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On the 1st day of April 1855, Miles B. Hunt and his young wife started with a yoke of steers and a covered wagon from Coldwater, Mich. for Newaygo County. It took them 11 days to reach Chubb's Tavern at Lisbon. Here he hired a man and team to bring in 600 pounds for which he paid $16. On arriving at Newaygo, the man changed for a sleigh, but Hunt went through with his wagon. His was the first wagon ever driven over the road from Newaygo to Elm Corner. In this, the first wagon trip, the wagon was unloaded, set upright, and reloaded several times, and besides the ox-yoke was broken.
Stopping at Harrington's shanty at Elm's Corner, he left his team and thing until he could bridge the creek which ran near Weaverville which is now Fremont and cut out a road along Fremont Lake shore from Weaver's Log House to his land, about three miles. This was the first extension of the road west of the "Log House". In three days he had cut out a road and bridge the creek, when , making a cart of the hind wheels of his wagon, he loaded on a few things and moved on to his land.
Mrs. Hunt accompanied the "expedition", the first of its kind to pass along the bank of Fremont Lake. It took four days to move from Elm Corner to his land, which later was called Lake Station, a distance of under four miles. The young couple were young and green, Miles was 20 years old and his wife was "sweet sixteen", and knew nothing of woods life, but Miles was courageous and naturally endowed with quick perception and ingenuity; so setting some crotches, and putting a pole across from one to the other, he backed the cart under, spread the wagon cover over and made up their bed in the cart box. He next built a large fire and made preparation for supper. One milk-pan and a pancake griddle constituted their entire outfit of cooking utensils. Miles went some forty rod to the lake and return with water, the batter stirred up, pancakes baked and supper eaten in primitive styles, with as good relish as the best meal ever spread on the table of the Astor House.
The Oxen were next fastened to tree near the fire, where they could be protector, the rifle cleaned and loaded, and the young couple went to bed. Nothing disturbed their slumbers save now and then the snarling and growling of the wolves over the balance of a deer's carcass; but they did not come here to be scared by a few wolves, but to make for themselves a home. The next day they had the company of Mr. Adams, later the county surveyor, and a gentleman from the state of New York. This gentleman expressed considerable surprise at their age, and said he would give all he was worth if his boys only had the grit they had. Giving them his blessing, he went away satisfied that Michigan people did not lack in that important element of human nature which has made us so successful, energy.
After cutting and hauling his house-logs, and riving out shakes for the roof, a house-raising was made, seven men went over and help put up the house. The house was truly primitive; its floor was made of puncheons, spit out and hewed, its door and window casings were the same, the door made of puncheons, swung on wooden hinges, and not a singles nail entered into its construction. The roof was made with shakes fastened on poles laid lengthwise of the roof, and were protection from the rain, but very poor shelter from snow, as it would sift through.
Mr. Hunt borrowed money with which to clear up his farm, and lost all in the panic of 1857. He went off to war in 1862, and proved himself true as steel. After participating in many hard battles, he was terribly wounded in the head at the battle of Franklin, Tennessee; came back to Michigan, and after shifting homes several times he moved to Gig Harbor, Washington where he died and was buried by the side of an old comrade, Thaddeus L. Waters, also a pioneer of the Fremont Area.
Within 25 rods of where Hunt camped amid the howling wolves and where he toilingly raises up that log house, so primitive in its construction, and gave the first impetus to civilization on the banks of Fremont Lake, the railroad tracks now lay. At one time the Lake Station was located there, along with a steam saw-mill and the Fremont Flouring Mill.
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