Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2026 All Rights Reserved USGenNet Data Repository Please read USGenNet Copyright Statement on this page: Transcribed and submitted by Linda Talbott for the USGenNet Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ =========================================================================== USGenNet Data Repository Notice: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization. Non-commercial organizations desiring to use this material must obtain the consent of the transcriber prior to use. Individuals desiring to use this material in their own research may do so. ============================================================================= Formatted by USGenNet Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. ============================================================================= Port Huron Times Saturday, 15 July, 1876 ST. CLAIR Historical Sketch by WM. GRACE, ESQ., July 4th The Republican publishes in full the sketch of St. Clair and vicinity read by WM. GRACE, Esq., at the celebration in that city on the 4th of July. We make the following ex- tracts, which are of interest, forming a part of the his- tory of this County: The earliest occupancy by civilized men of the place where now stands our quiet though beautiful little city is a matter accompanied with some doubt. As early as the month of June, 1686, a military trading post was established on the banks of the river St. Clair, which was called Fort St. Joseph. And while there are some who claim that this old Stockade was located at or near the present site of Fort Gratiot, still stronger probabilitites and better proof point to the mouth of Pine River on its Southern bank as the place of lo- cation of this old Fort. Again, before the Revolutionary War, and in the year 1762, this point is mentioned by some enterprising voyagers, as the locality of the old Fort, thus proving that nearly two hundred years ago the spot where our city now stands had been for a brief time the abode of civilized man. But it is believed that no permanent occupancy by white men had intervened to break the solitude of the wild and almost impenetrable forest, through which so noble a river for ages flown, until the year 1790, when a small company of French settlers took up their abode on the St. Clair river near the foot of Lake Huron. Fifteen years later and in the year 1805 the Territory of Michigan by an act of Congress was organized; and three years thereafter, and on the 26th day of October A.D. 1808, the land upon which the City of St. Clair now stands, and known as private claims numbered 304 and 305, was confirmed by the General Land Office to JOHN MELDRUM and JAMES MELDRUM respect- ively. And this was thirteen years before the county of St. Clair was organized. These Private Claims were subsequently sold by the MELDRUM's to JAMES FULTON and others who became the first regular occupants, under local municipal regulations. Up to the time the place where we now meet in celebration was a wilderness, and with the exception of the old fort I have already named, and a dwelling near by supposed to have been built for officers quarters, and long before gone into decay, no trace of civilized life had yet come to disturb the solitude of the surrounding wild woods. The first house built was by JAMES FULTON, and occupied by him, and since known as the dwelling house of the late BENJAMIN WOODWORTH and now used as a blacksmith and wagon shop. The second house was also built by said JAMES FULTON; it was afterwards known as the Monson House, and now owned by HENRY STEIN. Mr. B. WHEELER, the father of Mrs. C. W. BAILEY, of this place, came here about the same time. He is still living in the town of St. Clair. He is most emphatically one of our pioneers, and an intelligent old gentleman. In the year 1814 Mr. LOUIS ST. BARNARD came up from Detroit and built a house up on the banks of the river, (Yankee street) using some of the brick in making his chimney which he took from the ruins of what was supposed to be Fort St. Joseph. Mr. ST. BARNARD was the father of our friend CAPT. ALEXANDER ST. BARNARD, to whom I am indebted for valuable facts known to him in his boyhood. He was born on the St.Clair river, opposite, Vicksburg, in Canada, in 1809. At the commencement of the war of 1812, Mr. LOUIS ST. BARNARD with his family hastened to Detroit for safety, and remained there until the close of the war, when he returned again to the St. Clair river and settled upon the farm now owned by CAPT. ST. BARNARD, on Yankee street, and built the house I have already named. Upon the farm young ST. BARNARD was reared, and has ever since lived, and at an early age became connected with the surrounding river and lake navigation, and continued in that business until he became a skillful navigator. In 1844 he was appointed by the government a pilot on board the United States Iron Steamer Michigan, and remained in that responsible capacity until the year 1868. Soon after the building in this place of the two dwellings by JAMES FULTON which have already been mentioned, other build- ings both here and in the vicinity around followed. A small building was erected by one MR. WILSON at a point north of Pine River and near the place where the office of COL. TRUESDAIL now stands. And this was the first store and MR. WILSON was the first merchant in the place. The second store was built and occupied by JOHN THORN, upon the ground where now stands the brick store and dwelling of our respected fellow townsman ANDREW EBER. The next two stores kept here were by THOMAS PALMER and the late FREDERICK G. WILCOX. Prominently among the merchants succeeding these may be men- tioned our veteran salesmen, COL. WM. B. BARRON and COL. HENRY WHITING, who for much of the time during the past thirty years and upwards have been successfully engaged in the sale of gen- eral merchandise. To mention all others thus engaged would take up more time and space than is intended within the scope of these notes. The first hotel here was located south of Pine River, and was conducted by one JOHN LEACH. The St. Clair Exchange fol- lowed at an early day, and was built by the said F. G. WILCOX and first kept perhaps by one TOMLINSON. The first school in the place was in a room owned by MR. PHILLIPS, the father of our much respected citizens ARCH and CHARLES PHILLIPS. This school was taught by the REV. MR. DONIHOO who was the first Methodist preacher on the ground. The first school-house erected here was at a point near where now stands the historic hall of our old bachelor friend, C. A. LOOMIS. The first mill built in the town of St. Clair was situated upon Pine River and was erected by MR. JEROME, father of REED JEROME, Esq., and a number of other brave and excellent sons, whose names are familier to many of us at present. MR. PHILLIPS already named, was the first blacksmith, and his sons ARCHIE and CHARLES were artisans and good ones of the same vocation. On the 8th day of May, A.D. 1821, the township and county of St. Clair were organized. The township then embracing the entire county of St. Clair including the present county of Sanilac, and contemporanious with the municipal organization of the town and county of St. Clair, of which the present ter- ritory of the city of St. Clair then formed a part, the seat of justice of the county was located at this place. And very soon afterward commenced that very fertile and common source of strife in new counties, known as a county seat war. And although the county seat remained at this place for fifty years, where justice sometimes quaintly, sometimes solemnly, and sometimes otherwise, was regularly or perhaps sometimes irregularly dispensed, still a battle for a change of base was waged unrelentlessly with every varying phases of hope and fear on the part of each of the gallant contest- ants, until finally in the year 1871, in consequence of greater numbers and better railroad facilities, the war came to an end, by the removal of the much coveted seat of justice to Port Huron. Soon after the organization of the town of St. Clair, which as before stated was then co-extensive with the whole county, embracing an area of 1,500 square miles, the Court of County Commissioners, as it was then called, found it out of the question to try and run things smoothly and successfully with- out a building in which to try the evil doers, and a jail in which to place some of them in durance vile; and, consequently, the said Court Commissioners, who then consisted of ANDREW WESTBROOK, GEORGE COTTRELL and JOHN K. SMITH, hired a room in the dwelling house of JAMES FULTON for a court room and at the same time contracted with the said FULTON to build a jail in the rear of his dwelling-house, and an appropriation of thirty-five dollars was muificently raised for the work of putting up said structure. And thus was the administration of justice in St. Clair county commenced with a Circuit Court in a sort of *isi prius form, occasionally held, one JAMES B. WOLVERTON being High Sheriff of the county and JOHN THORN clerk of the court. Some six years afterwards and in the year 1827 the people had become to proud to longer do business in such primitive style, and consequently a new court house and jail was erected. It was a log structure twenty-four by thirty-four feet in size. It was built upon the present court house square which had been conveyed to the county for this purpose by the said JAMES FULTON, and in the year last named it was accepted by the Board of Supervisors, who by timely legislation had suc- ceeded the County Commissioners in such matters, although as we are told the said new building was accepted in an unfinished state. However this may be, it remained the Court House and Jail of the County until 1853 when it was destroyed by fire. Directly following this conflagration a new Jail and Vil- lage Hall was built of brick by the people of St. Clair, and the said Jail is still held and occupied as the Jail of the County. In the year 1856 a new brick Court House was erected upon the site of the old one, and largely by private contributions of the people of this locality, and the same remained as the Court House of the County until the year 1871 when the county seat was removed to the city of Port Huron. The old Temple of Justice has since been conveyed by the County to our people and is now known as the City Hall. This place was laid out and platted in the year 1828 by THOMAS PALMER, and was known for some years as the Village of Palmer. But the name was afterwards changed to the Village of St. Clair, and in 1850 the Village was incorporated and thus severed its connections as a part and parcel of the Town of St. Clair. ===============================================================================