership. After the death of Mr. Murphy in May, 1904, the business
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1413
was incorporated, the stock being held by his widow and his daughter,
while his nephew, Chester M. Culver, acted as manager of the business
for a time. The death of Mr. Riley occurred in 1926.
The Murphy Iron Works was one of the pioneer industries in the
life of our now great industrial city. The products of this plant may be
found in the power houses throughout the country and even abroad. In
all its history the plant has never been closed down and helps Detroit
in its claim to being a city of diversified industry.
SUPERIOR TOOL WORKS
The Superior Tool Works is classed with the newer enterprises of
Detroit, having been established in 1926 by C. W. Trombly and E. A.
Yoder for the manufacture of tools, jigs, dies and gauges. At the outset
they had a small factory on Gratiot avenue, in which seven men were
employed. Their business steadily developed and they removed to a
larger plant at 3562 Palmer avenue. Their trade now justifies the em-
ployment of twenty-one men, most of whom are highly skilled mechanics.
The product of the plant is sold largely to automobile factories in Detroit
and vicinity and the business is growing year by year. The company
has recently erected a modern factory building at Rohns, north of Harper
avenue, 57 x 1.11% feet in dimensions. It is of modern mill construction
and contains 6,500 feet of floor space. It was designed with a view to
furnishing the utmost possibility of light, with equal care given to venti-
lation. There is a motor driven line shaft, with all of the latest improved
machinery, and the company has occupied its new home since September,
1929. Its facilities enable it to turn out a greater output and already the
enterprise is upon a safe and gratifying financial basis.
NATIONAL BRONZE & ALUMINUM CASTINGS COMPANY
The business of the National Bronze & Aluminum Castings Company
of Detroit had its inception in 1915, when A. J. Detloff, as president, and
P. J. Donnelly, as vice-president, took over the business of the National
Bronze Corporation, which had been established in 1911 by Mr. Detloff
and Mr. Donnelly, Sr. The original company began operations at Charle-
voix and Beaufait avenues and employed ten men. The growth of their
patronage made it necessary to secure increased space and in 1914 they
removed to larger quarters at 649 Lafayette avenue, where they con-
tinued until 1918. A removal was then made to 3530 Garfield avenue,
where the company purchased a tract of land and erected a modern fac-
tory building. As the business has grown they have added to the capacity
of the plant from time to time until it now has 17,000 square feet of floor
1414 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
space. Its machinery equipment is thoroughly modern and the work is
carried on in a most systematic manner by fifty-six skilled mechanics.
The principal product of the factory at the present time is bronze
bushings for automobile factories of Detroit and the surrounding towns
in which motor cars are manufactured, seventy-five per cent of the trade
being secured in this district. In 1919 the Donnellys purchased the in-
terests of the Detloffs and the business is now owned by P. J. Donnelly,
who is the president, and his two sons: H. B. Donnelly, who is vice-
president; and V. R. Donnelly, who is secretary and treasurer.
J. H. DUPREY COMPANY
The J. H. Duprey Company of Detroit is a close corporation which
was so organized in 1921 and became the successor of the Duprey-Faul-
man Company, which was organized in 1917 and began business in a
small building on the rear of the lot at 29 Kercheval avenue. At that
time the firm manufactured mustard only. After a year a removal was
made to 182 East Lafayette street, where they secured 9,000 square feet
of floor space, and they also broadened the scope of their business to
include the manufacture of cider and white vinegar. From the begin-
ning the firm has used “Master Brand” as its trade-mark. In 1921 a
reorganization was effected and the J. H. Duprey Company was formed
as a close corporation. In the same year the business was removed to the
present location at 2120 Bellevue avenue, where a new plant was built
having 14,000 square feet of floor space, and at this time the company
also began the manufacture of pickles. In 1926 a further addition was
made to the plant and in 1928 a warehouse was built with railroad facili-
ties. They now have over 20,000 square feet of manufacturing space in
Detroit. In 1927 they bought out three pickle factories in Michigan and
they now operate branch factories at Caseville, Kinde, Milan and Dundee
and have stations for collection and shipment of raw products at Port
Hope, Port Austin, Willis and Lulu. The firm makes contracts with
farmers for growing cucumbers and in 1929 over one thousand acres
of land are thus utilized, while the production will probably reach sixty
thousand bushels. Their products are sold through jobbers in Ohio,
Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana and Missouri
and also in Canada, their Canadian trade in mustard being particularly
large. The company turns out over three thousand gallons of mustard
per day, put up in glass containers and up to barrel lots. Theirs is the
second largest business of the kind in the United States and the only
mustard manufacturing concern in Michigan. In pickle manufacturing
they rank fifth in the United States and are by far the largest of the
kind in Michigan. Their output includes dill, sweet, sour, sweet mixed
and mustard pickles, sweet relish and white and cider vinegar, as well
as the large quantity of mustard produced. At the picking season the
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1415
cucumbers and other products are put up in brine and then converted
into other forms in the factory during the entire year, and at peak times
the company employs three hundred people. The present officers are:
J. H. Duprey, president and treasurer; F. L. Silk, vice-president; and
J. P. Penrod, Secretary. Under this capable management the business
has developed to one of large and gratifying proportions, with trade
relations covering a wide territory.
STEARNS REGISTER COMPANY
The Stearns Register Company of Detroit was established for the
manufacture of parts for repair parts and for the repair of furnaces,
and from this beginning the business was developed into the manufacture
of warm-air registers. The enterprise was established about twenty-five
years ago by Joseph L. Stearns, now deceased. About 1926 the present
building was erected. It is a structure 60 x 160 feet, part of which is two
stories in height, and contains 12,600 square feet of floor space. The
company now manufactures hot-air registers with a patent shutter made
of sheet metal and finished to suit the inside needs. It is sold to furnace
installers in this locality.
In May, 1928, Russell O. Springman took over the business, to which
he has added Stampings up to five-sixteenths of an inch thick for auto-
mobile manufacturers and also general jobbing stampings. He likewise
does a general jobbing business in nickel and copper plating and likewise
for stove companies and he employs about fifteen people.
C. M. SMILLIE & COMPANY
For more than a third of a century the business of C. M. Smillie &
Company has featured in the industrial development of Detroit. The
firm was organized by C. M. Smillie in 1896 and a shop was opened on
West Larned street, near Griswold, for the manufacture of brass workers’
tools. They occupied a small basement in making special tools and three
men assisted Mr. Smillie in carrying on the work. After about two
years at the original location larger quarters were secured at the corner
of Second avenue and Larned street, where the manufacture of Screw
machine parts was added as a side line.
In 1901 Mr. Smillie sold his interest in Detroit and went to Salem,
New Jersey, where he was in charge of a shop, but in 1907 he returned
to Detroit and resumed operations in the old line on Second avenue near
Larned. About 1912 he removed to his present location at 520 East
Larned street, where he has a three-story building, 55 x 80 feet, and in
1917 the business was incorporated under the name of C. M. Smillie &
Company.
1416 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
In 1917 the old line of special tools was discontinued except for the
Smillie drill chuck, which had been developed. Today the company manu-
factures screw machine parts which are replacement parts for makers
of automobiles, etc., and has the patronage of the Packard Motor Car
Company, the Hudson Motor Car Company, Copeland Electric Refrig-
erators, Rice Refrigeration Corporation and the Universal Cooler Cor-
poration. For the refrigerator companies they make principally the
crank-shaft. In the latter part of 1929 the corporation introduced the new
“Precision” line of tools—tube cutters, flaring tools and reseating tools,
for servicing in the refrigerator, automotive and oil burner industries or
any industry where copper tubing is used. They handle stock from one-
sixteenths of an inch up to three inches in diameter and give employment
to forty-five men.
During the World war C. M. Smillie & Company was largely engaged
in making latch bodies for the American Car & Foundry Company, clutch
parts for the Liberty motor and rifle cleaning rods for the United States
government and was the only company in Michigan to deliver on this
contract. The plant was almost entirely turned over for war work during
that period. Since that time the business of the company has grown
steadily and its future will undoubtedly be one of continuous expansion.
Associated with Mr. Smillie as president are Mrs. Smillie, who is vice-
president of the company, and W. E. Arndt as secretary.
THOMAS KISSANE ELEVATOR COMPANY
For more than a decade the Thomas Kissane Elevator Company has
operated in Detroit. The business was established by Thomas J. Kis-
sane about 1918, operations beginning at 2151 Fisher avenue, where he
acted as sales agent for the Montgomery Elevator Company, also main-
taining a service and repairs department. In 1924 he began the building
of electric hydraulic elevators, operating independently until 1928, when
he organized the business under the name of the Thomas Kissane Elevator
Company and removed to the present location at 1312 Mount Elliott ave-
nue. Here the company continues its manufacturing and maintains a
service and repair department just for its own jobs. The elevators built
at this plant are adapted for all purposes and are turned out in any
capacity and any size. The machine comprises a motor, pump, electric
controller and valves in one unit, pumping direct to the cylinder, and
oil—not water—is used as the medium. The elevators are of automatic
control with a push button and are a development of Mr. Kissane. The
operation is simple and the use of oil permits of the operation of elevators
in cold or unheated locations. The company does much of its own ma-
chine work but purchases and assembles the electrical parts, 4,000 square
feet of floor space being used for the assembling. The elevators manu-
factured by the company have been sold to the Chrysler Corporation, the
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1417
Briggs Manufacturing Company, the Truscon Laboratories, Armour &
Company, the National Grocery Company and many other well known
corporations and firms. The output has a national distribution and the
company does all of its own installation work, employing twenty-five men
at times for this purpose. The elevators are today found in many of the
city Schools and the simplicity of the outfit permits of complete construc-
tion within ten days or two weeks of the receipt of the order, there being
no cables, no weights and no penthouse. The business is carried on under
a partnership relation by Thomas J. Kissane and his son, Thomas C.
Kissane.
FIRST NATIONAL BANK IN DETROIT
The history of the First National Bank in Detroit dates back to Sep-
tember 4, 1863. The country was in the throes of civil war and the
national banking System was introduced by the secretary of the treasury
largely for the purpose of floating government bonds and meeting the
financial situation which the country faced.
Sandwiched in between two stories regarding the Civil war in one
of the papers appeared the following: “First National Bank of Detroit–
An institution to conduct the business of banking in all its branches,
under the new act of congress, was fully organized in this city on Wednes-
day afternoon (September 4, 1863). It was the earliest movement of
its kind in Detroit, having been contemplated for several months, but
necessary preliminaries have required much correspondence with the
treasury department and consequent delay. Stock has been subscribed
by Some of our leading and wealthy business men to an extent consid-
erably exceeding $100,000 and even $200,000 has been freely offered; but
it is proposed to start with the smaller amount. The United States six
per cent bonds have been purchased as a basis for circulation. The in-
stitution commences under very favorable auspices and will unquestion-
ably be a public accommodation as well as a source of profit to the stock-
holders. It will enjoy a portion at least of the government deposits,
which sometimes exceed $750,000 at this point; and its circulation will
be every way as popular among the people as ‘green backs’—receivable
for national taxes, loans, etc., and current at par in every section of the
country. The first meeting of the stockholders was held August 5, and
articles of association, by-laws, etc., were adopted. At the second meet-
ing, September 2, the application to the currency controller having been
in the meantime favorably answered, the following gentlemen were unan-
imously chosen directors: Philo Parsons, E. G. Merrick, M. B. Kean,
M. I. Mills, John Hosmer, W. M. Johnson, John Hutchings, J. N. Ford
and John James. At a subsequent meeting of the directors, Philo Par-
sons, Esq., was unanimously elected president, and was authorized to
act both as president and cashier until a suitable person for the latter
post can be selected. The First National Bank of Detroit has therefore
1418 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
commenced its corporate business according to law. From the well
known energy, sagacity and business experience of Mr. Parsons and the
sterling worth of the board of directors, this institution is sure to be a
success.”
Thus came into being one of the largest banking institutions of the
country at a period when national banks were created to help finance
the Civil war. During the progress of the war the state of currency
reached a chaotic condition similar to that of several European countries
during the World war. As a means of stabilization, Salmon P. Chase,
secretary of the treasury, created the national bank system as an outlet
for government bonds. Any five men furnishing a specified capital might
be granted a charter by the national government to organize a banking
business if they purchased United States bonds and deposited them at
Washington.
At the period when the First National Bank was founded Detroit
was a city of fifty thousand population in which the first horse car line
was established only two days before the opening of the bank. The tallest
buildings of the city were four stories in height. The Detroit News of
July 7, 1879, gives an account of how Emery Wendell, arriving at the
First National Bank that morning, found a telegraph pole in front of the
building. “What does this mean 7” he asked of Mr. Newland of the
firm Buhl, Newland & Company next door. Mr. Newland replied that he
guessed it was Jay Gould's new telegraph company, the American Union,
that had put up the pole, whereupon Mr. Wendell replied: “I am stark,
Staring, crazy mad! And Such an unsightly, crooked, cheap, nasty pole,
too. I think I’ll go and get a carpenter to chop that down level with the
ground. Confound their consummate impudence. They have rented our
basement for an office, too. Broke our sidewalk, and never asked per-
mission | And such a disgusting piece of timber I’ll go inside and cool
off, and then I’ll see a lawyer on the subject of eminent domain.” The
paper added to its account of the incident: “At noon, however, the pole
was still there, and no commotion is visible; but it may be the lull before
the storm.”
With the passing years the business of the First National Bank stead-
ily grew and the institution developed an expansion program which led
to the absorption of other banks. These instiutions, too, have merged
with still other banks, so that the evolution of banking in Detroit, making
the city one of the financial centers of the world, can be traced through
the development of the First National, which was formed under patriotic
impetus and has since manifested its municipal loyalty by aiding many
of those industries which have contributed to the city’s fame. In 1864,
following its policy of expansion, the State Bank of Michigan was merged
into the First National. The National Insurance Bank was taken over in
1869, the Commercial National Bank in 1908, the Old Detroit National
Bank in 1914 and the Central Savings Bank in 1922.
With the constant growth more commodious quarters were needed as
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1419
the years passed and since its organization the First National has occu-
pied many homes, some of which have vanished in the path of progress,
others which stand today as landmarks. The first home of the bank was
in the Rotunda building at the northeast corner of Larned and Griswold
Streets, and a year later after the consolidation with the State Bank of
Michigan, a new location at the southeast corner of Jefferson and Gris-
Wold was taken. The southwest corner of this intersection was occupied
in 1869. In 1908 a new home was established at the corner of Griswold
and Congress streets. The First National moved to the Ford building
in 1913.
In 1922 the First National building on Cadillac Square was completed
and was at that time the largest bank building between New York and
Chicago. Seven years later an addition, including an eleven-story garage,
was added to the building, and with the completion of this unit, the First
National building gained the prestige of being the only bank in the world
to have furnished parking facilities to its clients.
This bank has not been lacking in personalities which add immeasur-
ably to the human element in the story of a great enterprise. Its men
have found fame in statesmanship, commerce and industry. Among the
former who occupied the political spotlight of their day have been : Chris-
tian H. Buhl, mayor; Zachariah Chandler, who had been elected Senator
in President Buchanan’s time and held office until defeated by Senator
Ferris, when he went into President Grant’s cabinet as secretary of the
interior; and Russell A. Alger, governor. John J. Bagley was governor,
and Jacob S. Farrand was water commissioner. Hazen S. Pingree was
mayor and governor of Michigan.
The material progress of the First National Bank, as told by its finan-
cial statements, from the first to the last is seen in the following com-
pilation. In 1863, deposits were $158,535; in 1930, at the time of the last
statement, deposits totaled $145,194,203. The bank's statement of con-
dition on March 27, 1930, showed resources of nearly $174,000,000. The
officers are: John Ballantyne, chairman of the board; William J. Gray,
vice-chairman of the board; Herbert L. Chittenden, chairman of the execu-
tive committee; D. Dwight Douglas, president; John H. Hart, Charles K.
Bartow, Henry J. Bridgman, Fred Brown, H. W. Bulkley, William T. De-
Graff, Roderick P. Fraser, Raymond A. Jacobs, Frederic J. Parker, Ed-
ward C. Mahler, Wilson A. McWhinney, E. J. Obendorfer, Edward H.
Rogers, F. Howard Russ, Jr., Benjamin G. Vernor, James A. Wilson,
Clarence D. Blessed and Hamilton Hadden, vice-presidents; and George S.
Hoppin, Jr., cashier. On the list of directors appear the names of some
of the most prominent and capable financiers and business men of the city.
In 1929 the directors of the First National Bank voted to recommend
to its stockholders an affiliation with the Detroit & Security Trust Com-
pany, the Peoples Wayne County Bank, the Bank of Michigan and the
Peninsular State Bank, to consolidate their resources and form a holding
company known as the Detroit Bankers Company. The invested capital
of this holding company is around ninety million dollars and resources .
1420 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
approach seven hundred million dollars, making it the seventh largest
banking group in the United States. Emory W. Clark, formerly chair-
man of the board of the First National Bank in Detroit, is chairman of
the board of the Detroit Bankers Company. The First National Com-
pany of Detroit, the investment underwriting and selling unit of the First
National Bank was organized in 1920. In 1930 the First National Com-
pany and the bond department of the Detroit & Security Company were
consolidated to form the First Detroit Company, the investment unit of
the Detroit Bankers Company. -
THE DETROIT SAVINGS BANK
The Detroit Savings Bank is one of the old and time-honored financial
institutions of Michigan. It was founded March 5, 1849, under the name
of the Detroit Savings Fund Institute, and articles of incorporation were
filed. The authorizing act was signed by Governor Ransom and the af-
fairs of the new institution were placed in the hands of a board of trustees,
consisting of Elon Farnsworth, ex-chancellor of the state, Shubael Co-
nant, Dr. Zina Pitcher, David Smart, Charles Moran, George M. Rich,
John Palmer, Levi Cook, James A. Hicks, Benjamin B. Kercheval and
Gurdon Williams. The Savings Fund Institute differed from the other
banks in that it was a simple trust, without capital stock and modeled
after the early banking systems in New England.
Because Chancellor Farnsworth was one of the old historic charac-
ters who gave shape to the financial annals of the state, it is fitting that
a word concerning him should be here inserted. Alpheus Felch, who was
governor of Michigan from 1845 until 1847, wrote of him : “When the
court of chancery was established in 1836, public attention was at once
directed to him as the man most eminently qualified for the duties of the
presiding officer of a court of equity. Always calm, deliberate and cau-
tious, counsel and litigants had perfect confidence in his ability and in-
tegrity. None but those who were in the wrong ever feared the result
of his deliberations or the announcement of his decision. So satisfac-
torily did he discharge the duties of this office that although compelled to
resign in 1843, he was urgently pressed to resume the position, and thence-
forward he continued as chancellor until the court was abolished. Soon
after this, when the Detroit Savings Fund Institute was incorporated by
special act of the legislature, he was induced to accept the presidency and
remained in office until his death in 1877, a period of twenty-eight years.
The characteristics governing him as chancellor were carried into the
administration of the bank during its formative period and have always
influenced his successors. As a banker he was clear-headed, prudent, of
sound judgment, inflexible in the discharge of his duties, straightforward
and above reproach. He left a record most clean as a man of spotless
honor and complete integrity.”
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1421
Chancellor Farnsworth served as president of the Detroit Savings
Fund Institute from its inception and up to 1855 the bank had no cashier,
but in April of that year Alexander H. Adams was appointed to fill the
newly created office. For a considerable period after its organization the
bank was without a competitor in its chosen field and it was the sole place
of deposit for wage earners and small tradesmen, the purpose for which
it was originally intended. Back of the institution have always been
men of marked ability and high personal character. Among the number
who have served on its board are Senator James McMillan, Henry N.
Walker, Governor Henry P. Baldwin, Henry Ledyard, Samuel Lewis,
Henry P. Bridge, Edward Lyon, Willard Parker, Frederick B. Sibley,
Edmund Trowbridge, Alex Chapoton, Sr., Dr. E. A. Chapoton, Thomas
Ferguson, George Jerome, W. K. Muir, Alex Lewis, Sidney D. Miller,
Arthur M. Parker, Philip McMillan, George Hendrie, Strathearn Hendrie,
Thomas Ferguson, W. K. Anderson, Charles A. Dean, D. C. Delamater
and George S. Baker, all of whom have passed from life.
The wise and conservative management of the Detroit Savings Fund
Institute soon made it one of the city’s solid financial business enterprises.
It was reorganized July 10, 1871, under a statute approved at the pre-
ceding session of the legislature, and a new charter was taken out under
the name of “The Detroit Savings Bank,” with a capital of $200,000, and
with the double liability clause incorporated in the new law for the pro-
tection of depositors in savings institutions.
Chancellor Farnsworth continued in the presidency until his death
in 1877, when he was succeeded by Alexander H. Adams, who also acted
as cashier until 1882, when he resigned the latter office but continued in
the presidency until his death in 1883. Sidney D. Miller, who had been
a trustee and attorney for the board from 1855, became his successor, at
which time he abandoned the practice of law, in which he had previously
engaged. Enjoying the entire confidence of the board of directors, the
management of the bank was left largely to his discretion.
When Detroit was a smaller city the banking houses were all concen-
trated in the business center of the city, chiefly on Griswold street and
that vicinity, but presently the power of advertising and of suggestion
was taken into consideration as well as a desire to better serve the con-
venience of the depositors. A few branch banks were established on the
main thoroughfares in closer connection with the outlying business houses
and the residence districts, so as to permit daily deposits of funds in a
neighborhood branch bank of the larger banking houses.
The realization appears to have exceeded the expectation, for in recent
years the city has witnessed a remarkable extension of the branch bank
service in every direction. The Detroit Savings Bank now has twenty-
six established branches located as follows: at Gratiot avenue, corner of
St. Antoine; Vernor highway, corner of Junction; Woodward avenue,
corner of Milwaukee; Grand River avenue, corner of Warren ; Jefferson
avenue, corner of Hillger; Michigan avenue, corner of Twenty-fourth ;
Brady street, corner of Woodward; Mack avenue, Gratiot and Elmwood;
1422 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Holden avenue, corner of Hamilton; Clay avenue, corner of Oakland;
Canfield avenue, corner of Russell; Kercheval avenue, corner of Van Dyke ;
Oakland avenue, corner of Woodland; Fort street, corner of Campbell;
Linwood avenue, corner of Joy road; Joy road, corner of Grand River;
Warren avenue, corner of Junction; Hamilton avenue, corner of Colling-
wood; Trumbull avenue, corner of Grand River; Twelfth street, corner
of Pingree; Charlevoix avenue, corner of Marlborough ; John R street,
corner of Louisiana; Westphalia avenue, corner of Gratiot; Meyers road,
corner of Grand River; Fenkell avenue, corner of Fairfield; and Harper
avenue, corner of Chalmers. All these locations have been chosen with
particular care with equal regard for the public convenience and their
strategic value. The innovation has accomplished material benefits by
enabling residents and business men remote from the down-town district
to bank their money near at home. It has promoted a greater thrift as
well as greater convenience, saving time and car fare, and avoiding the
overcrowding of the main or central banks during business hours. Insti-
tution of branch banks has necessitated considerable investment in real
estate, but in a rapidly growing city like Detroit with population steadily
expanding and property values always steadily on the up-grade these
investments are all of a sort that business shrewdness and foresight will
readily approve.
The policy of The Detroit Savings Bank from the beginning has been
to encourage the small depositors and every consideration is given the
requirements of its business patrons who need the service a big, strong
bank can render. As the Detroit Savings Fund Institute it had a very
modest beginning in a building on the northeast corner of Woodbridge
and Griswold streets. From there it moved to the west side of Wood-
ward avenue, just below Jefferson. Its next home was in the Waterman
block on Griswold street. On January 1, 1879, the bank removed to the
northeast corner of Griswold and Larned streets. Its next removal oc-
curred March 1, 1906, to quarters in the Penobscot building on the south
side of Fort street near Griswold. Nearly every person in Detroit is
familiar with the bank’s present location in The Detroit Savings Bank
building, corner Griswold and State streets, which it has occupied since
1921.
The condensed statement of condition of The Detroit Savings Bank
as of December 31, 1929, showed capital stock paid in of $1,500,000; sur-
plus fund of $2,500,000; undivided profits net amounting to $584,005;
savings deposits, $30,838,973; and total resources of $51,413,998. At this
writing (1930) the officers of the bank are: John M. Dwyer, chairman
of the board; Walter L. Dunham, president; James H. Doherty, vice
president; John C. Dilworth, vice president; Wilson Fleming, vice presi-
dent; Kenneth Paton, vice president and cashier; L. A. Wilson, vice presi-
dent; G. Moreland Mattingly, assistant to the president; Edwin D. Kay,
assistant vice president; Cecil S. Hunt, assistant vice president; Curtis
C. Bogan, assistant vice president; William H. Watson, assistant cashier;
Edward J. Dee, assistant cashier; Fred C, Andrews, assistant cashier;
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1423
H. N. Baxendale, assistant cashier; Theodore B. Doran, assistant cashier;
Dervine T. Gouin, assistant cashier; Herman A. Loeffler, assistant cash-
ier; Samuel D. Mullin, assistant cashier; and J. A. Menner, superintend-
ent of branches.
UNIVERSAL CREDIT CORPORATION
The Universal Credit Corporation has its head offices in Detroit, with
Edsel B. Ford, chairman of the board, Ernest Kanzler as president, G. H.
Zimmerman vice president and B. J. Craig secretary-treasurer, and these
gentlemen, together with C. B. Longley, Robert O. Lord, H. L. Moekle,
and A. N. Wibel, constitute the board of directors.
This corporation is a specialized financing institution, associated with
the Ford Motor Company. Through its finance plans it operates exclu-
sively in connection with the time sales of Ford products, particularly
model A motor cars, Lincoln cars, Fordson tractors and the traded cars
incident to the merchandising of these Ford products.
The corporation was chartered March 5, 1928, under the laws of Dela-
ware, with an authorized capital of $11,500,000. The majority of the
common stock and the entire preferred stock is owned by the Ford
Motor Company, which recognizes that many of its customers are vitally
interested in purchasing its products on an installment basis. Therefore,
through the Universal Credit Corporation, it has provided for the ex-
clusive use of Ford dealers and the public, authorized Ford finance plans.
Under these plans credit is made available to the consumer on a sound
and permanent basis at a low cost. These authorized plans are an im-
portant factor in the sales program of the Ford Motor Company and
thus one more step has been added in the established policy of controlling
operations from the mine to the consumer for the benefit of the public.
In the formation of the Universal Credit Corporation recognition is
taken of the distinct trend in the motor industry, for the control or Own-
ership of agencies affecting the sale and sound distribution of motor cars
to the public on an installment basis. While the corporation is owned
by the Ford Motor Company, it operates as a separate organization, thus
insuring sound credit operations unaffected by any factors which might
influence the distinctly specialized credit and financing functions of the
corporation. The partial responsibility of the dealer for the extension
of sound credit under this plan insures the interest of the dealer in the
time sales transaction until the final installment is paid. It also develops
the merchandising and credit ability of the dealer and makes for Sound
installment selling to the benefit of the dealer and to the System of Con-
sumer or individual credit. Any tendency toward unsound competition
among Ford dealers is thus eliminated under this uniform time Sales
practice.
There is a wholesale or floor plan whereby the corporation extends
*,
1424 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
accommodation to Authorized Ford and Lincoln dealers of proper credit
Standing, thus assisting in the accumulation of car stocks in preparation
for retail deliveries to the consumer at the peak of the selling season.
The Universal Credit Corporation plans also provide standard fire and
theft insurance through policies issued by a leading national insurance
company, protecting all parties in interest.
All authorized Ford and Lincoln dealers of proper credit and financial
standing are permitted the use of the corporation plans, both retail and
wholesale. Each dealer is furnished with complete charts for the new
Ford passenger cars and also a standard used car rate chart with a hand-
book of information for Ford dealers on the purposes, plans and policies
of the Universal Credit Company, so that each dealer knows exactly how
to handle every business situation that may arise in regard to the exten-
sion of credit to those who are considered morally and financially re-
sponsible. -
The history of Universal Credit Corporation is one of sound growth
and successful expansion. Operations were commenced on June 1, 1928,
with the opening of the first branch office at Detroit. In the following
six months a total of twelve complete branches were established and a
$15,000,000 volume of business was successfully handled.
During 1929, the first complete year of the Corporation’s operations,
nearly $180,000,000 in retail volume was purchased in connection with
the financing of over 450,000 customers of Ford dealers. At the close
of this second year twenty-four complete branches were in operation
throughout the country with the first foreign operation also established
at Mexico City.
The present year indicates a substantial and continuous monthly
growth in the volume of business. Twenty-eight branches are in opera-
tion as of May first. During May and June four additional branches were
opened, further extending the service and Operations of the corpora-
tion. This organization has, of this date, handled a grand total of over
750,000 time sales transactions for a total dollar volume of over $275,-
000,000. -
In March of 1929 the Corporation volume amounted to over $12,000,-
000 and in March of this year over $19,000,000. In April, 1929, the total
for the month was over $16,000,000 and in April, 1930, the volume handled
was in excess of $25,000,000. Universal Credit Corporation’s business
will reach for 1930 a dollar volume in excess of $300,000,000.
The credit and collection operations of the corporation are coopera-
tive, the dealer first determining the credit standing of the customer
through intimate local information, after which this is supplemented by
the opinions of the trained personnel maintained in all the branches of
the Universal Credit Corporation, which has neutral credit sources avail-
able for verifying the information furnished by local dealers. There has
been established a plan for training all branch managers and the branch
personnel with a view to the development of both junior and senior mem-
bers of the organization and the standardization of operations in a man-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1425
ner which insures complete credit, collection, accounting and auditing
control. Periodic inspection of credits and audits covering all branch
Operations are made by representatives directed from the home office.
All this insures a uniform system of operation in every branch of the
Service promoted by the corporation. Each dealer and each employe
follows the prescribed policies and standardized procedure outlined for
all branches by the home office divisions.
The men at the head of the corporation are well qualified to meet
every requirement by reason of their previous experience. Ernest Kanz-
ler, president, after engaging in the practice of law, entered the service
of the Ford Motor Company, of which he became a vice president, in
charge of production, being also a director of the Ford Motor Company,
vice president of the Lincoln Motor Company, a director of the Ford
Company of Canada, Ltd., and a director of the D. T. & I., then a Ford
controlled railroad. In 1926 he resigned these offices and was the active
member of the organization committee which organized the Guardian
Detroit Bank. It was early in 1928 that he organized the Universal Credit
Corporation and has since directed its activities as president, while at the
Same time he has continued his banking and other interests as an official
of the Guardian Bank group.
G. H. Zimmerman is vice president of the corporation. His experi-
ence in motor financing dates back to 1917 when he was associated with
the Guaranty Securities Company, one of the pioneer companies to enter
the motor finance field.
Mr. Zimmerman, upon the formation of General Motors Acceptance
Corporation in 1919, assisted in the development and organization of the
collection division. He later became credit and collection manager of the
company’s New York and Chicago branches. He was then transferred
to the home office executive staff, as assistant to the vice president, in
charge of credits and collections, and later became assistant to the vice
president, in charge of branch operations.
After being with General Motors Acceptance Corporation for seven
years in these various capacities, he accepted a position as vice president
of the Commercial Credit Company, Baltimore, for the Atlantic Coast and
Southern territories. In that position he was responsible for new busi-
ness, credits and collections, accounting and all branch operations.
Mr. Zimmerman joined in the organization work of the Universal
Credit Corporation and was elected vice president when its incorporation
was completed. He assists the president in the management of the cor-
poration and is directly responsible for credits and collections and branch
operations.
B. J. Craig is secretary-treasurer of the corporation, and is also Secre-
tary and assistant treasurer of the Ford Motor Company. Since 1912 Mr.
Craig has been taking an active part in the direction of the financial
affairs of the Ford Motor Company and its allied interests. He is an
officer in most of its subsidiary companies and assists the president in the
direction of inter-company policies connected with his office.
1426 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
D. F. Valley is comptroller and assistant treasurer of the corporation.
He was associated for several years with the firm of Haskins & Sells,
Certified Public Accountants, and on February 1st, 1926, he became Comp-
troller of Dodge Brothers, Inc., supervising in that capacity accounting
practices for the parent company and subsidiaries. Mr. Valley is directly
responsible for the accounting practices and policies of the Corporation
and also for the internal audits. In addition, he assists the president in
maintaining banking relations.
THE STORMFELTZ-LOVELEY COMPANY
Detroit is known as the “Dynamic City,” and the spirit which has
given it its name finds expression in the activities of the StormfeltZ-
Loveley Company. The partners in this concern enjoy the distinction of
being the originators of a special plan of marketing real estate and,
moreover, hold first place among Michigan’s largest realtors. No greater
compliment can be paid or endorsement given to a project than to have
a course which they have marked out used as a pattern by competitive
concerns. The Stormfeltz–Loveley Company was organized in 1904 by
Harry A. Stormfeltz and Edward A. Loveley, and the plans which they
have evolved have constituted a pattern that has constantly been followed
in the real estate development of the city since that time. Their activities
have identified them with the growth of nearly every neighborhood in
Detroit and at the same time they have actively participated in the pro-
motion of municipal projects and public improvements.
It was the Stormfeltz-Loveley Company that originated the plan of
selling real estate by private Solicitation, as is done today everywhere,
but until they opened their Detroit office real estate here was sold only by
public auction. After they had demonstrated the feasibility of their basic
plan they went a step further by improving the properties they were
selling and this enterprising method has likewise become a common prac-
tice in real estate circles. That the firm merits and enjoys the confidence
of the public is due in large measure to the fact that its subdivisions have
always turned out to be good investments, and invariably they are located
on main highways inside the metropolitan area. It is this company which
owns the Stormfeltz–Loveley building at Woodward avenue and Grand
boulevard and is interested in the development of Detroit’s new shopping,
hotel and theater district on Bagley avenue. The development of this
project has led to the construction of the Michigan Theater building at
Bagley and Clifford, the Detroit-Leland Hotel at Bagley and Cass avenue,
and the United Artists building at Bagley and Clifford.
The main offices of the company are situated on the eleventh floor
of the Michigan. Theater building and at the same time the company
maintains a Grandmont branch at 16681 Grand River avenue. A sta-
tistical table of their operations shows a most remarkable increase in
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1427
property values in the subdivisions which they have handled. With
wonderful prescience they have seemed to recognize future possibilities
for development, have recognized the trend of growth and progress in
the city and have met public needs in the matter of property holdings.
Something of the great Scope of their interests is indicated in the fact
that the leading Subdivisions sold by the Stormfeltz–Loveley Company in-
clude Cass Farm, Boston boulevard, La Salle Gardens, Dexter boulevard,
Martin Park, Kean's, Boulevard Park, Edgemont Park, Bedford road,
Devonshire road, Homarden Park, Windmille Pointe, Grosse Pointe Manor,
Grosse Pointe Shores, Blackstone Park, Blackstone Nos, 1, 5, 6 and 7,
Blackstone Manor, Hawthorne Park, Southlawn Park, Kercheval High-
lands, Grandmont Nos. 1, 2 and 3, Voigt Park, Joy Farm, La Salle boule-
vard, Ferry Farm, Grosse Pointe Estates, Buckingham road, Buckingham
Park, Waterworks Park, Balfour Park, Rogers Park, Lake Erie View,
Park Manor, Park Drive Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, Fort Park Manor,
Woodward avenue, Stott's, Ryan Park, Reynolds & Harvey, Salina Park,
Grand River Park, Fred R. Coon's, Collingwood & Lawrence, Lenox ave-
nue, Gilbert's Dunning Park, Westwood Hills, Southfield Gardens, Red
Run, Kenwood Park, Kenwood Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, Hendry Park, Frank-
lin Park, Manhattan City Park, Broadmoor, Churchill Park, Sheffield Es-
tates and many others. No other realty organization has contributed
in so large a measure to the city’s growth, needs and improvement as has
the Stormfeltz–Loveley Company, which in the twenty-six years of its
existence has long occupied a position of leadership, while its activities
have always been of a character that have contributed to public welfare
as well as to individual success.
DETROIT AND SECURITY TRUST COMPANY
The Detroit and Security Trust Company, housed in a mammoth
structure on Fort street opposite the post office in Detroit, came into
being in the consolidation of the Detroit Trust Company and the Security
Trust Company on the 11th of July, 1928. The history of these two
institutions constitutes an important chapter in the financial annals of
the city.
The Detroit Trust Company was incorporated in December, 1900, a
meeting of the stockholders was held on the 17th of the month and the
first meeting of the board of directors on December 20th. The company
was capitalized for $500,000, with a surplus of equal amount, and the first
officers were: Alexander McPherson, president; Theodore D. Buhl and
Henry Stephens, vice presidents; George L. McPherson, treasurer; and
Ralph Stone, assistant secretary. There were three departments: trust,
financial and bond. In January, 1901, the company opened offices on
the second floor of the Butler building at 82-84 Griswold street. Early
in the year, Trust Number One was opened. It was a trusteeship under
1428 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
a mortgage securing an issue of $500,000 of bonds upon four steel steam-
ships, built to operate between Chicago and Trans-Atlantic ports through
the Welland canal and St. Lawrence river. On April 1, 1902, the com-
pany added to its offices the first floor of 84 Griswold street. In February,
1906, the company moved into offices on the ground floor of the Penob-
scot building on Fort street. On June 9, 1909, Trust Number One was
closed, the bonds having been paid in full prior to that date. On May 9,
1911, $500,000 was added to the surplus out of undivided profits, and On
July 11 the capital was increased by an additional $500,000, so that at
that time the capital was $1,000,000 and the surplus $1,000,000. In De-
cember, 1914, the company purchased property at the southwest corner
of Fort and Shelby streets, and commenced then the erection of a build-
ing to serve only the business of the company. On November 22, 1915,
the company moved into its new building. In December of that year the
capital, surplus and undivided profits amounted to $2,987,646.
The history of the Detroit Trust Company was one of steady expan-
sion and the visible evidence of this was found in the erection of a large
addition to its new home. Plans to begin work on this substantial struc-
ture were announced in February, 1926, and ground was broken on the
15th of March. Unusual interest centers in the location, which is part
of the old English fort erected in 1778, as a defense against the Ameri-
cans. It was subsequently called Fort Shelby, in honor of Governor Isaac
Shelby of Kentucky, and was demolished in 1826. The evacuation of the
fort by the British at twelve o’clock noon, June 11, 1796, was the closing
act of the war of independence. On that day the American flag was
raised over this soil, all of which was then known as the Western Terri-
tory, becoming at that time part of the Federal Union. Timbers from the
fort were discovered in excavating for the present building. With the
completion of the new building the Detroit Trust Company had a home
with a total frontage of one hundred and forty feet on Fort street and
one hundred and thirty-eight feet on Shelby street. With the idea of
future expansion in mind, the foundation and steel structural work were
designed to support eight stories in all. The building has every modern
facility for a business of this character and with the opening on the 18th
of May, 1927, nearly thirty thousand persons visited the new home of the
Detroit Trust Company.
On the organization of the Detroit Trust Company, Alexander Mc-
Pherson became president and after a decade and a half of service was
succeeded by Ralph Stone in 1915, while in 1927 McPherson Browning
became the incumbent of that office. George L. McPherson took the posi-
tion of treasurer in 1900, Howard J. Lesher in 1903, Lawrence K. Butler
in 1912, Fred Wixson in 1917 and William J. Thomas in 1926. The secre-
taries of the Detroit Trust Company were Ralph Stone, who assumed the
duties of the position in 1903, Charles P. Spicer, who succeeded him in
1912, and Charles E. Hilton, who was made secretary in 1917.
Six years after the Detroit Trust Company had come into being the
Security Trust Company was formed by a group of persons associated
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1429
with Detroit and Michigan banks and started business July 2, 1906, with
M. J. Murphy as president and with a paid in capital of $500,000 and a
surplus of $500,000. The first office was located in the Campau building
but in the latter part of 1908 removal was made to the Moffat building,
where the company occupied space jointly with the Michigan Savings
Bank until the latter consolidated with the Wayne County and Home
Savings Bank, at which time the Security Trust Company took all the
available space.
On the 1st of February, 1925, this company moved into its new home
at 735 Griswold street, occupying the south half of the old McGraw site
with an historic banking history. M. J. Murphy, the first president of
the Security Trust Company, possessed marked ability as an organizer
and this, together with his standing in the community, gave the company
an excellent start. He continued in the presidency until 1910, when he
resigned and was succeeded by Charles C. Jenks, an able executive and
financier and man of wide experience. Following his death October 4,
1923, Albert E. Green was elected president and brought to his duties
wide experience, having been with the company since 1910, when he was
made assistant secretary. In 1912 he was elected secretary and treasurer
and in addition assumed the office of vice president in 1915. The growth
of the company was a healthy and steady one. In December, 1921, the
capital was increased from $500,000 to $1,000,000. At the same time,
$500,000 was transferred from undivided profits to surplus account, thus
making the company’s surplus $1,000,000. At the close of business June
30, 1928, the company’s surplus was $2,000,000, the undivided profits
$1,275,429.51, which together with the paid in capital of $1,000,000, gave
the organization a total financial responsibility of $4,275,429.51. Its trust
funds were invested in real estate mortgages on city and suburban im-
proved properties—also in first mortgage bonds and municipal bonds of
the highest grade. James S. Holden, president of the James S. Holden
Company and a director in the Wayne County and Home Savings Bank
and in the Standard Accident Company, was elected chairman of the
board of directors in December, 1923, and held this position until the
early part of 1928.
Negotiations for the consolidation of the Detroit Trust Company and
the Security Trust Company were concluded May 15, 1928, and approved
by the boards of directors of both companies, the new organization to be
known as the Detroit and Security Trust Company. This merging which
was made effective July 11, 1928, resulted in a trust company with a
capital of $3,000,000, surplus of $7,000,000 and undivided profits of over
$3,000,000, thus giving Detroit the largest trust company in the United
States in point of invested capital, doing exclusively a trust and not a
banking business. With the execution of the plans made by the two
organizations, Ralph Stone became chairman of the board, Albert E.
Green the vice chairman and McPherson Browning the president, while
the entire boards of both companies, with the entire official and clerical
staffs, continue to serve in their respective positions. The Security Trust
1430 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Company moved into the building of the Detroit Trust Company and the
work of the new organization was immediately underway. Detroit has
every reason to be proud of this great financial institution created from
the merger of two of the oldest and strongest trust companies of the
city. The business is being steadily developed along the most progressive
lines. It pledges to all of its customers a close personal attention to their
individual needs that is the basis of all satisfactory trust relationships.
Size, strength, unquestioned financial stability, thorough organization for
attention to detail—these things are of great importance, and nowhere
are they more apparent than in the Detroit and Security Trust Company.
On September 27, 1929, the directors of Detroit and Security Trust
Company voted to recommend to its stockholders an affiliation with the
Peoples Wayne County Bank, the First National Bank, the Bank of Mich-
igan and the Peninsular State Bank. This was confirmed November 7,
by the announcement that seventy-five per cent of the respective stocks
had been deposited to form a holding company, to be known as the De-
troit Bankers Company, with capitalization of approximately $90,000,000
and resources totaling $725,000,000, the seventh largest banking group
in the United States.
CENTRAL STATION STEAM COMPANY
The history of the Central Station Steam Company of Detroit is of
particular interest due to the fact that this is one of only two companies
in the United States specializing in the manufacture of the product
handled. The business was organized prior to 1904 by Bingley R. Fales
and is now under the capable direction of J. V. Redfield, who is president
and treasurer of the corporation. The enterprise was started for the
purpose of manufacturing fittings, meters, appliances, etc., to be used
at first for the Central Heating Company of Detroit, while later its pur-
pose was to manufacture devices of this kind to be used in the sale and
distribution of steam generated in other central plants. For five years
the business was carried on by its original promoter, Mr. Fales, who in
1909, however, sold out to Mr. Redfield. The plant at that time was lo-
cated at the corner of Woodbridge and Brush streets and its products
were made largely by outside firms. In April, 1910, however, the com-
pany was forced to manufacture its own products in order to secure
proper workmanship and materials. In that year a removal was made
to what was then 76 East Congress street and in 1915 the present plant at
29.10 East Woodbridge street was, built.
The firm now manufactures equipment and supplies for district heat-
ing plants and does a highly specialized business. Its output includes
expansion devices to take up the expansion of feed pipes, and special
meters to measure the condensed steam. Theirs is the only firm in this
line in this part of the country and has but one competitor in the entire
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 143
United States, so that today the Central Station Steam Company has
almost a monopoly of the meter business. Their appliances are used in
practically all large city buildings where steam is furnished by central
Steam generating plants, and in some cities steam is furnished these
buildings for power generation as well.
The products handled by the company are a development of this con-
cern, particularly in meter work. They employ about twenty people, all
highly trained workmen and skilled mechanics, and today their output
is known throughout the entire country. The officers are: J. V. Redfield,
president and treasurer; and H. W. Redfield, vice president, and J. V.
Oxtoby, secretary.
BANK OF DETROIT
The Bank of Detroit was organized on the 1st of March, 1916, its
first board of directors consisting of George R. Andrews, W. L. Dunham,
James Couzens, Charles A. Dean, Edsel B. Ford, Henry Ford, Alonzo P.
Ewing, F. L. Klingensmith, James T. Whitehead, A. L. McMeans and
John W. Anderson. From these the following officers were chosen : James
Couzens, president; Alonzo P. Ewing, James T. Whitehead and Frank L.
Klingensmith, vice presidents, and E. C. Ver Beck, cashier.
The bank was capitalized for $500,000, and the capital stock has been
increased three times until it is now $4,000,000, while its resources on
December 31, 1929, amounted to $54,793,125. The bank was opened in
the Penobscot building, where the business was carried on until 1921,
when its present building was erected, being occupied on the 1st day of
August of that year. It is a substantial structure fifty by one hundred
thirty-eight feet and of an attractive architectural design, with a lobby
three stories in height and one story above. The building is of Stone,
steel and concrete construction and it contains the largest vault in Michi-
gan. In addition to this property the bank owns the corner, making its
land holdings one hundred by one hundred and thirty-eight feet.
Mr. Couzens, the first president, tendered his resignation in Novem-
ber, 1923, and was succeeded by George B. Judson, at which time C. H.
Haberkorn, Jr., became chairman of the board and has since continued
to serve in that capacity. The vice presidents are: G. Ogden Ellis, W. A.
Fisher, R. B. Gripman, F. J. Beyer, E. S. Burns, C. M. Beers, and L. C.
Van Auken. For the past two years W. R. Laing has been cashier of the
Bank of Detroit. Through the intervening period since its inception the
bank has constantly expanded in usefulness and its growth is indicative
of the dynamic development of Detroit. The main office is at 241 Fort
street and the Boulevard office is at 3049 West Grand boulevard. Its
first branch was established in 1916 on West Jefferson avenue and this
became known as the Delray branch. The Bank of Detroit has steadily
increased the number of its branches until they now number nineteen
1432 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
and are located in various parts of the city. Its continued growth is
based upon a splendid business policy and progressive management, and
the bank features as one of the strongest financial institutions of Michi-
gan. In 1929 it became a part of the merger forming the Guardian De-
troit Union Group, Inc.
DETROIT CREAMERY COMPANY
The Detroit Creamery Company was organized December 28, 1899,
by Alfred Easter, who became a director and general manager, Frank
Kellogg, T. C. Sherwood, who was elected president, and William Harry,
who became secretary and treasurer. Frank P. Byron was one of the
original stockholders and directors as well as one of its organizers. They
began business in the Perkins barn at Middle, Cass and Grand River
streets. In addition to those above named there were various other
stockholders and it was not long before the business was placed upon a
substantial basis. In 1918 Mr. Easter retired, at which time Jerome H.
Remick became president and general manager, having previously occu-
pied the position of president from 1914. The first incumbent of that
office was succeeded by Joseph Harris, who was followed by Stephen
Baldwin and A. E. Morey, who was the predecessor of Mr. Remick. Fer-
dinand W. Ulrich became secretary and treasurer on the 1st of January,
1904, and has continued to fill the office to the present time. The present
officers of the company are Jerome H. Remick, president and general
manager; A. A. Schantz, E. D. Stair and N. J. Dessert, vice presidents;
and F. W. Ulrich, secretary and treasurer, and the directors are Joseph
H. Brewer, N. J. Dessert, J. B. Ford, Thomas H. McInnerney, James T.
McMillan, Dr. Fred T. Murphy, Jerome Remick, A. A. Schantz, E. D.
Stair and Dudley E. Waters. Dr. Fred T. Murphy took the place of
Frank P. Byron on the board, and James T. McMillan took the place of
Philip H. McMillan about 1920.
The company began operations by combining twenty or more creamery
concerns. The business was capitalized for $125,000, while the present
capitalization is an authorized $12,000,000, with $7,500,000 issued. The
main plant covers an entire block in the down-town district, bounded by
Grand River, Cass, Adams, Clifford and Middle streets, with general
offices at Cass street and Adams avenue. Theirs is one of the largest
and most Sanitary creamery plants in America. In addition to the main
plant the company operates nine branches in Detroit and maintains de-
livery stations in Royal Oak, Redford, Halfway and Highland Park,
Michigan. They also own the Pontiac Dairy Company of Pontiac, Michi-
gan, the Williams Ice Cream Company of Saginaw, the White Ice Cream
Company of Flint, Carlisle Ice Cream Company of Port Huron, Fleming
Ice Cream Company of Jackson, Wilson Ice Cream Company of Port
Huron, Koske Ice Cream Company of Adrian and the Grand Rapids
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1433
Creamery Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The main company also
Owns and Operates seven condensing plants in various parts of the state
and employs over two thousand people, while its annual sales amount to
more than $22,000,000.
The stables and garage of the company are located at Fifth and Grand
River, practically occupying an entire square block. The delivery equip-
ment includes approximately six hundred horses, five hundred and fifty
wagons and five hundred and fifty motor cars. The Detroit Creamery
Company owns and operates a twenty-two-hundred acre farm located on
Gratiot road, near Mount Clemens, eighteen miles from Detroit, for the
production of Walker Gordon Certified Milk. This company delivers
approximately three hundred and fifty thousand bottles of milk per day
to retail customers in Detroit and suburbs and also supplies milk, cream
and butter to thirty-three hundred groceries, restaurants, clubs and ho-
tels. They manufacture approximately three million pounds of creamery
butter per year for the wholesale trade and the annual production of the
celebrated “Velvet Brand” ice cream is about three million, five hundred
thousand gallons. After operating continuously as an independent unit
for thirty years and building up a business of mammoth proportions, as
indicated in the foregoing statement, the Detroit Creamery Company in
August, 1929, became a subsidiary of the National Dairy Products Com-
pany. It is one of the largest enterprises of the kind not only in Detroit
but in the middle west and has been built on a firm foundation that in-
sures continued success in the future.
SCOTTEN-DILLON COMPANY
The Scotten-Dillon Company is one of the old established business
enterprises of Detroit. It was founded in 1856 as a tobacco manufactur-
ing concern under the name of Scotten, Lovett & Company. The business
was gradually developed and expanded but in 1879 the firm was employ-
ing only twenty-five people and the highest wage paid at that time Was
a dollar and a quarter per day. Daniel Scotten was then the main OWner
of the business and maintained a factory at 178 Randolph Street, where
the county building now stands. In 1862 removal was made to Cadillac
square and in 1875 to 117 West Fort street.
In 1882 Mr. Scotten purchased the interest of Mr. Lovett in the or
ganization and Oren Scotten at that time became his partner. Seven
years later Michael W. Dillon was taken into the firm and the business
was carried on under the style of Daniel Scotten & Company from 1882
until 1898, when they sold to the Continental Tobacco Company, which
continued in charge until June, 1900, when the plant was closed. About
one year later the plant was offered for sale and Oren Scotten purchased
it and the firm of Scotten & Dillon was organized under a partnership
relation. In January, 1901, the business was incorporated under the
1434 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
name of the Scotten-Dillon Company, with Oren Scotten as president,
Alexander McPherson as vice president and Charles A. Poole as secretary
and treasurer, with Michael W. Dillon, Henry Stephens aud Merton E.
Farr, together with the Officers, as directors. Mr. Scotten continued to
serve as president until 1904, when he retired, his death occurring in
September, 1906.
Edwin C. Way succeeded Mr. Scotten in the presidency, remaining
at the head of the business from 1904 until 1914. Michael W. Dillon was
then elected to the office and has so continued to the present time. His
associates on the board are: Walter Scotten, vice president and a direc-
tor; William M. Dillon, also vice president and a director; Irwin H. Karn,
secretary and treasurer, succeeding the late Daniel M. Lynch, who had
filled that office since 1907; and A. B. Atwater, Harold H. Emmons, M. E.
Farr, Albert E. Green and McPherson Browning, directors.
The plant covers thirteen acres, one-half of which is under roof. A
sprinkler system has been established in the factory and the equipment
is thoroughly modern in every particular. Branch manufacturing estab-
lishments are maintained by the company at Lexington and at Covington,
Kentucky, and also two in Wisconsin. They are represented on the road
by one hundred and twenty-five salesmen and the output is sold all over
the United States. This is the oldest and largest tobacco manufacturing
company in Michigan, having enjoyed a steady growth since its establish-
ment seventy-four years ago.
DETROIT NEWS
The Detroit News was founded by James Edmund Scripps and the
first edition was issued August 23, 1873. Since that time the name of
Scripps has become associated with many newspapers scattered from
coast to coast. The Scripps family has an unbroken tradition of news-
paper association and activity extending back over a period of one hundred
and thirty-five years.
William Armiger Scripps entered the employ of the True Briton in
London, England, in the year 1792 and twenty-eight of his descendants—
not including the present generation—have followed the family tradition
which he established. Of these ten have been editors, nine have been
publishers, four printers and five have been engaged on the advertising
and subscription departments of various newspapers. Thirteen have
been owners or part owners of eighteen different newspapers and ten
have made fortunes in excess of one hundred thousand dollars.
William Armiger Scripps was born in London in 1772. An earlier
form of the name was Cripps. In 1791 his parents emigrated to the
|United States, settling first in West Virginia. Beginning as a clerk in the
True Briton office, he afterward became publisher of the Daily Sun,
which was the publicity organ of William Pitt, then prime minister. In
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1435
1820 he became publisher of the London Literary Gazette, one of the
earliest literary newspapers. A file of this publication is in the library
of the University of Michigan. He maintained his connection with this
newspaper until his death in 1851 and accumulated a fortune. In the
meantime he made two visits to his parents in this country, one in 1833
and the other in 1843. During his first visit he made the journey from
New York to Detroit, traveling from Buffalo on the steamboat Uncle Sam,
and among the passengers were the Indian chief, Black Hawk, and two
Of his Sons. From Detroit, Mr. Scripps journeyed by stage to Chicago
and from that city down the Illinois river to the Mississippi in a canoe.
John Scripps, a younger brother, came to America with his parents
and entered the Methodist ministry. After he had been superannuated
he settled in Rushville, Illinois, where he established a weekly newspaper,
and two of his sons served as printers. After his death the sons con-
tinued the publication. Three grandsons also engaged in the same busi-
ness, one with the Cincinnati Post; another, John Scripps Sweeney, in
Detroit; and the third, William Scripps Speed, acting for a time as man-
ager of the Baltimore World.
John Locke Scripps, a nephew of William Armiger and Rev. John
Scripps, was born in Missouri in 1818 and his father was a member of
the first constitutional convention of that state. John Locke Scripps
studied law, settled in Chicago in 1848 and became one of the founders
of the Chicago Tribune. He was a “free soiler” and a friend of Abraham
Lincoln and he wrote and published the first life of Lincoln, which was
later reprinted by the Cranbook Press of Detroit, located in the old
Detroit News plant on Shelby street. John L. Scripps died at Minneapolis
in September, 1868.
William Armiger Scripps, of London, had a son, James Moggs Scripps,
who became a book-binder. He married Ellen Mary Saunders and in 1844
emigrated to the United States, settling in Rushville, Illinois, where his
relatives were then living. He was accompanied by his two Sons, born
in London, James Edmund and George W. Scripps. In Rushville, James
Moggs Scripps married his third wife, Julia Osborn, and another Son,
Edward Wyllis Scripps, was born and in time became a famous publisher
Of newspapers.
James Edmund Scripps was ten years old when he arrived in America.
He had the benefit of the schools at Rushville and worked on his father's
farm, spending his leisure hours in reading and studying. Thus he fitted
himself for school teaching and taught for two winter terms before at-
taining his majority. At the age of twenty-two he went to Chicago, where
he pursued a course in a business college, and then kept books and made
collections for a lumber dealer. His newspaper career was begun as a
proof-reader on the Chicago Tribune and then shifted to the functions
of commercial editor and marine reporter. Hard times compelled a re-
duction of the staff and in 1859 Mr. Scripps came to Detroit, where he
secured employment on the Daily Advertiser as commercial editor.
The Advertiser’s principal owner was Silas M. Holmes, a dry goods
1436 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
merchant with political ambitions, and through that influence he was
elected state treasurer, but neglect of his dry goods business led to his
financial ruin after a time. In October, 1861, James E. Scripps and
Martin Geiger, a master printer, became partners with Holmes in the
Advertiser and on July 8, 1862, the Advertiser was merged with the
Tribune under the title The Advertiser and Tribune. The head of the
combined newspapers was Henry Barnes and James E. Scripps was made
business manager.
In those days newspapers in general were the organs of political
parties and the custom of the time and the inclination of the proprietors
made them bitterly partisan. It was the fashion to ridicule the policies
and principles of other political parties and to lampoon the candidates
and leaders of the opposing party. Such a policy naturally alienated
would-be subscribers and prevented merchants of the opposing party from
advertising in the newspapers which were attacking them. The business
manager of The Advertiser and Tribune counseled a more conciliatory
policy in the hope of enlarging circulation and increasing advertising
patronage. This policy did not please the more radical and rabid type of
political bosses, so a group of them promoted the founding of a new news-
paper, The Detroit Post, and imported a number of able editors to carry
out their policy. This sharpened competition and in 1864 The Advertiser
and Tribune bought The Detroit Free Union. Silas M. Holmes in his
embarrassment sold his interest to Captain Eber Brock Ward, a vessel
owner and promoter of many large industries. Captain Ward bought the
interest of Holmes on the bargain counter, but he had no newspaper
ambitions. Eager to dispose of his interest, he offered James E. Scripps
his share for twenty-four thousand dollars and took his note for the
amount without an endorser.
Hiram Walker, a successful lumberman, having money to invest and
being interested in newspapers, bought a five thousand dollar interest in
The Advertiser and Tribune from Mr. Scripps and a like amount was
invested by E. C. Walker, a prominent lawyer. In 1868 Hiram Walker
invested another five thousand dollars in the plant and in 1872 he com-
pletely absorbed Mr. Scripps’ interest with another investment of five
thousand dollars.
For some time Mr. Scripps had been considering the founding of a
newspaper of a very different type. His aim was to publish a paper of a
much smaller size, with the news and editorials in condensed form, but
carefully written in better literary style than was the common practice.
He also aimed to make his paper politically independent of any party, be-
lieving that this would open the way to a larger circulation and increase
advertising patronage. He proposed to bid for circulation by selling his
paper for two cents per copy instead of the standardized five-cent rate.
The only question that perplexed him was whether his limited resources
would enable him to maintain publication until he had won a paying
patronage. Necessity compelled him to reduce production cost to the
lowest possible limits, and so he planned to have his paper printed on the
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1437
press of The Detroit Free Press during daylight hours, when the presses
Were naturally idle, and for his office and composing room he rented a
Small room on the third floor of the Free Press building. There the first
issue of The Detroit Evening News was brought out on the afternoon of
August 23, 1873. The largest circulation attained by any local newspaper
Was a little over five thousand and so the first trial edition of The News
of ten thousand copies, printed on a hand-fed press, was quite unusual in
Detroit. In fact it stalled the equipment because the entire edition could
not be run off and many subscribers, obtained in advance, failed to get
their first editions that day.
That difficulty continued and subscribers began to cancel their sub-
Scriptions. To meet this emergency Mr. Scripps rented a small frame
building at the corner of Shelby street and Julius alley, having induced
his brother, George W. Scripps, to sell his farm in Rushville and invest
the proceeds in a two-fifths interest in The News. In the following
Spring the little building was equipped with two fast presses which could
turn out the editions on time and six months after the date of its found-
ing The News began to pay a profit, as it soon had a circulation double
that of any Detroit newspaper. At the end of its first year The News
had attained a leadership in circulation and income, which have ever
since been maintained in Detroit.
In addition to James E. and George W. Scripps, the proprietors, other
members of the family became attached to the staff—Edmund W. Scripps,
Ellen B. Scripps and John S. Sweeney. In 1887. The News was so firmly
established that James E. Scripps retired from the active management
and his son-in-law, George G. Booth, assumed general charge. In the
meantime The Advertiser and Tribune had absorbed The Detroit Post
and later it dropped the hyphenated title, becoming The Detroit Tribune.
In 1891 Mr. Scripps bought The Detroit Tribune and continued it as a
morning edition. He imported for its staff a group of able men from
Minneapolis—Roland B. Gelatt, Percival R. Benson, Robert E. Park, R.
H. K. Whiteley, Thad S. Varnum and Jack Logan. The new staff made
a better newspaper of The Tribune, but competition was keen and the pub-
lication did not show a satisfactory profit. In 1894 Mr. Scripps assumed
active management. “Free Silver” had become a widely agitated and
popular policy and Mr. Scripps, against the advice of his friends and
associates, took up the cause in both The News and The Tribune and
supported the candidacy of William Jennings Bryan for the presidency.
That policy cost him dearly in patronage and when the campaign failed
both papers became advocates of the gold standard.
The success of The News in Detroit led George W. Scripps, Edmund
W. Scripps, John S. Sweeney, Milton McRae and one or two other at-
taches of The News to venture in the founding of The Cleveland Press in
Cleveland, Ohio. That proved a success and they established The Cincin-
nati Post and St. Louis Chronicle. These were the beginning of a chain
of newspapers extending to the Pacific coast, known for a time as the
Scripps-McRae syndicate and later as the Scripps-Howard.
1438 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
James E. Scripps confined his interest to the Detroit field and the
circulation, patronage and income of The News grew rapidly. Eventually
the publication of The Tribune was discontinued. The original plant of
The News was soon outgrown and a larger building, covering nearly half
of a city block, was erected. That, too, became crowded and during the
period of the World war the old homestead of Senator Zach. Chandler at
Fort street and Second avenue was purchased. A fine new building was
constructed covering half of the city block bounded by Fort, Second,
Lafayette and Third avenues. The plant occupied the new building in
1917. This plant, building and equipment possess a number of features
Quite novel in newspaper undertakings. The most unique of these is its
library, containing more than twenty-one thousand volumes, of which
nearly ninety per cent are books of reference concerning information on
nearly every branch of human interest. The library installation was a
direct result of the rising standard of education and public intelligence
throughout the country. Within the last three decades the number of
high schools, colleges and universities has more than doubled. The
number of annual graduates of these institutions has become phenomenal,
So that at each commencement day a great army of educated young men
and women are turned out into the world of human activities. At the
same time the publication of books and periodicals of high class has in-
creased in proportion and their circulation has grown beyond all ex-
pectations.
Such a situation constitutes a direct challenge to the daily newspaper.
Time was when the standard of general public intelligence was not so
high. Time was when people believed implicitly what they would read
in their newspapers. But gradually a change was taking place. People
of culture and intelligence found plenty of errors of fact in their news-
papers and public confidence began to waver. A number of utterances
were often heard after a man of intelligence would finish a news item or
an editorial: “Important if true,” or, “That’s a newspaper story; we’ll
have to wait a little for the real facts.” It was this development which
led to the belief that a first class reference library of constant resort
would restore public confidence by raising the standard of the newspaper
to suit the changed condition of liberal education and improved public
intelligence. The News library has justified its installation by the visible
improvement of the quality of The News and it also enables every mem-
ber of the staff—all having free use of it—to improve himself and to
verify his statements that are to be printed in The News.
At the time when the new building was planned for The News plant
it was supposed that its accommodations would be ample for many years
to come, if not for all time, as the allotment of Space was as large or
larger than that of any newspaper in the country. But improved condi-
tions of publishing and editing the news brought results far beyond the
expectation. The plant has already expanded so as to fill additional
buildings extending over the entire city block, or double the original space.
A nine level garage has been erected on the next block west of The News
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1439
plant and plans have been perfected for a material expansion of the plant
as it now stands.
James Edmund Scripps, born in London, March 19, 1835, died at his
residence in Detroit, May 29, 1906. While he had lived to see the insti-
tution he had founded achieve a remarkable expansion and success, he
probably never dreamed of the future achievement that has been attained
Since his time. The enterprise, however, already afforded him a vast
income and judicious investments had already given him rank among the
millionaires of Detroit.
C. & H. NIELSEN CARTAGE COMPANY, INC.
The business conducted under this name was incorporated in Detroit
in January, 1929, but had long previously existed under a partnership
connection. It was in 1904 that Charles G. and Henry C. Nielsen, twin
brothers, organized the Nielsen Cartage & Storage Company, now one
of the most important concerns of its kind in Detroit. They started out,
however, with an equipment of one horse and a wagon but they built
upon the substantial foundation of industry, diligence, determination and
reliability until today they have one of the largest and most prosperous
cartage and storage enterprises in the city. They occupy a large and
modern building, which was erected especially for their use and which is
of concrete construction, fireproof throughout. This building is the
property of the Nielsen brothers, whose fair and honorable dealing in all
business transactions has been the basis of their continued and growing
success. They now employ a large force and something of the continued
development of their patronage is shown in the fact that they keep today
thirty-two large trucks for constant use and number among their patrons
some who have given them their trade since the organization of the busi-
ness. About ten years ago the brothers were joined by their brother-in-
law, Henry F. Klinger, and with the incorporation of the company in
January, 1929, Charles G. Nielsen was elected president, Henry C. Niel-
sen became vice-president, and Henry F. Klinger secretary and treasurer.
All three have had long experience in this particular field and their activi-
ties are wisely and profitably directed.
RACINE FOUNDRY & MACHINE COMPANY
The Racine Foundry & Machine Company of Detroit came into ex-
istence in 1923, being organized with J. F. Racine as president, Myrtle
M. Racine as vice-president and Edwin F. Adams as secretary and treas-
urer. The business was originally purchased from Joseph M. Smith who
had started the foundry some years before. The company makes castings
of all non-ferrous metals, brass, aluminum, etc., and does all kinds of job
1440 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
foundry work. About fifty per cent of its business is with the automo-
bile factories in Detroit and the remainder is outside of the city. The
foundry is centrally located on Dubois avenue, in the midst of the manu-
facturing district, and is equipped with modern machinery for handling
their increasing business. In July, 1929, the company leased another
factory at 2900 Meldrum avenue, where they also turn out large quantities
of castings.
J. F. Racine, the president of the company, is a mechanic with broad
experience in molding and smelting metals and his knowledge and capabil-
ity constitute a vital force in the successful conduct of the industry. The
company steadily employs from thirty-five to forty men and the business
is being developed along most satisfactory lines.
HOWE PATTERN & MANUFACTURING COMPANY
The Howe Pattern & Manufacturing Company of Detroit was incor-
porated September 15, 1919, for the manufacture of wood and metal
patterns, taking over the business formerly conducted by the firm of
Howe & Quinan. The new organization began operations in a small shop
on Medbury street, employing four men, and there remained for two
years, when a removal was made to the old post office building at Lyman
and Russell streets. Operations were there carried on for three years,
during which time the business steadily increased. In 1924 a removal
was made to a new modern brick building at Trombly avenue and Russell
street erected especially for the purpose. It is of modern mill construc-
tion and in it has been installed the latest improved machinery, all elec-
trically operated with a line drive and also with individual units. The
company now specializes in the manufacture of carbureters for auto-
mobile factories and employs thirteen skilled mechanics. Ninety per
cent of the output is sold in Detroit.
FAMOUS CLEANERS & DYERS
The Famous Cleaners & Dyers is a well known business organiza-
tion of Detroit, having been founded in 1919 as successor to Ben Kauff-
man, who was conducting a cleaning establishment. Later the cleaning
business of Ben Stone & Son was purchased in 1918 by Harry Rosman,
who conducted the enterprise at 950 Monroe avenue, where he employed
twenty people. The business there increased rapidly and in 1919 was
incorporated under the name of the Famous Cleaners and Dyers, with
Philip Jacoby as president, Harry Rosman as vice-president and manager,
and Samuel Jaulus as secretary and treasurer. Upon the death of the
president in 1924, Mr. Rosman succeeded to that office, while Mrs. Rigina
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1441
Jaulus became vice-president, Samuel Jaulus was made treasurer, and
Mrs. Ethel Rosman was chosen secretary. In 1919 the company pur-
chased and removed to a large brick building on Beaubien street, at
Garfield, remodeling and installing the latest type of improved modern
machinery in connection with the conduct of a business of this character.
The building has a frontage of two hundred and twenty-eight feet on
Garfield and one hundred and seventy-two feet on Beaubien, and the
company conducts one of the most up-to-date dyeing and cleaning estab-
lishments of the city. Something of the extent and scope of their busi-
ness is indicated in the fact that they now employ over two hundred
people. Their trade extends all over the city and into suburban towns,
covering a radius of thirty-five miles from Detroit.
GEMMER MANUFACTURING COMPANY
The present century has constituted an era of marked industrial prog-
ress in Detroit which has led the city from a minor place to the fourth
position among the great municipal centers of America. Contributing
to the marked industrial development here are many enterprises of varied
character covering almost every field of production, but mostly interest
has centered in automobile manufacturing and its kindred interests. It
was in 1907 that the Gemmer Manufacturing Company was incorporated
for the manufacture of steering gears, which find a market wherever
motor cars are built. This company began business on the west side of
Detroit in a small way at Sixteenth and Merrick streets, originally em-
ploying but thirty men. The trade increased very rapidly, however, and
more buildings were added from time to time in order to meet the further
demands of the trade until in the fall of 1926 the company purchased a
large tract of land at 6400 Mount Elliott avenue and erected thereon a
new factory—a Class A building of steel and concrete construction cover-
ing 150,000 square feet of floor space. In this was installed machinery
which is the last word in equipment of this character and employment is
now given to between ten and twelve hundred people. The Gemmer
Manufacturing Company has today the largest enterprise of this kind in
the world, no other steering gear manufacturing interest equalling it in
the scope of its output, all of which is handled by its Own Sales Organ-
ization.
When America entered the World war the company turned its plant
over to the government and everyone of its employes who entered the
service found his place open for him when he returned. The company is
indeed 100% American, and one of the first things that attracts the at-
tention of a visitor to its offices is the long honor roll of its men who went
to the front. The company also did some notable work for the govern-
ment in other connections. It submitted a design of steering gear to
those in authority that was not only adopted but was made the standard
1442 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
for Class B Liberty trucks and also the standard for the heavier trucks
for the aviation department. The output likewise included a great num-
ber of steering gears for war trucks. The present officers of the com-
pany are: Edward P. Hammond, president; John P. Moran, vice-
president and factory manager; and M. A. Moynihan, secretary and treas-
urer. The above named, together with W. N. Osburn and Henry Marles,
constitute the board of directors.
A. HARVEY'S SONS MANUFACTURING COMPANY
Among the old established business enterprises of Detroit is that of
the A. Harvey’s Sons Manufacturing Company. The business was estab-
lished in 1855 by Andrew Harvey, Sr., under the firm name of A. Harvey
& Son, his partner being Andrew Harvey, Jr. A brass foundry and
machine shop was established at the corner of Third and East Congress
streets, Mr. Harvey purchasing the business of John Rankin, who had
taken over a business established by Solomon Davis in 1838. His was
the first brass foundry in this city and state, and thus the Harvey Com-
pany became owner of the pioneer enterprise of this character in Detroit.
Their plant was a small shop, but with the steady growth and develop-
ment of the business they purchased larger quarters at their present
location in the '60s, the business being continued under the same name,
while the same class of work was carried on. In 1870, the company was
joined by James Harvey, another son of A. Harvey, Sr., and five years
later the father died. The business was carried on as a partnership re-
lation until 1891, when it was incorporated by four sons and a daughter—
Andrew, James, William, John and Elizabeth Harvey—under the name
of the A. Harvey’s Sons Manufacturing Company, Ltd., with Andrew
Harvey, Jr., as president. After the death of his father the last named
had headed the firm and he continued as president of the corporation
until his own demise on the 9th of October, 1912. He was then succeeded
by James Harvey, who remained president until his death December
10, 1928.
In the meantime the business had been expanded in its scope when in
1880 A. Harvey, Jr., took on heating and ventilating installation and en-
gineering. His patronage in these particulars steadily and rapidly
increased. He put in the heating plants in all of the churches along
Woodward avenue from Adams street to Forest street, also the heating
plant in the post office, and installed the first central heating plant of the
University of Michigan, this being one of the first of the kind in the
country. It was built in the ’90s and involved much underground work
with the construction of a stone tunnel. One of the first large heating
contracts awarded the company was that of the Pullman car shops on
Dequindre street, between Monroe and St. Aubin streets. This was a
very important thing for the company, making them well known in con-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1443
nection with business interests of this character. A. Harvey, Jr., was
the first man to use exhaust steam for heating purposes and from the
beginning the business has been characterized by a steady development
that has been shown in the introduction of many new and improved
methods. This company secured the contract for heating the buildings
of Alma College, also put in the central power plant at Cornell Univer-
sity and at the water works in Hartford, Connecticut. They built the
central steam plant at Auburn, New York, and the central plant at
Omaha, Nebraska.
At various times the company purchased adjoining property until it
now has holding of 200 feet frontage on Woodbridge street and 85 feet
on First street. The plant includes an iron foundry, brass foundry and
machine shop, and pipe work in cutting and threading is done up to
twenty inches. In the last decade of the nineteenth century the com-
pany discontinued all contract work but took on the business of selling
plumbers’, engineers’ and steamfitters’ supplies for the wholesale trade.
In 1916 a new charter was secured under the name of the A. Harvey’s
Sons Manufacturing Company. In 1921 the old buildings were razed
and a splendid new plant was erected, the building being 150 x 80 feet
and six stories in height. It is of the finest type of flat-slab reinforced
concrete and the entire structure is now devoted to the wholesale trade,
while the machine shop and brass foundry adjoining is 50 x 80 feet in
dimensions. The iron foundry, with a plant 80 x 120 feet on Bellevue
avenue, is devoted to a general jobbing business in gray iron castings.
Employment is now given to about one hundred and fifty men and the
business is the oldest of the kind in the state, while its sales cover all of
Michigan. The officers from January, 1928, to December, 1929, were:
George G. Harvey, president; Clarence F. Harvey, vice-president and
general manager; Herbert M. Harvey, treasurer, and Howard J. Harvey,
secretary. After the death of George Harvey in the fall of 1929, the
following officers were elected in February, 1930: Clarence F. Harvey,
president; Howard J. Harvey, vice-president; Herbert M. Harvey, Secre-
tary, and George A. Hebert, treasurer. The company has always main-
tained an outstanding position in the trade circles of the country and
A. Harvey, Jr., who became a charter member of the National Society
of Heating and Ventilating Engineers, was honored with election to the
offices of secretary and president.
DAIGLE IRON WORKS
The Daigle Iron Works, of which Thomas F. Daigle is president and
treasurer, constitutes a substantial business enterprise of Detroit. The
business was established in 1909 at West Congress and Fifth streets in a
small way and included structural and miscellaneous iron work. It was
originally conducted under the name of the T. F. Daigle Iron Works and
1444 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
later as the Daigle-Steger Iron Works for two years. About 1913 the
present name was adopted and in 1914 a removal was made to the present
location at 1967 Lafayette boulevard, where the company erected a build-
ing with 14,000 square feet of floor space, having an additional 12,000
Square feet for yard and storage. In 1916, 8,800 square feet of floor
Space were added and a further addition brought 3,600 square feet of
Storage space as an accessory to the plant. Today there is altogether
27,000 square feet of floor space and a storage of 16,000 square feet. The
company continues to do structural and miscellaneous iron work and has
contracts for much designing and engineering work. They also manu-
facture to specifications and they specialize on the iron work for medium
sized buildings, including erection. They employ altogether one hundred
and fifty men for inside and outside work and during the World war
they did much miscellaneous work for the navy and also built some tanks
for the army.
The business was incorporated in 1909 with Thomas F. Daigle as
president, J. B. Daigle as vice-president and treasurer and George E.
Daigle as secretary.
In 1924 the Daigle Investment Corporation was formed to take over
the real estate holdings, the Daigle Iron Works simply owning the iron
and steel business, it being now an operating corporation. The officers
of the Daigle Investment Corporation are: Thomas F. Daigle, president
and treasurer; Peter J. Monaghan, secretary, and George E. Daigle, vice-
president. The officers of the Daigle Iron Works are: Thomas F. Daigle,
president and treasurer; R. F. Akers, vice-president and assistant treas-
urer, and W. E. Bayers, secretary.
FRANK M. PAULI COMPANY, INC.
The industrial enterprise operated under the style of Frank M. Pauli,
Inc., of Detroit, had its beginning in 1908, when Frank M. Pauli began
business in a small cottage on Shepard avenue with two employes. Owing
to the rapid growth of the enterprise he was soon obliged to hire more
men and at intervals enlarged the building by the erection of additions.
He remained at the original location until 1918, when he purchased a tract
of eight acres on Six Mile road, where he built a modern factory con-
taining ten thousand square feet of floor space, employing from fifty to
Seventy-five men. As the business expanded he added to the plant and
now has one hundred and ten thousand square feet of floor space in the
two factories, which are of modern mill construction, equipped with in-
dividual units of electric power and the sprinkler system of fire protection.
The present firm name of the Frank M. Pauli Company, Inc., was
adopted in 1914, and the officers of the organization are: Frank M.
Pauli, president; Anna M. Pauli, vice-president; Clarence M. Pauli, sec-
retary, and Frank G. Pauli, treasurer. This is a closed corporation, all
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1445
of the stock being owned by Mr. Pauli, his wife and two sons. Three
hundred skilled workers are now employed in their plants, which are
devoted exclusively to the making of fixtures for chain stores. They
were also engaged in contracting for a number of years but discontinued
that department in 1923 and have since concentrated their attention upon
their constantly growing manufacturing interests. The Pauli fixtures
are found in the leading chain stores of the United States, including those
of Montgomery Ward & Company, W. T. Grant, Butler Brothers, the
Kresge Company, the J. C. Penney Company, McCrory Stores Corpora-
tion, and other well-known firms. Many of the metropolitan stores of
Canada are provided with their fixtures, which they also ship abroad.
These products are all made to order and in addition the company does
special work for contractors, such as the manufacture of front entrance
doors, frames, etc. They import large quantities of the finest hardwoods
and their output is distinguished by craftsmanship of a high order as
well as strength and serviceability. The Pauli products are sold and in-
stalled all over the United States and Canada, and the company has also
established a profitable export business. This is the largest organization
of the kind in Detroit and the prestige enjoyed by the corporation is due
to the tireless activity, the progressive spirit and high commercial stand-
ards of Frank M. Pauli, who is widely recognized as a man of pronounced
business ability.
NATIONAL PRODUCTION COMPANY
Incorporated in 1916, the National Production Company began Op-
erations in Detroit with the following officers: Paul P. Barker, presi-
dent; Charles Gould, vice-president, and J. H. Bishop, Secretary and
treasurer. The company first occupied a small factory forty by forty-
two feet on Bellevue avenue at the corner of Benson street and employed
five men in the manufacture of precision tools. They prospered from the
outset and soon afterward were obliged to lease additional space. They
took over the business of the Marquette Machine Company and in order
to fill orders were forced to operate day and night, employing one hun-
dred and twenty-five men, who worked in three shifts of eight hours
each. In 1925 the company took another forward step by purchasing a
tract of land extending from 4561-63 St. Jean avenue and there erected
a large factory designed by Albert Kahn, an architect of national repute.
This plant, which ranks with the finest of its size in Detroit, affords the
best facilities for lighting and ventilation. It is of steel, glass and brick
construction, with no obstructing columns anywhere inside of the build-
ing. The factory is equipped with the latest and most improved ma-
chinery, operated by individual units of electric power, and is devoted
chiefly to the manufacture of tools, jigs, dies, fixtures and precision tools
used by makers of automobiles and airplanes. The products of the house
1446 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
|
are sold largely in Detroit and in local manufacturing circles the Barker
label is regarded as a guarantee of fine workmanship and serviceability in
connection with tools and special machinery. Mr. Barker still continues
as president of the company and also acts as general manager. On the
death of J. H. Bishop in January, 1919, L. A. Quart was chosen as his
successor in the offices of secretary and treasurer, which he has since
occupied.
WALKER & COMPANY
The name of Walker & Company has become widely known through-
out the United States in connection with outdoor advertising. The busi-
ness was established in Detroit in 1885 by H. W. Walker, who began Op-
erations on a small scale with offices and plant at 47 Rowland street,
near Washington boulevard. Adequately meeting the wishes and de-
mands of patrons, the trade steadily increased and necessitated larger
quarters, at which time a removal was made to the Bamlet building on
Grand River avenue and Rowland street. Further expansion led the
company to secure space in the Stevens building on Grand River avenue
and Washington boulevard and the next removal took them to Fort
street, between Rivard and Russell. Since 1922 the company has oc-
cupied its present quarters on Custer avenue, having a two-story brick
building with 60,000 square feet of floor space. They have recently
completed a two-story brick building of 45,000 square feet for garage
purposes and for the housing of the poster department. Both buildings
are centrally located on Custer avenue, near Woodward avenue, and the
facilities are the expression of the last word in equipment for carrying
on an enterprise of this character. In addition to the Detroit establish-
ment the company maintains branches in Saginaw, Flint and Grand
Rapids, Michigan, and they do an extensive business throughout the
state, furnishing employment to seven hundred people. The steady de-
velopment of the enterprise has made it one of the largest businesses of
the kind in the country. In May, 1929, Walker & Company took over
the Bellows Claude-Neon Company of Detroit and now operates as one
unit. To care for its outdoor advertising and maintain the highest
standards of Service Walker & Company employ skilled electricians,
sheet metal workers, steel workers, glass blowers, painters, carpenters,
sign hangers and construction crews, in addition to artists and poster
men. They maintain a large fleet of trucks which are in continuous use
in delivering signs and doing the transportation work of the company
and they have a large and efficient sales organization.
After Operating as a partnership concern for a considerable period,
Walker & Company was incorporated March 15, 1907, its first officers
being : Henry W. Walker, president; Edith T. Walker, vice-president,
and Harry C. Walker, secretary and treasurer. Harry C. Walker suc-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1447
ceeded his father, Henry W. Walker, in the presidency at the time of the
latter's death in 1911 and under his capable control the business ex-
panded rapidly. Harry C. Macdonald became vice-president and general
manager of Walker & Company in 1920, and has been president of the
company since the death of Harry C. Walker in May, 1927. The present
officers of Walker & Company are: Harry C. Macdonald, president;
Dayton O. Slater, vice-president (senior); L. F. R. Bellows, vice-
president; W. A. Bellows, secretary, and Evan P. Bayne, treasurer. The
board of directors is comprised of the following: Harry C. Macdonald,
L. F. R. Bellows, Evan P. Bayne, Peter J. Monaghan, James O. Murfin,
Clarence D. Blessed, George B. Russell, Thomas F. Wolcott and W. T. P.
Hollingsworth.
The business has become one of the important productive industries
of Detroit and fully exemplifies the spirit of steady advancement which
has led to the continuous business development of the city.
THE BANNER LAUNDERING COMPANY
In the year 1880, when William L. Wild established his small steam
laundry on Woodward avenue, Detroit, the gross business for his first
week amounted to just eighteen dollars. The business of the mammoth
Banner Laundering Company now totals in excess of one million dollars
each year. Thus may the success of one man be measured.
Prior to the year 1880 there were no real power laundries in the
City of Detroit, but in that year a few machines were installed. Pre-
viously all work had been done by hand. The nearest thing to a machine
was a rather crude mangle possessed by the Detroit Laundry. The first
ironer for shirts appeared in 1880. William L. Wild came to Detroit
in the year 1879, and the following year took over the laundry business
of Milton Read, and at 304 (old number) Woodward avenue established
what was known as the Wild Steam Laundry. His equipment consisted
chiefly of a common cook stove and a few hand irons. He employed three
or four people and, as noted above, his cash receipts for the first week
amounted to the rather discouraging sum of eighteen dollars. Business
gradually increased, however, and soon there was installed a washing
machine and a shirt ironer. A few years later more space became im-
perative for the rapidly growing concern. Accordingly removal was
made to a site across the street, on the corner of Columbia, where a line
of men’s furnishings was added to the laundry business. Here also was
installed the first revolving display window in Detroit. Mr. Wild at this
time had associated with him Charles H. Wheeler and C. A. Chidsey,
under the firm name of Wild, Wheeler & Company, but they continued to
use the name of Wild Steam Laundry at that location until 1888, when
The Banner Laundering Company was organized, having been a con-
solidation of three or four local laundries. Incorporation papers were
1448 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
filed during 1888. The plant was moved to a site on Michigan avenue
opposite the old Cadillac Hotel (now Book-Cadillac Hotel site) and here
the laundry business was all placed under one roof. Still the business
of the company continued to grow until in 1904 need for added space
became paramount again, and removal was made to the present loca-
tion of the plant. Here the concern first occupied a one-story building,
which was later built over. The main building of the plant is now three
stories in height, two hundred and thirty-eight by one hundred and fifty
feet in dimensions, and occupies one-half of a city block. Other build-
ings, including a large garage for the accommodation of one hundred
trucks, comprise the plant of the Banner Laundering Company at this
time. A fleet of eighty-three trucks is operated and suburban service is
maintained to Pontiac, Ypsilanti, Port Huron and as far as Grand
Rapids. The real development of the business of this company has been
along the line of towel and linen supply service. The company manu-
factures linen articles of every kind, including coats and suits, which are
loaned to customers. About four hundred and fifty people are now em-
ployed, and the officers of the company are as follows: William L. Wild,
president; Mel D. Wilson, vice-president and general manager; Charles
A. Chidsey, secretary; Charles A. Chidsey, Jr., treasurer, and Herbert J.
Putnam, auditor. The plant of the Banner Laundering Company is now
the oldest in the city in point of continuous operation.
THE PERRY TESTING LABORATORY
The Perry Testing Laboratory, situated at 201 Third street, Detroit,
is utilized in the very important work of testing the physical properties
of materials used in the construction of buildings, bridges, and tunnels,
and also acts in this capacity for the pulp and paper industry. Chemi-
cal testing is done as well as physical, and the company conducts the
examination of the water used by the Michigan Central Railroad. Ralph
W. Perry, of whom a sketch appears elsewhere in this publication, is the
executive head of this concern, which has had a steady and successful
development since he took over the business in 1914.
This company originated in 1906, when The Detroit River Tunnel
Company undertook the construction of the tunnel under the river for
the Michigan Central Railroad, and established the laboratory for the
testing of the materials used in that work. The tunnel completed, the
laboratory was transferred to the railroad company, which operated it
until 1914, when Mr. Perry became the owner.
As noted before, the principal work of the Perry Testing Laboratory
is the testing of the physical properties of building materials, and it is
an important fact that the laboratory has been retained in this capacity
in the construction of the three great transportation arteries spanning
the Detroit River—the Michigan Central Railroad tunnel, the Ambassa-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1449
dor bridge, and the Detroit and Canada vehicular tunnel. The com-
pany did similar work in the early days of the automobile industry, be-
fore the motor car manufacturers established their own testing lab-
oratories. The company also did some work on the disc wheel which
is now in general use on automobiles. Equipment is owned which is
capable of testing up to 300,000 pounds in tensile and compression
strength. The laboratory has also done much investigation and testing
in the use of electric welding to replace riveting in structural steel work.
Much of this new type of work is used in uniting old and new structures.
From ten to twelve highly expert technical men are employed by The
Perry Testing Laboratory to conduct the rigid tests made by the concern.
THE DETROIT GARMENT MANUFACTURING COMPANY
The Detroit Garment Manufacturing Company, situated at 3341 East
Jefferson avenue, is the only concern of its kind in the city of Detroit.
The company was established in 1920 by L. K. Giles and W. K. Stilson for
the purpose of manufacturing ladies’ wearing attire, mostly wash dresses.
The ownership of the company was vested in a partnership between Mr.
Giles and Mr. Stilson. The first location of the plant was on Harper
avenue, but in 1925 it was moved to Mack and Van Dyke avenues, and in
1928 to the present site, where they have eighteen thousand square feet
of floor space. A high grade of product is made by this company, and it
is distributed directly to the consumer through the mail order system,
using the trade names of “Miss Detroit Frocks” and “Detroiter Men’s
Shirts.” About three thousand representatives are scattered over the
whole United States, while about one hundred people are employed at the
Detroit factory. The sales office of the company is at 545 Book build-
ing, Detroit.
WILLIAMS MANUFACTURING COMPANY, INC.
The Williams Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1927 with
L. C. Williams as president, H. D. Wood as vice president and W. F.
Derring as secretary and treasurer. The business was begun in a small
plant on Gratiot avenue. In the manufacture of tools and dies their
trade steadily increased as the purchasing public recognized excellent
workmanship and reliability on the part of the firm. Their trade grew
with rapidity and after six weeks the company moved to a larger plant
at 4857 St. Aubin avenue, the building being 60 x 100 feet. There they
employed fifty men and in the spring of 1929, because of the continued
growth of their patronage, they acquired an additional factory building
across the street, the structure being a two-story brick 50 x 130 feet, and
1450 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
today they are employing seventy-five workmen. The company manu-
factures tools, dies, jigs and patterns for the automobile trade and sev-
enty-five per cent of their output is sold in Detroit. While this is a new
concern, its progress has been rapid because of the experience of the
members of the company, their progressive methods and their thorough
reliability in all trade transactions.
BUHL SONS COMPANY
In 1833 two brothers, Christian Henry and Frederick Buhl, came to
Detroit from Pennsylvania, to which their parents had in turn immigrated
from Saxony. They were hat manufacturers and later entered the fur
business. Later on they dissolved their partnership, Frederick to con-
tinue his hat shop and fur dealing and pass it on to his son Walter,
Christian to go into the hardware trade and found a business that is not
yet through growing. Christian H. Buhl, in addition to running a great
hardware business, was interested in banks, and started the Detroit Lo-
comotive Works, and actually built railroad engines in Detroit. He
started the Detroit Copper and Brass Rolling Mills, and was a promoter
and builder of the Hillsdale & Indiana Railroad, the Detroit & Eel River
Railroad, and the Detroit & Butler Railroad, which connected the Wabash
Lines with Detroit.
In following the fortune of the hardware business, it is interesting to
know that Christian H. Buhl in 1847 formed a partnership with Charles
Ducharme. Together they purchased the wholesale hardware business
of Alexander H. Newbold, then the largest in this part of the country.
They also purchased the business of Ducharme & Bartholomew. This
consolidation gave them rank as the largest wholesale hardware house
in the west. The new firm was located at 17-19 Woodward avenue, which
was then the heart of the mercantile district. They had adjoining the
wholesale dry goods house of Zachariah Chandler, the firm to be later
known as Towne & Sheldon, and H. P. Baldwin, who dealt in boots
and shoes.
In those early days of Buhl & Ducharme, the selling force consisted
of perhaps one-half dozen men, including the proprietors, Mr. Ducharme
doing the buying and handling the big sales, while Mr. Buhl attended to
the finances. When the spring and fall buying was in full swing, dealers
flocked to Detroit, and the names of these callers are still familiar in
Michigan history. They ordered in great quantities as a rule, for with
the transportation facilities then available, it was something more than
a matter of dictating a letter and getting the goods in the course of a day
or two. Merchants from the Lake Superior country would purchase
what they required to last them six months or more.
The firm grew and prospered and in 1871 was forced to seek larger
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1451
quarters. They erected on Woodbridge street, West, a substantial build-
ing and moved to a new location.
In 1873, Mr. Ducharme died and Christian H. Buhl purchased his
interests in the company, admitting to the business his eldest son, Theo-
dore D. Buhl. Frank H. Buhl, another son, was also interested, and the
firm name was changed to Buhl Sons & Company. This firm style con-
tinued until the death of Christian H. Buhl on January 23, 1896, when it
became Buhl Sons Company, the name which it now retains.
In the meantime the younger generation was coming up, the third in
line. In 1893, before he had attained his majority, Willis E. Buhl was
taken into the firm by his father, becoming vice-president, and at the
death of Theodore D. Buhl on April 7, 1907, he succeeded his father in
the presidency. In 1895, Arthur H. Buhl identified himself with his
father and brother, serving first as secretary and general manager, and in
1907 became vice-president and general manager. Upon the death of
Willis E. Buhl on April 20, 1916, Arthur H. Buhl became president of the
company and shortly thereafter his brother, Lawrence D. Buhl, became
vice-president.
These executives continued practically without change until 1929,
when the fourth generation of the Buhl family became actively interested
in the Buhl Sons organization. In that year C. Henry Buhl and Arthur
H. Buhl, Jr., both sons of the president of the company, were elected as
vice-presidents and became actively engaged in the management of the
affairs of the hardware business.
THE UNIVERSAL COOLER CORPORATION
No phase of the world’s industry has undergone more rapid and spec-
tacular development during the last fifteen years than the manufacture of
refrigerating devices. Electrical refrigeration has provided the Solu-
tion of a problem which existed at the dawn of civilization, that of food
preservation. The ancient Egyptians had their graneries built upon the
principle of refrigeration; the Greeks used the cooling Springs; the RO-
mans stored their perishable foods in caverns and excavations; and the
nomadic Arab employed a moistened tent to shelter his fruit and wine
from the tropic sun. So, through the centuries, different peoples used
different methods of protecting their foodstuffs, and in modern times
domestic refrigeration by the use of ice first became the accepted method.
Then followed refrigeration by circulating brine, which System, however,
never became practical for domestic use, although it has proved satis-
factory in large cold storage units. Not until about the year 1914 was
the development of the electrical refrigeration idea begun, but since this
date tremendous strides have been taken toward the achievement of the
perfect refrigerator. There are a number of standard makes of elec-
trical refrigerators offered to the public for domestic use, and one of the
1452 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
principal ones is the Universal Cooler, manufactured by The Universal
Cooler Corporation, located at Eighteenth and Howard streets, Detroit.
The Universal Cooler Corporation was established in 1922 as The
Detroit Cooler Company by a group of enthusiastic Detroit men, headed
by A. H. Sarver, later president of the Scripps-Booth Motor Company,
and Harry E. Thompson, Capt. Fred White, Harry Tunstall and H. B.
Allen. The original unit was developed and thirty machines were built,
sold, and installed in Detroit homes during the first year. With this
much accomplished, the company closed down their factory for one year,
for the purpose of proving the quality of the unit in actual operation be-
fore proceeding with further manufacture. During this experimental
year, there were only twelve service calls received, and all the owners
were completely satisfied with their refrigerators.
Due to this excellent performance, a larger company was formed in
1924, taking over all the interests of the first company, and called The
Universal Cooler Company. The officers were Patterson Farmer, presi-
dent; Ford Ballantyne, vice-president, and Albert H. Meinke, secretary
and treasurer. • * -
The company prospered and during 1924 the business increased to
such an extent that more capital became necessary, and accordingly, in
1925, The Universal Cooler Corporation was formed with the same offi-
cers. At this time, many prominent Detroit citizens became interested
in the corporation, due to the extraordinary growth of the business. These
men included the late Paul Gray, C. B. Tuttle, Curtis G. Dunham, J. B.
Ford, Jr., the late Warren Packard, Charles H. Hodges, Jr., Wood Wil-
liams and Gaylord Gillis. Since that time the officers have remained the
same with the exception of the president. Mr. Farmer resigned in 1927,
and Curtis G. Dunham was chosen in his place. In 1929, G. M. Johnston
became president and general manager. J. W. Taylor has been added as
a vice-president. The board of directors includes the executive officers,
together with A. H. Saver, Charles H. Hodges, Jr., John Huetteman, John
B. Ford, Jr., E. B. Henry, and C. G. Dunham. The assistant secretary
and treasurer is F. J. Gleason, not a member of the board.
The coming of G. M. Johnston to the corporation in 1927 as vice-
president and general manager marks the real beginning of the concern's
stupendous growth. A glance at the volume of business will indicate
just how great this growth has been. In 1925 the business amounted to
$100,000; in 1927 it had increased to $450,000; while in 1929 it exceeded
$1,000,000.
The original Detroit Cooler Company had no plant of its own, but
assembled the refrigerators at a machine shop on McGraw avenue. Ex-
perimental work was conducted in the basement and in a garage of two of
the members of the firm. In 1924–25, the company occupied a loft at the
Twelfth Street Terminal, where they had their assembly equipment. In
1926 the plant was moved to the present location, and in 1929 the space
was increased about fifty per cent. Anticipating future development,
however, the corporation in 1925 purchased a five-acre plant site in Lin-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1453
coln Park, adjacent to the Pennsylvania Railroad and near Dix highway.
Approximately one hundred and sixty people are employed by The Uni-
versal Cooler Corporation, and sales are conducted through distributors
directly to large users.
A complete line of electric refrigerators is manufactured by this cor-
poration. These types are for strictly domestic use, for apartment use,
for use of restaurants, grocers and butchers, for display counters, for
factory water cooling, for milk dairy use, for liquid dispensary use and
for ice cream cabinets. Harry E. Thompson, the chief engineer, has de-
veloped a simplified expansion valve with automatic control, which is an
exclusive Universal patent. However, the use of it has been given to the
entire refrigeration field in the interest of the public and the business.
In 1926, The Universal Cooler Company of Canada, Ltd., was or—
ganized by the stockholders of the parent company, which holds a large
amount of the stock. Mr. Johnston is also president of this company and
manages the business there, with Wood Williams as vice-president; Al-
bert H. Meinke, secretary and treasurer, and T. E. Costain, assistant
secretary and treasurer. The Canadian plant is an assembly one.
The Universal Cooler is sold in practically every country in the world,
especially in Europe and South America.
Many prominent men have contributed much to the development of
the electric refrigerator business, but in closing this review of one of the
successful companies credit must be given to two men in particular for
their efforts and achievements in the field of refrigeration, these being
W. C. Durant and A. H. Goss.
SUPERIOR SEAL & STAMIP COMPANY
The Superior Seal & Stamp Company of Detroit was established as
a private concern in the late ’60s, when Frederic Zabriskie bought Out a
small shop on Woodward avenue, near the ferry. At this time he made
rubber stamps, seals and stencils, also sold small printing presses and did
a little job printing work. Eventually he associated himself with a
partner under the firm name of Zabriskie & Bennett and with the passing
years formed several different partnerships. It was in 1905 that he in-
corporated his interests under the name of the Superior Seal & Stamp
Company, of which he remained the executive head until his death in
1924, when he was succeeded in the presidency by his son, Charles C.
Zabriskie. The other officers at this time are William F. Zabriskie, Who
is secretary, and Charles O. Lee, who is vice-president and treasurer.
The plant was moved to Bates street about 1907 and thence to East
Jefferson avenue in 1910. In 1928 the company erected its present plant
at 1401 Vermont avenue, where a two-story fireproof structure affords
over twenty thousand square feet of floor space. Marking devices of Var-
ious kinds constitute the principal product, such as rubber stamps, steel
1454 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
stamps, embossing dies, stencils, seals, badges, metal checks and metal
marking tags. Eighty people are employed by the company, which is
the largest of its kind in Detroit and in fact in this part of the United
States. The output also includes metal floats for manufacturers of auto-
mobile accessories, refrigerating equipment and oil burners.
THE KALES STAMPING COMPANY
One of the leading manufacturing concerns of its kind in the middle
west is the Kales Stamping Company, located at 1661 West Lafayette
boulevard, in the city of Detroit. This business was originally estab-
lished January 2, 1904, as the Reinke & Shirray Manufacturing Company,
for the purpose of manufacturing sheet metal stamping. The founders
were Charles Reinke, William Shirray and a number of associates, who
started their first plant at Beecher avenue and the Michigan Central Rail-
road. The Packard and the Cadillac motor car companies were helpful
customers in those early days, and in 1906 the plant was moved to the
present location, which was then 443 West Lafayette boulevard, and here
the first unit was constructed. In 1910 the name of the manufactory
was changed to the Kales-Haskel Company and better and larger quarters
were secured. The change of capital stock at this time from $15,000 to
$40,000 was a step upward, and the following officers were elected :
James T. Whitehead, president; William R. Kales, vice-president and
treasurer, and Fred Haskel, secretary. In 1910, a two-story addition was
built at the rear of the original building, and in 1912 a like addition was
put up on the west side. In 1915 Mr. Haskel resigned and J. Frazer
Whitehead was named secretary and treasurer. In January, 1916, the
capital stock was increased to $100,000, and in January, 1917, was fur-
ther increased to $200,000, and the name changed to the Kales Stamping
Company. William R. Kales became president; James T. Whitehead,
vice-president, and J. Frazer Whitehead, secretary, treasurer and general
manager, which officers are serving the company at this writing. An
office building was constructed in 1917, and in October, 1918, a two-story
warehouse was erected at the rear. There are now about 33,000 Square
feet of floor space available for the operations of this plant. During the
World war this company manufactured gas mask stampings for the
chemical warfare service and also made artillery and various Ordnance
parts. Today the product of the plant consists of a general line of metal
stampings for the automobile and kindred trades and Specialties such as
rear view mirrors and luggage carriers. The trade area of the com-
pany extends considerably outside of the city of Detroit. In December,
1922, the capital stock of the company was increased to $250,000. The
company employs about one hundred people on the average, and many
millions of metal stampings are turned out every year. Sixty per cent
of the business done is for the automotive trade, and the remaining forty
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1455
per cent for other lines. J. Frazer Whitehead, who is the active officer
of the company, in full charge of the plant, is a native of Detroit and a
Son of James T. and Ida (Frazer) Whitehead. He entered the firm in
the year 1911.
THE UNITED OUTDOOR ADVERTISING COMPANY
One of the principal organizations engaged in outdoor advertising in
Wayne county is The United Outdoor Advertising Company, located at
1734 West Lafayette boulevard in the city of Detroit. This company
came into existence in February, 1929, when two other companies merged,
these having been the United Posting Service, which had been estab-
lished in 1923, and the Service Sign Company, which started in 1918.
Charles R. Van Gieson, a sketch of whom appears upon another page of
this publication, was the founder of the United Posting Service, having
previously begun business under his own name in 1916, while J. J. Bur-
man was the originator of the Service Sign Company, which made painted
and commercial signs. When the new company was formed, the officers
were: Charles R. Van Gieson, president; Jack Bell, vice-president; Burt
Ellsworth, vice-president; J. J. Burman, treasurer, and D. W. St. Aubin,
secretary. At the time of organization the new company took the fran-
chise to manufacture Q. R. S. Neon signs under the Q. R. S. DeVry Cor-
poration of Chicago. Removal to the present plant location was made
in August, 1929. The new company has several hundred poster panels,
painted bulletin boards, highway signs and makes commercial signs,
spectacular signs, Neon tube signs, and does all general outdoor adver-
tising. The company maintains its own art and designing staff, and its
plant is equipped with the most up-to-date machinery, all individual
motor driven. Glass tubes for the Neon signs are manufactured at the
plant. Operations are in Detroit and suburban towns. The company
employs from seventy-five to one hundred men. Among the well-known
signs made by the company are those of Taystee Bread, and the Grennan
Cakes, each measuring 50 by 12 feet. Hundreds of other beautiful signs
flashing throughout Detroit are representative products of the United
Outdoor Advertising Company.
THE W. E. WOOD COMPANY
Among the large and successful building construction concerns of the
country the W. E. Wood Company holds a prominent place and has
handled many of the most important contracts in its line in the middle
west. The company was organized in 1914 by W. E. Wood, a contractor,
who had built the Buick plant at Flint, Michigan, during the period of
1906 to 1911. He was a Chicago man and for a number of years had been
1456 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
employed at the carpenter trade in that city. In 1880 he worked on the
construction of various depots on the line of the Chicago, Rock Island &
Pacific Railroad, and later became a carpenter foreman for Grace & Hyde,
and afterwards for George A. Fuller. He worked on the construction of
the Marquette building in Chicago in 1897 and in the following year went
to Nashville, Tennessee, as general superintendent for the C. A. Moses
Company, of Chicago, for whom he built the Louisville & Nashville passen-
ger station at Nashville, and also the Polk apartments in that city, the
first modern apartment building in the south, its design including steel
beams and cinder concrete. In 1903, Mr. Wood came to Michigan and
built the Lee paper mill, and later five mills at Otsego, Michigan. From
there he went to Flint and built the Buick plant. In 1910 he severed his
relations with the Moses Company and in the following year came to
Detroit, opened offices on the sixth floor of the Ford building and en-
gaged in contracting in partnership with Frank S. Robinson, W. H.
Chapman and H. J. Brennan. In 1914 the business was incorporated as
the W. E. Wood Company, of which he was president, until November,
1922, when he was killed in an automobile accident. At that time he was
succeeded in the presidency by William F. Austin, who is still at the head
of the business.
Since Mr. Wood began his contracting business here in 1911, the com-
pany has done a vast amount of building, among the larger contracts
being the following: The first portion of the Ford machine shop, 1912;
completed the quadrangle around the machine shop and three-story
assembly plant, 1911; the Northway motor plant, 1912 to 1918;the De-
troit United Railway paint shop in 1912, truck shop in 1913, and the
carpenter shop in 1914; the No. 18 plant for the Fisher Body Company
on Fort street, 1921; the Fife building, on Adams and Woodward streets,
during the war; the first of the long assembly plants and the office build-
ing for Dodge Brothers; buildings for the General Motors Company, at
Holbrook and St. Aubin, including the forge shop, the gear shop and the
large motor shop, 1913 to 1918; the Paige Motor Company’s plant, on
West Warren street, 1923; Marygrove College buildings, 1926; Sacred
Heart Seminary buildings, 1922; additions and extensions to the Detroit
Trust Company buildings, at Fort and Shelby streets, 1926; Security
Trust Company building, 1923; the Jegerson Avenue Presbyterian
Church, 1924; the Second National Bank of Saginaw, 1923; the state
office building and library at Lansing, 1919; Flint Daily Journal build-
ing, 1923; Flint junior high school building, 1922; the Wayne County
Training School, seventeen buildings, in 1924; the seven-million-dollar
Morrell street power plant for the public light commission in Detroit,
1924; the Kelivator Company’s factory and administration building,
1926; the Union Trust Company’s building, Detroit, completed in April,
1929; the Ford Motor Company service station at Louisville, Kentucky,
1914; the Elmore plant in Clyde, Ohio; the Chevrolet assembly plant in
Cincinnati; the General Fire Extinguisher plant in Warren, Ohio; the
General Motors gear grinding plant at Saginaw, Michigan; practically
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1457
all of the Chevrolet Motor Company’s buildings at Flint, over a period
of several years; the original Olds plant at Lansing; the factory building
for the Willys-Overland factory at Toledo, Ohio; all of the old buildings
for the Mitchell-Lewis Motor Company, at Racine, Wisconsin; the Cush-
man motor plant at Lincoln, Nebraska; the new filtered water basin for
Detroit on West Warren street; the sewage disposal plant for Flint,
Michigan; the Herman Kiefer Hospital, Detroit, 1928; many schools and
store buildings in Detroit; plants in Oakland, California; Fort Worth,
Texas, and Muncie, Indiana, for the Chevrolet Motor Company, and many
other structures of various kinds all over the country. The company is
now engaged in the construction of the Detroit municipal airport, and is
On its eight hundred and fourteenth job, comprising over five hundred
separate and complete buildings.
They employ from four hundred to two thousand men according to
the demands of their work, and the sub contractors have employed about
the same number of men. The present officers of the W. E. Wood Com-
pany are: William F. Austin, president; Leo P. Richardson, secretary
and treasurer, and Henry J. Brennan, vice-president. Mr. Richardson
has been with the firm since 1910, and, being an expert accountant, is in
charge of the office. He was born at Wyman, Michigan, about forty-two
years ago. He is married and has three children, and the family home
is at 1695 West Chicago boulevard. Henry J. Brennan, vise-president of
the W. E. Wood Company, was born in Detroit and is a son of Martin
Brennan, of an old-time family of this city. He was in the employ of
Lewis Kamper, and later of Field, Hinchman & Smith, architects. In
1910 he joined the Wood organization as superintendent of the No. 1
plant of the Buick Motor Company, and later was chief of the drafting
room. His next promotion was to the position of general superintendent,
in charge of field work. He is now vice-president, in charge, of field work,
which position he has held since 1922. Eli White, the purchasing agent,
has been with the company for fifteen years.
THE DETROIT HUME PIPE COMPANY
The Detroit Hume Pipe Company, which is engaged in the manufac-
ture of reinforced concrete sewer pipe and situated at 6532 Six Mile road,
East, was established in 1926 by a group of Detroit business men, among
whom were F. J. Robinson and his son, Dean Robinson, James Dunkel,
G. F. Clements, Jefferson Webb and R. E. Olney. Lloyd R. Vivian is
plant superintendent and W. D. Kimmel is manager.
The company began operations at the intersection of Livernois ave-
nue and the Detroit Terminal Railroad, for the purpose of experimental
work in manufacturing reinforced concrete sewer pipe, under the Hume
Brothers’ patents. The pipe were made by centrifugal action, with one
outside retaining shell, and were made in sizes ranging from twenty-
1458 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
four to seventy-two inches in diameter. From the beginning the plant
was a pronounced success, and the scope of the business steadily in-
creased. In 1927, this growth made necessary additional space, and ac-
cordingly eight acres were purchased on Six Mile road and the Michigan
Central Belt Line Railroad. On this tract a modern factory was con-
structed. The main building is one hundred and sixteen feet by one hun-
dred and sixty-seven feet in ground dimensions, and there are ample
storage yards. New machinery was installed, electrically operated under
three hundred horsepower, connected load and individually driven. The
plant is also equipped with two fifty horsepower steam boilers, with auto-
matic control, which is used for heating six large kilns where the pipes
are carefully seasoned and cured before being conveyed to the storage
yards. The company has constructed a driveway, or ramp, on a level
with the main floor of the plant, for convenience in loading the pipe,
which are thus rolled on the trucks without lifting. This company began
operations with ten employes, and at this writing this number has in-
creased to eighty. The product of The Detroit Hume Pipe Company is
sold to contractors in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties, Michigan,
and the company has exclusive manufacturing rights in the state. This
company has the distinction of being one of the largest manufacturers
of sewer pipe in Michigan.
C. P. STEINHEISER COMPANY, INC.
The C. P. Steinheiser Company, Inc., of Detroit, was originally es-
tablished by Henry J. Steinheiser, the father of C. P. and Edward A.
Steinheiser, in the year 1883, at Beaubien and Brady streets, for the pur-
pose of manufacturing cement sewer pipe. Mr. Steinheiser had been an
employe of C. C. Carey, the first man in the city to make this product,
and he had in this manner acquired a comprehensive knowledge of the
business. He began operation in a very small way, but two years after-
ward moved to larger quarters at Gratiot avenue and Chene street, and in
1893 took in his sons as partners. The name of the firm then became
H. J. Steinheiser & Sons. In 1896 they abandoned the manufacture of
cement pipe and took over the agency for a vitrified sewer pipe, which
was manufactured in Ohio by the first company in the country to turn
Out such a product. Henry J. Steinheiser died in 1904, and the firm
continued until 1916, when it was incorporated under the present title,
and with the following officers: C. P. Steinheiser, president; Edward A.
Steinheiser, vice-president; and Henry F. Horn, secretary and treasurer.
In this same year, yards were opened at Mack avenue and the Terminal
Railroad, where large quantities of coal, coke, and builders’ supplies are
kept for the east side of Detroit. In 1924 the company purchased ten
acres of land at 12285 Coolidge highway, and here opened similar yards
for the convenience of the west side of the city. The company carries a
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1459
complete line of common and face brick, sand, gravel, cement, sewer
pipe, coal, coke, and all kinds of building supplies. The company like-
Wise maintains its own sales organization, and the business extends over
the Whole of Detroit, as well as the surrounding towns. About one hun-
dred men are employed, and thirty large trucks are maintained. The
main office is situated at 3001 Gratiot avenue, where the company utilizes
the entire lower floor of a modern, two-story brick building, the upper
floor being leased for offices. This organization, one of the oldest of its
kind in the city, has built its splendid reputation directly upon square
dealing with the public, following the principles laid down by the worthy
founder of the business.
CROSS GEAR AND ENGINE COMPANY
Detroit has just reason for pride in many of her industries, but none
of these has greater merit than the Cross Gear and Engine Company,
the products of which have attracted attention throughout the world.
The business was established in Detroit in 1898 by Milton O. Cross, to
whom personal reference is made on another page of this work. Mr.
Cross, whose specialty has always been the making of marine engines,
began in a small way in the Boyer-Campbell building at Brush and Con-
gress streets, which quarters were outgrown in a few years, and the
plant was moved to 12 Atwater street, where much better facilities were
provided. However, the business grew so rapidly, with all indications
pointing to large future expansion, that in 1907 Mr. Cross moved the
factory to 3248–59 Bellevue avenue, where he bought a tract of land and
erected a fine factory building, in which he installed the most improved
and up-to-date machinery and other facilities for the production of the
engines for which there was a steady demand. In 1909 the name of the
firm was changed to that of the Cross Gear and Engine Company, and
at that time Mr. Cross widened the scope of his business, entering upon
the making of transmission gears for automobiles. This department was
continued until 1922, when the company discontinued the making of auto-
mobile gears and began the making of the Cross gear-tooth rounder,
which was invented and patented by Mr. Cross and for which an im-
mediate demand sprang up among the manufacturing plants not only of
this country and Canada but abroad as well. The Cross company's pres-
ent specialties are this gear-tooth rounder and the Cross five-cylinder
radial motor, a marine engine listed as “Outboard, Class G.”
The Cross five-cylinder radial engine is the most powerful outboard
motor in production today, a perfect piece of mechanism, which now holds
the world's record of fifty-two and fifty-four hundredths miles an hour
for that size of motor. This engine delivers fifty horsepower at an en-
gine speed of four thousand revolutions a minute. This motor has a bore
of two and a half inches, a stroke of three inches and a piston displace-
1460 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
ment of seventy-three and thirty-five hundredths cubic inches. In spite
of the supersize of this machine, the full fifty horsepower are delivered
On a consumption of two and three-quarter gallons of gasoline and one-
half pint of lubricating oil per hour, a remarkably economical record.
This efficiency is due in a great measure to the small number of moving
parts, the use of ball bearings throughout, the balanced construction, and
the new manifolding and distribution of gases. Five cylinder perfor-
mance and balance is again in evidence in the fact that unusual accelera-
tion throughout the entire wide range of engine speeds—three hundred
to five thousand revolutions per minute—is obtained. The specifications
of this unit reveal several interesting and noteworthy features. First,
every moving part not mounted on ball bearings is bushed and runs on
a hardened and ground steel part; second, the proper allowances for heat
have been made at all points where the high temperatures developed in
this type of motor may be noticed, and third, the motor has been built
with the idea of making the service operations very simple. All parts
are interchangeable on any motor, the result of precision manufacturing
and rigid inspection. The motor is surprisingly compact, measuring
about twenty-six inches in diameter by forty inches high from propeller
to gas tank. The radial motor readily lends itself to marine application,
presenting numerous advantages which have been embodied in this en-
gine, namely: First, a new standard of economy in gasoline and oil con-
sumption; second, extreme compactness for power developed; third,
higher power output due to the smaller number of moving parts and to
the wide use of ball bearings; fourth, higher gas efficiency due to better
manifolding and distribution and to the consequent completeness of com-
bustion; fifth, the advantageous arrangement of the power head which
aids in vaporization and consumption, and sixth, the lightest possible
weight per unit power developed.
The Cross Gear and Engine Company was in receipt of two very com-
plimentary telegrams, one from Stewart S. Sill, at Wallington, New York,
as follows: “Have just completed three hundred mile endurance run,
twice crossing Lake Ontario at its widest point, in sixteen-foot Deewite
runabout. Cross five-cylinder radial never faltered in spite of seas which
nearly sank boat off Charity shoals, the graveyard of Ontario. Extend-
ing congratulations.” The other from A. E. Byerlein, at Tuscaloosa, Ala-
bama: “Have established new record of fifty-two and fifty-four hun-
dredths miles per hour in mile trials here today. Mailing complete de-
tails.” This was done with the Cross five-cylinder marine motor. The
Cross Company is now swamped with orders for this wonderful engine,
the factory being operated overtime to keep up with the orders, which
are flowing in from all parts of the United States and Canada, and every
continent on the globe. At the New York Motor Boat Show, in 1928, the
Cross five-cylinder radial motor attracted more attention than any other
motor on exhibition.
The Cross gear-tooth rounding machine, also made by the Cross Com-
pany, and the invention of Mr. Cross, is regarded as one of the most im-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1461
portant machines produced in recent years. The cutting and rounding
of gears has always been one of the most troublesome, expensive and
technical processes of machine work. The Cross machine was Subjected
to long experiment and exhaustive tests before one was ever sold and
put into production. Several hundred of the Cross gear rounders are
now in use, to the great technical and financial advantage of every fac-
tory using them. Its extreme simplicity makes it the most adaptable
machine in existence. It adapts itself to any pitch, regular or irregular,
standard or Special. It will round all forms and types of gears, includ-
ing stem gears, gears cut integral with the shaft, cluster gears, and gears
cut so close to the shoulder that filing or other methods of rounding or
champhering, or burring, would be impossible. It does all this, not at a
sacrifice of Speed, but at a greater production rate than is possible with
any other type of machine, or by any other method. This is due to its
rigid construction and to the method of holding the gear locked in fixed
relation to the cutter.
Among the foreign countries buying Cross products are practically
all of the countries of South America, Canada, India, Siam, Rangoon,
Australia and all European countries. All of the stock of the Cross Com-
pany is owned within the family, and the present officers are: M. O.
Cross, Sr., president and treasurer; Lola G. Cross, secretary, and M. O.
Cross, Jr., vice-president.
CATON PIPE AND FITTINGS COMPANY
One of Detroit’s leading concerns in its line is the Caton Pipe and
Fittings Company, of which Ross R. Caton is president. It was organized
and incorporated in February, 1922, and was first located on the south
side of Columbia street, near Second avenue, where it had about three
thousand square feet of space. It was primarily established to handle
heating supplies and equipment. The business outgrew its original quar-
ters the first year, and the company then bought property at 925 West
Elizabeth street, and remodeled the building which then stood on it, also
building an addition thirty by one hundred and fifteen feet in size. Later
the company also bought ground across the street, on which it erected
a pipe warehouse, thirty by one hundred and fifteen feet in size, and it
now has a total of eighteen thousand square feet of Space. A full line of
plumbing supplies was later added to the original business, and the com-
pany does an exclusively wholesale business, dealing through heating and
plumbing contractors and the larger industrial concerns. The best of
materials and the highest type of service have been the basis for the re-
markable growth of the business, which is now one of the largest in the
city. They now handle the following lines of goods: Walworth Manu-
facturing Company, valves, fittings and certain tools; American Radiator
Company, heating equipment and supplies; Spang-Chalfant Company,
1462 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
piping; Beyers, wrought iron pipe; Standard Sanitary Manufacturing
Company, plumbing equipment and supplies. About fifteen men com-
pose the organization, and the present officers are: Ross R. Caton, presi-
dent; L. N. Beers, vice-president; Ernest A. O’Brien, secretary, and Joseph
E. Lee, treasurer. &
BRYANT LINEN SUPPLY
One of Detroit’s most distinctive business institutions is the Bryant
Linen Supply, at 8842 East Forest avenue, which was established and is
still conducted by Charles G. Bryant, who is referred to on other pages
of this work. The business was begun by Mr. Bryant in the basement of
his home at 625 Meldrum avenue in 1913 and consists primarily in the
Supplying of fresh linen, on a rental basis, to restaurants, grocery stores,
meat markets, drug stores, apartment houses and other institutions in
which a frequent change of linen is desirable. Though the business was
started on a modest scale, it rapidly increased as business houses ap-
preciated the advantage of the system, and in 1918, Mr. Bryant bought a
larger home on Burns avenue, the full basement of which he utilized in
the business. In a few years this space also was outgrown and in 1923
Mr. Bryant bought three large lots at 8842 East Forest avenue, on which
he erected his present two-story brick plant, ninety by one hundred feet
in size, in which he installed a full equipment of machinery. The ma—
chinery is driven by individual motors and is the most improved that can
be secured. He employs fifty-two people in the business and has eleven
trucks in constant service. His business extends all over Detroit and in-
cludes the neighboring cities of Ann Arbor, Pontiac, Mt. Clemens and
Trenton. The drivers, who are in uniform, are courteous and prompt,
and the service rendered by this concern is ideal in every respect.
PEERLESS CEMENT CORPORATION
A well established business enterprise of Detroit came into existence
in 1897 under the name of the Peerless Portland Cement Company, or—
ganized at Union City, Michigan. There the enterprise was carried on
until 1924, when removal was made to Detroit, the company building a
large plant on West Jefferson avenue. In January, 1928, the business
was merged with that of the New Egyptian Portland Cement Company,
and in December, 1929, the name was changed to the Peerless Cement
Corporation. •
The Detroit plant covers fourteen acres and its capacity is one mil-
lion, seven hundred and fifty thousand barrels of Portland cement an-
nually. Its product also includes a Super-cement as demanded. The
Peerless Cement Corporation not only has its plant in Detroit but also
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1463
one at Port Huron, Michigan, with a capacity of one million barrels per
year and a plant of five hundred thousand barrels capacity at Union City.
Its holdings likewise include a plant which is not in operation at Fenton,
Michigan. Employment is given to three hundred and fifty people, and
eighty per cent of the output of the Detroit plant is sold in the Detroit
area. The output of the other plants is sold throughout Michigan, north-
ern Ohio and northern Indiana. The general offices of the company are
in the Free Press building at Detroit. This is today regarded as one of
the important productive industries of the city, and its affairs are care-
fully conducted by a corps of efficient officers, including William M. Hatch,
who is president and manager; L. A. Beeghly, of Youngstown, Ohio, who
is chairman of the board; Charles Schmutz, of Youngstown, who is vice-
president; John C. Baker, of Detroit, the treasurer; Seybourne L. Liv-
ingstone, secretary, and Charles A. Luck, sales manager.
THE BARCY-NICHOLSON COMPANY
The Barcy–Nicholson Company, which is engaged in the manufacture
of electrical supplies, is situated at 2801 West Fort street, Detroit. This
company, one of the most successful of its kind in the city, was originally
established in 1902 by Samuel J. Nicholson and William Barcy, as the
firm of Barcy & Nicholson, for the purpose of making electrical supplies
for gas engines, etc. The owners first had their plant in a small wood-
shed on Howard street, near Clark Park. Part of their product in the
early days was sold to Henry Ford, when that motor car manufacturer
used dry batteries in his automobiles. The firm at this time made bat-
tery connections, also a two-way switch for dry battery use. The roll
of employes at first consisted solely of the two owners. Long hours and
hard work were the unfailing rules. Gradually the business increased,
and they began making timer wires for the Ford Motor Company, with
the result that more space was needed and removal was made to Wayne
street. Before long the product of the company began to reach the big
jobbers all over the country, and the growth of the business was greatly
accelerated. Another move was made to West Fort Street, next door to
the present plant, and in 1914 the present factory building of four stories
was constructed, with ground dimensions eighty feet by one hundred
and ninety feet. In 1912 the name of the firm had been changed to The
Barcy-Nicholson Company, at which time it was incorporated, and in the
same year Mr. Nicholson purchased the interests of Mr. Barcy. Shortly
after this, Joseph Wood came into the company, and the officers now are
as follows: Samuel J. Nicholson, president; Joseph Wood, Vice-president,
and C. A. Bray, secretary and treasurer. The company has gradually
added more lines to its products. Punch presses and other modern equip-
ment have been added as business demanded. There is a small amount
of manufacturing stampings done for electrical equipment and for auto-
1464 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
mobile manufactories, but the bulk of the work is for the automobile man-
ufacturers, among them the Hudson, Packard, Hupmobile, General
Motors and Chrysler corporations. Only a small part of the business is
done through jobbers, and the sales force has been eliminated. About
One hundred and fifty people are employed in the plant.
STENGER DIE & TOOL COMPANY
In 1928 the Stenger Die & Tool Company of Detroit was organized,
taking over the business of the Johnson Tool Company, which was estab-
lished in 1919 for the manufacture of tools, dies, jigs and gauges. In
the year indicated Stephen Stenger purchased the business of the John-
Son Tool Company and has since been sole owner of the plant, conducting
his business under the name of the Stenger Die & Tool Company. His
factory is supplied with modern equipment and thirty capable and skilled
mechanics daily turn out large quantities of high-grade tools, jigs, dies
and gauges, which are sold largely to the motor car factories. They also
do considerable work for the railroad machine shops and the business is
extending to New York and Boston. Something of the steady growth of
their trade is indicated in the fact that while they began with twelve
men they now employ thirty, having made this progress in less than two
years.
CENTURY CHEMICAL PRODUCTS
Century Chemical Products has taken its place among the leading
concerns in Detroit engaged in the manufacture of deodorants, disin-
fectants and polishes. The business was established in 1919 by the present
head of the company, James J. Sullivan, who came to this city from
New York state. He had had considerable experience in laboratory work
and had discovered some very valuable formulas, in which he had great
faith as to their marketable value. He was not financially prepared to
go into the business on a large scale and began the making of his prepara-
tions in the basement Of his home at 1636 Church street. He made,
packed, sold and delivered his goods, keeping his expenses down to the
minimum, and in the course of time his business began to grow to an
appreciable extent. He moved his little plant to a business building on
Michigan avenue, where he occupied basement space. This soon became
inadequate and he moved to a location on Baker street, where he had
about twenty-five hundred square feet of floor space. In 1927 he came
to his present location, the fourth floor at 850 Porter street, where he
has fair facilities, though he is now preparing to move to a still larger
place. The name Century Chemical Products was adopted in 1923 and
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1465
in May, 1930, the business was incorporated. The company produces
a fine line of polishes, which are marketed under the trade name of
“Lightning,” and a variety of deodorizers. The main product of the
company, however, is a disinfectant, known as “De-Germ,” a germ de-
stroyer and deodorizer for homes, restaurants, theaters, hospitals, schools
and sick rooms. Scientific minds have long been searching for some simple
germ destroyer that would be effective and moderately priced. Sprayed
around the room, “De-Germ” destroys germs in the process of incubation
and eliminates the fear of contagion. So powerful is its germicidal effect
that accurate tests have proven beyond a doubt that once it has been
sprayed around a room, germs cannot live in that room. It was proved
particularly effective during the influenza epidemic and saved many lives.
Besides its germicidal value, it is also a first class deodorizer and will
absolutely dispel odors of cooking meats, vegetables, tobacco fumes, odors
of fresh paint and other objectionable odors. There is nothing disagree-
able about “De-Germ.” It has a pleasing, pungent odor and will not stain
or corrode. Preventing disease is far more important than curing it,
and that is what “De-Germ” does.
Mr. Sullivan is developing a nation-wide distribution of his products
and now has representatives in a number of the eastern states, as well
as in Canada. He has four traveling salesmen regularly employed, and
in the summer season has from ten to twelve men on the road. Among
his more prominent regular customers may be mentioned the Detroit
Edison Company, ninety per cent of the undertakers in Michigan, Crow-
ley-Milner, J. L. Hudson, the Detroit Street Railway, the Eastern Michi-
gan Motor Bus Company, many of the city departments, hotels, big office
buildings and hospitals, the Pere Marquette and Michigan Central Rail-
roads and others. M. H. O’Brien and James F. and John Duffy have
lately become identified with Century Chemical Products in an advisory
capacity, and the business has an exceedingly encouraging outlook.
INTERNATIONAL MACHINERY COMPANY
The International Machinery Company, at 3178 Bellevue avenue, De-
troit, has gained a wide reputation for the high quality of its products,
which consist mainly of toolroom and production machinery. The Com-
pany was organized and incorporated in 1919, with the following officers:
J. L. Colman (now deceased), president; Elsie Howarth, vice president,
and William L. Howarth, secretary, treasurer and manager. The busi-
ness was started at Grand River, where it remained about one year, and
was then moved to a factory building at 140 East Larned avenue. The
business continued to increase to an extent that demanded more Space
and in the spring of 1930 they also leased a large factory building on
Bellevue avenue, it being a three-story brick structure, containing eighteen
thousand square feet of floor space, which they utilize for storage pur-
1466 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
poses. They do a large business in the reconditioning of all kinds of
toolworking and other machinery, giving steady employment to fifteen
expert machinists, and, the Howarth brothers being expert machinists
themselves, they permit only the highest quality of work to leave their
factory. Their business is international in its scope, and they ship quan-
tities of highspeed tool machinery to all parts of the world, their principal
foreign trade being in England, Germany and France. In the fall of
1929 they made one shipment of forty machines to Germany. In this
country their reputation extends from coast to coast, and the International
Machinery Company is ranked among the important industries of Detroit.
JENKS & MUIR MANUFACTURING COMPANY
The business now conducted under the name of the Jenks & Muir
Manufacturing Company has been in existence for thirty-six years, hav-
ing been established in 1894 by C. C. Jenks and W. H. Muir, who began
operations at 6441 Hastings street, where they started as manufacturers
of beds and mattresses. These lines were discontinued in 1920, since
which time the company has engaged in the manufacture of springs and
cotton materials for automobiles. In 1926 the original proprietors of
the business, Messrs. Jenks and Muir, sold their interests to the Murray
Corporation of America. C. F. Coda was vice president and general
manager of the company from 1919 until 1926, when he was elected to
the presidency, and has since been its executive head.
The plant covers two hundred and seventy-five thousand square feet.
The buildings are of mill construction, mostly four stories in height, and
supplied with the sprinkler system. Employment is given to about four-
teen hundred people when the plant is running at full capacity and about
half of the number are skilled workmen. About seventy per cent of the
products of the plant are sold locally, but the trade of the company ex-
tends all over the United States, shipments being made to automobile
manufacturers throughout the country.
MURRAY CORPORATION OF AMERICA
The Michigan Manufacturer and Financial Record of January 30,
1930, contains the following article under the title, “Modern Making of
Motor Car Bodies.”
Car production has developed an immense specialized business of the
construction of bodies on a quantity basis. The body represents largely
what the eye sees that makes a car attractive, and also it determines the
comfort and pleasure of a car. No matter how fine the chassis, a car
receives credit on the body that the chassis carries.
The Murray Corporation of America is one of these sources of car
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1467
bodies for Hupp Century, Ford Town Sedan, Dodge Senior and other
Detroit-made cars, and the auxiliary business of producing these in enor-
mous quantities is not so well known to the public as is car production.
There are a good many special standards adopted by the Murray en-
gineers to secure body quality and stamina, as well as the comfort and
permanent attractiveness of the car body. These bodies are for produc-
tion, and an error in judgment in a private custom-tailored car body can
be righted, but an error in color or style of a production body can give
a make of car an enormous handicap.
The first general principle is that a car body be produced in a color
Scheme that the public can enjoy over a long period of months. This is
not easy. As a general principle, however, the colors chosen are subdued
and dark in tone. Actual tests are given by means of a small dummy
body side made from a steel die costing several thousand dollars. The
sheet metal product carries the contouring and general detail of a closed
car body design with its high lights due to curvature. This is finished
in the combination of colors, and subject to general test and discussion.
There are hundreds of these essays around the Murray plant.
Many hundreds are not admissible as production color schemes. Of
the few dozen that stand up under the test, there are trim and upholstery
schemes to be considered. The upholstery runs towards tones of subdued
colors in harmony with the exterior color of the body. The general basis of
judgment in determining those colors which will pass is to compare such
with schemes which have proven popular previously with the public. The
material and activities generally of the Murray Corporation runs to ex-
tremely conservative and practical choices in every field of selection, with
very little experimentation. One little experiment has been the use of
rayon for upholstering cloth, but with results not satisfactory as yet.
Bodies require hardware. These are sketched in hand-drawn and
colored designs, and selections are made from artistic sets of sketches
which develop motifs. A customer, that is, a manufacturer of cars, finds
pleasing designs among these and orders a selected design into produc-
tion. Then comes an immense expense for dies and molds of various
types, and finally the hardware can be produced in Sample form in a
variety of finishes that will be in keeping with the color plan of the body
the parts are to be used upon. There are many finishes, with and without
colored enamel, in these sample pieces.
This is going somewhat in advance of matters, however, for Often
the body itself has to be selected. The first step in this is to have an
artist's drawing made to scale for the proposed design. To the same
scale is a jointed figure representing a six-foot man wearing a derby
hat. This figure must be placeable within the artist's drawing and show
ample head room, and proper relation between driver's seat location and
brake and other operating pedals, windshield glasses, doors, etc. Each
Murray design insured comfort and room for all passengers, and this is
insured by the examination of the sketch in the manner shown.
The next step is to draft the body on a great aluminum board in full
1468 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
size. The draft has in it every fact needed by the engineering depart-
ment to prepare working drawings of the body for production. The
board is divided into ten-inch squares, which automatically furnish “sta-
tions” from which blue-print measurements and dimensions may be ob-
tained.
The next step is to “sell” the approved design to the car maker, and
from the draft blue-print drawings, the sales engineering draftsmen pre-
pare to develop a “mock up” full-size body on a chassis. This has wooden
radiator and hood, wood fenders, etc., and carries the body, often with
doors included, in white pine. Every curve is contoured perfectly, and
the mock-up body is finished so well that it has every appearance of being
an actual real job. Changes are easily made in the soft wood at the Sug-
gestion of the car manufacturer’s executives, and finally on O K is ob-
tained.
A sample body is then built by hand, and embodies in every detail
the parts and shapes which will be found in a production body. This is
made in the white and given a weaving machine test on a chassis frame.
This weaving machine shakes and distorts the body severely in imitation
of heavy and hard usage on a real car, and at least two hundred and
fifty thousand revolutions are applied. The body by Murray is so made
that it should emerge without developing a single Squeak, where a body
by an old-time coachmaker would probably have fallen to pieces.
In the meantime dies are being made in steel for forming the sheet
metal parts and the wood-frame units are being produced in quantity at
the lumber mills, either at Bay City or in the new $3,000,000 Murray
lumber mill at Memphis, Tennessee. Jigs for assembly are also being
made in quantity. A jig accompanies a body being framed together part
of the way along the assembly line, and then returns to be used on the
next body of the series that is started to the same point. There may be
several dozen such jigs for a particular run of body going through end-
lessly. Another need in production of the body is woodmill jigs and
fixtures.
The wood parts of a Murray body come to the body assembly line in
sub-assembled units. They are such units as rear quarter panels, roof
frame units, and the like. With them are certain parts in shaped pressed
steel from any of the four sampling rooms. These parts are joined, not
with glue but with a paste composed of asbestos, graphite and oil which
make non-squeaking joints between wood members, and these joints are
themselves made extremely strong by the use of steel plates.
To assemble together these separate sub-assemblies of wood, a master
jig, as mentioned above, has pins that hold placed pieces accurately in
position. One by one, the pieces are added, until finally a perfect frame-
work in complete alignment is produced. This wood frame leaves the
master jig to be sprayed with a coat of preservative which keeps the
wood in perfect condition and drives away insects.
Metal panels are now applied. This sheathing is made in great dies
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1469
already mentioned, and the sheet metal is butt welded by autogenous
methods. The rear end of a Murray body in three parts covers a car
from door around to door and from sill to roof. The front end of the
body has meanwhile been built very strongly from metal with rod elec-
tric Welding of parts. Briefly speaking the partition in sheet metal
behind the engine, the cowl, the cowl side panels and the pillars at the
corners in front are made one solid piece of metal by reinforcing elec-
tric welding with rivets. This strength is used to furnish a rigid sup-
port for the remainder of the body framework.
The doors are made separately after a fashion much like the work
done on the body proper, and similarly receive shaped sheet-metal panels.
The roof receives special construction consisting of several cross bows
Over which wire netting is stretched between longitudinal wood members.
In the Hupp sedan and coupe and in the Chrysler 70 this chicken-wire
netting is now insulated, and forms a radio reception aerial. In joining,
there is no actual wood-to-metal contact, the material being separated
by the asbestos-oil-graphiting mixture. The body is now complete in
structure, and ready for finishing. It receives a process of cleaning,
rinsing, air-pressure drying, Oven drying, and a priming coat within and
without.
NEWCOMB-DAVID COMPANY, INC.
Newcomb–David Company, Inc., of Detroit is the successor of the
Grand Rapids Blow Pipe Company, which was established in Grand
Rapids, Michigan, in 1887 by Charles Verrell and Gideon Barstow as a
partnership concern. In 1907 an interest in the business was acquired by
C. B. Newcomb and a Mr. Emery and in 1908 both Mr. Emery and Mr.
Barstow sold out. In 1910 Mr. Newcomb acquired the interest of Mr.
Verrel in the business and thereby became sole owner. Operations were
continued in Grand Rapids alone until 1912, when the company estab-
lished a branch factory in Detroit, Mr. Newcomb admitting William A.
David to a partnership, the latter managing the Detroit branch, while
Mr. Newcomb remained in charge of the Grand Rapids factory.
The business was carried on under partnership relations until 1924,
when the company was incorporated with a capital of $120,000, a few of
their old and valued employes being admitted as stockholders. The pres-
ent officers are: C. B. Newcomb, president; H. W. David, vice president;
and I. B. MacLellan, secretary and treasurer. These officials, together with
William T. Quick, John Ludwig and Clarence Dauer, constitute the board
of directors. Something of the scope of the business is indicated in the
fact that they employ over three hundred workmen.
In 1916 the company purchased a tract of land 250x190 feet on Rus-
sell street and erected there a modern plant of mill construction, in
which they now turn out the various products which constitute their out-
put. Their original plant on Larned street in Detroit was a small affair
1470 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
and employed about fifteen workmen. The first year’s output, in 1913,
totalled twenty-eight thousand dollars, but this has gradually increased as
the company has developed its trade relations until the output of the De-
troit factory is now well over one million dollars yearly. Their principal
products are blow piping, dust collecting, spraying cabinets, used by all
the principal automobile factories in Michigan. They also produce all
kinds of sheet metal work and their sales cover Michigan and adjoining
states, the company maintaining its own sales organization. Electric
power is used in the factory and the equipment is thoroughly modern in
every detail, while the wisdom of the executive management is manifest
in the continued growth of the business.
REPUBLIC IRON & STEEL COMPANY
Among the productive industries represented in Detroit is the Republic
Iron & Steel Company of Youngstown, Ohio, which is one of the oldest
and the fourth largest of the steel companies of the United States. In
August, 1928, the Youngstown corporation purchased Steel & Tubes, Inc.,
a tubing manufacturing concern of Ferndale, Michigan, employing a large
force of workmen.
The Republic Iron & Steel Company has maintained offices in Detroit
for the past twenty years and has conducted an extensive business, manu-
facturing to specifications. They sell directly to the factories and the
business has become one of large proportions. -
COCA-COLA BOTTLING WORKS
Twenty-eight years have passed since the business conducted under
the name of the Coca-Cola Bottling Works was started in Detroit by
William J. Young, whose original quarters were in a barn at 467 Second
street, where he began operations in 1902 with a limited capital, at first
having but three employes. Owing to close application and judicious
management he prospered from the beginning and in 1916 moved his
plant to more commodious quarters at Woodbridge and Riopelle streets,
increasing the number of his employes. The business steadily expanded
and in 1924, in order to meet the demands of the trade, he purchased
one-half of the large brewery of Koppitz & Melcher on Gratiot avenue.
He installed modern machinery and now has one of the finest bottling
plants in Detroit. Year by year his patronage has grown until today
he employs forty-five men and has thirty-two delivery trucks. His busi-
ness not only covers the entire city but also extends to the suburban
towns and he now has branches in Ann Arbor, Pontiac, Monroe and
Wyandotte. In 1929 the Detroit plant bottled and sold one hundred
thousand gallons of Coca-Cola and in recognition of this achievement
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1471
Mr. Young was awarded a medal by the parent company of Atlanta,
Georgia. At that time he was admitted to membership in the 100,000
Gallon Club, a select organization with a limited number of members in
the United States and Canada. His powers of organization and admin-
istration have made him a commanding figure in his particular field and
under his progressive guidance the Coca-Cola Bottling Works has become
One of the outstanding business institutions of Detroit.
C. A. ROBERTS COMPANY
The C. A. Roberts Company acts as distributors for the National Tube
Company, which has a mammoth plant at Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, de-
voted to the manufacture of “Shelby” seamless steel tubing. This is the
largest plant of the kind in the world. The distributing plant at Detroit
was established by C. A. Roberts, who had charge of the business until
1926, when he removed to Chicago and took charge of the branch there.
He was succeeded by Mark W. Horne as district manager of the Detroit
branch, and the company has a large new modern fireproof brick ware-
house on Bellevue avenue, where a large stock of the various sizes of
seamless steel tubing is kept for the manufacturing trade of Michigan and
surrounding states, the nearest branches being Chicago and St. Louis.
Practically all the aeroplane bodies are now made from chrome molyb-
denum seamless steel tubing on account of its lightness and strength and
new uses are being developed every day for the product. Automobile
manufacturers are now using it in car loads for various parts of their
machines.
The manufacture of seamless steel tubes is perhaps the youngest im-
portant special branch of the steel industry. Hardly a decade has passed
since present-day processes of making seamless steel tubes were intro-
duced. The development of this business depended in large measure upon
a suitable quality of steel of the right physical and chemical properties.
Attempts were made in England to produce seamless tubes as early as
1837, but it was not until many years afterward that processes were per-
fected to make seamless tubing a marketable product; and twenty-five
years ago seamless steel tubing from the first operation to the finished
tube was not being made in the United States. Piercing devices were in
use and it was known that greater production and lower costs would re-
sult from their improvement, and while the much sought object was finally
developed and being perfected, steelmakers were engaged in producing a
uniform quality of mild steel which would permit satisfactory piercing
and cold drawing and also yield a finished tube with all the required
physical attributes. A machine to do the work and a steel that could be
satisfactorily worked were produced about the same time and Seamless
steel tubes began to count as an important branch of the Steel industry
in America. Since then the work has gone steadily forward, improve-
1472 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
ments being constantly made in methods and in the machinery and equip-
ment necessary to handle the product until it can be justly said that the
steel used and the methods of making “Shelby” seamless steel tubes repre-
sent “the highest development of the art today,” as attested by the Su-
perior Jury of Awards at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.
The manufacturing company in Ellwood City is constantly striving to
reach perfection and has advanced far toward this goal in the production
of boiler tubes, mechanical tubing, cylinders and special hollow forgings,
made by “piercing” solid billets or bars of steel, or by “cupping” and
drawing thick steel plates of carefully calculated proportions. The “Shelby.”
seamless steel tubing is controlled entirely by the Pennsylvania organiza-
tion, thus insuring continual uniformity, and the process is most interest-
ing from the time when the steel is delivered to the heating furnace in
blooms of several sizes, six, seven, eight or ten inches square and about
eleven feet long, weighing from thirteen hundred to thirty-seven hundred
and fifty pounds, until the finished tube is ready for the market. All this
means great rolling machines, mammoth furnaces, reeling machines and
countless other devices which have been produced in connection with
the development of the process, and today through its distributing plants
the company is selling throughout the country, the Detroit plant being one
of its most important because of the large amount of seamless tubular
steel in use by automobile and other factories in this city.
ACME PIE COMPANY
The Acme Pie Company is a well known institution of Detroit. A busi-
ness of mammoth proportions has been developed and the success of the
enterprise is based upon the excellence of its products and the depend-
ability of the house in all of its trade connections. The business was
established in 1924 as a partnership concern owned by P. J. Le Cody and
John Homchis, who began making pies at 5923 Dubois street. They em-
ployed three people and they turned out a grade of pies that at once found
favor with the public, so that their business was one of rapid growth and
development. Week by week their trade grew and after thirteen months
they were able to purchase, in 1925, a tract of land at 2286 East Mil-
waukee avenue, whereon they erected a modern two-story brick factory
90x107 feet, equipping it with machinery of the latest design and em-
bodying all modern improvements. It also contained a cold storage for
fresh fruits used in making the Acme pies. Today the company employs
seventy-five people and uses twenty-two trucks in making deliveries in
Detroit and over a radius of forty miles outside the city. The growth of
the business demanding larger quarters will, in the near future, result
in a new building.
The Acme Pie Company used one hundred and sixty-two carloads of
materials in 1928 in the making of 1,644,664 pies. In 1929 its output went
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1473
well over the 2,000,000 mark. The Acme Pie Company wer ethe first bak-
ers in Detroit to use fresh fruit in pie making and thereby greatly en-
hanced the appetizing quality of their products.
CLENCH & METCALF COMPANY
Clench & Metcalf Company, situated at 1927 Twelfth street, Detroit,
are manufacturers of a high grade line of toilet preparations, such as face
creams, toilet waters, hair tonics and pomades, intended almost exclusively
for the barber trade. Manufacturing is done for the jobbing trade pri-
marily, and products are made for others under their own labels. The
formulas for these toilet articles are worked out in the laboratories of
Clench & Metcalf Company. The selling field of the company is country-
wide.
This business was originally established about 1915 by the firm of
Clench & Shannon. In 1917, Mr. Metcalf and E. M. Crane bought the inter-
est of Mr. Shannon and the firm name was changed to the present form,
Mr. Crane being a silent partner. F. S. Clench is the other member. The
plant was first situated at 1011 Lafayette boulevard but in 1926 was
moved to the present address.
Clench & Metcalf Company manufacture only toilet preparations of a
high quality. The formulas are thoroughly tested and worked out in their
well equipped laboratories before being placed upon the market. The
company has been unusually successful during the comparatively few
years of its history, and this has been due principally to the care and
industry manifested by the owners.
THE ECONOMICAL DRUG COMPANY
The Economical Drug Company of Detroit, with forty-five stores lo-
cated in the city, was established in the year 1918 by Nate S. Shapero as
a single store at the corner of Cass avenue and Ledyard street. Mr.
Shapero established his second retail drug store when he took over a
business at the corner of Clifford and Columbia streets, which became
known as store No. 2. Then in 1922 there was started the subsidiary con-
cern known as Shapero’s Drug Stores, under which name ten stores are
now operated in Detroit, making a grand total of forty-five, the largest
chain of drug stores in the city. The first store of the subsidiary company
was opened in the General Motors building. The first out-of-town store
was established at Pittsburgh in 1927; there are now two in that city,
also two in Toledo, and one in Cleveland. Head offices and supply depart-
ment for the Economical Drug Company and Shapero's Drug Stores are
located at 1927 Twelfth street, in Detroit, and throughout the chain
there are about four hundred and twenty-five employes. The officers for
1474 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
the two organizations are as follows: Nate S. Shapero, president; C. B.
Larsen, vice president; S. Rubiner, vice president; and O. Ready, secretary
and treasurer. The average inventory of this large drug store business
comprises about twenty-four thousand items. The business is entirely
retail in character.
THE GRATIOT LUMBER & COAL COMPANY
The Gratiot Lumber & Coal Company, located at 10254 Gratiot avenue,
Detroit, is the successor of The Anketell Lumber Company of Merrill,
Wisconsin, which was established by Thomas J. Anketell in the year 1899.
Mr. Anketell started this business for the purpose of manufacturing and
handling lumber, and a few years later he extended his business to Michi-
gan, opening a chain of retail lumberyards throughout the state. These
were operated very successfully for a number of years and were financed
and owned by The Anketell Lumber Company, a subsidiary company. At a
later period, The Anketell Coal & Lumber Company was incorporated at
Detroit and operated the country yards, while The Gratiot Lumber &
Coal Company was formed to operate the Detroit yards. The original
company purchased a fifteen acre tract of land on Gratiot avenue, where
they now own extensive yards and buildings, for the housing of various
lumber and building supplies, large stocks of rough and finished lumber,
sash, door and moulding stock, and everything connected with the lum-
ber trade. A railroad switch through the yards is an added shipping con-
venience. About ten years ago, the company began to dispose of its out-
side lumberyards and to enter the business of financing the construction
of buildings and homes in Detroit. This has been proved to be an import-
ant phase of the company’s work, and it now ranks as one of the largest
holding companies of the city. The company also deals successfully in real
estate and has established a high reputation for square business methods.
From fifty to one hundred people are employed.
THE EAUDEMORT LABORATORIES
The Eaudemort Laboratories, situated at 3560 St. Aubin avenue, De-
troit, which is the largest business of its kind in the city, had its inception
March 1, 1920, when Dr. R. J. A. Ruglen, a well known manufacturing
and consulting chemist, began operations in a small way in a one-car
garage. He was the only employe. Business grew, however, and he re-
moved to the Congress building, and within the short space of one year
made four removals to accommodate the demands of his fast developing
trade. In 1924, Dr. Ruglen moved his plant to a large two-story building
on St. Aubin avenue, and in 1928 this building was razed and a new and
up-to-date laboratory erected in its place, fully equipped with the most
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1475
modern machinery for manufacturing and experimental work. Branches
of the business have been established in the principal cities of the United
States, and Dr. Ruglen has his own sales organization. In line with the
increasing Scope of his business, he has recently acquired patents on new
products from England, which he will manufacture and market in the
United States.
THE EATON SPRING CORPORATION
The Eaton Spring Corporation, of Massillon, Ohio, and Detroit, Michi-
gan, is the successor of The Cleveland Spring Company, of Cleveland,
Ohio, and the original factory was established at Massillon, Ohio, for the
purpose of manufacturing flat springs of all kinds for automobiles and
automobile trucks. In 1924, the increased patronage from the Detroit fac-
tories brought about the necessity of a plant in this city, so the company
purchased the plant of the American Autoparts Company, together with
about thirteen and a half acres of land on French road and Grinnell ave-
nue adjoining the new airport, a site centrally located and wonderfully
adapted to manufacturing needs. The plant was remodeled, several addi-
tions were constructed, and a large modern office building erected. The
buildings of this company now cover about seven acres, and all of the
structures are of modern mill construction. They are equipped with the
most up-to-date machinery, using individual units of electric power. The
Eaton Spring Corporation employs about four hundred men in the De-
troit factory, and a like number at Massillon, Ohio. The officers are: J. F.
Beans, president; H. B. Knerr, secretary and treasurer; and T. C. Mor-
rison, production manager of the Detroit factory. A biography of Mr.
Morrison appears elsewhere in this publication.
The Eaton Spring Corporation has the largest business of its kind in
the world, making flat springs for motor cars and trucks, which are sold
to the principal automobile and truck manufacturers in the United States.
The corporation maintains its own sales organization and has its main
office at Massillon, Ohio. The slogan of the business is Quality, Service,
Price.
THE EDMUND-CLARK COMPANY, INC.
The Edmund-Clark Company, Inc., interior decorators of Detroit, lo-
cated at 1745 East Grand boulevard, has one of the oldest and most com-
plete businesses of its kind in Michigan, and also carry One of the largest
and finest stocks available to the public. The business was established
originally in Detroit in 1890, by William J. Streng, who was president;
Charles Walters, vice president, and Edward J. Draheim, secretary and
1476 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
treasurer. A brother of William J. Streng was also associated with the
Organizing group.
The business was started in a small way at 121 (now 434) Gratiot ave-
nue. William J. Streng, who was expert cabinet maker and upholster,
later built a factory for making special furniture. This plant, which was
on Palmer avenue, was successfully operated until 1915, at which time
they ceased manufacturing and moved to 1745 East Grand boulevard,
where they erected a large two-story building of concrete and steel,
especially designed for the advantageous display of the large stocks of
choice furniture, carpets, draperies, pictures, wall papers, etc. The com-
pany has forty thousand square feet of floor space for the accommodation
of the merchandise in the main building on the boulevard, and large fac-
tory and storage space in the rear on Palmer avenue. The company now
specializes in interior decorating and in the manufacture and reproduc-
tion of all old style furniture. Many of the finest mansions and homes in
Detroit have been decorated and furnished by The Edmund-Clark Com-
pany, Inc., also the new home of the Detroit Yacht Club. The company
does its own designing and makes its own draperies, employing about
thirty people. The founder of the business, William J. Streng, died Janu-
ary 8, 1915, and his widow is now president of the company. His son,
Edmund G., is vice president and manager, while C. F. Betzing is secre-
tary and treasurer,
THE ALLEN CORPORATION
The Allen Corporation, formerly the Allen Air Turbine Ventilator
Company, of which Harold R. Boyer is president, is one of Detroit’s lead-
ing manufacturing concerns, and its product has gained wide recognition
as the best contrivance for its purpose on the market. The business was
first established at Montreal, Canada, and the ventilator was there manu-
factured under original patents (which are still owned by the company)
from about 1912. This is the original turbine ventilator, the first ever
patented. In 1919 W. J. Allen brought the business to Detroit and incor-
porated it under the laws of the state of Michigan. Its first location here
was on La Brosse street, whence it was moved to Eighth and Porter streets,
and in 1925 to the present modern two-story factory building at Four-
teenth and Howard streets, which affords fifteen thousand square feet of
floor space. In 1922 Mr. Allen withdrew from the business, and Perry
Kimball was president of the company from that time until 1929, when
C. K. Larned bought him out and became president, remaining at the head
of the business until the spring of 1930, when he sold out to Frederick M.
Alger, Jr., and Harold R. Boyer. The present officers of the company are:
Harold R. Boyer, president; Frederick M. Alger, Jr., secretary and treas-
urer, and L. P. Halleck, vice president in charge of sales. The board of
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1477
directors comprises these gentlemen, together with Frederick M. Alger,
Sr., and Charles F. Loos.
The Allen Turbine Ventilator, known as the “Silent Sentinel of
Safety,” are made in eleven sizes, and are constructed of “Armco” ingot
iron galvanized metal, protected with a special compound rendering the
metal practically immune to the deteriorating action of the weather and
acid fume conditions. It is also constructed of cold rolled copper. This
ventilator is a true rotating, air driven, suction turbine, representing the
utmost in ventilating efficiency. Through its continuous, remarkable dis-
placement it is recognized as the leader in the ventilating field by those
who have noted the results obtained by its use. It works automatically,
continuously and silently. The first cost of Allen ventilators is not only
less than the cost of power-operated exhaust fans, but they handle a larger
volume of air and eliminate maintenance and operating expense. They are
operated under all weather conditions, unhampered and unaffected by
snow, ice, sleet or rain. They are positively leak proof. The powerful up-
ward suction force of the rotating turbine makes down drafts a mechanical
construction impossibility. These ventilators are nationally distributed
through manufacturers’ agents and are being adopted by many of the
largest corporations in the country, some of its most prominent patrons
being the American Plate Glass Company, the American Tobacco Com-
pany, the Baldwin Locomotive Company, the Bell Telephone Company, the
Edison Company, the Ford Motor Company, the General Baking Company,
the General Electric Company, General Motors Corporation, the Michigan
Central and Pennsylvania Railroad Companies, the Standard Oil Com-
pany, the United States Rubber Company, Victor Talking Machine Com-
pany, Western Union Telegraph Company and hundreds of other con-
cerns who testify to the satisfactory and efficient service rendered by this
device.
M. H. HUSSEY LUMBER COMPANY OF MICHIGAN
The yards of the M. H. Hussey Lumber Company of Michigan, Inc.,
are located at 3472 Hart avenue. The company had it origin in the busi-
mess which was established in Waukegan, Illinois, by Michael H. Hussey
in 1893. In 1917 he entered the Detroit field, at which time he organized
and incorporated the present company. Here the business was begun in
a small yard at Oakman and Metzger streets, on the west side, where it
was carried on a year, when Mr. Hussey bought out the Standard Lumber
and Coal Company, on Hart avenue. He was a large operator in lumber,
coal and building materials in Waukegan, Illinois, and he also owned a
large sawmill in Bellingham, Washington, which he operated for many
years, and which is now owned by his sons, John Earl and Jerry E. The
Detroit yards carry an extensive stock of high grade lumber of all kinds
for the building trade, and the company also maintains a well equipped
1478 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
mill and factory, in which are made sash and doors on a large scale, giv-
ing employment to one hundred and twenty men. This plant is in charge
of John E. Hussey as president and general manager, and his brother
Jerry E. has similar charge of the Waukegan plant, which does an ex-
tensive wholesale coal business, having handled over two hundred thou-
sand tons of coal alone in 1928. It also carries an extensive line of build-
ers’ supplies, such as sand, gravel, cement, brick and tile. The brothers
are ably maintaining the prestige of the business so well establishéd by
their father, and are recognized as capable, progressive and successful
business men.
THE STANDARD STEEL SHELVING COMPANY
The Standard Steel Shelving Company, of Detroit, was incorporated in
April, 1929, for the purpose of manufacturing steel shelving for office
and industrial uses, principally the latter, also trucks, tables and shop
desks. The finished products are all manufactured from sheet steel, and
their shipments extend over the entire country, although a large percent-
age of the business now is done in the state of Michigan. The company
also manufactures and designs steel equipment to meet the special needs
of its customers. In July, 1929, the plant was moved to its present loca-
tion at 1326 East Woodbridge street, where twelve thousand square feet
of floor space are available. The company maintains its own sales force,
and the present officers are as follows: F. L. Jacobs, president; A. M.
Jacobs, wife of F. L. Jacobs, secretary and treasurer; and E. P. Wright,
assistant secretary. The Standard Steel Shelving Company, during the
comparatively short life it has had in Detroit, has given strong indications
of continued success and development and is one of the most promising of
the younger manufactories of the motor metropolis.
E. C. DITTRICH & COMPANY, INCORPORATED
The business conducted under the name of E. C. Dittrich & Company,
Incorporated, was established in 1893 as a partnership concern under the
firm style of Ashbough & Dittrich. They began operations where the
Fisher Arcade now stands, occupying several rooms on the third floor of
the building, which they devoted to the manufacture of furs. Their in-
terests at first were conducted on a small scale, as they employed only two
or three girls. After a year they removed to the corner of Broadway and
Grand Circus park, utilizing the entire building there and continuing at
that location from 1894 until 1901, when a removal was made to 8 With-
erell street. Six years later, or in 1907, the partnership was dissolved,
Mr. Dittrich, however, continuing at the same place under the firm style
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1479
of E. C. Dittrich & Company. In 1916 he disposed of his lease there and
moved to the Fisher Arcade. In 1923 he incorporated the business, ad-
mitting his three sons to an interest. This remains a closed Corporation.
Since 1926 the company has been found at its present location, 2341
Grand River, the building having been erected especially for the fur trade,
and they now have fifteen thousand square feet of floor space. The entire
building is equipped with burglar-proof alarms and is of absolutely fire-
proof construction. There is refrigeration in the vaults to maintain the
proper temperature for the storage of raw and finished materials, and
they sell to both the wholesale and retail trades. They obtain domestic
furs in a raw state and also handle some imported furs. The raw furs
which they purchase are sent out to be dressed and dyed and are then
manufactured in the prevailing styles of fur garments. The company
today handles all kinds of furs, received from various parts of the world,
and they make a big feature of the storage of furs and fur garments.
They employ forty people, all skilled workers, and the business is one of
gratifying proportions. Mr. Dittrich remains at the head of the company
as its president, with his three sons as his associates, Harold E. being the
vice president, Francis C., the treasurer, and Alfred W., the secretary.
The firm has membership on the Detroit Board of Commerce.
ACME STAMP COMPANY
Under the guidance of Winfield F. Forrester the Acme Stamp Com-
pany came into existence in September, 1910, its first location being where
the Gaiety Theater now stands at Bates street and Cadillac square. The
business has always been maintained under the same name and includes
general letter cutting and general engraving. They do fine die sinking
and also make Seals, steel and brass dies. The business was a small one
at its inception, Mr. Forrester doing all of the work, taking the orders
and then delivering the finished product. From the original location the
business was removed to 11-17 East Woodbridge street, in what is now
the Vernor building, where better quarters were secured. A further re-
moval took them to 64 West Congress street. Their trade has been one
of gradual growth. Their patronage came originally from the city and
each change in location secured for them larger quarters needed by an
increasing trade. For nine years the business was carried on at the
corner of Wayne and Congress streets, and in 1928 the company opened
its plant at 2222 West Fort street, where it occupies the entire second
floor, having five thousand square feet of floor space. Nine men are em-
ployed in the shop, all being skilled workmen.
In October, 1926, the Acme Stamp Company was incorporated. The
present officers are: Winfield F. Forrester, president; Donald E. For-
rester, treasurer; Verne E. Sorge, secretary; and Emery S. Hendrickson,
vice president, who is in charge of the shop. They serve practically the
1480 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
entire state, and their business extends also to Cleveland and Chicago.
During the war period ninety per cent of their business was for the
government, orders coming to them direct from Washington. They made
marking dies of steel for the government, and they have always been
noted for the high quality of their work. This is the Only company in
Detroit manufacturing marking machines for radio products.
CARTWRIGHT FLORAL COMPANY
The business now conducted under the name of the Cartwright Floral
Company had its inception in 1927, when Harry Cartwright established
the Mack Avenue Greenhouses at 17751, where the enterprise is still
located. He engaged in raising flowers, potted plants and perennials, and
his trade grew so rapidly that at the end of three years he decided to
incorporate his interests. Accordingly in 1930 he formed the Cartwright
Floral Company, becoming its president, and Cyril Hayman was elected
secretary and treasurer. In the spring of 1930 the company purchased
four acres of fine soil at New Baltimore, near Detroit, where they are now
erecting modern greenhouses to take care of their rapidly increasing
patronage. This plant, situated on Lake St. Clair, is under the manage-
ment of Alfred Woodger and has the most modern equipment and facilities,
including the hot water system of heating. The main offices of the com-
pany are maintained on Mack avenue, and they cater chiefly to the retail
trade. Prompt, efficient service, wise management and honorable, straight-
forward dealing have constituted the salient factors in the development
of this rapidly expanding business, which now covers all of the east side
Of the city.
MCKEE, KENYON & COMPANY
McKee, Kenyon & Company, of which W. J. McKee is presiednt, are
manufacturers and distributors of machinery. The incorporators of the
business were Mr. McKee, H. J. Elwert, who is the vice president, and
E. Kenyon, the secretary and treasurer. This enterprise is an outgrowth
of the W. J. McKee Machinery Company, which was established in 1919.
With the admission of Mr. Kenyon to the firm in April, 1927, the business
was incorporated. Operations have always been carried on along a gen-
eral line. They carry a small stock of machinery, including equipment
for immediate use and delivery, but most of the products handled are
shipped direct from the factories. As state distributors the company
today represents the General Manufacturing Company of Detroit, makers
of flexible power presses; the Hisey-Wolf Machinery Company of Cin-
cinnati, handling electric tools, grinders and buffing machines; the Dreses
Machine Tool Company of Cincinnati, manufacturers of radial drilling
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1481
machines; the Federal Press Company of Elkhart, Indiana, manufactur-
ing presses; the Superior Machine Tool Company of Kokomo, Indiana,
builders of drilling machinery; the Taylor & Fenn Company of Hartford.
Connecticut, handling drilling and milling machines; Andrew C. Camp-
bell, Incorporated, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, manufacturers of nibbling
machines; and the Globe Manufacturing Company of Bridgeport, makers
of automatic tapping machines. They likewise handle the surface grinders
made by Reid Brothers, Incorporated, of Beverly, Massachusetts, the sand
blast equipment of The McLeod Company of Cincinnati, and the lathes
of the Cincinnati Lathe & Tool Company. They deal exclusively in new
machinery in the above lines and are represented on the road by five
traveling salesmen through the lower peninsula. Their major outlet is
through the automotive industry, and they have as customers every auto-
mobile manufacturer of Michigan and many manufacturers of automobile
accessories.
BESEMER & RABE
The business now owned by Besemer & Rabe has been in existence for
more than thirty years and is one of the pioneer floral institutions of
Detroit. Gustave Taepke, the founder of the enterprise, continued at its
head for ten years, and his successor, Joseph Streit, was the owner of
the business until 1925, when it was purchased by Adam E. Besemer and
Karl T. Rabe, partners in the firm of Besemer & Rabe. From the time
of its inception the business has been located at 5734 McClellan avenue,
and year by year it has grown until today this is classed with the largest
floral establishments on the east side of Detroit. The present owners
have a modern, well equipped plant with forty-five thousand square feet
under glass and specialize in cut flowers and potted plants. They employ
ten men and utilize three motor trucks for delivery purposes. Their trade
is drawn from Detroit and its suburbs and is constantly expanding by
reason of their progressive methods, straightforward dealing and highly
specialized knowledge of the business in which they are engaged.
PRECISION SCREW PRODUCTS COMPANY
The business of the Precision Screw Products Company was estab-
lished on a partnership basis in Detroit in 1925 by Fred M. Dixon, S. E.
Donahue and Ernest E. Kemp. They began the manufacture of Special
screw machine products at 6414 Farnsworth avenue, leasing a factory,
which they equipped with the latest and best machinery used in turning
out work of this character. They sell their products to the leading auto-
mobile manufacturers in Detroit, and their business grew rapidly until
1482 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
the recent depression in the automotive industry. Having facilities for
making all kinds of screw machine products and employing only skilled
labor, they have already established an enviable reputation for high-
grade work and dispose of their entire output in Detroit. They have a
force of from twenty to twenty-five men, and all are experienced mech-
anics, thoroughly proficient in this line of work. In 1928, Mr. Kemp with-
drew from the organization, selling his interest to Mr. Dixon and Mr.
Donahue, who are continuing the business as equal partners. Mr. Dixon
is in charge of the office, while Mr. Donahue has supervision of the shop,
and the labors of the one ably supplement and round out the efforts of
the other.
DETROIT SULPHITE PULP & PAPER COMPANY
Among Wayne county’s old and prosperous industries is the Detroit
Sulphite Pulp & Paper Company, which was established many years ago
and has made a very successful record for continuous operation and profit-
able returns. This is one of the first mills in the United States to use the
German process of making paper out of wood, by means of what is com-
monly known as the Sulphite process. The mill is complete in its equip-
ment of modern and improved machinery, and it has a productive ca-
pacity of seventy-five tons of tissue paper every twenty-four hours. The
supply of wood from which the paper is made is obtained mostly in Can-
ada, and the product of the mill is sold all over the United States and Can-
ada. Three hundred and seventy-five persons are given employment, many
of whom are expert and highly paid workmen, and the products of the
mill are widely known for their uniformly excellent quality.
William P. Holliday has been with this company for over twenty-five
years, filling practically every office up to that of president, and is now
chairman of the board of directors. He has been an important factor in
the success of this enterprise and still takes an active part in its affairs.
ASHLEY & DUSTIN
The firm of Ashley & Dustin, represented by Oliver S. Dustin in the
positions of secretary, treasurer and general manager, is well known in
connection with steamship agencies in Detroit. Moreover, the name of
Dustin has been associated with shipping interests of the city for about
nine decades, for it was in 1840 that Captain Selah Dustin, then twenty-
one years of age, was made master of the steamship Swan, running be-
tween Toledo and Detroit, with various way stops. The story of his
identification with sailing and shipping interests is given in the personal
sketch of his son, Oliver S. Dustin, on another page of this work. Some
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1483
time after settling in Detroit, Captain Selah Dustin was joined by his
brother-in-law, Walter O. Ashley, and a partnership business was carried
on by them for a number of years. When Captain Dustin retired Mr.
Ashley was joined by his half-brother, Horace Mitchell, in the ’70s and
together they carried on the business under the firm name of Ashley &
Mitchell. Later Edward A. Dustin, a brother of Oliver S. Dustin, took over
Mr. Mitchell's interest and the present firm name was then assumed, but
both Walter O. Ashley and Edward A. Dustin have now passed away,
leaving Oliver S. Dustin as the only member of the firm. He came into
the business at the age of eighteen years and has been connected with it
continuously since, still operating under the firm style that has so long
been retained. The company has always acted as steamship and dock-
age agents, leasing the dock at the foot of First street. Mr. Ashley was
purser on the Philo Parsons and also part owner of the ship when in
September, 1864, it was forcibly taken over by Captain John Y. Beall off
Kelly’s island, about four miles off the Ohio shore, when en route to San-
dusky, Captain Beall then heading her down Lake Erie. He and his Con-
federates were from the south and he was holding a commission from the
authorities at Richmond, Virginia, as acting master in the Confederate
Navy. The money on the ship was taken by its captors, together with
all of Mr. Ashley's personal cash, and part of the cargo was thrown over-
board. Later in the same day the same crowd captured and scuttled the
steamship Island Queen. Subsequently Beall was captured by the north-
ern forces and by court martial was sentenced to death. Many other in-
teresting events have colored the history of the firm of Ashley & Dustin.
The firm has acted as agents for the following ships: the J. Cook in
the ’70s; the Alaska, which was destroyed by fire in 1889; the Gazelle; the
Pearl; and the Frank E. Kirby, a well known ship, which the firm repre-
sented from 1890 until 1911. They have also been agents for the River-
side and later the Wyandotte plying on the Detroit river to Ecorse, Wyan-
dotte, Grosse Isle, Amherstburg, Sugar island and Hickory island, and,
were agents for the Flora, Atlantic and State of Mackinac line of steamers.
In 1911 the Ashley & Dustin Steamer Line, a separate organization, built
the ship Put-in-Bay, for which Ashley & Dustin have since been the agents.
Until the passage of the seamen’s act the carrying of freight and pas-
sengers on short runs was profitable but ceased to be so after the act
was passed. In 1918 the Frank E. Kirby was taken off its run, and now
the firm acts as agent for the Put-in-Bay, which Operates only in the
SUl Iſln1éI S62a SOIl.
A. A. HORSCH COMPANY
A prosperous commercial enterprise of Detroit, closely allied with the
automobile industry, is that conducted under the name of the A. A.
Horsch Company. Its founder, Andrew A. Horsch, embarked in business
in 1914 on Townsend avenue near Gratiot, where he engaged in plating
1484 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
metal parts for makers of automobiles and other manufacturers. He
started on a small scale, employing four or five men, and he remained at
the original location for about eight years. He then sold the plant to the
Michigan Smelting Company, becoming one of their employes, and was
with the organization for four years. In 1927 he returned to the plating
business, locating at 5060 Townsend avenue, and his patronage increased
so rapidly that three years later he secured additional space by leasing an-
other factory, the second being situated at 7720 Gratiot avenue. At the
same time he was joined by two of his brothers, Joseph and William, and
the business was then incorporated under the style of the A. A. Horsch
Company. The officers are: A. A. Horsch, president; Joseph Horsch,
secretary-treasurer; and William Horsch, vice president.
Their work is confined to non-ferrous metals and includes expert
chromium, cadmium, nickel, copper and silver plating and the oxidizing
of metal parts. They have forty-two carefully trained employes and the
most modern equipment, so that they are able to handle any kind of plat-
ing work. Sales are made through their own organization, and ninety
per cent of their trade is with automobile manufacturers throughout the
country. Wisely and efficiently conducted, the business has prospered
since its inception and is constantly growing in volume and importance.
HODDE BROTHERS
One of the leading and most up-to-date soft drink manufacturing and
distributing companies of Detroit is that of Hodde Brothers, whose plant
is situated at 1969 West Fort street. Peter B. and Harry Hodde, brothers,
are partners in the ownership and management of this business, and are
well known as progressive, public-spirited citizens, and honest, conscienti-
ous manufacturers. They purchased the business which they now operate
from George J. Gies in 1915. The latter had represented the Anheuser-
Busch Company for a period of twenty-five years, and at the time of pur-
chase the Anheuser-Busch products were being sold by the company in
carload lots. The Hodde brothers continued with the same high-class line,
also sold such other well known bottled goods as Smith’s Old Musty Ale,
and Luechow's imported beers. Distribution was also made, in addition
to Detroit, to Saginaw, Bay City, Port Huron, Ann Arbor and Toledo.
Prohibition necessarily changed the nature of the business conducted
by Hodde Brothers, although the excellent management and quality of
product have remained unchanged. They continued to deal in Anheuser-
Busch products, which consists of Budweiser, Busch lager, Busch extra dry
ginger ale, Malt Nutrine and Budweiser hop flavored malts, also added
a complete line of carbonated beverages which are manufactured at the
plant. Other well known brands of beverages are likewise handled, such
as Tom Collins, Jr., Whistle, Kayo chocolate malted milk, Johnny Bull
ginger beer, and Vess dry ginger ale. The Hodde Brothers distributed
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1485
their own products under the trade name of “Hodde-Dew.” The An-
heuser-Busch line is, of course, retained.
Hodde Brothers have the finest and best equipped plant possible to
obtain. They use a low pressure unit, which starts with the returned bot-
tles at the rear end of the soaker and discharges the bottles thoroughly
brushed and cleaned. The containers are subjected to different heats,
and Solutions are used which produce an absolutely clean and sterile
bottle. Throughout the process no human hands touch the bottle except
in placing them in or removing them from the cases. The bottles are
next conveyed by a belt to the syrup machine, where the required amount
of syrup is injected into each bottle, after which they are conveyed to the
filling machine, where the carbonated water is added. Next they are con-
veyed to the crowning or capping machine, where the bottles are herme-
tically sealed. Some brands are also automatically labeled and foiled.
This unit is capable of handling twenty-four hundred cases of two dozen
bottles each per ten hour day. Many of the flavors used in the carbonated
beverages are made in the Hodde Brothers own laboratory, which carries
the most expensive and modern equipment and is in charge of a trained
chemist. Nine trucks are operated by Hodde Brothers, and a radius of
forty miles each day is covered. In season about thirty-five people are
usually employed at the plant.
Both Peter B. and Harry Hodde were born in the city of St. Louis, sons
of Henry W. Hodde, who died in 1917. For many years Henry W. Hodde
traveled through the Detroit territory as a representative of the Anheuser-
Busch Company. He married Helen Busch, a daughter of a brother of
Adolphe Busch of St. Louis. Peter B. and Harry Hodde attended school
in St. Louis, then became associated with the Anheuser-Busch Brewing
Company. Harry traveled all over the United States in the auditing de-
partment, while Peter B. was connected with the treasury department.
Harry Hodde was married in Texas to Miss Maude Sabine, and they
have become the parents of two children: Busch and Sabine.
Peter B. Hodde was married at St. Louis to Antoinette Newell, and
they have three children: James Paul, Helen Elizabeth and Florence Mary.
HENRY J. HOSBACH & SONS
The furniture manufacturing and upholstering business now conducted
by the firm of Henry J. Hosbach & Sons, and situated at 1316 East Con-
gress street, Detroit, was established in the year 1894 by Henry J. Hos-
bach, who had previously been foreman of the upholstering department of
the Pullman Car Works. During the time of the panic, work was slack
at the latter plant, consequently he determined to establish his own busi-
ness. He accordingly secured a small room in the rear of a drug Store at
the corner of Clinton and St. Aubin streets, tacked up a sign and began to
repair and reupholster furniture. Business grew rapidly, and larger
1486 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
quarters were soon needed, so he took a place at Macomb and St. Aubin
streets, and at this location he built up a large business and of the better
kind. In 1905 he moved to the present location of the plant, where he
fitted up a building, with display windows in front. He gradually ex-
tended his work, and soon began the designing and making of period
furniture, which was of much importance for a number of years. Some
period furniture is now imported. Henry J. Hosbach died in 1926, and
the business is now conducted by his three sons, Albert H., Henry C.,
and Walter A. Repair of fine furniture is one of the services performed
by this reputable company, also the restoring of antique pieces, and fine
upholstering. During the last two years draperies have been manufac-
tured. A specialty is made of comfortable living and bedroom furniture
of their own design, and made to adapt to certain spaces in the home and
in special rooms. Only highly skilled labor is employed by the company,
which has a very meritorious reputation in the field in which it is engaged.
ASMUS BROTHERS
Asmus Brothers is a partnership concern, composed of Louis and John
A. Asmus, and was established August 1, 1900. Through the intervening
period they have built up a substantial business as dealers in coffee, teas
and spices, and theirs is one of the leading houses of this kind in the middle
west. They first were located at the eastern market, and Louis Asmus
has had forty-five years of experience in this line, having been connected
with the trade since 1885. At the time of the organization of the present
firm he was in charge of the Detroit branch of a Philadelphia house. The
brothers purchased the stock in the branch house and have since conducted
a wholesale business, their trade steadily developing with the passing
years. In 1914 they purchased property at 523 East Congress street with
a frontage of fifty-three feet and erected thereon a three-story building
with basement. They occupy all of the second and third floors as well as
one-half of the first floor and basement, carrying an extensive line of teas,
coffees and Spices, their stock of spices being the most complete in the
state and including many rare kinds that are not in wide use. The firm
makes direct importation of Some of the spices, also grinds spice, and sells
both the whole and ground in large and small packages. Their products
come to them from all over the world and their spices are sent out under
their own brand, “Justrite,” which name was originated by John A. Asmus
and is now quite generally used. They also roast, grind, pack and blend
coffees, which they sell in bulk and in packages, and they likewise handle
a powdered coffee, called “Turkish Style Coffee.” Their “Dolly Madison”
and other brands of coffee have been most favorably received on the mar-
ket, and the quality attests the ability of John A. Asmus, who acts as
coffee taster. The firm was likewise the first in Detroit to handle bird
seed in package form, and they likewise make a specialty of “Justrite”
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1487
flavoring extracts and pack herbs used for seasoning, including seasoning
for Sausage makers. They are represented by five men on the outside, and
their goods are distributed by truck over a wide territory. In addition
to the brothers who are owners of the business, Henry and William Asmus,
also brothers, are with the firm in the sales department, as was another
brother, Albert, who has now passed away.
IMPRESSION DIE COMPANY
Under the name of the Impression Die Company, H. D. Flickinger,
owner, started a business in Detroit in March, 1923, in a small rented
building on Beaubien street, having one assistant, a mechanic, Mr. Flick-
inger also doing much of the work. The new enterprise started out to do
steel engraving, die casting and also manufacture automobile hardware,
dies and brass forging dies. It is the only jobbing firm of the kind in
Detroit doing exclusive hand engraving. The steady growth and develop-
ment of the business led to the purchase of a tract of land at the corner
of Forest and Bellevue avenues on the 1st of June, 1928, and there Mr.
Flickinger erected a modern brick plant of mill construction. It was
designed with a view to giving all possible light to the workmen and its
equipment in every way furthers the demands of the trade. The building
is 35x70 feet and can easily be enlarged as the business requires.
The Impression Die Company now employs twenty-five highly skilled
mechanics and four who are engaged in clerical work. It sells largely to
automobile factories in Detroit and its patronage has increased in gratify-
ing manner.
DETROIT RUBBER PRODUCTS, INC.
For fifteen years Detroit Rubber Products, Inc., has featured in con-
nection with the industrial development of the city. The business was
established as the Detroit Rubber Company in 1914 by William G. Isbell,
its purpose being the sale of the Diamond automobile tires. In 1915 the
enterprise was taken over by the firm of Isbell & Fauver, a partnership,
and they began handling the Goodrich line. With the incorporation Mr.
Isbell became president, with H. W. Fauver as Secretary and treasurer.
In 1917 the name was changed to Detroit Rubber Products, Inc., and in
January, 1919, Mr. Isbell sold his interest to Mr. Fauver, who then became
president of the company, with William F. Gruhler as secretary and treas-
urer. They continued the business but gradually ceased to handle tires,
concentrating their attention more and more upon mechanical rubber
goods. By 1920 they were doing a large business in other products used
by automobile body builders. In March, 1922, the company devised a new
channel (sliding) for automobile windows and it proved an instant suc-
1488 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
cess, being a product of felt and rubber, noiseless and enduring. The busi-
mess has also increased along other lines of rubber products and in July,
1922, they did more business than in the preceding six months. In seven
years they sold two hundred fifty million feet of lining, or enough to go
twice around the world. The business now amounts to about three mil-
lion dollars annually and now ninety per cent of all automobile manu-
facturers use their channel for motor car bodies. This volume of busi-
ness is cared for by a force of fourteen people.
The product handled by the company is made by the B. F. Goodrich
Rubber Company of Akron, Ohio, which has devoted one large section
of its plant to the exclusive manufacture of channel lining, the Detroit
Rubber Products, Inc., being one of its largest and best customers.
The present officers of Detroit Rubber Products, Inc., are: H. W.
Fauver, president; W. W. Metzger, vice president; and William F. Gruh-
ler, secretary and treasurer. They occupy offices and warehouse at 2841
East Grand boulevard, from which they direct the activities of a busi-
ness which is now one of the important commercial concerns of Detroit.
MORGAN & WRIGHT PLANT
The Morgan & Wright Plant at Detroit is a branch of the United
States Rubber Company. The story of the development of the business
is an interesting one. Forty-seven years ago, or in 1883, about a dozen
men started to work in a single basement room on Lake street in Chicago,
making rubber stamp gum under the direction of F. W. Morgan and his
partner, Rufus Wright. They toiled early and late, were conscientious
in their work and by an honest policy and earnest effort began to build
up their trade. Their history records one of the most amazing growths
in “big business,” for that was the beginning of one of the mammoth
manufacturing Organizations of the country. The Morgan & Wright of
that Lake Street basement shop became the heads of the big plant which
later moved to Detroit and now, at the foot of Bellevue avenue, is one of
the industrial sights of the city. Their history is of peculiar interest,
however, not only because of the phenomenal growth of the business but
also because they were the pioneers in the manufacture of the now indis-
pensable pneumatic tire.
About 1891 the firm perfected and placed on the market the first
double-tube bicycle tire, and this business developed rapidly, as the super-
iority of this type over the solid or cushion type became at once apparent.
The company was incorporated in the state of Illinois, October 18, 1893,
With a capital of one hundred thousand dollars. With the assistance of
the celebrated slogan “Morgan & Wright tires are good tires,” which every
user could verify during the years when the bicycle was supreme, they be-
came the largest manufacturers of this commodity in the world. The
demand was so great that the mechanical goods business was swamped
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1489
and for a time almost neglected. But in 1898 the waning popularity of the
bicycle enabled the firm to return to the manufacture of mechanical rub-
ber goods and induced them to seek new avenues of trade. It was at
this time they began the manufacture of solid and cushion vehicle tires–
a business that grew in the course of two or three years to more than
One million dollars per annum.
In 1900 Messrs. Morgan & Wright sold out their entire business to the
United States Rubber Company and in 1903 Charles J. Butler, who had
formerly managed One of their other plants, was placed in charge. Then
began the dawn of a new era for the pneumatic tire business. Along in
1901 when the automobile was beginning to attract general attention, a
series of experiments took place in the manufacture of tires for this new
form of vehicle. The double-tube tire, originally designed for the bicycle,
proved to be the progenitor of the modern perfected automobile tire. This
experimental stage lasted for a couple of years. It was in 1904 that the
“Clincher” tire was placed on the market as the first Morgan & Wright
automobile tire ; the “Perfected Dunlop” or wired on tire, which is the
present-day tire, followed a little later, and by 1905 the production aver-
aged three hundred tires per day. Then foreseeing the enormous possi-
bilities which would result from the centering of the automobile industry
in Detroit, it was decided to remove to this city.
The present plant was commenced in August, 1905, and in October,
1906, the capacity of the plant being one thousand tires per day, at which
time it was thought this would meet the demand for years, the entire or—
ganization was moved by special train and took up its new quarters here
without loss of time. During the first few years here the business con-
sisted of automobile, motorcycle, bicycle and vehicle tires and mechanical
goods. About seven hundred and fifty men were employed in the vari-
ous lines. There was a five-story office building, 60x300 feet, another of
oqual size, a third building 60x250 feet, three stories in height, a power
house, rubber cement building and machine shop, there being seven build-
ings in all. The original plant was doubled in 1912 and 1913, both in area
and production. Again in 1916 adjoining property was purchased until
the present plant extends over twenty acres of ground and is today one
of the largest and best equipped tire plants in the World. The present
site extends from Jefferson avenue to the river. The company employs
over five thousand men and has a daily production of nearly twenty-five
thousand tires every twenty-four hours. The slogan “Morgan & Wright
tires are good tires,” now changed to “United States tires are good tires,”
has become current all over the country, and indeed wherever rubber tires
are used, for the reputation of the early products of the real founders
of the present immense plant has been maintained, and United States
tires are in demand in every country where automobiles are sold. Charles
J. Butler is still president of the company after thirty years of continu-
ous service, and during the greater part of this period he had entire charge
of the tire production of the United States Rubber Company in all its
plants located in Detroit, Hartford, Indianapolis and Providence.
1490 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Associated with Mr. Butler at different periods since the Morgan &
Wright plant was moved from Chicago were a large number of men, many
of whom have made names for themselves in the rubber and automobile
industry in other companies: A. A. Templeton, former vice president of
Morgan & Wright, now heads the Michigan Industrial Bank; A. I. Philp,
former secretary and sales manager of Morgan & Wright, is now chair-
man of Durant Motors, Inc.; N. R. Feltes, former treasurer of Morgan
& Wright, was for many years treasurer of the Studebaker Corporation;
J. C. Weston, former sales manager of Morgan & Wright, later became
president of the Ajax Rubber Company; H. L. McClaren, also connected
with the sales department of Morgan & Wright, later became president of
the McClaren Rubber Company; and George W. Seiberling, for many years
factory manager of Morgan & Wright, is now president of the Lambert
Tire & Rubber Company of Akron. These are only a few of the many
well known men who were graduated from the Morgan & Wright organiza-
tion into higher positions.
Progress has been the watchword of the organization and improvement
has been carried on along many lines. The process of using pure rubber
latex in tires and tubes was developed by Ernest Hopkinson, vice presi-
dent of the United States Rubber Company, in charge of development at
the New York laboratory. The process was put into practical use in the
Detroit plant and the many details for practical achievement along that
line were worked out here. At the same time Mr. Hopkinson patented and
worked out the flat process of building pneumatic tires and this tire was
developed for factory production at the Detroit plant. It is the process
now generally used in the industry. The Morgan & Wright company was
also one of the pioneers in the balloon tire development. The latex, which
is the rubber as it comes from the tree, is shipped by tank steamers and
tank cars in its liquid form to the plant and every process in tire manu-
facturing has been worked out to the highest point of efficiency.
KERR SPECIALTY COMPANY
Within the last decade or two have come into existence many of the
leading business enterprises of Detroit. It was in February, 1918, that
the Kerr Specialty Company was organized and incorporated by James
A. Kerr, who is now vice president. A plant was opened on Twelfth
street for the manufacture of welts and bindings to be used in automobile
bodies and for trimming upholstery, etc., for motor cars. The steady
growth of the trade demanded larger quarters and a removal was made
to the present location at 1741 Bellevue avenue, where a modern plant
was built containing about 14,000 square feet of floor space. They buy
artificial leather and genuine leather in the hide, cut it, insert cords or
other required material and fold, sew or cement it. They buy paper in
carload lots and manufacture their own cord, twisting the paper into the
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1491
required form. This paper cord and also rubber tubing are used to make
the bead of the trimming. They employ about fifty-one people and sell
direct to the trade, among their present customers being the Ford Motor
Company, the Packard Motor Car Company, the Hudson Motor Car Com-
pany, the Briggs Manufacturing Company, the Murray Corporation of
America, Reo Motor Car Company and Willys-Overland, Inc. In addition
to the lines already mentioned they make fender welt, used between the
fenders and the body to eliminate Squeaks and rattles. They also use
much fabric for interior body trim and they make gimps and weather-
strips for automobile bodies and likewise prepare transmission lining for
the Model T Fords.
The present officers of the company are: C. H. Stever, president, who
came into the firm in 1927; Mrs. Marion A. Stever, secretary and treas-
urer; and James A. Kerr, vice president.
VAN ANTWERP COMPANY
The Van Antwerp Company of Detroit was incorporated in 1918 with
M. Gore Van Antwerp as president, Mrs. Cecelia Van Antwerp as vice
president, and Arthur J. Van Antwerp as secretary and treasurer. Now in
addition to the aforesaid Thomas J. Van Antwerp is second vice presi-
dent; George L. Van Antwerp, secretary; and Arthur J. Van Antwerp,
treasurer. The business, however, had its inception in 1855, having been
organized by Francis Van Antwerp, who was a blacksmith by trade and
who was the son of Francis Van Antwerp, Sr., who was born on the
Mohawk river in New York state. The Detroit enterprise was established
at the foot of Riopelle street, where Mr. Van Antwerp conducted a black-
Smith shop and handled coal as a side issue. His trade grew with the
passing years and in 1871 he established a branch yard at the northeast
corner of Rivard and Congress streets, where he also handled wood.
He had extensive yards, and the business was steadily developing. In
1881 he purchased a fifty-foot addition on Congress street, where he built
offices and also put in platform scales for the first time. Up to this time
the use of wood as fuel made scales unnecessary. In 1886 he extended
his activities by the purchase of another successful coal business at Orleans
and Fort streets and in 1887 he acquired another coal business then
carried on at Lafayette, Hastings and Champlain Streets, placing these
under the supervision of men whom he employed to act as managers.
He had a very large trade, utilizing seventy-five head of horses in the
delivery of coal in Detroit.
It was Francis Van Antwerp who was the first to bring coal to Detroit
exclusively by rail, previous to which time all shipments were made by
boat. This first carload weighed only twelve tons and now they receive
hundreds of cars that carry seventy-five tons each. The Van Antwerp
Company was also the first to introduce cannel coal for use in fireplaces in
1492 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Detroit and with the growth of the city the business of the company has
steadily increased until it is now one of large proportions. Today the Van
Antwerp Company is the oldest in this line in the city and the business has
been continuously carried on by the family for three-quarters of a century.
Francis Van Antwerp continued at the head of the company until his
death in 1892, and his wife was associated therewith until she passed
away in 1903. The business then passed to Eugene C. and M. Gore
Van Antwerp.
The company now owns two large distributing yards in Detroit, one
on East Kercheval avenue and the other on Beaubien street at Milwaukee
avenue, and at both they carry immense supplies of hard and soft coal
and coke. In 1923 new modern machinery for the expeditious handling of
coal was installed, and they have several electrically operated conveyers
which unload a ton of coal a minute and carry it up to a height of forty
or fifty feet in the storage yards. Their equipment also includes other
machines for loading trucks in the yards which will screen and load two
tons per minute. These machines are movable, so that they can be used
in any of the yards, and are operated by electricity. Ten large trucks
are used in delivery and the business is one of the most important of this
character in the state. Several of its employes have been with the firm
for nearly forty years, a fact indicative of the fair and just treatment
accorded by the employers to those in their service. The Van Antwerp
Company has long been regarded as an established institution in Detroit
and the name is closely interwoven with the record of commercial develop-
ment here.
WISE CHROME PRODUCTS COMPANY, INC.
The Wise Chrome Products Company, Inc., of Detroit, is the suc-
cessor of the Wise Electric Sherardizing Company, which was organized
in 1917 by Maxwell M. Wise and established business on a small scale
On Eighth street in this city. Rapidly, however, the trade expanded
and in 1920 a removal was made to East Fort avenue and Mount Elliott
avenue. The continuous growth of their patronage created a demand for
still larger quarters and in 1924 a second removal was made to a large
factory at Lafayette boulevard and Mount Elliott avenue. At this time
the name was changed to Wise Industries, while on the 1st of March, 1929,
the name of the Detroit Plating Industries was assumed.
On the 1st of February, 1928, Mr. Wise sold his interests in the old
company and organized the Wise Chrome Products Company, Inc. He
purchased a tract of land on Bellevue avenue and there erected a modern
two-story plant of truss construction. The business increased so rapidly
that on the 1st of December of the same year a large addition to the build-
ing was begun. Today the company has twenty-two thousand square feet
of floor space and employs one hundred and ten workmen, the trade hav-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1493
ing increased one hundred per cent in less than a year. The plant is
cquipped with individual electric motor power. Its output, chromium plat-
ing, is now used by practically all the automobile manufacturers in the
United States and, being proof against rust, it will last indefinitely on ex-
posed parts of automobiles, such as radiators, lamps, etc., where nickel was
formerly used, while new uses are being constantly devised for the pro-
duct by the company's chemist, who is a graduate of the University of
Michigan and ranks among the most advanced in the field of his profession.
Chromium plating on steel is yet in its infancy and the possibilities for
its use are unlimited, for it maintains its brilliant luster in all weathers
and has remarkable wearing qualities.
The present officers of the company are: Maxwell M. Wise, president
and general manager; D. W. Bauer, vice president; and R. L. Reed, secre-
tary, treasurer and sales manager.
ANCHOR STEEL & ENGINEERING COMPANY
The Anchor Steel & Engineering Company of Detroit is one of the
comparatively new business organizations of the city, having been incor-
porated in 1925 with Gerrit Waalkes as president, J. D. Simmers as vice-
president and Frank J. Shude as secretary, treasurer and general manager.
Business was started on a modest scale, the company leasing the first floor
of the building at 2563 Bellevue avenue, where five men were employed.
By the end of the first year the company leased another story of the build-
ing and its business had increased to such an extent that seventy-five
men were on the pay roll. During the third year of the business the com-
pany leased another large plant from the Standard Screw Products Com-
pany and gave employment to two hundred and fifty men. The fourth
year still another large building adjoining was secured and the employes
numbered three hundred. Today the Anchor Steel & Engineering Com-
pany occupies twenty-three thousand Square feet of floor space.
The factory is equipped with the latest and most modern machinery
and within its walls are manufactured daily immense quantities of light
steel and iron for industrial work and automobile bodies. The output also
includes chain conveyor belts for factories. The business of the house
extends as far south as Atlanta, Georgia, as far west as Kansas and as
far east as Boston. The company also exports large Stocks abroad for
the Chevrolet Motor Company, shipping to Europe and to Regina, Canada.
When the business was organized in 1925 it was capitalized for ten
thousand dollars of which nine thousand dollars was paid in. This was
increased in 1928 to seventy-five thousand dollars. The net worth in
1929 was one hundred eighty thousand dollars, while the business of the
company now totals more than one million dollars annually, showing a
remarkable growth in four years. The success of the undertaking is attri-
butable to the progressive spirit of the owners, which has been manifest in
its factory equipment, which includes electric power individual units, its
1494 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
modern machinery of all kinds, its sprinkler system for fire protection
and the system which is manifest in carrying on the Work.
The president, Gerrit Waalkes, and the vice president, J. D. Simmers,
are the engineers for the company, doing all the drafting and engineering
work, while Frank J. Shude is secretary, treasurer and general manager
of the plant and office force.
J. D. CANDLER ROOFING COMPANY, INC.
The J. D. Candler Roofing Company, Inc., is a Detroit corporation
engaged in the application of roofing and sheet metal work. The business
was established in 1879 as a partnership concern by J. D. Candler and
Charles Wrench, under the firm style of Candler & Wrench. They began
operations at 2112 Woodward avenue, having a hardware business, in
connection with which they did furnace work, jobbing repair and sheet
metal work. The enterprise was established on a small scale but after a
time, in order to secure larger quarters, a removal was made to the east
side of Bates street, near Woodbridge. Mr. Candler, purchasing the
interest of his partner, carried on the business under the name of the
J. D. Candler Company. To meet the requirements of a growing trade
a further removal was made to East Larned Street and afterward to
90–92 East Congress street, opposite the county building. Subsequently
the firm established its plant at what is now 551 East Vernor highway,
renting a building which was vacated by the Llewellyn Sash & Door Com-
pany. All through the years the business had been growing and the com-
pany had broadened its scope by taking up the roofing trade in addition
to its other lines. Eventually J. D. Candler purchased the present prop-
erty and on the 10th of March, 1910, incorporated the business of the
J. D. Candler Roofing Company. In 1910 DeForest W. Candler, the eldest
son of J. D. Candler, entered the business of the J. D. Candler Roofing
Company and remained for about five years.
During the World war period many of the firm’s head men were drafted
for war work or enlisted, so that Mr. Candler was seriously handicapped
and the business curtailed. His youngest son, William W. Candler, fin-
ished his term of enlistment in 1919 and joined the firm, of which he is
now vice president and general manager. Their attention is given entirely
to the roofing and sheet metal business at the present time, the roofing
being of composition, slate and tile. They also do factory maintenance
work, general sheet metal work and repair work, the last named con-
stituting a very large part of their business. It can be said without
boasting that the firm enjoys a very enviable position in this respect,
for they have held thousands of satisfied customers for years. The steady
growth of the business is indicated in the fact that in 1928 they took
over the building next door, forty by one hundred feet, and in the spring
of 1929 took over the property and building behind the plant for storage.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1495
They now have about twenty thousand square feet of floor space and
employ one hundred and fifty men, mostly skilled mechanics. Something of
the volume of the business is indicated in the fact that in 1928 they used
a million pounds of asphalt roofing materials and one hundred and fifty
thousand pounds of sheet copper. They have been awarded contracts for
work on many of the largest buildings in this section of the state, includ-
ing the plants of the Packard Motor Car Company, the Hudson Motor
Car Company, the Hupp Motor Car Corporation, the Ford Motor Com-
pany, the Holley Carbureter Company, the Chevrolet Company in De-
troit and Saginaw, the Oakland Motor Company, the American Car &
Foundry Company, the Michigan Central Railroad, Parke, Davis & Com-
pany and the Fisher Body Corporation, the building of D. M. Ferry &
Company, the Standard Accident building, Buhl building, Fisher build-
ing, the First National Bank building and the Masonic Temple. Mrs. Maria
L. Candler, the widow of the founder, succeeded him as president in 1925
and served until her death on December 24, 1929. The present officers
are: DeForest W. Candler, president; William W. Candler, vice president
and general manager; and Dr. Clarence L. Candler, Secretary and treas-
urer. The firm holds memberships in the Detroit Business Pioneers, the
Associated Building Employers of Detroit, the Detroit Sheet Metal and
Roofing Contractors Association and the Builders & Traders Exchange.
THOMPSON RODUCTS, INC.
The Detroit factory of the Thompson Products, Inc., is located at 7881
Conant avenue. The present company was organized as the result of a
merger of the Cleveland Electric Welding Company, which was formed
in 1904, and the Michigan Electric Welding Company, which was incor-
porated in Detroit in 1910. These two organizations merged in 1916, at
which time the name of the Steel Products Company was adopted, the
business continuing under that style until 1925, when the present name
of the Thompson Products, Inc., was adopted. This company has an
extensive plant at Cleveland, Ohio, where employment is given to fifteen
hundred men in the manufacture of poppet-valves for automobiles and air-
planes. The Detroit factory is centrally located on Conant avenue, in the
heart of the automobile district, the company owning nine acres of land,
four acres of which are covered with factory buildings. The older parts
of the plant are buildings of mill construction, while the later additions
are of modern brick and steel construction and are supplied with the latest
improved machinery. A pleasing feature of the Thompson factory is
found in the well kept lawns, adorned with flowers and shrubbery, abut-
ting Conant avenue and surrounding the factory buildings. The output of
the Detroit plant includes chassis parts for automobiles, tie rods and
drag link brake rods, which are turned out in immense quantities by the
thousand employes which here constitute the working force of the organi-
1496 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
zation. The company has developed its own Sales organizations as well
and its products are sold nationally, while in addition there is a large
export trade with various foreign countries. In 1929 additions to the
plants in Detroit and Cleveland were made at a cost of $750,000, which
is indicative of the steady employment of the business. The present
officers are: C. E. Thompson, president; F. C. Crawford, vice president
and general manager; W. D. Bartlett, vice president; E. G. Thompson,
vice president; C. W. Miller, vice president; and W. M. Albaugh, secre-
tary and treasurer,
C. E. JAMIESON & COMPANY
C. E. Jamieson & Company, manufacturing chemists, are in control
of a business that was established in Detroit in 1900 by F. A. Thomp-
son, who manufactured powdered and solid extracts principally. Today
the company manufactures drugs and drug specialties for the druggist
trade. Their factory is a large three-story brick structure containing
75,000 square feet of floor space, located at 1962 Trombley avenue, and
they have recently erected a large addition furnishing 16,000 feet more
of floor space. Today the pay roll has upon it the names of one hundred
and eighty employes and the company is also represented on the road
by its own sales organization, its products being sold all over the length
and breadth of the land. The continuous growth of the business is indi-
cated by the statement that in 1927 the company opened a new factory at
Walkerville, Ontario. In 1925 the business was reincorporated with C. E.
Jamieson as president, James H. Flinn as vice president and Richard E.
Raseman as secretary and treasurer. These, together with Orla B. Taylor,
George B. Yerkes, Karl Rix and Walter Macfarlane, constitute the board
of directors.
MECHANICAL HANDLING SYSTEMS, INC.
The Mechanical Handling Systems, Inc., of Detroit was organized in
June, 1919, as successor to the Cecil R. Lambert Company. They began
business as manufacturers’ agents and jobbers in the Dime Bank build-
ing, where they remained for three years. They then decided to take up
manufacturing on their own account and in 1922 purchased a factory
and additional land on Denton avenue. Their first building was eighty by
sixty feet, but as the business increased they erected additional buildings
in order to meet the growing demands of the trade. On the organization
of the company they had but three employes and something of the steady
development of the business is indicated in the fact that they now furnish
steady employment to one hundred and fifty people. The factory is a
brick and steel building of mill construction and contains fifteen thousand
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1497
square feet of floor space. It is equipped with modern machinery for the
building of all kinds of mechanical conveyors, which are shipped to many
parts of the world. The company was among the first in the field to pro-
mote the plan of complete service, from the engineering idea to the final
installation of parts. Being favorably located in Detroit, a large volume
of its business is obtained from the city, for most of the large automobile
plants have been equipped with mechanical conveyors made by the Me-
chanical Handling Systems, Inc., in the past eight years. As an example
of economy in efficiency, one conveyor system installed by the company
in a Detroit factory at a cost of eighty thousand dollars paid for itself
in less than six months.
Many large installations have been made in other plants, such as
bakeries, creameries, potteries, tire factories, foundries, paper mills, ma-
chine shops, enamel works, tube factories, radio manufacturing plants,
silica sand plants and others.
Mr. Lambert, the first president of the company, passed away October
10, 1922. The present officers are: Wilfred V. Casgrain, president;
James B. Angell, vice president; and Walter C. Pomeroy, secretary and
treasurer. In addition to its Detroit establishment the company maintains
a branch office in New York city.
LA MEASURE BROTHERS, INC.
The laundry and dry cleaning business conducted by La Measure
Brothers, Inc., of Detroit, is the largest of its kind in the state of Michi-
gan and one of the ten largest similar concerns in the United States.
Joses T. La Measure, to whom reference is made elsewhere in this work, is
president of the corporation; William J. La Measure is vice president and
general manager; Edward A. Cobo is secretary and treasurer; and
Laurence J. La Measure is manager of the dry cleaning department.
The mammoth plant of the company is situated at 1450-1540 Twenty-first
street, at the approach of the Ambassador bridge.
It is interesting to note the origin and steady development of the
company. The two La Measure brothers, Joses T. and William J., have
proved themselves men of extraordinary vision and ability by building
upon an idea the large business which they now own, a business of
proportions which, ten years ago, would have been considered impossible.
The success attained is based upon large conception and the courage and
initiative to “put over” these ambitious plans. The brothers established
a laundry business in January, 1897, on the River road (Jefferson Ave-
nue), where the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad crosses that thorough-
fare. The building occupied by them was very small, only eighteen by fifty
feet in dimensions. Two men and two girls Were employed in the laundry,
and one team of horses was used for the outside Work. Although the be-
ginning was unpretentious, the brothers had formulated a definite policy,
1498 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
and they clung to this tenaciously. The original idea was to cater only to
the family or to the individual, and to do no large hotel, steamboat or
Pullman car work. $
Four years after the inception of the business, the plant was removed
to a building on Baker street, and while at that location the dry cleaning
department was added to that of the laundry. In June, 1914, the present
building was purchased, remodeled completely, and removal made thereto
at the end of the year. This structure was originally erected by Frederick
Stearns & Company about 1880, and was later occupied by the Paige
Detroit Automobile Company, which manufactured within its walls their
first motor car. The building comprises over two and a half acres of floor
space. The site of the building, adjacent to the approach to the new
Ambassador bridge, is beautiful as well as having high business value.
The building, which is three stories in height, measures three hundred
seventy-six by one hundred fifty feet, and is strictly modern in its appur-
tenances, even to a spacious dining room, a sanitary kitchen, and shower
baths in each dressing room. The original four employes have been in-
creased to four hundred, and the first solitary wagon has been replaced
by fifty motorized delivery cars. Business in the year 1929, confined
to the Greater Detroit district alone, exceeded the sum of eight hundred
thousand dollars, which indicates better than words the tremendous scope
of the service given by La Measure Brothers, Inc. The business is entirely
retail and is confined to home laundry and dry cleaning. Like Detroit’s
great motor magnate, Henry Ford, the La Measure brothers maintain the
five-day week for their employes.
The power plant consists of two three hundred fifty-four horse power
Heine watertube boilers, and one two hundred twenty-five horse power
direct connected Ridgway generator, which generates all the electric
power that drives the machinery throughout the plant. The boilers heat
the ironing and drying machines, and also supply heat for the building.
The sum of twenty-five thousand dollars was invested in water softening
equipment, which removes all traces of iron, magnesia, sulphur, lime and
other indissoluble ingredients from the city water, making it crystal clear
and unsurpassed for washing and for drinking purposes. A pure, neutral
Soap, finely pulverized, is used, and the starch is made of pure wheat.
The washing machines themselves are made of Monel metal, which in
itself eliminates any chances of rust, corrosion or verdigris. The machines
utilized for Wringing the clothes are called Extractors, and remove the
Water evenly from all of the seams, as well as from the thinner parts
Of the article, and cannot tear or injure the cloth. The drying machines
are called Worclone Drying Tumblers, which are the last word in this type
of equipment.
Immediately upon arrival at the laundry, soiled clothes are elevated
to the third floor, where they are segregated and prepared for the wash-
ing room, never coming in contact with the cleansed garments. Table
linens and bed linens are washed entirely separately. Fine woolens, silks,
laces and lingerie are all treated in a manner especially suited to their
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1499
textures, and a special feature is made of lace curtain work. Fine car-
pets and upholstering are also cleaned. An interesting fact is that bachelor
bundles are given special attention, hose are darned, buttons replaced,
and other minor repairs made. Different classes of work, such as wet
wash, semi-finished, and fully finished, are done according to the desire
of the patron.
The dry cleaning plant of La Measure Brothers, Inc., is recognized as
one of the finest in the world today, comprising the most up-to-date
equipment. All the solvent is recovered and redistilled, and all labor
savers and health measures are employed in this department, which is
equally as important as the laundry part of the plant. The owners have
patented a machine which, after the trousers have been turned inside
Out, brushes all the lint from under the seams and the cuffs. Experienced
tailors are hired to make repairs and replace buttons on the clothing,
which is just one of a number of good-will departments maintained by
La Measure brothers for the satisfaction of the public.
All in all, the business of La Measure Brothers, Inc. is a monument
to the industry and ability of these men, who looked far into the future
and were not afraid to push ahead, overcoming numberless obstacles
placed in their path. Detroit is proud to record such a story within the
covers of her history.
THE UNION TRUCKING COMPANY
The Union Trucking Company of Detroit, situated at 524 Eighth
street, was established about forty years ago by August Herzog, whose
personal biography appears upon another page of this work. His place
of business was at first in the rear of his home on Wabash avenue, and his
first equipment consisted of one horse and one wagon. He later gathered
together other small cartage men and formed the Union Trucking Com-
pany, Ltd., opening an office on First street between Larned and Con-
gress streets. Mr. Herzog was president and general manager Of the
company, and the work of general cartage was conducted. Very little
furniture moving was done at the beginning. In 1901, Mr. Herzog Suf-
fered a severe loss when fire destroyed his barns and stock, comprising
twenty-nine head of excellent draft horses. He rebuilt his fortunes, how-
ever, from the ashes of his loss and in 1903 incorporated. In December,
1922, when he retired from the firm, it was made a Michigan corporation.
The Union Trucking Company was one of the first firms of this nature
in the city to use motor trucks. Mr. Herzog pioneered the motor truck
fleet idea in Detroit. About 1909 thirteen motor trucks were purchased,
at which time the company was doing an extensive trucking business for
the motor car manufacturers of Detroit. Twenty trucks, some of them
weighing seven tons, and trailers now compose the fleet of this company,
and also a few horse-drawn trucks are used for Special purposes. A
wide field is thus encompassed, and the Union Trucking Company ranks
1500 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
well among those in the city and county. Albert P. Herzog, Son of the
founder, is now president of the company; August Herzog is vice presi-
dent; while Leonella Herzog, wife of Albert P. Herzog, is secretary and
treasurer. The offices of the company are situated on Eighth street.
AMERICAN INJECTOR COMPANY
The American Injector Company of Detroit was organized in 1880 by
John Trix, who at that time devoted only his spare hours to the work,
having a small shop in a couple of rooms at the corner of Atwater and
Randolph streets, doing all the work himself with the assistance of a
helper or two. It was his purpose to manufacture a steam injector which
he had invented and developed in his so-called leisure hours. Later the
business was removed to larger quarters on East Congress, near Second
street, and more men were employed. At this time the scope of the busi-
ness was expanded to include the manufacture of oil cups, grease cups and
lubricators for steam plants. In 1886 the enterprise was incorporated.
Later a building was erected on East Congress, at the corner of Seventh
street, by the company in order to accommodate its increasing trade and
in 1908 the present fireproof building was erected, providing about twenty-
five thousand square feet of floor space. Today the company employs
approximately one hundred and fifty people and many of the products
of the plant have been designed and patented by Mr. Trix, who from
the outset has been president of the company. During the World war
much special work was done for the navy and some for the army. In
later years the business has largely been the manufacture of automobile
supplies, including side windshields, bearings, bushings, etc., and the busi-
ness of manufacturing injectors is still carried on. Other products are
added from time to time and from the outset the business has steadily
grown and developed. Mr. Trix remains as president, with his sons,
Herbert B. Trix and John J. B. Trix, as his associates, the latter being
vice president and the former Secretary and treasurer.
THE DETROIT ELECTRIC FURNACE COMPANY
The Detroit Electric Furnace Company, situated at 825 West Elizabeth
street, was established April 5, 1918, by Edwin L. Crosby, for the purpose
of manufacturing electric furnaces for brass founders. Mr. Crosby, who
was a trained electrician, formerly in the employ of the Solvay Process
Company and the Detroit Edison Company, had recognized the need of
such a furnace and accordingly began producing them. He first had an
office in the Book building and during the first few years had his furnaces
manufactured and assembled on the outside, following the plans which
he had perfected. He first manufactured for himself in 1923, at a plant
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1501
situated on Twelfth street, and there the concern remained for three years.
Removal was then made to the site now occupied, where twelve thousand
Square feet of floor space are available for the workers. An average of
thirty people are employed by the company, and the officers are: Edwin
L. Crosby, president and general manager; A. E. Rhoads, vice president;
E. T. Gushee, treasurer; and H. W. Brown, secretary. The original capital
stock of fifty thousand dollars has now been increased to one hundred
thousand dollars.
The Original idea was to manufacture an electric furnace for the use
of brass founders alone, but furnaces were gradually produced for use
with all non-ferrous metals and also for high grade grey iron and alloy
steels. The grey iron furnace, as now perfected, can use iron machinings
and like materials, which were formerly useless scrap, and it produces the
very finest grey iron for castings. It gives the final composition analysis
of the grey iron absolutely under control. This fact also applies to alloy
steels and non-ferrous metals. The furnace itself is an indirect arc type
and is made in seven sizes, ranging from two hundred and fifty ton to three
thousand ton capacity. This furnace, in brass work, makes a saving of
from three per cent to six per cent over the former non-electric furnaces.
The Detroit Electric Furnace Company is the exclusive manufacturer of
this type of furnace in the world. The furnace is widely used in England,
France, Germany, Sweden, South America, Mexico, with ten of them in
Russia and twelve in Japan. The furnace is used throughout the motor
car industry, and by such well known corporations as Crane & Company
at Chicago, Kohler Company of Kohler, Wisconsin, the Kennedy Valve
Company, and the General Electric Company. In the United States Navy,
the airplane carriers Saratoga and Lexington are equipped with the
furnaces.
THE COOPER SUPPLY COMPANY
One of the oldest established businesses in Detroit, and now carried
into the third generation of the family, is that of the Cooper Supply
Company, which deals in builders' supplies, including brick, tile, cement,
lime, sewer pipe, sand and gravel. This extensive business, which is situ-
ated now at 6480 East Eight Mile road, is the outgrowth of the activities
of the Cooper brothers, six of whom, with a sister, came to Detroit from
England in 1854, purchased land east of the city and began the manu-
facture of brick from the clay on their property. In this manner they
were enabled to pay for the land. The brothers were industrious and the
making of brick proved to be a profitable undertaking, and the present
modern establishment may literally be said to have been built “from
the ground up.” One of the six brothers was John Cooper, who was the
father of Arnold B. Cooper, and grandfather of Gage W. Cooper, the
latter now president and general manager of the Cooper Supply Company.
1502 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
The present retail business was established in 1904 as a partnership
between two brothers, Arnold B. and Walter J. Cooper. From a location at
Gratiot avenue and Beaufait street, they began retailing all kinds of
brick, and later, as the business grew, they added building supplies such
as cement, sand, gravel, etc. The trade soon made larger space imperative,
consequently in 1924 they purchased twenty acres of land on Eight Mile
road, on the Bay City division of the Michigan Central Railroad. Here
ample space is available for the large supplies of building materials which
are carried at all times. The company has its own sales organization, and
the business itself covers a large territory outside of Detroit. Fifteen
heavy trucks are operated to deliver materials to wholesale and retail
users. A modern new brick office building was erected by the company
at the Eight Mile road site in 1929.
The Cooper Supply Company was incorporated in 1923 with the fol-
lowing officers: Arnold B. Cooper, president, Gage W. Cooper, vice presi-
dent and secretary; and Hester L. Cooper, treasurer. The company yet
maintains the Gratiot avenue yards and offices, where large supplies are
kept as formerly.
THE TRUSCON STEEL COMPANY
The story of the Truscon Steel Company forms an important chapter
in the history of the industrial development of Detroit. Organized in 1903,
at the time Detroit was taking its first steps toward industrial leadership,
Truscon has kept pace with the city’s rapid growth, to the end that
Detroit has achieved supremacy not alone in the magnitude of its enter-
prises but also in the high character of the buildings which house its
industries.
The story of the early days of Truscon, like that of other pioneers,
identifies itself with the genius, vision and untiring efforts of one man,
Julius Kahn, graduate engineer with experience at home and abroad, saw
in the dawn of reinforced concrete construction immense possibilities
in its application to buildings. Discovering an inherent weakness in the
methods previously developed, he invented the Kahn Trussed Bar to pro-
vide the correct reinforcement for the concrete.
Reinforced concrete, now in such general use, was practically unknown
in those days. Here was a construction different from the methods then
in vogue and which was practically molded in forms on the job. Con-
tractors knew nothing about it; engineers and architects were skeptical;
and owners were hesitant. However, these difficulties did not discourage
the high spirit of Truscon. Engineers were trained in the principles of
design, superintendents were educated in the practices of installation, and
publicity campaigns were inaugurated to inform the public of the wonders
of this marvelous fireproof construction. These heroic efforts naturally
brought results.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1503
In Detroit, at the Packard Motor Car Company, one of the first of
these reinforced concrete buildings was designed by Albert Kahn and
erected under his supervision. Here was something new in industrial
buildings. Hitherto factories were built with solid walls and only occa-
Sional Windows. The exterior of the new reinforced concrete factory was
entirely of glass except for the narrow columns. Detroit manufacturers
Were quick to realize the advantages obtained by the better daylighting
of the interiors, the increase in production, the more accurate workman-
ship, and the economy of floor space. A tour of the factory districts of
Detroit today will show the universal adaptation of modern fireproof
buildings of reinforced concrete with walls of glass.
Reinforced concrete, while embracing the early activities of the Trus-
Con Steel Company, was only the start of its rapid progress. The day-
light factory with its large panels of glass called for an improvement in
the window design. Steel windows were the logical answer, providing
added daylight, permanence and fire protection. It was only a short time
before the next logical step for Truscon was the development of steel
windows for commercial, educational and public buildings. Today Truscon
manufactures a complete line of all types of steel windows for every
kind of building, including the popular standard steel casements for homes.
The field of fireproof construction naturally led the Truscon Steel
Company into the development of fireproof methods for interior partitions
and ceilings. New types of metal lath were perfected as bases for plaster
work. The complete line of metal lath, Hy-ribs, and accessories now manu-
factured by Truscon covers every requirement of economical permanent
construction. To complete the fireproofness of industrial buildings, Trus-
con next developed durable steel doors, now available in all types and
sizes. Doors, as well as windows, can be provided with mechanical opera-
tors for their automatic control. Truscon also furnishes integral door
frames and trim for apartments, hotels, offices, etc.
The construction of roofs for industrial buildings has always pre-
sented a problem. Truscon’s solution of it is found in their light weight,
fireproof Steeldecks, which can be insulated to any degree and are water-
proofed with standard roofing.
All Truscon products are standardized for economical production. An-
other Truscon contribution to modern construction methods is its stand-
ardized buildings, which are combinations of standardized units. These
buildings are available in flat, pitched, monitor, lantern, or Sawtooth roofs
in all sizes with any arrangement of doors and Windows.
Coincident with the development of its fireproof products, another
Truscon division, the Truscon Laboratories of Detroit, were devoting their
energies to the perfecting of products to make construction more enduring.
Here are manufactured a complete line of waterproofing products, pre-
servative paints for exterior and interior, and protective coatings for
floors, wood, steel, etc., as well as cement roofing tile.
The addition of the Pressed Steel Division in Cleveland, Ohio, has
greatly expanded Truscon's activities in the production of pressed steel
1504 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
sections for manufacturers. Here are produced automobile and truck
frames, axle housings, brake drums, refrigerator cases, and other heavy
and large parts, also skid platforms, steel boxes, six-wheel factory trucks
for material handling, foundry flasks, extension rails, etc.
Over twenty-six years ago, Truscon reinforcing steel was being made
in a small part of another manufacturer's plant. Today, Truscon’s manu-
facturing facilities include a great fifty-one-acre plant at Youngstown,
Ohio; factories of seven and one-half acres at Detroit, Michigan; four-
teen acres at Cleveland, Ohio; and seven and one-half acres at Los Angeles,
California; with subsidiaries at Walkerville, Canada, and Kawasaki, Japan.
Truscon warehouses equipped with moderate fabrication are maintained
in distributing centers throughout the country. Branch offices with en-
gineering staffs are located in all principal cities. Building supply dealers
everywhere handle Truscon commodity products.
From its small beginning at Detroit over a quarter of a century
ago, the Truscon Steel Company has grown to an immense institution
with its activities extending throughout the world and making its con-
tribution to the betterment of building construction.
The officers of the Truscon Steel Company are as follows: Julius Kahn,
president; Day Krolik, treasurer; Maurice Goldenberg, secretary; Walter
C. Conger, R. A. Plumb, Maurice Goldenberg and H. E. White, vice presi-
dents. The directors of the company are Julius Kahn, Albert Kahn, Day
Krolik, Ralph M. Dyar, R. A. Plumb, Maurice Goldenberg, H. E. White and
Walter C. Conger.
THE BATCHELDER-WASMUND COMPANY
One of the principal industries of its type in the state of Michigan is
the Batchelder-Wasmund Company, located at 2300 West Jefferson ave-
nue and engaged in the manufacture of cut stone products, principally
for building construction. This business was originally established under
the name of the Batchelder, Cook & Company about 1855, and their small
plant was first located at 52 East Woodbridge street. The manufacturing
of cut stone for general building uses and for sidewalks was conducted
in a small way. John L. Batchelder, of this firm, was a prominent man
of Detroit, and for years served as alderman of the city. The plant
was next moved to the site of the Henkel flour mills on East Atwater
street, and about the same time the name of the company was changed
to Batchelder & Reed. Still later, the name again was changed to Batch-
elder, Long & Company, and about this time L. Wasmund, the present
executive head of the concern, became interested in the business. The
firm title next became Batchelder & Wasmund, the former being C. L.
Batchelder, Son of John L. Batchelder. The business was then an equal
partnership. In 1911, it was incorporated as the Batchelder-Wasmund
Company, and at that time Mr. Batchelder retired from active participa-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1505
tion. Mr. Wasmund purchased part of the Batchelder holdings and thus
became a large majority stockholder in the industry. In 1911 the present
excellent plant was constructed on West Jefferson avenue, where good
railroad facilities were available, and the building was designed for the
efficient handling of all phases of cut stone work. Among the various units
in the equipment of this modern plant are one tramway two hundred and
fifty feet long, another two hundred and twenty feet in length, four
large overhead cranes, four gang saws, seven planers, and three diamond
SaWS. It is in many ways the best equipped cut stone plant in this part
of the country and is able to turn out any class or quantity of cut stone
Work, no matter what the specifications. All the stone is received in large
blocks, each weighing ten to fifteen tons, most of which is the famous
Indiana, or Bedford, limestone. Up to fifty men are employed in the
plant itself, and as high as three hundred men are maintained on the out-
side, or erection, work. The company maintains a complete corps of archi-
tectural draftsmen for redesigning plans and like duties. Patterns are
made for cut stone work, and the firm keeps its own erection department.
On most large jobs, the company does its own construction work, but on
some smaller jobs the cut stone is turned over to other hands. The com-
pany also handles the placing and erection of stone, which they do not cut
or furnish. Among the principal works of this company during recent
years is the supply and erection of the granite on the first unit of the
Penobscot building ; the stone and erection for the old Shaw building ;
the building at 1200 Washington boulevard; the Industrial Bank building ;
the new Eaton tower, one of Detroit’s new skyscrapers; the Masonic
Temple; the Water Board building; the interior stone work on the Blessed
Sacrament Church; and all of the granite and marble erection of the
Fisher building, which is one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.
The Batchelder-Wasmund Company has an interest in similar manufac-
turing in the Indiana limestone district. The present officers of the com-
pany are as follows: L. Wasmund, president; F. W. Wasmund, vice presi-
dent; Gustav Sylvester, treasurer; and Charles W. Valentine, Secretary.
MOHN PRODUCTS COMPANY, INC.
Among Detroit's up-to-date and prosperous business concerns must
be included the Mohn Products Company, at 6462 Van Dyke avenue, of
which John Mohn is the founder and president. Personal mention is
made of Mr. Mohn on other pages of this work. The Mohn Products
Company was established by John Mohn in 1919 and was incorporated
in 1923. The present officers are as follows: John Mohn, president;
Walter E. Moberley, vice president; and Elmer J. Mohn, Secretary and
treasurer. The business was originally located on Kercheval avenue,
where was begun the manufacture of the Mohn compressor and beverage
pump. The enterprise enjoyed a satisfactory growth from the beginning
1506 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
and in 1927, having outgrown its original quarters, the plant was moved
to 6462 Van Dyke avenue, near Harper avenue, where the company bought
a new brick factory building, in which was installed a full equipment of
modern machinery. The principal products are the Mohn dispenser, in-
vented and patented by Mr. Mohn, and Mohn’s fruit punch. The latter
is a new and deliciously different drink, consisting of a blending of twelve
different fruit flavors, made and sold exclusively by the Mohn Products
Company. It is put up and delivered to dealers in ten-gallon containers
and dispensed through the “Hygienic Mohn Dispenser,” which displays
the beverage. The product is always uniformly perfect in flavor and
quality, which is largely due to the fact that when one glass of punch
is drawn off an equal amount automatically rises in its place in the display
cylinder. This new drink has an appealing quality that has gained for it
a remarkable popularity with the public. It is for sale in all of the
leading drug stores and sofe drink establishments throughout the city.
It is not only an enjoyable and refreshing drink for all, but is especially
safe and beneficial for children and invalids. The Mohn factory is cen-
trally located for distributing the products on short notice anywhere in
the city, and it is a model for cleanliness and sanitation and is well lighted
and ventilated. Mr. Mohn has received many commendations for his
successful invention, the Mohn dispenser, which is regarded as the only
perfect device of its kind on the market.
WATERHOUSE LAUNDRY MACHINERY COMPANY
The business conducted under the name of the Waterhouse Laundry
Machinery Company, of which Edward L. Waterhouse is the president,
was established by him in June, 1916, under the name of the Waterhouse
Laundry Machinery & Supply Company at 344 Michigan avenue, Detroit.
The beginning was small, the personnel consisting of Mr. Waterhouse,
two men and a girl whom he employed. He first did repair service in the
rebuilding of laundry machinery and likewise furnished laundry supplies.
In 1919 he purchased the business of the Markesan Laundry Machinery
Company of Markesan, Wisconsin, and removed the plant to Abbott street
in Detroit, near Twelfth street, at which time he closed the Michigan
avenue plant. There he began the manufacture of washers and extractors
and also rebuilt machinery and supplies. The business was carried on in the
manufacturing branch under the style of the Waterhouse Manufacturing
Company and in the other lines under the name of the Waterhouse
Laundry Machinery & Supply Company. After five years the machinery
company disbanded, and the supply business was sold to the Kohmstamm
Company of Chicago. Mr. Waterhouse then reorganized his Detroit inter-
ests under the name of the Waterhouse Laundry Machinery Company
and removed to his present location, occupying a space fifty-five by two
hundred and sixteen feet. He sells general laundry machinery equipment
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1507
manufactured in Chicago and also does a jobbing business in other laundry
equipment, having handled these products for many years. The company
likewise does a considerable business in the rebuilding of laundry ma-
Chinery, and in fact its trade in this connection is becoming dominant.
The company buys second-hand equipment from all over the country,
brings it to Detroit and rebuilds it, after which it is sold in all parts
Of the United States. Through their own organization the company sells
in Ohio and Michigan and through the Smith Drum Company, Tolhurst
Laundry Machinery Company and Stuart Laundry Machinery Company
their sales are extended to various other parts of the country.
Today the Waterhouse Laundry Machinery Company employs forty
people, with twenty skilled mechanics in the plant, and the work turned
out is of the highest possible character, while the equipment of the Gen-
eral Laundry Machinery Company is the highest priced line manufactured
in the United States. They design and build special equipment for many
different washing operations and also produce machinery for certain
processes, including the washing of hides, potatoes and other things.
Among their present patrons are the Banner Laundering Company, Quality
Laundry, Standard Laundry, La Measure Brothers, Massachusetts Laun-
dry, Modern Laundry, Hoyt's Laundry and others. Associated with Mr.
Waterhouse, who is the president of the company, are his wife, Mrs. G. I.
Waterhouse, who is secretary and treasurer; and G. Norris, who is vice
president.
TURNER CARTAGE & STORAGE COMPANY
The Turner Cartage & Storage Company conducts a general trucking,
machinery erection and machinery moving business. It was established
in the '80s by Daniel H. Turner, who a little later admitted his brother,
James E. Turner, to a partnership under the firm style of Turner Brothers,
with headquarters at 60 Benton street. In the early days their equipment
consisted of a single horse and a team, and they did contract hauling
for Burnham, Stoepel & Company. From the outset, however, their busi-
mess has enjoyed a steady growth, and about 1907 they consolidated their
interests with those of A. R. Turner, a son of Daniel H. Turner, under the
name of the Turner Cartage Company, a corporation doing general haul-
ing and machinery moving. They utilized horses until about 1912 and
had at that time approximately one hundred and five head. In time they
secured motor equipment and have ever carried on the business along
progressive lines. More than a decade and a half ago they occupied
quarters at 535 Adelaide street but afterward removed to what was
68 West Larned street. In 1912 they erected buildings at 204 Howard
street at the corner of Sixth street, and later traded for their present
property, on which stables had been constructed. At that time, however,
horses were being discarded for motor power, and the stables were trans-
1508 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
formed into a garage building. In 1922 the business was reorganized
under the name of the Turner Cartage & Storage Company, for it was
then that they began developing a storage plant. They had warehouses
at 1338 West Lafayette boulevard and also at 6282 Beaubien street but
have since discontinued the storage business. They are now engaged in
general trucking and in machinery moving and erection. In the early
part of 1930 they organized a new company under the name of the Over-
land Transportation Corporation for long distance hauling and operate
for one hundred and fifty to two hundred miles from Detroit, utilizing
five tractors and eleven trailers. The Turner Cartage & Storage Com-
pany operates thirty-five trucks and fifteen trailers. They also move and
erect machinery in Detroit; Toledo and Cincinnati, Ohio; South Bend,
Indiana; and in Pennsylvania, this being the major part of their business
at the present time. They do machinery hauling and erecting for the
Western Electric Company, the Chrysler Corporation, Dodge Brothers,
the Michigan Steel Corporation, the Chevrolet Company, the Cadillac
Company, the Detroit Ship Building Company and others, employing a
normal force of eighty men in connection with their machinery moving,
while altogether their employes number between one hundred and twenty-
five and one hundred and thirty.
The officers of the Turner Cartage & Storage Company are: James
E. Turner, who is the president but is inactive; Mrs. Cora M. Turner,
vice president, who is the wife of A. R. Turner, formerly president of the
company; and E. S. Turner, secretary and treasurer. The Overland Trans-
portation Corporation has the following officers: E. S. Turner, president;
C. J. Yokom, vice president; Trueman Bigelow, secretary; and F. L.
Crawford, treasurer.
FAIR CREAMERY COMPANY
The Fair Creamery Company of Detroit was incorporated in 1921,
George E. Economy becoming president and treasurer, James Papajohn,
vice president, and Thomas G. Economy, secretary. The company leased
an old building in the rear of 3478 Hendricks avenue, near Vernor high-
way, and began retailing milk and cream in a small way. They had one
truck and a horse and wagon for making deliveries and they employed
six people. The business gradually grew and developed and further
equipment was secured from time to time until they now have thirty-two
large trucks and glass enclosed tanks for hauling milk from their receiv-
ing stations, of which they own two, one at Worden, Washtenaw county,
and one at Bear River, St. Clair county. Their buildings are commodious
and their equipment of the latest pattern. A few years ago they discon-
tinued the retail business and now conduct a strictly wholesale milk busi-
ness, which covers the entire city of Detroit. In 1930 they erected a
large addition to the plant, a brick building in which they installed the
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1509
latest machinery and equipment for pasteurizing milk. They also secured
new bottle Washing and filling machines and built a fireproof garage on
Vernor highway, adjacent to the milk plant, for housing their large fleet
of tanks and trucks. They have also acquired additional land, anticipat-
ing the continued expansion of the business.
THE WALTER MACHINE & SCREW COMPANY
The Walter Machine & Screw Company of Detroit, of which Frank
W. Kanter is the president and founder, has its plant at 500 Bellevue
avenue. The business was established in May, 1910, at its present loca-
tion, for the purpose of doing general contracting machinist work. The
building occupied was about 50 x 275 feet and employment was given to
thirty men. About three or four years later the capacity was doubled and
the company today has 27,500 square feet of floor space. They manu-
facture small hardware, electrical testers, screw machine products, etc.,
under their own name and also produce parts for the automobile indus-
try. That the business has steadily grown in volume and importance is
indicated in the fact that the employes now number between two and
three hundred men. During the World war practically the entire output
of the factory was given over for war materials and for the manufac-
ture of tools for war plants. Mr. Kanter remains the president, while
his associate officers are: A. H. McCracken, vice president; and Miss
Pearl McCracken, secretary and treasurer.
PLASTIC PRODUCTS COMPANY
Among the unusual industrial enterprises of Detroit is that of the
Plastic Products Company, which was organized February 10, 1923.
Alfred D. Covert and Russell S. Collins, the men who founded this insti-
tution, started in business under a partnership relation in 1922 with a
limited capital. Their original quarters were in a barn in the rear of
930 Macomb street, where they began the manufacture of putty and
kindred products. The undertaking prospered from the start, and five
months later, in order to meet the demands of the trade, they secured
more adequate accommodations in the old Cadillac building at 457 Bur-
roughs street. At the end of two years the business outgrew that plant,
and in 1926 the partners purchased a tract of land at 6475 Georgia ave-
nue, on the Michigan Central Belt Line Railroad, and on that property
erected a substantial modern factory of brick, steel and glass, with twelve
thousand square feet of floor space. The history of the business is one of
continuous growth and expansion. At first the owners required but two
employes and they now have twenty. In April, 1929, they broadened
their activities by opening a new plant in Chicago, Illinois, and in May,
1510 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
1930, they made another forward step, establishing a plant in Jersey
City, New Jersey. In eight years they have created a business of national
Scope and importance. They are engaged exclusively in the manufacture
of putty, and that the industry is controlled by men of exceptional ability,
foresight and enterprise is shown in the fact that today theirs is the
largest business of the kind in the United States. The officers of the
Plastic Products Company are: Alfred D. Covert, president; Russell S.
Collins, vice president and treasurer; and George W. Dunn, secretary.
MARSH FURNITURE COMPANY, INC.
The Marsh Furniture Company, which is numbered among the leading
concerns in its line in Detroit, had its inception in 1900, when George A.
Marsh, who had previously been connected with various leading furniture
manufactories of this city, started in the business in a small way at 372
Gratiot avenue. Through his close attention and his intimate knowledge
of the technical side of the business, he succeeded in putting the concern
On a Sound foundation, and in 1915 he admitted his brother to a partner-
ship. The business continuing to increase, they soon afterward moved to
larger quarters at Mt. Elliott and Gratiot streets, where they carried on a
large and prosperous business until 1929, when, being compelled to acquire
more Space, they bought a tract of land at 13545 Gratiot avenue and there
erected a fine three-story brick building, in which they carry a complete
line of house furnishings, including stoves, rugs, carpets, beds, bedding,
radios and other goods, and are now caring for a large and steadily grow-
ing trade. Their patronage comes from not only the city of Detroit, but
covers Port Huron, Mount Clemens and other adjacent cities. They have
even shipped furniture as far as Flushing, New York. The present
executive officers of the company are, George A. Marsh, president; Walter
Marsh, vice president; and William J. Marsh, secretary-treasurer.
LONG MANUFACTURING COMPANY
The Long Manufacturing Company, producing radiators and clutches
for the automotive industry, was organized at Chicago in 1903 by J. B.
Long, who moved the business to Detroit in 1910 and died the following
year. The plant was located on Cass avenue prior to its removal to the
present site at 2768 East Grand boulevard, where a floor space of ninety-
six thousand feet is devoted to the manufacture of radiators, while the
clutch plant on Dequindre street, between Hallack and Davison streets,
embraces eighty-five thousand feet. More than eleven hundred people,
most of whom are skilled laborers, are employed in the manufacture of
the “Long Products” and the plant has a daily capacity of three thousand
radiators and twelve thousand clutches. The Long Manufacturing Com-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1511
pany is a subsidiary of the Borg-Warner Corporation, which purchased
the business in January, 1929.
The official personnel is as follows. J. L. Dryden, president; R. L.
Hawkins, vice president; W. F. Burgess, secretary and treasurer; George
H. Klein, an attorney, who is a director of the company; John N. Stalker,
president of the Union Trust Company, who is also a director of the Long
Manufacturing Company; and R. C. Ingersoll of Galesburg, Illinois, also
a director, and president of the Ingersoll Steel & Disc Company.
MASTER TOOL & DIE COMPANY, INC.
The Master Tool & Die Company, Inc., was organized December 10,
1928, with John H. Hubbard as president, William McClusky as vice
president and A. J. Stark as secretary-treasurer. The company manu-
factures tools, dies, jigs and special machinery in a factory located at
3155 Willis avenue, East, and equipped with thoroughly modern machinery
and a line shaft, motor driven electric power being used in the factory.
The products are sold largely to automobile manufacturers in Michigan,
although some business is done outside of the state. The company now
employs twenty highly skilled mechanics and the trade is steadily growing.
DETROIT BEVEL GEAR COMPANY
In 1920 the Detroit Bevel Gear Company came into existence and was
incorporated with A. W. Russell of Cleveland, Ohio, as president, Thomas
R. Navin as vice president and manager and E. H. Jenks as secretary and
treasurer. The company began the manufacture of rear axle parts and
transmission gears for automobiles and trucks, starting its plant with
about twenty workmen, and something of the progressive business meth-
ods of its managers is shown in the fact that there are today one hundred
and twenty names on the pay roll. In 1924 the company bought out the
interests of the Republic Gear Company of Detroit, thereby materially
increasing their business. The main factory is favorably located on
Joseph Campau avenue, near Grand boulevard, in the heart of the auto-
mobile district, making it very convenient to the trade, and the building
covers eighty thousand square feet of floor space. Its equipment is the
latest modern machinery known in connection with the manufacture of
transmission gears and rear axle parts and the factory of the old Repub-
lic Gear Company on Bellevue avenue is now used entirely as a storage
warehouse, large stocks of the company’s products being there kept on
hand for the immediate filling of orders, which come from all parts of
the United States. The company has an extensive business in Detroit,
its patrons including many of the leading automobile and truck manufac-
turers, and the trade also extends to the Pacific coast. The Detroit Bevel
1512 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Gear Company has its own sales organization, with branch warehouses in
Los Angeles and San Francisco, California, Chicago, Illinois, Atlanta,
Georgia, Boston, Massachusetts, New York city and Pittsburgh, Penn-
sylvania, and its employes now number two hundred and forty. Both a
wholesale and jobbing business is carried on and under the present regime
the enterprise has steadily developed, showing the sound and reliable
business methods of its managing officials.
PENINSULAR MACHINERY COMPANY
The Peninsular Machinery Company of Detroit was incorporated in
November, 1914, and originally capitalized for ten thousand dollars. Its
first officers were: John A. Flynn, president; Arthur McIlhose, vice presi-
dent; and Fred Eberlee, secretary and treasurer. In 1919 the president,
Mr. Flynn, purchased the interests of his associate officers and for a time
was sole owner until the expansion of the business caused him to rein-
corporate in 1923, increasing the capital to two hundred thousand dollars.
He again became president of the organization, with O. P. Noe as vice
president and John Sauer, Jr., as Secretary and treasurer.
The company conducts a large business in the state of Michigan, han-
dling all kinds of metal-working machinery, and its trade has constantly
developed. The showrooms and offices are centrally located on East Grand
boulevard at Beaubien, and the buildings occupied are owned by Mr.
Flynn individually. The following is a list of the manufacturers whom
they represent exclusively in this territory: R. K. LeBlond Machine Tool
Company, Cincinnati, Ohio; The Fosdick Machine Tool Company, Cin-
cinnati, Ohio; Rockford Machine Tool Company, Rockford, Illinois; W. B.
Knight Machinery Company, St. Louis, Missouri; Covel-Hanchett Com-
pany, Big Rapids, Michigan ; DeVlieg Machine Tool Company, Jackson,
Michigan; W. Robertson Machine & Foundry Company, Buffalo, New
York; Lumsden Machine Company, Ltd., Gateshead, England; Thiel
Brothers, Ruhla, Germany; Hermann Pfauter, Chemnitz, Germany.
GENERAL MANUFACTURING COMPANY
The General Manufacturing Company of Detroit was incorporated
in 1915 with a capital of $5,000, at which time Henry Wild became presi-
dent, Charles R. Robertson the vice-president and Charles W. Olson the
secretary and treasurer. They began business in a small plant on East
Fort street, employing but a few men, but the following year obtained
larger quarters by renting a building at 255 Meldrum avenue. The busi-
ness constantly expanded and in June, 1916, a reorganization was effected,
all of the original stockholders with the exception of Mr. Wild selling out
to Frank C. Hossie and J. R. Stone. At this time the capital stock was
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1513
increased to thirty thousand dollars and the following officers were
elected : J. R. Stone, president; Henry Wild, vice president; and Frank
C. Hossie, secretary and treasurer.
At the outset the company manufactured automobile parts and tools
but at the time of the reorganization in 1916 that line was discontinued
and the efforts of the company concentrated upon the manufacture of
tools, jigs and fixtures. During the World war they were employing
sixty men in the manufacture of tools for the United States government.
Something of the growth of the business is indicated in the fact that in
1917 the capital stock was increased to sixty thousand dollars and in 1919
to one hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
In 1918 Mr. Hossie purchased the interest of Mr. Stone and became
president of the company, while his wife, Mrs. Mabel G. Hossie, was
made vice president, with Henry Wild as secretary and treasurer. In
June, 1919, Mr. Hossie acquired the interest of Mr. Wild and then sold
an interest in the business to William F. Kadow, who is now secretary
and treasurer, while Mr. Hossie and his wife fill the offices of president
and vice president, respectively.
In 1921 the company began the manufacture of general flexible power
presses upon a royalty basis and these continue to be their principal prod-
uct at the present time. In 1923 they purchased a large plant at 6430
Farnsworth avenue of modern mill construction and equipped with elec-
tric power in individual units. A high standard has always been main-
tained in the production of the output and satisfied customers have led
to a continued development of the trade.
TURNER-MESSENGER MANUFACTURING COMPANY
The business now conducted under the name of the Turner–Messenger
Manufacturing Company in Detroit was begun in 1904 under the name
of the Reinhold Manufacturing Company, jobbing machinists. In addi-
tion to work of the character indicated the company also manufactured
the Reinhold ice cube cutters for restaurants, hotels, etc. Business is
still carried on along these lines and the company is one of only two firms
in the world making this ice cutter. Their machine is shipped to every
section of the globe.
The business was started in the Boydell building and was there con-
tinued until 1924. In 1916 the present company purchased the interest
of Mr. Reinhold and the name was changed to the Turner-Messenger
Manufacturing Company, of which W. T. Turner is the president, with
his son, Frear Turner, as secretary and treasurer and Raymond J. Petz
as vice-president.
In 1924 a removal was made to 1059 Beaufait street and in the fall
of 1929 the company occupied a new plant which they built at 521 St.
Jean avenue. The building covers only one-half of the lot, thus making
1514 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
further expansion possible, and has seven thousand two hundred Square
feet of space, all on one floor. General machine work has been given
up and the company now specializes on custom manufactured Screw parts,
which are made on the Brown & Sharpe automatic screw machine and
are special parts for automobile and accessories manufacturers, machin-
ery manufacturers, ice machine manufacturers and electric refrigerator
manufacturers. They use iron, steel, brass, Monel metal and duralumin
in their manufacturing processes. In 1927 the ice cuber was redesigned
and it is manufactured in three sizes, either belt or motor driven, under
the name of the “Reinhold Ice Cube Cutter.” Leading ice companies are
now using this device, cutting the cubes, putting them in cartons and
selling them to householders. The new plant recently occupied doubles
their former capacity and the business is steadily developing.
PARKER RUST-PROOF COMPANY
The Parker Rust-Proof Company of Detroit was Organized in 1915
by C. W. Parker for the manufacture of treating and rust-proofing steel
under the Richards & Coslett patents, for which he had purchased the
American rights. The business was begun in a small way at Woodward
avenue and Garfield avenue, two or three men being employed. In the
fall of 1916 a removal was made to Conant road, where Mr. Parker built
a new factory and employed a largely increased force of men. The busi-
ness here continued until 1919, when the plant was sold and the company
purchased land on Milwaukee avenue, just off of East Grand boulevard,
on which site was built a new modern factory of mill construction, two
stories in height, which was equipped with the latest improved machinery
and today gives employment to one hundred and twenty workmen. The
business is not only national but international in its scope, the products
being sold in continental Europe, Australia and Japan as well as through-
out the North American continent.
The problem of rust has ever been a vexing one to the manufacturer.
It has been generally estimated that twenty-five per cent of the amount
of iron produced yearly is destroyed by rust, and in an effort to prevent
the rusting of iron while in service various processes and materials have
been adopted. That which is known as the Parker Process of Rust-
Proofing, or Parkerizing, as it is commonly called, is a patented process
which since its introduction to the industrial field has gained rapidly in
recognition as an economical and effective rust preventive. It is a proc-
ess whereby the surfaces of iron and steel are converted by chemical
means into insoluble phosphates—insoluble in water and permanent in
the air. There is nothing complicated or involved in the commercial
application of Parkerizing to iron or steel. The articles to be rust-proofed
are usually cleaned chemically, or by sand rolling, or sand blast. Many
articles fabricated from cold rolled steel, or machined stock, can be proc-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1515
essed after merely removing the oil or grease. In numerous cases no
cleaning is necessary. The operation of processing is carried on in a
heated bath, or solution, of definite chemical composition. Articles of
iron and steel are immersed therein and at once a vigorous evolution of
hydrogen gas takes place. After about fifteen minutes the force of this
evolution gradually abates until it entirely ceases. The complete chem-
ical reaction normally requires from one to one and one-half hours.
Much of the merit of the Parker Process of Rust-Proofing lies in the
fact that no additional coating of other material is applied. Instead, the
chemical reaction, penetrating beneath the original surface of the article,
Converts this surface into a highly resistant compound which is prac-
tically impervious to all the ordinary agents of corrosion. Owing to the
fact that the Parker Process is essentially a conversion of the original
Surface metal rather than a building up of an additional outer skin as in
Electro-plating, galvanizing, etc., changes from the original shapes and
dimensions are minimized and manufacturing limits and tolerances on
machined surfaces may be maintained with a negligible variation due to
processing. For example, very fine screw threads can be processed with-
out impairing the accuracy of their fit or requiring recutting of threads.
Fine springs when Parkerized do not have their elasticity impaired. Mag-
nets before and after processing possess exactly the same magnetic force.
In fact none of the physical properties of the metal are changed. All
grades of iron and steel may be Parkerized; screw machine products,
stampings, forgings, castings, malleable iron castings, springs, etc. No
matter how intricate or irregular the shape of the object, it may be
Parkerized as it is entirely immersed in the rust-proofing solution. Park-
erizing frequently makes possible the substitution of iron or steel for
brass, copper, and other high-priced metals. In many cases the adoption
of the Parker Process by a manufacturer has not only returned many
times the total cost of necessary installation but has added materially
to the business and profits of such manufacturer. In the use of Orna-
mental iron Parkerizing has proved invaluable and architects are today
not only using the process for ornamental iron work but also for fire
escapes and window frames. It is likewise used in grill work, cashiers'
cages, fixtures and similar interior uses of wrought iron. Parkerizing
also constitutes an excellent base for paints and enamels and it consti-
tutes a substitute for paint on typewriters and many other office acces-
sories.
Many of the finest buildings in Detroit have Parker rust-proof steel in
their construction. The company maintains jobbing Service plants in the
principal cities of the United States, in Toronto, Canada, and London,
England, and in addition to its extensive business in furnishing Parker-
izing materials and equipments the company also manufactures Bonder-
ite, which is a new protection for iron or steel and holds the paint to
steel, solving the problem of how to insure the permanence of final
finishes in a commercially practical and economical Way.
Changes naturally have occurred in the personnel of the company.
1516 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
In 1918 Mr. Parker sold out and retired, while a new board was elected
with George D. Lane as president, R. C. Bristol as assistant to the presi-
dent and Willard M. Cornelius as secretary and treasurer. In 1922 Mr.
Bristol was elected president, while Charles H. Awkerman became vice
president, Willard M. Cornelius became secretary and treasurer and G. E.
Luke was made sales manager. These gentlemen continued in their
respective offices until 1930 when Mr. Bristol was elected to the newly
constituted office of chairman of the board, with Willard M. Cornelius,
president and treasurer, and W. M. Hawkins, secretary. With the excep-
tion of Mr. Hawkins they constitute the board of directors, together
with George D. Mason, B. D. Chandler, Albert V. Foster and M. C.
Baker. The company recently took over the Wolverine Enamel Company
of Detroit, and Mr. Baker, who was manager of that department is now
a director of the Parker Rust-Proof Company. The business has enjoyed
a substantial growth as Parkerizing has come into popular favor and is
more and more widely used.
BARTON BROTHERS STEEL COMPANY
Well formulated plans of Joseph M. and James G. Barton, Jr., brothers
and warehousemen, resulted in the organization of the Barton Brothers
Steel Company, January 1, 1926, for the purpose of handling sheet steel,
bar iron, coil and all sheet metal work. The undertaking has prospered
from the beginning and today ninety per cent of their business in sheet
metal work is with Detroit concerns, their principal patrons being the
automobile manufacturers.
Joseph M. Barton is in charge of the factory, which is located on
Euclid avenue and the Grand Trunk Railroad, while his brother, James G.
Barton, is in charge of the sales department. They have built up a large
and growing business in the past three years and theirs is regarded as
one of the coming enterprises of the city.
BROWN-HUTCHINSON IRON WORKS
The business conducted under this name was organized January 11,
1916, for the manufacture of structural steel for factories and building
purposes. The company established a small plant on Meldrum avenue
and employment was given to only one workman, the partners, A. C.
Hutchinson and W. M. Brown, taking active part in the work. They
remained at the original location until December, 1919, when the expan-
Sion of the business demanded that they seek larger quarters. In the
Summer of that year they purchased a tract of land of several acres at
1831 Clay avenue, North, and began the erection of a modern factory
building equipped with the latest improved machinery in their line. This
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1517
building completed, they occupied it in December and with the passing
years, as the business has further grown, they have kept adding other
buildings from time to time until they now have one of the largest plants
of the kind in Detroit, employing on an average of one hundred and fifty
men in the factory and on erection work outside. At all times the com-
pany carries large stocks of raw material and it has done the structural
steel work on many of Detroit’s large factories and on other important
buildings in other cities of the state. They maintain their own sales
organization and the company today manufactures structural steel, con-
veying equipment, buckets, bins, trays, racks, tanks, forgings, arc welding
and miscellaneous iron work. The officers of the company are: W. H.
Steger, president; W. M. Brown, vice president; and A. C. Hutchinson,
secretary and treasurer. All are skilled engineers and draftsmen.
CENTRAL DISTRIBUTING COMPANY
Since 1911 the Central Distributing Company has operated in Detroit.
The business was organized in that year by Andrew J. Weatherwax, who
became the first president. The plant in Detroit handles equipment for
industrial plants and automobile factories, and the company is national
distributor for many products, having developed one of the largest busi-
ness enterprises of the kind in the United States. They own large ware-
houses and a factory which is centrally located on Harper avenue. It is
of modern mill construction, operated by electric power with individual
units. Here they employ fifteen men in the manufacture of pipe and
conduit straps and small stampings.
D. D. WESSELS & SONS COMPANY
When in 1899 the business now conducted under the name of the
D. D. Wessels & Sons Company was established by D. D. Wessels it was
a small concern. The object of the enterprise was the manufacture of
concrete laundry tubs, the little plant being located at Wabash and
Kirby streets, where they employed two men. Their trade increased
steadily until in 1915 they purchased land on Euclid avenue and built a
large two-story brick plant, increasing the number of their employes.
Still this was inadequate to meet the growth of the trade and in 1923
they built another two-story addition to the plant, this being of brick
and steel construction. They broadened the scope of their interests to
include the manufacture of water tanks and their business along this
line has grown to large proportions. Recently they began the manufac-
ture of electric hot water heaters and this, too, is becoming an impor-
tant industry, the steady growth of the business being indicated in the
fact that the company is now employing over one hundred men. They
1518 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
also maintain branches in Kansas City, New Orleans, Cleveland and in
Walkerville, Ontario, and have warehouses and sales offices in New York
and Chicago, where a full line of their stocks is carried. They have
their own sales organization, being represented on the road by men who
fully understand the business. Mr. Wessels started with a capitalization
of about two thousand dollars and something of the steady development
of the enterprise is indicated in the fact that their resources are now
well over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The present officers
of the company are: D. D. Wessels, president; Charles D. Wessels, vice
president and manager; and O. S. Wessels, secretary and treasurer.
COLONIAL BROACH COMPANY
While the world at large has come to think of Detroit as an automo-
bile manufacturing city, there is scarcely any line of manufacture, espe-
cially having to do with machinery, that does not find expression in the
business circles of the city. A decade or more ago the Colonial Broach
Company came into existence with Otto Lundell as president and treas-
urer, Carl J. Halborg as vice president and general manager and Robert
H. Anderson as secretary. The law of life is growth and development
and this company, like almost all important industries, had a small begin-
ning—a little factory at 217 Woodward avenue in which six men were
employed. The trade grew, however, almost by leaps and bounds and in
1924 a larger factory was secured on Butler avenue—a building of mill
construction affording thirty thousand square feet of floor space. In this
were installed new and thoroughly modern machines. Still larger quar-
ters being needed, the company moved in May, 1930, to 147 Joseph
Campau street, where they have approximately seventy-five thousand
square feet of floor space. At the same time they also started a shop in
Walkerville, Ontario, under the name of the Colonial Tool Company,
Ltd., for the Canadian trade. Today two hundred skilled mechanics are
employed by the organization in the manufacture of broaches. The com-
pany specializes on one tool, making broaches of all sizes from one-
eighth of an inch to six and seven inches in diameter. It met a need in
the trade and the product is now sold all over the United States and a
large export business has likewise been developed, which on account of
the superiority of Colonial tools is constantly expanding. Only the high-
est grade of steel is used in the manufacture of the Colonial products.
The output is sold to machinery manufacturers and automobile manu-
facturers who require special high-grade broaches in their plants. This
company have been pioneers in the manufacture of high-speed steel
broaches, the entire factory being now used for the production of broach-
ing tools, requiring expert tool makers and special machinery, together
with a complete hardening plant. The factory is equipped with the
latest machines for turning out its product and the company maintains
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1519
its own engineering and laboratory staff. The company has also designed
and is now manufacturing two types of broach sharpening machines,
One for flat broaches and the other for round and spline broaches. These
machines are simple in design; are easily operated, and find favor wher-
ever installed.
The output of the factory is sold through the company’s own sales
Organization, twenty-five per cent of the product being utilized in Detroit,
while the remainder is sent to all parts of the United States and to
Europe, the Colonial Broach Company being one of the largest makers
of broaches in the world. Mr. Anderson, the first secretary of the corpo-
ration, died February 25, 1922, and was succeeded by Carl J. Halborg,
who is now Secretary and general manager and whose well defined plans
and careful systemization of the work have constituted most valuable
and forceful elements in the profitable conduct of the business.
SQUARE D COMPANY
One of the largest and most reliable electrical supply manufacturing
concerns in the United States is the Square D Company, the main offices
of which are at 6060 Rivard street, Detroit, with factories and branch
offices at advantageous points in the country. The Square D Company
was incorporated under the laws of the state of Michigan in 1903 by
Bryson D. Horton, who was its first president. The concern began busi-
ness in a small way in the old Bogdell building, where the products, con-
sisting of electric safety devices, were turned out in somewhat limited
Quantities. However, by 1910 the demand for the goods had increased
to an extent that compelled the company to seek more Space. A large
tract of land was bought on Rivard street, at the Belt Line Railroad, and
here a large, modern factory building was erected. So continuous has
been the growth of the business, however, that the factory has been
enlarged five times since then. The building is of steel, brick and con-
crete construction, and is equipped with the most improved machinery,
driven by individual motors. A complete sprinkler system for fire pro-
tection insures the safety of the property and employes in that direction.
In this factory five hundred persons are employed, and the products
consist of industrial safety switches, meter service switches, meter Serv-
ice breakers, square duct, porcelain products, transformer cabinets, out-
door meter boxes, voltage testers, automatic across-the-line starters, com-
bination starters, compensators—automatic and manual,—Speed regu-
lators, magnetic contactors, pressure switches, vacuum Switches, float
switches, fuse cabinets, lighting panels, combination fuse cabinets and
power panels.
The company has also two other factories, one devoted to the indus-
trial controller division at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and One devoted to the
porcelain division at Peru, Indiana. In the three plants twelve hundred
1520 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
men are employed. The Square D Company also has its own sales Organi-
zation, with sixty-two salesmen, and has twenty-eight branch sales offices
in the principal cities of the country. In addition to the general demand
for this company’s products throughout this country, it also does a large
export business. The company operates in Canada under the name of
the Square D Company, Canada, Ltd., with its main office at Walker-
ville, Ontario, and branch offices in Toronto and Montreal. The present
officers of the Square D Company are as follows: Thomas J. Kauffman,
president; Carlton Higbie, vice president at Detroit; L. W. Mercer, vice
president at Detroit; F. W. Magin, vice president at Milwaukee, and W. S.
Worcester, vice president and secretary-treasurer. This is one of the con-
cerns which has contributed in large measure to the fame of Detroit as
an industrial center, due to the high quality of its products and the
widespread demand for them.
MONARCH BUMPER MANUFACTURING COMPANY
In 1922 W. C. Leland, associated with Edward F. Lyon and William T.
Nash, organized and incorporated the Monarch Bumper Manufacturing
Company for the purpose of manufacturing automobile spring bumpers.
They became, respectively, president, vice-president and secretary-treas-
urer of the new concern and they began business on Euclid avenue, em-
ploying three or four men. Something of the continuous growth of the
enterprise is shown in the fact that within a few years they had thirty
employes. As the business of manufacturing bumpers dropped off, the
company in 1928 began the manufacture of special equipment for auto
trucks and luggage for automobiles, including trunks, racks, etc. The
business is still showing a goodly development and the output of the
factory is sold largely in Detroit.
MASSACHUSETTS LAUNDRY COMPANY
The Massachusetts Laundry Company, well known as a successful
Detroit enterprise, was established as the Massachusetts Barber Towel
Supply Company about 1905. The business was originally on First street,
near Jefferson avenue, and was begun in a small way, furnishing employ-
ment to five girls. In 1908 the firm was joined by Frank L. Wadham,
now serving as president, who at that time entered the Massachusetts
Laundry & Supply Company, and it was then that they began doing
commercial laundry work. After a time the company purchased the
business of Edward Dupont, proprietor of the Sanger Laundry, and
operated the two places under the style of the Dupont Laundry and the
Massachusetts Laundry & Supply Company. About a year later the
present plant was built at the corner of Howard street and Second ave-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1521
nue. At this time, in 1911, the two laundries were combined and since
then a general laundry business has been carried on under the name of
the Massachusetts Laundry Company. They do all types of commercial
laundry work and something of the growth of the business is indicated
in the fact that the plant has a capacity of ninety thousand pieces per
day and occupies a total floor space of fifty thousand square feet. Their
property includes offices, a power plant and a garage. Employment is
given to two hundred and seventy-five people, and thirty-four motor cars
are used for delivery. The business was conducted under a partnership
relation from 1908 until 1919, when it was incorporated, and the present
officers are: Frank L. Wadham, president and general manager; Loraine
B. Wadham, secretary-treasurer; and Henry H. Roberts, vice president.
TEETZEL COMPANY
The Teetzel Company, conducting an interior decorating and house
furnishing business in Detroit, has become well known over a wide terri-
tory, its business connections extending into many outside districts. The
business, which is now carried on under the direction of A. P. Teetzel,
president, was established in 1920 as a partnership concern by the firm
of Stratemeyer & Teetzel at 14 West Adams street. They began opera-
tions in a small way, having both a limited capital and limited stock, and
today theirs is a business of gratifying proportions. They cater to
wealthy home builders, working with the owner and the architect on
plans for new homes, their activities including decorating, painting,
draperies, curtains, furniture, rugs and all kinds of works of art. They
also do separately any one of the designated lines of work on other jobs,
and they have made a specialty of decorating and furnishing fine clubs and
hotels. They received the contract for work in their line in the Alfred
Wilson home at Rochester and in many other fine residences, also in the
Grosse Pointe Boat Club and other public buildings. As the years have
gone by their business has grown in volume and importance, and among
their clients are many who have given them their support for extended
periods. The company manufactures some special furniture and also
imports a large amount from foreign lands, likewise making importa-
tion of materials and art objects. They make up their own draperies
and other furnishings, and they work with their clients on all parts of
the interior that meet the eye. They maintain a carpet shop, a paint
shop and an upholstering shop, and their products are the last Word in
progressive methods. In 1916 they removed to their present location
and in 1925 built on additions both in front and in the rear. They
employ thirty-five people, all skilled in their particular lines, and they
are constantly extending their trade in handling antiques. The name of
the Teetzel Company was assumed in 1924, when A. P. Teetzel pur-
chased the interest of his former partner, Mr. Stratemeyer. He is presi-
1522 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
dent of the company, with Miss B. E. Neyer as secretary and treasurer,
and his son, W. S. Teetzel, as vice president. Many notable contracts
have been awarded them, including a large part of the work in the new
home of Edsel Ford. Whatever they turn out is the expression not only
of comfort and utility but of beauty and art, and long since the house of
Teetzel has passed to a point of leadership in its particular field.
DETROIT REFRIGERATING COMPANY
The Detroit Refrigerating Company was organized in 1916, in which
year the present plant was started, it being the largest in the city, with
the most modern equipment and building. Interested in the enterprise
were A. F. Thibedeau and George E. Haskell, now deceased. Mr. Haskell
was connected with the Beatrice Creamery Company and after an inter-
view with Mr. Thibedeau he agreed to furnish the capital not raised in
Detroit for financing the company. Local capital was raised among the
firms needing cold storage facilities, these being food products dealers
mostly connected with the wholesale trade. The new company today
occupies a reinforced concrete building one hundred and twenty by one
hundred and twenty-six feet, seven floors with basement, and supplied
with all degrees of coolness, from thirty-five degrees above to fifteen
degrees below. The extremely cold rooms are used for butter and frozen
products. The company handles butter, eggs, poultry, apples, various
other kinds of fruit, and all food commodities except fish. They do not
engage in merchandising but simply furnish cold storage facilities for
dealers who must have their food products handled in such a manner.
Their building is particularly adequate in every regard. There is an
unusually spacious and convenient receiving and delivering floor three
hundred feet long, completely opened by jack-knife doors, accommodat-
ing thirty trucks at one time and so equipped that delays are unknown.
Their twenty cooler rooms are the last word in efficiency and sanitation.
Before receiving eggs, apples and other such commodities they pass
through a system of thorough ventilation, fumigation with whitewashing
of walls and ceilings, liming of floors and further purification of air by
Ozone machines. There is also a regulation of humidity, temperature,
etc., and thus the company is ready to receive the most delicate of per-
ishable food commodities and hold them in the same wholesome state of
preservation until they are needed for human consumption. Boxed apples
require very careful handling into storage, intelligent piling, proper tem-
perature and circulation of pure air, all of which the Detroit Refrigerat-
ing Company can supply. They have one room containing one million
pounds of buckwheat, and thousands of tons of boxed, bagged and canned
goods are held each year for the wholesale and retail grocers. They can
handle celery in such a way as to turn it out bright, fresh and crisp.
Certain of their rooms furnish ideal conditions for cheese and for eggs,
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1523
and fresh berries receive the utmost care and are so frozen that when
desired for use they are much superior to canned and dried fruits. All
rooms throughout the plant are spotlessly clean, and their butter rooms
are particularly free from any contaminating odors. In fact, storage
goods of all kinds have the utmost attention necessary to keep them in
their original form as to food value. The equipment of the Detroit
Refrigerating Company is the most modern and up-to-date obtainable,
and every safety device has been installed for the protection of the prop-
erty in their keeping.
The Officers of the company are: W. H. Ferguson, of Lincoln,
Nebraska, president; George Love, vice president and manager; and R. L.
Seibert, of Detroit, secretary. The Detroit establishment is a part of a
chain of eight such plants extending from coast to coast and is now the
largest cold storage house in the state. Situated on the Michigan Central
Railroad, the institution is provided with excellent shipping facilities.
MAZER-CRESSMAN CIGAR COMPANY, INC.
The Mazer-Cressman Cigar Company, Inc., of Detroit has developed
a business of extensive proportions and its factory is conceded to be the
finest one of the kind in the United States and probably in the world.
This business was established in 1924 as successor to the Mazer Cigar
Company, which had been organized in 1898 by Henry and Jacob Mazer,
brothers. They formed a partnership, so conducting their interests until
1906, when they incorporated under the name of the Mazer Cigar Com-
pany. Their interests were thus conducted until January, 1924, when
they took over the business of the Allen R. Cressman & Sons Cigar
Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and changed the name to Mazer-
Cressman Cigar Company. The present officers are: Henry Mazer, presi-
dent; Charles N. Cressman, vice president; and Jacob Mazer, secretary-
treasurer and general manager.
When the business was started the original partners did all of the
work. They were experienced cigar makers and their output found favor
with the public, so as their business increased they began to employ others
and in time moved to a larger factory on Willis avenue, where they
continued until 1912. The business was at that time enjoying a rapid
growth and the brothers erected a large two-story factory at the corner
Of Theodore and Grandy streets, which in turn was replaced by the
five-story and full basement factory at 5031 Grandy avenue, which is
conceded to be the finest cigar factory in this country. It is equipped
with the very latest modern machinery and is supplied with the Carrier
Engineering Corporation air-cooling system, insuring the proper humidity
to keep in first-class condition the high-grade tobaccos which are used
in immense quantities by this company. They obtain the finest grades
of Sumatra wrapper from the Dutch East Indies, also domestic wrapper
1524 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
from Connecticut and they import large quantities of tobacco from
Havana, Cuba, for fillers. The principal brands manufactured by the
company are such well known cigars as the Manuel, Tennyson, Dime
|Bank, Miss Detroit and Humo.
The Mazer-Cressman Cigar Company maintains its own sales organi-
zation and its products are shipped all over the United States. In addi-
tion to the Detroit plant the company operates two large factories in
Columbus, Ohio, two in Dayton and one in Cincinnati, besides the model
factory in Detroit. Here the company has a most attractive dining-
room and kitchen in the basement of the factory, where a warm meal is
served daily at actual cost to the employes, this being a decided advantage
especially in winter-time. The company has likewise instituted a merit
system, whereby all employes after ten years' service are given a solid
gold watch. The presentations are made each year just before Christmas
at the annual banquet given by the company at the Cadillac Athletic
Club in Detroit, and in 1929 there were more than one hundred and fifty
employes who were recipients of these watches. Many of the workmen
of the company have been with them for approximately twenty years,
From a small beginning, with only the labor of two people needed to
carry on the business, the enterprise has been developed until the Mazer-
Cressman Cigar Company now employs over thirty-five hundred and the
Detroit factory alone turns out two hundred and fifty thousand cigars
daily. This is a record of which the founders have every reason to be
proud.
THE OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY
In the year 1890, The Michigan Elevator and Engine Company was
purchased by the three Gardner brothers, Richard W., George H. and
Oliver N., and the name of the concern changed to The Gardner Elevator
Company. Then, in 1898, The Otis Elevator Company purchased the
business, but continued to operate under the Gardner name until 1905,
when the old title was dropped and the business conducted under the
name of The Otis Elevator Company. Oliver N. Gardner continued with
the firm as Detroit manager until his death in November, 1921. In
1905 manufacturing was discontinued at Detroit, and the factory facili-
ties were used in service and installation work. Richard W. Gardner
was later made vice president of the Otis company and had charge of
the office at Omaha, Nebraska, until his retirement, and George H. Gard-
ner is now manager of the works of The Otis Elevator Company at
Quincy, Illinois. Arthur G. Saville followed Oliver N. Gardner as man-
ager at Detroit, and was succeeded in October, 1926, by George A.
Mount, a biography of whom is printed upon another page of this work.
The business of The Otis Elevator Company in the United States is
divided into sixteen zones, as follows: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Bronx
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1525
(New York), Brooklyn, (New York), Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas,
Detroit, Manhattan (New York), Newark, Omaha, Philadelphia, San
Francisco, and St. Louis. In each zone are local or subordinate offices,
and each zone office has four departments, sales, construction, account-
ing and service, each under the supervision of a manager. The Otis
Elevator Company is the largest elevator company in the world and is
the only internationally operating concern of its kind, having repre-
sentatives over the entire globe. There are one hundred and eighty-one
domestic offices, four domestic factories situated at Yonkers (main plant),
Buffalo, Harrison, New Jersey, and Quincy, Illinois, two foreign factories,
fourteen Canadian offices, ninety-six foreign offices, forty-three foreign
agencies, making a total of three hundred and forty-three offices and
factories.
The business itself was established in 1854 by Elisha G. Otis at
Yonkers, New York, and later, when the sons of Elisha came in, the
firm name was Otis Brothers & Company. In 1898 it became The Otis
Elevator Company, at which time, and also previously, the company took
over many elevator manufacturing plants over the whole country. The
head office of the company is in the Otis building of New York city, and
the officers at this writing are as follows: W. D. Baldwin, chairman of
the board; J. H. Van Alstyne, president; J. C. Knapp, vice president;
A. J. McComb, vice president; E. A. Fitch, vice president; and C. A.
Sanford, treasurer.
In the early days of the industry two types of elevators were manu-
factured. There was the plunger or hydraulic type for high lifts, and
the low lift type, which was a drum type, electrically driven, with gears
between motor and drums. The next important step in the development
of the product concerned both the elevators for high and low lifts. The
high lift type had gearless traction, a specially designed low-speed motor
directly connected with the traction sheaves and could be speeded up to
six hundred feet per minute. The low lifts were geared single rap trac-
tion and were electrically driven. The next major change for the high
lift elevators was the system of electric control, which smoothed out
the starting and stopping of the cars. Smooth acceleration was a fea-
ture. Next came the automatic leveling device, which meant that the
operator could stop the car within a foot of the floor, either above or
below, and the car would automatically bring itself to the floor level.
Speed up to seven hundred feet per minute had now become a reality
Next in the development of the Otis elevator came the signal control.
By this means, a simple pressure upon a button automatically stopped
the car at the desired floor. The passenger informing the operator of
the floor he wished, the Operator pushing the button for that floor, and
when the car arrived at that level it automatically stopped, and the doors
opened. Upon starting again, the doors again close. Elevator speed
had now reached one thousand feet per minute. These and many other
improvements in the product were worked out by the Otis engineers,
who are daily striving for new features and increased service and relia-
1526 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
bility for the elevators. The company manufactures all types of pas-
senger and freight elevators and lifts, some of the freight elevators
being of twenty tons capacity. It is a notable fact that during the World
war, the Otis Elevator Company manufactured gun recoil mechanisms
and other war material.
The Detroit office of The Otis Elevator Company is situated at 950
West Fort street, and there are branch offices at Jackson, Lansing, Grand
Rapids, Kalamazoo, Flint and Saginaw. In the Detroit Zone, which com-
prises the state of Michigan, there are from one hundred and seventy
to three hundred men employed, with seventy people at the Detroit head-
quarters. A completely equipped shop, fifty by one hundred and twenty
feet, is maintained for service and repairs. A complete stockroom of the
same dimensions, also office space of like number of Square feet, are
utilized by the company.
Some of the more important later jobs installed by the Otis Elevator
Company in Detroit include the Eaton tower, the Book tower, J. L. Hudson
Company and the Penobscot building. The latter building has twenty-
one signal controlled passenger elevators of the latest type, with a speed
of eight hundred feet per minute. This is the largest installation of
modern type elevators in the country between New York and Chicago.
WOODALL INDUSTRIES, INCORPORATED
Established at Detroit in November, 1919, the Woodall Industries,
Incorporated, began the manufacture of fibre board for upholstering
foundations for motor cars and automobile bodies in a small plant on
Twelfth street, where the business was under the management of Herbert
J. Woodall, who had but one assistant. A year later removal was made
to a larger factory on East Euclid avenue and the line of the Grand
Trunk Railroad, where operations were continued for two years, and
during that time from twelve to fifteen people were employed. Having
outgrown these quarters, the company transferred its activities to a
still larger building on Wellington street and the Grand Trunk Rail-
road, and there the business was operated for three years—a period
marked by constant expansion. In 1927, in order to provide facilities
for further development, the company purchased a tract of six acres on
Six Mile road and on that property erected a large factory of the Monitor
type, using brick and steel in its construction. Three hundred people
are now employed in this building, which provides one hundred and
eighty thousand square feet of floor space, and a portion of it is reserved
for offices. The equipment is modern to the ultimate degree and includes
the most improved machinery, the individual unit system of motor driven
electric power and the sprinkler system of fire protection. The com-
pany has its own sales organization and maintains a large engineering
and laboratory staff. Exclusive patents have been secured for its prod-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1527
ucts and it also has the exclusive manufacturing and sales rights of
Masonite materials—a field which offers unlimited possibilities for devel-
opment. Recently they combined their interests with those of the Barrett
Products Company of Monroe, Michigan, where they have a modern plant,
and they also took over the business of the Zinser Corporation of Chi-
cago, in which city they likewise operate a large factory.
The Woodall Industries, Incorporated, had an original capital of two
thousand dollars, and the extent of the business today is indicated in
the fact its assets are now approximately five million dollars. The first
officers were: J. A. Kerr, president; Herbert J. Woodall, vice president
and manager; and Mrs. Jameson, secretary and treasurer. Mr. Woodall
now occupies the presidency and still continues as manager. His name
is inseparably associated with the history of the corporation, which he has
represented in executive capacities from the time of its inception, and
the remarkable strides made by the organization within a period of
eleven years prove conclusively his superior business ability and unerring
judgment.
PESCHKE PACKING COMPANY
The Peschke Packing Company of Detroit was organized by Carl H.
Peschke in June, 1927. Business was begun on East Grand boulevard,
adjoining the Michigan Central railroad tracks, in a two-story brick
building, and sixty people were employed. The following year the com-
pany erected a two-story brick addition, 160 x 135 feet, and today employ-
ment is given to over one hundred people. The company packs all kinds
of meat products under the trade brand “Lochmoor,” which has become
recognized as a guarantee of quality. The buildings are equipped with
modern machinery operated by electric power and the most sanitary
conditions prevail. The product is sold to the wholesale trade within a
radius of one hundred miles from Detroit and forty trucks are utilized in
making deliveries. Year by year the business has steadily grown and
developed until it is now one of substantial proportions, being classed with
the representative commercial interests of the city.
BARKER TOOL, DIE & GAUGE COMPANY
In August, 1918, the Barker Tool, Die & Gauge Company of Detroit
was organized and started business on a small scale at Forest avenue and
Dequindre street, in part of the Johnson Carbureter Company building,
at which time employment was given to eight or ten men. This was orig-
inally a partnership concern, the owners being Frank V. and John F.
Barker, brothers, the former becoming president of the company, with
John F. Barker as vice-president, Frank Yagley as secretary and treas-
1528 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
urer and Paul Hammer as shop superintendent. The business kept grow-
ing, so that in eighteen months it was necessary to Secure more Space.
The brothers then purchased a large tract of land on Ellery street and in
1919 erected a modern plant forty-two by sixty feet. In 1926 an addition
was built, forty by sixty feet, and in 1929 another eighteen by sixty foot
addition was made, thereby greatly enlarging the floor space. No factory
of the kind in Detroit has more modern equipment or is better fitted to
carry on the work. The factory was specially designed with a view to
lighting and ventilation and the building is of modern mill construction,
the machinery being operated by electric power. Moreover, the company
is gradually working toward the individual unit motor system. About
fifty highly paid skilled mechanics are employed and the trade is steadily
growing.
During the World war the company made tools and dies for airplanes
and auto trucks for the United States government and now manufac-
tures tools, dies and gauges for the leading automobile manufacturers of
Detroit. The present officers of the company are: Frank V. Barker,
president; his wife, Anna M. Barker, secretary and treasurer; and John
F. Barker, vice-president.
WOLVERINE BOTTLING WORKS
The Wolverine Bottling Works were established at Detroit in 1916
under a partnership arrangement between Julius M. Singer and Max
Sedman, who began the manufacture of soft drinks and flavoring extracts
for soda fountains in a small building on Warren avenue. Originally
they employed only three people, but the business grew and in 1919
ground was purchased at 692 Livingston avenue, where they erected a
two-story brick factory ninety-five by fifty-three feet. Modern machin-
ery of the latest type was installed and ample storage room was secured.
Today the company employs between twenty-five and thirty people in the
manufacture of all kinds of soft drinks and flavoring extracts. They
also import the finest ginger ale from England and something of the
volume of their trade is indicated in the fact that eight trucks are now
utilized in the delivery of the products of the Wolverine Bottling Works
in Detroit.
CHAFFEE & COMPANY, INC.
This business, a Detroit enterprise, was organized in 1919 with B. F.
Chaffee as president and manager and V. H. Nalbandian as secretary
and treasurer. The company is engaged in wholesaling and distributing
cigars, fountain and School supplies, nut meats, candy bars and similar
lines. It was originally started as a small retail cigar store in 1911 on
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1529
East Jefferson avenue at Hart street by B. F. Chaffee and Charles Heff-
ner. In 1914, Mr. Chaffee purchased the interest of his partner and
carried on the enterprise alone until 1919, when he incorporated the
business. Some time before he had begun selling to the wholesale as well
as to the retail trade, and in 1919 he acquired the additional space around
him for storage and warehouse purposes. Year by year his trade grew
and developed until in 1926 he dropped the retail end of the business,
which he is now conducting successfully as wholesalers and distributors
to the trade. The company carries large stocks at all times and in fact
controls the most extensive business of the kind in East Detroit. They
today have seventeen employes in the plant and four city salesmen, and
they utilize four trucks for delivery purposes. Their trade covers the
entire city in School supplies, nut meats and candy bars, and on the east
side they have an extensive trade in cigars.
DETROIT SCREW WORKS
The Detroit Screw Works are the largest of the kind in Detroit.
The business was established in 1877 as a partnership concern by F. W.
Clarkson, G. G. Clarkson and H. H. Taylor, under the name of the
Detroit Machine Screw Works, and was incorporated in 1880. Their
plant was first located at 68-70 Champagne street, now Lafayette street,
East, and at the outset the concern was a small one, the original partners
becoming the first officials of the corporation and constituting the first
board of directors. Business was carried on at the original location until
1892, at which time all available facilities at that point had been used.
Accordingly in that year the company purchased a building at the corner
of East Atwater and Riopelle streets, constituting a part of the present
plant, the building being three stories in height and ninety by two hun-
dred feet in dimensions.
In 1894 the name of the company was changed to the Detroit Screw
Works. It was necessary to increase their facilities and in 1905 a three-
Story building, ninety by two hundred feet, was erected. In 1907 a fur-
ther addition was made, adding three stories to this building, all being re-
inforced concrete construction.
In 1910 the company extended its corporate existence for an addi-
tional thirty years. In the meantime the business had been constantly
growing and the work of development was carried steadily forward. In
1900 the Standard Screw Company took over the control of the Detroit
plant and headquarters have since been maintained in New York city.
The Detroit Screw Works, however, is the largest enterprise of the kind
in Detroit and the Standard Screw Company is the largest in its line in
the country. The output of the Detroit plant includes screw machine
products—screws, bolts, nuts and any kind of steel, brass, bronze or alumi-
num piece, manufactured from bars from one-sixteenth of an inch to four
I 530 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
and one-quarter inches in diameter. The Detroit plant handles the trade
in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio and about seventy per cent of the output
of the factory in this city is sold in Detroit and its suburbs, while employ-
ment is given to about six hundred people.
The officers of the company are: P. B. Gale, of Hartford, Connecticut,
chairman; H. E. Penfield, of Chicago, president; C. W. Colgan, Jr., Vice
president; W. D. Corlett, of Chicago, vice president; J. G. Wagner, Sec-
retary; and A. T. Rosenau, treasurer. Mr. Colgan has charge of the
operations of the Detroit plant. The former president, F. P. Johnson, was
very active in Detroit affairs and George Thrall and Fred C. Thrall,
former officers of the company, were well known in business circles here
from 1880 until 1890.
In the fall of 1914 the plant began manufacturing fuse parts, pro-
jectiles and rifle bullets for the allies and during the war turned out
much work for the government. After the United States entered upon
hostilities the company made standard detonators and bullets and was
operated entirely in the production of supplies needed by the government,
including shrapnel and high explosive fuses. The Detroit Screw Works
as a unit is one of the largest plants in the country producing Screw ma-
chine products, the business today being numbered among the most im-
portant of the productive industries of the city.
BROWN-MORRIS COMPANY
The Brown-Morris Company of Detroit was organized under partner-
ship relations in 1911 by G. W. Brown, W. E. Morris and Peter Eisenbart
and the business was first located in the rear of 68 Edmund place, opera-
tions being begun on a very small scale in the manufacture of special
tools and in the conduct of a general jobbing business in machinist work.
For two years the business was carried on at the original location and in
July, 1913, a removal was made to 741 Franklin street, where larger
quarters were secured. In the succeeding year, 1914, the others of the
company purchased the interest of Mr. Eisenbart and incorporated the
business. In June, 1921, the present plant at 2950 East Woodbridge
was purchased and the business removed thereto.
During the World war period the company manufactured special tools
for the United States government and before the United States joined
the allies built many tools for the Remington Arms Company.
The steady development of the business constitutes an important phase
in the industrial history of Detroit. When the removal was made to 2950
East Woodbridge the company had 10,000 square feet of floor space, but
this was inadequate to meet the growing demands of the trade and in
1928 the company erected an additional building, giving them 10,000 more
square feet of floor space. They manufacture entirely to special design,
the output being production tools or tools that wear out. They also do a
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1531
little business in jig fixtures and dies and today they are manufacturing
production tools for the Ford, Cadillac, Buick, Packard, Chevrolet and
Hudson automobiles, the Kelsey Wheel Company and many other con-
cerns. They also produce tools for the A C Spark Plug Company and
Motor Wheel Company, of Lansing, and with the marvelous development
of the automobile industry their own business has correspondingly in-
creased.
W. E. Morris, a member of the original partnership concern, died
in 1921 but G. W. Brown remains in the company as president and man-
ager. His associate officers were: J. W. George, vice president; and C.
E. Hair, secretary and treasurer, now deceased.
DETROIT TRAILER AND MACHINE COMPANY
The Detroit Trailer and Machine Company is the name under which
a substantial business enterprise is conducted by Stephen Adelbert Griggs.
The present organization followed the Detroit Trailer Company, which
was formed in 1913 and was first located at the corner of Brush and
East Woodbridge streets, there manufacturing two-wheel trailers on a
small scale. About 1914 Mr. Griggs became financially interested in the
business. Later removal was made to 678 East Atwater street in order
to secure larger quarters, and there the company began manufacturing
four-wheel trailers in addition to the two-wheel type. Still further ex-
pansion led to a removal to Stanley street near Twelfth. During the
World war this plant built a great many units, both its own designs and
after designs furnished by the government. In 1920 the company pur-
chased and erected thereon a building at the corner of Joseph Campau
and East Atwater streets, where the Michigan Tool Company is now
located. Of this business Mr. Griggs was president until 1921, when he
sold the controlling interest which he had previously acquired. It was
subsequent to this time that the firm removed to Milwaukee avenue and
shortly afterward experienced financial and other troubles.
As the result of existing conditions Mr. Griggs withdrew from that
undertaking and established his present business under the name of the
Detroit Trailer and Machine Company, of which he is sole owner. He
occupies a building two hundred and twenty by one hundred feet at 481
Beaufait avenue, and there designs and manufactures trailers, many of
which are built to special design. He also manufactures standard units
up to a capacity of fifteen tons. Certain parts are bought outside but all
frames and bodies are made in the plant, together with the machines and
steering gears. In the plant complete units are assembled, and today the
output of the Detroit Trailer and Machine Company in its various models
is widely known and distributed. About fifty men are now employed at
the plant, and while the sales are largely local, shipments are also made
to various sections of the country.
1532 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
Mr. Griggs is now working out a system to permit the shipment of
essential parts, together with complete directions and blue prints where-
by customers will have the opportunity to make up a purchase balance
of unit locally, and this will greatly reduce freight rates on local hauls.
This will also be of great benefit in the export business and will cut down
import duties.
The trailers are equipped with special patented devices, rendering it
extremely safe to connect, disconnect, park or back up. The drawbar is
mechanically held in a horizontal position when coupling, and should the
truck back up to the trailer in such a way that the drawbar does not enter
the coupling hook, it will strike a safety plate, thereby preventing the
truck and trailer from coming together and crushing the man endeavor-
ing to make the hook-up. All pull on the trailer comes on the drawbar,
and the machines are supplied with safety chains in case the drawbar
should break. The steering is done by a separate telescopic steering pole
on which there is no pull. The front as well as the rear axles are live
axles, and all of these are unique features of the trailers produced by the
Detroit Trailer and Machine Company, which they brought out in 1928,
after years of experimentation. The company also handles the St. Paul
under-body hoist and installs and builds steel truck bodies for this device.
They also make a gravity dump roll over body for trailers in different
sizes, and they sell and install the Silent Hoist Winch and Crane Com-
pany’s equipment. The business has now been placed upon a substantial
basis with every indication of continued growth and prosperity.
The company are now putting on the market “dual wheels” for dual
tires to overcome the terrific wear on one of each pair of dual tires, owing
to the fact that tires do not travel equal distances and slippage and dam-
age results. It has been estimated that on a round trip between Detroit
and Chicago one tire slips eight and one-half miles. Prominent mechan-
ical engineers and manufacturers have pronounced this as the greatest
advance made in the use of dual tires. This is an entirely new innova-
tion and sure to have a remarkable effect an dual balloon tires in par-
ticular.
ORLING BROTHERS
Orling Brothers, handling meat products in Detroit, incorporated the
business in 1919. It was organized as a partnership between Fritz and
Carl Orling, brothers, who opened a retail meat market in 1886 near their
present location. The business rapidly expanded, and in 1908 the firm
began Specializing in manufacturing sausages and smoked meats, the
brothers possessing expert skill in all the different blending and smoking
of meats. They had thoroughly learned the butcher's trade in Germany
and their products found ready favor on the market, so that their business
steadily grew and developed. This necessitated the building of additions.
to their plant and also the employment of more people.
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1533
The founders of the enterprise have both passed away but the busi-
ness is still carried on, having been incorporated in 1919 with Fritz
Orling as president, Mrs. Louise Orling, the widow of Carl Orling, as
vice president and her son, E. R. Orling, as secretary and treasurer. In
1925 Mrs. Orling departed this life and E. R. Orling became president of
the company, with Bertha Orling Niedermiller as vice president and
Elsie Orling Schwertzer as secretary and treasurer. These are now the
executive officers of the corporation, and the business is being conducted
along most progressive lines.
In 1925 the company erected a thoroughly modern factory, the build-
ing being three stories and basement. It is equipped with the latest im-
proved machinery and sanitary appliances for carrying on a business of
this character. The structure, sixty by one hundred and ten feet, has
twenty thousand Square feet of floor space. The products are marketed
in Detroit and within a radius of one hundred miles of the city, and
between fifty and sixty people are employed at the plant and there are
seven salesmen representing the house on the road. The Orling brand
is a guarantee of quality and the business occupies a foremost place in
this field of production in Detroit.
BARNES-GIBSON-RAYMOND COMPANY, INCORPORATED
On November 1, 1922, the Barnes-Gibson-Raymond Company, Incor-
porated, came into existence and built their main factory in Detroit.
When they began operations here they purchased the factory of the
Zenith Foundry Company on Miller avenue, remodeled it and erected ad-
ditions to the plant. They started with twenty-five employes and some–
thing of the continuous and substantial growth of the business is indi-
cated in the fact that today they have four hundred people in their service.
In February, 1929, they purchased the factory of the Cook Spring Com-
pany at Ann Arbor, Michigan, where employment is given to two hundred
and fifty people.
The Barnes-Gibson-Raymond Company, Incorporated, manufactures
all kinds of mechanical springs except leaf and cushion springs and their
products are sold all over the United States, while they also have some
export trade. They maintain their own sales organization and seventy-
five per cent of their output is utilized in Detroit. They have a large
business with automobile factories and with other prominent industrial
concerns and year by year the business is steadily growing.
Their factory, of brick and steel construction, is supplied with a
a sprinkler system throughout and is fireproof. It is also equipped with
electric power in both group and individual units. The plant covers be-
tween seventy-five thousand and one hundred square feet of floor space
and is the largest of the kind in Michigan and One of the largest in the
United States. The company’s plants in the east were turned over to
1534 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
government work during the World war period, being one hundred per
cent in the manufacture of springs and other necessary steel products.
In 1929 they constructed a large modern office building in connection with
the factory. They also maintain a small plant in Hamilton, Ontario, where
they have fifty people. The officers of the company are: Fuller F.
Barnes, chairman of the board; Lyman D. Adams, president and man-
ager; F. M. Raymond, vice president; W. J. Black, secretary; and W.
M. Barr, treasurer.
CONSOLIDATED STEEL CORPORATION
The Consolidated Steel Corporation is one of the more recently or—
ganized Detroit interests, having been formed in January, 1926, under
the guidance of Donald B. McLouth as president and Samuel Hamburger
as secretary and treasurer. The company began its operations in a small
way on Smith avenue with but two employes, but the rule of life is one of
expansion and growth and from the small beginning the business de-
veloped so that in 1927 larger quarters were secured on Conant avenue,
where the company leased a plant of modern saw-tooth construction and
equipped it with the latest improved machinery for shearing and cutting
their products. They handle all kinds of sheet steel for building and
factory purposes and the automobile trade in Detroit takes seventy per
cent of their output, while the balance is sold elsewhere. The company
carries large stocks of material on hand at all times. Its first year’s
business totaled one hundred and thirty-five thousand dollars and that
the trade has grown almost by leaps and bounds is shown in the fact that
in 1929 the sales will reach over one million dollars, the product being
placed upon the market by men who are directly employed by the or-
ganization. There are also thirty men in the factory, which contains
eighteen thousand square feet of floor space, and at all times forty-five
hundred tons of steel is kept on hand ready to meet the demands of their
patrons. The success of the undertaking is indicative of careful manage-
ment and a thoroughly systematized business.
JAMES W. PARTLAN & SON
James W. Partlan & Son, plumbing, heating, and ventilating en-
gineers, with offices and plant situated at 14290 Goddard avenue, Detroit,
is one of the oldest and most reliable firms of the kind in the city, having
had a highly successful career of over forty years. The business is
owned and conducted by James W. Partlan and his son, James F. Part-
lan, sketches of whom appear elsewhere in this publication.
James W. Partlan established this business in a small way in 1889
at Congress, Bates and Randolph Streets, where he employed from twelve
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1535
to fifteen men. As the city grew, the business expanded, and sheet metal
and iron work were added to the plumbing and heating. About 1915
the firm began the manufacture and installation of automatic Sprinkler
systems for fire protection. The firm now employs from eighty to One
hundred men and has its own sales organization, engineers and designers.
One of the first important tasks accomplished by Mr. Partlan was the
plumbing, heating and ventilating of Grace Hospital in Detroit, also
the work on the first state normal building at Ypsilanti was another
notable job. This firm did the work on the old Union Trust building at
Detroit and installed the heating and ventilating in the Wayne County
building. Among the later big jobs was the installation of water mains
for the new Detroit municipal airport in 1929.
Business increased to such an extent that in 1925 Mr. Partlan bought
one and a half acres of land on Goddard avenue, on the Michigan Central
belt line railroad and here constructed new and modern factory build
ings. One building is seventy-one by one hundred and twenty feet in
ground dimension, and one sixty by ninety feet, both of brick, glass and
steel construction, and equipped with modern machinery and mechani-
cal devices for the rapid loading and unloading of all products, also
equipped with a sprinkler system for fire protection. The machines are
operated by individual units of electric motor power.
The name of Partlan upon products has become synonymous with
quality over the whole state, and is a just tribute to the ability and
energy manifested by Mr. Partlan.
SWEDISH CRUCIBLE STEEL COMPANY
One of Detroit’s substantial and prosperous steel industries, the Swed-
ish Crucible Steel Company, was organized in 1910, by Nels L. Olson,
who has since served as president and treasurer; William H. Stafford,
vice president, and Dr. A. J. W. Nixon, secretary. The original plant,
which was comparatively small, was located on Butler street, at the Grand
Trunk railroad, and twenty-five men were employed. The company en-
gaged in the making of various high grades of steel, such as is used in
the making of many automobile accessories, and alloy castings. Because
of the high quality of the products, the business grew rapidly and more
buildings were added to the factory and foundries, until today the com-
pany's plants and factories cover ten acres of ground, and include a
quarter of a million square feet of floor space. Many of the company's
buildings are leased by other manufacturers, among whom are the Con-
Solidated Steel Corporation of Detroit, the Mavis Bottling Company, the
Metal Products Company, the Colonial Broach Company and others. Most
of these factory buildings are of class A fireproof construction. Mr.
Olson, the president of the company, also built and owns eight or ten
large factory buildings in Windsor, Canada, which are leased to various
1536 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
manufacturers, including the Canadian Battery Corporation, the Cana-
dian Metals Corporation, the Dominion Screw Corporation, the Graham-
Paige Automobile Company, and Brewer’s Warehouse Company, all in
Windsor.
The Swedish Crucible Company is loyal to the community in which
it is located and as far as is possible buys all of its raw material in De-
troit, and it is up-to-date in its operating methods, electric furnaces being
used for the melting of the metal in the foundries. Three hundred people
are given employment in the factory and the company’s products are
shipped all over the world. The company has its own sales Organiza-
tion and is in every respect a progressive and substantial concern, One
of the largest and most successful of its kind in the state of Michigan.
SPIETZ CIGAR COMPANY, LIMITED
One of the leading cigar manufacturing concerns of the middle west
is the Spietz Cigar Company, Limited, of which the president is Charles
J. Spietz, who is represented by a personal sketch on another page of
this work. This business had its genesis in 1903 when Mr. Spietz started
a factory in Detroit with two employes, the plant being located on Charle-
voix avenue, which he ran alone for two years. At the end of that time
it was incorporated under the name of Marcero Brothers & Spietz Com-
pany. The growth of the business necessitated the securing of more space,
and the factory was moved to a larger building at Hale and Mitchell
streets, where twenty-five girls were employed. The next move was to
Chene and Pierce streets, where employment was given to one hundred
and fifty girls.
Later Mr. Spietz under the firm name of Spietz & Worch Company,
built a large five story factory building at Forest and Grandy streets, in
which he employed nine hundred and fifty cigar makers, and at that time
had a total of twelve hundred employes. In 1913 Mr. Spietz after selling
his interest in the Spietz & Worch Company, started the Wayne Cigar
Company, located at Forest and St. Aubin avenues, employing one thou-
Sand people, and also opened branch factories at Toledo, Ohio, Bay City
and Hamtramck, Michigan. Dissolving partnership with Mr. Worch he
started independently in 1919 under the name of the Spietz Cigar Com-
pany, at Larned and Shelby streets, which soon outgrew that space, and
he built the present factory at Harper and Seneca streets. In 1923 he
incorporated and the firm name changed to the Spietz Cigar Company,
Limited, of which the following are the present officers: Charles J.
Spietz, president; Mrs. Jessie Spietz, treasurer; Roy E. Borders, secre-
tary and factory manager; and William C. Spietz, assistant secretary and
assistant treasurer. Charles J. Spietz also established a branch factory
in Mount Clemens, Michigan. At present he employes about four hun-
dred and fifty people. The factory is equipped with modern machinery,
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1537
uses the finest grades of tobacco, and makes such well known brands as
“Robert Emmet,” “Lucas,” “Della Roccas” and “Master Blend.” These
products are sold in nearly every state in the Union and are steadily and
deservedly increasing in popularity, there being a steady demand for all
of these goods.
MISTELE COAL & COKE COMPANY
The Mistele Coal & Coke Company, with main yard and office at 6495
Mitchell avenue, was incorporated at Detroit in 1913 with Ezra G. Mis-
tele as president and treasurer, Elmer Roy Mistele as vice president, and
Grace Mistele as secretary. The business was started at the present
location in the late ’80s by Jacob G. Mistele and Leon Schultz, the former
having been an uncle of the present owners. The firm at that time did a
large business in wood and to some extent handled coal but in those days
hardwood was plentiful and cheap. The firm bought boatloads of cord-
wood in Canada and sawed it into stovewood at their yards in Detroit.
The business was thus carried on until 1895, when the firm sold out to
Godfrey Mistele, father of the present owners, and he admitted Charles
Kleinhardt to a partnership. A year later, however, he purchased the
interest of his partner and carried on the business alone until his Sons
were old enough to assist him in its conduct. The business was begun
in a small way, the equipment consisting of two horses and wagons for
hauling, but as the trade increased the company kept adding more yard-
age and equipment until 1915, when Godfrey Mistele sold out to H. L.
Hahn, and his son, Ezra G. Mistele, took over the management for Mr.
Hahn. In 1916, Ezra G. Mistele purchased the business, which thus re-
turned to the Mistele family. The father died unexpectedly a few months
after he sold out in 1915.
Under the capable management of Ezra G. Mistele and his associates
the business rapidly expanded, and in 1920 they purchased land on Marcus
avenue and the Michigan Central railroad, there establishing yards. In
1926 they bought acreage on the west side of 7701 Schoolcraft avenue,
where they also established yards to handle their increasing business in
West Detroit. In 1928 they further expanded by opening new yards On
Joseph Campau avenue to supply the city of Hamtramck. In 1928 the
company opened up still another yard at Charlevoix avenue and the De-
troit Terminal railroad in East Detroit, and they now own and Operate five
coal and coke yards in the city, handling coal and coke for domestic pur-
poses only. The yards are all cemented and equipped throughout with
the latest modern electrically operated machinery, having a monorail Sys-
tem sixty feet high for handling coke. On a single day in the Winter
of 1929-30 they served one thousand four hundred and five customers,
distributing twenty-seven carloads, or one thousand two hundred and
seventy-six tons of coal. They own and utilize forty large trucks in de-
1538 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
liveries, and they hire an equal number, together with a large number of
horses to be used for short hauling in city work. This organization is
the largest independent coal company in the city, and while the business
is now one of extensive proportions, the main yards and offices are at
the same point where the enterprise was started about a half century ago.
HOFFMAN’S CAKE SPECIALTIES COMPANY
The business which is conducted under this name was established in
1923 as a partnership concern by W. Hoffman and A. F. Szczepanski, who
opened a small bakery at the corner of Harper and St. Aubin avenues,
originally employing but three men. The business was there conducted
until 1927 and grew rapidly, so that in that year the company purchased
a tract of land at 3301 Farnsworth avenue and erected a brick building
one hundred and thirty-eight by ninety-three feet. It is thoroughly mod-
ern in construction and equipment. Electric power is used in the opera-
tion of all machinery and the company manufactures cake specialties
exclusively. Employment is given to forty-five people and ten trucks are
used for delivery over a territory that includes Detroit and the surround-
ing towns as far as Wyandotte, Michigan. The plant is noted for the
excellence of its products and the Hoffman cakes are favorites wherever
served. The present officers are: A. F. Szczepanski, president; Mrs.
Celia Hoffman, vice president; and W. Hoffman, secretary,treasurer and
general manager. The wife of A. F. Szczepanski is also a director of
the company.
IRONRITE IRONER COMPANY
Almost every phase of industrial activity is represented in Detroit,
the city having thereby become one of the great industrial centers of the
world. To this result the Ironrite Ironer Company has contributed. The
business was established in Detroit in 1911 as a partnership concern, the
owners being H. A. Sperlich and J. H. Uhlig, who began operation on a
small scale. They employed a boy to assist them, but most of the work was
done by the partners. Their trade increased, however, and they gradually
took on other help. During the World war the whole plant was utilized
for the manufacture of parts for the American Car & Foundry Company
and gun carriages for the United States government.
In 1920 they began the manufacture of the Ironrite Ironer, on which
they have patents pending. Today the plant includes 22,000 Square feet
of floor space and is equipped with electric power Sectional units. The
Ironrite Dufold, sent out by the Ironrite Ironer Company, enables the
operator to sit while doing the work, which with the aid of the machine is
done quickly and in the best possible manner, there being a great Saving
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1539
of time and labor. The machine is neat and compact and when folded into
a dustproof cabinet becomes a handy table, while ball bearing casters per-
mit it to be easily rolled to any position.
The Ironrite is radically different from any other ironer. It is an iron-
ing machine—not a mangle—and anything can be ironed thereon. One of
its attractive features is that it has two open ends on which ironing may
be done, while the shoe is under the roll, carrying the steam and heat away
from ironed garments and away from the operator. Its operation is ex-
tremely simple, so that anyone can handle it successfully. It is an all metal
machine, rust proof. In addition to the Ironite Dufold the company also
manufactures the Ironrite Console, which is a beautiful piece of walnut
finished furniture that can be used in any part of a home. There is also
an open model Ironrite, which can be used where the laundry space does
not require a folding ironer, and also a Model 46, which is provided with a
46-inch roll, making it ideal for use where there is a large amount of flat
work to be ironed. The company now employs sixty men in the production
of their machines and is represented upon the road by twelve salesmen.
The product is sold all over the United States from Maine to California,
also in Palestine, Australia, South America and Alaska.
ARROW ROOFING AND SHEET METAL WORKS, INC.
Prominent among the well managed and rapidly growing business
concerns of Detroit is the Arrow Roofing and Sheet Metal Works, Inc., of
which Reynold W. Semmler is the founder and president. The business
was started on a small scale in 1923 at 4914 Hurlburt avenue, the working
force consisting of Mr. Semmler, who is an expert sheet metal worker,
and two apprentices. The venture proved a success from the start, the
high quality of his work gaining for Mr. Semmler a reputation which
proved his best advertisement, and at the end of three years the business
had grown to a point that made necessary the securing of larger quarters.
In 1926 he moved to 10315 East Warren avenue, but the volume of busi-
ness continued to double each year and in 1928 Mr. Semmler incorporated
the company, of which he became president. In 1929 they bought a tract
of ground at St. Jean avenue and the Detroit Terminal Railroad and here
built a modern brick and steel factory, equipped it with the most improved
machinery, operated by individual motors, and thus placed themselves in
a position to handle any size contracts. In addition to the main building,
they have large sheds for the storing of various stocks of roofing material.
The offices, which occupy a part of the main building, face on St. Jean
avenue and also are well equipped in every respect. The company does all
kinds of sheet metal work and specializes on roofing materials. Having
plenty of ground space for future additions to their buildings, the officers
of the company are looking forward to a new and larger factory building
in the near future. The three partners in the business are practical men
1540 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
in their line and the finest spirit of cooperation has marked their business
relations. It is interesting to note that Mr. Semmler’s first year’s busi-
ness amounted to about four thousand dollars and that the volume of busi-
ness in 1929 was two hundred thousand dollars.
Among the many recent contracts which this company has sucessfully
handled may be mentioned the roofing and sheet metal work on the Villa
Merrillac Orphanage, on Twelve Mile road; the Central Community cen-
ter house; the junior high school building in Owosso, Michigan; residence
of Charles T. Fisher, at Grosse Ile; the Connors Creek pumping station
for the city of Detroit; Jefferson Clairpoint, for the city of Detroit; the
Walker-Linden Company, of Detroit; the Birmingham Golf and Country
Club house; the residence of Mr. Smith, of Smith, Hinchman & Grylls,
architects, of Detroit; the Dean Robinson home, on Kenwood avenue, De-
troit. The company employs sixty men and untilizes four trucks in the
transporting of materials. Their operations are not confined to Detroit, as
they also do considerable work in other cities of Michigan, their outside
work constantly increasing in volume. The officers of the Arrow Roofing
and Sheet Metal Works are, Reynold W. Semmler, president and treas-
urer; August Dreves, vice president, and A. J. Berschbach, secretary.
BRASS PRODUCTS COMPANY
In 1910 the Brass Products Company of Detroit came into existence
with William H. Gehring as president, A. H. Forrest as vice president
and W. C. Ouellette as secretary and treasurer. The company purchased
a large tract of land on East Palmer avenue and built a modern one-story
plant of mill construction. From the outset the business has steadily
grown. When in 1921 Mr. Ouellette sold his interest to Mr. Gehring and
Mr. Forrest, the latter became secretary and treasurer, which position
he retained until his death in 1928 when his widow succeeded him in the
office and still retains all of his interests in the business.
The company manufactures a complete line of brass fixtures for
water faucets, drain cocks, for plumbing, etc., and its output is sold all
Over the United States, the company maintaining its own sales organiza-
tion. The plant is operated by electric power in the individual unit system
and its machinery is thoroughly modern in every respect. In the beginning
the company furnished employment to twenty men, but such has been the
growth of the trade that there are now sixty names in the pay roll.
FRUEHAUF TRAILER COMPANY
The Fruehauf Trailer Company controls one of the important indus-
tries which have made Detroit known throughout the world as a great
manufacturing center. The business was founded in 1894 by August C.
Fruehauf, an expert blacksmith and wagonmaker, who opened a small
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1541
Shop on the west side, on Grand River avenue, between Sixth and Seventh
Streets, where he engaged in shoeing horses and making heavy duty
wagons for the use of coal and lumber dealers. Later he secured more
commodious quarters on Gratiot avenue and increased the number of
employes, hiring four or five competent assistants.
Alert to the trend of the times, Mr. Fruehauf built the first semi-
trailer in 1914, when trucks began to supplant horses in the cartage and
hauling business. His original device, a two-wheeled affair built for the
Fred Sibley Lumber Company, a Detroit firm, who hooked it to a model
T Ford, proved an instant success and the enterprise grew rapidly from
that time. It was continued on Gratiot avenue until 1919 and additional
Space was acquired, while at times employment was furnished to forty
IſlēIl.
In 1915 Harvey C. and Harry R. Fruehauf, the sons of the founder,
entered the firm and at once began to assist their father in developing the
business. Their first sales were to lumber dealers of Detroit and gradual-
ly they extended their trade connections to all parts of the middle west and
throughout the eastern states, numbering various lines of transportation
among their patrons. By 1919 they had outgrown the Gratiot avenue
factory and made arrangements for future growth by purchasing over
five acres of land on Harper avenue and the terminal of the Grand Trunk
Railroad, erecting on the property a large modern plant, which has been
increased from time to time in order to meet the demands of the trade.
The last addition was completed in 1929 and they now have one hundred
and ten thousand square feet of floor space in this building. Their equip-
ment comprises the latest and most improved appliances for work of this
character and electric power is used, one-half of the machines being oper-
ated on the individual unit system. In July, 1929, they leased a large
factory on Grinnell avenue, near the main plant, thus securing an addi-
tional floor space of thirty thousand square feet, which is used for the
building and painting of trailer bodies. Recently they acquired control
of the Warner Manufacturing Company of Beloit, Wisconsin, numbered
among the oldest manufacturers of trailers in the country. This concern
is well established in the hauling field and has distributors in more than
twenty of the principal cities of the country. It will continue to operate
as an independent unit but will be removed to Detroit as soon as possible
and all administration and production activities will be centered here.
The Fruehauf Trailer Company are manufacturers of pole trailers,
semi-trailers, full automatic trailers, four-wheel trailers and heavy duty
carryalls, while they also make trailers to order. They have their own
sales organization and distributing branches and offices in the large cities
of the United States, while they are also represented in Toronto, Canada.
They likewise sell their output to automobile dealers throughout the coun-
try and they own and control practically all patents on trailer manufac-
turing. This old and well known organization enjoys the two-fold dis-
tinction of being the pioneers in the development of trailers and the larg—
est exclusive manufacturers of trailers in the world. They have ever been
1542 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
animated by the spirit of progress and have always been the leaders in
new and better improvements in their trailers, which have saved hun-
dreds of thousands of dollars in transportation costs. The rapid growth
of the industry is further indicated in the fact that in 1915 the firm had
assets of twenty-three thousand dollars and seven or eight men were on
its payroll, while today the organization furnishes work to from five hun-
dred to five hundred and fifty employes and its assets amount to two mil-
lion dollars.
The business was conducted on a partnership basis until February,
1918, when the Fruehauf Trailer Company was incorporated with a
capital stock of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and the following
officers were elected: August C. Fruehauf, president; Harvey C. Fruehauf,
vice president and general manager; and Earl L. Vosler, Secretary-treas-
urer. The present executives of the corporation are: August C. Fruehauf,
chairman of the board; Harvey C. Fruehauf, president and general
manager; Earl L. Vosler, first vice president, treasurer and director of
manufacturing operations; Harry R. Fruehauf, vice president and direc-
tor of the purchasing department; G. W. Chamberlain, vice president and
sales manager; and Roy L. Jacobs, secretary.
STAR CARPET CLEANING COMPANY
Industry and sound judgment are the basis of all business successes,
and this is manifest in the record of the Star Carpet Cleaning Company,
which was established February 1, 1893, by J. J. Trudell, Sr., under the
present name. The business was first located at 580 Krogan street, now
Monroe avenue, where a rental of ten dollars per month was paid. It was
a small plant on the back of the lot in an old shed, and only hand clean-
ing was done. Mr. Trudell doing much of the work but employing a man
a part of the time. He remained at the original location for three years
and then removed to an old furniture shop at 180 Catherine street in 1896.
While there he had more men and better equipment and also used three
delivery wagons. His equipment included a revolving machine for clean-
ing rugs and carpets, for there was no scouring or washing of rugs at
that time. About 1896 he started scouring rugs, first by hand, but later a
machine was developed for this purpose. Mr. Trudell was the first man
to scrub rugs in Detroit and one of the first in the country, and at all
times he has followed progressive methods in his work. He gradually
added to his plant until he had about five thousand square feet of floor
space and in 1914 he removed to his present location, having built a new
plant at 2184 Mount Elliott avenue and later a further addition. The
building is ninety by one hundred and sixty feet, two stories in part, while
a section is three stories. Here the company can handle the largest rugs
made and regularly cleans a forty by seventy foot rug for the Detroit
Athletic Club. For years the company has done the work in their line for
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1543
the foremost hotels and clubs of the city as well as for many private homes.
The process now is to first remove the dust by hand or machine, as neces-
sary, and then wash every rug, using only soap and water, there being now
no steam-cleaning process. Much of the machinery used in the plant is of
their own design and has evolved from the experience of the firm. Today
the Star Carpet Cleaning Company utilizes sixteen motor trucks in call-
ing for and delivering goods. The capacity of the plant is such that even
during the busy seasons all jobs brought in on Monday are delivered on
Wednesday. Theirs is one of the largest plants devoted entirely to carpet
cleaning in the country and during the busy season from sixty to seventy-
five people are employed. Equipment has been secured for the most effi-
cient and complete cleaning and handling processes. They store rugs and
carpets that have been cleaned, use a conveyor equipment to speed up the
drying, also do repair work, put on new fringes and resew carpets and
rugs where needed. They likewise do moth prevention work.
The Officers of the company are: J. J. Trudell, Sr., president and
treasurer; Lewis M. Trudell, secretary; and J. J. Trudell, Jr., vice presi-
dent. The two latter are sons of the head of the company. The business
has been one of substantial growth and is classed with a creditable and
profitable enterprises of the city.
CENTRAL CUT STONE COMPANY
The Central Cut Stone Company began business in Detroit in 1916
under a partnership relation between William Kittles and Ernest W.
Nigg. They began handling building stone, principally Indiana limestone
from the quarries at Bedford, Indiana. The business was started in a
small way on Theodore street with only a few employes. When America
entered the World war in 1917 both of the partners enlisted and the busi-
ness was closed out, Mr. Kittles serving with the army and Mr. Nigg in
the navy. Both remained on active duty until the close of hostilities and
On returning to Detroit they began business all over again. They leased
a factory on Moran street and the Grand Trunk Railroad and later pur-
chased a factory. As the demands of the trade increased they added new
buildings, installing modern machinery and every appliance necessary to
improve the output. A tramway of three hundred and eight feet runs
through the factory, from which immense blocks of stone are unloaded by
a powerful traveling crane. The stone is then cut by large diamond set
saws to the various sizes required by the building trade. The main fac-
tory is three hundred and eight by one hundred and eighty feet, while
another building is two hundred and twenty by sixty and the third nine-
ty by sixty feet. The factory is equipped with three large diamond saws,
six planers and two powerful traveling cranes and has storage space for
twenty thousand cubic feet of stone. In addition to limestone, the com-
pany handles Ohio Sandstone.
1544 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
The Central Cut Stone Company has furnished stone for approxi-
mately two hundred of Detroit's school buildings and many other public
buildings of the city. The new Telephone building on Six Mile road was
also built of Indiana limestone furnished by the company. They employ
four skilled draftsmen in the office and about thirty skilled mechanics and
stonecutters in the factory. The company was organized in 1918, and in
1922 the business was incorporated with William Kittles as the president,
and Ernest W. Nigg as secretary-treasurer.
CAPITOL UNDERWRITERS AGENCY, INC.
The Capitol Underwriters Agency, Inc., one of the strong organiza-
tions in the insurance field in Detroit, came into existence in January,
1925, as the successor of the Capitol Insurance Agency, which started
business in 1919 as a partnership between R. C. Smith and Charles W.
DuPont. They handled fire insurance and the partnership relation was
continued until 1923, when Mr. Smith withdrew and was succeeded by
H. C. Stevenson and Harry E. Mills. The next year the business was in-
corporated and with the passing of time they broadened the scope of their
activities so that in 1925 they were carrying all kinds of insurance and
controlling a business that covered the entire United States and handling
marine insurance throughout the entire world. Theirs is one of the largest
insurance agencies in Detroit, although one of the youngest. Back of the
conduct of the business is an executive force of capable men who at all
times have developed their interests through close application, dependa-
bility and unfaltering perserverance. The officers of the company are:
Charles W. DuPont, president; Fred L. Jarvis, vice president; and Harry
E. Mills, secretary-treasurer.
- - THE WOLVERINE BOLT COMPANY
The Wolverine Bolt Company, situated at 9685 Grinnell avenue, East,
Detroit, is one of the important manufacturing concerns of its kind in the
Motor City, and is engaged in the making of bolts exclusively, a large part
of the product being sold to the automobile factories of Detroit and vi-
cinity. The remainder of the product is sold to the hardware trade in the
principal cities of Michigan.
The Wolverine Bolt Company was incorporated March 17, 1927, by
David M. Ireland, the president of the company. His son, David B. Ire-
land, is secretary and treasurer and John J. Kline is manager of the com-
pany. The company began business in a factory located on French road
off Gratiot avenue, and here operated until the fall of 1929. The business
of the concern had so increased by this time that more room was neces-
sary. Accordingly, three acres of land were purchased on Grinnell ave-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1545
nue, East, near the new municipal airport, and a modern factory building
was constructed. This building is known as a class A structure, nothing
but steel, brick and glass being used in its structural composition. There
are thirty thousand Square feet of floor space available for the strictly
up-to-date machinery which is operated by individual units of electric
motor power. At the beginning, this company had only twenty-five em-
ployes, but in the succeeding interval this has been doubled.
AJAX BOLT & SCREW COMPANY
In 1917 the Ajax Bolt & Screw Company of Detroit was organized and
succeeded to the business of the General Screw Products Company, with
G. J. Maertens as president and treasurer, Paul J. Dirksen as vice presi-
dent and general manager and Oscar Ruyffelaere as secretary. The busi-
ness was started in a small way with a few workmen at Holcomb and
Forest avenues, but the next year a removal was made to a larger factory
on Gratiot avenue which was purchased by the company. From that time
forward the business expanded rapidly and the company now has a large
brick plant containing thirty thousand feet of floor space and also leases
eight thousand feet of additional space for storage purposes. Its employes
number sixty men, many of whom are highly skilled mechanics. The fac-
tory is of modern mill construction, equipped with electric power. Seventy-
five per cent of the product is sold in Detroit, while the balance is shipped
elsewhere and the company is represented by a large sales force. They
manufacture bolts and screws exclusively and keep an extensive stock on
hand, being thus equipped to fill any order, no matter how large, on short
notice.
F. M. SIBLEY LUMBER COMPANY
In June, 1896, the F. M. Sibley Lumber Company came into being,
organized by F. M. Sibley, now deceased, who opened a retail lumber yard
at the southeast corner of Kercheval avenue and Beaufait street. The
business was incorporated in 1909, at which time the founder and pro-
moter became president of the company and so continued until his death,
which occurred in October, 1912. In the meantime the business has been
broadened in its scope to include a small factory for the manufacture of
sash, doors and interior trim. The first wing of the present large plant
for the manufacturing of that line was built in 1907 and is a frame struc-
ture. The main factory was erected in 1916 and there is now extensive
floor space devoted to the manufacture of sash, doors and interior trim.
The company sells almost entirely to the retail trade and the business is
handled in seven yards—four in Detroit, one in Dearborn, one in High-
land Park and one in Melvindale. About eighty motor trucks are used for
1546 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
delivery purposes. Employment is given to approximately four hundred
and fifty people and the company secures its lumber mostly from the west
coast and the south. During the war period the firm made thousands of
anchor blocks which were used in mine laying and were made of a wood
particularly adapted for this purpose. Their output also included great
quantities of crates for the shipment of various war materials abroad.
The business has steadily grown and developed and the present officers
are: Fred M. Sibley, who took over the presidency at the time of his
father’s death; M. M. Sibley, who is vice president; and H. H. Berger,
secretary and treasurer.
THE MARK R. HANNA COMPANY
The Mark R. Hanna Company of Detroit, general contractors and
manufacturers of Paris System Transit Mixed Concrete was incorporated
in 1923. The present officers are as follows: Mark R. Hanna, president;
Alfred G. Wilson, first vice president; Roy W. Burks, second vice presi-
dent; Charles P. Sieder, third vice president; T. Webb Noland, treasurer,
and Harry S. Stark, secretary.
This company has undertaken and completed municipal, state, county
and private corporation contracts aggregating many millions of dollars
with the performance record of having in no instance defaulted in any
IOl3,1] Ile]".
In the prosecution of this large program of construction work thous-
ands of men have been steadily employed, and the feeling of mutual wel-
fare and loyalty which has existed in this organization has been most
pronounced. Because of the existence of this feeling, trouble, ordinarily
incidental to the employment of a large number of men, has been avoided.
DETROIT INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE COMPANY
On the 15th of November, 1929, there was opened to the use of the
public one of the most remarkable structures ever completed by the hands
of men, the Ambassador bridge, stretching from Detroit, Michigan, across
the Detroit river to Sandwich, Ontario. It is a beautiful structure, though
dignified in its simplicity, and is emblematic of the spirit of amity which
Gxists between these two countries. The idea of a bridge at this point had
been suggested at various times from 1874 down through the years, but
each time the project was defeated through the strong opposition of river
organizations and other influences. In 1924 plans for the Detroit Inter-
national bridge took definite form when a former citizen of Detroit, Joseph
A. Bower, became actively interested and took options on the rights of the
American Transit Company and the Canadian Transit Company, and,
with the McClintic-Marshall Company as engineering adviser, and Alfred
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1547
A. Cook as legal adviser, commenced the final, and ultimate successful,
effort to make the bridge a reality. A wire cable suspension bridge was
decided upon as the most suitable. Permission was gained from the
United States and Canadian governments; the state of Michigan and the
province of Ontario granted the sanction required of them, and the cities
of Detroit and Sandwich granted permission to cross streets, change lines
and grades, connect with sewers, etc., as required for approaches and
terminals. The river clearances were approved by the Lake Carriers AS-
sociation and the Dominion Marine Association, and the general plans and
clearances approved by the minister of public works of Canada and by
the secretary of war, on the recommendation of the chief of engineers,
United States Army.
The actual construction commenced May 7, 1927, on the American
side, and June 23, 1927, on the Canadian side. Approximately two and a
half years later the bridge was opened to traffic, and thus came true the
boyhood dreams of the present president of the bridge company, Joseph
A. Bower, who is now vice president of the New York Trust Company and
a prominent figure in the financial circles of Detroit.
The bridge structure itself is approximately seven thousand four
hundred feet in length, while adjoining the ends of the structure proper
are two terminals, each roughly equivalent to a large city block in area.
The distance from entrance to exit is approximately nine thousand feet,
or almost two miles. The main span, between the towers, is eighteen hun-
dred and fifty feet in length, or one hundred feet longer than the Phila-
delphia-Camden bridge, which was formerly the longest suspension bridge
in the world. The bridge carries an unobstructed roadway, forty-seven
feet wide, with a capacity of five lanes of traffic, and an eight-foot side-
walk.
There are two main cables, each of which is about nineteen inches in
diameter. Each comprises eight thousand and sixty-six parallel and close-
ly compacted steel wires, of about lead pencil thickness. The sections be-
tween the main towers and the anchorages are occupied by two series of
'deck truss spans, six in number on the United States side and five on the
Canadian side, the respective distances being nine hundred and seventy-
two feet and eight hundred and seventeen feet. The approach on the
United States side is fourteen hundred and eighty feet and on the Cana-
dian side two thousand four hundred and twenty feet long. The bridge is
illuminated by a modern system of street lighting with six hundred candle
power lamps, approximately twenty feet above the pavement, refractors
being provided so as to distribute the light most efficiently long the road-
Way.
The main piers which support the two steel towers are located close to
the two harbor lines, leaving the entire stretch of available navigable
water free from obstruction. Each of the two piers supports a super-
imposed load of almost twenty thousand tons and is composed of two con-
crete cylinders, one under each tower column. The cylinders are thirty-
eight feet in diameter and are carried about one hundred and fifteen feet
1548 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
down through the clay and sand to a firm bearing on the natural limestone
rock. Each of the anchorages of the cables comprise two portions, of
which the larger is buried from view and consists of two rectangular con-
crete blocks, twenty-two and a half feet wide, one hundred feet long in
the direction of the bridge axis, and about one hundred feet deep to natur-
al rock. The other portions in the superstructures, are composed entirely
of concrete, with an effective surface finish. They rise over one hundred
feet above the ground, or as high as an average eight-story commercial
building. Their function is to resist the pull of approximately eight thou-
sand tons on each of the main cables.
The clearance of the bridge over high water in the river is one hun-
dred and thirty-five feet near the shore and one hundred and fifty-two
feet for a short distance near the center of the span. This allows the pas-
sage of vessels with stacks, masts or funnels twenty feet higher than any
now plying on the lakes and sixty feet higher than any present freighters.
An idea of the magnitude of this bridge may be gained from the follow-
ing statement of approximate quantities of different kinds of materials
entering into its construction : Structural steel and cable wire, 24,000
tons; concrete masonry, 25,000 cubic yards; cement, 40,000 barrels; road-
way pavement, 60,000 square yards; sidewalk, 8,000 square yards; rivets
driven, 2,000,000; terminal buildings, 540,000 cubic feet; maximum num-
ber of laborers employed simultaneously, 550.
The officers and directors of the Detroit International Bridge Company
are as follows: J. A. Bower, president; J. L. Fozard, vice president and
general manager; J. W. Austin, vice president; Sherman D. Callender,
secretary-treasurer; Frederick G. Brown, assistant secretary, and David
Graham, assistant treasurer; directors, J. W. Austin, J. A. Bower, Sher-
man D. Callender, Alfred A. Cook, Alfred C. Dent, David Graham and
Jansen Noyes. The officers and directors of the Canadian Transit Com-
pany are as follows: J. A. Bower, president; J. W. Austin, vice president;
J. L. Fozard, secretary-treasurer; Frederick G. Brown, assistant secre-
tary, and David Graham, assistant treasurer; directors, J. W. Austin, J.
A. Bower, Alfred A. Cook, Alfred C. Dent, J. L. Fozard, David Graham
and Jansen Noyes. The Detroit International Bridge Company owns all
of the stock of the Canadian Transit Company.
THE STUBES COMPANY
As producers of high grade advertising material The Stubbs Com-
pany, at 1915 West Fort street, Detroit, is one of the largest and best
known concerns in this part of the country. It was established in Octo-
ber, 1909, under the name of the Bennett-Stubbs Lithograph Company, at
115 State street, the partners being a Mr. Bennett and Charles W. Stubbs.
They did a general line of lithograph work, employing about ten people,
and succeeding in building up a good business. Later the name of the con-
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1549
cern was changed to the Graphic Art Company, which continued for
about a year, when Mr. Bennett withdrew from the firm, the name being
changed to the Stubbs Lithographic Company. In its early days the com-
pany specialized in the printing of letter heads, stationery, labels and
similar work, but in about 1920 it began to put its main efforts to the pro-
duction of direct advertising material, and at that time the firm name
assumed its present form as The Stubbs Company. Three processes are
used by the company, lithographing, letter press printing and rotogra-
vure, and it does much original creative work, as well as work on the
specifications of others. Practically all of its business is now with nation-
al advertisers, among whom many be mentioned the H. J. Heinz Company,
the Matag Company, the Hudson Motor Car Company, the Packard Motor
Car Company, the J. B. Ford Company, the Kilometer Corporation and the
Chrysler Corporation.
From State street the business was moved to the corner of John and
Elizabeth streets, but the continued growth of the business demanding
still more room, in 1922 the plant was moved to its present location at
1915 West Fort street, where approximately fifty thousand square feet of
floor space is utilized. Normally one hundred people are employed, the
most of whom are highly skilled workmen, receiving from three thousand
to thirty-five hundred dollars a year. The present officers of The Stubbs
Company are as follows: Charles W. Stubbs, president; H. A. Springer,
vice president; Benjamin A. Karrer, secretary, and Ernest M. Massnick,
treasurer.
D. C. MILLEVILLE LAND COMPANY
The D. C. Milleville Land Company of Detroit, a partnership concern,
was founded in 1907 as an independent enterprise by Daniel C. Milleville,
who entered upon his career as a speculative builder in that year, erecting
and selling homes and business property in Detroit. He remained alone
until 1922, when he admitted his brother-in-law, Fred De Lodder, to a
partnership, and then formed the D. C. Milleville Land Company, becom-
ing its president and manager, while Mr. De Lodder is serving in the dual
capacity of secretary and treasurer.
Among a few of the larger subdivisions. developed by Mr. Milleville
were one of forty acres at Rockwood on Lake Erie and one of fourteen
acres at Huron Point. From 1908 until 1920 he was engaged in the con-
struction of homes and apartment buildings in East Detroit and also built
the Del-The Theater at the corner of Mack avenue and Holcomb street in
1916. With his associates he now owns six motion picture houses in De-
troit, operating four and leasing the other two. These are the Del-The
on Mack avenue; the Flamingo on Six Mile road; the Maxine on Mack
avenue; the Aloma at 15001 Charlevoix avenue in Grosse Pointe; Your
Theater on Forest, near Mount Elliott avenue; and the East End Théater
1550 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
at 11510–16 Jefferson. All are thoroughly modern, equipped for the pre-
sentation of talking pictures, and offer to their many patrons the finest
attractions of the silver screen. Well organized and capably conducted,
the business of the D. C. Milleville Land Company has grown steadily
since its inception, and today the organization is operating on an extensive
scale.
THE FRANK H. WILSON COMPANY
The Frank H. Wilson Company, located at 3442 West Fort street in
Detroit and engaged in the manufacture of automatic screw machine
products, was established in April, 1925, by Frank H. Wilson, of whom a
biography appears elsewhere in this publication. The enterprise estab-
lished and fostered by Mr. Wilson was based on his years of experience in
connection with the automobile industry and his keen observation of the
opportunities therein, and the company has gained a pronounced success
since its inception. The plant has always been located at the present
address, and the product is turned out principally for the automobile
manufacturers. An average of about twenty-five people are employed in
this plant, and all the products are made of steel, the material being
handled up to eleven sixteenths of an inch in diameter. Modern methods
are employed throughout the plant, and it is in every way a credit to the
ingenuity and perserverance of the owner and manager.
THE ROBERT KELLER INK COMPANY
From small quarters in the basement of his drug store at the corner
of Third street and Warren avenue, in Detroit, to a modern, four-story,
reinforced concrete building, situated at 1441 Brooklyn avenue, and con-
taining twenty thousand square feet of floor space, Robert Keller has de-
veloped the business established by himself in 1889. He was a druggist
who had come to America from Switzerland in the year 1881, and two
years later removed to Detroit, where he was soon established in his own
drug business. Mr. Keller first made some ink about 1886, and in 1889
began in earnest to enter the manufacture of his creation, fitting up the
basement of his drug store for the purpose. His first products consisted of
inks, pastes, mucilage and sealing wax. About 1894, the business having
grown, he built a small plant on Osborn Place, but he soon outgrew this
and moved to West Fort street, east of Twelfth street, where he made
many additions. Just before the World war, he sold this property, then
rented space until he could erect his present up-to-date building a short
time afterward. The business was incorporated in 1894, with Mr. Keller
as president, the same as at present. He works out all of the products of
his company and they are marked in the neighboring states, with some
WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT 1551
exportation, under the trade name of Keller. As business conditions have
changed in the country, the type of product has also naturally undergone
some change. Many process inks, of all shades and colors, and water-
proof, are made, principally for silk stencils. Inks and paints are made
for display advertising and show cards. There are also drawing inks,
stamp inks, hectograph inks, and rotary duplicate inks. Some of the old
inks, such as copying ink, are not used today, but there has been a corres-
ponding increase in the manufacture of pastes and glue. The Robert
Keller Ink Company is an interesting unit in the manufacturing field of
Detroit, and the success of the concern may be attributed directly to the
ability and sagacity of the founder and owner, Robert Keller.
THE PRODUCTION TOOL COMPANY OF AMERICA, INC.
The Production Tool Company of America, Inc., situated at 6474 Le
Grand avenue in Detroit, is engaged in the manufacture of high speed
steel cutting tools. This concern was established in June, 1916, by Peter
J. Terres, who has been president and manager since its inception.
Horace J. Caulkins was secretary and treasurer from the beginning until
his death in 1928, at which time John D. Currie succeeded to the Office.
The initial operations of this company were conducted in a small way in
a plant on Palmer avenue, and about ten men were employed. The busi-
ness expanded to such an extent that more space became necessary, and
accordingly in 1919 the company bought a tract of land at 6474 Le Grand
avenue and erected thereon a modern factory building. Mill construction
was installed, with the latest electrically powered machinery, one half of
which is composed of individual units motor driven. About fifty skilled
mechanics are now employed. The product manufactured by this com-
pany consists of high speed steel cutting tools used by automobile and
machine manufacturers throughout the United States. The product is
sold Over the whole country to jobbers, also some export business is con-
ducted. The company has its own sales organization. The reputation and
success of this company has been developed strictly upon the high excel-
lence and uniform quality of the tools which have been manufactured.
THE ENTERPRISE MACHINE PARTS CORPORATION
The Enterprise Machine Parts Corporation, of Detroit, was estab-
lished in 1928 and Specializes in machine parts and tools used in automo-
bile factories, also makes tools, dies and jigs. The officers of this success-
ful young manufactory are as follows: Edward H. Proefke, president;
E. C. Jex, vice president; and B. T. Hathaway, secretary and treasurer.
The corporation owns a modern brick, glass and steel factory building,
specially designed for their purpose, with model lighting and ventilation,
1552 WAYNE COUNTY AND CITY OF DETROIT
and thoroughly equipped with up-to-date machinery operated with indi-
vidual units of electric motor power. The product of this factory has
gained a substantial reputation among motor car makers. The corpora-
tion retains its own designing and engineering staff and employs thirty-
two skilled mechanics. The plant is situated at 2731 Jerome street, near
Six Mile road.
INDEX
Aaron, the Mohawk---------------- 110
Abbott, Edward ------------------- 137
Abbott, James –––––––––––––––––––– 1016
Abbott, James, Jr.------------------ 209
Abbott, James, Sr. ----------------- 209
Abbott, John S. ------------------- 823
Abbott owned City Block___________ 1097
Abbott, Robert ---------------- 209, 242
Abbott, Samuel ------------------- 209
Aboriginal inhabitants ––––––––––––– 11
Acme Pie Company________________ 1472
Acme Stamp Company--___________ 1479
Act of 1809–– –––––––––––––––––––– 762
Act of 1827–––––––––––––––––––––––– 766
Act of May 7, 1800––––––––––––––––– 410
Adams, John –––––––––––––––––––––– 226
Addresses at public meeting_________ 467
Adhémar, St. Martin --------------- 194
Adoption of “The Higher Law”------ 1122
Advance Guard Fired On---________ 275
Aerial Navigation, Growth of --__ 1174
Against Admission ––––––––––––––– 249
Aggressive and Successful Campaign,
An ---------------------------- 1116
Agricultural progress retarded ---_1273
Agricultural Societies ––––––––––––– 1277
Agriculture, the First Industry______ 1271
Aircraft -------------------------- 1176
Aircraft Industry ----------------- 1397
Aircraft Industry today –––––––––––– 1175
Aircraft Motors ------------------- 1176
Air Lines, Other------------------ 1179
Ajax Bolt & Screw Company________ 1545
Alger, Russell A. ––––––––––––––––– 1142
Allen Col’poration, The ----- ––––––– 1476
Allen Park –––––––––––––––––––––––– 447
Ambassador Bridge ------_________ 1181
American Writers, Early --_________ 867
Amherst, General ----------------- 72
Amherst, Sir Jeffery --------------- 75
American forces gather ----------- 300
American Injector Company --_______ 1500
American Legion Band ------------- 523
American Loan & Trust Company - 1257
American merchants, First ------ 1283
American National Bank ------ - ---- 1070
American regime, Beginning of ---- 223
American State Bank______________ 1268
American State Bank of Dearborn_-1259
American State Bank of Detroit --- 1253
American State Bank of Highland
Park
Amusements of earlier days ---_____ 942
“An affair of honor”-----__________ 927
Anchor Steel & Engineering Co. ---- 1493
Ancrum, Maj. William ----__________ 185
Anderson, James -----------_______ 205
Anderson, John --______________ 184, 209
Another attempt to open street --____ 1055
Another claimant ------__________ 1028
Anthon, Dr. Geo. C. --____________ 595
Anti-slavery sentiment --______ ___ 1111
Appeals for aid broadcast --- - - - 252
Appropriations by council__________ 496
Archbishop Whitfield ----__________ 1031.
Area, population ------------------ 340
“Armed neutrality message” ---____ 506
Army council called ------________ 273
Army plan –––––––––––––––––––––––– 224
Arrow Roofing and Sheet Metal
Works, Inc. -------------------- 1539
Articles of capitulation --__________ 287
Articles of confederation -----______ 224
Artistic and cultural development --- 839
Arts Commission, The ---__________ 864
Ashley & Dustin -------___________ 1482
Askin, John, 206, 269, 749, 956;
Sketch of -–––––––––––––––––––––– 310
Askin, John, Jr. ------------------- 272
Asmus Brothers ---________________ 1486
Attack on Fort Le Boeuf ––––––––––– 98
Attorneys of Detroit ---_______ ___ 577
Attwater, Reuben ---__________ 265, 1298
Auditors, County –––––––––––––––––– 1208
Audrain, Peter -------------------- 1014
Authors --------------------- 839 et seq.
Automobile accessories ------------ 1391
. Automobile bodies -------_________ 1391
Automobile in census ------________ 1361
“Automobile city plus”---___ - - - - - - - - 1315
Awarded D. S. C. (World war) ------ 528
Awarded naval decorations ---_____ 531
B
Baby, Francis -------------------- 267
Baby house --------------------- 267
Baby, Jacques Duperon -----_______ 194
Backus, Chas. K. --_______________ 871
Bacon, David ------------------ 688, 746
Bacon, Leonard ------------------- 870
Bacon Select School ----___________ 824
Badger, Rev. Joseph ---___________ 691
Bagg, John S.--------------------- 1064
1553
1554
INDEX
Bagley, John J. ––––––––––––––––––– 1141
Baker, Col. Daniel ––––––– ––––––––– 256
Baker, William -------------------- 206
Baldwin, Henry P. ----------------- 1138
Bankers and Merchants Telegraph
Co. ---------------------------- 361
Bankers Trust Company ---________ 1269
Bankers Trust Co. ---------------- 1257
Banking law, First general---______ 1228
Banking supremacy of Detroit ––––– 1260
Banking venture, The first --________ 1210
Bank merger closes colorful history__1266
Bank mergers –––––––––––––––––––– 1262
Bank of Brest --------------------- 1229
Bank of Detroit -------- 1253, 1268, 1431
Bank of Detroit in 1922 ----________ 1253
Bank officials, Personnel of --_____ 1267
Bank of Michigan -------_____ 1262, 1268
Bank of Sandstone at Jackson ------ 1230
Banks and trust companies –––––––– 1266
Banks, Early ––––––––––––––––––––– 1214
Banks of Wayne county____________ 1258
Banks reflect industrial growth ----1261
Banner Laundering Co., The --______ 1447
Baptist centenary, The --___________ 715
Baptist church -------------------- 1100
Barber, H. L., quoted --____________ 1858
Barclay, Thomas ------------------ 257
Barcy–Nicholson Co., The. --_______ 1463
Barker Tool, Die & Gauge Company -1527
Barnes-Gibson-Raymond Company,
Inc. ---------------------------- 1533
Barr, Robert ---------------------- 872
Barton Brothers Steel Company ––––1516
Bassett, Maj. Henry --_____________ 119
Batchelder-Wasmund Company, The 1504
Bates, Frederick __________________ 243
Bates, George C. ------------------ 253
Bates, Lewis J. ------------------- 872
Battery C (Civil war) --___________ 489
Battery I (Civil war) --____________ 489
Battery K (Civil war) --___________ 489
Battery L. (Civil war) --____ _ _ _____ 490
Battery M. (Civil war) --__________ 490
Battle of Monguagon ---___________ 281
Baudry, Jacques ------------------- 91
Bayard, Maj. Robert ---____________ 118
Beaubien, Jean Baptiste L__ ___ _____ 955
Beaufait, Louis --------------- 245, 1022
Beauharnois, Governor ---__________ 65
Beckwith, George --________________ 190
Beech ---------------------------- 442
Beginning of American regime _____ 223
Beginning of hostilities (Black Hawk
War) --------------------------- 458
Beginning of modern industry --____ 1323
Bell Branch -----_________ _ _ _ _ 442
Belle Isle ------------------- 3, 371, 915
Belle Isle Bridge, The ---__________ 1179
Belle Isle Park ____________________ 936
Bellestre, Sieur de ---______________ 63
Belleville ------------------------- 432
Bennett, Lieut. Thomas ------------ 188
Benthy, John –––––––––––––––––––––– 1037
Benthy, Mary –––––––––––––––––––– 1039
Berthelet, Henry ------------------ 311
Berthelet, Peter --------___________ 1290
Besemer & Rabe --_________________ 1481
Biddle, Maj. John ------------- 245, 325
Big Brownstown Creek _____________ 4
Bird, Capt. Henry__144 f. n., --_____ 183
Bishop Borgess ------------------- 1027
Bishop Rese's death -----__________ 1026
Blackburn rescue and riot -----_____ 1123
Black Hawk to President Jackson ---- 462
Black Hawk war ------------------ 457
Black-robed missionaries -----______ 23
Bland, Thomas -------------------- 224
Bloody Run ––––––––––––––––––––––– 105
Board of Commerce organized --____ 1310
Board of Education ---____________ 775
Board of Education members, present 790
Board of Estimates established ----1075
Board of Estimates provided for ---- 330
Boats a necessity ----------------- 947
Boishebert, Sieur de ----------_____ 64
Bonnart, Father ––––––––––––––––––– 50
Borgess, Rt. Rev. Caspar ------ 808, 1027
Bond between priest and judge ----- 7.58
“Boulevard Randall” --________ 378, 1148
Boulevards –––––––––––––––––––––––– 376
Boulevards and parks of Detroit ----1145
Boundaries in 1815 ––––––––––––––––– 413
Boundary contentions –––––––––––––– 224
Boundary lines -------------------- 339
Boundary placed ------------------ 223
Boundary troubles—Ohio-Michigan -- 462
Bouquet, Colonel ------------------ 117
Bourg mont deserts post ---_________ 54
Bourg mont, Sketch of -----_________ 55
“Boy Governor” ---________________ 1137
Boynton, Doctor ------------------- 361
Braddock, General ---______________ 71
Bradstreet, Col. John --____________ 116
Brady chartered steamer “Illinois” — 469
Branch libraries ------------------- 851
Brant, Joseph ----------------- 160, 227
Brass Products Company ----______ 1540
Brehm, Captain, quoted ----________ 149
Brevoort, Henry ------------------- 301
British held on -------------------- 181
British occupation of Detroit, 1760–
1775, 75; 1775-1783, 121; 1783-1796 - 181
Brock and troops arrive ---________ 283
Brock, Gen. Isaac -------_______ 244, 283
Brown, Adam -------------------- 211
Brown, Brig.-Gen. J. W. --_________ 463
Brown, Dr. William L_______ _ 241 f. m, 595
Brown, Henry B. L________________ 1137
Brown-Hutchinson Iron Works --___ 1516
Brown-Morris Company ---_________ 1530
Brownstown battle --______________ 275
Brownstown township -----_________ 418
Bruce, Maj. Thomas -----
INDEX
1555
Brush Electric Light Co. -- - - - - - 359
Brush, Elijah - - - - - - - - - 260, 266, 285
Brush farm, The - - - - - - --_______ 125
Bryant Linen Supply -- ------------ 1462
Buffer state wanted . . ...----------- 223
Buhl, Christian H. ------________. 1096
Buhl Sons Co. -----________________ 1450
Building and loan associations -- ~~~ 1266
Burial grounds -------------------- 958
Burroughs Adding Machine, The -- 1351
Burton, Clarence M. (education) ____ 731
Burton, Clarence M., “History of De-
troit.” --------------------------- 870
Burton historical collection ----____ 853
Burton, Clarence M., quoted, 38, 203;
History of Grosse Ile, 447, 958;
Story of a title, 980; History of
Griswold street, 1035; Early farm
history ------------------------- 1271
Burton’s feature sketches ---_______ 915
Business colleges ---______________ 814
Business men of 1870 ----__________ 1293
Butler, Judge Richard -- ~-----______ 455
C
Cabinet members and foreign minis-
ters ---------------------------- 1142
Cadillac, 23; arrives, 31; sketch of,
31; returned to Canada, 32; outfits
expedition, 37; children of, 40; re-
ports to Count Pontchartrain, 45;
opposed by Jesuits, 46; wrote Vau-
dreuil, 54; went to France, 58; 203,
371; reported fire, 391; 450; brought
three horses here, 949; quoted ----- 1271
Cain, John -------------------- 209
Caldwell, William ---______________ 194
Calf Island ------------------------ 422
Caldwell, Capt. William --__________ 170
Called to answer charges____________ 52
Campau, Adelaide --_______________ 1048
Campau a Mason ------------------ 1013
Campau, Alexander Macomb---_____ 1073
Campau appeals again ------------- 1056
Campau, Barnabas ----------------- 374
Campau, Jacques ------------------ 104
Campau, John Barnabas____________ 1073
Campau, Joseph, 1011; big land own-
elſ ------------------------------ 1048
Campau makes proposal ------------ 1053
Campau purchases lot for $1,500----1047
Campbell, James V., 870, 1021, 1134, 1165
Campbell wrote Bouquet --_________ 74
Campbell, Maj. Robert ---_________ 234
Campbell, Capt. Donald, 75; describes
affairs, 80; murdered, 101; taken
prisoner ------, -, ---. ----------- 118
Camped on Bloody Run ------------- 469
Campus Martius ------------------ 349
Canadian boatmen sang ------______ 944
Canadian government acts --________ 466
Canadians open fire on Fighting
Island --------------------------- 468
Canadian Parliament ----------____ 202
Candler Roofing Company, Inc., J. D. 1494
Caniff, Abraham C.--______________ 1040
Canoe, first water craft ---------___ 1163
Canton Township ----______________ 419
Capital Underwriters Agency, Inc. - 1544
Capture of lake steamers --_________ 492
Captured officers sent to Montreal___ 288
Captures and casualties (World War) 511
Captures town of Fismes -----_______ 510
Carleton, Sir Guy (Lord Dorchester) - 188
Carleton, Will M. ------__________ 872
Carnegie gift an issue__ ___________ 855
Cars produced in 1920 - - - --------- 1364
Carson, Wm., Sr. --__________ 1066, 1086
Carter of the “Michigan” learns offi-
cers were tampered with . . . . . . . . . 494
Cartwright Floral Co. . . . . -----__1.480
Cartwright, James -----____________ 209
Casety, John ---------------------- 156
Cass, General -------------________ 1132
Cass, Governor ----------__________ 1145
Cass, Lewis, 244, 263; follows Hull__ 244
Cass, Lewis, quoted ----_____________ 93
Cass Farm ------------------------ 122
Cass issued proclamation ---________ 413
Cass Market --____________________ 1293
Cass organized volunteer company___ 304
Casualty report, 32d Div. (World
War) --------------------------- 514
Catholic orphan asylum -----_______ 399
Catholic parishes in recent years -- ~ 723
Catlin, George B., quoted ---------. 1233
Catlin’s “Story of Detroit” . . . . . . 346
Caton Pipe and Fittings Co. – 1461
Celoron, Pierre Joseph -----_________ 66
Cemeteries of Detroit
Census in 1782, 212; 1778, 166; 1820,
326; 1860 - . . . . . .------________. 491
Centennial history, First Presbyterian
Church ------------------------- 708
Centennial history, St. Paul’s Cathe-
dral ---------------------------- 707
Centennial of Central Methodist
Church -------------------------- 717
Central Cut Stone Company________ 1543
Central Distributing Company __1517
Central Railroad Station____________ 1107
Central Savings Bank -------______ 1253
Central Station Steam Co.--________ 1430
Central Woodward Christian Church 710
Century Chemical Products -------- 1464
Century of progress, A --------------. 779
Cerre, Joseph --------------------- 1011
Chadsey, Charles Ernest . . ... ------ 793
Chaffee & Company, Inc.__ __________ 1528
Chalmers Motor Corporation - - - 1377
Chamber of Commerce organized – 1306
Champlain, Samuel - L. --_________. 24
Chance to escape --________________ 138
1556
INDEX
Chandler & Dwight ________________ 1288
Chandler, Zachariah ---_______ 1138, 1287
Change in city government in 1881 – 333
Change to British control__________ 734
Chapman ------------------------- 96
Chapoton, Alexander -------------- 1297
Chapoton, Benoit ------------------ 988
Chapoton, Dr. Jean ---------------- 94
Chartered railroads --______________ 1187
Charter of 1802–––––––––––––––––––– 309
Charter revision in 1917 ----_______ 334
Chene, Isidore ––––––––––––––––––––– 156
Chene, Pierre --------------------- 86
Cherokee raid --------------------- 227
Cherry Hill ----------------------- 442
Chimneys, fireplaces regulated ------ 385
Chippewa, The -------------------- 13
Cholera kills 96 in six weeks________ 460
Chope, Edward -------------------- 1147
Christ Episcopal Church____________ 712
Christiancy, Isaac P. ---------------- 1138
Chronological history of 32d Div.
(World war) -------------------- 513
Chrysler Corporation –––––––––––––– 1390
Churches, early 675 ---__________ Et seq.
Churches in Detroit today___________ 728
Church farm, The -----___________ 980
Church of Ste. Anne --______________ 970
Church schools -------------------- 828
Cissne, Joseph ––––––––––––––––––––– 184
Citizens Bank of Hamtramck________ 1258
Citizens’ meetings and Board of Esti-
mates -------------------------- 1075
City and county financial history____1207
City and county participation in wars
of U. S. -------------------------- 457
“City Bakery” ---_________________ 1068
City began to expand --____________ 336
City builds street railways---_______ 369
City financial system ...--____________ 1208
City Hall on Site of Federal Building 1104
City Hall used as theatre ---_________ 1065
City Hall site --------------------- 342
City improvements ---------________ 1058
City Library Society --______________ 839
City motor bus service_-____________ 369
City of Fordson --__________________ 445
City of Lincoln Park ---___________ 444
City Police Commissioners__________ 384
City’s boundary lines ----__________ 339
City’s skyline changes ------________ 892
Civic celebration at Belle Isle Park__ 522
Civic development begun --__________ 253
Civil war, The -------------------- 473
Clark, George Rogers --_____ 138, 223, 954
Clark, John ––––––––––––––––––––––– 205
Clay --------------------------- 6
Clench & Metcalf Company --________ 1473
Climate --------------------------- 9
Cobweb Hall - ---------___________. 1083
Coca-Cola Bottling Works___________ 1470
Cody, Frank ----------------------- 794
Cole, Henry S. ________________ 325, 1069
College of Saint Philip Neri --_______ 805
College of St. Philip on the Malcher
farm --------------------------- 1018
Colleges and universities____________ 797
Collegiate education --------------- 795
Colonial Broach Company___________ 1518
Colonial Laundry Co. --_________ ___ 1409
Colored schools -------------------- 778
Columbia Motor Co. --______________ 1379
Commandants come and go ---_______ 64
Commerce and trade----------------- 1281
Commerce limited ------------------ 183
Commerce Motor Car Co. --_________ 1379
Commercial and industrial growth of
Detroit
Commercial organizations, Early his-
tory of ------------------------- 1299
Commercial State Savings Bank ____ 1254.
Commercial transactions, Early______ 1281
Commissioner arrives ---___________ 83
Commonwealth-Federal S a v in g s
Bank --------------------------- 1254
Company of Colony of Canada ------ 42
Conant, Shubael –––––––––––––– 323, 1283
Conditions" bad with no courts --____ 551
Condon, James ––––––––––––––––––––– 205
Condon, Redmond ------------------ 206
Conely, Edward F. --________________ 1147
Confusion in Detroit ---------------- 284
Congress Street straightened ________ 1061
Connor, Henry –––––––––––––––––––– 210
Connor, Richard ------------------- 210
Connors Creek (Trombly’s) -----_____ 4
Connors Creek –––––––––––––––––––– 442
Consolidated Steel Corporation______ 1534
Constitutional Convention –––––––––– 241
Contract for building (translated) --- 992
Continental Bank of Detroit--_______ 1254
Cornell, Ezra –––––––––––––––––––––– 361
Corporate history of D., T. & I. ______ 1204
Cook, Levi ------------------------ 325
Cook, Orville –––––––––––––––––––––– 323
Cooper, David --------------------- 1058
Cooper Supply Company, The -------- 1501
Correspondence, Rev. Geo. Mitchell -- 680
Cottrell, Eber W. --_________________ 1147
Cottrell, George ------------------- 211
Council at Greenville_-______________ 19
Council houses ––––––––––––––––––––– 341
County and city financial history_-_-1207
County auditors ––––––––––––––––––– 1208
County building –––––––––– --------- 1091
County court history--------------- 571
“County Courthouse Comes Tumbling
Down,” ------------------------- 1095
Courthouse, The ------------------- 1091
Coureurs de Bois ------------------- 23
Court martial a travesty_____------- 292
Court-martial called –––––––––––––––– 1044
Court of Chancery____________ ------ 570
Court of Common Pleas________---- 552
INDEX
1557
Courts ---------------------------- 547
Courts and legal profession --________ 547
Courts of justice proposed__________ 187
Couzens, Mayor James______________ 523
Coyle, William K. --________________ 872
Crane and Wesson --________________ 1074
Crary, Isaac E. –––––––––––––––––––– 772
Creeks ---------------------------- 4
Creeks, rivers—see Townships ---____
Criminals multiplied --------------- 398
Croghan, Capt. George ------------- 75
Cromwell-Dunn case --_____________ 1124
Cross Gear and Engine Co. --_______. 1459
Cultural development -------_______ 839
Currency issues, primitive --________ 1210
Cutcheon, Gen. B. M.--_____________ 871
D
Daigle Iron Works
D’Aigremont against Cadillac ------- 56
Daliba, Capt. James, describes Fort
Lernoult, 259; story of battle of
Monguagon, f, n. –––––––––––––––– 281
Dalzell, Dalyell ------------------- 102
Davitt, Father William ----_________ 519
Dearborn ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 433
Dearborn disliked –––––––––––––––––– 291
Dearborn, Gen. Henry –––––––––––––– 292
Dearborn State Bank ______________ 1259
Dearborn township –––––––––––––––– 419
De Baptist, George –––––––––––––––– 1125
de Chabert, Frances de Joncaire ---- 194
De Peyster letter on bird _________ __ 152
De Peyster, Maj. Arent Schuyler, 148,
150, 953; quoted ---_____ 153, 172, 1274
de Rochblave, Philip ------------___ 143
de la Balme, Col. Augustin Mottin --- 154
Decided to capture Ft. Malden ------ 467
Deed to the trustees -----_________ 988
Dejean, Philippe ------_________ 130, 148
Delegates to convention in 1836_____ 249
Delray --------------------------- 434
Dempster, Dr. J. H. --_____________ 591
Denby, Edwin --------------------- 1142
Denby Motor Truck Co. --__________ 1380
Denissen, Rev. Christian __________ 1028
Denominational and private schools -- 817
Denton --------------------------- 442
Dequindre, Louis Césaire Dagnau de 113
Deschaillons, Sieur ---_____________ 64
Deschamps, Louis Henry ----_______ 64
Desnoyelles, Nicolas Joseph --_______ 65
Desnoyers, Peter J. --_________ 317, 1069
Detroit a city of many industries____1312
Detroit and Canada tunnel
Detroit & Pontiac R. R., first in the
N. W. Territory
Detroit & St. Joseph R. R. --______ 1.191
Detroit & Security Trust Company,
1262, 1269, 1427
Detroit and Wayne County finances -- 1207
Detroit, a port of entry____________ 1298
Detroit Association of Charities ---- 401
Detroit Athletic Club --...--____ _ _ _ _ _ 910
Detroit authorities not idle ---______ 467
Detroit Bankers Company --_ _1262, 1267
Detroit Bar Association ------_____ 588
Detroit Bar, The ----______________ 577
Detroit Bevel Gear Company ------. 1511
Detroit census, 1782 ----__________ _ 212
Detroit City Law School ---_______ 796
Detroit College of Law ----________ 589
Detroit College of Medicine and Sur-
8°FY –––––––––––––––––––––––– 601, 795
“Detroit commercial organizations” – 1299
Detroit Community Union ----______ 508
Detroit Creamery Co. --____________ 1432
Detroit Daily Illustrated ----_______ 666
Detroit during the War of 1812 - 257
Detroit Edison Co. ---______________ 360
Detroit Electric Furnace Company,
The ----------------------------- 1500
Detroit episodes in great war_____ __ 512
Detroit Evening Journal, The ---___ 646
Detroit Evening Times, The -----___ 646
Detroit Free Press, The, 639; quoted,
336, 552, 1067, 1437
Detroit Garment Mfg. Co., The ----1449
Detroit Gazette, The, 622; quoted --__1275
Detroit Historical Society -----_____ 878
Detroit Home and Day School ------ 826
Detroit Hospitals ---_______________ 613
Detroit hotels -------------------- 892
Detroit Home Pipe Co., The ----____ 1457
Detroit in Bishopric of Bardstown - 1000
Detroit incorporated --_____________ 317
Detroit industrial and commercial
growth ------------------------- 1271
Detroit International Bridge Com-
Parly –––––––––––––––––––––––– ___1546
Detroit Legal News, quoted --______ 1333
Detroit Lyceum ------------------- 843
Detroit Mechanics' Library ________ 844
Detroit men in public life ------____ 1132
Detroit Municipal Airport ----______ 1401
Detroit Museum of Art -----____859, 864
Detroit Mutual Savings & Loan Asso-
ciation -------------------------- 1257
Detroit newspapers in recent years -- 663
Detroit News, The, 644, 663, 1434;
May 10, 1919, 515; on welcome to
32d Division, 525; quoted --______ 1312
Detroit plan described ------_______ 313
Detroit publications ---_____________ 634
Detroit Public Library _____________ 845
Detroit Refrigerating Company ---. 1522
Detroit river ---------------------- 2
Detroit Rubber Products Co. 1487
Detroit Savings Bank ________ 1233, 1420
Detroit Scientific Association ----___ 858
Detroit Screw Works ---___________ 1529
1558
INDEX
Detroit Sulphite Pulp & Paper Co. – 1482
Detroit Teachers College ---------- 795
Detroit Times, The, 665; on return of
32d Division --____ -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- 524
Detroit, Toledo and Ironton R. R. -- . 1203
Detroit Trailer and Machine Com-
pany
Detroit Trust Company ------------ 1254
Detroit under English courts- L.----- 548
Detroit under French courts --______ 547
Detroit under the new law --------- 773
Detroit welcomes home her sons---- 525
Detroit-Wayne industries ---_______ 1403
Detroit White Lead Works ---_____ 1350
Detroit Young Mens Society_________ 839
Detroit Zoological Park --___________. 903
Detroit's banking Supremacy ------- 1260
Detroit's first newspaper ----_______ 620
Detroit’s industrial position ----____ 1407
Detroit’s industrial supremacy--_____ 1403
“Detroit's Own” ------______________ 520
Detroit's port development --______ 1170
Detroit's war industries ----_______ 1380
Detroit's welcome to Red Arrow—
32d Division -------------------- 524
Deveaux, Mary --________ 254, 1090, 1092
Development of transportation
Dilhet, Rev. John, account of fire of
June 11, 1805--------------------- 250
Dillon, Peter Joseph --_____________ 742
Dime Savings Bank _______________ 1250
Dime Savings Bank of Hamtramck__1258
Displeased with illegality of Sargent’s
Act -------------- 409
Distinguished Service Cross to these 528
District court abolished ---________ 568
Dittrich, E. C. & Co., Inc. ------------- 1478
Doddridge's notes – --___________ 157
Dodemead, James ------------------ 1047
Dodemead, John, 210, f. n. -----_____ 241
Dodge, John ----- ---------------- 141
Dodge motor cars -- . . .-----______ 1374
Dolson, Mathew ... ------------.... 209
Donaldson, James --------_________ 205
Donovan, Matthew, early teacher 740
Donovan, Richard - - --------------- 209
Dongan, Governor ...---------------. 32
Dorchester, Lord (Sir Guy Carleton) - 188
Doty, Duane ----------------------- 791
Doty, James Duane ------------_____ 1133
Douglass, Maj. Ephraim ________ 179, 186
Dragoons left for front --__________ 471
Dragoons went on to Chicago - L.--- 460
Drainage provided for -------------1050
Drouillard, Pierre ---_______________ 167
Duboisville ...— ... -------------------- 442
Duel with “Gentleman” loafer . 927
Duff, Alexander ------------------- 205
Duffield, D. B. . . -- - - - - - - - - - - - 872
Dunsmore, John Ward - - - - - - - - 864
Duprey Co., J. H. ----. . . . . . . . . ... 1414
“Dygert’s Sharpshooters” . . . . . . . 483
E
Earliest church history -- ... -------- 669
Earliest sail vessel on lakes ---------- 2
Early day publications_________. -- 623
Early Detroit physicians ------------- 594
Early elections—see Townships______
Early facts—data, see Townships___
Early gas service ------------------ 355
Early history of agriculture__ ______.1271
“Early History of Michigan” ---____ 870
Early history of road building, The_-_1160
Early modes of travel ------________ 1161
Early progress after 1800__________ 750
Early sailing vessels --____________ 1332
Early School fee, An--------________ 736
Early schooling in Detroit --_________ 731
Early settlers—see Townships_______
Eastern Michigan railways--______. 1204
Eaton Spring Corporation, The ---_-_1475
Eaudemort Laboratories, The --______ 1474
Eberts, Herman -------------------- 210
Economical Brug Co., The_-________ 1473
Ecorse ---------------------------- 434
Ecorse State Bank _________________ 1259
Ecorse Township ------------------ 420
Eddy, Samuel --------------------- 205
Edgar, William ----___________ 122, 1282
Edge, Samuel . . ...------------------ 209
Edmund-Clark Co., Inc., The_______1475
Education, History of --_____ 731, 797, 817
Education under Cadillac ---_________ 731
Edwards, Aaron L__________________ 1044
Edwards, Abraham ---_ ___________ 320
Edwards, Alice M. ------------------ 1041
Eighth Cavalry (Civil war) . . .---- 488
Eighth Infantry (Civil war) -------- 481
Eighty-ninth Division – --__________ 519
Eldred Julius ---- ---- -- - - - - - - - 1084, 1085
Election , First parliamentary_______ 323
Election of 1824 – --------...--_______ 323
Election of November, 1857 ---_ ______. 329
Elliot, Matthew, 195, 227, 284, ex-
plains departure of Canadian mili-
tia ------------ ---------------- 269
Elm ... --------------------------- 442
Eloise . . . . . . . . . . . .______ 435
Eloise Hospital ------ •- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 403
Emerson, Thomas ------------------ 1283
End of Indian occupation --__________ 21
End of war and capture of Black
Hawk --------------------------- 461
Enfranchisement celebration, An----- 1131
England, Col. Richard---------- 189, 190
English merchants, First ------------ 1282
English sought to colonize_-________ 17
Enterprise Machine Parts Corp., The 1551
Equitable and Central Trust Com-
pany -- . . . . . . . . ....... -----. 1269
Ernest, Mathew -------------------- 763
Establishment of Fort Lernoult ---__ 147
Events at Detroit during the war of
1812 . . . . . ---, -, --~... sº. -- - - - - - - - --- *- := -- ~~- - -º- - - - - - --~~ 257
Fvens of 1829, Many---____________ 1105
Everyone fished . . . . . . . . . . .----- 946
Evolution of Wayne Co. --_________ 405
Express, railroads and traffic---_____ 1205
Extinct villages ... --------------- 443
F
Fair Creamery Company --________ 1508
Fall of Fort Sandusky______________ 97
Famous Cleaners & Dyers___________1440
Farmer, John –––––––––––––––––––––– 1066
Farmer, Silas --------------------- 319
Farming in Wayne County, First_-_1271
Farrand, Jacob S.------------------ 1284
Farrand, Williams & Clark__________ 1287
Fearson, John ––––––––––––––––––––– 206
Features of Detroit history________ 915
Federal Reserve Bank _________ 1265, 1268
Felch, Alpheus -------------------- 1138
Female Seminary, The -------------- 821
Ferry, Dexter M. ----_______________ 1278
Ferry Seed Farms---_______________ 1278
Fidelity Trust Company ----_______ __1269
Fiendish cruelties ------------------ 99
Fifteen millionth Ford Model T______ 1893
Fifteenth Infantry (Civil war)------ 482
Fifth Cavalry (Civil war) -------___ 487
Fifth Infantry (Civil war) -----______ 478
Finances, Wayne County and Detroit 1207
Financial history: city and county_-_1207
Financial system, City-------------- 1208
Finney barn ----------------- 1129, 1293
Fire destroys many homes__________ 1037
Fire disturbs titles in old town------ 1046
Fire engines release volunteers------ 388
Fire of April, 1837____________------ 386
Fire of April, 1866__________________ 393
Fire of 1831, The ---______________- 1056
Fire of 1859 – ---a ----- - - - - - -- ~~. --- *** --- * *-* - 1107
Fire of May, 1848____________------ 392
Fire of June 11, 1805---------------- 249
First & Old Detroit National Bank - 1235
First Cavalry (Civil war) --_________ 486
First city hall, Detroit -- ----------- 342
First commercial convention –––––––– 1304
First Commerciail Savings Bank of
Wyandotte ----------------------- 1260
First Congregational Church_________ 713
First daily issue of the Free Press -- 640
First deep waterway projects -------- 1306
First election of legislative council in
1828 ---------------------------- 1045
First election under new act ------...- 326
First house on line of boulevard------ 377
First Infantry (Civil war) ---------- 474
First Jackson Convention, The . . . . .1112
First legislative council, 1824 ------- 335
1559
First municipal election ... --- - - - - 311
First National Bank ________ _______ 1268
First National Bank in Detroit 1235, 1417
First newspaper in the U. S. _______ 620
First parliamentary election -- - - - 198
First platting of the town -- - - - - 1145
First Presbyterian Church . ______. 708
First Presbyterian Society . . . 965
First State Bank___________________ 1254
First State Bank of Hamtramck_____ 1258
First things and events -------_____ 882
Fisher Body Corporation.--_________ 1389
Fisher children --__________________ 92
Fisher family -------_______________ 372
Five Nations, The . . . . . . . . . . . ----- 14
Flag of truce - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 285
Flaget, Bishop - - - - --_____ _ _____ 1012
Flat Rock ----------------------- 435
Fleming, William ... - - - - - - - - - - - - 205
Food question paramount____________ 212
Foot notes contain many names_____
Forbes planned campaign -----______ 72
Ford airport, The -----____________ __ 1399
Ford and other motor companies____1367
Ford, Capt. J. B.----______________ 1328
Ford Chemical Works_______________ 435
Ford City -------------------------- 435
Ford Motor Co. in 1930 - - - - --___ 1394
Ford Motor Co. plants -----------___ 445
Ford News, quoted -----___________ 1893
Ford rebuilds early American village 891
Foreign language publications______ 658
Foreign ministers and cabinet mem-
bers ---------------------------- 1142
Forest—Foret—Francois de la ---___ 62
Forsyth, Robert ---_______ _______ 205
Forsyth, William ----__ ____ 209, 954
Fort Duquesne ----------, --________ 71
Fort Lernoult ----------____ ___ 147, 259
Fort Pontchartrain de Detroit, 31; il-
lustration – -------------------- 33
Fort Shelby ----______________. 147 f.n.
Fort Street Presbyterian Church 711
Fort Wayne -------___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 237
Fourteenth Infantry (Civil war) - - - 482
Fourth Cavalry (Civil war) -- . . . . 487
Fourth of July came -----_____ _ _ _ _ 955
Fox threaten Fort --___________ _ _ _ 60
Fraser, Alexander D.---- - - - - - - - - - 326
Fraser, James --______________ _ _ _ _ 205
Free Press, The ---- - - - - - - - - - - - 665
Free School Society___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 768
French frankly skeptical ... --- - - - , 75
French landing ----...--_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 442
French ordchards, The old . . . . 1276
French period, 1701–1760 - - - - - - - - - 31
French policy, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Fresh and dry “meat” – . . . . . 165
Frontenac, Governor . . . . . . . . 35
Fruehauf Trailer Company . . . . 1540
Fyfe Building . . . . . . . . . . . .1297
Fyfe, Richard H. . . . . . . . . . 1294
1560
INDEX
G
Galinée, Abbe Brehant de ---_______ 29
Galimée's narrative ----------------- 29
Gallatin, Albert ––––––––––––––––––– 985
Garden City ––––––––––––––––––––––– 447
Garrison, John J. ------------------ 326
Gas and Naptha lights voted –––––– 359
“Gateway to Detroit.” ----__________ 444
Gemmer M'f'g. Co. ----------------- 1441
General banking law, first ––––––––– 1228
General Manufacturing Company ---_1512
General Motors Corporation_________ 1385
General Pershing lands 32d Div. --- 515
Geology of county –––––––––––––––––– 5
Germain was savage --------------- 134
German-American Seminary ________ 807
German publications --------------- 656
Gibraltar -------------------------- 436
Gibson, John –––––––––––––––––––––– 241
Girty, Simon –––––––––––––––––– 150, 161
Glacial epoch, The ------------------ 7
Gladwin family, sketch of ----______ 84
Godfroy, Jacques ------------------- 94
Golden Jubilee, (Church) --________. 713
Gouie, Robert ––––––––––––––––––––– 209
Gouin, Claude Jean Thomas -------- 94
Government neglect causes disaster - 271
Governor and mayor call meeting - 467
Governors, roster of --_____________ 1137
Grand Boulevard, the ---___________ 1146
Grant, Alexander ------------------ 194
Grant, General, a Detroiter ----____ 500
Grant, John ––––––––––––––––––––––– 209
Grant, Robert --------------------- 205
Gratiot Lumber & Coal Co., The ----1474
Gratiot Township ---------________ 420
Graverat, Gerrit ------------------- 157
Great Convention, The ----_________ 1114
Greeley, Aaron -------------------- 314
Greenfield ---------------------- 442, 891
Greenfield Township ------_________ 421
Green, Thomas -------------------- 206
Gregory, G. D. -------------------- 1067
Gregory, John --------------------- 1067
Griffin, John ––––––.----------------- 243
“Griffon,” the pioneer sail vessel – 1163
Griswold, Stanley ------------------ 243
Grosse Ile Airport ----------________ 1402
Grosse Ile Township ---____________ 422
Grosse Pointe Memorial Church 715
Grosse Pointe Savings Bank ________ 1259
Grosse Pointe Township --_________ 423
Growth of retail trade ----_________ 1289
Guaranty State Bank ______________ 1268
Guaranty Trust Co. --______________ 1257
Guaranty Trust Company of Detroit 1269
Guardian Detroit Bank _____________ 1268
Guardian Detroit Company ----. ---- 1269
Guardian Detroit Union Group, Inc. - 1262
Guardian Trust Company of Detroit 1269
Guest, Edgar A. ------------------- 872
H
Haldimand for governor ------------ 136
Haldimand quoted ---------------- 177
Halle, Father de L’ -------_________ 39
Hamilton, Alexander --------------- 224
Hamilton comes to Detroit ---______ 129
Hamilton, Henry, quoted ---________ 142
Hamilton Surrenders -----__________ 140
Hamlin, Marie Godefroy --__________ 871
Hammond Building ---_____ ___ 1100, 1298
Hamtramck ––––––––––––––––––––––– 436
Hamtramck, Maj. John F., --________
- - - - - - - - - - - - * * *-* *-* * *-* wºº º- 234, 235; quoted 193
Hamtramck State Bank ___________ 1258
Hamtramck Township ------_______ 424
Hand Station –––––––––––––––––––––– 442
Hands, William -------------------- 209
Hanna Company, The Mark R. ---_-_1546
Halffy, William ------------------- 206
Harmar and St. Clair ----__________ 189
Harmar, Gen. Josiah -- 187, 189, 227, 228
Harmon, John H. --_______________ 1064
Harpfy, Dr. William -----_________ 956
Harpsichord in settlement -----_____ 956
Harris, William -----------________ 463
Harrison, Gen. William Henry ------ 241
wrote secretary of war ---_______ 255
Harrison had over 3,000 men ----__ 296
Harrow, Alexander ---______________ 209
Harvey, John --------------------- 314
Harvey’s Sons M'f'g. Co., A. ---_____ 1442
Hay appointed Civil Governor ------ 182
Hay, Jehu ––––––––––––––––––––––––
-- - - - - 139, 169, 182, 184, 373; quoted 171
Headquarters established (world
War) --------------------------- 509
Health conditions in Detroit ---_____ 608
Hecke, Joseph --------------------- 130
Heckewelder ----------------------- 96
Hennepin, Father Louis ----____ 449, 1163
Henry, Alexander ----------------- 219
Henry, James ––––––––––––––––––––– 242
Heward, Hugh --------_____________ 209
“Higher Law,” The -----___________ 1122
Highland Park -------------------- 436
Highland Park State Bank _________ 1258
Historical publications --___________ 870
Historical Society of Michigan ----__ 843
Historic Political Campaigns ---___ 1111
Historic sites of Detroit ---_________ 882
History of commercial organizations,
Early, -------------------------- 1299
History of churches up to 1849______ 675
History of education ---575, 731, 797, 817
History of Griswold Street ---______ 1035
History of Grosse Ile -----_________ 447
History of 125th Regiment -- ------- 515
History of public school system ---- 757
History of the press --____________ 619
History of 339th Infantry -...-- 520
INDEX
1561
History of territorial courts and
judges -------------------------- 553
History of townships and villages --- 417
Hodde Brothers ------_____________ 1484
Hoffman's Cake Specialties Com-
Parly ---------------------------- 1538
Hog Island –––––––––––––––––––––––– 3
Holding hordes of Soviet army --____ 521
Home for old ladies --______________ 400
Home for the friendless ----________ 400
Homeopathy –––––––––––––––––––––– 602
Home Savings Bank ________________. 1241
Hopkins, Capt. Joseph --___________ 88
Horner, John S. ------------------- 244
Horner, new acting governor ----___ 465
Horsch, A. A. Company ------------ 1483
Hosbach, Henry J. & Sons -----_____ 1485
Hospitals ------------------------- 613
Hotels of Detroit ------------------ 892
Houghton, Dr. Douglass ---------- 4, 596
House of correction -----_____ 397, 1023
House of Providence ---____________ 400
Housing companies ---------------- 1257
Howard, Sen. Jacob M. ---_________ 1141
Howard, William A. -------________ 1142
Howard Pattern & Mfg. Co. --______ 1440
Hubbard, Bela, made first improve-
ments on West side –––––––––––––– 377
Hubbard, Bela, quoted -----________ 1276
Hudson Motor Car Co. -----_______ 1377
Hull as governor, 244; called to Wash-
ington, 260; delayed by rains and
bad roads, 265; issued proclamation
of Canadians, 267; in desperate
state, 279; ready to run, 286; sur-
render premeditated, 290; court
martial of, 291; military record of 291
Hull, Capt. Abraham F. --__________ 285
Hull, Col. William -----_______ 226, 243
Hunt, Abigail ––––––––––––––––––––– 1043
Hunt, Charles C. P. -----___________ 1041
Hunt, Eliza Mitchell ---____________ 1043
Hunt, George –––––––––––––––––––.-- 1042
Hunt, Henry Jackson ----______ 245, 1041
Hunt, John ------------------------ 1133
Hunt, John Elliott --_______________ 1041
Hunt, Mary LeBaron ------________ 1043
Hunt, Ruth Fessenden ---__________ 1043
Hunt, Thomas --------------------- 1041
Hunt, William Brown -------________ 1042
“Hunters’ Lodges” ---_____________ 466
Huntington, Samuel --_____________ 243
Hupp Motor Car Co. --_____________ 1377
Hurlbut, Chauncey --______________ 326
Huron nation ––––––––––––––––––––– 13
Huron Township ------------------ 425
Hussey, M. H., Lumber Co. of Michi-
8 an ------------------------------ 1477
Hyde, Oliver M. ------------------- 971
I
Ile au Cochon ------------------- 371
Illinois and Kent Counties ----______ 405
Illiteracy prevalent --______________ 733
Impression Die Co. --_______________. 1487
Indian land grant, An-------------- 802
Indian trails, The old--____________ 1159
Indian treaties –––––––––––––––––––– 11
Indian unrest ––––––––––––––––––––– 81
Indian Territory increased----______ 410
Indians burned Mansion House______ 423
Indians disheartened _______________ 114
Industrial and commercial growth of
Detroit
Industrial and Engineering Chemistry,
quoted ------------------------- 1403
Industrial Morris Plan Bank of De-
troit --> ------------------ 1254, 1269
Industrial plants at Fordson ---____ 446
Industries (other) come ____________ 1320
Industry, Aircraft --_______________ 1175
Inkster ------------------------- 442–446
Innis, Robert –––––––––––––––––––––– 206
Inscription on Soldiers’ Monument -- 499
Institute of Arts ------------------ 910
Interdict, The --------------------- 1001
International Machinery Co. --______ 1465
Invention of telephone ---__________ 362
Iredell, A. ------------------------ 205
Iron and steel --------------------- 1392
Iron ore -------------------------- 6
Ironrite Ironer Company ------_____ 1538
Iroquoian ------------------------- 14
Iroquois plot –––––––––––––––––––––– 68
Island cession creates excitement - 373
Island of the Rion ------__________ 3
Ives, Albert ----------------------- 1067
Ives, S. H. ------------------------ 1066
Ives, William --------------------- 1066
J
Jackson, Charles ------------------ 325
Jackson gave Black Hawk sword ___ 462
Jails ----------------------------- 394
James Scott Water Fountain ------- 896
Jamieson & Company, C. E. --______ 1496
Jay sent to London -------________ 190
Jay's treaty with Great Britain ----- 204
Jefferson approved act ----_________ 463
Jefferson on taking Detroit --______ 155
Jefferson, President, approved act
making Ohio State ----___________ 410
Jefferson quoted --_________________ 417
Jenks & Muir M'f'g. Co. ---________ 1466
Jesuit relations quoted --__________ 13
Jesuits opposed Cadillac ---________ 46
Jewish churches today ---__________ 729
Jewish congregations
John Brown Raid, The
1562
INDEX
Johnson, Col. Richard M. ---------- 296
Johnson, Sir John --______ 175, 182, 227
Johnson Sir William --------------- 83
Johnson's Journal ----------------- 951
Joliet ------------------------------ 448
Joliet, Louis –––––––––––––––––––––– 25
Jones, DeGarmo -------------------- 326
Joseph, Benoit ----------------------- 1008
Jouett, Charles –––––––––––––––––––– 104.7
“Journal” catastrophe ------------- 393
Journal, 1853, quoted --------------- 1063
Judges appointed –––––––––––––––––– 194
Judges, attorneys –––––––––––––––––– 547
Judges of courts in 1930 ----------- 577
K
Kales Stamping Co., The --________. 1454
Kansas-Nebraska controversy, The -- 1112
Keller Ink Company, The Robert – 1550
Kenton, Simon -------------------- 167
Kercheval, Benjamin B. --________. 246
Kerr Specialty Co. ----------------- 1490
Killed in action and died of wounds
(World War) --------____________ 514
King Motor Car Co. --_____________ 1378
Kinzie, John –––––––––––––––––––––– 210
Kirkland, Mrs. C. M. --_____________ 1106
Kissane Elevator Co., Thomas ---__ 1416
Knaggs, George ------------------- 210
Knapp, Thomas S. ________________ 1090
Knox, Gen. Henry --_____________ 227
L
L’Halle, Father de -----____________ 39
La Butte (Chene) --_______________ 86
La Compagnie du Canada ----_____ 43
La Hontan, Baron --_______________ 449
La Measure Brothers, Inc. ---_______ 1497
La Mothe, Capt. William ------ 141; 178
La Mothe, Guillaume Pierre --- - - 194
La Salle, Robert Chevalier de -- 28; 1165
Lacrosse -------------------------- 91
Ladies’ Soldiers and Sailors Aid So-
ciety ---------------------------- 495
Ladsberg, Albert -------- ---, --- r- -- - - - - - - 1067
Lake and river charms ---___ ______ 1154
Lake St. Clair named ------_____ _ _ 30
Lake steamers captured --________. 492
Land grants, First ----- -- ~~~. -- - - - - - - - - - 1272
“Landmarks of Detroit” ---______ __ 870
Langdon, Geo. C. ------------------ 936
Langlade, Charles -------- ... . . . . . . 97
Langon, Augustin --------------...- 254
Lapham State Savings Bank _ _ _ _ _ _ 1259
Last battle at mouth of Bad Axe - 461
Later Detroit publications --______ __ 649
Later political campaign, The ------ 1121
Lawyers, Detroit ----------________ 577
Le Caron, Joseph
Lecture rouses interest in telegraph - 361
Ledyard, Henry B. -- . . . .--_____ 356
Lefevre, Bishop ------------------, 1024
Legal publications ...--------------- . 654
Le Grand, Dr. Gabriel C. . . . . . . . 595
Leith, James -------------------- 209
Letters to and from early Detroiters - 918
Lernoult, Capt. Richard B., --_____.
---... ... 126; quoted 144
Lernoult removed - - - - - - - - - ------- 133
Lewis, J. O. --... . . . . . . . . . ------- . . . .335
Liberty Loans ----------------- ... . 508
Liberty Motor Car Co. -----_____ _ _ 1378
Liberty Motor, The --------______ __ 1882
Liberty State Bank of Hamtramck 1258
Library bonds --------------------- 857
Licensed merchants and traders in
1767, Names of . ------------____ 1282
Liggett Schools, The -------------. 826
Lincoln Motor Co. ---------------- _1378
Linden Park --...--_________ ___ _ _ 1146
Lindley, Jacob -------------------- 380
Liquor question disturbing factor - - - 120
List of Detroiters, 1796 --________. 205
Literary history of Detroit ----_____ 866
Literature, Religious and theological 868
Little (Lytle), John ---_____________ 205
Little turtle starts fight __________ 228
Livonia --------------------------- 442
Livonia Township ...----------____ __ 425
Location at Ann Arbor -------_____ 804
Lochmoor -----------------------… 446
Log-way up Griswold St. --______ __ 1062
Long Manufacturing Company -- 1510
Lord, Capt. Hugh ----------------- 133
Lossing quoted -------------------- 298
Lossing writes regarding Malden -- 270
Lucas issued proclamation ---------- 463
Lull in storm --------------------- 468
M
McArthur, General --------...------ . 307
McArthur-Cass outfit ------____ -- - - - - 281
McCarty, Richard, quoted ----______ 154
McClelland, Robert ------, --. _ _ _ _ 1138
McCloskey, James -----------------. 245
McCormick, Alexander ----_________ 211
McCoskry, Dr. William L____. 241 fm., 595
McCrae, Thomas -----____________. 205
McCully, George --_______ _______. 186
McDonald, Donald -----________ _ __ 523
McDonell, Ronald ---______ ________ 209
McDonnell, John ----__ __________. 209
McDougall, George -- 256, 260, 266, 372
McDougall, Lieut. George -- - - - - - - 94
McDougall, Robert - ill-----. . . . . . . . 205
McGill, James --------------------. 219
McGregor, Gregor --- - - - - -------- . 195
McGregor Institute - - - - - ------- 400
McGregor, James - ----------_______ 206
INDEX
1563
McGregor, John -----------------. 209
McGregory, Maj. Patrick ---------- 32
McKee, Alexander, 140, 178, 194, 226,
234; letter to Col. England - - - - - - 230
McKee, Col. Thomas -------------- 956
McKee, Kenyon & Co. -------------- 1480
McKinstry, David C. ----------. 246, 857
McKinstry’s Museum -------------- 857
McKoigan, John ------------------- 205
McMillan, James ------------ 1065, 1142
McNiff, Patrick ---____________.---- 209
Mabley, Christopher R. -- . --------- 1294
Maccabe, Julius P. Bolivar, quoted . . 1290
“Machine with great springs” ------ 51
Mack & Conant ------------------- 1283
Mackintosh, Angus ---------------- 206
Mackintosh, James ---------------- 209
Mack, Stephen --------------- 320, 1283
Macomb, Alexander ----------- 209, 954
Macomb, Edgar and Macomb - 158, 1282
Macomber, L. G. reviews port devel-
opment
Macomb, John ---------------- 209, 1282
Macomb, William ----__________ 194, 954
Magazines, Early ––––––––––––––––– 623
Maisonville, Alexis ------------------ 194
Maisonville, Francois ---------- 142 f.n
Malcher a Catholic ---------------- 985
Malcher farm conveyed for schools - 763
Malcher, Francois Paul ------____ 763, 989
Malcher or Church farm –––––––––– 980
Manufacturing industry, The ------- 1316
Many events of 1829 -------_______ 1105
Marest wrote Cadillac --___________ 49
Marl ---------------------------- 6
Markets -- - ---------------------- 1290
Marquette and Joliet --____________ 27
Marsh, Albert ------------------ 326
Marsh Furniture Company, Inc. - . 1510
Martindale, Wales C. -----__________ 793
Martin, Fred ---------------------- 1180
Martin, John --------------------- 206
Martinsville ---------------------- 443
Mascouten, The . . .----------------- 14
Mason, Joseph -------------------- 206
Mason, Stevens T. ----------______ 244
Mason and Brown led troops into
Toledo -------------------------- 464
Mason’s order to Brown - - - - - - - 463
Massachusetts Laundry Company -- 1520
Mass gathering at Kalamazoo … . 1113
Master Tool & Die Company, Inc.___. 1511
Maxwell Motor Corporation -------- 1377
May, James - - - - - - - 209, 238, 242, 380
May, Joseph . . . -------------, ----- 209
May's Creek ---------------------- 5
“Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen and
Freemen of the City of Detroit” ... 325
Mazer-Cressman Cigar Company,
Inc. --------------------------- 1523
Mechanical Handling System, Inc.__ –1496
Mechanics’ Society -------------- 1102
Medical journalism in Detroit ----- 603
Medical profession, The - - - - - - -- 591
Medicine in Wayne Co. . . . . . .---- 596
Meeting of the Freeman -...------1075
Meldrum, George - - - - - - 195, 205, 311
Meloche, Jane (Caron) -- - - ------ 92
Meloche, Jean Baptiste – . . . ----- 92
Melvindale . . . . . . _______ 446
Members Supreme Court under 1835
constitution --- - - - - - - - ------ 570
Menominee, The . . . . . . . . . . . ----- 7
Mercantile Society – . . . . -----1300
Merchants of 1819 – ... ------------- 1289
Merchants of 1820 - - - - - -------1284
Merchants’ and Manufacturers’ EX-
change -----------, --, ---------1305
Merchants and Mechanics' Bank of
Hamtramck - - - - - - - - - - - -------1258
Merchants and traders in 1767,
Names of ----------- - --------- 1282
Merchants Exchange and Board of
Trade ---------- ------------1300
Merchants, First American --_____1283
Merchants, First English . . . --___ 1282
Merchants National Bank _ _ _ ______1253
Mergers of banks ---------- -- - - - - - - 1262
Me-sa-sa (Turkey-foot) -- - - - - ------ 234
Metropolitan Trust Company ... ------ 1269
Mexican War, The ---_ _ _ _ _ _ _ ____. 470
Michigan admitted to Union –––––––– 250
Michigan Alkali Works - - - - ------- 435
Michigan Central, History of --____ 1.191
Michigan Central Railroad Company_1107
Michigan Club and its work, The ----1118
Michigan Herald, 1825, quoted –––. 437
Michigan Historical Commission lists
men and women decorated - - - - 527
Michigan History Magazine quoted 1299
Michigan Industrial Bank __________ 1268
Michigan Lyceum ––––––––––––––––– 843
Michigan Manufacturer and Finan-
cial Record, quoted - - - - - - - 1267, 1358
Michigan National Bank . . . . .--__1245
Michigan Pioneer and Historical Col-
lections -------- - ---------- 45, et seq.
Michigan Savings Bank
Michigan Soldiers Relief Assn. (1861) 495
Michigan State Agricultural Society_1277
Michigan State Bank of Detroit 1222, 1254
Michigan State Board of Agriculture_1277
Michigan State Gazetteer quoted -- 433
Mickle, William --- - - - - - - - ----- 206
Migration of churches --- - - --__ 701
Military disliked ------ . . . . . . . . . . 381
Military honors to Detroit soldiers -- 527
Military reservation, The . . . . ------1049
Military reserve --- - - - - - 965, 1068
Milleville Land Company, D. C. --__ 1549
Mill on island wanted . . . . ------, 174
Mills, William -----________________ 205
1564
INDEX
Minor villages –––––––––––––––––––– 441
Miscellaneous churches today ------- 729
Miscellaneous Detroit publications --- 634
Miscellaneous publications --------- 873
Mistele Coal & Coke Company ----- 1537
Mitchell, Rev. George -------------- 680
Modes of travel, Early ------------- 1161
Moffat Building ––––––––––––––––––– 1074
Moffat, Hugh ---------------- 1075, 1079
Mohn Products Company, Inc. ------ 1505
Monarch Bumper Manufacturing
Company ----------------------- 1520
Monguagon Township –––––––––––––– 426
Monroe, President, and Detroit River 2
Montieth, John (1816) ------------- 693
Montrésor, John ------------------- 105
Montrésor's observations ----------- 107
Montour, Capt. Henry ––––––––––––– 116
Mooney, Richard –––––––––––––––––– 205
Moore, Louis –––––––––––––––––––––– 206
Moore’s “Northwest Under Three
Flags” ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 871
Moran, Charles –––––––––––––––––––– 249
Moravians, The -------------------- 678
More law suits –––––––––––––––––––– 1028
Morell, George ––––––––––––––––––––. 1134
Morgan & Wright Plant ----------. 1488
“Morning Post” favored “Patriots” – 466
Morrow, Gen. Henry A. ------------ 972
Morse, Professor ------------------ 361
Mortgage made by trustees -------- 990
Motor transportation -------------- 1172
Mounds -------------------------- 11
Mounted police –––––––––––––––––––– 385
Mullett, John ––––––––––––––––––––– 335
Municipal courts ––––––––––––––––––– 575
Municipal development of Detroit,
The charter of 1802, 309; amend-
ments to Constitutions, 325; gas
and electricity come, 355; police and
fire protection, penal and charit-
able institutions, ---------------- 379
Munro, Robert -------------------- 251
Murray Corporation of America --- 1466
Murray, Maj. Patrick ---___________ 189
Museum of art –––––––––––––––––––– 859
Name and personnel of the party - 1114
Name of island officially changed,
1881 ---------------------------- 375
Names—many found in foot notes
Names of D. S. C. recipients ------- 528
Names of governers ---------------- 1137
Names of recipients of naval decor-
ations
Names of senators
Names of subscribers to minister’s
pay
Nankin Township
Narrow streets in old village ------ 1036
National Bank of Commerce of De-
troit, ---------------------- 1250, 1268
National Bronze & Aluminum Cast-
ings Co. ------------------------ 1413
National Production Co. ----------- 1445
Naval decorations ----------------- 531
Naval reserves –––––––––––––––––––– 505
Navarre, Robert ---------------- 64, 734
Navarre, Royal notary ------------- 949
Navigation companies of Detroit –––1167
Navigation, Growth of aerial ––––––– 1174
Near autocracy –––––––––––––– –––––– 312
Negroes in Michigan -------------- 1122
Nelson, Jonathan ------------------ 209
Newberry, John S. ----------------- 1065
Newberry, Truman H. ------------- 1145
New Boston ––––––––––––––––––––––– 437
New city hall wanted -------------- 345
Newcomb-David Co., Inc. --_________ 1469
New currency issue, A
New edifice replaces St. Aloysius’ – 727
New library building, The ---_______ 854
New library described ------------- 899
New Masonic Temple, The ---______ 909
New municipal court -------------- 577
Newspaper plant equipment –––––––– 662
Newspapers, Early ---------------- 623
Newspapers in Wayne County towns – 659
Nichol, Robert
Nichols, John F.
Nielsen, C. & H., Cartage Co., Inc. – 1439
Niles Register, quoted .____________ 823
Ninth Infantry (Civil War) --______ 481
Ninth Cavalry (Civil War) --_______ 488
No Man’s Land (World War) ------ 516
Norris ---------------------------- 443
Northville ––––––––––––––––––––. --- 438
Northville State Savings Bank _____ 1259
Northville Township -----__________ 427
Northwestern State Bank ____1254, 1268
Not satisfied with damages --------- 1053
Nowlen, Sally ––––––––––––––––––––– 1038
Numerous Detroit authors attain
fame -------------------------- 87.4
O
Oakwood State Bank ______________ 1259
Oath of allegiance ----------------- 76
Offered $5000 for 20,000,000 acres -- 220
Officers and men in Civil War ----- 473
Officers and men in Mexican War --- 470
Ohio admitted --------------------- 413
Ohio Company, The --------_______ 225
Ohio-Michigan War, The --_____ ___ 462
O’Keefe, George A. --_______ ----- - - - - - - - ---- 1085
Old French orchards ---________ ____1276
Old Indian trails, The ---___________ 1159
Old letters of earliest Detroiters --- 918
Olds, Ransom E. ----------------. 1357
INDEX
1565
Oldest bank in Michigan ––––––––––– 1333
One Hundred and Seventh Air-Squad-
rom Field ----------------------- 1403
One Hundred Twenty-fifth Regiment
515; delayed ––––––––––––––––––.-- 526
Open north of Michigan Ave. ------- 1061
Orchards, The old French ---_______ 1276
Ordinance of 1787 ---------------- 757
Organization of the Board of Trade ... 1303
Origin of newspapers -------------- 619
Original boundaries --------------- 406
Orling Brothers ------------------- 1532
Osborn, David S. ------------------- 1068
Other Detroit fires –––––––––––––––– 391
Other Detroit publications ---______ 634
Other Detroit Schools ---___________ 837
Other foreign language publications - 658
Other organizations (Civil War) --- 490
Other private schools ----__________ 823
Other publications of an early day – 623
Other slave rescues –––––––––––––––– 1124
Otis Elevator Company –––––––––––– 1524
Ottawas start trouble _____________ 53
Ottawa, The ---------------------- 15
Overt Acts by the British ---_______ 257
P
Packard field ––––––––––––––––––––– 1403
Packard Motor Car Co. ------------ 1373
Paige-Detroit Motor Car Co. ------- 1378
Paint and varnish industry ---------- 1346
Painters of Detroit –––––––––––––––– 875
Palmer, Gen. Friend --------------- 1066
Palmer, John --------------------- 349
Palmer, T. W., quoted -------------- 860
Parent's Creek –––––––––––––––––––– 5
Park extension plans ------------ ‘. . . 1152
Park, William ––––––––––––––––––––– 206
Parker Rust-Proof Company ––––––. 1514
Parkman quoted ----------------- 17, 88
Parks ---------------------------- 370
Parks and boulevards of Detroit ---- 1145
Parliamentary election, First -------- 198
Partlan & Son, James W. ----------- 1534
Part of farm south of Gratiot Ave. -- 1025
Patriot War, The --_______________ 465
Pattinson, Richard -------...-------- 209
Pattison, George W. --------------- 1067
Pauli Co., Inc., Frank M. --________ 1444
Payan, Pierre Jacques de ---_______ (35
Pean, Ives, Jacques --------------- 64
Peot ----------------------------- 6
Pedagogues of late 18th Century ---- 73
Peerless Cement Corporation ------- 1462
Peg Welch backed by Supreme Court 382
Peninsular Casket Co. ------------- 1410
Peninsular Machinery Company ... -- 1512
Peninsular State Bank __ 1253, 1266, 1268
Peninsular State Bank of Highland
Park
Peninsular Stove Co. -------_______ 1338
Pennsylvania Railway, The ---______ 1203
Peoples National Bank of Ham-
tramck ------------------------- 1258
Peoples State Bank ________________ 1246
Peoples State Bank at Belleville ---- 1259
Peoples State Bank of New Boston –1259
Peoples State Bank of Highland Park 1259
Peoples State Bank of Redford ____
1259, 1268
Peoples State Bank of Wayne
Peoples Wayne County Bank _______
1262, 1266, 1269
Pere Marquette System ---_________ 120.1
Permanent institution, A --_________ 860
Perrinville –––––––––––––––––––––––– 443
Perry ready for action ----_________ 300
Perry testing laboratory, The ---___ 1448
Perry’s ships carry army to Malden - 302
Peschke Packing Company
Pershing order (in France) ----____ 515
Personnel and name of the party – 1114
Personnel, etc. troops in World War – 505
Personnel of bank officials ---_____ 1267
Peters, Samuel E. --------_________ 1097
Petition for an academy ----______ 7.58
Petitioners for Presbyterian Church – 692
Pharmaceutical and dental ---______ 654
Pharmaceutical industry, The ----__ 1341
Phelypeaux, Jerome _______________ 35
Physical geography ––––––––––––––– 1
Physical features -----------_______ 1
Picoté, Francois Marie ---__________ 63
“Pie Peters,” ----------____________ 1097
Pingree, Hazen S. _________________ 1141
Pingree became mayor --___________ 356
Pioneer in car building, A ----______ 1324
Pioneer in iron manufacture, A ----1326
Pioneers—see Townships, Towns.
Piquette, John B. --________________ 1066
Plan of 1806 ---------------------- 335
Plan of military reservation ---____ 1054
Plans for park extension ---------- 1152
Plastic Products Company ---______ 1509
Platting of the town, The first ----- 1145
Platting the reservation ---________ 1050
Playground development ---_______. 1153
Plymouth ------------------------- 4.38
Plymouth Township -------________ 428
Plymouth United Savings Bank _____. 1259
Poetry and fiction -----___________ 872
Polar Bear Monument unveiled ---__ 523
Polar Bears Association ---_________ 520
Police commissioners -----_________ 384
Police court ----------------------- 1103
Polk called for troops ----_______ __ 471
Pontiac, Sketch of ...--_____________. 76
Pontiac's death -----------________ 117
Pontiac’s hatred ---________________ 86
Population and area --______________ 340
Population, 1806–1928 340
1566
INDEX
Population in 1830 . . . . . . ... -------1105
Popoulation in 1773, 1778, and 1780. 166
Population of Detroit in 1852–3 -- . 1289
Porteous' narrative of siege ------- 87
Porter, George B. . . . . . . .244, 1137
Port development -------- - - - - - - - 1170
Port of entry, A ... ... --------------1298
Post office located in Mariner's
Church –––––. ------------------ 1068
Potier, Father Pierre . . . . . ... ----- 161
Potts, Rev. J. H. --______ _________ – 870
Powell, William Dummer --- - - - - - 197
Precision Screw Products Co. ---- ... 1481
Presents Indians liked ------------. 159
Presidents of Medical Society 1876–
1930 - - - - -- - - - - ...— - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - “* *- 608
Pre-settlement explorations -------- 23
President Wilson to Congress (World
War) --------------------------- 505
President’s proclamation ignored --- - 258
Press, History of the ------______. 619
Prideaux, General ----------------. 72
Primitive currency issues -__ _ _ _ _ _1210
Primitive methods of education --__ 731
Private and denominational schools .. 817
Private schools at beginning of nine-
teenth century ------------------ 817
Probate court of Wayne Co. --______ 576
Probate court, The ----------______ 568
Proclamation of 1816 – ..... --_______ 414
Proclamation to Canadians ---...--___ _ 267
Proctor a disgrace ----------------- 295
Proctor escapes --...---------- - - - - - - - - 303
Proctor, Col. Henry ...— ...— ... ---- 244, 273
Products of the salt beds ------------1328
Production Tool Co. of America,
Inc. ------------------------- 1551
Profaned Sabbath -------- - -------- 380
Progress in agriculture retarded ... 1273
Prominent Detroit painters - – --_____ 875
Propaganda work - - - -------------- 1120
Prophet, The -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 254
in action ----------------------- 255
Protestant Church beginnings --____ 677
Protestant Churches --------------- 703
Protestant Churches today -- . . . . . . . 728
Protestant orphan asylum -------. 399
Protestant parochial schools -- ------. 835
Protestants, a list of - -----------. 680
Provide for drainage -- - - - - - - - - - 1050
Provident Loan Society ... ..... ------ 1257
Publications, historical ---------____ 870
Public education in Detroit today – 787
Public library . . . . ... ------------ - - 845
Public meeting, Jan. 5, 1862 - - - - - - 1309
Public school education from 1842 to
1930 - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 788
Public school system -- - - - - - - - ... ... 757
Public welfare commission . . . . ._ _ _ _ 401
Pushing Indians westward - 185
Putnam, Gen. Rufus . . . . . . . . . . 225
Q
Quaife, Dr. M. M., quoted 52, 200, 202
R
Racine Foundry & Machine Co. ... - 1439
Radio ------------------------- __ 906
Railway lines, The . . . . . . . . . . 1204
Railways, Eastern Michigan - - - - - . 1204
Railroad facilities—see townships.
Railroad, The -------------------. 1185
Railroads, Traffic and express -- . . . 1205
Rains and bad roads delayed Hull --- 265
Randall, James A. ------------- 377, 1148
Rattlesnake or Hog Island ––––––––– 3
Rawsonville - - - - ---------- - - - - - - - 443
Réaume, Charles ------------------ 167
Réaume, Claude -------------------- 167
Réaume, Hyacinthe ---------------- 167
Réaume, Jean Baptiste -- - - - - - - - - - - - 167
Recent Detroit publications ------ ... 661
Recent History of Institute of Arts -- 910
Recent history of ship building ----. 1333
Recent leading protestant clergymen 719
Recipients of D. S. C. --_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 528
Reclaim Swamps ----. ------------. 1276
Records not dependable _____ _ _ _ _ _ 59
Redford . . . . . . . ...------------------- 439
Redford State Savings Bank -- 1260, 1269
Redford Township ... --- - - -------- 428
Refuse lots for Methodists ----_____ 1104
Regiments, Civil War ---______ 473 et seq.
Registration day in Detroit – - - - - 507
Relics exhumed ----------------- 12
Relief expedition . . . . . ... --_______ 99
Religious and theological literature - 868
Religious corporations in Michigan - 994
Religious development --- - - - - - - - - 669
Religious publications -- . ----------- 654
Reorganization -------------------- 803
Report to commissioners of persons
who trespassed police regulations -- 379
Republic Iron & Steel Co. . . --- -- - - - - 1470
Rese, Rev. Frederick ________ . . . . --- 1017
Resolved by Senate and House ---...- 506
Retail trade growth ---____ _ _ _ _ ___. 1289
Retaliation threat --- - - - - - - - - - - - 141
Return of 119th Field Artillery 523
Revolutionary period --------______ 121
Richard one of cholera victims i - 460
Richard, Rev. Gabriel ----__ 753, 760, 798
Riley Stoker Corporation --_________ 1411
Riot of 1863, The --_______________ 1129
Rivard, Charles ------------------- 1011
Rivard, Francois -----------_______ 1011
River and Lake Charms - - - - - - - - - 1154
River Rouge --------______________. 439
River Rouge plant built ---_________1394
River Rouge Savings Bank _________ 1260
River Rouge State Bank _ _ _ _ _ _ ____ 1260
INDEX
1567
Rivers, creeks—see Townships.
Rivers of Wayne County -----_ _ _ 3
River Savoyard --_________________ 1050
Riverview ------------------------- 446
Road building, Early history of . , 1160
Roberts Co., C. A. -----___ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1471
Robertson, William I. -----_________ 194
Robinson, William E. 792
Roche de Bout -------_____________ 171
Rockwood ------------------------- 439
Rockwood State Bank _____________ 1260
Rogers defeated -----------_______ 150
Rogers, Robert -------_____________. 72
Roman Catholic Churches today 729
Roman Catholic schools in Detroit – 833
Romulus -------------------------- 439
Romulus State Bank ______________ 1260
Romulus Township ------___________ 429
Roseboom, Johannes ---____________ 32
Roster of governors -----__________ 1137
Roster of Senators --______________. 1141
Rousing appeal, A --_______________ 1113
Ruland, Israel --------_____________ 210
Rum preferred by Indians ---____ ___ 159
Russell, Dr. Geo. B. -----___________ 1326
S
Sabrevois, Jacques Charles --_______ 62
Sac and Fox -----------------_____ 16
Sail Vessel, Pioneer ----___________ 1163
Ste. Anne's Bi-Centenary ___________ 721
Ste. Anne's Church, 158; burns______ 986
Ste. Anne's Parish --_______________ 720
St. Clair, Gen. Arthur______ 189, 226, 228
St. Clair incensed ---_______________ 409
St. John’s Episcopal Church --_______ 714
St. Luke's Hospital ----_____________ 401
St. Mary's Church -------__________ 972
St. Ours, Jean Baptist de ---________ 64
St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral______ 707
St. Vincents Orphan Asylum ----_____ 399
Sargent’s Proclamation erecting
Wayne Co. --------------------- 405
Savages unrestrained by Proctor_____ 299
Savoyard Creek ----_______________ 5
Saxon Motor Car Corporation________ 1878
Schieffelin, Jacob -- ~~~~----- 143fn., 216
Schieffelin, Jonathan -----__________ 205
Schoolcraft, Henry R. -- - --- _ _ _ _ 872
School buildings erected since 1922. 785
School buildings in Detroit--_______ 781
School Lands and Constitution of 1835 771
School Law of 1833_________________ 768
School reports ----__________ 785 Et Seq.
School teachers of late 18th Century – 738
Schools, First
Scientific American, quoted ._________ 1858
Scientific Association -------_____ __ 858
Scott, James –––––––––––––––––––––– 1040
Scott, John -- -------------------- 1041
Scotten-Dillon Co. --______________ 1433
Scripps, James E. * * * ~ *-** *-* - -– === -- - - 1434
Second Battalion arrived 3 a. m. 526
Second Cavalry (Civil War) - 486
Second Infantry (Civil War) 477
Second National Bank _ _ _________ 1235
Security Company, The 1257
Seitz Brothers --...--______ _________ 1070
Selby, Lieut. Prideaux 202
Selecting a Name -- -------_______ 406
Senatorial List, The ----___________ 1141
Sent to new area (World War) - 510
Series of Notable Banquets, A_______ 1119
Settlement of the Controversy 1026
Settlers felt no alarm-------________ 459
Seventeenth Infantry (Civil War) – 484
Sexton, Wm. H. -----_______________ 872
Sheldon, John P. --________________ 320
Shipbuilding History, Later ----____ 1167
Shipbuilding industry, The --_______ 1331
Sibley ---------------------------- 447
Sibley Lumber Company, F. M.------ 1545
Sibley, Solomon, 245, 256, 260, 266
987 ----------------------------- 1133
Sharp, George -------------------- 206
Showles, Conrad L__________________ 206
Signers of incorporation of Ste.
Anne's -------------------------- 997
Sill, Prof. J. M. B. -------_______ 791, 858
Silver Creek _______________________ 4
Simcoe, John Graves ---__________ 197 fri.
Sinclair, Patrick __________________ 129
Sixteenth Infantry (Civil War) -- 483
Sixty-fourth Brigade --_____________ 518
Sketch of Black Hawk War 457
Skyline changes ---________________ 892
Slave rescues, Other ----___________ 1124
Slavery and the negroes in Michigan -1122
Slavery and the underground railroad - 1122
Smart, Robert ----------___________ 1040
Smillie & Co., C. M. -----___________ 1415
Smith, A. M., quoted -----------____ 1312
Smith, David William, 198; quoted 201
Smith, Maj. John --________________ 189
Smith, Thomas --______________ 195, 206
Smith, William ----_______________ 205
Soils of county --__________________ 8
Soldiers awarded D. S. C. ----______ 528
Soldiers disorderly -----...----______ 381
Soldiers’ Monument -----------____ 496
Soviet Army ---------------------- 521
Spanish-American War . . . . ------ 501
Speed, J. J. ----------------------- 361
Spietz Cigar Company, Ltd., ------- 1536
Springwells Township . . . . . ------ 430
Square D Company ---------------- 1519
Stadium of University of Detroit---___ 906
Stage Coach Lines, The -- - - - - - - - 1161
Standard Motor Truck Co. . . . . . . 1380
Standard Steel Shelving Co., The 1478
Standard Trust Company --------- 1269
Star Carpet Cleaning Company ...---- 1542
Stark ---------------------------- 443
1568
INDEX
State Agricultural College --_______ 1278
State Agricultural Society ---______ 1277
State democratic in early day ------ 1111
State Savings Bank of Flat Rock --___ 1259
State sent regiment --------------- 471
State ownership of railroads ---_____ 1189
Statement of Facts ----____________ 244
States erected out of Northwest Ter-
ritory -------------------------- 417
Statues -- ~-------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 905
Steamer General Brady removes
Michigan troops ----------------- 465
Steamer Henry Clay brought 370 men 460
Steamers, The first --____________ 1165
Steamship lines, Present ---________ 1170
Stearns Register Co. ----___________ 1415
Steinheiser Co., Inc., C. P. ----_____ 1458
Stenger Die & Tool Co. ---_________ 1464
Sterling, James ---------------- 89, 951
Stillman defeated --_______________ 459
Stocking, William, “Detroit Men in
Public Life” -------------------- 1132
Stocking, William, “Historic Political
Campaigns”
Stocking, William, “Parks and Boule-
wards of Detroit.”
Stocking, William, quoted ---_______ 1364
Stocking, William, “Slavery and the
Underground Railroad” --________ 1122
Stone, David ---------------------- 1215
Stormfeltz-Loveley Co. --___________ 1426
Story of a title—a lost deed ---______ 980
Story of Detroit's greatest industry__1357
Story of medicine in Detroit --_______ 591
Stove-making, 1337; industry today 1341
Strathmoor State Bank ____________ 1260
Street in 1826, The ----___________ 1049
Street railways approved --________ 362
Stubbs Company, The ---__________ 1548
Studebaker Corporation -----_______ 1379
Study club fire, 1929 ------_________ 394
Subsequent boundary changes ---____ 414
Successful and aggressive campaign,
An --- ------------------------ 1116
Sumpter Township -----___________ 430
Superior Seal & Stamp Co. ---_____ 1453
Superior court abolished --__________ 577
Supreme court history ----_________ 569
Superior Tool Works ----__________ 1413
Surrender premeditated ---_________ 290
Surveys established --______________ 1274
Swamps reclaimed --_______________ 1276
Swan Creek ----------------------- 4
Swedish Crucible Steel Company----1535
Sweinhart, James, quoted --________ 515
Sydney, Lord (Thomas Townshend) -- 177
T
Tablet in Southern Hotel ---_______ 117
Taylor Center
Taylor, Gen. Zachary _______________ 470
Taylor Township ------------------ 431
Tax protest ––––––––––––––––––––––– 118
Tecumseh ---------------------- 254, 275
Teetzel Company -----------------. 1521
Telephone invented ----____________ 362
Temperance Hotel -----____________ 1129
Ten Brook, Andrew, quoted --------- 797
Ten Eyck, Conrad ----------------- 246
'L'enth Infantry (Civil War) --______ 482
'Territorial Bank, The first --________ 1211
Thanksgiving brought here _________ 955
Theological and religious literature -- 868
These were awarded naval decorations 531
'I hird Cavalry (Civil War)
'Thirteenth Battery (Civil War) --___ 490
Thirtieth Infantry
Thirty-first Infantry (Spanish War) — 503
Thirty-fourth Infantry (Spanish War) 504
Thirty-fifth Infantry (Spanish War) - 504
'I hirty-second Division (World War)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 508, 513
Thirty-second Infantry (Spanish War) 503
Thirty-third Infantry (Spanish War) 504
Thomas, Cyrus ------------------ 11, 76
Thompson Aeronautical Corporation - 1179
Thompson Home for old ladies --____ 400
Thompson Products, Inc.____________ 1495
Thomson, Bishop Edward ---________ 870
Thorn, William -------------------- 209
Threat of retaliation --_____________ 141
Three hundred thirty-ninth Infantry 520
Tiffin, Edward --------------------- 309
Tiffin, Edward, quoted -------------- 1275
Title vested in University of Michi-
880 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1107
Todd, Isaac ––––––––––––––––––––––– 219
Todd, Col. John -------------------- 224
Tonty, Henri de ------------------- 28
Tonty left in charge ---------------- 52
Tonty, Pierre Alphonse de ----______ 62
Townshend, Thomas (Lord Sydney) -- 177
Trackless trolleys, New –---------- 1173
Trade and commercial growth -------- 1281
Traders and merchants in 1767,
Names of -–––––––––––––––––––––– 1282
Trading licenses revoked -------_____ 36
Traffic, railroads and express________ 1205
Trails, old Indian ------------------ 1159
Translation of mortgage made by
trustees ------------------------- 990
Transportation, development of --___ 1159
Transportation, motor -------------1172
Transportation, recent development_-1171
Travel, early modes of --____________ 116I
Treaty of Fort Harmar, The --_____ 18
Treaty of Fort Stanwix --__________ 18
Treaty of Ghent ------------------- 181
Treaty of St. Mary’s, 1818 --------- 20
Trenton ------------------------- 440
Trenton State Bank _ ______________ 1260
Trespassed police regulations (unpub- -
lished list) ---------------------- 379
INDEX
1569
Triangle field
- *** -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --- *-* *-- - - -- ~~~~ ** 1403
Trip wires and tin cans for alarms -– 516
Troops in Civil War ---____________ 473
Troops in Mexican War ----________ 470
Troops to Archangel, Russia ________ 520
Trolley, new trackless -------------- 1173
Troubles begin --------------------- 994
Trucks took 125th to Chateau Thierry 517
Truscon Steel Company, The -------- 1502
Trust companies -------------------
-- - - - - - - - - - - - - 1245, 1254, 1265, 1266
Trust, Security and Safe Deposit Com-
Parly ----, ------------------------ 1245
Tucker, William L_ ___________ 167, 211
Tupper, Gen. Benjamin ------------- 225
Turkey Foot Falls ---______________ 234
Turnbull, Robert --_____ ________ 870
Turner Cartage & Storage Company 1507
Turner-Messenger Manufacturing
Company –––––––––––––––––––––––– 1513
Twelve boxes rifles captured - - - ----- 469
Twenty-fourth Infantry (Civil War) 484
Twenty-seventh Infantry (Civil War) 485
Two died of cholera - - --____________ 460
Two Provinces created ---__________ 197
U
Unconditional surrender ------------ 297
Underground railroad and slavery – 1122
Underground railroad, The ----____. 1125
Union depot, The --________________ 1202
Union Joint Stock Land Bank _____- 1269
Union Trucking Company, The . . . . . 1499
Union Trust Company --__ __ 1254, 1269
United Outdoor Advertising Co., The 1455
United Savings Bank ____ ___ _____ 1254
United Savings Bank of Detroit ----- 1269
United States at Detroit ... --______ 179
United States surveys established .__ 1274
United States takes a hand --_______ 374
United States Telegraph Co. --_____ 361
United States troops scare “Patriots”
a Way ...— . * - - - - - - - - - - - - -º- ºr---, -, -aº - - 468
United States Trust Company__ ___ 1269
Universal Cooler Corporation, The -- 1451
Universal Credit Corporation ------- 1423
University of Detroit - --________ 808
University of Detroit today ----_____ 812
University of Michigan ----________ 797
Universities and colleges --_________ 797
Unrecorded deed that was lost --_____ 1017
Upper Canada established --________ 198
Utley, Henry M. ---_______________ 871
Upper Sandusky Treaty ----________ 20
V
Value seminary lot at $5,000 --------- 1106
Van Antwerp Company ------------ 1491
Van Buren, Martin ---______________ 292
Van Buren Township --------------- 432
Van Dyke, James A. --__________ ___ 1069
Vessels of every type built ---_____ 1334
Villages now extinct -------________ 443
Villages recently incorporated_______ 446
Vincent, James -------------------- 205
Visger, Jacob –––––––––––––––––––––– 210
Volunteer fireman -----------_______ 387
Vote on bonds for library____________ 855
W
Wabash railroad, The ----________. 1202
Walk-in-the Water ---_____________ 1165
Walker & Company --______________ 1446
Wall Street of Detroit -----_________ 1089
Walter Machine & Screw Company,
The ---------------------------- 1509
Waltz ----------------------------- 443
Wanless, Andrew L_________________ 872
Wanted Buffer State ---____________ 223
Wanted mill on island ----_________ 174
War cost about two million -----____ 462
War of 1812 ----------------------- 998
War whoop at 4 a. m. --____________ 256
War work at home (Civil War) --___ 495
War Zone ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 506
Ward, Capt. E. B. --________________ 1326
Warfare on Citizens Railway ------- 366
Watercourses ---------------------- 3
Warren, Charles B. --_____________ 1145
Warren, Chas. B., quoted -----______ 1833
Washington decided on vigorous mea-
Sules ––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 227
Washington Market, --_____________ 1293
Washtenaw County set off from
Wayne -------------------------- 415
Water craft, canoe is first -----_____ 1163
Waterford ------------------------ 443
Waterhouse Laundry Machinery Com-
Parly –––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1506
Waterworks ----------------------- 349
Wayne -------------------------- 440
Wayne County Airport ------------- 1402
Wayne County and Detroit Finances - 1207
Wayne County and Home Bank of
Highland Park ------_______ 1245, 1259
Wayne County and Home Savings
Bank -- - - -------------------- 1236
Wayne County Banks --____________ 1258
Wayne County cut off --___________ 410
Wayne County, Evolution of ---____ 405
Wayne County Farmers' Institute --- 1278
Wayne County Geography --_______ l
Wayne County in 1805 -- . . . . . . . . . 413
Wayne County Medical Society, The 605
Wayne County Pioneer Society_______ 871
Wayne County Poor House _________ 402
Wayne County Savings Bank _______ 1074
Wayne County Towns and Villages . . 432
Wayne County Townships --- - - - - - - 417
Wayne, Gen. Anthony, called by
Washington, 190; mobilizes forces,
1570
INDEX
229; marches for Indian country,
233; County named for ----------- 406
Wayne Savings Bank ______________ 1260
Welch, Peg ------------------------ 382
Wessels & Sons Co., D. D., ---------- 1517
Western Christian Advocate, quoted__ 220
Westminister Presbyterian Church___ 713
Wheaton, John -------------------- 209
White Chapel Cemetery ------------ 521
Whitehead, John ------____ _ _ _ _ ___ _ 209
Whitney, Andrew G. --------- - - - - 323
Whitney Building, David ---------. 1297
Wholesale trade developed --________ 1287
“Wildcat Banks” --------_______ ____ 1229
Wilkins, Ross . . . . . . . . ... -- 1057, 1134
Williams, John R., -----------------
-- - - - - - - - 245, 260, 323, 1137, 1215, 1300
Williams Mfg. Co., Inc. --__________. 1449
Williams, Nathan ----__________.--_ 210
Williams, Thomas ----______ 148, 156, 212
Willis, Richard Storrs ---__________ 873
Willits, Elijah -------------------- 1084
Willits, Wellington --______________. 1085
Willow ---------------------------- 443
Willow Creek ______________________ 4
Willow Run - - - - - - --...--_____ - - - - - - - - --- 4
Wilson Company, The Frank H. ----. 1550
Wilson, President, addresses Congress 505
Wilson War Message --_____________ 506
Winchester in action ---____________ 297
Winnebago, The --- __ 16
Winston, Richard, quoted --_________ 155
Winter of 1831-2 severe ____________ 459
Winter of hardships ---_____________ 305
Wise Chrome Products Co., Inc._ _ _ 1492
Witherell, Benjamin F. H.--_265 fr.; 1092
Witherell, James__256, 260, 265, 762, 1133
Wolverine Bolt Company, The -------1544
Wolverine Bottling Works ---------. 1528
Woman’s Hospital and Foundlings’
Home --------------------------- 400
Wood Co., The W. E. ----___________ 1455
Woodall Industries, Incorporated – 1526
Woodbridge, William . . . . 245, 246, 1132
Woods' Creek ----------------_____. - 4
Wood w a r d Avenue Presbyterian
Church -------------------------- 716
Woodward, Augustus B. 243, 245;
plan of city, ---------------- 370, 1145
World War ---------------________ 505
World War incidents and episodes___ 512
World’s stove-making center________ 1337
Writers --__ ___________. 839, Et. Seq
Early American ----------------- 867
Writes neighborhood gossip_________ 1106
Wyandotte -- -- - - 441
Wyandotte Savings Bank __________ 1260
Y
Yax, John ------------------------- 210
Y. M. C. A. –––––––––––––––––––– 900, 903
Z
Zeisberger, David, quoted ---------- 1274
Zion Lodge, F. & A. M., 1763________ 1013
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