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Compiled by John H. Wheeler Published by B. F. Bowen CHAPTER 9 Pages 37 - 42 |
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NEW RAILROAD - NEW VILLAGES - NEW IMPETUS
TO
FARMING AND LUMBERING
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The one great hindrance to the rapid development of the county was the lack of facilities for reaching a market. The whole western half of the county had to drive either to Cadillac or Manton, on the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad, to reach a market for a load of potatoes or any other farm product. To some the distance was over twenty miles, necessitating a two-days trip. The roads were rough and the hills sandy, and thirty or thirtyfive bushels of potatoes was all a team could draw. By the time the farmer had paid for his expenses at the hotel over night he would not have much left out of his load of potatoes unless they brought more than twenty-five or thirty cents per bushel. Under these circumstances it is not strange that there was a lack of "push" on the part of the farmers. About the only farm product that there was any money in was hay. The close proximity of the lumbering camps afforded a ready sale for all the hay the farmers could spare, at a good price, sometimes running as high as twenty dollars per ton. The fact that hay always found a ready sale caused many farmers to keep their land seeded to grass so much that it greatly impoverished the soil and thus retarded future farming, as a light soil once run down is very hard to again put into condition to raise good crops. During the winter of 1883-4 the surveyors of the Chicago & West Michigan Railroad visited northern Michigan, taking observations as to the most desirable route for the extension of their road. They visited Sherman and looked up the approaches to the Manistee river from the north and south, and expressed themselves as well satisfied with the feasibility of crossing at that point and following the valley of the Wheeler creek northward, running a little east of Wexford Corners and then dropping over into the Boardman river valley, thus, making an easy grade into Traverse City. The people in the western part of the county were greatly elated over the prospects of having a railroad near their farms, but railroads have queer ways and their building is accompanied often with vexatious delays, and so it happened that when the Chicago & West Michigan Railroad was built several years later it took an entirely new route and did not touch Wexford county; in fact, it was run so far west as to be of very little practical benefit to the farmers of the county. In the meantime the Toledo, Ann Arbor & North Michigan Railroad Company had been organized and had started in to build a road to some point on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. The projectors of this undertaking were the Ashleys, of Toledo father and two sons, Harry and James, or "Jim," as he was familiarly called. Neither of these parties had much money of their own, but they had enterprise and push, especially "Jim," who could overcome more difficulties and surmount more obstacles than half a dozen ordinary business men, and it was largely through these qualities that the road was completed, though its building covered a period of several years, and more than once it was said, "The Ashleys have got to the end of their rope and the road will never go any farther;" but still the next year would witness another extension, and so, little by little, the work progressed. In the summer of 1886, through the promise of thirty-five thousand dollars on the part of the city of Cadillac, the work of extending the road from Mt. Pleasant, its then terminus, to Cadillac was undertaken. A large force of men were put to work at various points along the line and before September the laying of rails was commenced. This work progressed from both ends of this section, the rails being brought to Cadillac over the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad to use in laying the northern end of the section. Winter set in before the last rail was laid, and some of the grading and several miles of track laying was done when the snow covered the ground to a depth of several inches. But notwithstanding the cold and the snow the first train over the newextension reached Cadillac within the time agreed upon, January 1, 1887, and its arrival marked a new era in the county's history. To fittingly celebrate this event the railroad company gave a free excursion to Alma and a free dinner at the celebrated Wright Hotel at that place, inviting many of the prominent men of the city and the county at large, and the city arranged for a grand banquet at the Hotel McKinnon when the party, including railroad officials and the railroad commissioner of the state, should return in the evening. The night preceding the day fixed for the excursion a heavy snow storm set in, accompanied with a gale of wind, and when morning dawned the streets and sidewalks in Cadillac were piled so full of snow that it was impossible for ladies to get to the train, and a number of the gentlemen who otherwise would have taken the trip staid at home on account of the drifts. As the road ran nearly all the way to Farwell through the woods, there was not much difficulty experienced in making the run to Alma, but the storm continued all day and it was not without some misgivings that the return journey was begun. A delay of over two hours in starting was caused by a wreck on a branch of the D. L. & N. Railroad, which crossed the Toledo, Ann Arbor & Northern Michigan Railroad just north of the station at Alma, by which a freight car was thrown upon the track just where the two roads intersected each other, and it had to be removed before the excursion train could start. Some of the excursionists were wise enough to return to the village, a half mile distant, and purchase a lunch, fearing they would be late at the banquet in Cadillac. At last, just as it had begun to grow dark, the train pulled out. By the time it had reached Clare, on the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad, those who had not provided themselves with a lunch at Alma made a rush for the lunch room kept at that station, and soon had purchased everything eatable in sight. Here a telegram was sent to those in charge of the banquet at Cadillac that the train would arrive there about nine o'clock. Soon after leaving Farwell the train ran into a snow bank and came to a dead stop. Half a hundred men jumped out in the snow, tore boards from the fence beside the track, and by dint of stamping and pushing away the snow from the engine, the train was soon started again. All went well while on a down grade to the crossing of the Muskegon river, though progress was slow owing to the fact that eight or ten inches of snow had fallen during the day and there having as yet been no freight trains over the new road the engine had to push its way through this fresh snow all the way. After crossing the Muskegon river there was a long up-grade to make, and while using all the steam possible to push through the snow and make the grade, the train suddenly came to a stop. Investigation disclosed the fact that the rails had spread and the engine was off the track. All the balance of the night the trainmen worked to get the engine on the rails again. The tall form of "Jim" Ashley could be seen directing the work and assisting the men in their efforts to fix the track and right the engine. The accident was caused by the carelessness or negligence of the track layers, who had failed to properly spike the rails to the ties, and in the extra pressure caused by the resistance of the snow the engine had found a weak spot and left the rails. The train was going at such a slow rate that there was hardly a jar felt by those on board, and at first they would hardly believe it could be so. When it was realized that a long time would be required to get under way again, all hope of getting a taste of the banquet at the Hotel McKinnon was banished and those who were fortunate enough to have provided themselves with crackers and cheese proceeded to satisfy their appetites for the time being, hoping that Cadillac would be reached in time for breakfast. As before stated, it was long after daylight when everything had been gotten ready for a start, but by this time the engine's supply of water and coal was nearly exhausted and a trip must be made to Cadillac for a supply before it could haul the train in. It should be stated that as yet there was no telegraph line erected along the road, and as the accident occurred about half way between Farwell and Cadillac, in a dense forest devoid of roads or settlers, it was therefore impossible to communicate with any one. If it had been thought that it would take all night to get started, a messenger could have been dispatched to Cadillac and another engine and better appliances could have been sent to the rescue; but of course it was expected that it would not take more than an hour or two to get under way again, but hour after hour went by without witnessing success on the part of the workers. The engine found great difficulty in reaching Cadillac, and by the time it had received its supply of coal and water, returned to the train and hauled it to the city, it was considerably after noon, and those of us who lived in the northern part of the county had just time to eat a hasty meal before taking the train on the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad for home. The managers of the banquet at Cadillac, after waiting until after ten o'clock P.M. without hearing from the train, proceeded with the program so far as they could without the expected guests, but it is said to have been a very dull affair, caused in part by the absence of the railroad officials and partly by the thought which filled all minds that a dreadful accident had happened to the train. All in all it was an eventful trip, but notwithstanding the night spent in the woods everybody was in good spirits on the train except the trainmen and road officials, who were so vexed at the mishap that none of them would "crack a smile." During the summer of 1887 the road was completed as far as
Harietta and graded some distance west of that place, and the following year it
passed on through Wexford county, reaching Frankfort in the fall of 1899. In taking up the political history we find that quite a change occurred in political supremacy in the county in 1884. The reverses to the Republican party in that election were not entirely political but were more the result of personal and sectional matters than of party feelings. The Wexford County Pioneer, owned by J. H. Wheeler, had always been very strenuous in its efforts to prevent the removal of the county seat from Sherman, but when it was taken to Manton by a combination between Manton and Cadillac, it declined to further fight against what it deemed to be the inevitable sequence-its final removal to Cadillac. For this reason its editor stood in great disfavor among the people who wished to have the county seat always remain in Manton. The editor's position, that the removal to Manton was only a stepping stone on the way to Cadillac, was amply proven by subsequent events as narrated in the county-seat chapter elsewhere herein, but nevertheless it cost him several hundred votes in the fall election of 1884, causing his defeat for the office of county treasurer. Personal reasons also entered into the defeat of Col. T. J. Thorp for clerk and register. It was largely through his leadership that the county seat went to Manton, and it was under his generalship that the records and property of the county were removed from Manton the morning after the vote on the question of removal to Cadillac had been taken, thus preventing injunction proceedings. This was enough to cause party allegiance to give way to personal prejudice, and it thus transpired that the Republicans only elected one candidate on their entire county ticket by an actual majority, though some others were elected by pluralities. The following is a list of candidates, with the vote given for each: Judge of probate, H. M. Dunham, Rep., 835; W. P. Smith, Dem., 740; J. Crowley, Ind., 682. Sheriff, C. C. Dunham, Rep., 1,034; E. Bowen, Dem., 716; E. George, Ind., 487. County clerk, T. J. Thorp, Rep., 1,075; G. A. Cummer, Dem., 1,160. Register of deeds, T. J. Thorp, Rep., 1,048; G. A. Cummer, Dem., 1,160. Treasurer, J. H. Wheeler, Rep., 778; James Haynes, Dem., 1,470. Prosecuting attorney, D. A. Rice, Rep., 801; J. B. Rosevelt, Dem., 678; D. McIntyre, Ind., 726. Circuit court commissioner, C. C. Chittenden, Rep., 1,576; J. R. Bishop, Dem., 639. During the two years which succeeded this election sectional feeling had become somewhat allayed, and in consequence the Republican ticket, with one exception, was elected at the November election of 1886. This exception was for the office of clerk and register, the incumbent, George A. Cummer, defeating the Republican nominee, S. J. Wall, by one hundred and forty-nine votes. The election was confined entirely to the two parties, Republican and Democratic, though the Democrats had placed a Republican on their ticket for prosecuting attorney. The candidates of each party and vote received by each were as follows: Sheriff, C. C. Dunham, Rep., 1,318; W. Geibert, Dem., 578. County clerk, S. J. Wall, Rep., 888; George A. Cummer, Dem., 1,029. Register of deeds, S. J. Wall, Rep., 884; George A. Cummer, Dem., 1,010. Treasurer, E. Harger, Rep., 1,045; E. J. Haynes, Dem., 874. Prosecuting attorney, C. C. Chittenden, Rep., 1,051; D. A. Rice, Dem., 904. Circuit court commissioner, C. S. Marr, Rep., 1,049; J. R. Bishop, Dem., 839. A much larger vote was polled in 1888, it being a presidential election, and great efforts were put forth by both parties to win, if possible. The Republicans went outside of the city for the first time in six years for a candidate for sheriff, nominating W. L. Sturtevant, of Sherman, and the Democrats, to checkmate this move to solidify the rural vote for a rural candidate, nominated B. Woods, also of Sherman, and a boon companion of the Republican nominee, as their candidate for that office. The vote was large, as the canvass had been waged with great spirit on both sides, but the Republicans came out victors on their entire ticket, as follows: Judge of probate, H. M. Dunham, Rep., 1,460; H. B. Sturtevant, Dem., 1,035. Sheriff, W. L. Sturtevant, Rep., 1,392; B. Woods, Dem., 1,140. Clerk and register, S. J. Wall, Rep., 1,283; George A. Cummer, Dem., 1,266. Treasurer, E. Harger, Rep., 1,501; C. E. Haynes, Dem., 1,038. Prosecuting attorney, C. C. Chittenden, Rep., 1,588; D. A. Rice, Dem., 598. Circuit court commissioner, E. E. Haskins, Rep., 1,526; J. R. Bishop, Dem., 1,085. After the county seat was removed to Cadillac efforts were soon made to have the county buy a lot and build a jail, and twice had the matter been brought before the electors in the form of a proposition to bond the county for that purpose, but the bitterness resulting from the two removals of the county seat was for a time so great that the matter was finally compromised by the county agreeing to rent a jail and sheriff's residence if one was erected according to plans and specifications to be furnished by the county. That was done and the matter remained in statu quo until the annual meeting of the board of supervisors in 1887, when a resolution was adopted by the board providing for the purchase of the jail property and providing for submitting to the electors of the county at the annual township meeting in April, 1888, the question of raising by tax the forty-two hundred and fifty dollars agreed upon as the purchase price. The vote on this proposition was ten hundred and fifty-one in favor of it and eight hundred and forty-six against. So the question was carried and the county soon after became the owner of a jail and sheriff's residence. The coming of the Toledo, Ann Arbor & Northern Michigan Railroad gave such an impetus to the settlement of the county that the census of 1890 disclosed the fact that the population of the county had more than doubled since 1880, the total being sixteen thousand, eight hundred and forty-five as compared with sixtyeight hundred and fifteen in 1880, the increase thus being a little 16 more than ten thousand in ten years, or an average of over a thousand a year. Few new counties in the state could show such a wonderful growth at a corresponding period of its history. The growth was also of a permanent character, as the transient lumbering operations along the Manistee river had moved on up the river until they had passed the limits of the county. The Republican party, having made a clear sweep with its county ticket in 1888, has carried the elections for every county office since that year except the office of treasurer in 1890, when J. W. Ransom, Democrat, defeated Rinaldo Fuller, Republican, by a plurality of forty-nine votes. The candidates of the parties that year and votes cast for each were as follows: Sheriff, W. L. Sturtevant, Rep., 1,020; F. D. Seeley, Dem., 817. Clerk and register, S. J. Wall, Rep., 1,005; L. M. Patterson, Dem., 842. Treasurer, R. Fuller, Rep., 905; J. W. Ransom, Dem., 944. Prosecuting attorney, C. C. Chittenden, Rep., 1,777; no Democratic candidate. Circuit court commissioner, R. F. Tinkham, Rep., 1,810; no Democratic candidate. The following tables will show who were nominated by the
leading parties, Republican and Democratic, and the vote given for the several
candidates of each party covering the period from 1892 to 1902 inclusive: By an amendment to act No. 147, of session laws of 1891, made at the legislative session of 1893, the office of county commissioner of schools was made elective, the first election to take place on the first Monday of April, 1893, and every two years thereafter, and term of office to begin July first following the election and continue for two years. At the first election under this law George E. Herrick, of Cadillac, was elected by a vote of 1,108 to 787 for J. E. Wood, at that time principal of the Sherman schools. In 1895 H. C. Foxworthy was elected to this office over L. A. Tibbitts, the vote being 1,076 for Mr. Foxworthy to 446 for Mr. Tibbitts. Mr. Foxworthy was reelected in 1897, his opponent being Charles D. Phelps and the vote being 1,418 for Foxworthy and 898 for Mr. Phelps. He was also a candidate for a third term in 1899, but was defeated in the convention by C. C. Slemons, of Sherman, who received the nomination and was elected by a majority of 528 over Genette E. Chick, his Democratic opponent. Mr. Slemons was renominated in 1901 and elected by a vote of 1,664 to 372 for his opponent, Miss Renie Torry, of Cadillac. At the Republican county convention in 1903 William A. Faunce received the nomination for this office and at the Democratic county convention Miss Renie Torry, who had a few days previously been nominated by the Prohibition county convention, was endorsed for this office and a strong effort made throughout the county to secure her election. The result was 1,204 votes for Mr. Faunce and 1,123 for Miss Torry, giving the former a majority of 81. |