The true northerner., 1898-07-27

INTERESTING HISTORICAL SKETCH READ
BEFORE THE COUNTY PIONEER AssocIA-
TIoN.
Continued From Las, Week.

in having postoffice established in Ant
werp on the territorial road, and Rea-
son Holiness who was the first incumbent
of the office, kept it at his tavern. Phillip
Williams was the next postmaster, and
upon the completion of the Michigan
Central railroad to Mattawan, the Office
was removed thither and the name
changed to Mattawan.
The territorial road, which passed be-
tween Detroit and st. Joseph, was con
structed in 1885, and the considerable
traffic upon that highway gave occasion,
of course, for the creation of numerous
roadside taverns, many of which, in the
prosperous coaching days, were places
of some note. That portion of the road
passing through Antwerp township in a
straight line east and west was laid out
and constructed by Cyrus Bur1ick of
Kalamazoo. On the Antwerp road Jesse
Able was the first to open tavern. His
place was on section and consisted sim
ply of a log cabin with couple of sleep
ing rooms in the second story, and below
a kitchen and eating room. Mr.. Able
kept his tavern until the stage route was
abandoned, and lived there afterwards
as a farmer until his death.
The pioneer miller of Antwerp was
Samuel Wells who in 1896, put upa saw
mill on section 20. In 1919 Wells sold
the mill to Charles Whaley and ID. Long
cor, and in 1882 they sold to Ira Carpen-
ter, and in 1855 the property was trans
ferred to Cowgirl brothers. In 1865 Cow
gill, McKeyes a Co. put up the Monitor
mills, which were run by the same water
power Some years later these mills
were sold to f.. Beam & Sons, who, about
two years ago, moved the buildings and
machinery TO Lawton, where they are now
in successful operation.
Parnell II Houck built steam grist
and saw mill at Lawton. In 1873 both
mills were burned. 4 steam saw mill
built by DIR. John Shanklin and Peter
Mott at Lawton in 1853 was blown up
Shanklin and ~ H. Bitely, and in 1869
was destroyed by fire.
Antwerp township was organized un-
der an act of the legislature approved
March IL, 1887. 1t contained then, as
it does now, an area of six miles square
At the first township meeting, held
on the first Monday in April, 1887, at the
home of Phillip Williams, Joseph Wood
man was chosen moderator, Samuel o.
Wells, John A. Lyon, and John X. Bing
ham, inspectors, and Phillip Williams
clerk of the election. The officers chosen
were: Supervisor Andrew Longstreet:
clerk, John X. Bingham; assessors, The
ophilus Bangs, Reason Holmes, Joel
Tomlinson: commissioners of highways,
Joshua Bangs, Jesse Able, Joel Tomlin
son: constable and collector, John Hill:
directors of the poor, Jesse Able, Pat
rick Johnson. At a special election held
May 4. 1887, John Cooper, Reason
Holmes, Joseph Woodman and Phillip
Williams were chosen justices of the
peace and John Cooper, Samuel o. Wells
and John \. Lyon, school inspectors.
LAYTON VILLAGE.
In 1919 Nathan Lawton of Watertown,
y. Y, owned the land upon which the
business portion of Lawton is now To-
Gated, and when the place was selected
by the Michigan Central railroad for a
station, Mr.. Lawton laid out town.
When in 1851 a postoffice was about to
he established, Col. Andrew Longstreet,
upon an application to that end, christen-
ed it "Lawton" i'm honor of its proprietor.
Mr.. Lawton had previously donated ten
acres of land for railway depot buildings,
which were erected in 1913. Mr.. Law
ton, for whom the place was named, was
at no time a resident of Michigan, al
though two of his sons, George w. and
Charles D., were citizens of Lawton
village for many years.
When the Michigan Central railroad
was being constructed at the point now
called Lawton, then a wilderness of
brambe bushes, Henry Mcneil opened
store in log cabin near the line of the
road Mr.. Mcneil supplied the railway
laborers with store goods, but dealt
largely i'm whiskey, of which the railroad
hands consun ed large quantities. He
made considerable money at keeping
store at Lawton, and removed to Mime
sofa. While Mcneil was keeping store
there, Gilbert ID. johnson of Paw Paw
opened a store near NcNell ana Called
it "The Farmers Headquarters. Horace
Sebring and John Ihling put up hotel
where the Robinson House now stands,
but they soon after sold out to II. S.
Armstrong, who died in the hotel in
in 1853. Hight & Smith succeeded as
landlords, and sold out in 1866 to George
w. Robinson and brother, who, in two
weeks after coming into possession, were
burned out. They at once rebuilt the
present Robinson house. G.. w. Robin
son carried on the hotel business to the
date of his death. His widow sold the
business to George III. Rix and he to
Fred II. Giddings, the present landlord.
Next to Johnson in the order of success
sion as to storekeepers were John Nc
Kinney & Sons, w. j. Sellick, Livingston
Mcneil, Nathaniel Leonard, Fairbanks
IL SERVER, w. III. Smith, George p. Smith,
Smith Il Ingalls,, Dr. Root, Munger
Bros, n. b. Mckinney and others. Law
ton grew slowly in its infancy, and in
1854, when n. II. Bitely located in the