Chesaning in 1877, Part 5: The Cantwell Block

If we continue moving further west along Broad Street, and cross over Saginaw Street, we will arrive at what is today that section of downtown occupied by commercial store-fronts that have all been assigned a location from the 200 block of addresses.

The group of buildings that stand on this corner are collectively referred to as the Cantwell Block, on account of them having been constructed by local merchant Albert Cantwell (1859-1939) to house his very successful grocery store and bazaar.

These stores were all built in 1892, however, well after our current target year of 1877, when the village still consisted almost entirely of wooden frame structures.

Nevertheless, this section of Broad Street was already being heavily utilized for a variety of different commercial activities.

Drug Store
Shoe Store
Barber Shop
Jewelry Store
Dry Good & Grocery Store
Millinery Shop
Grocery Store
Meat Market
Law Office
Commercial Building (Vacant?)
Furniture Store

The shop located right on the corner of Broad and Saginaw Streets, is the drug store (1) belonging to Dr. Joseph Eldred (1837-1918), who had established a medical practice in Chesaning upon his arrival here back in 1862.

He later entered into a partnership with local druggist William Niver (1835-1884), and the pair were in business together from 1868 to 1870, when Joseph struck out on his own after purchasing his current store from previous owner Lieutenant Colonel Myndert Quackenbush (1814-1896).

Cyrus Tubbs (1852-1903), the younger brother of Joseph’s wife Eliza Tubbs (1839-1925), worked as a clerk in the store, and would eventually go on to become a full partner in the business.

I rather enjoy reading the quaint term “drugist notions”, but I’m not so sure about the sale of surgical instruments. That’s not really the kind of thing you want to turn into a “do-it-yourself” project.

Located directly above the drug store was the office of one H. G. Ives, civil engineer and real estate agent.

Ives owned a farm out in Albee, and even served a term there as township clerk, but de-tails about him are surprisingly elusive for someone who seems so well educated, and with so many different areas of expertise.

We then have the shoe store (2) operated by the firm of Hayne & Son, which was com-prised of father Edward Hayne (1816-1885) and son William Hayne (1848-1879).

Manufrs of and Dealers in Boots, Shoes and Leather. Cash paid for Hides.

Atlas of Saginaw Co. Michigan, F.W. Beers (1877), pg. 126.

Edward Hayne was born in England, where he learned the shoemaking business. He later emigrated to Ontario, and then moved to Chesaning sometime during the mid-1850s. He opened the first shoe store in the village, which was originally located on Front Street.

William Hayne first began working alongside his father while still only a child, and eventually became a full partner in the business. This happened in 1874 or 1875, which I suspect is around the same time they moved to their current location on Broad Street.

Next is a barbershop (3) run by a Mrs. Driggs. No information on her at this time.

Then we have the jewelry store (4) of James Carrier (1850-1928).

Dealer in Watches, Clocks, Jewelry, Solid Silver and Plated Ware, and the celebrated Elgin Watch.

Atlas of Saginaw Co. Michigan, F.W. Beers (1877), pg. 126.

James Carrier was born in Pontiac, where he worked at a local jewelry store before coming to Chesaning. It’s not certain when he first arrived in the village, but it appears that he would soon be leaving for Corunna, and then Montana, where he would spend the rest of his life.

The dry goods & grocery store (5) belonged to Henry Bentley (1821-1901).

Henry Bentley was born on a farm in New York, but came to Michigan with his parents sometime in the early 1840s. He arrived in Chesaning in November of 1856, and is said to have opened it’s second store.

He was a longstanding member of the local retail community, and was also engaged at times in the salt, lumber, and hotel business.

The millinery shop (6) was run by sisters Mary Cantwell (1855-1936) and Alice Cantwell (1858-1948). They might have been aided in their work by their older sister Fannie Cantwell (1852-1937), who had prior experience as a dressmaker.

Their youngest brother was the aforementioned Albert Cantwell, who was just starting his career in retail sales, and might have been called upon to help out around the store.

Next is the grocery store (7) of Joseph Manning (1842-1890).

Joseph Manning was primarily an educator, and had been appointed principal of Chesaning schools in 1873. He was only in the grocery business for a short time, having opened his store in 1876, and would leave Chesaning in 1879 to take over the Byron school district.

The first issue of The Chesaning Argus, published on October 31, 1877, carried an announcement about a new commercial partnership in the form of a meat market (8) belonging to Lobdell & Card Co. This may have been Ammon Lobdell (1828-1909), a local farmer, and a man named Joseph Card.

The building that housed the new meat market was owned by local attorney James Johnstone (1837-1897), whose wife Euphemia Johnstone (1843-1914) had previously operated a bakery at this location.

The couple’s oldest daughter, Mary Johnstone (1864-1867), had contracted diphtheria during a recent epidemic, and died from the disease on September 13. This may have been a contributing factor in the closing of the bakery and the opening of a new business in the same location.

Moving past the closely packed row of storefronts, we come to a small, free standing structure which served as the law office (9) of John Pitts (1816-1891), attorney at law and notary public.

John Pitts had been born in Vermont, but came to Michigan at the age of 16 and settled in Barry County. He was one of Chesaning’s true pioneers, settling here in March of 1851, although his first appearance in the history of the village dates to much earlier.

His marriage to Chesaning resident Sarah Ann Ferdig (1825-1894) is recorded as hav-ing taken place in 1845, and is said to have been only the second marriage performed in this township.

The commercial building (10), next door is assigned to R.H. Nason on the 1877 map of Chesaning.

Robert Nason (1832-1907) was no shopkeeper, of course, but an already wealthy lumber baron. This building may have served as his business office, but it’s much more likely that Nason was the building’s landlord and owner, and that it was vacant at the time this map was produced.

The last building, standing on the corner of Broad and Chapman Streets, is the furniture store (11) of Oliver Walker (1832-1909).

Oliver Walker grew up on a farm in New York, and at 17 years of age began learning the skills of carpentry and cabinet making. He later spent time in Oberlin, Ohio and Flint, Michigan, and came to Chesaning in 1856.

He hired himself out as carpenter and builder, and constructed several homes throughout the village, before opening his own furniture store in 1869.

There were no funeral homes at this time, and since local carpenters were tasked with the building of caskets for the dead, they also frequently served as undertakers.

In contrast to the heavily built-up section on the north side, the south side of Broad Street is mainly residential, and features only a single building dedicated to commercial activity.

General Store

This structure seems to bear the rather non-specific label of “shop” on the map of 1877. However, the land on which it stands is recorded as belonging to L.W. Evarets, which provides us with an important clue to the identity of this building.

Lysander Evarts (1838-1923) was born in New York, but grew up in Warren, Michigan, after his parents bought a farm there. He later enlisted in the army during the Civil War, and served two tours of duty as an infantry soldier.

He brought his family to Chesaning in 1868, and opened his first shop on Front Street. He later moved into a new general store (1) at the corner of Broad and Saginaw Streets.

Lysander W. Evarts (1838-1923) arrived in Chesaning sometime around 1868, and opened a store soon after. He seems to have operated the store in partnership with Henry Lorraway (1834-1904), a close family friend, but Henry would soon be departing to open his own store in Colorado.

Just south of Evarts store is another building that is of considerable historical interest.

Town Hall

Chesaning opened its first official schoolhouse in 1845, on the east side of the river, and along Broad Street at the top of a hill. This building would also function as the town hall, and hosted other local events and religious gatherings.

The town’s center of gravity had already begun to shift to the west side of the river, and in 1853 it was finally decided to relocate everything to a new town hall (1) that was erected on Saginaw Street.

The village eventually outgrew this combined schoolhouse, church, and town hall, which came to be derided as being “too old and shabby.”

In 1869, the local Methodist congregation was able to raise enough money to leave and build their own church. The Lutherans would eventually do the same, although they would have to wait until 1877.

1869 was also the year in which Chesaning completed construction of a large, two-story brick schoolhouse, and students began attending classes at the new building in December of that year.

While this greatly helped to alleviate overcrowding at the old location, it soon became apparent that the new school was still not large enough to accommodate Chesaning’s ever growing student population, and within only a few years some of the primary grades were transferred back to the town hall.

The Chesaning Argonaut

Chesaning in 1877, Part 5: The Cantwell Block

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