The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1905-12-29


in the manner of building them. AT
the outset the roadway was eXcavated
to the depth OF about eight inches or
trifle more. Then fiat limestone was
placed in the roadbed, and on top OF
this was placed layer Of coarse crush.
ed stone, and the top dressing was a
layer of finer crushed stone. Expert.
ence showed that the foundation stones
would work out of place and rut3
would form in the road. These fiat
stones were then entirely discarded and
the crushed stone used in their place.
This plan is yet followed
Under the stone road system of Bay
county as it Is followed nearly every
farmer is on stone highway or with
in short distance Of one, so that he is
never deprived of an opportunity of
going to the city. No weather was
ever yet experienced when the stone
roads were in such a condition where
they could not allow a farmer to take
a full load of produce to market Dur
ing the sugar beet season it is not an
uAANOliiliOli W StC a llltI otd-
ton load Of beets upon stone road
and then haul another load from the
farm over Il clay road to load it upon
the standing wagon for drawing to the
factory-in other words, he is enabled
to draw two and three times as many
beets on the stone roads as he can on
Il clay road.
The farmers invariably use wide
tired wagons. Formerly narrow tires
prevailed, but it was soon found that
in rainy seasons they cut holes through
the stone. The size of loads drawn
by the capacity of the wagon.
There isn't Il farmer in Bay county
who is not ia favor of the stone roads.
A farm on one of these highways is
considered Of much more value than
one off on side road. While it is i'm
possible to say accurately how much
more a farm on Il stone road is worth
than it would be with no stone road, it
is known that the owner Of the place
considers it of inestimable advantage.
benefit and value. 1t saves time, wear
and tear OH wagon and harness; he can
haul larger loads, he is not isolated in
rainy weather, smaller team can ac-
complish much more than otherwise,
and there is the satisfaction of know
ing that he can come and go Just when
ever he pleases without giving any con-
sideration to weather conditions.
While the cost of supporting these
stone thoroughfares, these arteries OF
trade, falls more heavily upon the own
er of city property than upon the farm
er or the owner Of agricultural land,
there is no complaint made by the
city landowner. He figures that in the
long run his city property is made
much more valuable by the upbuilding
of the farming section, and he pays
his stone road tax willingly. What has
been the effect Of the stone roads upon
counties? Bay City draws
trade from as far east as Sebewaing
Huron county, as far southeast as Vas
sar, Tuscola county, and along the
southern line Of the county, where the
stone roads run bang up to the Sagi-
nav county line. Saginaw county farm
ers come to Bay City as their market,
and they do their trading here. The
same can be said of the farmers In the
Of Midland. The farmers all
know about the stone roads of Bay
and they come here on that ac-
count as well as the fact that they find
a good market here for all of their
farm produce.
Bay county has almost reached its
limit in the building of main highways.
What building will be done in the fu-
ture will be in connecting the ends of
the main roads as spider connects
the main branches Of his web. This
will accommodate the farmers living off
the stone roads and tend to enhance
the value Of farms which are not now
considered desirable. because they are
somewhat handicapped compared with
others more favored.