HISTORY OF TUSCOLA
Page 131
TOWN OF FAIR GROVE
Fair Grove is said to embrace one of the best
townships of farming land in Tuscola. The surface of the township is very
nearly level with a slight descent toward the northwest. There are
several small creeks which assist in the work of drainage, but before a
thorough system of ditching was inaugurated the land was decidedly wet and the
mud of Fair Grove had a county reputation. The soil is alluvial and
exceedingly rich. The timber is beech, maple, elm and basswood, and
before the work of clearing was begun, the township was covered with delightful
groves, from which fact their town derived its name. There is no waste
land in the the township and scarcely an eight acre tract that is not occupied by
the owner.
Page 132
EARLY HISTORY
The history of progress in Fair Grove dates from
June, 1852, and the first settler was Amzy Clay, now a resident of the town of
Ellington. Mr. Clay gives the following account of his family and the
pioneer experience:
"The first family that settled in the present town
of Fair Grove was composed of my father, Henry Clay, myself, my sister
Elizabeth, and a niece, Martha Ann Schofield. My father was born in
Sussex County, N. J., September 25, 1783, and was consequently in his
sixty-ninth year when we first came into the woods to make a home for
ourselves. My sister Elizabeth was born December 4, 1820, and was in her
thirty-second year. I was born October 17, 1828, in the town of
Hardyston, Sussex County, N.J. My sister was born in the same county in the
town of Sparta. Martha Ann Schofield was born in the town of Wantage,
Sussex County, May 13, 1844.
"My mother died in 1845 at the age of sixty,
leaving a large family of children. My father died July 6, 1871.
"On the 4th of May, 1852, we left Port Jervis,
N. J., for Michigan, coming by the new York & Erie Railroad to Dunkerk, and
thence by steamer to Detroit. At Pontiac we hired Joshua Terry to take us
and our baggage to White Lake, Oakland County. After a few weeks' visit
with relatives there, I started on the 31st of May in search of a home in the
wilderness. After a short and unsatisfactory visit to Shiawassee County,
I reached McGlone's in what is now Juniata, and with him as guide went out to
seek for a desirable location. Having selected the southwest quarter of
section 15, township 13 north, range 8 east, I returned to Flint, and on the
9th of June entered my land with land warrant. June 16, my father,
sister, niece and myself started for McGlone's. Leaving my sister and
niece at Ira Tappan's in Tuscola, my father and myself started on foot for
McGlone's reaching there about noon of the 18th. The next day we
commenced chopping out the road known as the Sebewaing road, which had been
laid out a few weeks before I made my entry. Two and a half miles were to
be cut out in what was then the town of Rogers, and three miles in township 13,
range 8, now Fair Grove. It is to be remembered that on the 19th of June,
1852, the first blow was struck for the permanent opening of the old Sebewaing
road running from Watrousville in the town of Juniata, to Sebewaing, in Huron
County. We were aided in this work by Jacob Winchell, Erastus A. Marr,
David Gorter, a Mr. Blank, Joseph R. McGlone and Patrick McGlone, the latter
using his team in logging out. We succeeded in clearing out about one and
a half miles that day, so we had a good wagon track for that distance, stopping
that night just to the northeast of the little creek crossing the road in the
hollow southwest of the present residence of Simeon F. Wright, in
Juniata. The 19th being Saturday, we stopped over Sunday with Patrick
McGlone. The morning of the 21st we commenced alone to cut out
road. The work being new to us was slow and tedious; and when we got on
the low ground, the mosquitoes were very thick, and we had to fight them
continuously; every little while placing our hands on the back of our necks we
would kill hundreds of them, and our hands would be covered with blood; our
faces and hands were bitten until they were sore and bloody, and still we
worked on. Our progress was slow, being little more than half a mile per
day; but by perseverance the work was completed Saturday night. Five
o'clock found us twenty rods north of the quarter post between sections 15 and
22, every day having been a repetition of the first. The logs were cut
off, the small timber cut and turned out of the way, and a good wagon track
opened for five miles, three miles of which was in what is now Fair Grove.
This was the first road by several months that was cut into that town.
The logs were afterwards hauled out of the road by P. McGlone according to
promise.
"The next work was to chop and clear a spot to
build a house upon, and this we had intended to commence the next week.
Had my arrangements been carried out much time and money would be saved; but we
cannot look into the future and see what is in store for us there. On the
27th I started for Tuscola, having to go there on business, and before leaving
requested father not to go down to work until I returned, fearing he might get
lost in a country so different from that we had come from, as he was very
easily turned around. There we had ridges, valleys, creeks, mountains,
etc. Here we had a level country with no running streams at that time, as they
were all dry or nearly so. He promised me he would not go, but being
eager to hasten on the work, which was in fart delayed on account of this act
of his, he started out alone on Monday morning, and before ten o'clock was
wandering through the woods wild with excitement. When I returned from
Tuscola and learned that he had gone to work I hastened out, but when I arrived
upon the ground he, in his efforts to find his way out, was tramping deeper and
deeper into the forest. He had his ax with him, and had he begun chopping
as soon as he found he was lost I might, being guided by the sound, have found
him without trouble. As It was he was obliged to spend five days and four
nights in the woods suffering from hunger, thirst and fear, and from the
immense swarms of mosquitoes that filled the woods day and night. A good
deal of rainy weather also during the week kept his clothes wet about all the
time. When he discovered that he was really lost he attempted to find the
road leading form McGlone's to Vassar, but traveled in the wrong
direction. He was in the midst of a wilderness many miles in extent, and
became so confused as to lose all idea of the points of compass. Every
day he kept walking and at night rested as best he could. During all the
time he was in the woods he subsisted on berries, roots and bark.
Sometimes after walking for hours he would find himself back a the very point
from which he started. At such times he would feel that further effort was
useless and death inevitable, but after resting for a time would start
forward. One night he dug a hole in the trunk of a rotten tree large
enough to admit his body and crawled into it, but his clothes being wet he
became chilled, and having no matches he chopped all night in order to keep
himself warm.
"During this time search was being made, but
without avail. On the fifth day several men, among whom were Joseph
Selden, Charles R. Selden, Ezra and Jonas Belknap, William Jameson, John Morse
and a Mr. Freeman, were working on the road near the present line between
Juniata and Denmark; while thus engaged then heard sounds issuing from the
woods, and knowing that Mr. Clay was lost, John Morse started out to see from
whence the sounds came. A short distance away he saw a man wandering
about and soon learned that he was the lost man. He was taken to the
house of Ezra Belknap, where he was given the attention which his critical
condition required. After a few days he returned home, but it was a long
time before he recovered form the hardships endured during those five
days."
The foregoing circumstance narrated by Mr. Clay has
become one of the traditions of the county, and if space would warrant, the
incidents of those five days' wanderings would make up a chapter of thrilling
interest.
The big elm tree in which Mr. Clay dug for himself
a couch stood by a small stream in what is now Gilford township, which was
afterward named Clay Creek, and is still designated by that name.
In September, 1852, Edward Howel came in, but
remained only until about the following Christmas, when he returned to his
former home in Wayne County.
Page 133
There was no further settlement in the town until
about the 5th of October of the same year, when Zephaniah Wilber and family
arrived. The day after came David P. Hinson and family, his
brother-in-law, Nelson Vickery and family, and Mrs. Hinson's father.
In the fall of 1852 Robert McFarland and his son
John entered land, and the next spring Mr. McFarland and his son Andrew and
step-son Charles E. Fonda came in and commenced improvements.
The first marriage that was solemnized in the town
was that of Miss Elizabeth Clay to John P. Wilber, son of Zephaniah Wilber, at
the house of the bride's brother, Amzy Clay, November 2, 1853, the ceremony
being performed by Lucius S. Marvin, Esq.
In the spring of 1854 Mathias Ringle and his wife
settled in section 21, and his brother-in-law, Romanzo E. Goodnough and wife,
in section 28. September 22, 1854, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Ringle a son,
David, believed to have been the first birth in the township. The second
birth was October 2, 1854, William, son of John P. and Elizabeth Wilber.
The first death was Mr. Calhoun, living on section 16.
The first school district organized was No. 5, or
Hinson District, which was organized while the township was attached to
Rogers. A school-house was built in this district in the spring of 1856,
and the first school was taught in it that summer by Caroline E. Stoddard, of
Rogers, and during the next winter school was taught by Amzy Clay, as also
during the winter term of 1857-'58.
In June, 1856, Amzy Clay received his commission as
postmaster of Fair Grove.
ENTRIES OF LAND
The following list is of land entries made prior to the
year 1860
TOWNSHIP 13 NORTH, RANGE 8 EAST
SECTION 1. Charles Knickerbocker, October 28, 1854
Ebenezer Warn, October 28, 1854
Mason T. Baqrker, October 28, 1854
Nathan Clifford, January 5, 1855
Norman Harvey, September 22, 1855
Lysander J. Lewis, December 21, 1855
SECTION 2 Charles McDuffee, November 9, 1854
George Fairfield, November 25, 1854
Joseph Newbold, February 19, 1855
Norman Harvey, September 22, 1855
Benjamin Billington, October 8, 1855
SECTION 3 Robert McFarland, November 1, 1852
John McFarland, November 1, 1852
Austin Atchison, February 16, 1853
Harriet Ann Fonda, September 9, 1853
William Fairfield, Jr. March 30, 1854
William Burton, June 8, 1854
Charles McDuffee, November 9, 1854
Ransford S. Bryant, November 28, 1854
Robert Patrick, December 23, 1854
Birdsey Perkins, December 25, 1854
SECTION 4 Albert Van Voorhies, September 4, 1854
James R. Phillips, October 24, 1854
Lyman J. Corbin,November 23, 1854
John Francis, December 12, 1854
Lyman J. Corbin, February 2, 1855
Robert Butler, June 15, 1855
SECTION 5 Chester Baxter, November 29, 1854
Thomas McGrady, June 5, 1855
Michael Buchanan, June 5, 1855
Jesse Stone, August 20, 1855
Owen Kunkel, September 6, 1855
Norman Cone, September 11, 1855
Michael Buchanan, September 9,1855
David F. Steele, September 9, 1855
SECTION 6 Webster H. Jones, January 13, 1855
Jesse Stone, September 24, 1855
John Jacob Richter, October 3, 1855
William Gotwalt, October 23, 1855
John Simott, December 10, 1855
SECTION 7 Chester Baxter, November 29, 1854
Thomas McGrady, June 5, 1855
Michael Buchanan June 5, 1855
David F. Steele, June 9, 1855
Michael Buchanan, June 9, 1855
Jesse Stone, August 20, 1855
Owen Kunkel, September 6, 1855
Norman Cone, September 11, 1855
SECTION 8 Albert Roe, October 25, 1854
David F. Steele, June 9, 1855
Jesse Stone, August 20, 1855
Norman Cone, September 11, 1855
Jesse Stone, September 24, 1855
John G. Throop, August 27, 1856
SECTION 9 Philander Hazen, May 4, 1855
Robert Butler, June 15, 1855
Wallace R. Bartlett, July 27, 1855
Jesse Stone, September 24, 1855
SECTION 10 Aaron Seaver, July 14, 1852
Hermon Camp, November 12, 1852
William Atwater, December 1, 1852
Charles H. Summers, January 12, 1853
Eli A. Eddy, JUne 17, 1854
George Bryant, October 28, 1854
Alonzo Fairbanks, October 25, 1855
SECTION 11 Henry G. Sherman, March 16, 1855
Thomas Graham, September 12, 1855
William Fairfield, August 12, 1856
George W. Black, September 7, 1858
SECTION 12 David J. Pulsipher, April 11, 1854
Edward R. Clifford, November 2, 1854
Valentine Coats, January 5, 1855
Henry G. Sherman, March 16, 1855
William P. Convis, March 16, 1855
Henry G. Sherman, July 5, 1855
James Van Valkenburgh, July 9, 1855
James Van Valkenburgh, September 11, 1855
Mason S. Samson, October 9, 1855
SECTION 13 Thomas Graham, October 30, 1854
Anthony Harmon, November 6, 1854
Morensi M. Sherman, March 16, 1855
SECTION 14 Virgil L. Wilcox, October 17, 1854
Thomas Graham, October 30, 1854
Richard R. Jackson, April 3, 1855
M. W. Sampson, March 19, 1859
David Cutler, October 16, 1855
SECTION 15 Elon Virgil, June 9, 1852
Amzy Clay, June 9, 1852
Henry Clay, Juen 16, 1852
Hermon Camp, November 10, 1852
Richard Pater, July 6, 1854
Romanzo E. Goodnough, November 27, 1854
Page 134
Virgil S. Wilcox, July 27, 1855
James J. Roberts, October 9, 1855
John Lee, October 9, 1855
SECTION 16 David Cahoon, May 23, 1855
Amos Holmes, March 21, 1856
Ann E. Cranston, June 24, 1856
George W. Smalling, June 24, 1856
Nathan Luce, March 19, 1859
Leonard Smith, April 1, 1859
David E. Cranston, June 24, 1856
SECTION 17 William Cooper, June 6, 1853
Orvil Otis, December 27, 1853
Ira Tappan, August 4, 1854
Alfred Benton, November 4, 1854
Jonas Bellinger, May 22, 1855
SECTION 18 David L. Steele, August 20, 1856
Joseph R. McGlone, November 5, 1856
Reuben Hitchcock, July 19, 1854
James Otis, January 9, 1854
Peter Honsinger, September 18, 1851
Franklin Fairman, May 28, 1860
George Burgess, August 2, 1860
SECTION 19 Aaron Burdick,
September 23, 1856
Charles Patterson, October 15, 1856
Reuben Hitchcock, July 19, 1854
William Parks, March 12, 1855
James A. Stowell, January 13, 1852
Charles C. Mallory, October 16, 1856
SECTION 20 Hugh Campbell,
October 13, 1851
Lucius Craul, April 28, 1852
James A. Tice, May 6, 1853
Charles White, June 26, 1854
Harmon Streeter, November 8, 1854
Benjamin Dennis, December 20, 1854
John Dennis, December 20, 1854
George Degroff, March 7, 1855
SECTION 21 Hugh Campbell,
May 3, 1852
David Rengle, August 22, 1853
James Wood, November 14, 1853
Hermon Camp, March 20, 1854
Aaron Watrous, Jr., August 21, 1854
Harmon Streeter, November 8, 1854
George Degroff, November 7, 1852
SECTION 22 Elon Virgil, June
9, 1852
Asa Stoddard, June 7, 1852
Benjamin Greene, June 7, 1852
Daniel Chapman, June 14, 1852
Lysander J. Lewis, November 29, 1853
William C. Pratt, September 10, 1854
SECTION 23 Virgil S. Wilcox,
October 17, 1854
Durfee Chase, July 25, 1855
David A. Salisbury, August 31, 1855
SECTION 24 Patrick Sheridan,
September 4, 1855
Obed Wright, September 4, 1855
Alva Spaulding, December 7, 1855
William J. Rawson, July 5, 1856
SECTION 25 Daniel R.
Sortwell, December 19,k 1853
Herman Andrews, October 24, 1854
Samuel Moreland, January 18, 1855
Herman Andrews, February 6, 1855
Ezra Heath, August 20, 1855
Elihu Arnet, November 1, 1855
SECTION 26 Carlton Wilber,
November 25, 1853
Lucius S. Marvin, January 21, 1854
Joshua N. Heath, March 15, 1854
Simeon Daines, March 24, 1854
Ralph Hollingworth, January 26, 1855
Carlton Wilber, May 11, 1855
Ambrose Mathews, August 27, 1855
Oliver A. Dickinson, August 29, 1855
Peter Bowen, September 4, 1855
SECTION 27 Leonard Canfield,
June 9, 1852
William Hanna, October 21, 1854
Bela B.
Blakslee, December 5, 1854
Watson Luther,
December 11, 1854
Oliver B.
Wilcox, June 29, 1855
Oliver A.
Dickinson, August 29, 1855
Peter Bowen,
September 4, 1855
SECTION 28 John P. Maxwell, July 24, 1852
David Ringle, August 22, 1853
John S. G. Bodge, March 24, 1854
Hermon Camp, March 20, 1854
Daniel D. Dewey, May 5, 1854
James H. Streeter, June 21, 1854
SECTION 29 David P. Hinson, May 11, 1853
Marvin Hinson, October 10, 1853
George Whitehouse, February 7, 1854
John Houghtaling, March 8, 1854
William Abell, March 13, 1854
Madison J. Marsh, April 17, 1854
Samuel Hinman, June 17, 1854
Elijah Phillips, June 23, 1854
James H. Streeter, December 12, 1854
SECTION 30 Edward Packer, February 8, 1855
Samuel W. Dexter, March 30, 1854
Edwin Jacobs, October 30, 1851
James M. Edmunds, September 10, 1851
SECTION 31 James Spencer, January 26, 1850
John Atkin, February 16, 1862
James Spencer, May 3, 1853
Albert Haner, October 8, 1853
Samuel M. Booth, July 5, 1854
Patrick Connelly, August 11, 1856
SECTION 32 David P. Hinson, April 28, 1852
Levi Read, August 26, 1853
James Bennett, November 7, 1853
William Burton, June 8, 1854
William Burton, June 26, 1854
Thomas Streeter, November 13, 1854
David P. Hinson, January 13, 1855
Bela B. Blakslee, January 17, 1855
SECTION 33 David P. Hinson, April 28, 1852
Thomas M. Knight, June 13, 1853
James Bennett, November 7, 1853
Hermon Camp, March 20, 1854
Elijah Phillips, June 22, 1854
Charlotte Luther, December 11, 1854
Hermon Camp, December 16, 1854
Squire B. Crawford, January 10, 1855
George Whitehouse, May 18,k 1855
Albert Arnold, July 5, 1855
SECTION 34 Thomas M. Knight, June 11, 1853
Storms S. Arnold, August 24, 1853
James Rideout, September 23, 1853
Albert Luther, December 11, 1854
Henry Winchell, April 17, 1855
Page 135
Henry Brusie, July 2, 1855
Peremilly Brusie, July 2, 1855
SECTION 35 Carlton Wilber, November 25, 1853
Michael Hiller, December 19, 1853
Aaron Watrous, Jr., December 17, 1853
Daniel Dunn, April 6, 1854
Michael Hiller, February 21, 1855
Carlton Wilber, May 11, 1855
Warner Vandusen, October 23, 1855
Aaron Watrous, August 5, 1858
William King, August 12, 1858
SECTION 36 Daniel Kinyon, July 10, 1852
John R. Root, September 14, 1852
David Dunn, July 16, 1853
George P. Root, August 13, 1853
Daniel Kinyon, December 8, 1853
Lewis R. Vangieson, August 24, 1854
Willard Moreland, November 2, 1854
Samuel Moreland, January 18, 1855
CIVIL HISTORY
At a meeting of the board of supervisors held December
31, 1855, a resolution was adopted to organize township 13 north, of range 8
east, and that it be designated by the name of Fair Grove.
The application was signed by P. B. Wilber, Thomas
Graham, James Moreland, John Kelsey, Willard Moreland, Elihu Arnet, Ezra heath,
O. Wright, James H. Streeter, James H. Bennett, James S. Wood, Lyman J. Corbin,
Robert McFarland, William Fairfield, Amzy Clay and Henry Clay.
The application designated the name of Mont-Ville, and in
case that should not be deemed admissible, suggested the names of Ladore,
Forest Home, New Lebanon, Fair Grove, North Spy, New Durham, New Lisbon, North
Farms, Middle Town and New Berlin.
According to notice given by order of the board of
supervisors the citizens of Fair Grove assembled April 7, 1856, at the
residence of D. P. Hinson on section 29, township 13 north, of range 8 east,
for the purpose of holding the first annual township meeting and perfecting the
organization of the town. R. E. Goodnaugh and Robert McFarland having been
previously appointed inspectors of election by the board of supervisors and D.
P. Hinson having been appointed moderator, they proceeded to business. W.
R. Bartlett was by cica coce vote elected clerk of election; also by the
board of election R. E. Goodnough was chosen assistant clerk. The
inspectors and officers of election having been sworn in, it was voted to
adjourn to the school-house near by, which was done. It was voted that a
committee be appointed to select candidates, and T. Streeter, L. J. Corbin, J.
Moreland, Philip Honsinger, Robert Butler and W. R. Bartlett were appointed.
This committee reported the following list of candidates: For supervisor,
D. P. Hinson; clerk, W. R. Bartlett; treasurer, L. J. Corbin; school
inspectors, Charles E. Fonda, Webster H. Jones; directors of the poor, Z.
Wilber, N Northrop; commissioners of highways R. Butler, J. Heath, T. Streeter;
justices of the peace, R. E. Goodnough, Philip Honsinger, Thomas Graham, Robert
McFarland; constables, Jasper Fox, James H. Bennett, Obed Wright. The
meeting then adjourned for one hour, after which the first elected were Thomas
Streeter highway overseer in Road District No. 12, and Elihu Arnett overseer in
Road District No. 13. The result of the vote was as follows: For
supervisor, D. P. Hinson was elected by forty-four votes; o opposition.
For town clerk, W. R. Bartlett received forty-four votes and was declared
elected. For treasurer, Lyman J. Corbin received forty-two votes and John
Kelsey two, and Lyman J. Corbin was declared elected. For school
inspectors, Charles E. Fonda and Webster H. Jones each received forty-three
votes, and were declared elected. For overseers of the poor, Zephaniah
Wilber and Noah Northrop received each forty-four votes, and were declared
elected. For commissioners of highways, Robert Butler received thirty
votes, Joshua A. Heath and Thomas Streeter each forty-four, and Amzy Clay
thirteen votes; the three first were declared elected. For justices of
the peace, Thomas Graham received forty-one votes, Robert McFarland forty
votes, R. E. Goodnough thirty-nine votes, and Thomas Streeter four votes; the
first four were declared elected. For constables, Jesse Fox, James H.
Bennett, Obed Wright and George Bryant received each thirty-three votes, and
were declared elected; Thomas Graham, Robert McFarland, R. E. Goodnough and Philip
Honsinger received each one vote.
It was voted unanimously to raise the assessment on land for the benefit of
highways instead of voting a direct tax for highway purposes.
It was voted unanimously that the town raise
$50 for contingent and incidental fund to put the treasury in a situation to
keep town orders par. This amount to be raised in addition to the demands
of the present season.
It was voted unanimously that the next annual town
meeting be held at the school-house near D. P. Hinson's.
July 7, 1856, the township boards of Rogers, Fair
Grove and Akron met in Watrousville for the purpose of effecting a mutual
settlement, making a division of moneys, credits, library books and
indebtedness. The rule was adopted that the several townships mentioned
should receive of moneys and credits and pay off indebtedness in the following
proportion, viz.: Rogers, 50/100, Fair Grove, 275/1000, and Akron, 135/1000,
which arrangement appears to have been satisfactorily carried out.
At a meeting of the town board held October 11,
1856, it was decided that the office of town clerk was vacant on account of the
removal of the clerk from the township, and Amzy Clay was appointed.
At the annual town meeting of 1859 the result of a
vote upon the question of town or district libraries was fifty-two to one in
favor of township library.
At the annual meeting in 1861 it was voted that the
treasurer make a demand on the town of Juniata for moneys due, and that if
refused the proper officers take legal steps to collect. It was voted to
raise one-half of one per cent on the valuation for roads and bridges.
In February, 1864, at the written request of
fifteen electors a special town meeting was called to meet on the 25th for the
purpose of raising a township bounty for volunteers, not exceeding $200 per
volunteer, in order to fill the quota assigned the township and thus avoid a
draft. At this meeting the town board was instructed to pay all
volunteers who have enlisted or may enlist under the call for 300,000 men the
sum of $200; and to those who enlist under the last call for 200,000 men $100
each, and that bonds, orders or other evidences of indebtedness bearing 7 per
cdent interest be issued as required, and that volunteers under the last call receive
$100 more, provided those under the first call receive $100 from the
State. Also that the town board be authorized to enlist volunteers out of
the township is necessary. Similar action was also taken at the annual
meeting in 1864. The town board on the 5th of April, 1864, issued four
bods to pay bounties as follows, viz.: To Mason S. Samson, $200; to L. C.
Miller, $200; to George W. Dutcher, $200; and to one not mentioned, $100.
Page 136
At the general election in November, 1874, the vote of Fair Grove upon
the question of woman suffrage, then submitted to the people, was sixteen votes
in the affirmative and sixty-seven in the negative.
At the annual town meeting in 1877, 184 votes were
cast. It was decided to purchase a site for a town hall and to raise $400
in yearly installments of $100 each to build a town house. John Francis,
Thomas Graham and John S. Moor were appointed a building committee. It
was voted to raise money to build a bridge across Squaw Creek in section 16.
About the month of May, 1879, there appears to have
raged in the town of Fair Grove a canine epidemic among the sheep, judging from
the numerous reports, affidavits and appraisals of values of sheep slain.
In May, 1879, the board decided to purchase a site
for a town hall, as ordered by the annual town meeting in 1878, and
appropriated $40 for that purpose. They further directed S. C. Wilder to
get up plans and specifications and to advertise for bids. The contract
was subsequently let to Albert Shellito, and in September, 1879, a very neat
and convenient town hall was, after view, accepted as built according to the
specifications, and there the next annual town meeting was held. The
number of voters at that meeting was 238.
The town hall was by subsequent action of the board
put in charge of the town clerk, and he was authorized to open it for literary,
political and religious meetings free of charge, a charge, however, being made
for the use of the building whenever an admittance fee was collected.
TOWN OFFICERS.
|
YEAR |
SUPERVISOR |
CLERK |
TREASURER |
COMMISSION OF HIGHWAYS |
|
1883 |
James Kirk |
F. W. Harris |
R. C. Burroughs |
William Kirk |
|
1882 |
James Kirk |
F. W. Harris |
H. N. Gotham |
William Kirk |
|
1881 |
James Kirk |
W. F. Stoddard |
H. N. Gotham |
William Kirk |
|
1880 |
John Francis |
L. C. Wilber |
L.F.Hinson |
James Kirk |
|
1879 |
Edward J. Putnam |
L. C. Wilber |
John Francis |
John S. Moor |
|
1878 |
William B. Waldo |
L. C. Wilber |
John Francis |
Watson Luther |
|
1877 |
William B. Waldo |
F. W. Harris |
John Francis |
John S. Moor |
|
1876 |
William H. Rose |
F. W. Harris |
John Francis |
John S. Moor |
|
1875 |
William H. Rose |
F. W. Harris |
John Francis |
John Francis |
|
1874 |
William H. Rose |
F. W. Harris |
John Francis |
Moses Mitchell |
|
1873 |
I. N. Loomis |
D. E. Cranston |
John Francis |
Phillip Honsinger |
|
1872 |
I. N. Loomis |
D. E. Cranston |
John Francis |
William P. Convis |
|
1871 |
I. N. Loomis |
N. L. Parmater |
John Francis |
John Francis |
|
1870 |
C.C. Stoddard |
H. N. Gotham |
John Francis |
Philip Honsinger |
|
1869 |
C.C. Stoddard |
H. N. Gotham |
John Francis |
J. B. Graham |
|
1868 |
D. P. Hinson |
D. E. Cranston |
John Francis |
John Francis |
|
1867 |
John Francis |
L. C. Wilber |
Watson Luther |
Orvil Otis |
|
1866 |
D. P. Hinson |
L. C. Wilber |
L. F. Hinson |
George W. Black |
|
1865 |
D. P. Hinson |
L. C. Wilber |
L. F. Hinson |
Storms Arnold |
|
1864 |
Watson Luther |
Amzy Clay |
L. F. Hinson |
W. P. Convis |
|
1863 |
C. C. Stoddard |
C.E. Fonda |
Watson Luther |
George Smalling |
|
1862 |
C. C. Stoddard |
C. E. Fonda |
Watson Luther |
Ezra Heath |
|
1861 |
Amzy Clay |
C. E. Fonda |
J. A. Heath |
Orvil Otis |
|
1860 |
Thomas Graham |
C. C. Stoddard |
John Francis |
John McFarland |
|
1859 |
D. P. Hinson |
C. C. Stoddard |
J. A. Heath |
Jerome B. Wilber |
|
1858 |
D. P. Hinson |
G. Smalling |
L. J. Corbin |
C. Knickerbocker |
|
1857 |
D. P. Hinson |
Amzy Clay |
L. J. Corbin |
R. E. Goodnough |
|
1856 |
D. P. Hinson |
W. R. Bartlett |
Lyman J. Corbin |
Robert Butler |
STATISTICAL
Census of 1860: Population, 367; families, 91; dwellings, 91; number of occupied farms, 87; number of acres improved, 1,398; number of horses, 15; number of cows, 114; bushels of wheat raised, 1,396; bushels of rye raised, 48; bushels of corn raised, 1,363; bushels of oats raised, 1,082; bushels of potatoes raised, 1,325; pounds of butter made, 5,940.
Census of 1870: Population, 928; number of farms, 128; voters, 185; pounds of wool sheared, 3,345; pounds of butter made, 43,790; bushels of wheat raised, 6,677; bushels of potatoes raised, 8,489; tons of hay cut, 1,233 bushels of corn raised, 4,726 bushels of oats raised, 7,175.
Census of 1874: Population, 1,056; bushels of wheat raised, 5,900; bushels of corn raised, 17,747; bushels of potatoes, 10,774 tons of hay cut, 1,580.
Population in 1880, 1,609. In 1882 the number of acres assessed was 22,706; totoal equalized valuation of real and personal property was $476,815; number of farms in 1881, 242 acres of improved land, 8,222; bushels of wheat in 1880, 39,582; of corn, 67,643; tons of hay, 1,204.
SCHOOL MATTERS.
From the annual school report of the town of Fair Grove for the year ending September 4, 1882, the following facts are obtained: Directors for the ensuing year, John M. Petershaus, George Inglis, Bert Shellito, F. W. Harris, James Kirk, Philip Honsinger, J. S. Vandemark and John P. Reed. Number of school districts, eight, of which seven are whole and one fractional. Number of school houses, eight, seven of them frame and one log. The number of children of school age is 596, of whom 476 attended school during the year.
FAIR GROVE VILLAGE.