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 INGHIAM COUNTY

At this 1887 meeting John A. Barnes gave the following paper:
Fifty years ago I was sporting in a boyish way over the grounds
whereon the greater part of the business portion of this city stands.
My playmates at that time were William, Chester, George and
Bartley Blaine, and my brother Charles, next younger than myself.
I came into the State with my parents, leaving Cayuga county,
N. Y., on the 7th day of May, 1837, father having been here in '36
and purchased his land, so we had a fixed point in view. We embarked on board a line boat on the Erie canal at Weedsport,
thence to Buffalo, and by steamer to Detroit, and by teams from
Detroit to this place, which we reached on May 26 just at sunset,
having made the journey in sixteen days.
We had no difficulty in deciding what hotel to go to, for there
was but one, and the whole town consisted of one private log house,
two frame houses unfurnished, one saw mill, and the hotel I
spoke of, which was a small log house situated on the east side of
Main street, two blocks north from here, and occupied by James
Blaine and family, who at once welcomed us to all the comforts
the house could afford. The inhabitants of the town were Mr.
Blaine and family, Lacy and family, E. B. Danforth and some mill
hands, and on the following day I)r. McRoberts came.
Quarters having been secured for our family at the hotel for a
few weeks, father and my brothers Zaccheus and O. M. at once set
at work to cut a road over the "IIog's Back" and through the
woods to the Fifield place, now known as the Child's farm. From
there a road had been opened through the Rolfe settlement to
within one and one-half miles of our land, thus making three
miles of road that had to be cut before we could reach our land.
A log house was raised by the aid of the neighbors, and the
family took possession about the 27th of June. All the inhabitants
on the route, a distance of seven miles, were Henry Fifield, Jasper
Wolcott, Nathan and Benjamin Rolfe and Joseph Robinson. I
think at the present day a house in such an unfurnished condition
would hardly be considered tenantable. The ground floor was
partly down, the roof about half on, and I well recollect on aw:tlicning the first morning and looking out through the unfinished roof
and seeing the treetops almost meet over the house. But pioneers
were necessarily mechanics and in due time the house was made
comfortable.