The county of Eaton, Michigan : topography, history, art folio and directory of freeholders / Bullock, Taggart & Morrell, topographers and publishers.

The first great public enterprise was the construction country, with all the money invested in land with nothof a bridge across Battle-creek in the Village of Belle- ing but an ox team and an ax to do with, no crops to
S vue, and the laying out of the Ionia and Bellevue road in turn into money and most of the people sick with the
U 1835. A general subscription was taken by J. T. Hoyt. ague, made close, cramping times, indeed. A prominent
He called upon the more prominent citizens first, receiv- writer says that five or ten dollars in one man's pocket
ing fifteen dollars from Reuben Fitzgerald, six dollars produced a sensation in those days. Everybody knewof
from Daniel Mason and twenty dollars from Sylvanus it and the man was highly respected. All kinds of
Hunsicker. In all one hundred and fifty-five dollars schemes were laid to borrow it, to sell him a watch or a
were raised, and the road was opened to Thornapple rifle, or to work up some kind of trade which would
river. It was afterwards opened to Jonia by the citizens bring in a little boot money, just enough to sweeten it.
of Vermontville. Bellevue gave a Fourth of July cele- Although houses were far apart, neighbors lived very
bration in 1835. Rev. Asa Phelps, standing on Reuben near in those days. In trouble, in sickness, at weddings
Fitzgerald's wagon house, read the Declaration of Inde- or funerals, everybody was there to do all that could be
pendence to the citizens, who then marched in a proces- done; to feel all the sorrow or joy or sympathy that
session to the home of J. T. Hoyt, where they partook of could be felt by those who knew and undersood each
such viands as each family of the village had brought other so well.
for the occasion. The first settlers were from New York, At a meeting of the Board of County Commissioners,
Massachusetts and Vermont. They were wide-awake, held March 19, 1840, it was resolved that all future busstirring and shrewd in a deal, and soon began to look iness pertaining to the county or its affairs should be
after commercial growth, as well as the more primary held at the house of William Stoddard in the Village of
business of farming. Among the earliest were J. Pond, Charlotte. This building, which was intended for
S Caleb Woodberry, grocers; B. F. and J. F. Hinnman, a tavern, served for five years as court house, jail,
general dealers; Abner and William R. Carpenter, gro- hotel and dwelling. In 1842 the office of County Con?.
cers; Major Elija Bond, grocer and dealer in general missioner was abolished and the affairs of thecounty.
Mmerchandise. M. Worderry started a tannery, David transferred to the Board of Supervisors. The unique
Lucas a painting and chair manufacturing business, I. ideas of public economy as expressed by this honorable
E. and J. B. Crary built a flouring mill with two runs were probably due to the excessive stringency of the
of stone. Hiram Ovenshier built the pioneer saw mill times. At their session in 1845 it was agreed to build a
of Eaton County. Farms were rapidly cleared and im- court house on the public square of Charlotte. Much
proved and roads built. Before the change to a perma- dissatisfaction was expressed by the Eaton Bugle, then
nent seat of justice had been made the county business published in Charlotte, because said building cost nearly
was transacted at Bellevue. It was the headquarters of a thousand dollars.
good society, the center of learning, of religious instruc- In 1847 a jail of hewn timbers was erected at a cost of
tion, of manufacturing, agriculture and commerce. several hundred dollars. It stood on the site of the presWhen the courts and juries gave a dignity and impor- ent jail.
tance years ago Bellevue stood highest in the thought of As a summary of Charlotte in 1845, we quote from the
the.people. But other communities- were destined to Eaton-Bugle: - "Improvements are now the order of the
grow, and Charlotte was one of them. day. From our window we can number at this moment
CHARLOTTE. nine new buildings going up, and we hear of several
Stories conflict concerning the discovery of the plains others that are delayed on occount of the want of manow occupied by Charlotte, but the fact that George W terials. A new court house is going up on the public
-v Barnes located land here in 1832 precedes the more ro- square under the steady guidance of Major Scout, and
inantic reports of discovery by George Terry and Hanni- will be ready for the next term of the Circuit Court in
bal G. Rice. There is no doubt that these gentlemen September. Dr. Jos. P. Hall is erecting a commodious
' were here in the early thirties, but they did not locate two-story dwelling on Cochrane avenue. The Messrs.
land until 1833. In 1835 Mr. Barnes sold his right and Hayden are putting up a large tin, copper and sheet iron
title to the Northeast Quarter of Section 18 in Town 2 manufactory, and are preparing to go into business as

Its citizens enjoy the privileges of electric and gas
lights, of water works, of beautifully paved streets, which
are shaded on either side by overhanging maples, so that
it might now with propriety be called the "Forest City,"
instead of the "Prarie City." Its taxable property, as
shown by the returns of 1894, amounted to $2,228,000.
On August 17th, 1837, James Gallery came to Eaton
Rapids. There were then only three dwelling houses in
the place. The streams were not bridged, the timber
was uncut, the ground uncultivated, the Indians rowed
up and down the river in their canoes, and trails instead
of highways led off into the forest. Amos Spicer, Benjamin Knight and C. C. Darling, with their families, were
the only persons here at this time. But a dam had already
been built across Spring Brook and the frame of the grist
mill which is still standing had been partly enclosed. An
event of consiherable importance was the establishment
of a post office, in 1837 or 1838, with Benjamin Knight
as the postmaster. When Mr. Gallery arrived the nearest grist mills were at Jackson, but about January 1st,
18838, the mill at Eaton Rapids was started. On the corner where the Anderson House now stands Benjamin
Knight erected the first store building. His little store
developed into a large and successful business enterprise,
In 1834 Mr. C. C. Darling had a small grocery in a shanty.
He sold whisky, but was very cautious about disposing of
it to the Indians who were encamped close by. In the
summer of 1842 the dam across Grand River was built
and the race that connects the river and Spring Brook
was dug. The mill received the addition of two runs of
Burr stones and a set of merchant bolts. Some seven
years later Mr. Sterling located in Eaton Rapids, and in
company with Mr. Seelye, entered the mercantile business.
The Frost House was originally occupied by the dry
goods firm of Frost & Daniels. The south part of the
building was erected in 1852 and the north part at a still
earlier date. In 1870 Mr. Frost opened the entire building as a hotel and bathing establishment. Dr. Morris
Hale became its proprietor in 1875. The Vaughan House
was opened for business in 1872 by Pantlind & Picker- ing. It was a fine three-story brick with a basement
under the whole, and contained 125 rooms. In 1874 it
was totally destroyed by fire and has not been rebuilt.
The Anderson House, an elegant, four story and basement brick hotel, was built in 1874 by W. H. Dodge.
Col. G. M. Anderson, after whom the house was named,

S North, Range 4 West, and also the East Half of the extensively as any other establishment in the state. We
Northeast Quarter of Section 13, Town 2 North. Range were highly gratified to see these enterprising young
5 West to Edmund B. Bostwick, of New York City. On men start out a traveling wagon yesterday; it is the best
this land the original Village of Charlotte was platted, evidence of our prosperity. We are informed that it is
SJonathan Searls and his brother Samuel were the first the present intention of one of the proprietors to sink a
settlers. They found their way here from Bellevue in tannery here this summer. A large ashery has already
October, 1835, located a little Southeast of the Barnes been erected by our friend S. E. Willett. The Messrs
land and built a log house, the only one within eight Welsheimer are making arrangements to commence a
miles, and with their families, endured all the hardships saddle and harness business. Their stock and tools are
of those pioneer days. On February 1st, 1837, Jappet already here, and in a few weeks they will be in the full
Fisher arrived, and about the same time Steven Kinne tide of successful experiment. But why need we particand wife. The death of Mrs. Samuel Searls, in June of ularize? Our motto is onward! and who shall set bounds
S this year, left Mrs. Kinne the only white woman for miles to our efforts? Commendation in behalf of Charlotte is
around. The home of the.Searls brothers soon became superfluous, for to see is to love it. We confidently bethe headquarters of the county, and all sorts of public lieve, from present appearences, that no other town-in
meetings were held there. Settlers came in rapidly dur- the state has fairer prospects ahead; and we know that
ing the next three years, among whom may be mentioned no other can furnish so many natural beauties to feast
Simon Harding, Allen Searls, Hiram Shepherd, and Ele- the eye and regale the senses. Such is Charlotte, the
azer Stearns the first settler to locate within the limits County Seat of Eaton.
S of the original plat of Charlotte. *Enterprises were not After eighteen additional years of substantial imslow to start. Mr. Bostwick, the owner of the site of provement Charlotte was incorporated as a village, JanCharlotte, caused it to be platted into a village, and uary 7, 1863. A flaw in the description of the boundarnamed the place in honor of his young wife, Charlotte; ies necessitated further action, and the Board of Superthe streets and avenues were named for Francis S. Coch- visors at their sesseon in October, 1863, issued an order
rane, Thomas Lawrence, Townsend, Harris, and Bost- incorporating the followingterritory, to-wit: The Southwick avenues are for the owner himself. These men were west - of the Southwest - of Section 7, and the Northinterested with Bostwick in building upthe village. west, the North ~ of the Southwest and Southwest'
The Eagle Hotel, a large block building of early re- of Northwest A of Section 18, Town 2 North, Range 4
nown, was constructed in 1838, on the site of the West; also Southeast 1 of Southeast of Section 12, and
Phenix House. Its name was afterwards changed to the Northeast, the North 2 of the Southeast, the outhCharlotte House. It was burned May 20, 1862. In the. east ' of.the Southeast 1-4, and the East -4-of the
Ssummer of, 18385. Jonathan. Searls. was appointed post-- Northwest 1-4 of Section l, Town 2 North, lange 5
master of Charlotte; a boy named Isaac Hill carried the West.
mail bag through from Marshall once a week. The first It became a city March 29, 1871, with the Hon. E. S.
school of the village was held in a small house built by Lacey as its first Mayor. At present the population of
a young man named LeCont, and in it was also instituted Charlotte is 4,300. It boasts of two National banks, six
a pioneer debating society. But the growth of Charlotte school building, ten churches, two railroads, a half dozen
was very slow in these days, owing to the want of good prosperous manufacturing establishments, three
money. The first year or two in a heavily timbered newspapers and a hundred other business institutions.
^\,Y.

raised by subscription three thousand dollars towards its
construction. This house is well furnished and fitted
with an elevator. Connected with it is the Arcana well,
192 feet deep. It has a greater flow of water than most
of the other wells in the place. There are a number of
these mineral wells in Eaton Rapids, and their value in
the treatment of certain diseases,.has been clearly estab- N
lished. The first mineral well was sunk in 1869, and the
discovery of its character created considerable excitement. The original plat of the village of Eaton Rapids
was laid out July 19, 1838 by Amos Spicer, Pierpont
Spicer, Christopher Darling and Samuel Hamlin. It
became a village by act of the legislature April 15,1871.
In 1881 it received a city charter, and H. H. Hamilton
was its Mayor. The total wealth of Eaton Rapids is
about $1,000,000.
The first permanent settler in Grand Ledge was Peter
Lawson, the date of his arrival teing cetober L8, 1848
A mile and a half west of him lived John W. Russell,
about the same distance north, David Taylor, and about
two miles south, Peter Bozier. These were his nearest
neighbors at that time. In 1840 Abram Smith came to
Michigan and eight or nine years later he and John W.
Russell were granted the privilege by the legislature of
building a dam across Grand River. When this was
completed a sawmill was erected and'put in operation.
Reuben Wood visited the place in the fall of 1849 and
and purchased six and a half acres of land on the north
side of the river. The next spring a building was
erected for Wood & Allen by Smith, Russell and Taylor,
and in June a general stock of goods was opened in it;
this was the first store established in Grand Ledge, Win.
Russell opened the second, and the Daniels the third.
The former also built a hotel opposite the store of Wood
& Allen, which ranked before its destruction by fire in
1876, as the oldest in the place. There was no postoffice
at Grand Ledge until 1850, when Henry French was
appointed postmaster, but it was some time later before /
a mail route was established. The postmaster at Lan