History of Oceana Co.

The region now known as Oceana had existed for ages as a portion of the red man's domain, a favorite stamping ground for varius tribes. Perhaps here the Mound Builders roamed, although they have left no remains, unless it may be that the mysterious, round stones, or the equally mysterious depressions like modern rifle pits, in which trees centuries old are growing, may be attributed to those dwellers of remote and uncertain antiquity. We have heard of no mounds of any size; the only ones - and these were small, and are now removed - were at the head of Stony Lake, and contained human bones only. The Sacs and Foxes roamed on these plains for ages, until the more powerful tribe of the Ottawas, about A.D., 1600, on being driven from Canada by the Iroquois, drove them out in turn, and they took refuge across the lake, at Green Bay. there were three great tribes occupying the west of this State - the Ottawas in the north, to Grand River; the Muscotays, or Prairie Indians, from the Grand to the St. Joseph River, and the Pottawatamies to the south, away into Indiana and Illinois. Under the heading "Indians" we trace the history of these tribes until they settled in Elbridge and Crystal and in Mason County, in 1857-58. In 1881, when Michigan was but a territory, the County of Oceana was laid out, but while it included its present limits, it was much more extensive. It took in the country from the north of Muskegon Lake to almost an indefinate extent north. It remained "laid out" without settlers, a mere wilderness, until 1840, when it was attached to Ottawa County, for judicial and municipal purposes. But even this was premature, as it was not until 1848 that one or two white men, Dr. Phillips and Mr. Hanson, took a look at the land along the beach, with a view of locating lands and they chose the position on the clay-banks, on which their farms are now situated, for four reasons: First, it was on the beach, where all travel was; second, there existed an Indian trail from the head of White Lake into what is now J.D.S. Hanson's farm; then the land was a heavy clay loam and remarkably fertile, and there were old Indian clearings altogether of 200 or 800 acres in extent, in patches from half an acre to two to three acres. Accordingly, in 1849, settlement began, so that at the close of that year there were six families and several single men on the Claybanks, which formed the nucleus of the settlement of Oceana County. Of these the first band were: C.B. Clements and wife, Asa C. Haggerty and wife, Alex. Pelett and wife. These are all dead or removed but the wife of C.B. Clements, now the wife of Thomas Byrne, himself among the earliest settlers, and still living on the old John Barr farm. Mrs. Olive Byrne is therefore the oldest settler, and is considered a truthful and intelligent lady. A.C. Haggerty died in 1874; C.B. Clements went away, and, it was said, was killed in the war. The first settlement was then in April, 1849; next came Dr. Phillips and wife, and his father and mother, in June; A.W. Langhworthy, in July; Richard E. Cater, in August; James O'Hanlon, in September; Alex. S. Anderson, in November or December, all in 1849. Then followed James Fordham in February, 1850; John Barr, the first sheriff of the county, in 1851. Of these, but few remain. Dr. Phillips, Richard E. Cater and James O'Hanlon still survive. Mr. Cater was but a boy of seventeen when he landed, and reports that small-pox, in 1849, formed quite an episode in the little community, threatening to break up the little settlement. Dr. Phillips had engaged a Frenchman, probably Alex. Pelett, to help him on his farm, but as the son of Gaul had been a nurse in the small-pox hospital, in Detroit, he carried infection in his clothing, and the first to be stricken down was the doctor himself, and soon one after another was attacked, until it ran through nearly all, but thanks to vigorous constitutions and the doctor's care, they all recovered, although some will bear the marks to the grave, Cater among the rest. A.W. Langworthy is now in Traverse Bay, Alex. S. anderson passed away December 29, 1879, and there were, in 1849, besides those mentioned, two single men, T. Byrne, still surviving, and James Flood, since dead. These all settled along the beach in Claybanks Township, between Flower Creek and Whisky Creek. The getting out of shingle bolts was also an inducement for men to come into this country, and accordingly we find that at various points this was the first thing attempted. About this time a Mr. Graham got out shingle bolts along Stony Lake and on Little Point Au Sable, and his death, in 1850, was the first death in this county. Lorenzo D. Eaton, whose widow now resides on Anderson's farm, at Claybanks Postoffice, was one of the very earliest settlers. He came from Wisconsin, in 1849, to get out shingle bolts and to prepare for the settlement of his family. Accordingly we find him back in November, 1850, and after considerable hardships, he got his family into a log house, on what is now J. Gibb's farm, at Blackberry Ridge, claimed to be the first log house in the county. But before this, in 1849, Dr. Phillips built a frame house and his father another, used as a store at the mouth of Whisky Creek, R.E. Cater built one on lot No. 1, Section 17. The honor of erecting the first log house may be assigned to A.W. Langworthy, on Lot 3, Section 17, and torn down in 1880; and the first frame to Dr. Phillips. Among the very earliest marriages, doubtless the first was that of A. C. Haggerty to Ellen Googins, who had to travel on foot all the way to White River, where "Squire Hulbert "jined" them in the irrevocable bonds of matrimony. Truly, true love did not run smoothly, even then. The Rev. Timothy Brigham, Methodist, preached the first sermon, in Haggerty's house, and on week days attended to the soles of his customers as a working shoemaker, following the example of Paul, the tent-maker, in not being a burden on the young community. The first surveyor who laid out the sections of this county was Mr. Rigdon; the first physician was Dr. Phillips, whose beat lay from Pere Marquette (Ludington) to Muskegon, along the beach - rather an extensive run of practice. The first mention we find of Oceana in the acts of the Legislature is in the volume for 1850, wherein it is recorded that on the 18th of March an act was passed, providing that "all that portion of the county of Oceana not embraced in the township of White River in said county, and all of the county of Mason be, and the same is hereby attached to the township of White River." The Supervisor of that town must have had an extensive assessment roll. The county of Oceana must originally have extended down near Muskegon, twelve mies south of the present county line. White River Township had been organized in 1848, and included six towns, extending twelve miles north to south, and being taken from the unorganized county of Oceana. On February 19, 1855, by Act 171 of the session of 1855, the three counties of Oceana, Mason and Manistee were organized. This county was organized under Section 9, and Section 7 of the same set organizes three towns; Pentwater, occupying the four northern towns; Stony Creek, composed of the two middle tiers of four towns each, and the two fractions of towns in the extreme west, together with the six northern sections, of what is now the town of Claybanks. The third town was named Claybanks, and included the four southern towns, except the six sections above mentioned. The first meeting in Pentwater was ordered to be at E.R. Cobb's (Rector & Cobb). In Stony Creek the first meeting was at A.R. Wheeler's mills. The electors of Claybanks were ordered to meet at the residence of John Barr (deceased). After Oceana had been organized three or four years, some of the prominent residents of Northern Muskegon tried to break up this county by a scheme, which had for its object the detaching of the two southern tiers of this county, and attaching them to the two northern tiers of Muskegon, forming a new county of Oceana, with its county-seat up White River, at the Hon. I.E. Carleton's mills. Carleton, the Daltons and others were opposed to the formation of Muskegon County from Ottawa in 1859, but their opposition was unsuccessful. One of the northern towns of Muskegon was until about eight years ago called Oceana Township, but it is now divided into Montague and Whitehall Townships. Oceana County now consists of sixteen towns, arranged in four tiers wide, from east to west, and four from north to south. The four oo the north are, commencing on the west, Pentwater, Weare, Crystal and Colfax; the second tier consists of Golden, Hart, Elbridge and Leavitt; the third consists of Benona, Shelby, Ferry and Newfield. The south tier contains Claybanks, Grant, Otto and Greenwood. With the exception of the four on the west on Lake Michigan side, these towns are squares of six miles, with thirty-six full sections. The western boundary, being the shore of the Great Lake, is irregular, the land extending out almost in the form of a semi-circle, the extreme point of which is about the centre of the shore line of the county. The coast line at the extreme north of the county is about five and a half miles farther east than at Little Point Au Sable, and the extreme southern part of the coast line in Claybanks is three and a half miles further east. When one takes a glance at the map of the state, this divergence of the county to the west is still more marked as compared with the counties north and south. This has an important bearing on the climatic influences on the county, as Oceana becomes partially peninsular, and the tempering influences of the great lake on fruit and grain become more marked. The high rolling nature of the soil in a great portion of the county also allows for atmospheric drainage from frost, as well as exposes the land to the influence of the mild breezes from the west, and also from the peninsular position referred to, to the lake breezes from the north or south. the high rolling nature of the surface also leads to excellent drainage, and to a countless number of clear and swife running brooks, which are a special feature of Oceana County. The watershed runs diagonally across the county from the southwest to the northeast, and divides the county into two great basins, - that of the White River in the southeast, and the Pentwater River in the northwest, the slope being southeast and northwest. There is a small valley trending to the northeast in Colfax, running to the Pere Marquette River, and two small basins in the southwest, - that of Flower Creek, and that of Stony Creek. This county is thus described in a gazateer of the state, published by J.T. Blois, and a copy of which we were permitted to read by the kindness of Mr. Hartwick, of Pentwater. It says that"Oceana County is bounded on the north by Mackinac County, east by Montcalm, south by Kent and Ottawa, west by Ottawa and Lake Michigan. It is unorganized, and attached to Kent for judicial purposes. The rivers are the Rogue, Muskegon and White. It is said to possess a body of excellent land, but is in possession of the Indians, though in progress of survey. It contains an area of 834 sq. miles, while Ottawa has 704 sq. miles."