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 6 - The Portage Lake Shop Canal Grant

HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN    23     Chapter VI   THE PORTAGE LAKE SHIP CANAL GRANT      Portage Lake is situated in the northern part of Houghton Coun- ty. The Lake is like an estuary, some nineteen miles long, and fills a geological trough traversing the trap range at right angles to the formation. Near its western extremity and on opposite shores are the cities of Houghton and Hancock.    The early portage, known as Grand Portage, was located at the northwestern end of the lake, was some two miles long and forty feet above water at its highest point. Over this portage the early travel- ers rolled their Mackinaw boats on wooden rollers rather than make the long journey around the head of the peninsula.    During the last year of the Civil War, Samuel W. Hill, the director and superintendent of the Quincy Mine, conceived the idea of a canal at the site of the portage to facilitate shipping on the lake and to provide a suitable refuge for ships during storms. In March 1865, Congress provided for the enterprise in a grant of 400,000 acres to the State. The work was undertaken in 1866 by the Lake Superior Ship Canal, Railway and Iron Company and was completed in 1873. The lands appropriated for the work were to be selected from the alternate and odd numbered sections nearest to the proposed work with the exception that 50,000 acres could be chosen from the even numbered sections. Lands which had been sold or otherwise legally disposed of and lands which had been designated "mineral" lands previous to the passage of the Act, were exempt from the provisions of the grant.    Some 50,000 acres of these lands were selected in Iron County. There was no order in the selection of these lands and all parts of the County were covered with the exception of Range 34 in its entirety and the area covered by the Marquette, Houghton & Ontonagon Railroad grant in the N. E. corner of the County.    In making the selections of these lands, Mr. Hill who was an able geologist in his own right engaged some of the nation's outstanding geologists, that all possible mineral bearing lands might be secured. Among these was Rapael Pumpelly, who had recently returned from the Orient where he had conducted geological surveys for the governments of China and Japan. In addition to locating valuable mineral lands for the company, Mr. Pumpelly made a fortune on lands he selected for himself.    There were others that acquired great wealth in conjunction with the Canal land selections. Heading the list was John M. Longyear, who, as an employee of the com-   24     HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN   pany, enjoyed the confidence of the field men.    Securing financial support, Mr. Longyear followed the recommen- uations of the field men in the purchase of extensive and valuable lands adjoining those of the Canal company. Others active in the land purchases with Mr. Longyear were James F. Joy and James M. Turn- er.    The Detroit, Marquette & Mackinaw Railroad Company was or- ganized in 1879. Two years later, service was inaugurated on their line from Marquette to St. Ignace, the extension to Sault St. Marie being completed in 1887. This road eventually became a part of the Canadian Pacific Lines and the lands received in grant were taken over by the D. M. & M. Land Company.    As most of the lands in Iron County had been appropriated or otherwise disposed of, the railroad company was required to make its selections mainly from swamp lands and 240,217 acres in isolat- ed tracts were chosen through out Marquette County before the formation of Iron County.    The Chicago & Northwestern Railroad's main line from Meno- minee to Escanaba was completed in 1872. The original intent of the Company was to build this line north along the shores of Green Bay.    The discovery of iron ore by the Breen brothers at Waucedah in 1866 and indication of even greater ore bodies to the west, prompted the Company to alter their plans and the line was constructed near- ly due north from Menominee to a point near the discovery, where it turned to follow a general easterly course into Escanaba. This extension was joined to the Peninsula Railroad constructed in 1863 and opened railroad service from Chicago to Marquette.    Some of the officials of the parent Company then organized the Menominee River Railway Company, and a branch line was con- structed from the nearest point at Powers to Waucedah. By 1877, it was extended to the greater deposits uncovered in the meantime at Quinnesec and Iron Mountain. Three years later its western ter- minus was at Florence and Commonwealth.    The discoveries and development of the Crystal Falls and Iron Riv- er ores demanded immediate extensions. These were completed in 1882. A grant of seven sections of land per mile of railroad was re- ceived by this Company. The line was then incorporated into the Chicago & Northwestern Railway system and in 1885-1887 an exten- sion was made from Iron River to Hazel and Atkinson, to serve the lumbering and mining interests at these points. Simultaneously, the the line was carried through to Watersmeet.    The total acreage received by the Chicago & Northwestern Rail- road and its subsidiaries in the State, was 517,954 acres in Federal grants and 141,674 in State swamp lands.    Let us briefly return at this time to the swamp lands granted to the State in 1850 for reclamation purposes, and try to somewhat follow their disposition through the years.    In 1861, the Legislature appropriated 400,000 acres of these lands for the construction of roads. One half of the total was allotted to the Upper Peninsula for the purpose of building four State roads to traverse the area from north to south.    They were the St. Marys and Mackinaw, the Marquette and Bay de Noc, the L'Anse and State Line and the Ontonagon and State Line roads. All were to be a minimum of four rods wide and well drain- ed. Two sections of the swamp lands to be selected anywhere in the Peninsula, were provided for each mile of road.    On March 30, 1869, while some of the roads were still in the for- mative stage, the Legislature passed the following resolution making State swamp lands available for railroad purposes.    "Whereas, grants of swamp lands have been made by the State for building roads in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan; And where- as, It would greatly accommodate the necessities of the people of   HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN     25   that section, and equally meet the purposes of the grants, by allow- ing said lands, or such portions thereof as may be deemed advis- able, to be used in the construction of tram, train or railroads; therefore,    Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Michigan, That the swamp lands appropriated by any law for the construction of roads in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, be and the same are hereby authorized to be used in the construction of roadbeds for a tram, train or railroad over the same route for which such grants were originally intended;    Provided that such tram, train or railroad shall be as well ditch- ed, and the lands through which the same runs be equally as well drained, as required in building the road for which such appro- priation was originally made."    As a result of this resolution, the Ontonagon & State Line Rail- road Company came into existence. The plans of the Company were to construct a railroad south from Ontonagon to the State line along the route of the proposed Ontonagon and State line road. Failure of the Company to complete the line in the allotted ten years however, brought about the forfeiture of its rights to the Ontonagon & Brule Railroad Company in 1880. This Company completed the line from Ontonagon to Rockland in 1882.    Rumors were rife and hopes high in the Iron River district that the line would enter Iron River on its way to meet the Milwaukee & Northern Railroad building northward through Wisconsin. A map of 1881 shows the proposed extension of the Ontonagon & Brule Railroad running southeast from Rockland in a straight line along the east side of the East Branch of the Ontonagon River and along the east side of the Iron River to its confluence with the Brule.    The line was extended to Sidnaw in 1889, however, and in 1890 was sold to the Milwaukee & Northern Company. In 1893, the line was connected to the main line at Channing and because a part of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad system. No land grants are known to have been selected by these companies in Iron County.    Through the geological work of Dr. Douglass Houghton, J. D. Whitney, J. W. Foster, and Bela Hubbard and the surveys of Wil- liam A. Burt and others, much valuable information concerning the lands of Iron County was made available to interested mineral and timberland seekers.    When lands of the Menominee river watershed were offered for public sale in 1853 at a minimum price of $1.25 per acre, there was but very little interest shown at first. The lands were too remote from transportation facilities to attract buyers.    It will be remembered that a portage was still necessary around the first locks currently under construction at Sault Ste. Marie and the first railroads were making their halting way into Chicago from the East.    The entire County of Marquette had a population of 1,000 at the moment. There were some isolated tracts selected throughout the en- suing years, among these being the aforementioned bounty lands is- sued under Warrants to veterans of the War of 1812 or their kin. These lands were usually situated near the sites of mineral deposits as noted by the General Land Office surveyors and were in all probability, selected unseen from these records alone.    The first wave of private land buyers came in 1866. The influx was from two directions, up the Menominee, Michigamme, Paint and Brule Rivers and from Marquette, Champion and Republic on the northeast. During this drive a large part of the lands adjacent to these streams were purchased from the government.    The entry along the Menominee appears to have been the favorite route for the acquisitions near the confluence of these streams were more concentrated and gradually decreased in numbers with ascent toward the tributaries. This rush   26     HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN   was followed by a comparative lull. The second land buying rush oc- cupied the years 1870 to 1875, during the period of major land grant selections, and was at its height in 1873. Practically every part of the County was searched and much land was purchased.    Among the larger investors were George Wakefield, James G. Good- man, John D. Ross, R. and S. M. Stephenson, H. H. Porter, Fre- derick Ayer, John M. Longyear with James F. Joy and James M. Turner, S. L. Smith, A. A. Carpenter, J. W. Wells, J. C. Morse, H. Ludington, Louis D. Cyr, Robert Nelson, John Glidden, R. R. Cable, William Culbertson, Hamilton & Merryman, C. D. Shelden, H. M. Atkinson, Augustus Spies, Edward Breitung, Elisha Flynn, E. G. Goodard & James Talbert, S. M. Charles Hebard, Abner Kirby, F. B. Stockbridge and Alonzo Dwight.    Most of these gentlemen were current owners or executives of mining, lumber, or railroad enterprises.    The Homestead Law enacted in 1862 had no immediate effect upon the area of the County, the lands being considered unsuited for agri- cultural purposes and too inaccessible for settlement.    In 1877, when the homesteaders began to arrive, most of the good lands with the exception of those of questionable status had been taken. The greater part of the earliest homesteaders were adven- turers, hardy single men, who walked from Quinnesec to stake out their claims. The timber lands especially pine, were the attrac- tion to many, the mineral potentialities being of secondary con- sideration.    The period of greater homestead activity was during the fif- ten years from 1880 to 1895. Unlike the first to arrive many of these were heads of families who wished to make permananent settlement upon the land. All worked in the mines during their operation in the summer months and developed the lands throughout the wint- ers and other unoccupied seasons.    The greatest concentration of homestead claims was on the west side of the County, mainly in Township 43, Range 34, and Town- ships 42 and 43, Range 35.    While the main homestead drive was on, the last of the Federal lands along the northern part of the County and the scattered State swamp lands remaining were bought by the large timber and mining interests.    At the turn of the century, public lands had become scarce and little other than the school sections remained. And were it not for the zeal of the railroad company in the selection of lands granted for rail line construction, even the small number of home- steaders who eventually succeeded in securing a patent on their lands would have been deprived opportunity of settlement.    As early as the year of 1863, the Peninsula Railroad Company which subsequently built a line from Marquette to Escanaba and later became a part of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad system, was granted an equivalent of all alternate sections of land desig- nated by odd numbers, for a width of six miles on each side of the line to be constructed from Marquette Township to the State line at an undesignated point near the mouth of the Menominee River. In this grant a special inducement of four additional sections per mile were awarded with the privilege of selection the lands within twenty miles of the road.    A large part of the lands for this project were selected in Iron County and included among others, practically all the odd numbered sections in Township 42 Range 35 and Township 43 Range 34 and approximately one-half of those in Township 42 Range 34.    In the year of 1868, these lands were deeded back to the State as unearned and subsequently reverted back to the government. In the confusion resulting from this action, a large part of these lands re- mained open to homestead entry in the years immediately follow- ing 1880 and accounts in part for   HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN     27   the concentration of homestead settlement in these areas.    The spread of this settlement, however, was effectively controll- ed in succeeding years by the acquisitions of the large land and timber operators and investors.    In reflecting on the extent to which the public lands have been dissipated, one truly becomes amazed at its enormity. Added to the aforementioned grants made for internal improvements may be those of the St. Marys Canal at Sault St. Marie and the Lac La Belle Canal on Bete Grise Bay on the eastern tip of Keweenaw Pen- insula.    The former was approved by Congress on August 26, 1852 and 750,000 acres of land was appropriated for the work. In drawing a contrast, this acreage is 1,360 acres less than the total land area of Iron County. One third of these lands were selected in the Upper Peninsula.    The Lac La Belle Canal was designed to provide ship entry into the lake for the convenience of the copper mining interests. An Act of Congress of July 3, 1866, approved the understanding and set aside 100,000 acres for the project.    In short, one is inclined to think that some of the improvements "in the public interest" were somewhat tainted if not motivated by private acquisitiveness, with the general government the ultimate victim.    Shortly after the acquisition of the grant lands by the various re- ceiving companies, they were delegated to subsidiaries for disposal under varying conditions. Thus came into being the Michigan Land & Iron Company, which handled the lands of the Marquette, Hough- ton & Ontonagon Railroad Corporation, the Keweenaw Land As- sociation for those of the Canal Company and the D. M. & M. Land Company for the lands of the Detroit, Mackinaw & Marquette Rail- road Company. These companies had extensive holdings in Iron County and some were subsequently purchased for settle- ment purposes.    Informative aid was provided to the would-be settlers in the selec- tion of suitable lands, approximate initial outlay, etc., by the land companies, Agricultural College and private individuals.    Among the latter to cover the spbject was George E. Steele, Agri- cultural College alumnus and surveyor who lived for some time in the Upper Peninsula. Mr. Steele summarizes his description of Up- per Peninsula land settlement conditions by an estimate of what it would cost to settle on 80 acres of land, one mile from a good school and near a railroad in 1881. The land could be purchased for $7.00 per acre with one-quarter of price down, the remainder to be paid over a period of four years at seven per cent interest or one- tenth less for cash.    The necessary immediate expenditures required under these conditions was an outlay of $140 for first payment on the land; $150 to $160 for a good ox team; $65 to $70 for a wagon; $50 for a log house with shingle roof, two-board floor, doors and windows; $25 to $30 for one cow; $10 for a stable and $40 for all farm tools needed for the first year. This made a total of approximately $500 and to the average settler, this was a considerable sum of money in 1881.    Current lumber prices were $9 for common pine per thousand board feet; $12 for fine common pine with $1 additional if dressed; flour sold at $7.75 per barrel; pork retailed at eleven and one-half cents per pound; butter 25 to 30 cents; potatoes eighty cents per bushel but could be secured for seventy cents from farm wagons, this commodity being unusually high at the moment; oats fifty-eight cents per bushel; dry stove wood, $1.50 and green wood $1.25 delivered and hay $10 to $12 per ton.    As an added inducement, Mr. Steele also points out the report- ed deer kill of 70,000 in Michigan in 1880. In conclusion he adds: "The pursuit of game is open to all on equal terms and the laws   28     HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN   relating to the subject are limited to protecting game from extinc- tion by killing during the breeding season or by wholesale slaughter. Within these reasonable restrictions, any inhabitant of the newer districts can make the forests and streams contribute liberally to his larder and his purse." It may be added here that a deer season of five months duration had been established by the Legislature in 1859. Enforcement of this law, however, appears to have been felt to a large extent, to the discreation of the settlers.    One of the most pathetic attempts at settlement of Iron County lands was made in 1926 when a number of colored families were in- duced to take up lands at Elmwood. There families came from Chicago and were not prepared for the rigorous winters and the hard- ships attendant to frontier life. In the latter part of January, 1927, they were found destitute, their horses starving, their families suffering want and they were thankful to have the County Sheriff and Poor Commissioner provide the means for their return to Chicago.