The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922; / Clarence M. Burton, editor-in-chief, William Stocking, associate editor, Gordon K. Miller, associated editor. [Vol. 2]

CITY OF' DETROIT

1461

time schoolmaster, had a grocery store, assisted by his brother, 'Tiff' Jerome.
The latter died a few years ago in Saginaw, almost, if not quite, a millionaire.
" On the corner of Lamed Street, where is now the Campau Block, was an old
wooden building with a cupola on top, in which there was a bell. The bell was
used to call together the children who attended the school kept there by Mr.
McKinney and his wife. They kept school there until the building was sawed
in half, and one half with the bell was sold to John Farmer and moved away.
F. and T. Palmer once occupied this building with their stocks of goods before
the completion of their brick store on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Griswold Street (1821).
" In 1827 there was a short section of cedar pickets standing in Lamed Street,
midway between Griswold and Shelby streets, the sole remains of old Fort
Pontchartrain.
"Later on, Peter Desnoyers occupied, until his death, the fine brick building
(where is now the old post office building) which was built by Francis P. Browning. His office was in a small wooden building adjoining on Larned Street.
Here he also had the remnant of his old stock of goods from his Jefferson Avenue
store. Uncle Peter was a genial gentleman, fond of a joke and a good anecdote.
Mr. Desnoyers built two other houses on this lot on Griswold Street. Doctor
Terry occupied one of them and Doctor Farnsworth the other.
" Henry V. Disbrow had a house a little further along on Griswold Street and
Lewis Goddard, at a later time, built a small brick residence on the southwest
corner of Congress Street.
" Goddard kept a store at the southeast corner of Jefferson Avenue and Griswold Street in 1832. He died in 18-. After his death Barnabas Campau
occupied the house until his fine new residence on Woodward Avenue between
State Street and Grand River Avenue was completed.
"Further up Griswold Street on the south side of the present Moffat Block,
James Williams lived in a fine brick building and on the upper end of the block,
on the corner of Fort Street, John Palmer in 1829 built a grand brick residence.
"Across the street James Abbott had forty or fifty hives of bees in the rear
of his house. "
Thus far we have examined the records regarding the opening of the street.
Now we will return to Jefferson Avenue and note the changes in the buildings
and see who were the occupants.
The new wooden building on the northeast corner of Jefferson Avenue and
Griswold Street erected in 1831 after the fire in January of that year was occupied by T. Dwight and Company. This was later occupied as a book store and
bindery by A. H. Stowell. On May 14, 1834, Alexander Hamilton Stowell and
George Ricks Griswold formed a partnership to carry on the book business at
this place, but the partnership only lasted until July 29, of the same year, when
it was dissolved and Mr. Stowell carried on the business alone. At one time
Mr. Stowell had as a partner Sidney L. Rood, and they had a bindery on the
second floor. Mr. Stowell for a long time lived on the same street near Grand
River Avenue, where the Y. M. C. A. Building was erected later.
The Journal of February 25, 1833, contained the announcement that the firm
of Dean and Hurlbut (Jerry Dean and Chauncy Hurlbut) was dissolved and
that Jerry Dean would continue the business of selling saddles, harness and
leather goods "at the old stand, corner of Griswold Street and Jefferson Avenue. '