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Remembering Our Ancestors Through
Genealogy |
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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 14 - Iron River Village and City |
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Chapter XIV IRON RIVER VILLAGE AND CITY Iron River was the first village to be platted on the west side of the county. This was accomplished in the year of 1881 while the area was still a part of Ely Township and Marquette County. The work of laying out the village was undertaken by two bachelor brothers, Donald C. and Alexander MacKinnon on lands that had come into their possession some three years earlier. The cause that led to the establishment of the village was the rapid inflow of miners and homeseekers into the community fol- lowing the discovery of ore in merchantable quantities on the MacKinnon lands where the Nanaimo Mine was being develop- ed and on those adjoining on the southeast where the Iron River Mine workings were showing great promise. The movement was further enhanced by the assurances received from the Meno- minee River Railroad Company for an early extension of their line to the community from Iron River Junction (Stager) where the railroad terminated at the moment. Therefore, in the month of August in the afore mentioned year, the brothers had their lands surveyed and a part thereof sub- divided to form the village to be known as Iron River. The work was done by J. A. Van Cleve, current city clerk and surveyor of Marinette, Wisconsin. Prior to this time, the entire community in- cluding the early postoffice was called Nanaimo. Following the survey the lots were immediately offered for sale and each buyer was required to remove the trees and clear their own lot. In the late summer of that year, the trees were felled and the brush burned on most of the streets and several log struc- tures were erected along Genesee street. In the spring of 1882, Andrew Young and Elisha Morgan were given a contract to remove the logs and grub out the stumps on Genesee Street from River to Fourth street where most of the lot sales had been made and early dwellings concentrated. Some of those that purchased lots during the first two years were Charles Brown, Henry Steck, Arthur and Alexander Quirt, Charles Otto, James Innes, John Dolan, Gordon Murray, George Watlin, Thomas Luxmore, John McCauley, Andrew Noonan, John McDonald, Josie Bloskey, Hitchcock & Cannon the local mer- chants, August Hartman, Erick Johnson and Olaf Lindquist. All of the first buildings were of log construction, on several the logs being hewn to provide plat wall surfaces while on the greater number they were used in their natural round state. Lum- ber for the floors and roofs was hauled from Florence until early 1882 when the MacKinnons set up a small steam operated saw- 74 HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN mill on the river below the Chicago & Northwestern depot. The roofs of these early dwellings were covered with hand made cedar shakes or tarpaper. This, in general, was the construction of the first lodging house operated by James Innes on the northeast corner of Genesee and Second Streets that catered to the endless stream of explorers, land- lookers and adventures and of the first school structure where the first classes were held in 1883 under the guidance of Thomas Flanagan. The latter building was situated on West Genesee Street and immediately west of the Montgomery Ward Store. Though most of the lands were encumbered through prior com- mitments to cash entry men or contested through the forfeited railroad grant of the Peninsula Railroad Company, the hardy homesteaders and pre-emptioners nevertheless, settled on the lands in large numbers and by the year 1882, all those adjoining the vill- age had been entered. To the east were Frederick Miller, Frank Hammer, Clarence Mc- Dermott, and John Farley, jr., the latter filing in the year 1883; on the north was John Sipchen and John D. Ross; on the west were the lands of the Buckholtz brothers and on the south were those of Jay C. Morse, D. I. Lay and William H. Selden. Claim jumping was prevalent and the settlers dared not leave their cabins for any great length of time in fear that they may be found occupied on their return. The railroad was completed to the area in October 1882. The ori- ginal survey proposed to run the line through the center of the pre- sent city on its way to the Nanaimo Mine. The change to the pre- sent line however, was made upon direct intervention of Mr. D. C. MacKinnon to the Company officials in Chicago. The seat of government of Ely Township at the moment, was in the village of Humboldt. Due to lack of roads and transportation, this was the course of considerable inconvenience in the execu- tion of governmental affairs. Action was therefore taken imme- diately following the platting of the village of Iron River and Cry- stal Falls, to secure a partition with a view of establishing their own township governments. This was granted in 1882, when Ely Township was divided to make way for the townships of Iron River and Crystal Falls. Baraga County to the north it will be re- membered, was organized some seven years earlier in 1875. The first organized road construction in the district was begun in the summer of 1883 when Selden Road was cleared and graded to the Selden farm, the work being extended east from the farm gateway to the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad station at Stam- baugh. During that year was also begun the road to Crystal Falls and was completed in 1884 to the Chicagoan mine where it connected with the early tote road leading to the mine from Crystal Falls. In 1885, the demands of the people for the creation of a new coun- ty were recognized and Marquette County consented to the separa- tion. The new county was appropriately named Iron and Iron Riv- er was designated the County seat. The Crystal Falls residents, however, wanted the County head- quarters on the east side of the county where it would be more centrally located. The matter culminated in the unauthorized re- moval of all the county records to Crystal Falls on a mid-February night. At an election held on the matter in 1889, the move was sus- tained through the greater voting strength of the East Side during this period and the Court House was built there in 1890. Iron River was incorporated as a village in 1885. The first village election was held on April 7 of that year and the polling was done in the small building known as 414 West Genesee at this time. The building was formerly situated on the corner of Genesee and Fourth Streets and was used for Council Meetings and other gather- HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN 75 ings. It was owned by James Innes. At the first election, Donald C. MacKinnon was elected president, Archie B. MacKinnon, James Innes and Albert Cummings, trustees for a two year period, and William Scott, C. J. Hanson and Thomas Flanagan, trustees for one year. Garrie G r a h a m was chosen to be the clerk, E. O. Kindly, treasurer, M. T. Sullivan, assessor, George Singly, street commissioner and Thomas Webb, constable, Mr. Webb was also pound master and tax collector and was requir- ed to provide bonds in the amount of $3,500. The first meeting of the council was held on April 13, and all sub- sequent meetings on the last Saturday of the month. The first bill al- lowed by the council was for the amount of $1.00 and was paid to Albery Berry for the burial of a dog. The Council men provided remuneration for their services at $2 per day or for each meeting if attended. This payment, however, was found to be illegal and refunds were made into the treasury a year later. The wages of common labor were set at $1.50 per ten hour day. At this time the work of extending the railroad west of the village had been undertaken by the Iron River Railway Company of which M. Hughitt was president and J. B. Redfield secretary. Upon the com- pletion of the thirty-five miles of line to Watersmeet and the branch line to Atkinson in 1877, the line was sold to the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company for the sum of $630,000 in a trans- action completed June 10. 1889. An unfortunate event during the construction of this line was the sudden settling of the piling supporting the newly constructed water tank at Elmwood during the noon lunch hour which resulted in the death of seven members of the crew. The first ordinance, that of establishing streets and alleys, was passed on June 6, 1885. Taxes raised for that year on the first tax roll, amounted to $960.41 for general purposes and $380 for street improvement. Of this total, $374.99 was collected on the roll and $965.42 went delinquent. The street commissioner collected the poll tax and was allowed fifteen per cent of the collections for his work. In the first financial report of the village, for the fiscal year ending February 25, 1886, the receipts totalled $2,754.29 and were divided as follows: Liquor Taxes $2,248.30, Peddlers Licenses $71.00, Return of Trustees pay- ment for meetings and taxes collected $374.99. From these meager finances, the Council passed a resolution to refund the taxes of the victims of the recent fire. In the month of June in 1885, the fire referred to above, ori- ginated near the northwest corner of Genesee and Second streets, destroying three buildings on that corner and the Boyington Hotel and an adjoining structure on the south side of the street. Mr. A. J. Boyington, a disabled Civil War veteran who had arrived in the village in 1881 immediately rebuilt the hotel, erecting the pre- sent structure which is at this time one of the oldest buildings on Genesee street. A short time later, Mr. Boyington established the first livery stable, which was in continuous operation until the year of 1923, when the competition of the automobile brought about its discontinuance. In the spring elections of 1886, Frank L. Bond was elected presi- dent and was successively elected to the office in 1887, 1888, 1890, 1892, 1893, 1895. The last meeting attended by Dr. Bond was on No- vember 19, 1895. Injuries received in an unguarded fall from the high village sidewalk resulted in his death several days later. Other early village presidents were M. M. Lally, 1889, Alex Quirt, 1891 and Pat O'Brien 1894. During the month of May in 1886, the council granted ten saloon licenses. In September of that year Adams Street was ex- tended west to the township line and was brushed and the stumps 76 HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN removed to a width of sixteen feet. Gravel was also applied to a width of ten feet and a depth of six inches. On April 12, 1886, an ordinance was adopted regarding the es- tablishment of sidewalks throughout the village. Under the speci- fications, four, six, eight and ten foot walks were to be construct- ed. Pine plank was to be used exclusively. Cost of construction was to be financed by the property owners who were also to maintain the walks and keep them free of ice, snow, debris, etc. An inspec- tion held by the council on June 11, found that "675 and one-third yards lineal measure" had been completed on Genesee Street. In the month of June in the year of 1888, the question of bor- rowing $10,000 for a water system was submitted to the electors and was carried. A well was dug east of the Railroad tracks near some springs by the river. A pumping station was installed, the boil- er and pumps being obtained under a contract with the Marinette Iron Works Company of Marinette, Wisconsin. The site of the former plant is now occupied by the Cloverland Lumber and Supply Company. John F. Minckler was made Superintendent of the water works and fullfilled the duties of the office until the appointment of Sever Solberg in 1890. Mr. Solberg continued to be the superintendent of the Water Works until the new wells were placed into operation in the Burns ad- dition. The compensation of the water superintendent was set at $90 per month and free rent and fuel. Living quarters were provid- ed on the second floor of the station. Coal was purchased for $3.60 per ton and wood for $2 per cord in 1890. In the year of 1889, the village purchased a lot from John Mc- Cauley for the purpose of erecting a town hall. The price paid for this lot was $400. The building erected was a large, two-story affair of frame construction and was situated on the site of the present city hall. The village offices, jail and fire department oc- cupied the first floor while the upper floor was used as an audi- torium. In 1914 a lease was given to the Township of Iron River on two lots for a period of ninety-nine years for the purpose of erecting the present building. The old structure was sold in September of that year and the new hall placed into service the following year. That violators of the village ordinances were not favored by idleness is gleamed from section I of Ordinance No. 19 adopted December 10, 1889 which reads, "That each male person hereafter convicted of the violation of any of the ordinances of the village, who shall refuse or neglect to pay, or who shall be imprisoned upon conviction for any such offense, shall be compelled to work in the public streets or other public works of the village, not less than eight nor more than ten hours each secular day during the term of his imprisonment." Throughout these formative years the facilities of education kept pace with the other improvements. The quarters in the log cabin of John McDonald were soon outgrown and in December 1883 the Township School District No. I purchased Lot 5 of Block 3 from the MacKinnons and a commodious frame structure was erected the following year. In several years these quarters also became inadequate and wings were added to this building. While this work was in progress, classes were held for some grades in the Scandinavian Hall near the Boy- ington livery barns. The first graduating class of the school sys- tem received their diplomas in the year 1892. The class consisted of Katherine and Ronald MacDonald, Fred and Alice Morrison and Ab- bie Gilman, the latter now being Mrs. Philip Boyington of the City. Schools were also provided throughout the years for the set- tlement of home steaders in outlying districts and by the year HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN 77 1900, a total of eight rural schools were in operation. In the year 1905, the frame building of the Central School was divided and removed to make way for the first section of the present brick struc- ture. The wing sections of the old school were moved across the street where they were subsequently remodeled into residences. The wings on the present school were added to the structure in 1910. Additional work was provided for the community in 1889 with the development of the Sheridan Mine on the southern outskirts of the village. This discovery was made by the MacKinnons in 1884 and the site of the mine is occupied by the Proksch Lumber Company at this time. The mine failed to become a large producer and after making shipments of ore for several years it was per- manently abandoned. By the year 1890, the population of the west side of the county had grown to 2,137. The streets of the village had been improved with gravel, the water system was a reality and demands for a light- ing system were made. A special election was held in 1900 for the purpose of voting on the establishment of an electric light plant. The proposition was defeated by a vote of 28 ayes to 48 nayes. In the year 1900, permission was granted to the Michigan Telephone Company to erect and operate a telephone system in the village. This action was somewhat belated however, for the lines of the com- pany had been extended from Crystal Falls to the village two years earlier. The effects of the Panic of 1893 are reflected in the census figures of 1900 when an increase of only 243 in the population was report- ed for the district since 1890. This decade was a hard one on the people. There was no work to be had that would provide for the necessities of life. Woodswork had ceased and for a period of five years the mines were totally inactive, and upon eventual re- sumption was greatly curtailed until the turn of the century. The sewer system was the next major municipal improvement to be undertaken and work on the project was begun in the year 1905. The installations were made from plans submitted by Mr. E. S. Bradbury of Columbus, Ohio. In the year 1906 the first steps were taken to secure electric lighting facilities for the village. In the month of December of that year, the village council entered into an agreement with Alexander J. Lytle to extend his service lines throughout the village upon com- pletion of his electric light plant. The company represented by Mr. Lytle was organized by local men and became known as the Menominee Range Power and Development Company. Service vas inaugurated upon completion of the lines and plant in January 1908. The great demand for laborers in the rapidly developing mines during this decade is reflected in the census figures of 1910 which showed an increase of 5,436 people on the west side of the county for a total of 7,816. With the exceptions of 1908, the period was a prosperous one for the villagers. During the year 1910 we also see the establishment of the first automobile agency when Selden and Thorin opened a garage and became dealers for the Hudson, White and Mitchell cars. The sec- ond agency was that of Lindwall and Lindstrom who entered the business in 1911 with the sales of the early E. M. F. (Everett, Metz- ger & Flanders) car. The first car in the village was owned by Mr. Frank Youngs and the first ordinance regulating the speed of motor vehicles was adopted in 1913. The heretofore gravelled village streets now commanded the at- tention of the council and in 1912 was begun the program of hard- surfacing when Barnum & Counihan, the local contracting firm was awarded the contract to pave Genesee Street from River to Fourth Street with concrete. The paving of the streets has been 78 HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN continued periodically since this time and all the streets in the main section of the city are now surfaced with concrete or mac- adam-oil aggregates. In the following year a street railway franchise was granted to the Iron River, Stambaugh & Crystal Falls Street Railway Com- pany which was headed by Mr. F. D. Sullivan. The offices and car barns of the company were situated on the north side of Genesee street and on the east side and adjacent to the Iron river. The tracks which were aproximately four and one-half miles in length extended from the currently operating Chatham Mine along Selden Road (then known as Carnegie Avenue) to Genesee Street which followed east to Lay Street. Ascending the hill along Lay Street, the line followed Washing- ton Avenue through the village of Stambaugh to the Dober Mine corner. From the northeast corner of the Dober location, the tracks followed the old road in a southeasterly direction to the Caspian Location, up hill to the Palatka school to terminate at the Gaastra Village Hall. This transportation system, like its predecessor the horse, became obsolete with the general use of the automobile and the service was discontinued about the year 1921. An interesting fact of the year 1914 is that the valuation of real and personal property within the village for that year was $2,200,- 000 or very nearly equal to that reported twenty-five years later in 1939 when the village had been incorporated as a city for thirteen years and the valuation stood at $2,204,114. Following several years of discussions regarding the benefits to be derived from incorporation under a city form of government, the question was submitted to the electors on January 11, 1926. A charter Commission of nine members was also chosen at this time. The propostition was carried by a vote of 522 to 213 and the charter commission chosen consisted of L. P. Diederichs, Henry J Veeser, Leman A. Lyon, Henry H. Frailing, Charles A. Robinson, C. A. Harger, E. J. VanOrnum, Claude R. Jorgenson and William E. Culver. In an election held on April 12, Charles I. Wells was chosen Mayor of the City of Iron River. The other members of the first city commission were George T. Breen, William A. Culver, Martin Lalley and Charles Robinson. Thomas Stanaway became the clerk, Guy M. Cox, treasurer and Archie E. McCornock, assessor. Peter Walraven was appointed first city manager. In the reorganization from the village to a city, the boundaries were extended and the total area embraced at this time is three and one-half square miles or 2,221 acres of land area and 19 acres of water, the area of water lying along the western shore of Ice Lake. Among the many activities of interest in the early days of the village and one worthy of mention at this time was that of fire pro- tection. The first reference to village fire fighting equipment and personnel was found in the minutes of the council meeting of August 29, 1885. This meeting was held some two months following the great fire which destroyed a part of the town. At this meeting a Remmington fire engine, hose and cart were purchased from the Preston Company. The fire engine was of somewhat large proportions requiring a team of horses in times of fire and was manually operated by firemen revolving the mechan- ism in the manner of the turnstile. While this was a method of getting the water under some pressure, the delivery of this pump unit was very uneven and flowed from the nozzle in spurts. Two reservoirs were constructed of plank at a cost of $125 each. These tanks were set into the ground at convenient locations, one being situated on the southeast corner of Adams and Third Streets. The site of the other tank could not be determined but HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN 79 it is presumed to have been on the village owned lot now occu- pied by the Eagles Hall. These tanks were kept filled with water for emergencies and in case of a large fire were to be supple- mented by water from local wells. A place was also provided at the river for the fire engine. Two buildings were erected on the aforementioned village lot at this time, one for the purpose of storing the fire equipment and the other to serve as a pound. In the October meeting of the Coun- cil the following motion was adopted, "that the president ap- point a man to take care of the engine, engine house and hose, whose duty it shall be to clean engine when used, light lamps every night and extinquish in the morning in the engine house, to take care of tanks and to see that the hose are in running order, whose salary shall be the sum of $10 per month." Another motion adopted at this time was that made by T. H. Flanagan and supported by A. C. Cummings, "that a $5 premium be allowed the first team and $3 for second team hitched to the fire engine in time of fire, and the sum of $1 for first hour and $.50 for each succeeding hour that the teams are actually employed." On January 4, 1887, Andrew Boyington entered into an agreement with the village to furnish a team and teamster for the fire engine when needed and filling the tanks when such service was required for the sum of $200 per year. The following amusing entry by acting clerk A. B. McKinnon in by the minutes of the meeting of June 15, 1886 regarding a dispute on overcharges made by Hitchcock & Cannon the local mer- chants on the purchase of ladders for the fire department, gives us some idea of the care exercised in the expenditure of public funds at the time. "Report of committee appointed to interview Hitchcock & Cannon is to the effect that Hitchcock denies having charged too much for the ladders. On motion, Hitchcock was waited upon to ap- pear before the Board to give explanation of purchase of ladders. Hitchcock on deck, swears by the great Hornspoons, that John Pritz- laff, Milwaukee Wisconsin charged him the same for the ladders as he charged the Board." The affair was amicably settled, however when some time later the Pritzlaff company admitted an inad- vertant overcharge of twenty-five per cent. In September 1888 and following the completion of the water works system, an ordinance was adopted for the establishment of a Fire Department and fifty-four volunteers were organized into what became known as Hose Company No. 1 of the Village of Iron River. E. P. Lott was chosen Chief of the department. The following year a new hose cart and hose were purchased. During the months of deep snows when the man drawn hose cart could not be readily moved to the site of a fire, a team drawn sleigh stocked with hose and other equipment was prepared and kept in readiness for emergencies at the Boyington Livery stables. An ad- dition to the fire department was made in 1890 when Fire Hose Company No. 2 was organized with fifteen volunteers and John F. Minckler was named Chief of both companies. From the year 1905 to that of 1912, the productive mines in the district had increased from six to sixteen. The mining activity was reflected in the village by rapid expansion of homes and business establishments. The need of modern fire fighting equipment was felt by the community and in March of the year 1912, this was satisfied through the purchase of a horse-drawn chemical and hose wagon unit complete from the City of DeKalb, Illinois for the sum of $1,200.00. A full time fireman was now engaged whose duties in addition to fire fighting consisted of the care of the equipment and horses. James Henley the active chief of the volunteers was retained as Chief of the department. In 1915, a Ford Model 5 combination hose 80 HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN and chemical truck was purchased to supplement the horse drawn unit. Complete mechanization of the fire equipment came in 1918 when a Reo truck was purchased and the horses were retired. |