History of Shiawassee and Clinton counties, Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches of their prominent men and pioneers.

308

HISTORY OF SHIAWASSEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

I

line one hundred and fifty-one chains and ten links to
section corner of section 16.
"R. W. HOLLEY,
" C. W. MILLER,
"JOHN SMEDLEY,
"Highway Commissioners.
"JAMES RUTAN,
" Town Clerk.
"Recorded Aug. 1, 1837."

EARLY SCHOOLS.
The board of school inspectors of the township of Vernon, consisting of J. B. Clark, Caleb Curtis, and Joseph
Parmenter, met April 4, 1844, for the purpose of dividing
the territory into school districts. After consultation the
following division was made:
District No. 1 to embrace sections 1, 2, and the north
half of sections 11 and 12.
District No. 2, sections 3, 4, and the north half of sections 9 and 10.
District No. 3, sections 5 and 6 and the north half of
sections 7 and 8.
District No. 4, sections 17 and 18 and the south half of
sections 7 and 8.
District No. 5, sections 15 and 16, the south half of
sections 9 and 10, and the north half of sections 21 and 22.
District No. 6, sections 13, 14, the north half of sections
23 and 24, and the south half of sections 11 and 12.
District No. 7, sections 25, 26, 27, 34, 35, and 36, and
the south half of sections 22, 23, and 24.
District No. 8, sections 28, 34, 33, and the south half of
sections 20 and 21.
District No. 9, section 19 and the north half of section 30.
It is probable that the earliest school was opened in district No. 3, but information regarding the building of the
first school-house or the teacher who early presided in the
district is not obtainable.
The present school territory of Vernon is divided into six
whole and three fractional districts, over which preside, as
a board of directors, the following gentlemen: George H.
Cooper, George W. Reed, W. H. Easton, Henry Alchin,
Peter Patchell, James Scott, A. G. Cowles, William Gilmore,
and John Roper. Five hundred and eighty-one scholars
receive instruction, of whom thirty-five are non-residents.
They are under charge of eight male and eleven female
teachers. There are nine frame school buildings in the
various districts, some of which are large, commodious, and
admirably adapted for the purpose.
VILLAGE OF DURAND.
A portion of the land on which the village of Durand
was located was originally entered by Mary Miller in 1836,
and subsequently owned by James and John Kenyon.
Another portion was entered by William Young the same
year. Still another tract was owned by Dr. L. D. Jones,
and by him sold to J. Delos Jewell, who laid a portion of
the ground into lots but did not plat it. The land entered
by Mr. Young lay upon section 15, and after passing
through successive hands became the property of William

H. Putnam, who had a portion of it platted, a previous
plat having been made by James C. Brand. A church and
school building had already been erected, and some enterprise was being manifested. Mr. Brand built a saw-mill
which was furnished with steam-power, Mr. Putnam having
been his foreman, and did an extensive business in the
manufacture of staves and heading. In 1876 a post-office
was established, with Mr. Putnam as postmaster, who named
the place after Hon. George H. Durand, of the city of
Flint. The earliest store in the place was built by Messrs.
Putnam & Delano, and occupied by Ira D. Kellogg in
1876, after which the firm became Kellogg & Delano. A
hardware-store was built by Mr. Putnam, of which he was
proprietor, after which Kellogg & Delano erected a building
for mercantile uses. A. D. Bruce soon after erected a store
which was rented by W. H. Bielby, the present postmaster,
and two blacksmith-shops and one wagon-shop were also
opened. The pioneers in the drug and medicine business
were the Shaw Brothers, who arrived in 1878 and established themselves in business. Messrs. Davis & Herrington
soon after erected a building which is now occupied by W.
H. Bielby. The firm of Sayre Brothers erected, at nearly
the same date, a capacious store, which was afterwards purchased by Messrs. Putnam & Delano, who removed to the
site of their present extensive business. In 1878 an elevator
was constructed by the same firm.
The capacity of the extensive steam saw mill of J. C.
Brand is twelve thousand feet of lumber and six thousand
staves per day. The mill is propelled by an engine of fortyhorse power, and the lumber cut is obtained in adjacent
portions of the county. The market for the staves and
heading is found in New York and the city of Poughkeepsie. Detroit furnishes a demand for the lumber.
Extensive charcoal kilns were constructed in the suburbs
of the hamlet by Hiram Smith, of Flint, in 1879, and are
managed by his son, Ely Smith. The capacity of each
kiln is fifty cords, ten kilns having been constructed on the
ground of the proprietor. The product is shipped to various
points in the State.
The Chicago and Lake Huron Railroad was completed
late in 1876, and an agent appointed to the depot at Durand.
F. M. Pomeroy first acted in that capacity, and has been succeeded by L. S. Westrich, the present incumbent.
A flourishing school is under the direction of Miss Carrie
Biller. Two physicians-Drs. J. N. Shaw and A. G. Cole
-reside here, and practice through a wide extent of country. The growth of Durand has been not only rapid but
healthy, and its citizens predict for it a future fully commensurate with its brief but progressive history.
VERNON VILLAGE.
The original plat of the village of Vernon was surveyed
and laid out in the autumn of 1856, embracing the south
part of the southeast fractional-quarter of section 6, and the
north half of the northeast quarter of section 7, township
6 north, of range 4 east, the main street of the village running on the section-line. This plat was, however, not recorded until Dec. 2, 1866. Van Auken's addition, de

scribed as north of State Street and west of Duane Street,
was surveyed by Ezra Mason in August, 1865. Yerkes'