Pioneer history of Ingham County, compiled and arranged by Mrs. Franc L. Adams, secretary of the Ingham County pioneer and historical society.

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PIONEER HISTORY OF INGHAM COUNTY

The following were appointed a county corresponding committee:
P. Linderman, J. W. Longyear, P. Lowe, H. Converse, Geo.
Matthews.
A true copy. P. LOWE, Secretary.
The above is the account of a convention held in Mason at the
time the Whig party was organized in Ingham county, as found
in the "Ingham County News."
A census report of 1850, furnished by Stella Bennett, of Lansing,
provides a connecting link between the Michigan Gazetteer of
1838 and the one of 1863, the former furnished by Alonzo Cheney,
of Eaton Rapids, and the latter by J. C. Squiers, of Mason.
The townships all bore the same name in 1850 that they do today,
except Williamston, which was still called "Phelpstown."
The number of dwelling houses in the county was 1,597
The number of families........................ 1,603
The number of inhabitants..................... 8,643
Lansing, showing 1,229, and Onondaga, next in
size, had 819.
The township having the least families was Leroy,
with 41, while Lansing, with the greatest number, only had 241.
The total value of real estate owned in the county. $1,258,780
The number of occupied farms.................. 1,084
Maple sugar ran higher than any other manufactured product,
there being reported 166,004 pounds, and over 30,000 pounds of
this came from Vevay, where were the largest sugar bushes in
the State of Michigan.
At that time there were but eight flouring mills in the county,
and 24 saw mills. From the first there were 5,260 barrels of flour
produced annually, and from the latter 3,610,000 feet of lumber.
There were 95,270 bushels of corn raised in the year ending June
1, 1850, the largest amount of any grain. That butter making
was quite a paying industry was shown by the fact that 144,080
pounds were made that year; there was also 13,243 pounds of
cheese made.