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Chesaning in 1877, Part 2: The Dam

The dam across the Shiawasse (built 1842) and the second grain mill (built 1867-68).

The history of Chesaning begins with two brothers from Massachusetts, George Chapman (1812-1882) and Wellington Chapman (1814-1887), who on October 18, 1841 became the first persons to purchase land in what had formerly been the Big Rock Indian Reservation.

This land included what is today the southern portion of Showboat Park, as well as the farm on the opposite side of the Shiawassee River.

The brothers returned to their home in New England soon after, and began making preparations to bring their families west to Michigan.  They also set about trying to convince others back east to join them in their new undertaking.

Their earliest convert was Rufus Mason (1813-1888), a railroad man from New Hampshire who was married to Caroline Otis (1817-1892), a cousin of the Chapman brothers.

Rufus Mason went on an excursion to Michigan, and on November 26, 1841, he completed the purchase of several hundred acres of pine timberland.  This included almost all of the bottom lands and river flats along the Shiawassee between the modern day village of Chesaning and the area that later became known as Parshallburg.

Rufus Putnam Mason (1813-188).  He was one of the first persons to purchase land in the former Big Rock Indian Reservation, and played an important role in the early history of Chesaning (then called Northampton)
Rufus Mason

Mason had formerly worked in a sawmill, and he immediately grasped this location’s potential as the site of a lumbering operation.  It was too late in the season to start working on such a project, however, and Mason headed back east, intending to return in the spring and build a dam across the river.

The location selected for this dam is what later pioneers would come to know as Shako and Ponto flats, and what current residents would know as the river lowlands at the bottom of the ridge where Wildwood Cemetery is today.

When both of the Chapman brothers finally returned to Michigan, in the spring of 1842, they were surprised to find that another group of settlers had arrived during their absence, and that Northampton (the original name for Chesaning) already had its first sawmill.

This was was located on the west side of the river, just across from Cole Park, and about halfway between Broad Street and the footbridge.

This new sawmill belonged to the firm of North, Ferguson & Watkins, who were Benjamin North (1779-1848), a Methodist minister from Washtenaw County, and his two sons-in-law, John Ferguson (1800-1842) and John Watkins.

This group was also responsible for building the dam across the Shiawassee River, which was completed soon after spring highwater, which would have been about April, 1842.

George Chapman then hurried back east, carrying the news to Rufus Mason that his plans for cornering the local lumber market would have to be put on hold, at least for the time being.

Despite the considerable speed and initiative they had shown in establishing the first real settlement at Northampton, the group of settlers from Washetnaw would ultimately de-rive little, if any, real benefit from their efforts.

John Ferguson died in February of 1842, probably before the sawmill had even been completed, and his place in the firm was taken by Daniel North (1812-1850), who was the son of Benjamin North.

It’s possible that John Ferguson had been the key man in the partnership, or maybe the group had taken too great a financial risk in building the new sawmill, but whatever the reasons may have been, it seems that the new firm was not able to turn a sufficient profit.

Less then two years after the sawmill was completed, on July 13, 1844, the entire operation was sold to Rufus Mason and Oliver Chapman (1811-1877), a brother of George Chapman and Wellington Chapman.

Rufus Mason had arrived in Northampton around this same time period, and would serve in the role of local agent for his business partner, who remained back east in Massachusetts.

Rufus Mason would go on to play a major role in the future success of the village, but one gets the impression that he was the junior partner in the business.  It’s even possible that he was already acting as the local agent for Oliver Chapman during his first visit to the area in 1841.

The firm of Mason & Chapman operated the sawmill successfully for many years.  In 1846, they added additional equipment that would allow for the milling of wheat, corn, and other grains.

This was the first such grist mill in the township, and before it was added residents had to make a difficult, fourteen mile journey down to Corunna to reach the mill there.

  1. Flouring Mill
  2. Saw Mill

This original mill appears to have been in operation for about twenty-five before it was torn down to make way for a newer, more modern flouring mill (1) that was built on the same site by Franklin Kenyon (1836-1896) sometime around 1867 or 1868.

It seems that by 1877, it had come into the possession of two owners who were both from outside of the Chesaning area, Nelson Isbell (1820-1878) and Dr. Hulbert Shanks (1820-1889).

The merchant and custom flouring mill... is a three-story-and-a-half frame building, 40x50 feet on the ground; is fitted with four run of stone and improved machinery, and cost its present owner $15,000. Its grinding capacity is 60,000 bushels of grain per annum, and averages 40,000 bushels. Its machinery is run by water power, the “Shiawassee” furnishing a never-failing supply. From this mill are annually shipped 600 barrels of flour.

History of Saginaw County, Chas. C. Chapman & co. (1881), pg 805.

Nelson Isbell was a former state senator and had even served a term as Secretary of State, while Hulbert Shank had also been a member of the state legislature.

Exactly how these two men came to own a flour mill in Chesaning is not known.

The Chesaning Flouring Mill.
The flouring mill.

The saw mill (2) that was situated on the opposite bank, in what is today Cole Park, was actually the second such structure to be built at this location.

The original saw mill was constructed by James Fuller (1821-1861), one of the earliest pioneers, and became known as the “Little Mill” to distinguish it from its older and larger counterpart across the river.

It was sold to the firm of Andrus & Allen in 1860, which consisted of Reuben Andrus (1832-1878) and William Allen (1824-1872).  The original caught fire and burned down in 1865, and it was replaced with a second saw mill.

The First Bridge
This photograph is of the original wooden bridge over the Shiawasse. The structure in the background may be the sawmill (built in 1865) that once stood on the present site of Cole Park.

Reuben Andrus grew up on a farm in New York, and later worked as a grocer for several years.  He came to Michigan in 1856, and lived in Owosso for a short time, before settling in Chesaning, where he started a mercantile business.

He was active in local government and served as postmaser, was a township supervisor for sixteen years, and Saginaw County Sheriff for four years.

William Allen was born in England, and came to Chesaning sometime in the early 1850s.  In addition to owning the sawmill, he was also editor of the local newspaper, The Chesaning Times.

William passed away in 1872, long before our start date, but the map of the village from 1877 still identifies the sawmill as belonging to the firm of Andrus & Allen.  I am not sure why this is the case.

It may be that the name is simply a legacy from back when the company was established, or William Allen’s ownership stake passed to another member of the family after his death, or Andrus found a new partner with the same last name as his previous one.

Drifting downriver from where the dam once stood, you will soon come to a bend which turns west, heading away from Main Street.  Around this bend, and standing on the north side of the river, was the dwelling place of one of Chesaning’s founding fathers.

     3. Home of Wellington Chapman.

Wellington Chapman (1814-1887) was born in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, and learned the trade of a wheelwright from his father.  Wellington assisted his father until reaching the age of twenty, when he moved to the nearby town of Worcester and began building railroad cars.

This led to a career in railroad construction, and in 1835 he began working on building projects alongside his brother George Chapman (1812-1882) and cousin William Otis (1813-39).

William Otis was the cousin of Elisha Otis (1811-1861) (of elevator fame), and that side of the family seems to have had a talent for innovation.  While working on the railroad, William constructed a machine to automate the process of excavating dirt, and thereby became the inventor of the first steam shovel.

William Otis died of typhoid fever, at the age of only 26, but his cousins George and Wellington Chapman both went on to have successful careers building railroads.

Wellington Chapman
Wellington Chapman

While on a tour of Ohio and Michigan in 1841, the brothers made a stop in Owosso, from where they were taken on a tour to the Big Rock Indian Reservation.

...riding on horseback through the forest along the banks of the beautiful Shiawassee River; they at length came upon the cleared fields of the Indian reservation, and were so charmed with the location that they both concluded to purchase lands here.

History of Saginaw County, Chas. C. Chapman & co. (1881), pg 816.

Wellington Chapman is one of the first persons to purchase land in what would eventually become the village Chesaning, and was the first settler to ever plant crops here, on land that is today the southern portion of Showboat Park.

It was here that he built the first frame barn and first board fence in the village, but when he arrived here with his family the Spring of 1842, he chose another location to build his first home.

The house stood on the east bank of the river on what was first called Water Street, then later, Canal. At that time there was one large room downstairs and an attic reached by going outside and climbing a ladder. The women and children slept downstairs, the men and boys in the attic.

Place of the Big Rock, Mark & Irma Ireland (1966), pg 38.

This seems to have been a hastily built pioneer shelter, and was likely only intended to serve as a temporary home.

The family soon relocated to a 70 acre farm, just north of the village. The home on Canal Street was moved to the farm, where it was given a coat of bright red paint and dubbed “the little red house.”

Wellington Chapman Home
The first home of Wellington Chapman.

George and Wellington Chapman eventually grew tired of life on the frontier, and became concerned about the lack of educational prospects for their children.  They both left Chesaning in 1847, returning to New England and resuming their former careers in railroad construction.

The original farm, south of the village, was sold to Rufus Mason (1813-1888).  Mason was a cousin of Wellington Chapman, by marriage, and a trusted family associate.

The family retained ownership of the farm north of the village, however, and after about nine years spent in New England, Wellington Chapman finally returned to his home in Chesaning.

He remained in the railroad business a while longer, and over the next several years was involved in additional construction projects in New York, New Jersey, and Iowa.

The Wellington Chapman Farm (1877)

We are fortunate to have a highly detailed illustration of the Wellington Chapman farm as it appeared in the year 1877.

It shows that the main homestead consisted of small middle section that connected together two larger structures.

I believe that when the family moved out to the farm in the first half of the 1840s, the “little red house” ended up serving as a spare home, not the primary residence.

Instead, a new and slightly larger house was constructed, which survived into late 1800s, and formed the rearmost section of the homestead pictured above, the one closest to the three barns.

This served as the primary residence until 1860, when Wellington Chapman built an even larger structure, which then formed the front section of the above homestead, the one closest to the river.

The present house was partly built in 1860 by Mr. Chapman, who hewed out the timbers and his wife assisted him to erect the frames. Even to this day the pins with which the frames were fastened together are visible in the kitchen. They are out of wood and were whittled by Mr. Chapman himself.

Chesaning Illustrated, Carrie Ische & Blanche Ingalls (1903), pg 48.
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