Remembering Our Ancestors Through Genealogy

A History of Iron County Michigan by Jack Hill Published in 1955, "A History of Iron County Michgan" gives the history and other interesting facts about this Upper Peninsula county. The book was originally printed in two columns. In order to improve the readability of the pages on a web browser it was converted to single column by combining every two original lines. With this exception the transcription was done without changes or corrections. Chapter 4 - Early Land Ownership

20     HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN     Chapter IV   EARLY LAND OWNERSHIP      As Michigan assumed the responsibilities of Territorial govern- ment, all the lands within the State were in the custody of the nation- al government.    An attempt was made immediately following the War of 1812 to examine the lands adjacent to Detroit in anticipation to offering same as Bounty lands to the members of the armed services. The lands in question, however, were found to be low and swampy in character or sandy barrens and were reported as unfit for the pur- pose by the surveyor in charge of the work.    Through the influence of Governor Lewis Cass, preparations were nevertheless made to receive the increasing numbers of settlers by making treaties with the Indians, and as the titles were cleared, in having the lands surveyed. By presidential proclamation the lands were then offered for sale in tracts of 160 acres at a price of two dollars per acre, one fourth of the purchase price to be paid at the time of purchase and the balance over a period of five years.    All the early French settlers were given title to their lands and others who had entered upon the lands at a later date, were upon proper proof, accorded pre-emption privileges. The first settlers to arrive were mainly of Scotch or English descent who had migrated from New York and the New England States.    Settlement was very rapid and by 1837 when the State was ad- mitted to the Union, the population had reached 174,061 or twice the number three years previous.    As an inducement for the people of Michigan to accept the terms of admission imposed by the people of Ohio in their Toledo Strip de- mands, Congress in an Act supplementary to the Enabling Act of June 23, 1836, offered the following valuable land grants to the State:    1. Section number sixteen in every township of the public lands for the use of schools. If such section had been sold or otherwise disposed of, other lands contiguous thereto would be granted.    2. Seventy-two sections for the sole use of a University.    3. Five entire sections for the completion of the public buildings of the State or for the erection of new buildings as the legislature might direct.    4. All salt springs within the State, not exceeding twelve in number, with six sections of land adjoining each.    In accepting the terms of Con-   HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN     21   gress, the Legislature asked for an additional 500,000 acres of un- appropriated lands for internal improvements as the construction of one or more railroads or canals from Lake Erie or the Detroit River to Lake Michigan, or to aid in the construction of such other roads or canals as the Legislature may designate.    It further asked that for a road to be constructed from the mouth of the Ontonagon River on Lake Superior to the mouth of the Meno- minee River on Green Bay or some other River on the Bay north of the Menominee River, thence to Sault St. Marie, and section of land to be given to the State for each mile of road. Another stipu- lation was that all roads of the U. S. commenced and remaining un- finished should be completed at the expense of the United States.    Although no mention is made by Congress in the final Act of ad- mission, the lands specified in the first part for the purpose of in- ternal improvements were granted to the State in 1841. To raise money for the improvements, these lands were placed on sale in 1844 at a price of $1.25 per acre, all lands to be offered at auction be- fore being declared open for private sale.    In the year 1850, Congress granted extensive swamp lands to the State for road construction purposes. The objective of this grant was the reclamation and development of the State's swamp land areas, especially the southern part of the Lower Peninsula, through the construction of a network of roads.    Acceptance of the lands was made upon the basis of the field notes on file in the General Land Office; all swamp lands being de- signated as such on the maps of the original surveys. To meet the cost of building the roads, these lands were also placed on sale, first at public auction, later subject to private sale at a minimum price of $1.25 per acre.    The Commissioner of the State land office had wide powers in the leasing and selling of same, being in general charge and supervision of all the lands of the State, sales being conducted at Mackinaw and Ontonagon in the Upper Peninsula.    Until the year of 1850, only slight recognition had been accord- ed by Congress to the veterans of its Armed Forces. Beginning with that year, however, a series of laws were enacted pertaining to the welfare of ex-servicemen and their dependents. Under the Act of Sep- tember 28 of that year and of March 22, 1852, veterans of the War of 1812 or many of the Indian Wars, were permitted to locate on any public lands subject to private entry at the time.    The amount of land received was based on the length of service, those who had been engaged for twelve months or more received 160 acres, those of six months service, 80 acres and those serving a minimum of one month, 40 acres. Widows or minor children of de- ceased veterans were accorded the right to claim the benefits of the veteran.    Under the more comprehensive laws of March 3, 1853 and March 3, 1855, all soldiers and sailors who served in any of the wars of the United States for a period of not less than fourteen days, were entitled to receive a Warrant from the Department of the Interior for 160 acres of land or to increase lands of former Warrants to this amount. This provision was applicable, to dependents also.    Beginning with the year 1850, land Warrants were issued under these Acts for some tracts in Iron County. These lands were tax exempt for a period of three years. Due to the inaccessibility of the area at the time, no improvements were made thereon and most of the lands reverted back to the government or were transferred through assignment to others.    In the year 1856, Congress made available to the middle western States, an enormous acreage of grant lands for the purpose of subsidizing railroad construction. Through the ensuing thirty years, Michigan received a total of 3,775,599 acres. Of this total, the Upper Peninsula received 1,670,624 acres   22     HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN   and somewhere in the neighborhood of 200,000 acres of swamp lands.    Under the rulings relative to the Upper Peninsula lands, alternate sections for a width of six miles on each side of the railroad were made available to the companies upon the completion of each twenty consecutive miles of road.    The early State laws governing railroads permitted the organi- zation of a company by any seven persons upon proof of their ability to spend a minimum of $4,000 per mile of road. As the value of the lands granted exceeded this figure at the prevailing price, the invest- ment was secure and railroad companies were organized in large numbers.    The first railroad in the Upper Peninsula was the Iron Mountain Railway which extended from Negaunee to Marquette and was completed in 1857. The line was sponsored by Heman B. Ely along the route of the former plank road between the two villages and was intended mainly for the transportation of iron and iron ore from the furnaces and mines to the docks on the lake.    Although the line was undertaken before the passage of the Railroad Grant Act, it nevertheless participated in its provisions. In 1865, the road was extended to Champion and the entire line became known as the Marquette & Ontonagon Railroad. In 1863, a line was constructed from Negaunee to Escanaba by the Bay de Noc & Marquette Railroad Company.    For this line the Company received a total of 128,301 acres of grant lands. Only 640 acres of these lands were selected in Iron County. The road was later acquired by the Chicago & North- western Railroad Company.    In 1872, a line was built from Champion to L'Anse for the pur- pose of an iron ore outlet at that point. This was accomplished by the Houghton & Ontonagon Railroad Company.    During the same year, the Marquette & Ontonagon and the Houghton & Ontonagon Railroads were consolidated to form the Marquette, Houghton & Ontonagon Railroad Company. This company extended the line to Houghton in 1883 and the whole was subse- quently taken over by the Duluth South Shore, & Atlantic Railroad Company.    Of the grand total of over 300,000 acres of grant lands received by the Marquette, Houghton & Ontonagon Company, some 160,000 acres were selected in Iron County by the year 1874. The lands chosen were situated in the northeastern part of the County, or more precisely, all the odd sections situated east of a line drawn from the northwest corner of Township 46 Range 35 to the southeast corn- er of Township 44 Range 31.