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A PIONEER MINISTER BY REV. SUPPLY CHASE
APRIL 21, 1873
There were few daily mails, no railroads, and, in winter, nothing better than the stage coach. At this time the country from Pontiac to Utica was quite thickly settled, although much of it was uncultivated. From Utica to Mt. Clemens was mostly a dense wilderness, with the settlers' cabins in the midst; some just beginning; others with a few acres cleared, but all struggling with the difficulties of making farms in a heavily timbered country. No roads, only as we found our way among the giant trees.
MOUNT CLEMENS IN THE EARLY TIMES.
Mt. Clemens at this time was one of the promising towns of Eastern Michigan. A year or two previous to the time of which we write, C. C. Cooley had purchased the farm of Hon. C. Clemens, and, imbued with the spirit of the times, had platted a city, very beautiful on paper, with broad streets and avenues, and by advertising, etc., many men from New York and New England had been induced to purchase lots and improve them, so that a town had. grown up of 800 or 1, 000 inhabitants. Here all was bustle and expectation.
Town lots were advancing, extensive improvements were proposed, and all expected it to become the center of power and influence. Such being the case, it was soon surrounded by a cordon of suburban villages whose very names at this day are almost forgotten. On the south was Marcellus, on the west was the city of Frederick. On the east, at the mouth of the Clinton river, was the city of Belvidere, and on the southeast was Long Scauise, on the margin of Lake St. Clair, which was to be connected either by railroad or canal
Michigan
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