Near Spring Arbor in Jackson County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Letter From Mrs Matilda of Albion... March, 1914
Photographed By Craig Doda, July 3, 2020
1. Letter From Mrs Matilda of Albion... March, 1914 Marker
Inscription.
Letter From Mrs Matilda of Albion... March, 1914. . I am thinking of old Spring Arbor and when we first came to Michigan in 1831. I do not remember the exact date that we left Allen, Allegheny County, New York, but we reached Detroit the last day of May or first of June and lived near Fort Dearborn until the last of July. Then with ox team we started for Jacksonburg, Michigan.
We had to ford every stream until we reached Grass Lake. In Jackson the team got mired in the mud where the Hibbard hotel used to stand (Ostego).
I have heard our folks tell there were 16 of us, old and young, who came and we wintered in the shanty which stood at the head of Spring Brook (River) and the spring came out of the ground by the door.
Our shanty or house was made of split logs and then hewed off until smooth. It was 11' wide, 22' long, 6' and 4” high on the back side and 10' high in front. It had one door made of split logs hewed off and hung with wooden hinges. It had no chimny but flat stones set up and no hearth but flat stones layed down and all the light came through a hole cut in the roof where the smoke went out. But I tell you everyone had enough to eat if they could only kill and cook. The forests were full of honey, wild fruits, nuts and game. The streams were full of fish and the woods full of Indians, but they were the peaceful kind and no one even got a black eye by coming in contact with them.
I think, also, of the four old Indian chiefs who lived neighbor to us when we came to Spring Arbor in Aug, 1831. Wappageek, Jim Sundown, Big Kettle, Leather Nose were their names. The hut where these old chiefs lived was built on the east side of he road where the land comes down to the marsh; not the road that goes west by the station, but the road that comes down by the Tefft place and is called the Spring Arbor Road to Grandfather Worth's place. The hut was built close by the marsh and I have been in it with father and sat on old Wappageek's lap.
I am thinking of old Spring Arbor and when we first came to Michigan in 1831. I do not
remember the exact date that we left Allen, Allegheny County, New York, but we reached
Detroit the last day of May or first of June and lived near Fort Dearborn until the last of July.
Then with ox team we started for Jacksonburg, Michigan.
We had to ford every stream until we reached Grass Lake. In Jackson the team got
mired in the mud where the Hibbard hotel used to stand (Ostego).
I have heard our folks tell there were 16 of us, old and young, who came and we
wintered in the shanty which stood at the head of Spring Brook (River) and the spring came
out of the ground by the door.
Our shanty or house was made of split logs and then hewed off until smooth. It was
11' wide, 22' long, 6' and 4” high on the back side and 10' high in front. It had one door
made of split logs hewed off and hung with wooden hinges. It had no chimny but flat stones
set up and no hearth but flat stones layed down and all the light came through a hole cut in
the roof where the smoke went out. But I tell you everyone had enough to eat if they could
only kill and cook. The forests were full of honey, wild fruits, nuts and game. The streams
were full of fish and the woods full of Indians, but they were the peaceful kind and no one
even got a
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black eye by coming in contact with them.
I think, also, of the four old Indian chiefs who lived neighbor to us when we came to
Spring Arbor in Aug, 1831. Wappageek, Jim Sundown, Big Kettle, Leather Nose were their
names. The hut where these old chiefs lived was built on the east side of he road where
the land comes down to the marsh; not the road that goes west by the station, but the road
that comes down by the Tefft place and is called the Spring Arbor Road to Grandfather
Worth's place. The hut was built close by the marsh and I have been in it with father and sat
on old Wappageek's lap.
Location. 42° 11.35′ N, 84° 34.517′ W. Marker is near Spring Arbor, Michigan, in Jackson County. Marker is on Hammond Road, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Spring Arbor MI 49283, United States of America. Touch for directions.
More about this marker. On the grounds of the Falling Water Park.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 27, 2021. It was originally submitted on January 22, 2021, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. This page has been viewed 160 times since then and 8 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on January 22, 2021, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
