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 15 - Stambaugh Township

Chapter XV   STAMBAUGH TOWNSHIP      Stambaugh Township was set apart from Iron River Township in the year of 1886. The first recorded meeting was held on July 12 of that year. The officers elected at the organization were W. T. Carpenter, Supervisor, Henry Lyng, clerk, Andrew Young, trea- surer, John Farley, highway commissioner, James Farley, overseer of highways, F. C. Vilas and Thomas Lawson, school inspectors, Elisha Morgan, Charles Johnson, George H. Thomas and Charles T. Brown, justices and John Farley, Peter Michaels, Mike Cor- coran and William Morgan, constables.    The early records of the township are rather brief and incom- plete. Elections were held in the Robert Barcley Hotel which stood on the lots now occupied by Christ Presbyterian church. The members of the township board were mainly concerned with the care of the poor, highway construction and maintenance and village improvements until its incorporation in the year 1890.    During this period, practically all the dwellings of the village were situated between Washington and Adams avenues and First and Fourth streets.    Wooden sidewalks appear to have been provided throughout the more densely settled southern half for in 1887, approval was granted for their extension north along Lay Street (now Washing- ton Avenue) from Second Street and east along Second Street to the new school building.    Organized road construction in the township was also placed un- der way, the work being supervised by John Sackerson, Com- missioner of Highways. At this time, the road leading south from the Selden homestead to the Nels Holmes lands was constructed to serve the Holmes, John Hanson and Olaf Sackerson families. The former trail leading to these homes was a branch of the Spring Valley trail which it intersected on the Caspian flats, the ascent of the hill being made along the ravine south of the Community House.    One of the oldest township roads was that built by Cook Brothers to serve their logging operations on the headwaters of Cooks Run. Upon entering Stambaugh Township, this road tra- versed sections 9, 10, 11 and 12 of Town 43 Range 37. Following a survey of the road conducted by G. L. Woodworth in the summer of 1888, the township board at a regular meeting held on Decem- ber 24, unanimously resolved to make and record this road as a public highway and the Cook Brothers were reimbursed the sum of $476.50, the amount being the actual cost of the road at thirty cents per rod.    In the month of November of the same year, the township was divided into two voting precincts. The division line was drawn through the center of Town 42 Range 36, from the township boun- dary on the north to the Brule River, all the area lying to the west of this line becoming a part of Precinct No. 2. It will be re- membered that the Township boundary did not extend beyond the northern limits of Town 43 Range 37 at this time.    Cook Brothers Camp No. 1 was designated for the polls and the first election was held on November 6, 1888. The precinct became known as "Hemlock" and was continued until the fall elections of 1891.    With the termination of lumbering operations, the road ceased to serve any purpose and was eventually abandoned.    Other roads constructed during this year were the road south of the village to the sawmill on the river near the Dober corner. The former trail from this intersection accented the hill near the   HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN     81   Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad station to the present City Airport whence it entered the village. The Farley homestead road to the east of the village was also built this year. The following year, the latter road was extended to the Franzene district to serve the settlers on section 33. The Saunders Spur road was also con- structed this year from the old Chicagoan Lake trail to the rail- road.    In 1891, a road was built through Section 3 for the convenience of the homesteaders in that area, now commonly referred to as the Baumgartner district. This road terminated at the homesteads of John H. Stanley and Brown on the east side of Stanley Lake. The trail formerly used struck a general southwesterly course to this point from the village of Iron River.    The road to the South Brule District from the Holmes farm was made in 1893 to serve the needs of homesteaders Sam Sack- erson, Andrew Chamberlain, Richard Williams and others. Wage of road labor remained uniform throughout these years at $1.75 for man labor and $4.25 for team and driver.    Until the year of 1894 when the care of the needy became the re- sponsibility of the county authorities, these duties rested upon the township board. With the meager funds at their disposal, they were at times in a quandary in meeting these obligations.    An example of their resourcefulness however, is provided in the minutes of a special meeting held on September 11, 1893. At this meeting it was decided to send, "John Wall to the hospital to see if his broken limbs could be saved. It being the general opinion of the board that it would be the cheapest method in the round for the town- ship to adopt." Members of the board at this time were Olaf J. Lindwall, supervisor, Lafayette McQuown, clerk and Erick Ren- berg and Elisha Morgan, justices.    Mr. Wall was treated at St. Joseph hospital in Chicago and returned to Stambaugh sufficiently improved to enter county politics, serving creditably as county clerk for a long period of years.    In 1896, a gentleman named Herman Velguth secured a large tract of the George Wakefield timberlands lying south and east of Chicagoan Lake and constructed a sawmill for the manufacture of same along the south shore of Indian Lake. The site of the mill became known as Pentoga.    Before any milling operations were begun however, Mr. Velguth sold his interests to the firm of Hood & Mahoney who dismantled the mill and moved the equipment some two and one-half miles further south to a site near the railroad and river. They also took the name of the original millsite and thus came into being the present village of Pentoga. Hood and Mahoney specialized in co- operage stock using mainly the hardwood species while the pine as utilized by Hamilton & Merryman Company of Menomi- nee.    The village grew rapidly following the year 1900 and boasted of several grocery stores, also two saloons, a hotel and many fine homes. With the depletion of the surrounding forest, the mills became idle and most of the residents have been compelled to seek a livelihood elsewhere.    It may be of interest at this point to recall some of the early settlers who made their way to the area while it was still a part of Iron River Township and whose kin continue to reside in the dis- trict. Among these was Lafayette McQuown, John Westerberg and John S. McClean who came in 1881, Erick Mattson, Carl A. Nel- son, Gust Djupe. James Waldron, Johannes Anderson, August An- derson, all of whom came in the year 1882, Joseph Baumgartner in 1883, Erick Renberg in 1884. Ole Lundin 1885, Elzeard Baker in 1886 and Joseph White in 1888. Most of these pioneers chose to settle in the village which is now the City of Stambaugh.   82     HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN      Others chose to settle on the land. These early settlements were usually in colonies on odd numbered sections which were the only lands that were open to homestead entry. Thus we find the Charles Erickson, Andrew Stromberg, Gust Abrahamson and Frank Erickson homesteads on Section 3 and those of Louis West- er and Rudolph Ende on adjoining section 9 in what later became known as the Baumgartner district, Edward Franke and Nels Holmes on section 11 and Olaf Sackerson and Axel Peterson on adjoining section 13 all in Town 42 Range 35.    East of village of Stambaugh in what became known as the Franzene district were the early homesteads of August Peterson, A. P. Anderson and John Jacobson on section 33 in Town 43 Range 34. Following the year 1890 it became necessary to search out more distant lands.    At this time came the settlement of Andrew Sandstrom, Charles Anderson and Charles Stromberg on section 9 and Charles Lind- blom, John Erickson and Henry Meyer on section 23 in what be- came the West Brule district in Town 42 Range 36 and at the turn of the century came the settlement of the South Brule dis- trict with the settlement of Simon Stuk, Jake Konchinski, Andrew Brighini and Anton Wierchinski on section 35 in Town 42 Range 35. Most of the early settlers worked in the mines during part of each year while proving up on their homestead lands.