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

a slight eminence among the forest trees" goes to prove that the
country around Lansing was not very thickly settled and the timber for which Michigan was famous was still standing. That
money went considerably farther in the early days is shown in the
fact that only the interest on a $207,500.74 fund was needed to
support the school.
The old Odd Fellows Insitute, which was converted into the
present School for the Blind, was one of the civic prides in the
early days of the city. The description and account in the book
of 1873 was as follows: "The citizens of Lansing donated 45 acres
of land and the north end of the Misses Rogers' female college to
the grand lodge for the purposes of an Odd Fellows Institute.
Miss Delia Rogers generously donates a large portion of the land
purchased, a library of 1,500 volumes, and a fine philosophical
apparatus. The land and buildings are located in the northwest
portion of the city and valued at $70,000. The whole, when completed, will cost about $300,000. During the years of 1871-2 an
addition of 57 feet square, constituting the main front, was put
up at a cost of $30,000. The entire structure is to be completed
as fast as the demands of the order may require."
In 1873 Lansing had 15 churches, of which the congregations
were constituted of people of practically every denomination.
The city had two newspapers, the Republican and the Journal.
At that time both papers were weeklies. The book described them
as follows: "The Lansing State Republican, now in its nineteenth
year, and the oldest paper in the city or county of Ingham, has an
extensive circulation and first-class reputation. It is published
every Friday morning by the firm of W. S. George and Company.
It is a nine-column paper, on a large sheet, handsomely printed,
and its editorial force is strong. This company also does the
State printing and conducts a printing and bookbinding business. The company employs about 40 or 50 men and the operations are carried on in a three-story building on Michigan Avenue
near the new State Capitol building. The Lansing Journal is an
excellent weekly newspaper, published every Thursday by George
P. Sandford, editor and proprietor. It is liberal in politics, has a
large and growing circulation, and is well sustained with advertising patronage. It has a fine job office and turns out excellent
work,"