This article was one of a series of articles

published during the year 1879, in

The Lake County Star called “Progress In Lake County.”

 

Transcriptions were done by Chi (Rouse) Benedict, unless otherwise credited.  If you would like to contact the transcriber,

Please contact her by E-mail.

 

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Appeared in:  The Lake County Star

Date Published:  February 13, 1879

Volume:  VI  Number:  XLII  Page:  1

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Progress in Lake County.

 

[Under this title we give a series of short sketches, descriptive of the time of immigration of each settler in the county, with amount of improvement, present and future prospects;  crops raised in 1878; grain sown last Fall, &c.  Also, sketches of manufacturing and business interests.  Correspondence is solicited from all interested in the growth and prosperity of our county.  We would suggest to our readers that they cut out and preserve,in scrap books these sketches; as they will doubtless find them of more interest in the future than at this time].

 

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C. C. Thompson—Settled by homestead entry on the east half of the northeast quarter Section 4, Pleasant Plains township, in the Spring of 1873.  The soil is sand plains; 18 acres of which are improved.  He has only a small board house.  There are a few seedling apple trees.  Mr. T. is at present residing in Ludington, and wishes to dispose of his land here.

 

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James H. Welch—Took up a homestead on the west half of the southwest quarter of Section 24, Dover township, in the Fall of 1869.  The soil is sand and clay loam, with beech and maple timber; no better land in the State, probably.  He has forty acres under improvement; a log house, log barn; and has a nursery of some 500 apple trees.  Has some cherry trees, with currant and strawberry.  For shade, he is letting a portion of the original forest trees stand.  Keeps a cow.  In 1878 he had 1 ½ acres wheat, 7 acres oats, 2 acres buckwheat, 2 acres potatoes, 3 acres rye, and 10 acres of timothy and clover hay.  About five years ago he set out 600 strawberry plants—the latter part of October—and the following season harvested six bushels of fine berries from the patch.  Mr. W. has excellent water on his place, there being four or five springs, with running streams from two of them.  The lay of the land is slightly rolling.

 

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Andrew Craig—Homesteaded the northeast quarter of Section 32, Cherry Valley township, in the Spring of 1871.  He has sand plains; 50 acres of which are under improvement.  He has a comfortable log house, and a fine new frame barn, 35x50 feet, with basement.  Has a few apple trees started, with currant, gooseberry and strawberry.  Has taken considerable pains in the way of ornamental trees, and has some fine poplar, silver maple, willow, &c.  He keeps a span of mules, 5 cows, 3 hogs, 9 sheep and poultry.  Is highly pleased with his experiment with sheep, and says they seem to thrive well on the wild grasses of the plains.  In 1878, he raised 2 acres of wheat, 5 acres of corn, 4 acres of oats, ½ acre of potatoes (yielding 40 bushels), two acres rye, and had 3 acres of timothy.  Last Fall he sowed 5 acres wheat.  There is excellent water, and abundance of it; both for culinary purposes and for stock.  Farnsworth Creek runs through this place.  Mr. C. is pretty well satisfied; came into the county with but very little or nothing, and is gaining every year.

 

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Norman B. Blood—Came to Lake county in February, 1878, and purchased the claim of Lewis Heiges in the homestead on the northeast quarter of Section 22, Webber township.  This place was originally entered by Isaiah Davenport.  The soil is sand plains, and there’s 20 acres improved.  There are good buildings on this place—frame house and barn.  The fruit is currant, gooseberry and strawberry.  Mr. Blood has about ½ acre of strawberries, and intends to put out an acre during the coming season.  For stock he has a yoke of steers, 2 cows and 2 hogs; also, keeps poultry.  Last year he had 4 acres of wheat, (Spring), 4 acres corn, 1 acre oats, 4 acres buckwheat, 1 acre potatoes, 1 ½ acres beans, and 2 acres rye.  In the Fall he sowed 2 acres of wheat.  The amount of buckwheat sown in 1878 was 7 pecks, from which he harvested over 70 bushels of as fine grain as he had ever seen.  It was of the small gray variety.  He has abundant supply of excellent water, soft, from wells.  Has a drive well, (pump in the house) the depth being only 18 feet.  Mr. B. speaks very encouragingly of future prospects. 

 

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Geo. C. Clement—Settled by homestead entry on the northeast quarter of Section 30, Cherry Valley township, in the Spring of 1871.  About 25 acres of this place is stump land; the balance is plains, except quite a swale of black ash, elm, soft maple, &c.  There are 50 acres improved, 10 of which are grubbed.  There is a house, part log, part frame; a barn, 16x46 feet, log and frame.  The fruit is cherry, currant, raspberry and strawberry.  For ornament, there are some maples, and he has left about three oak trees to every ten acres, when clearing.  Mr. C. had about 840,000 feet of pine; and has been engaged for the past year cutting it, and is now stopping with his family in Baldwin, where the pine is being worked up into shingles at Sleeper’s mill.

 

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Joseph Clement—Also, settled in Cherry Valley township in the Spring of 1871; by homestead entry on the northwest quarter of Section 30.  About 120 acres are plains; the remaining 40 being river bottom, on the north branch of the Pere Marquette River, which runs across the northwest corner.  Supply of water, excellent.  Mr. C. has about 35 acres improved.  The house is part log, part frame; log barn, 20x30 feet.  For fruit he has some cherry and grape.  For ornamental trees he has left original oaks standing.  He has for stock, a yoke of oxen, 1 cow, 5 young cattle, 1 hog, and poultry.  In 1878, he raised 4 acres corn, 8 acres oats (seeding the ground to clover, which looked tip-top, last Fall), 1 ¾ acres potatoes (yielding 150 bushels) and 12 acres millet.  He put in 10 acres of wheat last Fall.  The water for cooking purposes is from a well 12 feet deep.  “Joe” thinks there’s something in the plains for him, and is bound to get it out, if possible.

 

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Layton Putnam—Settled by homestead entry on the east half of northeast quarter Section 34.  Webber township, in the Spring of 1871, and now has 29 acres improved.  Has a comfortable log house and small frame barn.  Intends to build a larger barn during the coming Summer.  For fruit he has currant, gooseberry, strawberry and raspberry, and for shade trees he has left a fine oak and pine grove about the dwelling.  Mr. P. has not been on his place much for the past two or three years, but intends to do his best at improvements the coming season.  Last season he had 2 acres of buckwheat and 5 of rye, on his own place, and 4 acres corn and ½ acre potatoes on Kilpatrick place.  The soil is plains, with a beautiful lake on the northeast corner.  Mr.P.’s daughter, Lizzie, now 7 years old, was the first child born in Webber township.

 

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Richard Brown—Settled, in the Fall of 1873, on the northwest quarter of Section 18, Webber township.  The soil is sand with scattering pine over almost 100 acres; estimated at 1,000,000 feet.  He has about 11 acres improved, a frame house, and some small fruit.

 

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Newton I Kinne—Came to Lake county and settled by homestead entry on the northeast quarter of Section 36, Town 18-14 (Elk) in the Spring of 1871.  The soil is plains, well watered; Kinne Creek running across it.  He has 25 acres improved, and a house, part log and part frame; barn, same.  Has 170 apple trees, and a variety of cherry, pear, currant, raspberry and strawberry.  For shade, he has left a number of the original oaks standing.  The lay of land is rolling.  For stock, he has a span of horses, 1 cow, 2 heifers, 2 hogs, and poultry.  In 1878, he raised 2 ½ acres wheat, 5 acres corn, 4 acres buckwheat, ½ acre potatoes (yielded 60 bushels), ½ acre beans, 3 acres rye, and 2 acres of clover sod, which he turned under and sowed wheat.  Last fall he sowed about 8 acres wheat and 1 ½ acres rye.  Mr. K. has abundant supply of water for culinary purposes, from a spring.  He intends to put up a frame building 16x24 feet, next Summer, for a work shop and granary, and next year hope to be able to build a new frame dwelling house.

 

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Geo. W. Collier—Came to Lake county in the Winter of 1866-67, and was one of the first settlers in Pinora township, where he still resides, on the south half of the northeast quarter of Section 36.  He has one of the best farms in the county; over 40 acres under improvement.  The soil is mostly clay loam; the buildings, a comfortable square timber and frame house and frame barn, 32x46.  Has about 200 apple trees, with cherry, pear, plum, currant, gooseberry, strawberry and raspberry.  For shade, he has some wild cherry.  The timber on the land, originally, was beech, maple, elm, &c.  Across the north side of his farm runs a fine spring stream, affording an excellent supply water for stock, while a well, 50 feet deep, furnishes water for culinary purposes.  Has good out buildings, and for stock, has 2 horses, 1 cow, 2 sheep.  Sold nearly all of his stock last year, at good prices.  Keeps poultry; and in the year 1878, raised 7 acres wheat, 2 acres corn (which yielded him 200 bushels), 1 acre potatoes (150 bushels) and 20 acres of timothy, which produced 30 tons of excellent hay.  Last Fall he sowed 6 acres wheat.  Mr. Collier expresses himself as well satisfied.  The coming Summer he intends to erect a granary, 16x20; set up on posts, and sided with clapboards.

 

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James M. Avery—Settled on the northwest quarter of Section 28, Cherry Valley township, in the Spring of 1871; soil being plains, with pine, maple and oak timber.  He has about 25 acres improved, and has recently sold 80 acres to H. B. Campbell, who will move on in the Spring.  For fruit he has cherry, and small fruits in abundance.  Has Balm of Gilead for ornamental, and intends to set out a number of sugar maples, in the Spring.  Estimates the standing pine on his place at 200,000 feet.  Has a comfortable log house and log barn; supply of water from well.  He has timber on the ground for a frame barn, 30x40 feet.  His stock consists of a yoke of oxen, 1 cow, 3 young cattle, 8 sheep, 1 hog and poultry.  In 1878 he raised 4 acres wheat, 4 acres rye, 1 acre oats, 3 acres corn, 2 acres buckwheat, and ½ acre of potatoes.  Last fall he sowed 9 acres wheatand 2 acres rye.  Has an excellent garden, each year, and seems well contented.

 

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Wm. Baker—Settled by homestead entry on the southwest quarter of Section 26, Town 20-13 (Eden) in the Spring of 1873.  The soil is plains; nearly 100 of which are under improvement.  He has log house and barn; and for fruit has apple, plum, cherry and a variety of small fruits.  For shade he has left original oaks standing.  He has 2 horses, 3 cows, 2 hogs and poultry.  In 1878 he raised 4 acres oats, 6 acres buckwheat, 2 acres potatoes (yielding 200 bushels), 8 acres rye and 6 acres timothy.  The lay of land, pretty level; and for water he has a well, 45 feet deep.

 

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Edward McCluskey—Settled by homestead entry, in the Spring of 1871, on the north half of northwest quarter of Section 2, town 19-11 (Ellsworth), and now has 22 acres under improvement.  The soil is clay and sand loam; timber, beech, maple, white ash, &c.  Has a comfortable log house and log barn, and expects to build frame addition of a kitchen to house during the coming season.  For fruit, he has about 65 apple trees and a number of seedlings, with small fruit and grape.  For shade he has left several of the original forest trees standing.  The land is high, rolling; and he has excellent water from a spring.  Has a yoke of oxen, 1 cow, 3 hogs and poultry.  In 1878 he raised 2 ½ acres wheat, 2 acres corn, (estimated 100 bushels ears to acre), 1 ½ acres potatoes, and 2 acres timothy.  Seeded, last Fall 4 acres to timothy; sowed 4 acres wheat.  Next Spring, expects to set out 50 plum trees.  Expresses himself as well satisfied.  Was elected County Treasurer, last Fall.

 

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Laban A. Carpenter—Homesteaded the northwest quarter of northeast quarter Section 4, Pleasant Plains township, in the Spring of 1875, and now has 20 acres under cultivation, with 14 apple trees, a few peach trees, and small fruits.  Mr. C. is a gunsmith, and works most of his time at his trade in Baldwin.  Had a fine garden, last year; among the items of which were about 45 bushels of potatoes from one-eight acre of ground.  A lake affords abundant water for stock.  Has a well 26 feet deep.

 

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Jacob Voorheis—Settled in Spring of 1876, on the northwest quarter of Section 24, town 19-13 (Eden), the tract originally entered by Chas. Mann.  It is plains land; about 40 acres under improvement.  There is a log house, log barn, and some small fruit.  Mr. V. is living in Baldwin, this Winter; but will return to and work his place next season.  Last year he had 8 acres wheat, 1 acre buckwheat, ½ acre potatoes and 5 acres rye; and last Fall, sowed 2 acres rye.  There is plenty of water on this place, from two wells; one 10 feet and the other 14 feet deep.

 

 

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     [Note—Should any of our readers find an error in any of the above sketches, they would confer a favor by sending us the proper correction].

 

 

 

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Page Notes:

All of these sketches are typed as they appeared in the newspaper

(spelling and so on).

 

Contact Information:

 

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Name:

Contact E-mail:

Welch, James H.

Sandra

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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