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 19 - Gaastra, The Village And City

108     HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN     Chapter XIX   GAASTRA, THE VILLAGE AND CITY      While the early homesteaders were marking out their claims on the odd-numbered sections, the cash-entry and pre-emptioners were active in selecting the more desirable mineral and timber lands still remaining available in area.  This activity reached its height in the years 1880 to 1885 in this section of the frontier.    Early records of Section six upon which the City of Gaastra is situated, disclose the issuance of government patents to seven indi- vidual purchasers. They were Jourdan Fugua, who secured title to the Northwest quarter in the year of 1884, Louis D. Cyr, the Northwest quarter of the Southwest quarter in 1895, Daniel Corry, the Northeast quarter of the Southwest quarter in 1880, and James F. Swift, the south half of the Southwest quarter. On the east half of the section, the forty acre tract now occupied by the City was selected in 1879 by Alfred Kidder of Marquette and re- ceived his patent in 1881, the west half of the northeast quarter by Peter Brown in 1889 while the re-   HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN     109   mainder of the half was granted to James Robertson.    On section Seven to the south were the homestead claims of Wil- liam R. Murphy who had entered the West half of the West half and John S. Kinney who had located on the East half thereof while Lorenzo A. DeGrasse laid claim to the Northeast quarter of the section. These lands were settled in 1883 and 84. Like many other tracts, their lands were encumbered by pre-emption claims that had been filed upon their release by the Chicago & North- western Railroad as referred to elsewhere in this work, and thus became the object of extended litigation. In the final adjudication, it was ruled that the claims of all settlers who were in possession of and resident upon their lands in the month of May 1888 would be recognized. Patents were duly granted to Messrs. Kinney and DeGrasse in 1885 and Mr. Murphy one year later.    Other early land owners of Section Seven were Greenhoot & Buckholtz who held the North half of the Southeast quarter and Samuel Stephenson and William Holmes of the well known Kirby, Carpenter, Company of Menominee, who had secured the south half of same in the year 1880.    The tract upon which the City is situated was conveyed by Mr. Kidder to Andrew Young in 1894. Eight years later, it came into the possession of Edwin H. Piper. In the month of October 1908, the site was acquired by Douwe Gaastra an enterprising building con- tractor and real estate speculator who had completed the construc- tion of the Palatka School structure during that year. Mr. Gaastra proceeded to plat the land and offered the lots for immediate sale. The location of the proposed community was ideal for employes of the neighboring mines and many took advantage of the opportunity to secure a homesite. While no boom was evident, the growth of the village was uniformly steady.    By the year 1913, the place supported four business establish- ments, namely, the J. O. Prosser grocery, the drygoods store of Louis Kotler and the saloons of John D. Hayes and Candido Pisoni. The postal service was inaugurated with the appointment of Albin Olson as postmaster in October 1914.    Mr. Olson served as postmaster for 39 years, retiring in 1953. His daughter, Mrs. George Grailer, was acting postmistress until the appointment of a new postmaster, McKinley Duff, who took over the duties on May 24, 1954.    Transportation to adjoining communities was provided in 1915 with the extension of the Iron River, Stambaugh & Crystal Falls Street Railway lines to the village. This venture, however, proved a failure and the service was discontinued four years later.    With the growth of the community and in the further pro- motion. of his enterprise, some urgently needed civic improve- ments were undertaken by Mr. Gaastra. Among these was the erection of a suitable hall building and the establishment of a water system. Arrangements were made with the Spring Valley Min- ing Company for the necessary water from their Zimmerman Mine while the tank and hall were erected near the center of the com- munity on Second Street.    The movement for the organization of a village government was launched in the early months of 1919. Foremost in this activity were Edward Peterson, Albin Olson and Louis Kotler who private- ly financed the primary legal expenditures attendant to the in- corporation. The issue was duly placed before the electors and in anticipation of approval, a Board of five charter commissioners was also chosen, Members of this commission were Edward Peterson, Albro Gallup, Albin Olson, Valentine Lee and Louis Kotler.    The Charter was adopted at an election held for the purpose on the 20th day of October when a total of 120 ballots were cast. The name of Gaastra, whereby the village has become known through- out the years, was retained. Officers were also elected for the   110     HISTORY OF IRON COUNTY, MICHIGAN   new Village, John E. Looney being honored with the Presidency, Albro Gallup, William G. Hanson, John T. Hayes, Val Lee, Edward Peterson, and August Thomas as Trustees, Siguard W. Jacobson, Clerk, William H. Looney, Treasurer and Albin Olson, Assessor.    The first meeting of the Council was held on the 23rd day of October at the store of Albin Olson. Subsequent meetings until the work of moving and reconditioning of the present hall was com- pleted, were held in the Palatka School.    One of the most urgent needs of the Village was more adequate and dependable water facilities for domestic use and fire protection. Therefore, one of the first acts of the Council was to secure transfer of the water tank and lines from the Gasatra Realty Company, that work toward their improvement could be planned. Other business transacted during the first meetings was the purchase of the pre- sent Hall site for the sum of one thousand dollars and the Hall structure at a cost of $1,700. Some protection against fire was also taken with the purchase of a forty gallon chemical engine and one hundred feet of hose.    The year of 1920 was one of active Village improvement. In January, the groundswork was laid for the renovation of the municipal water system. While the source of water at the Zimmerman Mine was sufficient for the immediate needs of the Village, the lines were inadequate, haphazardly installed and direly in need of repairs. Thus in March, an election was held for the purpose of bond- ing the Village for the sum of $20,000 to finance this work.    With assurances of water, further action was taken toward fire protection with the formation of a volunteer fire department. Active members of this department were Allen Gallup, Edward Peterson, Iner Swanberg, William Peterson, Byron Battye, and Clarence Le- Clair.    The assessed valuation of all taxable property during the first year was $1,733,454. The bulk of this valuation was derived from mining properties lying within the boundaries of the Village. The sum of $21,668 for the General Fund and $6,500 for Highway purposes was raised to meet the cost of government for the first year.    A peace officer was provided in the month of May with the ap- pointment of Albro Gallup to the post of Village Marshall.    In the Month of June, William White moved the Hall building to the present site from its former location near the water tank on Second Street. The total cost of this work was $655. The work of re- pairing and remodelling the Hall was awarded to the Proksch Lumber Company of Iron River for the sum of $7,336 and the in- stallation of the heating facilities was given to the Holland Furnace Company for $785.    Among other improvements worthy of mention and undertaken during the first year was the construction of cement sidewalks un- der a contract awarded to Celestino Pernet.    In the year 1922, permission was granted to the Township Board of Education for the use of the Hall rooms for the purpose of holding classes of kindergarten and primary grades while awaiting the completion of the new Gaastra School. During that summer, the road leading west to the Village of Caspian was completed to aug- ment the winding trail heretofore used which entered the Village by way of the Palatka School. The first automotive equipment for fire protection was placed into service at this time with the purchase of a Dodge truck equipped with chemicals and hose at a cost of $3,375.00.