This record must be paragraphed briefly, in the form of annals.
Minor details, and more comprehensive descriptions, would make of it too
long a chapter. But these will be of abiding interest.
1833. The pioneer family had been here just eleven days, and
had scarcely begun building their house at the foot of Monroe street. The
ladies, and those of the trading station, took tea together, and there
is a tradition that Uncle Louis and Uncle Joel, and the few other men about,
remembered the day temperately, with a slight moistening; also, that the
missionary on the west side, tried to explain to the Indians why the Fourth
of July was a day of jubilee among the Americans.
1834. Alvin Wansey was captain on parade, and nearly every other
man in the settlement was next in rank. They formed a procession on the
Indian path where Monroe street is. Robert M. Barr was at the head with
his fiddle. They marched up the trail and down and about, and sang and
shouted, and fiddled and hurrahed. Many Indians joined in the sport. They
went across the river and had more marching, and Chief Blackskin laughed
then if he never did at any other time in his life. Then they had a ride
down the river and back in bateaux. What the fur traders and the priest
did, nobody has recorded.
1835. Small neighborhood gathering and dinner at a farm house
south of town. Speech making brief; but much patriotic merriment.
1836. Dinner on Prospect Hill, at which nearly everybody in the
settlement was present. Among them, yet surviving, were Dr. Charles Shepard,
Charles G. Mason, Alanson Cramton, and Mrs. Harriet Burton. Cramton's bugle
was the leading and usually the only instrument for patriotic music in
those days.
1837. An excursion down the river on the new steamer "Governor
Mason" to Grandville and back. Celebration, with oration, on the boat.
Alanson Cramton, with his bugle, furnished music. A pioneer used to call
it the liveliest Fourth he ever saw. Four liberty poles were raised at
Grandville, but not one was standing when night came.
1838. A celebration, with dinner and speeches, at a house where
the Peninsular Club building now stands, and a procession headed by the
Marshal of the Day, over the hill and down the steep declivity at Pearl
street, to the foot of Monroe, and thence to the National Hotel.
1839. Celebration where now is the northwest corner of the city,
near Billius Stocking's residence. Two tamarack poles were raised. Daniel
C. Stocking read the Declaration of Independence, printed on cloth in the
center of a bedquilt, and delivered a brief oration. A crowd gathered round,
who took the larger liberty pole and offered to plant it for the man who
first offered a bottle of brandy. Lovell Moore took it, and it was set
in front of the Mission house, where he then lived.
1840. Long tables were spread on the east bank of the river a
short distance above Huron street, in a bower constructed of green bushes,
thrown upon stakes and poles, where Canton Smith spread a sumptuous dinner,
liquid refreshments included without extra charge. Indians from the west
side were invited over, and feasted. Ira S. Hatch danced a jig upon the
tables after the dinner. Chief Mex-ci-ne-ne offered a toast, "The Pale
Faces and the Red Men."
1841. The Fourth came on Sunday, celebration on the 3d; 13 guns
at sunrise; 26 guns at sunset (on Prospect Hill); exercises at the court
house. The Young Men's Association had a little celebration at 9a.m. in
the room of the Dutch Reformed Church, with oration by Lewis Tower. President
of the Day, John Almy; Orator, Simon M. Johnson. Temperance celebration
at Grandville on the 5th; Orator, George Martin; Temperance Address by
James Ballard.
1842. Boat ride on steamer Paragon to Grandville and back; celebration
at Court House. President, George Coggeshall; Orator, Silas G. Harris.
Dinner at National Hotel. Guns, of course. Nobody intoxicated. Down-the-river
folks had a celebration at Tallmadge. Orator, the Rev. C. Church.
1843. Thirteen big guns on Prospect Hill at sunrise, and 26 at
sunset. Excursion down the river and back by steamer Paragon, Capt. W.
Sibley. Celebration exercises in Congregational Church. President, Lucius
Lyon; Orator, Charles H. Taylor. Dinner at National Hotel.
1844. Salute at sunrise. Excursion to Grandville on the steamer
Paragon; fare 50 cents. Procession at home, also, and exercises at the
Congregational Church. President, John Almy; Orator, Thos. B. Church; music
by the band. Dinner at the Mansion House, $1 per couple.
1845. Firing of salutes. General jubilee, but no formal exercises.
The temperance people held a celebration on the west side of the river.
Oration by G. L. Rogers. Temperance toasts in cold water, with cheers and
guns but no other instrumental music, and many signed the pledge.
1846. No organized celebration. Day enjoyed by everybody in his
or her own way. Thus it would appear from the newspaper silence concerning
what was or was not done.
1847. No formal observance of the day. Several family and neighborhood
reunions. A number of parties took lumber wagon rides out of town to attend
country balls.
1848. President of the Day, Joshua Boyer; Orator, James Miller.
Salute of 13 guns at sunrise, and 30 at sunset. Procession to the Congregational
church, where the exercises of the day were held.
1849. No preconcerted programme. Business suspended, and the
boys enjoyed themselves with candy, fire-crackers and powder. The ladies
of St. Mark's church served refreshments.
1850. The day was observed in a highly creditable manner. Orator,
R. P. Sinclair. Procession, including three fire companies, marched to
the National Hotel, where refreshments were served.
1851. Observed with salutes, procession, exercises at the Swedenborgian
church on Division street, and dinner at Rathbun House. President, John
Almy; Orator, the Rev. F. A. Blades.
1852. The citizens celebrated in the good old fashioned style,
with salutes, procession, exercises on the Public Square, and dinner at
National Hotel. President, John Almy; Orator, Thos. B. Church.
1853. Exercises on the Public Square. Orator, A. J. Eldred. Dinner
at the National Hotel. Fire works in the evening, which by accident mostly
exploded together, creating a sensation not down in the programme.
1854. Usual ceremonies. Procession. Exercises on Island No. 1.
President, John M. Fox; Orator, P. R. L. Peirce. Music by the Valley City
Band. Dinner at National Hotel. Fireworks on the Island and on Prospect
Hill.
1855. Thirty-one guns at sunrise, with ringing of bells. Procession.
Exercises and dinner on Island No. 1, reached by a foot bridge. President,
Truman H. Lyon; Orator, Flavius J. Littlejohn. Fireworks, followed by a
torchlight procession in the evening.
1856. Gathering on the Public Square. Oration by Lucius Patterson.
Dinners at places about town. Good time generally. Fireworks on the Park
in the evening. Frank White had his left hand nearly all shot away by a
premature discharge of the cannon.
1857. Cannon and bells. Procession to Public Square. President,
George Martin; Orator, S. S. N. Greeley. Valley City Guards, Capt. D. McConnell,
on parade. Dinner and toasts at the National.
1858. Three military and three fire companies in procession,
also Sons of St. Patrick, Common Council, Old Settlers, old soldiers, and
Barnhart's Band. Orator, Thomas D. Warrall. Guns and bells in morning.
Dinner at Rathbun House. Exercises on the Park. Pyrotechnic display on
the Park in the evening.
1859. Usual noise of guns and bells in morning, and crackers
all day; an unusual number of strangers in town, estimated at 15,000. Oration
by Rev. Courtney Smith on the Public Square. Grand Rapids Guards and Artillery
in procession with band. Balloon ascension from Square, by W. D.
Bannister. He landed about three miles west of the city.
1860. Enthusiastic celebration. Guns and bells. Estimated that
20,000 visitors were in town. Long procession. Exercises on the Public
Square. Oration by Chancellor Tappan of the State University. Procession
of "Antique Horribles." Greased pole contest for silver watch at top; taken
by Samuel Stout. Wheelbarrow races blindfolded, first prize, $5, awarded
Madison Welch. Various festivals in the evening.
1861. The Third Infantry Regiment of volunteers had left for
the field. Recruiting for more and for two cavalry regiments had begun.
Celebration on the Public Square. The citizens had erected the tallest
liberty pole ever put there, with a long streamer bearing the motto: "The
Union, Now and Forever, One and Inseparable." Large gathering. Oration
by Thomas B. Church. The "Horribles" paraded; a laughable sight, but at
the coming on of civil war seemed sadly out of time.
1862. The darkest period of the war was upon us, and patriotism
was tempered with serious apprehensions and forebodings. Celebration on
the Public Square, but less joyous and enthusiastic than usual. Oration
by George Gray.
1863. City full of people. Steamboats and excursion trains crowded.
President of the Day, Judge S. L. Withey; Orator, U. S. Senator Jacob M. Howard.
Exercises on Island No. 1. Balloon ascension from same place, by Prof.
Ayeres.
1864. Impromptu celebration. Little display. Exercises in Hovey's
grove, west side. President of the Day, Henry Fralick; Orator, Col. George
Gray. Soldiers' fair, by the ladies.
1865. Being just after the close of the war, the celebration
this year was naturally enthusiastic, and notable for the length of the
procession, and for the dinner given the soldiers on the Pearl Street Bridge.
President of the Day, Judge S. L. Withey; Orator, the Rev. Robert M. Hatfield,
of Chicago. Exercises in Hovey's grove. Salute at sunset. Fireworks from
Crescent hill.
1866. Ordinary celebration. Exercises in the grove north of East
Fulton street on the hill. President, Henry Fralick; Orator, Phillip
J. D. VanDyke, of Detroit.
1867.Elaborate celebration. Special trains on the railroads.
President, W. D. Foster; Orator, Byron G. Stout, of Pontiac. Dinner at
the Rathbun House. Fireworks at night.
1868. The new steam fire engines, "David Caswell" and "Louis
Campau" were prominent features of the procession. The "Horribles" added
to the general merriment, but were not a complete success. President, Henry
Fralick; Orator, Thos. B. Church. Fireworks from Island No. 2.
1869. Sunday. Celebration by the Saengerbund Society in Pettibone's
garden on the west side. Monday, the fifth, was informally observed, and
rather quietly celebrated. Business generally suspended. Steamboat and
railroad excursions. Good Templars had a social gathering in Hovey's grove,
and a sumptuous dinner was given in the lower hall of Sweet's Hotel by
the ladies of the Congregational Church Society.
1870. There were the usual salutes, and procession, witnessed
by crowds of people. Exercises in the skating rink, on Waterloo street.
President, Henry Fralick; Orator, George B. Jocelyn. Balloon ascension
in the afternoon by Prof. LaMountain. who landed in the town of Cascade.
1871. The usual booming of cannon, clangor of bells, and noise
of explosives at the hands of patriotic Young America. An immense crowd,
long procession, and exercises at Fulton Street Park. President, Charles
H. Taylor. Addresses by prominent citizens. Dinners given by civic and
religious societies in various parts of the city. The fireworks comprised
thirty-three pieces. The "Horribles" or "Birds of Paradise," had a grand
and unique street display.
1872. No general celebration. Many citizens visited Grand Haven,
at which place a celebration was held, and the Cutler House was formally
opened.
1873. An attractive programme was arranged by the Turn Verein
Society, including a procession, and exercises in the Fulton Street Park.
Orator, Col. I. E. Messmore.
1874. No general celebration. The Arion Society celebrated at
Tusch's garden, West Side. The Caledonians assembled by Reeds Lake at Miller's
Landing, and the Grand Rapids Guard picnicked at the Pioneer grounds, Reeds
Lake.
1875. Sunday. Remembered by informal gatherings at Reeds Lake,
and at Turn Verein Hall. Monday, the fifth, Barnum's Circus exhibited on
the West Side. Over 20,000 visitors were in town. In the afternoon several
representatives of the press---Robert Wilson of the Eagle, F. E. Jeffres
of the Times, Ed. J. Clark of the Democrat, and Sid F. Stevens of the Saturday
Evening Post---made a balloon ascension in company with Prof. Donaldson,
to the tune of "Up in a balloon boys" by the band, and landed about six
miles out of town toward Ada.
1876. Centennial year. The citizens of Grand Rapids had one of
the finest celebrations in all the country. There were notably fine decorations,
chief among them the centennial arch on Campau place. Smaller arches were
reared on Canal and West Bridge streets. Forepaugh's circus was in town,
and formed a part of the parade, which was the largest ever seen here.
Exercises in Fulton Street Park. Orator, T. B. Church. About 25,000 people
from outside visited the city.
1877. A respectable procession and the usual ceremonies at the
Park. Judge S. L. Withey was President of the Day, with a Vice-President
from every ward in the city, and nearly every township of the county. Orator,
T. F. Hildreth. The Caledonians had a picnic at the lake, and there was
a cricket match between the Milwaukee and Grand Rapids clubs on the fair
grounds.
1878. The celebration of the 102d anniversary was creditable
to the city, consisting of the usual procession and exercises. Charles
Fluhrer, Orator. In the afternoon was a fantastic procession of "Horribles."
1879. No general public celebration. The German citizens spent
the day at the German Workingmen's gardens, West Side, and the Caledonians
at Reeds Lake.
1880. Sunday. No formal celebration. Young America began to enjoy
the festive fire-cracker and stick of candy on Saturday, and on Monday
places of business were generally closed. The Grand Rapids Guard had a
picnic, drill and target-shoot on the Black Hills. The German Workingmen's
Society passed the day at their garden on Jefferson street; oration by
T. B. Church.
1881. The shooting of President Garfield on the 2d of July turned
the day for rejoicing to one of sadness and suspence. About 20,000 strangers
were in the city to witness one of the finest displays Grand Rapids ever
made. Exercises in the Park. President, Col. I. E. Messmore; Orator, Emery
A. Storrs, of Chicago.
1882. Long procession, municipal and military, with numerous
trades displays. Prize drill and sham battle at the fair ground. Exercises
in Fulton Street Park. President, Capt. H. N. Moore; Orator, Spruille Burford.
1883. Very quiet. Many citizens went to Reeds Lake, Kalamazoo,
Muskegon and Grand Haven.
1884. No formal observance. The usual noise of fire-crackers
and tin horns.
1885. This year the citizens took two days in which to expend
their patriotism---the third and fourth---and made as fine a celebration
as was ever known here. The decorations were profuse, and the programme
for both days, including fireworks at the close of each, was excellent
and well executed. Exercises on the Fourth, in Fulton Street Park. President,
E. F. Uhl; Orator, Maj. A. B. Morse, of Ionia.
1886. Not an eminently successful celebration, though well laid
out. There was a procession, and a holiday service in Fulton Street Park.
Oration by John W. Stone. "Horribles" in the afternoon.
1887. Showers in the morning had a tendency to dampen both ardor
and gunpowder, but, the sun coming out brightly, later in the day a very
pleasant celebration was had, mostly at Reeds Lake, where numerous attractions
were offered, including boat-races, swimming-races, tub race, and fireworks.
There was a military drill at the fair grounds, well attended.
1888. Salute at sunrise, 100 guns. Grand parade. Trades display
pronounced by committee the finest ever made in Michigan. Exercises at
the Park. President, Edwin F. Uhl; Orator, W. P. Wells, of Detroit. Fireworks
in the evening at the Sixth Street Bridge.
1889. The central feature of the celebration was the laying of
the corner stone of the County Court House. There was a long street parade,
and an address by Marsden C. Burch. President of the Day, Col. George G.
Briggs. Fireworks at Sixth Street Bridge in evening. Large crowds went
to Reeds Lake and indulged in various festivities.