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Individuals desiring to use this material in their own research may do so. ========================================================================= Formatted by U.S. Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== PIONEER HISTORY OF HURON COUNTY, MICHIGAN by Florence McKinnon Gwinn Huron County Pioneer & Historical Society, 1922 [page 19] CHAPTER II PORT AUSTIN TOWNSHIP Another of the early settled townships was Port Austin, although it was not organized until 1862 with ISAAC BREBNER as supervisor. The first settlement here was made by JEDUSHU BIRD, who came from Canada at the time of the Rebellion of 1837 in a small sail boat. With him were his wife and two sons, BEN and ALDEN. Mr. BIRD built his home on the site of the present Maca- bee hall. Half a mile from the mouth of the creek which bears his name he built a dam and a water mill. The remains of this may be seen today. Besides the manu- facture of lumber Mr. BIRD carried on a fishing busi- ness. He built a small dock at the mouth of the creek and also made a rude shanty further up the stream. These were the only dwellings when JOHN BUTTARS, to whom we are indebted for this sketch, came to what is now Port Austin in 1852. Mr. BIRD sold out to SMITH, AUSTIN & DWIGHT in 1853 and they built a large steam mill at the mouth of the creek. JAMES DUFTY assisted in this work. In the win- ter of 1853-4 a lumber dock was constructed and the mill began operations in 1854. The name of the town was changed from BIRD'S Creek to DWIGHTVILLE and still later to Port Austin in honor of Mr. AUSTIN, the second partner of the firm. They did not make a success of the business, however, and it went into the hands of a re- ceiver, Mr. WILLIAM WARNER, who sold it to G. and W. F. SMITH. In 1859 they sold out to AYRES, LEARNED & WIS- [page 20] PIONEER HISTORY OF HURON COUNTY WALL, who operated the mill until the supply of timber was exhausted. We find this item in a paper of that day: "AYRES & Co., have shipped this week 284,644 feet of lumber and 2,638 barrels of salt to Sandusky,Ohio." The first salt well in the county was sunk at Port Austin in 1864 and brine was struck at a depth of 1184 feet. The salt made here took the first prize at the state fair in Ohio and was considered the finest made in Michigan. An early settler in the town was Mr. J. KIMBALL, who came in 1852. He built one of the first houses in Port Austin. He chopped a trail from there to Huron City in order to get mail through once a week. He then hired JACOB M. GROAT to carry it from Forestville. Mr. GROAT walked the 44 miles both ways following a trail. When the telegraph came in 1865 the inhabitants of Port Austin thought they were surely "out of the woods." Mrs. CASE, the daughter of Mr. KIMBALL, tells of picking berries in those early days and trading them for beefsteak when the steamers came into port. The first real farmer was SAMUEL DOAX. He cleared and cultivated part of the land now belonging to Mrs. CON. CULHANE'S farm, two miles south of the village. The first resident Protestant minister was Rev. Mr. BLACK a Baptist who made his home with Mr. KIMBALL. A paper, entitled "The Huron County Reporter", was own- ed and edited by D. R. JOSLIN. It is said to have been the first paper in the county. It was discontinued about the year 1862 and a few years later The Huron County News took its place. The first school house is still stand- ing and is part of the dwelling house of JAY SMITH. It's former site being near the present post office. Miss EMMA SMITH was the first teacher. Among the first settlers who came to Port Austin and helped build up the town and surrounding country we find these names: Capt. HENRY GILL, JOHN and ESTHER BUTTARS, Capt. CHAS. McDONALD, WILLIAM NASH, PETER [page 21] PIONEER HISTORY OF HURON COUNTY BUCHKOWSKI, FRED EMPKIE, THOMAS MORROW, MARK CAR- RINGTON, J. W. KIMBALL, Mrs. CARROLL, ARCHIE SMITH, Mrs. COPELAND, GEORGE GEREAU, Mrs. M. STURTEVANT, JENNIE SINCLAIR and JAMES DUFTY. All of these mentioned were pioneers of the fifties. In this necessary brief sketch it is impossible to name all of those who came early in the 60's. In order to give some idea of the transporta- tion of that day we quote the following items from The Huron County News of 1866: "The barge Ocean arrived here last week with a cargo of merchandise, brick, 70 tons of hay and 3,000 bushels of corn for Messrs. AYRES, LEARNED & WISWALL. She took on 200,000 feet of lumber on Monday and will finish loading this week. Two weeks before this same barge left for Sandusky with 437,000 feet of lumber, 100,000 shingles and 200 barrels of salt." There was no light house then so they had a lamp placed on top of a cedar post just back of where the Maccabee hall now stands in order to guide vessels into port at night. There was a steamboat up or down the lake almost every day. Often there were several ves- sels in the harbor at the same time waiting for loads of lumber or salt. A tramway to draw lumber on ran nearly three and a half miles back into the country. What changes have taken place since then? The en- trance and exit of the stage coach, the development and entrance of the railroads, the advent of the telegraph, telephone and electricity. Marvelous has been the pro- gress in the past 50 years. CHAS G. LEARNED, who came to Port Austin in 1857 to buy land for SMITH, AUSTIN & DWIGHT, of Detroit, discovered the value of the pine lands of this county and in company with his broth- er-in-law, F. S. AYRES, purchased several thousand acres of pine land. They also purchased, as has been stated, the property of Mr. BIRD and began the manufacture of lumber. Mr. LEARNED built one of the finest residences on the shore. Both he and Mr. AYRES had large farms later on, Mr. AYRES' consisting of about 1,000 acres, [page 22] PIONEER HISTORY OF HURON COUNTY all in an excellent state of cultivation, and the farm of Mr. LEARNED'S, partially in Port Austin township, con- sisted of more than 2,000 acres equally well cultivated. JAMES RYAN also had a large farm here. Of the men who had good orchards in the 70s and 80's we noted the names of R. H. WINSOR, W. H. COOPER, MARK CARRING- TON, TIMOTHY WALKER and others. The scenery around the village was the most beautiful of any along the lake. The business men of the town at that period were: hard- ware, JOHN BRETT; blacksmith, ROBERT ALLISON; general store, JAMES BALDWIN; harness shops, CHAS. FRIERS and GEORGE F. JACKSON; Shoes, TAYLOR & DONLEY; wagon, car- riage and agricultural implements. W. J. CAMPBELL, whose son became a nationally noted cartoonist and artist. CREVY, COOPER & RAZEK and the WINSORS were also in business here. RICHARDS & RICHARD, physicians. The lawyers were ENGLE & ENGLE, and JAMES H. HALL. JOHN KING had a furniture store. WILLIAM H. COOPER came to the county in 1857 and was bookkeeper for HUBBARD & Co for several years. Went to Grindstone City in 1865 and to Port Austin in 1870. He married CHARLOTTE, daughter of Capt. A. PEER and mother of Mrs. Dr. HER- RINGTON, of Bad Axe. JAMES RYAN came in 1867 and purchased the land on which he built the RYAN House. He also became proprietor of a stage route between Port Huron and Bay City for 11 years and one from Port Austin to Bad Axe for four years. Other names inseparably connected with Port Aus- tin are those of EDMOND COLE, C. B. COTTRELL, RICHARD SMITH and G. H. GALLUP as well as that of B. W. MER- RICK, who erected many of the dwelling houses in the village. O. B. WILLIAMS had a fine hotel and was well known throughout the country. H. G. SNOVER who con- ducted a law business there married his daughter. Mr. SNOVER is now a resident of Port Huron. One of the saw mills of that day, built under the supervision of J. W. KIMBALL cut more than 120,000,000 [page 23] PIONEER HISTORY OF HURON COUNTY feet for the eastern market, obtaining the timber from the surrounding country. AYRES & Co. also had a large flour- ing mill, an institution of great value to the people at that time. HIRAM ADAMS was connected with the salt industry. Forty thousand barrels were shipped out each year. RICHARD WINSOR was an important factor in the political affairs of that period. He was a member of the state legislature when but 23 years of age; served four terms and was then elected to the state senate. He also was engaged in the practice of law both in Huron City and Port Austin for many years. He now lives in Seattle, Washington. The first religious services held in the township were by Rev. J. B. VARNUM in 1854. Later church ser- vices were held in AYRES & LEARNED'S store and some- times in the homes. Capt. McDONALD states that SARAH KIMBALL CASE was his first Sunday School teacher. KIM- BALL'S point was first owned by a Mr. DOUGEREAU. Mr. McDONALD said that Port Austin was but a sand hill when he arrived there. Several of the houses were built of slabs. There was but one frame house. Later the cull lumber was thrown into the lake to float away. Today that same grade of lumber would sell for $50 or $60 per thousand. Only the clear lumber was piled on the dock. Among the things worth mentioning are, the "Brok- en Rocks" which are situated here at the very tip of the Thumb of Michigan, looking out upon Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron. Beautiful in their picturesqueness they stand out unique among the varied scenery of the lake region and were first visited by Father MARQUETTE in 1668. Dr. JAMES HENDERSON, of Detroit, formerly of Bad Axe, has written a poem about them in which he says: [page 24] PIONEER HISTORY OF HURON COUNTY "Here the Indian spread his grim tepee in the days of long ago, When the Broken Rocks were not so gray and the giants were all laid low; And the Indian maiden trilled her song to join with the sea's low croon, As she watched the braves in their birchen barks under the silver moon." The government built for the port a good light house on a reef two and a half miles north and east from the town. It was completed in 1878. Before that time when expecting boats they would build bon fires on the beach or hang a lamp on a cedar post. Here we find the earliest Catholic mission in the county. The Presbyter- ians organized a society in 1874 with E. P. CLARK as pas- tor. The Baptist church was organized February 12, 1875, at the home of F. S. AYRES. Today the town is noted for its summer resorts. Here people from all over the state come each year. Turning to Grindstone City, also situated in this township, we find a man who came when Huron County was but a wilderness and by his wisdom and energy helped to develop some of the great resources that have placed the county in the rank it holds in this great state today. He quarried stone here in 1834 and we find a record on the old tract book in the Register of Deeds office telling that Capt. PEER located the first land in Huron County in 1839. This land was just east of what is now Grindstone City. He also built a grindstone mill, using water power. Among those who assisted him in his work we find the name of JAMES DUFTY, whose name is connected later on with the settlement of Caseville. Capt. PEER was also the owner of several brigs and schooners and had spent a long and varied career upon the lakes. His daugher, Mrs. COOPER, of Bad Axe, tells this story of 1852: "In that year I came up the shore with my father and mother. We landed just outside of the quarry. Capt. GILL'S father came to meet us with a fish boat. We [page 25] PIONEER HISTORY OF HURON COUNTY came up on the old steamer Huron. My father had a yoke of oxen on board. The men threw the oxen off the boat and they had to swim ashore. We remained three months and during that time I wore out my shoes. As there was no place to buy more Mrs. GILL made me a pair of moccasins with the seams on the outside. I had to wear these back to Port Huron. Three years later I came up with my father in a sail boat and before we left Port Huron there had been skating on the Black River but at this time it was raining hard. We reached the quarry some time the next day and the fol- lowing day as far as we could see there was nothing but ice. When we passed Huron City Mr. L. HUBBARD remarked, "That must be Capt. PEER. No one else would dare to venture out." We did not have a stage until 1862." ===========================================================================