Tales of Old Mount Clemens

Tales of Old Mount Clemens
Reprinted from the Mount Clemens Monitor, December 15, 1916

[The following is from an old manuscript recently discovered in this city. The Monitor does not know who wrote it, but it has all the marks of authenticity. It is published apropos of the celebration of the completion of Mt. Clemens's first century that we will hold in 1918].

The first settlement of white people in vicinity of Mt. Clemens was in 1781. Thirty-four families in all built houses along the Clinton (then called River Huron), beginning at its mouth and extending up the river nine miles.

Christian Clemens first came here from Detroit with a surveying party in 1795. Lewis Cass (afterwards Gov. Cass) was the surveyor. They blazed trees through the wilderness from Detroit, and when they reached the site where this village was afterward located, Mr. Clemens remarked, "Now here is the first rise of ground since we left Detroit." Some one of the party laughingly answered, "Mr. Clemens has discovered a rise of ground, we will call it Mt. Clemens after him." He did not come here to live until several years afterward.

About the year 1797 John Brooks built a distillery on the site of Fleumer's flour mill, and continued the business until Mr. Clemens and Mr. Wiseman came here and bought the property. A log house stood down the river near the first salt well, another was built by Mr. Clemens on Front street about where Smith & Preussell's hardware store stands. A log house was also built over the river opposite the flour mill. A distillery and log house stood on the river bank a little above Mr. VanLandegham's present mill. This constituted the settlement previous to the war of 1812. During that war most of the families moved to Detroit on account of Indian depredations.

In 1818 Mr. Clemens returned to this place with his family and the village was platted under the personal supervision of Gov. Lewis Cass, Gen. Alexander Macomb, and Christian Clemens. Three streets called Front, Court, and Walnut, were laid out, running parallel with the river, and four streets called Cass, Macomb, New, and Market, crossing at right angles. The same year the county of Macomb was organized and Mt. Clemens was made the county seat. In 1819 a log court house was built. The lower story was used for a jail where were a few cells partitioned off with planks. The second story was used as a court house, school and church. It was burned in 1839. A prisoner from St. Clair county, who had committed murder, set it on fire in hopes to make his escape. He came near losing his life, as in the excitement the key could not be found and the door had to be battered open with an axe.

After the war of 1812, a military road was surveyed by government, from Fort Wayne to Fort Gratiot, in order to open communication by land between the forts and protect our border from English. When this village was reached, it was skipped over, which accounts in part for the width of Pearl street and the bends in Gratiot. Cass street extended only to Court and the remainder was called Shelby road, but as late as 1829 it was nothing but a cow path. It is related of one of the first sheriffs, Mr. William Canfield, that he had occasion to go to Utica to arrest a man. He rode his horse up to the river, then letting the horse come home alone, he crossed the river on logs, walked to Utica, and brought back his prisoner. In 1819 a post office was established and John Stockton was the first postmaster. He had married the stepdaughter of Mr. Clemens, while the family were in Detroit, and when he came here, built a frame addition to Mr. Clemens's log house, which was the first frame structure erected here. The first burying ground (it could hardly be called a cemetery) was located where Mrs. Czizek's house now stands on New street. There were a few buried there, but it was not considered a fit place. There was some discussion about it and Mr. Clemens said when the next death occurred he would find a better burial place. Not long after Henry Halsey died and those interested asked Mr. Clemens where the grave should be made. History states that he accompanied the funeral and pointed out the spot which afterwards became the old cemetery on North Gratiot. In 1830 the settlement had grown to be more of a village. We have here a map of the original survey in 1818.

Mr. Clemens's first house on Front street, the second occupied the site of Mr. Geo. Crocker's residence.

Wm. Canfield's store and trading post with the Indians, where the Ullrich bank stands. The first merchant, however, was Elis Doty, whose place of business is not located.

In place of the Sherman house we must imagine a story and a half frame building painted red, facing Court street, with a long one story rear on Shelby. This was a "tavern" kept by Horace Cady.

Ezekiel Allen built a dwelling here on the site of Grovier's store. It was afterward occupied by John Stevens, who later built the present store building. One of the old residents told me that while calling on Mrs. Stevens one day, she noticed a rope hanging from the ceiling near the head of her bed. Mrs. Stevens said, "Wouldn't you like to know what that is for? Well, I have a cow bell fastened to the other end of it upstairs, and in the morning I ring it for the girls to get up and get breakfast." It was decidedly primitive compared with the electric bells of today.

On the location of Mr. Jacobi's store was another tavern kept by Mr. Halsey. This building was moved back on Macomb street, and we knew it as Mrs. Mintonye's millinery store. I believe it has now wandered off up Fraser street.

On the site of the Fleumer mill, stood another tavern, kept by Alfred Ashley. He also owned a dock where the Lady of the Lake used to stop. It was the first steamer to run from Detroit and was owned by Capt. Atwood. The hull was said to be built of two large canoes made of white-wood logs fastened together. Here at the foot of Market street most of the freight from Detroit was landed, which probably accounts for its name.

R.O. Cooley, one of the first merchants, kept a general store on Front street at the foot of New street. He was the first county treasurer. His first dwelling was a small house on the site of the tea store. His second dwelling was the most pretentious house in town at that time, and still stands on the corner of Court and New streets, back of Mr. Schanher's drug store, built in 1834-5.

Ezekiel Allen kept a shoe shop on the bank of the river, near the Robertson block, and had a tannery back of it.

Aaron Weeks built a store on the site of the old Medea bath house in 1835, and afterward built the old Clinton house, nearer the corner, the second story running over the store. It was kept a number of years by Joseph Hubbard. Opposite was a building intended for a tavern, built by Major Giles. Robert Eastman and Edward Gallup used it for a store.
[To be continued in part 2]