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The first meeting of the county supervisors was in June, 1855, at Wheeler's house, Stony Creek. The first county seat, however, was off to the southwest corner of the county, on Section 8, of Claybanks, on the property of A. S. Anderson, and on the classic banks of a little brook called "Whisky Creek," and a little village sprang up around it called "Roseville," from C. A. Rosevelt, who took the first census in the county. This was the scene of much that is historic in the early days, but its glory has departed, and the only building now in it is the farm house of Mrs. L.D. Eaton. The farms of Hanson, Barr, Phillips, Fordham, Anderson and others, lay along the lake shore in Claybanks, and formed the first point of settlement in the county. They were on the site of ancient Indian clearnings, and there was a point on John Hanson's farm projecting into the lake, where the Indians placed signal fires, visible forty miles north and south. The county seat remained at "Whisky Creek" until 1864, when it was removed to Hart. In our resume of supervisors' records, we give the various votes on the question of removing the county seat. Of course, as settlement extended, the position of the county seat became more and more anomalous and inconvenient, until it was removed by a small vote, to Hart. It was only the mutual jealousy of rival sites that prevented an earlier removal. Pentwater, Hart, and "Oceana Center," a paper village on the corners of Hart, Elbridge, shelby and Ferry, which put forward its claim as being the geographical center, were the chief claimants. The village of Barnett, or Shelby, was not in existence until years afterward, when the railroad gave it an impetus; otherwise it would have been a strong claimant. Pentwater, seeing it could not secure the prize itself, at last joined ots influence to that of Hart, carrying Weare with it, and Hart was chosen. One inducement to bring the county seat to Hart was the liberal offer of Mr. Corbin, who gave $1,000 and the present courthouse square. For some time there was a reluctance to erect buildings, but they were at last put up, in 1873-74, being neat wooden structures, and very expensive. During the process of construction, Hon. Charles Mears made a bold attempt to capture the county seat for his new village of Mears, offering, on December 17, 1873, either to put up splendid buildings or pay an equivalent of $10,000 in case, if the county would erect its own buildings, but the movement had the support of but one supervisor. |