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

LANSING TOWNSIIP AND CITY, WITH HISTORY

441

On the north side is Mr. Yauger's residence and his large garden. I have referred to this garden in my paper on Pioneer
Gardens, so will not stop to describe it, only to say that it takes
up the whole block.
There are no buildings on the south side on the corner, but just
south on the east side is Nichols' cooper shop, and we hear Mr.
Nichols and his workmen hammering at the barrels.
Crossing Washington Avenue we notice on the northeast corner
they have broken ground for the new Presbyterian church. Elder
Bryant, a missionary preacher, has been laboring here for the past
year and has formed a society and they are going to build a brick
church on this corner.
West of this corner we pass two or three small houses before we
come to Dan VanAuken's large house, the best in the block. Dan
is one of the principal merchants in the north end. Diagonally
across the corner west is the frame house of Lewis Preston, a surveyor, who did most of the surveying in the city. West of the
Preston house are two or three small houses and then comes the
large house of Mr. Sommerville, the principal harness maker in
North Lansing.
West of the VanAuken house, on the next block, is the home of
Mr. Van Aiken, our city treasurer. West one block and we come
to the home of Alfred Bigsby. The board walk here crosses
Weinman's creek, and as the street has not been graded the walk
is put on stilts to cross the ravine made by the stream.
Opposite this block is a row of houses, six in number, built to
rent by D. L. Case. Going on west from Bigsby's we find two or
three small frame houses, but the square south is vacant, and on
the north side is a grove. This square and the grove are both
fenced in and used to pasture cows, hold picnics and Fourth of July
celebrations. The last squares on the north and south have no
houses but are fenced and planted to corn and potatoes.
The end of the street brings us to the grounds of the Lansing
Female Seminary. Let us take a short walk to the north along
Willow street. We find at the corner of Capitol Avenue and
Willow street Mr. Narmore's large house and barns on the north.
Mr. Narmore is the pottery manufacturer of Lansing and has his
factory on Center street. He has to draw his clay and other
material to the factory with teams, also distribute his wares