CHAPTER XIV
Municipal Annals
The Charter of the City of Grand Rapids was adopted by popular vote May 1,
and the first election of officers under it was held May 11, 1850. The first
informal meeting of the members of the Common Council was held May 18, at which
were determined the amounts of bonds to be required of certain city officers.
Those of the Treasurer and Clerk were fixed at $1,000 each; that of the City
Marshal at $2,000. On May 20 the Council met and organized. The Rules of Order
of the Detroit Common Council were adopted as those of this body for the time
being. May 22, ordinances were passed relative to taverns and inns; ordinaries
and groceries; ball alleys, billiards and other games, and shows and theatrical
exhibitions. In June several licenses were fixed; and highway districts were
formed, each ward constituting one. The first city license for tavern keeper was
granted to Gottlieb Christ, of the Bridge Street House. The pay of the City
Surveyor was fixed at $2 per day. June 25 a city seal was adopted, of which a
fac simile is here given:
This seal was designed and engraved by Aaron B. Turner, then City Clerk. The
motto, Motu Viget, was suggested by Joseph Penney, then a member of the Council.
From this time forward municipal business moved as smoothly and with as much
regularity as if the legislative body had been a long established institution.
In the fall of 1859 the Public Square was ordered surveyed and staked, and Abram
Pike and others were allowed to fence and ornament the ground. Sidewalks were
ordered on many streets, and several grades established. Fire Wardens were
appointed, and persons selling liquors to Indians were threatened with
prosecution. This threat of prosecutions for violation of liquor laws and
ordinances, was a sort of by-play periodically indulged in, that has been kept
up with great pertinacity to this day. In this year (1850) settlement of
accounts with the township of grand Rapids was made, and the treasury funds
divided by amicable agreement. In January, 1851, the library was similarly
divided, in the proportion of one for the town to two for the city.
At the second charter election, in April, 1851, 558 votes were cast. The
qualifying oaths of the officers elect are all spread upon the record. Fifteen
groceries, a tavern and a ball alley were licensed in May. In July George A.
Lacy was licensed to sell small beer in a tent at the east end of the bridge,
and appointed reporter of violations of the bridge ordinance as to fast driving.
In December a two-mill city tax was ordered. A full settlement was made by the
Grand Rapids town and city boards in joint session, December 23, as to all
indebtedness and obligations incurred prior to the incorporation of the city.
The charter election of 1852 was held April 5. In June the Council passed a
resolution giving to the Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids Plank Road Company
permission to grade Division street from the south line of the city to Monroe
street and enter and construct its road thereupon, without expense to the city,
and with no toll gate within the city limits. On July 8 an election was held on
the question of raising a five mill tax to cancel old indebtedness and defray
current expenses. It was carried - For, 127; against, 9. The tax was ordered by
the Council July 23. At the same time a vote was taken on the question of
contesting or purchasing the claim of Louis Campau to the Public Square. Result:
For contesting, 63; for purchase at $730, 52; for purchase at $300, or contest
if that were not accepted, 24. The question was determined by arbitration, in
August, and in December his quit-claim to the city, for $500, was taken. In
August a survey was ordered of the old cemetery land in the Kent plat. In
December twenty-four traders gave bonds to the city as liquor dealers. In March,
1853, Lyon street was extended to the east line of the city, and Fourth street
to the Stocking road.
1853. In the spring, Lawyer Cole s office was rented for a Common Council
room, at $20 a year. June 20, at the election on the adoption or rejection of
the Maine Prohibitory law, the vote in the city was: Yes, 482; No, 145. The
Council ordered the purchase of ten city maps, then just issued - the first made
after the incorporation of the city. In August a pond hole in the rear of the
Public Hall (in Kent alley) was presented as a nuisance, and a ditch was ordered
to bring the brook which caused it from the swamp in Ionia street out to Bronson
street (now Crescent avenue) and thence down through a culvert under the canal
to the river. Considerable filling of streets that were inundated by the flood
of 1852 was done this season. In November a contract was made with David Caswell
to fence the Coldbrook (Kent Plat) cemetery, with picket fence and cedar posts,
for $1.50 per rod. William Preusser was paid $10 per year for two years rent of
cellar for two fire engines. That was where now is the Luce Block. November 30,
a committee was authorized - under the so-called Maine law - to purchase for the
city 100 gallons brandy, 75 gallons port wine, 75 gallons gin, 75 gallons
Maderia wine, 135 gallons whisky, 120 gallons alcohol, and 74 gallons rum. At
the next meeting the following purchases, and bills for liquors were reported:
Of F. N. Godfroy, $175.04; of William G. Henry, $262.23; of James Eager, $61.75.
Charles Shepard was appointed liquor agent. In March, 1854, he reported that he
had sold $289.86 worth, and resigned the office. William G. Henry was then
appointed agent and voted a salary of $100 per annum.
1854. After the charter election, a Council room was engaged of Withey &
Eggleston for $20 a year, including light and fuel. Aaron B. Turner was
appointed City Printer. May 4 the Marshal reported that he had sold the city
scraper. May 15 an order was passed for planking Canal street, from Pearl to
Bridge, with two tracks, each eight fee wide. A fire district was created of
Monroe and Canal streets, from Division to Bridge street. In October a lot on
Monroe street, west of Office (Spring) street was purchased for an engine house,
price $450, and contract was made for a brick building thereon.
1855. In the spring, taking of druggist bonds under the liquor law, attending
to street grades, plan walks, awnings and the matters of tax-rolls, constituted
the major part of the Council business. An ordinance was passed July 3 to permit
certain persons to light the city of Grand Rapids with gas. This had reference
to parties in Cleveland. July 30 the death of City Solicitor Ralph W. Cole was
announced, and suitable resolutions thereupon passed. August 1, the City
Surveyor reported that he put iron stakes at section corners and quarter posts
throughout the city. August 21, the proprietors of the Bridge Street House and
the Western Hotel were granted the privilege of laying water pipes in certain
streets and alleys. In September Canal street was ordered cleared of sawlogs,
and $25 were paid for trees set in the Public Square. Much plank sidewalking was
done this year, and reservoirs for water supply for fire protection were put at
convenient points.
1856. In January the Grand Rapids Railroad Company was granted leave to pass
down the east bank of the river from Coldbrook to below the city with a
railroad. In March the Council voted unanimously to raise $2,000 by special tax
for the purchase of two fire engines. The proposition was submitted to a vote of
the electors, and by them was also carried. May 26, two fire engines were
ordered purchased in New York, at a price of not more than $850 each. In June
parties from the east came with a proposition to erect gas works under the
concession before granted to a Cleveland Company, having secured a transfer of
the rights of the latter; but later a home company for the same purpose was
organized. The first paving, in Monroe street, cobble stone, was done this year,
and astonished some of the tax payers by its seeming extravagance, the cost
being $10,150. The river bank at the foot of Pearl and west line of Canal
street, was wharfed in October. In December a new or revised city charter was
drafted to be presented to the Legislature, with a petition for its enactment
into law.
1857. The new charter was passed and became a law February 14. At the April
election 1,258 votes were polled in the city. A room for the Council meetings
was hired for $75 a year, and under-rented for joint occupation by a Justice of
the Peace, who was to pay half the rent, and heat and light the room. This was
an upper story of the block at the southeast corner of Lyon and Canal streets.
In April, the Gas Light Company were granted the privilege to manufacture and
sell resin gas instead of coal gas, at a cost not to exceed $7 per 1,000 feet,
providing that such price should not be dearer to the consumer than coal gas at
$4 per 1,000 feet. June 18, Harry Dean was appointed City Sexton. Vote, June 18,
that the City Marshal be allowed four per cent. for collecting city taxes. A
license fee of $3 per evening for concerts was exacted. July 17 a slight change
was made in the face of the city seal, retaining the chief features of the
design already in use, and a description of it was placed upon record as
follows: Having as a device a hand holding a pair of scales, and underneath the
eagle with a shield and the figures of 1850, the motto being Motu Viget, and
inscribed City of Grand Rapids, Michigan. August 13 a profile of the sewerage of
the city was adopted. August 15 a resolution was adopted pledging efforts to aid
the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad Company to extend its line to this city,
also one granting the right of way. August 29 an order was made for the
abatement of a nuisance known as the old canal basin. by a resolution, October
29, two percent. was fixed as the amount to be paid collectors of the city tax.
This was a year of decided advance in improvements. Great changes were made,
especially in Pearl, Ottawa, Division, and several of the streets up the
east-side hill, where deep excavations and heavy fillings were necessary to get
the desired grades.
1858. The year opened upon a newly gas-lighted city, which gave a new look of
life and enterprise. In January $500 was appropriated to the poor fund, there
being that winter an increased demand for aid to the poor. At the first meeting
in April, after the burning of the Bridge street bridge, the Council granted
permits to several parties for foot bridges and ferries. In May a committee,
appointed to consider the matter of building a City Prison, reported that it was
not advisable that year. An appropriation of $1,000 was made for the building of
Engine House No. 3. The Council leased the Public Square for a circus, on the
first week in June, and resolved to expend the money received therefor in
repairing and beautifying the park. The sum of $50 was appropriated to the
military of the city for use in firing salutes on festal days. June 24 an
ordinance was passed requiring the occupants of lots to clean the streets in
front of their premises to the center thereof, every Friday before ten o clock
A. M., and pile the rubbish in a manner convenient for removal. Canal street,
north of Bridge, was graded and planked this season, at a cost of $5,450. The
sum of $12,500 was voted, September 24, to be raised by tax, for city purposes
for the current year. A new fence was put about the Fulton Street Cemetery.
Crescent avenue park was planned, and the ground obtained for it in October.
1859. In January the city purchased twenty acres of ground for a cemetery on
the west side, and in the following month forty acres for a similar use near the
southeast corner of the city. In May an order was made for the grading and
paving of Canal street, from Pearl to Hastings; also an order for the grading of
Division street, from Monroe street south to the city limits. These improvements
were completed in that season. A room in Luce s Block was leased for the use of
the Recorder s Court. A comprehensive ordinance organizing The Fire Department
of the City of Grand Rapids was passed on the 30th of July. August 13, the
Aldermen - six yeas to four nays - resolved, that no supplies be furnished by
the city to any person that keeps a dog. the Marshal was authorized to employ as
many men as he should deem necessary to assist him in enforcing the ordinance
relative to dogs. The City Clerk was directed to procure a suitable book to be
denominated Book of Street Records. Registry books for registering the names of
voters, under the law of 1859, were ordered - one for each ward. October 15 an
appropriation of $300 was made for the purpose of improving the cemetery grounds
on the west side of the river. December 3 a deed was taken from Eliphalet H.
Turner, of the south half of lot 6, block 18, of Turner & Scribner s
addition, for an engine house lot.
1860. The year opened tamely in municipal matters. No mention is made in the
city records of the burning out of the quarters that had been occupied for a
council room, by the fire which destroyed the county offices and records. But
the Council moved to the Whitey block, west side of Canal street, south of Lyon,
and went along as quietly with business as if nothing had happened to disturb
its serenity. Cemetery bonds and interest to the amount of $1,511.33 were
ordered paid February 11. Settlement for many street improvements made the
previous year was among the important labors of the Mayor and the Council during
the winter. At the April election a proposition to pay each fireman five
dollars, was carried by a majority of 1,081 votes. The Board of Supervisors met
in special session, February 16, to consider the location of county offices, and
matters pertaining to the records. They decided to purchase at the corner of
Kent and Lyon streets the spot where the county offices now stand. In April the
Grand Rapids Hydraulic Company was granted permission to use the streets, lanes
and alleys of the city for water pipes. By the resolution, April 24, 1860, that
portion of the State Road or Bostwick Lake Road running diagonally across the
east half of the northeast quarter of Section 31 Town 7 North, Range 11 West,
was vacated. That was a road beyond, and running southeasterly from what is now
State street. According to a report made to the Council at the end of April, the
municipal taxation (other than for street and sewer improvements, and not
including State nor county taxes) for the previous year, was nearly evenly
divided in its application to school and city purposes, and to the support of
the poor. In June the Council voted down a motion to prosecute persons allowing
their cattle or swine to run on the Public Square. But early in July it turned a
new leaf against dogs running at large, and authorized the payment of
twenty-five cents each for killing such as were found roaming. In August the
Council voted $600 for improving cemeteries, and ordered that a separate account
be kept for each cemetery fund. September 29, voted that $11,000 be raised by
tax for city purposes for the current fiscal year.
1861. The year opened with much perturbation in men s minds as to public
affairs - caused by the secession of several Southern States - but the Common
Council continued its efforts for progress and improvement at home. The three
previous years had witnessed great and expensive changes and improvement of
streets, grades, sewers, and otherwise, and, though times were hard financially,
heavy taxes had been cheerfully paid. In no period of the same length were
municipal affairs carried forward more to the advantage and material progress of
the city, all embarrassments considered, than in the five years from 1857 to
1861, inclusive. But in this latter year more was done in finishing and settling
for previous undertakings than in starting new ones involving much expense. In
March there were some cases of small pox in the city, and measures which proved
successful were taken to check the spread of the disease. At the April election
a proposition to raise a sufficient fund to pay each fireman five dollars, was
carried by a majority of 732. June 17 the operation of the ordinance against
swine running at large was suspended as to all the city, except the central
business part on the east side, and on July 15 the hog ordinance was wholly
repealed. The removal of a dam in the east channel of Grand River at the head of
Island No. 1, so as to allow a free current down that channel, was ordered by
vote of the Council. The sum of $10,000 was put in the tax budget for expenses
of the current year. Several attempts were made in this and other years, but
ineffectual, to assess taxes by districts for street lights, instead of paying
by general tax.
1862. Among the early municipal acts was resolution to stop horse racing and
immoderate driving in the streets. Another matter was the incoming of many poor
people, while enlistments were going on, and the Council, in January, directed
the Poormasters to report the number of city poor, their names, residences, how
long they had been here, and where they came from. The sum of $968 was
appropriated to pay bonds that had been issued for the purchase of cemetery
grounds, east side. At the spring election the citizens again voted to pay the
firemen $5 each. In May, Robert I. Shoemaker was appointed City Undertaker, the
first appointment recorded of an officer so named. At the next meeting he was
appointed City Sexton. In June the Mayor presented a communication relative to
aid for wounded soldiers from this county. It was decided that the Council had
no power to appropriate moneys for such purposes. June 23 an ordinance was
passed exacting $1.50 as a fee and $1.50 annually for each cellar drainage into
a public sewer. An ordinance was passed requiring that the old canal basin be
filled up. In July a swine ordinance was passed, covering the thickly settled
and business parts of the town, wherein no swine were to be allowed to run at
large, on pain of impoundment and fine.
1863. February 2 the saloon keepers were notified to close their saloons on
Sundays, as required by ordinance. April 27 a communication from the clergymen
of the city asked the Common Council to officially recommend a cessation of work
and closing of business places on the 30th, the day appointed by President
Lincoln as a day of humiliation and prayers. No action, further than to accept
the advice, was taken. May 18, $1,150 was ordered raised for highway purposes.
June 29 the opening of Ottawa street from Lyon to Pearl was ordered; also the
extension and opening of Washington street east to College avenue. A fruitless
effort was made to procure the opening of Kent street from Lyon to Monroe
street. Grading and sewering improvements were projected and carried on this
year in Lyon, Ionia, Ottawa, Sheldon, Water, Fourth and Stocking streets, and
others. September 29 a special meeting of the Council was held at which
appropriate resolutions were passed on the death of City Surveyor John Almy.
1864. The first important public act this year was a vote of the electors, at
a special election, authorizing the issue of bonds for the payment by the city
of a bounty of $100 to volunteers for filling the quotas assigned to the several
wards. The resolution calling for such vote was passed December 22, 1863, but
there is no mention in the city records of the calling nor of the time of
holding the election. At a regular meeting of the Council, January 4, 1864,
appears a record of the return of the vote, showing: Yes, 401; No, 2; majority
in favor of bounty loan, 376. February 8 an ordinance was passed requiring the
clearing of snow from the sidewalks by the owners of adjoining property, within
twenty four hours after each snow storm. On February 15 the Mayor reported that
the quota of the city (ninety men) on the previous call by the President for
300,000 men, had been filled, city bounties paid, and bonds of the city issued
for $9,000 at ten per cent. interest. Another call for troops having been made,
the Council, March 14, ordered another vote to authorize the raising of $6,000
to pay a bounty of $100 to men enlisting under the last call. The vote, taken
April 4, resulted: Yes, 578; No, 16; majority for the bounty, 562. The retiring
Mayor, in his message May 2, reported the city really free from debt, except the
$9,000 military loan. On the 19th of May, the first ordinance was passed by the
Common Council granting a franchise for the construction of street railways.
This was repealed in October and a new one passed. [See chapter on Street
Railways.] The Clerk and Treasurer, July 11, were instructed to create a fund
upon the books which was to be called the Soldiers Bounty Fund, and authorized
to transfer to that fund $250, to pay such interest on bounty bonds as might
become due in the following December. On the 13th of July, at a special election
called by the Council, the electors voted in favor of paying $100 bounty to each
non-commissioned officer, musician and private volunteering to the military or
naval service, and accredited to the city, upon any call thereafter made by the
President; also in favor of raising by loan the moneys for the payment of such
bounties. July 25 an ordinance was passed relative to the war loan bonds and
bounty fund, and prescribing the duties of the city officers in their
management.
1865. A session of the Council January 30, the City Surveyor was instructed
to procure a granite boulder and properly mark and sink it in one corner of the
triangular park at the head of Monroe street - the stone being designed for a
city bench, or starting point, from which to establish the grades of streets. In
March a steam fire engine was procured and placed in service, the first of its
kind in the city - cost $5,600, and $150 for freight charges. Beyond the issuing
of patriotic proclamations by the Mayor, there was no prominent action by the
city government, as such, on the occasion of the assassination of the President
of the United States, on the 14th of April. The street cars began running May
10, marking a new era in passenger locomotion, and the event was celebrated by
free rides, speeches and a feast. In this season, the efforts of two or three
years for the grading of Lyon street, and the opening and grading of Ionia and
Ottawa from Lyon through to Pearl, were crowned with success. The grading of
Lyon required a deep cut through Prospect Hill, and another through the brow of
the eastern hill from Bostwick to Barclay street, and much filling in the valley
at Ionia street. The opening of Ottawa involved a heavy cut through the tough
clay of Prospect Hill for nearly the entire distance between Monroe street and
Crescent avenue. September 5, a vote of the electors was taken on the question
of aiding in the construction of the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad to the
amount of $100,000, by the issue of city bonds for that purpose, bearing seven
per cent. interest. The canvass showed 510 votes in favor and 66 votes against
the loan. In December the Council designated all of the second ward north of
Coldbrook street as a stand for the sale of wood - a very roomy woodyard.
1866. In January the Board of Supervisors resolved that the court house
should be located on the Public Square, and submitted to the voters at the
ensuing April election the propositions to raise by tax $15,000 to build a jail,
and procure by loan $40,000 to build a court house. The vote defeated both
projects. The chief work of the city government for the first four months was in
continuance of grading and draining; and this extended, in many betterments of
moderate cost, over nearly all the city. Streets in the central part, those
climbing the hills, and especially the portion bounded by Monroe, Division and
Cherry streets, were greatly improved; and a good start was made in permanent
grades on the west side of the river. In May the Council ordered a cement walk
laid in front of Fulton Street Park. May 29, the paving of Monroe street from
Division to Fulton, and of Fulton street from the head of Monroe east to the
city limits, was declared a necessary public improvement. A special election was
held June 18, to vote upon a proposition to aid in the construction of the Grand
Rapids and Indiana Railroad, by the issue of city bonds to the amount of
$100,000. It resulted in a vote of 289 in favor, and 191 against the
proposition. This was simply a renewal of the vote of the previous year, but
with a change in the conditions of the bonds, and these to be taken by the
company in lieu of those before voted.
1867. In April a strong effort was made in the Council to open Kent street
through to Monroe, and a resolution was passed declaring it a necessary
improvement. It was finally abandoned. The Mayor in his message at the beginning
of the municipal year, recommended the building of a City Alms-house, as the
city was empowered by the charter to do, but no such institution has been
established to the present day. He further recommended the passing of a
resolution declaring eight hours to be a day s work for laborers in the employ
of the city, and on May 22 such a resolution was adopted by the Aldermen. (This
was repealed June 2, 1868.) The Common Council, by ordinance October 15, granted
to the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad the right of way through Almy and Ferry
streets on the east side, and Blossom, West Division and Water streets on the
west side of the river. In October the Council instructed the Mayor and Clerk to
execute, for issue, city bonds to the amount of $100,000, which had been voted
in aid of the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad company. But the bonds were
executed in June, 1868. The Mayor, October 22, in a message to the Council,
declined to issue the bonds as instructed, on account of certain defects which
he named, in the proceedings directing their issue, and in the form of the
bonds. The Council, December 5, passed a rigid general ordinance, to regulate
the use of streets where right of way was given for railway purposes.
1868. January 17, that portion of the old State Road (or so-called Bostwick
road) within the city, running from the northwest to the southeast corner of the
east half of the northeast quarter of Section 31, Town 7 North, of Range 11
West, was discontinued by action of the Board of Supervisors. March 26, the
extension of Canal street north to the city limits was ordered, also the grading
of Fifth street to Stocking. April 31, the Council voted to buy a new steam fire
engine. May 28, a vote of the citizens was taken on a proposition to aid the
Grand River Valley Railroad company, by loaning the bonds of the city to the
amount of $100,000. Result - Yes, 759; No, ???. The regrading and paving of
Canal street, north from Bridge to Coldbrook, was among the important public
improvements of this year. Another, by private enterprise, was the clearing of a
large tract of land north of the city line, by the east bank of the river, a
good portion of which was afterward platted into Comstock s addition, its
streets connecting with those inside the city. The street railway was relaid up
Canal street. The straightening of Monroe street, to its junction with Pearl and
Canal, was declared necessary, October 31. This was a somewhat busy year in the
matter of public improvements, well distributed about the city. Only a few very
expensive works were undertaken, and prominent among these was the grading of
Grandville Avenue through to the south line of the city. But the aggregate of
such expenditures was large.
1869. The purchase of the grounds where stands the present county jail, was
determined upon by the Board of Supervisors in January. In the local parliament,
legislative acts for most of this year were confined to street grades and sewer
improvements. July 20 the right of way into the city was granted to the Grand
River Valley Railroad. November 15, an election on the question of giving
$100,000 to aid the Grand Rapids, Newaygo and Lake Shore Railroad, resulted in a
vote of 228 for, to 530 against the proposition. The railroad-aid fever had
turned. A large amount of work on streets and sewers was done during the year -
contracts for street improvements alone aggregating upward of $100,000. Clinton,
Calder, Seventh, Fourth, Front, Finney, Clancy, Washington, Jefferson, Williams,
Lafayette, Plainfield and State streets each received a liberal outlay, others
less amounts; long stretches of sidewalk were laid, and altogether the face of
the city highways was greatly bettered in looks and for use. And the drainage by
new sewerage made dry ground of many points in town that had been inconveniently
miry.
1870. January 15 the Common Council voted to issue bonds of the city to the
amount of $25,000 in aid of the Grand River Valley Railroad; these to be in full
settlement of questions that had arisen between the city officers and the
railroad company concerning the terms and conditions on which $100,000 had been
voted in 1868. The company accepted them as such settlement. The big sewer, as
it was called, down Monroe and Pearl streets, was completed in the latter part
of March. The State Supreme Court, May 27, decided that the railroad-aid law was
unconstitutional. This decision occasioned considerable apprehension among the
holders of aid bonds for a time, and also a temporary feeling of relief to such
municipalities as had issued such bonds in onerous amounts. But later decisions
by the United States Courts held the bonds valid in the hands of the holders in
other States, eventually necessitating their payment. October 10 the Common
Council located lamps at twenty-two street corners in the First, Second and
Third Wards.
1871. The first very important work of the Council in 1871 was the appointing
of a committee to confer with a similar committee appointed by the citizens, as
to the construction of water works. The joint committee reported in April,
strongly recommending immediate action, and presented an elaborate plan of
supply and distribution, with estimate of probable cost. An amendment to the
city charter this spring increased the number of wards from five to eight,
making no change in the city boundaries. The new ward areas were: First - south
of Fulton street and between Division street and the river. Second - east of the
river between Fulton and Lyon streets. Third - south of Fulton and east of
Division street. Fourth - east of the river and between Lyon and Walbridge
streets. Fifth - east of the river and north of Walbridge street. Sixth - west
of the river and north of Seventh street. Seventh - west of the river and
between Bridge and Seventh streets. Eighth - west of the river and south of
Bridge street. The annual statement of the Mayor, April 25, showed a city
indebtedness of $133,125, while during the year there had been assessed and
expended for local improvements $89,179, and general assessments had been
$58,025. In June the Council authorized the employment of one or more engineers
to make surveys and profiles of the most feasible routes for sources of water
supply. August 9 a committee reported in favor of Fisk and Reeds Lakes, and
recommended bonding the city for $300,000 to build water works.
1872. February 24 the Council resolved to purchase a new steam fire engine.
Another fruitless effort was made this year to open Kent street through to
Pearl. A jury estimated the value of property required to be taken between Lyon
and Pearl streets at $25,410, which, added to the other cost of the improvement,
made the load so heavy that the project was dropped. May 25 the city purchased
the lot on the southeast corner of Pearl and Ottawa streets, 166 by 66 feet in
size, for $11,000. In June seven new water reservoirs were ordered built - and
here it is in place to say that, away from the river and canal, up to the time
of construction permanent water works, the chief reliance for protection from
fires was upon the reservoirs, scores of which were constructed at points in the
city where they were most needed and water could be obtained to keep them full.
They were of capacities varying from 500 to 1,000 barrels. In June the Grand
Rapids Hydraulic Company made an offer to the city of its franchises and
properties for $65,000, and in addition to put down a well to yield 2,000,000
gallons of water daily. This proposition, in Council, was referred to the
Committee on Water Works, but the city did not buy. In this season improvements
were made in Water, Summit, Cherry, Paris, Prospect, Livingston, Ionia, Island,
Walbridge, Newberry, Trowbridge, Kent, West Leonard, Mount Vernon, Court and
Allen streets, and the Butterworth road, at a cost of about $90,000.
1873. January 23 the Board of Supervisors and the Grand Rapids Bridge Company
came to an agreement in the matter of toll on the Bridge street bridge, in which
the bridge charter was extended nine years, with the right to take toll of all
except foot passengers, the company to keep the bridge in repair and surrender
it at the end of that time free of charge. The Common Council, February 1,
passed a resolution that a system of water works embodying the reservoir plan,
with Grand River as a source of supply, be adopted as suitable and most reliable
for supplying the city. March 22 the Aldermen decided to open Fulton street to
low water mark on both sides of the river. Peter Hogan, an engineer from Albany,
N. Y., employed to investigate our water sources here, made a report to the
Council, April 5, recommending the use of Carrier and Coldbrook Creeks, and
accompanied his report with an elaborate plan for distributive pipes through the
city, and an estimate of their cost. In May the old fire hand engine and hose
cart were sold to the city of Hastings for $305. This engine had been in use
twenty-two years. May 12 the construction of a City Hall building at the corner
of Pearl and Ottawa streets was declared necessary - a project that was never
carried out. In June the city purchased the Pearl and Leonard street bridges,
and made them free of toll; also purchased the ground for Lincoln park, issuing
bonds therefor to the amount of $11,000. July 30 the electors of the city
adopted the proposed system of water supply and with it the proposition to raise
the necessary funds by the issue of bonds to the amount of $250,000. The vote
stood 1,540 in its favor to 183 opposed. In October and November the water mains
were laid in Canal, Monroe and Bridge streets. The citizens then felt the relief
of being out of the woods and at least partly out of the fire, in consequence of
having for the first time a supply of water for public use.
1874. The first important municipal act was the purchase of a tract of five
city lots, corner of Canal and Coldbrook streets, and adjoining the river, for a
location for the water works, where the pumping house now stands. At the end of
January, the city procured a deed of the Bridge street bridge and from that time
forward all the city bridges were free of toll. In July, proceedings that had
been taken to open Kent street through to Pearl, were terminated by an adverse
decision of the State Supreme Court. Wood pavements were laid on the lower part
of Monroe and Pearl streets, and on Ottawa from Pearl to Monroe, during the
fall. In the latter part of October, Judge Withey of The Circuit Court of the
United States for the Western District of Michigan, for cause shown, ordered the
issue of a peremptory writ of mandamus, directing the city to raise, by tax,
funds to pay the interest and principal of bonds which had been issued in aid of
railroads. November 2, permission was given to the Board of Public Works to lay
a water main across the river on Pearl street bridge. During the summer the
reservoir on top of the hill was built. The water system was tested November 10,
and proved efficient and satisfactory. The improvement called the West Side
Ditch, on the west line of the city, was made this year.
1875. During the first week in February, 1875, the fire alarm telegraph
system was put in operation. March 1, the Common Council passed an ordinance
providing that no female should be employed in the management, or to assist in
the management, of any bar or saloon, except the wife of the proprietor, under
penalty of a fine of not less than $10 nor more than $100. March 23, the Grand
Rapids and Reeds Lake Street Railway Company was granted the use of certain
streets for laying its track. June 19, the Council appropriated $50,000 more for
water works; issuing bonds of the city therefor, which were readily disposed of
at a premium. The Board of Supervisors, at their October session, authorized the
building of a toll-bridge across Grand River, at a point near the northwest
corner of Grand Rapids township. During this year sewers were built aggregating
in length 13,709 feet. The aggregate cost of sewer construction was nearly
$30,000. Grading and paving with wood and stone was done in Monroe, Lyon and
Pearl streets - 2,885 lineal feet of paving. Streets were graded and surfaced
with gravel to an aggregate length of 15,253 feet. The longest work of this sort
was on Madison Avenue, from Cherry to Hall street. The total expenditure on
street and sewer work, was $89,163.82. The year closed with improvements under
contract, estimated to cost $124,850.
1876. According to an estimate made early in January, the entire cost of the
water works system up to that time, including sites for engine-house, reservoir
and settling basin, amounted to $341,000. March 13, the Council authorized the
purchase of a new fire engine, at a cost not to exceed $4,500. June 5, the
Council authorized the printing of $50,000 more water bonds, and the immediate
issue of $12,000 of them. These were twenty-year bonds, bearing eight per cent.
interest, and were denominated City of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Water Loan Bonds,
Third Series. August 14 the Mayor reported that he had disposed of twelve $1,000
bonds at 8 per cent. premium. August 21, he was authorized to sell $20,000 more.
September 25, he reported the sale of this $20,000, and the receipt of a premium
of $1,610 on them. October 2, the Chief of Police and his force were instructed
to enforce all the Sunday laws and ordinances, within the corporation limits. In
the following week, the Chief, in a communication to the Mayor, reported that he
found the force inadequate to the proper performance of that duty. His
communication was returned to him without further instructions. At a subsequent
meeting, October 16, the resolution was modified, also as to direct that the
city ordinances relative to Sunday be enforced by the proper authorities.
November 13, the Council directed the purchase of a new Silsby Fire Steamer,
exchanging therefor the steamer Campau, and $4,000 cash; the contract to include
a horse-cart, and the repair of other apparatus.
1877. In a report appended to the Governor s message in January, the
municipal debt of the city of Grand Rapids was stated at $560,000. At its first
session in January, the Council amended the ordinance relative to nuisances, to
permit fast driving of horses on Jefferson and Madison Avenues, south from
Wealthy Avenue, except on Sundays. January 29, an ordinance was passed,
requiring an accurate registration of all deaths in the city, causes thereof,
and places where deceased were buried; also requiring certificates of physicians
as to disease and decease. April 16, the Council decided to duplicate the boiler
at the pumping works. The police reports showed 978 arrests in 1876, and 1,052
this year.
1878. Municipal affairs started quietly. The first important even noted was
the purchase of a new bell for the Fire Department weighing about 4,000 pounds,
which arrived April 13, and was placed in the tower and the fire alarm signal
wires attached. April 27, the Board of Public Works directed the purchase of a
street roller. In May a contract was made for wood to be delivered to the poor
of the city, for the ensuing six months: Beech and maple, 16 inch, $1.75 per
cord; beech and maple, 48 inch, $4.00 per cord; pine edgings, 48 inch, $1.25 per
cord; pine slabs, 48 inches, $2 per cord. June 24, the Marshal was directed to
remove the fences from the Fulton Street Park, and from what is now known as
Monument Park. General James Shields visited the city May 7, and was given a
reception by the Mayor and Common Council, after which he was escorted about the
city.
1879. In January the Council resolved that the city should light the tower
clock at the foot of Monroe street. An ordinance passed in March required that
persons proposing to erect or repair buildings, within certain prescribed
districts, should submit plans and specifications thereof to the Board of Public
Works for approval, and obtain permits. The financial statement at the close of
the fiscal year showed a city bonded indebtedness, other than school bonds, of
$457,350. The general assessments of the year footed up $145,350; special
assessments, $25,565; total, $170,915. May 21 the municipal officers of Detroit
visited this city and were given a cordial reception. June 23 an ordinance was
passed to allow the West Side Street Railway Company to extend its line to and
across Pearl street bridge, and thence to the Union Depot. September 7 the Mayor
and most of the city officers and members of the Council made a visit to
Detroit, where they were handsomely received and entertained. September 27 a
similar visit was made to Cleveland, Ohio. October 13 the Council decided that
telephones should be put into the engine houses. October 20 a new lattice bridge
at Leonard street, and a new engine house at the corner of Canal and Leonard
streets, were contracted for. Prominent among municipal improvements this year
were the building of engine houses No. 2 and 5; the rebuilding of Leonard street
bridge; the grading and paving of a part of Jefferson avenue, of North and South
Division streets; the regrading and paving of Pearl street; the grading of West
Fulton street, of Watson street, Plainfield avenue; and the building of sewers
in Cass, South Division, Prescott and other streets. A change was made in the
law governing the Police Court, giving it exclusive jurisdiction over
examination for crimes committed within the city, and over trials for petty
offenses.
1880. At the first meeting of the Council, January 5, the repaving of Canal
street with cedar blocks, from Bridge street north to the city limits, was
declared necessary. April 19 an ordinance was passed giving certain franchises
to the Grand Rapids Electric Light and Power Company. The report at the close of
the fiscal year showed revenues from general, special and miscellaneous sources
of $305,482.23. The indebtedness, aside from school bonds, was $442,000.
Receipts of special taxes from liquor dealers and brewers were about $23,000.
Municipal acts during this year were chiefly in the line of regular routine
business. Much street work in the aggregate was done in nearly all parts of the
city, including sewerage.
1881. At the end of January a new bell was put in Engine House No. 1, on
Lagrave street. February 14, the Council ordered the purchase of fifteen
two-bushel baskets, to be stored in the city offices ready for carrying out
books and papers in case of fire. April 11, the Grand Rapids Electric Light and
Power Company were granted leave to erect an addition of one hundred feet to the
top of the fire bell tower, for making an experiment as to lighting the city
with tower electric lights. April 13, an exhibition was given of electric light
on Pearl street bridge. April 26, the duties of the City Physician in detail
were defined by the Council, by resolution, which also made him a member
ex-officio of the Board of Health. Reports of the city finances showed an
outstanding bonded indebtedness, at the end of the fiscal year, of $432,000,
exclusive of school bonds. The total assessments of the year were: General,
$161,160; special, $92,317. June 16, the Board of Supervisors authorized the
construction of a railroad bridge across the lower end of Island No. 3, by the
Grand Rapids, Newaygo and Lake Shore Railroad Company. At the same session steps
were taken to test and determine the title to the Public or Court House Square,
and in October suits were begun with that object. June 20, the Common Council
imposed a license tax of $25 for non-residents running hacks in the city. July
18, an ordinance was passed excluding velocipedes and bicycles from sidewalks in
business portions of the city east of the river. An elaborate report was made by
City Surveyor A. C. Sekell, July 23, to the Board of Public Works, concerning
the disposal of sewerage into the river. It appeared that nearly all the east
side drainage from Fourth Avenue on the south to Coldbrook street on the north,
was by sewers having outlet near the Grand Rapids and Indian Railroad bridge.
This outlet was much complained of as a nuisance, on account of the stench
arising therefrom. The Surveyor reported two plans of relief, but it does not
appear that his plans were adopted. August 8, a contract was made for laying
water mains in East and West Fulton streets. August 22, Allen Hoag was given the
stone in Lincoln Park, in consideration of making certain improvements therin.
An ordinance, adopted November 7, provided that wagons drawing loads of more
than 2,500 pounds in the streets must have tires three or more inches wide.
November 14, the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners established eleven
districts for day and night patrol duty, and prescribed the service therin. On
the 28th a memorial on the death of William Hovey, member of the Board of Public
Works, was ordered spread upon the record of the Council; and on the 7th of
December a similar tribute was paid to the memory of ex-Mayor Henry S. Smith.
1882. January 23 the time as indicated by Albert Preusser s regulator was
adopted as the standard city time. In February and March a few cases of smallpox
in the city stirred up the genius of the aldermen and health officers to devise
prompt measures for preventing the spread of that disease. It soon subsided. On
the 4th of April a resolution was adopted to the effect that in making
assessment rolls, and in transacting other city business in relation thereto,
the original plat of Tanner Taylor s Addition should be followed and treated as
a valid plat; and also in relation to the streets, lanes, alleys, and grounds
dedicated to public use thereon. An ordinance was adopted, April 17, to govern
the construction and operation of the Grand Rapids Junction and Transfer
Railroad. April 24 a building for the use of the Sexton and lot owners was
ordered erected in Greenwood Cemetery. June 12 rooms for police headquarters
were rented in the block at the corner of Lyon and Campau streets. They had
previously been for many years at the corner of Monroe and Ionia. An ordinance
for the Fuller electric light was passed on August 7. In the middle of October
eleven electric, 176 gas, and 430 naphtha lamps were in use upon the streets at
the expense of the city. November 20 the Fuller electric light was formally
adopted by the Council for street use.
1883. March 3 contract was executed for the building of an iron bridge across
the river at Bridge street. March 19 stone stairs from the base to the upper
level of Crescent Park were declared necessary. June 18 the Council adopted
Detroit time as the standard, setting the city regular forward ten and a half
minutes. July 2 an iron bridge at Fulton street was declared necessary. August 7
the building of an engine house in the Eighth Ward was ordered. At the end of
October an ordinance was passed prohibiting the blowing of steam whistles in the
city, and was vetoed by the Mayor. November 6 the street lighting contract was
awarded the Michigan Iron Works Light and Power Company, and the Mayor vetoed
that. Electric lights went out of fashion for a short time, but a new contract
was made December 13, with the same company. November 19 the city time was
changed again, and a little later turned back 28 minutes to the Central
Standard.
1884. In January the inner walls of the first and second stories of the jail
were lined with boiler iron. February 25, the Street Railway Company was ordered
to lay double tracks in Canal and Monroe streets, and the repaving of Canal
street was declared necessary. May 12, formal orders were passed for the
repaving of Monroe and Canal streets. May 21, the Board of Public Works was
requested to begin the erection of the iron bridge at Fulton street. June 23,
the Street Railway Company was given permission to lay double tracks in Fulton,
Lagrave and East streets, and Wealthy Avenue. September 1, the Third Ward was
divided into two election precincts, Wealthy Avenue being the dividing line. The
Council in September decided that $6,000 be placed in the annual budget to begin
the building of the bridge at Sixth and Newberry streets; also for $20,000 for
the Fulton street bridge superstructure. November 2, it was voted that street
cars be taxed $15 per year. November 11, a report in Council was made in favor
of granting a cable road franchise on Lyon, Union and East Bridge streets, and
this recommendation was adopted. November 25, the triangular park at the head of
Monroe street was formally set apart for the erection of the monument and
fountain in memory of soldiers who had given their lives for their country.
1885. Two amendments to the city charter were drafted and approved by the
Council in January, and forwarded to the Legislature - one to grant women the
right to vote in school elections; the other with reference to the employment of
city prisoners in the jail. February 16, the Valley City Street and Cable
Railway ordinance was passed. April 25, the bid was accepted of R. L. Day &
Co., of Boston, to take the City Hall bonds at 105.03 and accrued interest;
netting a premium to the city of $6,925.50. June 2, an iron bridge at Pearl
street was declared necessary. June 15, the Common Council decided to accept a
proposition of the Electric Light and Power Company to light the city with
electricity by the tower system, at the cost of $26,000 a year, the city to own
the towers at the end of five years. This act was vetoed by the Mayor, and again
passed over his veto at the next meeting; but it was met June 27, by an
injunction issued from the Superior Court. Provision was made by the Board of
Police and Fire Commissioners, June 15, for putting into operation in their
departments the telephone and signal system. June 29, they were authorized to
place signal boxes inside the curb line at street corners. The question of
bonding the city in the sum of $300,000, for water works, was submitted to the
electors July 7, and negatived. The Common Council, in August, rented ground for
a wood and hay market on the west side of Kent street, between Hastings and
Trowbridge. December 21, the Council determined to make war upon English
sparrows, and the Poundmaster was instructed to exterminate them as speedily as
possible. There is no record of the number of birds impounded under this order.
About $78,250 was expended this year for street and sewer improvement.
1886. Among the acts of the first session of the Council in 1886 was one
authorizing the committee on buildings to sell the stone broken by the prisoners
in the jail-yard. January 11 an ordinance was passed for regulating the
construction of buildings. February 1, in Council, the scheme of killing
sparrows by municipal order was abandoned. From the annual reports at the close
of the fiscal year it appears that the bonded indebtedness of the city,
including school bonds, April 1, was $701,000. The State Supreme Court decided,
April 29, substantially, that the county had no title in the public square.
September 8, W. P. Coats, under contract with the Board of Public Works, laid a
cast-iron water main, 600 feet long and sixteen inches in diameter, across the
river near the pumping works. It was put together on stagings erected for the
purpose and lowered bodily into a trench excavated in the rock at the bottom of
the stream. A smaller, wrought iron, pipe had been put across there eleven years
before, but had become useless. The laying of this larger main without mishaps,
and in perfect condition, was considered a remarkable feat of engineering.
October 11 the Grand Rapids Hydraulic Company made a second offer to purchase
the water works of the city, and to pay therefor $465,066.39; or to lease and
perfect them at an annual rent of $25,000 for thirty years. The proposal was
referred to a committee who reported it adversely to the Council.
1887. At the election, April 4, the vote of the city on the Prohibition
amendment to the State Constitution, submitted by the Legislature, was - Yes,
1,385; No, 4,876. In May the Grand Rapids National Bank was made the depository
for city funds for a year. The fourteenth annual reunion of the State Firemen s
Association was held here, May 3 and 4. The association was given the use of the
Common Council Room for its deliberations; was warmly welcomed and tendered the
hospitalities of the city by the Mayor, and the Fire Department gave it special
opportunities for inspection of apparatus and engine houses, adding a review on
parade. May 16 a new electric light ordinance was passed. June 6 the Council
voted to extend the time for closing saloons and restaurants from 10 to 11 o
clock p.m.; and on the 20th they gave another hour, making midnight the closing
time, so far as a vote of the Aldermen could do that against the law of the
State which prescribed 10 o clock p.m. as the limit. An amendment to the city
charter, which took effect May 1, made important changes in regard to the duties
of the Treasurer and Marshal, also as to the Board of Health, and some other
matters. July 11 an ordinance was passed granting franchises in certain streets
to the Valley City Street and Cable Railway Company. July 22 Judge Burlingame of
the Superior Court rendered a decision to the effect that title to the public
square was vested in the city. September 12 right of way was granted in the city
for the Grand Rapids, Lansing and Detroit Railroad. The Cherry street railway
ordinance, at a third trial, and after two vetoes by the Mayor, was passed
October 10. The Board of Public Works contracted for an elevator in the City
Hall early in August. In October the Council contracted with the Phoenix
Furniture Company for furnishing the rooms of the City Hall. The so-called
iron-clad liquor law became operative in the latter part of September. Its very
stringent provisions may be found in the statute books.
1888. The Council, January 3, changed the amount of fine imposed for
violation of the street ordinances, from a sum not exceeding $500 to one of not
less than $1 nor more than $25. January 9, several ordinances were amended, and
an ordinance relative to vagrants passed in 1875 was repealed. January16, a
resolution was adopted in Council recommending the raising by the county of
$150,000 to building a court house. The Valley City Street and Cable Railway
Company, on January, was granted a franchise in Grand Avenue north from Crescent
Avenue. Ordinances relative to fires, dogs, buildings and obstructions along the
river shores, the storage of inflammable or explosive oils or fluids, the fire
alarm telegraph, and houses of ill-fame, were amended. There was much similar
legislation by the municipal legislature during 1888, amounting nearly to a
general revision of the ordinances. The April election returns showed 9,362
votes cast in the city. The Mayor s annual report showed the bonded debt of the
city, including school bonds, to be $768,000. The Treasurer s report, April 21,
showed a balance of $184,455.15 in the treasury. The assessments during the year
for general and special purposes had been $283,030. Among the early acts of the
incoming Council was the granting of upward of one hundred and forty licenses
for liquor saloons. The ordinance relative to building within fire limits was
materially amended in June. September 26 the new City Hall was dedicated with
formal ceremonies. The Council met in the old rooms for the purpose of bidding
them good-bye, which was done by giving three cheers; after which, the members,
led by a band of music, marched to the new hall. The first session of the
Council in its new quarters was held October 1. The persons having positions for
the care of the hall had been previously appointed. The Custodian was Charles T.
Brenner.
1889. January 15 the Council passed a resolution allowing the boys and girls
to slide down hill with sleds on several streets. In the latter part of February
the Common Council petitioned the Legislature for authority to procure by loan
$80,000 to improve the water works, extend the mains, and erect a stand pipe.
The act was passed, and the work done this year. An ordinance granting a
water-gas franchise was passed March 4. October 14 the Street Railway Company
was granted a franchise to use electricity as a motive power for street cars.
Most of the rest of municipal doings to this date were of the usual business
routine order. September 27 the annual tax budget, amounting to $351,423.33, was
adopted. By ordinance a portion of Almy and Oakes streets has been vacated, to
give more room for railroad station and tract uses adjacent to the Union Depot.
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