History of Lenawee County, Michigan

CHAPTER VI. GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT. From the time of the first laying out and platting of the village of Adrian, there grew up quite a strife between it and Tecumseh for the final location of the County seat. Tecumseh had the start of Adrian by about two years, and had obtained the advantage of having had the County seat first established there by the Territorial legislature, and thus kept rather ahead of Adrian in population and improvements for the first ten or twelve years of their growth. By the state census of 11837, the township of Tecumseh had a population of 2,462, whilst Logan township (afterward changed to Adrian), including the village of Adrian, had 1,962, and Raisin township, lying between them, had about 1,076, about equally divided in interest as between the two villages, but leaning strongly toward Adrian on account of the influence of Darius Comstock being thrown actively and powerfully in favor of his son's interests as the founder of that then thriving village. The late W. A. Whitney stated that he well remembered a conversation between General Brown and Darius Comstock, when the latter inquired, "Does thee really think, Joseph, that thee has a better place at Tecumseh for the County seat than we have at Adrian?" "No," said the General, "but we have a much better water power and will keep the County seat also, if we can." But the geographical position of Adrian, being so much nearer the center of the County, and the then near completion of the Erie & Kalamazoo railroad, from Toledo to Adrian and which was being built largely by means of capital furnished by Adrian and vicinity, decided the question ii favor of that place, and the old feeling of rivalry between the two places has long since ceased to exist, or to show any evidence of even being much remembered. The removal of the seat of justice of the County from Tecumseh to Adrian was provided for by an act of the first state legislature, approved March 21, 1836, to take effect from and after the first Monday of November, 1838. The first section of the act declared the present seat of justice at Tecumseh vacated, and then proceeding it declared that from and after Nov. 1, 1838, "the seat of justice of Lenawee County shall be, and the same is hereby established at the village of Adrian, in said County, upon lands heretofore conveyed to said County by Addison J. Comstock, or upon such other lands in said village as may be hereafter conveyed to said County for that purpose, and accepted by the board of supervisors of said County, and said board of supervisors are hereby authorized and empowered, from and after the first Monday of May, next, to designate and fix the site for erection of the County buildings for said County, in the village of Adrian aforesaid." The next section of this enactment authorized the board of supervisors to borrow $1o,ooo for a term not exceeding ten years, and at an interest not exceeding seven per cent., to be redeemable in, not less than five annual installments, for the purpose of obtaining site for and the erection of buildings. A subsequent section provided, "that said board shall compensate the owners of the buildings now used for County purposes in such sum or sums as they shall deem just and equitable for the use of said buildings for the nine years they have been used, or may hereafter be used for purposes aforesaid." . The seat of justice having thus been located at Adrian, the first requisite in the embryo city was buildings in which to hold court and house the County officials. As may readily be inferred, these first County buildings were simple and in keeping with their surroundings. The court house was built in the years 1836-7; it was built on the land donated by Addison J. Comstock, extending from Clinton street east to Locust and north to Front street. The building stood on the lot fronting on First street and occupied the spot where the Gilliland homestead now stands. It was a brick structure, two stories high. The court and jury rooms were on the upper floor, while the offices for the County officials were below. A hallway extended through the center and at the back end a stairway led to the court room above. It was a large, commodious and airy building, presenting a very good appearance, and on the roof in front was a belfry. This building served as the official residence of the County officers and the place for holding the courts of the County until March 14, 1852, when the court-house was destroyed by fire and with it a great many of the County records and other valuable articles in the various offices. Soon thereafter the County purchased the present court-house site and on it erected an office building, one story high, of brick. This building was solely for the use of the County officials, and for court purposes various expedients were resorted to. Court was held at different times in the old Odd Fellows' hall, on Maumee street, a vacant room on the third floor of the Underwood block, and at other places until 1863, when Dean's opera house, which had formerly been the place of worship for the First Methodist Episcopal Church was secured, and it was the building in which courts were held until the erection of the present structure in 1884. The delay in building a new court house was long and exasperating, occasioned by-the opposition manifested by residents in other parts of the County, but in 1881 a movement was started that was finally successful and the new court house was built. It came about in this way: Jesse Warren, chairman of the board of supervisors, appointed Shepherd, of Dover; Manning, of Deerfield, and Howell, of Macon, as a committee on public buildings. At that time, as already stated, the courts were held in Dean's opera house, and there the board of supervisors met, and the County office building was inadequate for the purposes for which it was used. The need of the County for better conveniences was very great. The question of an appropriation for a new court house had several times been submitted to the voters of the County, and they had always voted it down.. The board of supervisors had little or no faith in submitting the question to the people again. The committee carefully examined every project that promised relief, but no suggested plan was practicable, and the final report of the committee was made up without recommendations. The report of the committee was completed and signed in the little hallway leading from the court room to the supervisor's room in Dean's opera house. Before the committee left the building Mr. Howell said to Mr. Shepherd : "My town sent me here to represent their interests, and I believe their interests demand greater security for the records, and better conveniences for the courts. When our report has been adopted, I will offer a resolution to again submit to the voters the question of an appropriation to build a new court house." "I will stand by you and second the motion," said Shepherd. The report of the committee was made and adopted Wednesday morning, March 22, 1882. At the opening of the afternoon session Mr. Howell offered the resolution to submit to the voters the question again. Mr. Dewey moved that the resolution be made the special order for 9 a. m. of the following day. At 9 a. in., March 23, the resolution was taken up for consideration. The amount named in the resolution was $75,000, Mr. Dewey moved to strike out $75, LEN A1V EE COUNTY COURT HOUSE ooo and insert $5o,00o. Mr. Shepherd moved to amend Mr. Dewey's amendment and make it $6o,ooo. Mr. Shepherd's amendment was lost, yeas 9, nays 14. The question then came up on Mr. Dewey's amendment, which was lost, years 1o, days 14. D. A. Bixby then moved to reconsider the vote by which Mr. Dewey's amendment was lost. This was carried. After much discussion the resolution as introduced by Mr. Howell, and as amended by Mr. Dewey, was carried, yeas 18, nays 6; two-thirds of the supervisors-elect being necessary to submit. The question was submitted to the people, Nov. 7, 1882, and carried. As a site for the new court house the tract of land bounded by Maple avenue, Main, Front and Winter streets was purchased. A sale of the contract for building was advertised and held, and the lowest responsible bidder was Messers. Allen & Van Tassel, of Tonia, and the contract was awarded to them, their bid being $47,460. The contract for the construction was made on April 3, 1884, and the building was first used for court purposes in the early part of the year 1886. The structure is of brick, two stories high, with a tower and belfry, and faces on Main street, although there are also entrances from Maple avenue and Front street. It is a very substantial building, the interior being admirably arranged for the accommodation of the County officials and others having business therein. The total cost to the County of the building, including all extra work, amounted to $49,944, although this does not represent the entire cost of the structure. The original contractors, realizing that they had "counted without their host" in estimating the cost of the work, made an assignment before its completion, the assignees being their bondsmen, Messrs. Knapp & Avery. These gentlemen carried out the contract to the letter, but found at the end that they were the losers in a sum that amounted to more than $8,000. Several efforts were made by members of the board of supervisors to reimburse these gentlemen for at least a portion of their loss, but nothing was done in that direction. The building committee appointed by the board of supervisors, and who superintended the work from its inception to its completion, was Ira Swaney, Thomas III. Hunter, A. James, H. Holdridge, and Wm. M. Corbet. William M. Corbet, who officiated as a member of this committee, is deserving of more than a passing mention, and it is with no desire to be invidious that the writer takes this opportunity to give a short sketch of his career. During life he was one of the most popular men of Blissfield Township, as was evidenced upon several occasions, particularly in his repeated elections to, the office of supervisor by the people, notwithstanding the fact that the party with which he affiliated was in the minority in the township by at least one hundred votes.. Mr. Corbet was born in Villanova, Chautauqua County, New York, on May 22, 1826. In 1830 the family emigrated to Michigan, arriving at Detroit on July 4, on a schooner after a week's sail from Buffalo. At Detroit the father secured ox-teams and removed his family to Adrian, arriving there about the middle of-the month. He afterward took up eighty acres on section 26 in Palmyra township, where the family lived most of the, time until 1859. *William M. Corbet lived at home until the death of his mother, in 1840, when he went to Monroe and lived with W. G. Powers for several years, spending a part of three or four years in school during this time. On January 9, 1843, when he was seventeen years old, he commenced as a locomotive fireman on the Michigan Southern railroad, on a locomotive called the "Hillsdale," of which Edwin Reese was engineer. He acted as fireman about two years, when Thomas G. Coe, then superintendent, promoted him, and he at once became a full-fledged engineer Df the old locomotive "Ypsilanti," the first that ever ran on the Michigan Southern road; it had previously been used on. the Michigan Central, but was shipped to Detroit from Monroe by vessel. He ran on the Michigan Southern for about six years, then went into the employ of the Michigan Central, and remained nearly a year, after which he returned to the Michigan Southern and ran a locomotive until 1853, after which time he followed that occupation but little. During the ten years of his services as fireman and engineer he was in several accidents, including two collisions. In 1853 he went to Toledo, and there clerked for W. G. Powers until 1854, when he purchased the Pratt farm near the village of Blissfield, but sold it to W. G. Powers in i86o and purchased the Fitch Dewey farm about two miles northeast of Blissfield, where the afterward resided. He was a Democrat in politics, and was first elected to the office of supervisor in 1883. During that and the following, two years he served as a member of the committee which superintended the building of the court house, and he was annually re-elected as supervisor for a number of years. At one time he was a candidate of his party for a seat in the legislature, but party lines were so closely drawn that he was defeated by a small majority. In the board of supervisors he also- served upon several small committees, the most important of which was upon equalization, and atone time he was the candidate of his party for chairman of the board. The first County jail in Adrian was built at about the same time as the court house, in 1836-7, and the building was located near the old court house at about the spot where the barn on the Gilliland homestead now stands. This served as the place of confinement for offenders until 1877, when, the building having become dilapidated and out-of-date, it became necessary to erect a new one. The question of an appropriation for the purpose of building a new jail was submitted to the voters of the County at the April election in 1876, and was carried by a comfortable majority. A site for the new building was selected just south across the street from the present court house. The contract for the building was let on August 31, 1876, to James Donough, of Adrian, the contract price being $17,784. The building was completed in the following year, and is in all respects a model County jail, both in point of security and arrangement. The total cost was $19,914.43, thus keeping well within the amount of the appropriation, which was $20,000. ROADS. The first thought taken by early settlers, when a few homes are once established, is of facilities for communicating with a modest section of the outer world, and the realization of this desire becomes a business and social necessity. Afterward, when the limits of a village are expanded into a city, comes the thought of general means of communication and transportation, not only within the bounds of the corporation, but far beyond into the distant districts of the state and nation. The first roadways leading into and out of Lenawee County were not public highways. They were adopted by accident, belonged to nobody in particular, and extended across the country without regard to the cardinal points of the compass, but as irregular as a, cow-path. When the white men first visited the present site of Tecumseh they found the remains of one of the great camping grounds of the Pottawattamie Indians, from which diverged four principal Indian trails; one for Detroit, one for Monroe, one south, and one for Chicago. The wagons of the pioneers usually followed these and other minor trails; and as they were found to be the best routes, the principal roads of pioneer days were established on nearly the same courses. But these roads were mere openings through the timber, with logs laid across some of the streams-and varied occasionally by stumps and hollows. Still the tide of immigration passed through these channels with an unceasing flow, and spread out, over the rich country to the west. As the population increased, however, the demand for more and better highways became constant and imperative. In the fall of 1826 Musgrove Evans was employed by the United States government to superintend the construction of the Chicago road from Detroit to Clinton, in Lenawee County. This road had been surveyed by the United States in 1825, and established as a military road between Detroit and Chicago. It was 254 miles long, extended from Detroit through Ypsilanti and Saline, entered Lenawee County a little to the northeast of Clinton village, passed through the village of Clinton and along the northern boundary of Lenawee County, through Hillsdale, Branch, and St. Joseph counties, and crossed the corner of Berrien into the state of Indiana. It was the thoroughfare to other states along which immigrants flocked in almost countless numbers. B'lois' Gazetteer of the state of Michigan, published in 1838, speaking of the Chicago road, said: "The travel on this road is immense, equal to, if not more, than on any other in the United States of the same length." In June, 1828, the 'Legislative Council, in response to a general demand, laid out a Territorial road from "Port Lawrence"' (Toledo), "in the County of Monroe," through "Blissfield and Logan. and also through the village of Adrian, in the County of Lenawee, to intersect the Chicago road on the most direct and eligible route; and Anthony McKey, of said County of Lenawee, and Eli Hubbard and Seneca Allen, of the County of _Monroe, are hereby appointed commissioners to lay out said road." The act was approved June 23, 1828. Only the west portion of this road was ever completed. The first public roads in the vicinity of Adrian were laid out, fourteen in number, by Noah Norton and Warren Aylesworth, road commissioners, from November 26, 1827, to December 11, 1828. These roads opened up the country surrounding the future County seat and proved an impetus to the speedy settlement of that region. In the winter of 1831-2 Congress made an appropriation to build a turnpike road from La Plaisance Bay to the Chicago road, through Tecumseh, and in the fall of 1832 Musgrove Evans, of Tecumseh, was employed to survey the route. The jobs were let in the spring of 1833, and the road was completed during the summer of 1835. These were some of tile early roads in Lenawee County and others are mentioned in different chapters of this work. It is not possible to give in detail the development of highways, and an effort_ is only made to mention a sufficient number to convey to the reader some idea of early days and pioneer conditions. As has been noted in a previous chapter, Congress appropriated money at different times to construct military roads in the Territory of Michigan, and some of these, notably the Chicago road, were a great convenience to the early settlers of Lenawee County. These matters at that early day were regarded as of great local importance. The business of road construction soon became systematized to some extent and gradually the County of Lenawee became threaded with public highways. Upon them the settlers had to depend as routes of travel into the interior, for as yet the railroads and their advantages had not become to be realized. Although the subject of railroads had begun to occupy the thoughts of the more sanguine and far seeing, plank wagon-roads were regarded as more practicable and better adapted to the wants of the community in reaching a market for their agricultural products, of which at that time wheat was the principal. In the legislative assembly of 1837 a charter was passed incorporating a company with authority to construct a road or turnpike from Adrian to the village of Coldwater, in Branch County. The incorporation was styled "The Adrian and Coldwater Turnpike Company." and Addison J. Comstock, E. Conant Winter, Henry Wood, George Crane, Samuel Comstock, Rockwell Manning, and Hiram Cowles were named as commissioners to receive and solicit subscriptions for stock therein. The books were to be opened at the inn of E. C. Winter in the village of Adrian, and the capital stock was $50,000, consisting of i,ooo shares of $50 each. A state road from the Ohio line north to the village of Hudson was provided for by act of the legislature of March 31, 1841. Franklin Goodell, T. C. Sawyer and E. R. Parmelee were appointed commissioners to lay out and construct the road from a point where the line between Lenawee and Hillsdale counties intersects the line between the states of Ohio and Michigan. It seems that the project of a turnpike from Adrian to Coldwater came to naught, for on March 16, 1847, the state legislature passed an act incorporating the "Adrian and Coldwater Plank Road Company." The incorporators were Richard Kent, Elisha P. Champlin, and Henry Lockwood, and these gentlemen were to serve as a board of commissioners to solicit and receive subscriptions for stock. The capital stock was placed at $250,000, consisting of 1o,ooo shares of $25 each. The company was empowered to survey and construct a road from Adrian to Coldwater, passing through the villages of Harrison and Jonesville, and the same was to be built of plank not less than eight feet long and three inches in thickness. As soon as five miles of said road was completed the directors were to be allowed to appoint toll collectors and erect toll stations. The following rates of toll were established: Meat cattle, six cents for every score; wagons drawn by two animals, twelve and one-half cents; for every additional animal, 4 cents; coaches, pleasure wagons, or carriages, drawn by two animals, twelve and one-half cents; each additional animal, four cents; for single vehicles, 10 cents; every horse or mule driven or led over, without vehicle, four cents; horse or mule, with rider, six cents. Following these enactments, numerous applications were made to the legislature for charters authorizing the construction of other plank and turnpike roads. At the session of the state legislature of 1848, on April 3, of that year, six acts of incorporation were passed, giving to companies authority to construct plank roads and collect tolls in Lenawee County. "The Adrian and Union City Plank Road Company" was chartered to construct a road from Union City, in Branch County, to Adrian, over the most eligible route, and William 'L. Greenly, George C. Knight, and Abel Whitney, were appointed commissioners; the capital stock was placed at $1oo.ooo, divided into 4,000 shares of $25 each. "The Adrian and Jackson Plank Road Company" was incorporated, to construct a road from Adrian to Jackson, and J. I-I. Cleveland, Charles Bidwell, S. Walker, A. F. Fitch and J. B. Pierce were appointed commissioners; the capital stock was placed at $100,000, divided into 4,000 shares of $25 each. "The Adrian and White Pigeon Plank Road Company" was incorporated to construct a road from Adrian to White Pigeon, in St. Joseph County, and Henry Hart, John R. Clark, T. D. Billings, Charles Buck and C. B. Stebbins, were appointed commissioners; the capital stock was placed at $i5,ooo, divided into 3,000 shares of $25 each. "The Indiana and Adrian Plank Road Company" was incorporated to construct a road from the Indiana state line in the County of Hillsdale to the southwest corner of Lenawee County, and thence on the most direct and eligible route to Adrian. The commissioners were James Fowle, John King, and, Sidney S. Drake, of Hillsdale County, and the capital stock was $50,000, divided into 2,000 shares of $25 each. "The Tecumseh and Jackson Plank Road Company" was incorporated to construct a road from Tecumseh to the village of Jackson, in Jackson County, and G. W. Ketchum, Perley Bills, S. Walker, H. B. Lathrop, and J. C. Wood, were appointed commissioners to receive and solicit subscriptions; the capital stock was placed at $15,000, divided into 3,000 shares of $25 each. And "The Adrian and Bean Creek Plank Road Company" was incorporated to construct a road from Adrian to such point-on Bean Creek in Rollin Township as might be thought to be advisable. George C. Knight, E. C. Winter, C. D. Smith, W. Corey, 'and Nathaniel Cooper, were appointed commissioners, and the capital stock was placed at $75,000, divided into 3,000 shares of $25 each. It would be interesting if we were able to give the history of these various projects, but we are unable to do so, and it is probable that the great expectations of the incorporators were never fully realized. It would seem that some of them were rival concerns, and if so they probably met with an early demise. But the company last named enjoyed a lease of life and realized a measure of success. It was organized on May 4, 1848, with a capital stock of $75,000, divided into 3,000 shares, as stated above. The original charter was from Adrian to Bean Creek, but an extension was granted, and the road was built as far as Gambleville, in Hillsdale County, where it intersected with the Chicago turnpike. During the year the survey was made, the right of way purchased and the contracts let for lumber and construction. The first plank of the road was laid in Adrian in- the spring of 1849. Commencing on Front Street, opposite where the court house now stands, planks were laid up Main street to Maumee, and on Maumee street west to the village of Addison, etc. A. J. Comstock was the first president of the company, Henry Jones was the secretary, and F. L. Clark was treasurer. This plank road was one of the principal highways of Lenawee County for a number of years, but in due time it had served its period of usefulness. By an act of the legislature, approved February 16, 1857, "The Adrian and Bean Creek Plank Road Company",was empowered, by a majority vote of stockholders at a regular meeting thereof, to "discontinue any part of their road and remove planks therefrom and may by like vote discontinue their branch of said road and remove planks therefrom, and also gravel any part of their said plank road or branch thereof." It was also provided that the company should record with the register of deeds a description of any part of the road which might be discontinued, within sixty days after such discontinuance, but that no part of the road which should be properly graveled should be deemed to have been discontinued. But this road and all others of like description have long since passed away, having performed their part in the development of the country, and it must be borne in mind that the growth of Lenawee County and surrounding territory was by successive if not rapid, steps of progress. None of these steps was of more importance than the locating and building of public roads, and it is the duty of the historian to mention these numerous steps, even though they do not possess for the present generation the interest which inspired them. Where, in 1826, the only evidences -of human occupancy were a few scattered Indian trails, and where the only travel by white persons had been by land-surveying parties, or perhaps an occasional Indian trader, we now find every mile or so, well traveled roads, interpersed every few miles with school houses and churches, and all other evidences of a thickly settled, rich and prosperous community. Such has been the transformation in Lenawee County during a period of but little more than eighty years. RAILROADS. Perhaps one of the greatest events in the history of Lenawee County occurred on November 2, 1836, the same being the completion of the Erie & Kalamazoo railroad from Toledo to Adrian. It was through the enterprise and untiring efforts of Addison J. Comstock, his father, Darius Comstock, George Crane, Joseph Gibbons, and Dr. C. N. Ormsby, of Adrian, together with some gentlemen in Toledo, that the work was done. The Erie & Kalamazoo was the first railroad built in the United States, west of Schenectady, N. Y., and the company was incorporated by the Territorial Legislature of Michigan, in April, 11833, to construct a railroad from Lake Erie (Port Lawrence, now Toledo) to the headwaters of the Kalamazoo river, hence the name, "Erie & Kalamazoo." At that time the entire road was supposed to be in Michigan, but on the final adjustment of the boundary question, after the celebrated "Toledo War," about one-third of the road-eleven miles was found to be in the state of Ohio. This road was laid with a thin iron ribbon, on oak stringers, and was opened in 1836. Until January, 1837, the motive power consisted of horses. The notice of the arrival of locomotive No. i, the first one in the tier of states bordered by the Great 'Lakes, and the advertisement of the road, in 1837, is here given, copied from the Toledo Weekly Blade, of January 20, 1837 "It affords us pleasure to announce the arrival of the long expected locomotive for the Erie & Kalamazoo railroad. The business of our place has been embarrassed for want of it; goods have accumulated at our wharves faster than we could transport them into the interior on cars drawn by horses, and as a natural consequence several of our warehouses are now crowded to their utmost capacity. It is expected that the engine will be in operation in a few days, and then, we trust, goods and merchandise will be forwarded as fast as they arrive. A little allowance, however, must be made for the time necessary to disencumber our warehouses of the large stock already on hand." In the advertising columns the following appeared “To Emigrants and Travelers "The Erie & Kalamazoo railroad is now in full operation between Toledo and Adrian. "During the ensuing season trains of cars will run daily to Adrian, there connecting with a line of stages for the West, Michigan City, Chicago, and Wisconsin Territory. "Emigrants and others destined for Indiana, Illinois, and the western part of Michigan WILL SAVE TWO DAYS "And the corresponding expense, by taking this route in preference to the more lengthened, tedious and expensive route heretofore traveled. "All baggage at the risk of the owners." This advertisement was signed by Edward Bissell, W. P. Daniels, and George Crane, as commissioners of the Erie & Kalamazoo Railroad Company, and A. Hughes is named as superintendent of the Western Stage Company. It will be observed that no time is given for the departure of trains. The Board of Directors adopted the following tariff in 1836: "Resolved, That the fare in the 'Pleasure Car' (a two-story, top heavy affair that was always jumping the track) shall be as follows: Passengers, Toledo to Adrian, twelve shillings, fifty pounds of baggage free. Freight, Toledo to Adrian, four shillings per hundred pounds; salt, $1 per barrel." For ten years this road had a stormy and troublous existence, its affairs being managed sometimes by a Commissioner, acting for the Board of Directors, sometimes by trustees, appointed by order of the court, and part of the time by a receiver at the Toledo end, and a commissioner at the Adrian end, recalling the familiar anecdote of the retort of the mate of a vessel to the captain, "My end of this craft has come to anchor." In 1848 the road was sold out under accumulated judgments; Hon. Washington Hunt, of Lockport, N. Y., and George Bliss, of Massachusetts, were the purchasers. On August 1, 1849, they leased the road in perpetuity to its rival, the Michigan Southern, which was then in operation from Monroe to Hillsdale, and, although it now forms a part of the main line of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern from Toledo westward, the Erie & Kalamazoo company still exists, drawing and dividing its rental of $30,000 per year. The Palmyra & Jacksonburg railroad (now the Jackson branch of the Lake Shore) was started by the owners of the Erie & Kalamazoo railroad, and was opened to Tecumseh, which place was its terminus for nearly -twenty years, with a celebration on August 9, 1838. This road became involved and was sold to the state of Michigan in, 1844 for the amount of the state's loan and interest, $22,000. The state united it with the Southern road, after the construction of the latter, as the "Tecumseh branch," stipulating, in the sale of the Southern road, in 1846, that this branch should be extended to Jackson, which, after a delay of ten years, was done. We find that- on March 12, 1849, an act was passed by the state legislature, providing that the "state auditors settle and compromise the balance due the state from the Palmyra & Jacksonburg Railroad Company." In January, 1839, the legislature of the state passed the Internal Improvement Act, providing for a loan of $5,000,000 (an enormous sum at that time) for the improvement of rivers, construction of canals, and for three lines of railroad across the state-a Southern, a Central, and a Northern railroad. The Southern road was to start at Monroe, on Lake Erie, traverse the southern tier of counties, and terminate at New Buffalo, on Lake Michigan. Chicago was a mere Indian trading post, with a fort (Dearborn) in an apparently irreclaimable quagmire. In pursuance of that act commissioners were appointed to locate the routes. Of course the people of Lenawee County were greatly interested, for upon the successful completion of the road depended, in a great measure, their future welfare. The commissioners at once determined the principal points of the route, viz: Adrian, Hillsdale Center, as it was then called, Coldwater, Constantine, etc. As we shall not have occasion to refer to this matter again, it may as well be remarked in passing that Constantine was not finally made a point on the road, in consequence of the road being turned into Northern Indiana. The direct route-between Adrian and Hillsdale Center lay through or near the village of Rollin. The inhabitants of the twin villages, Lenawee and Keene, desired to deflect the road two miles from a straight line to accommodate them, and the inhabitants of Lanesville (now Hudson) desired to deflect it three miles to accommodate them. Of the three proposed routes the Lanesville route was the most unlikely to be adopted. The Lenawee and Keene folks had a better route to offer in place of the shorter Rollin route, but the Lanesville route was the longest and most difficult of the three, and if a company had been locating the road it would have taken a mint of eagles to buy it from its -proper course. The result proved the correctness of the old saw; "Where there is a will there is a way." In the person of Augustus Finney, Lanesville possessed a valuable agent for the accomplishment of her purposes. Gentlemanly in appearance and pleasant in address, and having an eloquent and persuasive tongue, he was just the man to make "the worst appear the better reason." Mr. Finney also possessed a personal interest in the location of the road. He had purchased a half interest in a saw mill, located in what is now the city of Hudson and five acres of land with a frontage extending from Market to Church street. In the spring of 1837, a-few weeks after the appointment of the commissioners Levi S. Humphrey, of Monroe, being one Mr. Finney appeared at Monroe to advocate the claims of the Lanesville route. A public meeting was convened in the court house to listen to the statements and arguments of the Lanesville orator. It did not take much to arouse the enthusiasm of Monroe city people then. The "Toledo War" was but just closed, and the state but three months admitted under the hated compromise that robbed them of a harbor. The state had just borrowed $5,000,000 and was going to build them a railroad across the slate. Monroe was to become the metropolis of Michigan, while the agueshaken denizens of Toledo would hover over the swamps that environ the place, until their bloodless bodies find a sepulcher in her miry soil. Under such a state of feeling the court house was easily filled with the business men of Monroe. Mr. Finney spoke of the beautiful country around Lanesville, and of the fertility of the soil, but principally of the mammoth water power which he said was about to be created near by, by digging a race across the neck of a bend in Bean Creek, and which power he said would be estimated by the thousand horse power, and the machinery driven would not only equal, but would surpass the greatest manufacturing cities of the world. He dwelt upon this branch of his subject until the audience fancied it saw a great manufacturing town on the Bean, only fifty miles away, furnishing the food, the furniture, and the clothing for the hundred thousand inhabitants of the city of Monroe. Satisfying the people paved the way for labor with the commissioners. The preliminary surveys were made in the autumn of 1837, but the road was not established until the fall of 1838. During all that time the question was open, and argument, persuasion, and more substantial inducements were the order of the day. Whether the inhabitants of the other routes offered any substantial inducements is unknown, but the probability is they relied upon their superior route, and deemed it impossible that the road would be laid on the longest and hardest route, until its location was fixed, and then offers were useless. The inducements operating on the minds of surveyors and commissioners will probably never be known, but that they did locate the Michigan Southern Railroad between Adrian and Hillsdale on the most ineligible route is a fact that can never be obliterated. The state commenced to take conveyances of right of way between Adrian and Hudson in November, 1838, and the road was opened as follows: Monroe to Petersburg, eighteen miles, in 1839; Adrian, thirty-three miles, in 1840; Hudson, fifty miles, in 1843; Hillsdale, sixty-six miles, in x843. This comprised all the Southern road built by the state. In x846 the state sold the road to a company, with Edwin C. Litchfield at its head, for $500,000, in ten equal annual installments. The new company did but little the next four years, adding but four miles to the west end to reach Jonesville. During the years 1851-52 the road *as constructed very rapidly, reaching Chicago, 243 miles from Toledo, in March, 1852. The lease of the Erie & Kalamazoo, already noticed, August 1, 1849, settled the struggle for supremacy between Monroe and Toledo, in favor of the latter. Following is a copy of a time table printed in the Watchtower office, Adrian, May 6, 1844, sixtyfive years ago "Michigan Southern Railroad. "Spring Arrangements for 1844. "(Road owned and operated by the State of \Michigan.) "From Monroe to Adrian, Hudson and Hillsdale. "This road is now in operation from Monroe to Hillsdale, a distance of sixty-six miles, and being well provided with Locomotives, Freight and Passenger Cars, is prepared to transport "Freight and Passengers "Expeditiously and at low rates. This road is the cheapest and most direct for Passengers going to Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, South and Western parts of Michigan. "Stages leave Hillsdale for Jonesville, Coldwater, Marshall; Kalamazoo, White Pigeon, Constantine, -Niles, Mishawaukie, South Bend. "Mouth of St. Joseph River, and all the important Western Villages and Cities. Passengers will find it for their interest to leave the Lake at Monroe, to avoid delay, as the Cars on this Road pass Adrian for the West before they can reach Adrian from Toledo; and also to avoid the expense and trouble of transhipment. "The Train for Passengers Leaves Monroe Daily, "Sundays Excepted, at Six o'clock A. M., "And Adrian at Nine o'clock A. M., and arrives at Hillsdale at Half Past Eleven o'clock A. M. "Leaves Hillsdale at half past I2 o'clock P. M., and Adrian at 3 o'clock P. M., and arrives at Monroe at 6 o'clock P. M. Fare Through, $2. To intermediate places in proportion. Table of Distance.. "Boat leaves St. Joseph daily for Chicago." This time table and advertisement was dated May 6, 1844, and was signed by J. H. Cleveland, superintendent. It is interesting to make comparison between the service then and that which is given the people today. Now, one of the least powerful of the many locomotives, which almost hourly pass over 10-iv Miles Monroe to Adrian 34 Adrian to Hudson 17 Hudson to Hillsdale I7 Hillsdale to Jonesville 5 Jonesville to Coldwater I8 Coldwater to Bronson Prai rie I3 Bronson to Sturges Prairie. 14 Sturges to White Pigeon... 12 Miles Mottville to Edwardsburgh.21 Edwardsburgh to Niles ii Niles to Michigan City 36 Michigan City to Chicago (steamboat) 6o Boat runs through daily. Niles to .mouth St. Joseph river 25 the several railroads that thread the County, would draw with ease a train consisting of at least three times the tonnage of all the rolling stock in use on the Michigan Southern in 1844. Fourteen passenger trains and two fast mail pass or leave the Adrian station of the Lake Shore road daily; and on an average eight local freights, with a capacity of 40,ooo to 8o,ooo pounds per car. The Wabash railroad approaches the Lake Shore in the magnitude of its passenger traffic and excels it as regards freight, and the other railroads of the County, each have a, large and growing business. Two electric railways pass through the County, affording excellent passenger service, and the numerous telegraph and telephone lines have completely annihilated distance in the matter of communication. 'What marvelous changes in the means of transmitting intelligence have been produced in a period of less than the allotted lifetime of a man! Today, at any railroad station in Lenawee County, connected with which is a telegraph office, one may transmit a message 2,000 miles distant, or even to Europe or the Orient, and receive to it an answer in less space of time than, sixty-five years ago, would be consumed by the speediest mode of travel to make the distance from Macon to Canandaigua and return; and, during the January and June floods that then appeared as regularly as the seasons, to communicate with a neighbor ten miles distant. Imagine a pioneer who, about three months after the presidential election of 1832, had received an Eastern letter or newspaper conveying the intelligence that Andrew Jackson had been re-elected president of the United States in the preceding November. If the settler is a Jackson man, lie dons his hunting shirt and coon-skin cap and sallies forth in search of neighbors of his political faith to communicate the glad tidings, and mingle rejoicings. News of the result of a, presidential election would now be known in every- considerable city and town in the United States and Europe within twenty-four hours after the close of the polls. In the year 1872, the Chicago & Canada Southern Railway Company completed the construction of its line as far west as Fayette, Ohio, and ran, the first train through Morenci on July 4, since which date Fayette has been the terminal point. This road furnishes a good outlet for the produce of the country contiguous to Morenci, and makes that village a good market for all country produce. The construction of the Wabash line, with a station two and one-half miles directly north of the village, also furnishes good shipping facilities, with a healthy competition in Seneca Township. The station is called North Morenci. In 1884 the Michigan & Ohio road, was built through the northern part of the County, with stations at Britton, Ridgeway, Tecumseh, Pentecost, Ousted, Devil's Lake, Addison Junction, and Addison, thus establishing important shipping points at places where they were much needed. After a precarious existence for a number of years this road _passed into the hands of the Lake Shore -& Michigan Southern Railway Company, as did also the Canada Southern line to Fayette, and this gives the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern a net-work of roads in Lenawee County. The Ypsilanti branch of that road also enters the County, passing through the northwest corner of the township of Woodstock and affording a station at the new village called Cement City. One of the most important events in the history of Lenawee County, and especially its capital city, Adrian, was the construction of the Detroit, Butler & St. Louis Railroad, from Detroit to Butler, Ind. In i88o the movement to construct such a road was completed and was headed by the Hon. James F. Joy and other prominent men in Detroit. It was unquestionably the intent of the prime movers, at its inception, to make this road part of the Wabash system, although its construction was accomplished by an independent company. The importance of the great undertaking has been demonstrated in the highest degree since its completion, as it has become the "'main line" of this great thoroughfare between the East and West. There is now no greater or more efficient railroad line between Chicago, St. Louis, and New York, than the Wabash, and Adrian and Lenawee County are benefited proportionately. The Detroit, Butler & St. Louis railroad was built during the years i88o-8r, and the first passenger coach came into Adrian from Detroit, a distance of about fifty-seven miles, May 17, 1881. On June 10, of the same year, Jay Gould passed over the entire line from Butler to Detroit. The great financier stopped in Adrian for some two or three hours, and a grand reception was given him. He was driven about the city by the Hon. W. S. Wilcox, the carriage being occupied by Mr. Gould and Ald. W. T. Lawrence, with Mr. Wilcox at the reins. A splendidly served lunch was given at the Lawrence House, when Mr. Gould proposed as a toast, "Prosperity to Adrian," which was heartily responded to by a large number of citizens present. The actual bonus given by the citizens of Adrian to secure this important railroad connection was $36,199. The largest subscription of any Adrian citizen was that of I-Ion. E. L. Clark, amounting to $10,000. On July 6, i88r, an excursion party of ten carloads, containing Mayor Thompson and prominent and enterprising citizens of Detroit, came to Adrian to rejoice over the completion of the road. This was during the administration of Thomas J. Navin. As mayor he made a short speech of welcome, and Mayor Thompson, of Detroit, responded. It was looked upon as a great occasion by both cities. The day was intolerably hot, but all participants were unanimous in their sanguine faith of future results. On July 15, following, the subscribers to the bonus raised by Adrian were invited to Detroit as the guests of that city, in honor of the completion of the road. The number of citizens who took advantage of the occasion was 725, and a great ovation was enjoyed. Col. W. F. Bradley was appointed agent for the company at Adrian, June 15, 1881, and still fills that important position. Several north and south railway lines through Lenawee County have at different times been contemplated and discussed, and one that was finally constructed in .1887 was originally known as the Cincinnati, Jackson & Mackinaw, and now as the Cincinnati Northern. This road, as originally projected, in 1852-53, was to pass, after leaving Cincinnati, through all the County seats of the western range of counties in Ohio, until it struck the Michigan line. After the expenditure of a large amount in grading and making the road bed ready for the ties in Ohio, thousands of which ties were made and delivered on the line, where they rotted on the ground, the panic of 1857 struck the enterprise and placed a rough lock upon its further progress. And in this comatose state the project remained until March 7, 1881, when some energetic men revived it, and after six years more of doubt and uncertainty the road was completed from Cincinnati to Jackson, Mich. In Lenawee County it passes through Hudson, Rollin, Manitou Beach, Abbot, Addison Junction, Cowham and Cement City, crossing an east and west road at Hudson, Addison Junction, and Cement City, and withal it is a source of convenience and profit. The first train to pass through Lenawee County, over what was then known as the Lima Northern railroad, was on Sunday, July 27, 1896. At that time the track was completed from Lima, Ohio, to the Wabash track in South Adrian, and a temporary traffic arrangement was made with the Wabash Company. The work of tracklaying was soon afterward pushed on through Adrian, north to Detroit, and in 1898 trains commenced running between Lima and Detroit. In 1902 the name of the road was changed to the "Detroit Southern," and it is now a very important line, known as the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton. It connects with all the trunk lines running through Ohio, and at its present terminal, Ironton, Ohio, with the Chesapeake & Ohio and Norfolk & Western roads, making it a very important freight and passenger road. The first car to run from Toledo to Adrian on the Toledo & Western electric line arrived in Adrian on Saturday, December 7, 1801. Cars commenced running on the following day on schedule time. The subway, under the Wabash railroad tracks at Adrian, was completed in August, 1903, and the first through car came into Adrian on August ii. THE COUNTY INTFIRMARY. As early as 1836, the need of provision for the poor gained official action. The increase in the population in this locality, the same as in nearly every County in the state, the incoming of new families, the infirmities of age and the unfortunate condition of some persons who had become a charge upon the public, led to the establishment of an institution within the County, to be maintained at public expense, called the Infirmary, by which it is commonly known throughout most localities, as a home for aged, decrepit and indigent persons. On March 25, 1836, the board of supervisors purchased of Josiah Sabin the east half of the southwest quarter of section 9, in the township of Madison, the same to be used "for the purpose of establishing a poor-house in said County" of Lenawee. Proper buildings were erected, and this sufficed for the County's needs for about twenty years. On March 14, 1856, the County purchased of Stephen Allen "all that part of the northwest quarter of section No. g, in township No. 7 south, of range 3 east, lying south of the Michigan Southern railroad, and containing about seventy acres of land." This added to the original purchase makes a farm of something more than 15o acres. The buildings on this farm are elaborate and expensive, and with the grounds surrounding them cover several acres of land. The infirmary proper is a threestory brick structure, with a basement conveniently arranged for heating, with the least possible danger of fire. Inmates who are able to work are employed on the farm, or in caring for stock and "choring" on the premises. Good, wholesome and substantial food is provided in abundance, as is also comfortable and seasonable clothing, and volunteer ministers from the various churches in the County supply the spiritual needs. From the last annual report of the superintendents of the poor the following facts are gleaned Whole number of inmates supported at the County house during the year, eighty-nine; whole number at close of year, fifty-four; number of deaths during the year, thirteen; current expenses at the County house, $3,174.06; miscellaneous expenses and temporary relief as paid from poor fund, $1,521.49; temporary relief furnished by supervisors to persons settled in other municipalities, $1,858.48; temporary relief as reported by supervisors, $5,794.53; total expenditures, $12,794.60. The cost per week for each inmate at the County house, aside from what is raised on the farm, is $1.183. The estimated value of stock on hand is $805, and the estimated value of produce raised on the farm is $2,259. CENSUS REPORTS. The United States census tells the story of the wonderful progress of Lenawee County during the first half century of its existence. During the past thirty years the population has remained somewhat stationary, due to the fact that every portion of the County had become occupied, and the population being largely rural, the natural increase has been largely offset by removals to the western country, where unoccupied land is plenty and the opportunities for securing homes are more attractive. But the fact that the County has not suffered a decrease in population speaks volumes, for the history of old and well settled counties will show that to be the usual experience after the County has once reached the population limit. The first census, taken in 1830, revealed an enumeration of 1,491, but this was increased very rapidly until in 1837, at the taking of the first state census there were 14,540 residents of the County. Three years later the United States census revealed 17,889, and since that time the population by decades has been reported as follows: 185o, 26,372; 186o, 38,112 ; 1870, 45,601; 1880, 48,343; 1890, 48,448; 1900, 48,406. And the state census of 1904 gave the population as 49,097. The twentieth century has started with fine prospects for Lenawee County in a material sense. Already well supplied with means of communication with the outside world, other highways of travel and commerce are promised; and with her fertile fields, thriving cities and villages, and excellent people, Lenawee takes a high rank among her sister counties of the Wolverine State.