Chesaning in 1877, Part 4: Hotel Block

If we continue to travel west along Broad Street, we leave the riverside behind and arrive at the second of Chesaning’s downtown commercial blocks.

This portion of the village runs from Front Street on it’s eastern edge to Saginaw Street in the west.

We are, once again, very fortunate to have a photograph which shows this section of town much as it would have appeared in our current time frame.

This photograph would have almost certainly have been taken sometime after 1877, but shows details that match up perfectly with our map of the village from that year.

The camera would have been positioned near the intersection of Front Street and Broad Street, just east of where the traffic lights are located today.

Chesaning House
Meat Market
Commercial Building
Commercial Building
Barn
Barn

The largest building on this block, and one of the most important commercial buildings in Chesaning, is the eponymous Chesaning House (1), one of two major hotels operating in the village.

This House affords good accommodation, to the Traveling Public. Good Barn in connection.

Atlas of Saginaw County, F.W. Beers (1877), Pg. 126.

The original owner was James Fuller (1821-1861), who opened a public house and hotel on this site around 1852. For several years it remained the only such establishment in the village.

Its current proprietor is John Gleason (1807-1880), who appears to have taken over operation of the hotel sometime in the late 1860s.

The meat market (2) was owned by L. Smith, about whom I can find no information.

The purpose of the next two commercial buildings (3, 4) is still unknown.

The two nearby barns (5, 6) appear to belong to the Chesaning House.

This block still hasn’t been heavily built up yet, but we’ll find a lot more activity once we cross the street to the south, where there is a densely clustered collection of storefronts.

Hardware Store
Dry Goods & Grocery Store
Billiard Hall
General Store & Post Office
Store
Vacant
Meat Market

Our first stop is the hardware store (1) of Hopkins & Son. These were Harvey Hopkins (1830-1910) and Chester Hopkins (1853-1927).

Dealers in Hardware, Stoves, Nails, Iron, Glass, Putty and Agricultural Implements. Also, Manufrs of all kinds of Tin, Copper and Sheet Iron Ware.

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

Harvey Hopkins was born in New York, but came to Michigan in 1836, when his father brought the family to Oakland County.

Hopkins returned home to New York shortly after, possibly due to the death of his father, who passed away in 1838.

He was married to Sylvia Taylor (1834-1908) on August 22, 1850, at which point he was already making plans to come back to Michigan and live on a farm in Oakland County.

He was also active in education and began began teaching at an early age. He later moved to New Haven Township, in Shiawasee County, where he served as superin-tendent of the local schools for sixteen consecutive years.

He even taught school in the old town hall in Chesaning during the winter of 1856-57.

When war broke out in 1861, Harvey Hopkins enlisted in the army and joined the 3rd Regiment of the Michigan Volunteer Cavalry.

He was taken prisoner at Harpeth Shoals on the Tennessee River in January, 1863, and was held in Charlotsville prison until April. He reenlisted in January, 1864, and served until the end of the war.

He moved to Lyons, Michigan after leaving the army, but came to Chesaning in 1871. He spent three years living out on his farm before moving to the village and opening a hardware store with his son.

Next is the dry good and grocery store (2) of Charles Lockwood (1843-1900).

Dealer in Dry Goods, Groceries, Boots, Shoes, Ready Made Clothing, Yankee Notions, &c.

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

Charles Lockwood was born in Highland, Michigan, but came to Chesaning as a boy, where he lived with his uncle Henry Bentley (1821-1901).

Henry Bentley was the owner of a dry goods and grocery store, and Lockwood worked in the store for may years, before opening his own grocery store sometime in the early 1870s.

The proprietor of the Temperance Billiard Hall (3), A. M. Rodgers, may not have permitted the sale of alcohol, but was happy to indulge his customers’ other vices.

Chesaning’s current postmaster, Thomas Greene (1842-1893), operated the post office out of his general store (4).

Thomas Greene grew up on a farm in New York, and received a good education at Cazenovia College.

He taught school for a number of years, before coming to Chesaning in 1867 and opening a general store here. He was appointed postsmaster in 1873.

The 1877 map provides no description for the adjacent store (5), but lists the owner as R. Mann. I can find no more details at this time.

The only information listed for the next building (6) is the name F.P. Kenyon. Franklin Kenyon (1836-1896) had substantial dealings in local real estate and the lumber industry, but never owned any kind of retail establishment as far as I can determine.

It’s possible that this may have served as his business office, but I think it more likely that he was the owner of the building, and that it was vacant at the time the map was produced.

The last building on this block was the meat market (7) of Hercules Standard (1838-1894).

If we return to the main intersection and then head south along Front Street, we find a few more shops.

Drug Store
Shoe Store
Vacant

The first is the drug store (1) belonging to William Niver (1835-1884).

Dealer in Drugs, Medicines, Groceries, Books, Stationary, Yankee Notions, &c.

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

William Niver had grown up on a farm in New York. He came to Michigan in 1855 and settled near Parshallburg. where he made his living as a farmer and carpenter.

He was soon married to Lemira Parshall (1840-1906), the daughter of Israel Parshall (1815-1865), a local miller and the founder of Parshallburg.

Niver enlisted in the Union army in October of 1864, and served until the end of the war.
He did not return to his previous trade after mustering out, however, and instead moved to the village of Chesaning and opened a drug store.

The building that connects to the drug store was the Niver family residence.

Next door to Niver’s drug store was the shoe store (2) belonging to Merritt Parshall (1844-1912), the younger brother of Lemira Parshall.

Manufr of and Dealer in Boots, Shoes and Rubber Goods.

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

Merritt Parshall was born in Livingston County, near the village of Parshallville, which had been established by his uncle Isaac Parshall (1798-1858).

It was in 1855-56 that his father, Israel Parshall, founded the settlement at Parshallburg when he dammed the Shiawassee River there and built a grain mill on the east bank of the river and a sawmill on the west bank.

Merritt Parshall seems to have spent most of his life working as a farmer, and also served as a fifer during the Civil War. It’s not clear when he first opened his shoe store, but I suspect it might have been soon after Edward Hayne closed his original shop.

The last shop (3) belonged to E. Hayne according to the 1877 map of the village.

Edward Hayne (1816-1885) was a local merchant who operated a shoe store at this location for many years. His son William Hayne (1848-1879) later joined him in the business and together they established the firm of Hayne & Son.

It appears that Hayne & Son had recently moved into a larger building, on the northwest corner of Broad Street and Saginaw Street, and that their former location on Front Street was presumably left vacant.

The Chesaning Argonaut

Chesaning in 1877, Part 4: Hotel Block

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