San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-04-29
TIE Daify tiqGt
THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 1897.
LOST AMERICAN HAVRE.
The Waters of Lake Erie Cover a
Once Promising Village.

Within a few miles of the corpora
ton line of Toledo lies the site of a
lost village, which was peopled not long
ago by several hundred souls. Its eX-
istence is almost forgotten, and only
few of the Oldest inhabitants are able
to indicate even vaguely where the town
once stood. The blue waters of Lake
Erie ripple over town lots and building
lots which, it was hoped, would some
day bring great wealth to the project
ors of the village.
A few miles north of Toledo, Ten
mile creek, dignifed by geOgraphers
with the name of Ottawa river, marks
the boundary on the lake front between
Ohio and Michigan. On the north bank
of the stream, just within Monroe coun-
ty, Mich, is the site of what once was
the town of Hayre. 1t was not hamlet,
such as is gradually formed around a
few fishing shanties when a country
is young, but town that was created
by hundreds of colOnists. When Havre
was laid out it was the only place that
was more than mere settlement be-
tween Monroe, Mich, and historic old
Maumee, o. Toledo was only name,
for when the colonists landed, in 1886,
this city was just a year old, and its
future growth was highly problemat-
ical. 1t was situated II miles from the
island that marks the western end of
the lake, while Havre, situated to the
north of Gard island, was practically
on the broad highway of waters.
The colonists were brought to the site
of the town by the steamer Superior
from Buffalo. 1t is probable that this
steamer was the first craft other than
an Indian canoe that had ever ventured
into the channel between Gard island
and the mainland. Many of the colon
lists of Havre were French, and they
named the new town after the famous
port in their mother country. Denis
Norm, whose descendants still live on
the water front near the old town site,
laid out the streets with his pillow and
helped to grade the location of the
principal buildings. Old Peter Trevick,
who is still living in Vienna, Mich,
also helped to build the town. Houses
rose rapidly. A first-rate church was
built, and stores out of all proportion
TO the business of that day, and a COM
modious tavern was erected. In short,
within two years from the time the
first colonists landed, 500 houses had
been built along the water front, and
the little steamer that piled between
Detroit, Monroe and Maumee found
profitable trading at Havre.
Then came the Cataclysm. Old Lake
Erie began slowly to rise. The town
was only few feet above the level of
the creek, and the country was marshy.
1t was at first thought that it was only
a remarkable stage of high water. But
the water came over the stills of the
doors nearest the lake, and slowly but
surely rose higher and higher. House
after house was invaded. and the pretty
little creek mouth gradually widened
until it was nearly mile across. On the
water came until the floors in the high
est portion of the town stood four feet
deep in the water. The people were,
Of course, badly frightened. With
everything that could float, they hur-
ried to the highest spot on the main
land and waited for the end. Finding
after day or two that the waters had
apparently ceased to rise, they returned
and took away all the property that
could be moved by the old-fashioned
canoes, which were an indispensable
adjunct to every French trapper's out
lit The boats were rowed right into
the houses, and when it came to trans
porting the barrels of good liquor with
which the tavern taproom was stocked,
there was many poor Frenchman who
had an opportunity Of drinking better
spirits than he had ever tasted before.
In fact, the whole settlement had about
as memorable drunk as this part of
the country had ever seen
Then came what is still remembered
as the big winter. Tenmile creek was
frozen to its bottom, and the snow
was very deep. The founders of Havre,
who had encamped along the water
front against the dav when the puafaru