John B. Phillips built the first steamboat at Port Huron.

In 1833, Military street or the Military road was laid out, and the first bridge over Black River built.

PORT HUUON IN 1826.

The Congress of 1825-26 made provisions for the construction of a military road between Detroit and Fort Gratiot, and Amos Mead, of Farmington, Harvey Parke, of Pontiac, and Conrad Ten Eycke, of Wayne County, were appointed Commissioners to lay out and establish the same. The Commissioners met at Detroit early in June, and the relator of this reminiscence, then a boy of eighteen years, was employed to carry the force end of the chain. The starting post was struck near the present site of the City Hall and Market, which at that time was at some distance from any building, out on the common. Harvey Parke was a practical surveyor, a man of gentlemanly bearing and a fine scholar.

Pushing on from the starting point, in a direct line for Mount Clemens, on the third day we struck the twentieth mile stake, opposite the court house in that village. From Mount Clemens we took as straight a line as we could for Fort Gratiot. About four miles south of The next

Belle River, we struck a heavy windfall of timber, where we camped for the night. morning we started on, creeping as we could through the dense mass of fallen timber, and halted at noon on the bank uf Belle River for our cook and packer to come up with provis ions. Here we waited until next day, enduring a fast of thirty hours. The windfall proved to be of much greater extent than we had supposed, and, in seeking to get around it, our cook and packer had to travel many miles eastward, and then work their way back to strike our lines. Though deprived of our tent and provisions, and feeling the ksen demands of appetite, we had rather a social time, as Deacon Erastus Ingersol, of Farmington, the axman of the party, told several stories of a funny character. The deacon was a large, fleshy man, and, it being warm weather, he had divested himself of coat and vest, retaining only his pants and a thin cotton shirt to protect him from tha hordes of mosquitoes that sought to refresh themselves from the deacon's store of blood. With the aid of punk, flint and steel, carried by one of the party, we succeeded in getting up a fire; but despite the smoke, in which the deacon sought to hide from his tormentors, he had a hard time of it. Passing over Belle River and other intervening streams with swamps and marshes, we struck the bank of Black River, some distance above the present site of Port Huron. The only inhabitants of what is now Port Huron were John Riley and his wife—half-breeds—who lived in a block-house of two rooms, on the south bank of Black River, a little above what is now known as Military street, and a Frenchman, who occupied a frame house just south of Riley's. On the north side of the river stood a board shanty, occupied by a man who was a graduate of some Eastern college—a man of culture, but who, disappointed in love, or some other such affair, had strayed into the wilderness and was then following the trade of a cooper. At that time, Fort Gratiot was a tumble-down affair, with a few block-houses within the embankments of the fort, occupied by some fishermen and their families. The site of Port Huron was then owned by John Riley, the half-breed just named. He was not only proprietor of the place, but the chief of a band of Indians, the most of them, at that date, residing on the opposite shore of the St. Clair. He had been educated at the Presbyterian Mission at Mackinaw, and read and spoke gond English. He was a gentlemanly appearing man, mild in his address, and expressed a willingness to have the road pass through his premises, if the public good required it. He dressed after the fashion of the

whites, but his wife, a full-blooded Indian, though neat aud ti3y in appearance, dressed in true Indian style. At that early date, who could have dreamed that on that rude, wild spot, a city of goodly proportions was to arise? Yet so it was to be.

SALE OF BUILDING LOTS.

The following is a list of building lots, sold at Port Huron, by D. B. Harrington, between the years 1835 and 1841, with the date of sale and amount of purchase money. In the general history, the names of all real or personal property owners in the village in 1821 are given:

The financial crisis of 1837 ended, confidence began to reign, and the people resumed their wonted occupations. A brief period was afforded them to realize all the dangers which had surrounded them, all the dangers through which they had passed, and to make a survey of the wreck caused by financial depression on the one side, and by famine and disease on the other. They saw the bones of their former savage neighbors lying scattered over the Indian garden plots, along the river banks, and, seeing, regretted their oft-repeated wish that the Indian would die. The new solitude was real; the red men who varied the monotony of life in the wilderness were gone; and the few who remained were so stricken with the calamity which had fallen upon their band, that moroseness was added to their natural stoicism, rendering them at once objects to bo pitied and to be feared. In 1838 or 1830, the last of the ludians left this country; a little later, a business revival took place, and within a few years the age of progress was entered upon by the settlers.

Thus, year by year, was formed the nucleus from which has grown this wealthy and prosperous commonwealth. We do not claim this a complete list of those who settled in the city during the years referred to, but have merely made a brief record of the early settlements in different localities in the county, as they have occurred to us. From 1842, the county increased so rapidly in population and the development of its resources, that any attempt to mention more iudividnal names would render this sketch very tedious.

ORGANIZATION OF THE VILLAGE.

The place, as yet, had no city or even village pretensions, in a government way, the town organization meeting all the requirements in this respect. It was formerly a backwoods clear

ing, satisfied with the name of Riviere Delude, Desmond, and even called St. Joseph by some early travelers. In 1849, however, township government was set aside, in favor of local rule; and henceforth the little lumbering and fishing settlement trod in the ways of progress.

The first meeting of the Port Huron Village Board was held May 14, 1S49, with L. M. Mason, President. Martin S. Gillett, Wellington Davis, J. W. Camptield, John Wells, H. L. Stevens and Robert Hickling, Trustees; James Grover, Recorder; William Mitchell, Deputy Recorder, present. At this meeting, Benjamin Bemis was appointed Poundmaster; Charles Horton was allowed $3 for services as clerk of charter election, and William T. Mitchell $6 as Village Attorney. In June, 1849, M. S. Gillett was appointed Overseer of Sidewalk Construction on Military street, between Pine and Water streets. During the fall of 1849, the existence of a few cases of small-pox drew forth the following declarations from the Board: "Whereas, it is the opinion of the Board of Health that persons may take the small-pox from dogs, it is the opinion o" the Board that the dogs belonging to Drs. Bell and Jeraw ought not to be allowed to run at large. The Board do, therefore, authorize the Village Marshal to kill all dogs belonging to Drs. Bell and Jeraw, if found running at large."

The officers from 1849 to 1856 are named as follows:

Presidents—L. M. Mason, 1849; M. S. Gillett, 1850; D. B. Harrington, 1851; Alonzo E. Noble, 1852; Wellington Davis, 1853; Alvah Swoetzer, 1854; Newell Avery, 1855; John Miller. 1850.

Recorders—James Grover, 1849: Alfred E. Fechet, 1850: John T. Hamilton, 1851; Alfred E. Fechet, 1852-53; Bethuel C. Farrand, 1854-55; F. H. Vanderburg, 1856.

Trustees--M. S. Gillett. W. Davis, J. W. Campfleld, John Wells, Robert Hickling, H. L. Stevens, 1849; William T. Mitchell, John Miller, Tone P. Tucker, 1850; Alonzo E Noble, Elijah Burke, Nelson D. Horton, J W. Campfield, J. S. Bottsford, L. M. Mason, 1851; M. S. Gillett, H. L. Steven«, James W. Sanborn, John Hibbard, A. Fish, Jr.. David Whitman, 1852; O. D. Conger, John Howard. Perry Dale, John W. Campfield, A. Sweetzor. D. Whitman, 1853; E. R. Sweetzer, Asa Larned, John T. Travers, David Whitman, John C. Forbes, James Baird, 1854; Jamos Baird. Asa Larned, John Miller, Elias R. Sweetzer. Allen Fish, Jr., David Whitman, 1855: Wellington Davis, Joseph P. Minne, William T. Mitchell, John Hibbard, Nelson Roberts, David Whitman, 1856.

Assessors—Joseph P. Minne, John L. Beebe, 1850; Joseph P. Minne, G. A. Eldredge, 1851; Joseph P. Minne, W. H. B. Dowling, 1852; Joseph P. Minne, H. L. Stevens, 1853; Joseph P. Mini, Allen Fish, 1854; Joseph P. Mini, John Howard, 1855; Joseph P. Mini, Alonzo E. Noble, 1856.

1852.

Treasurers—George D. Pinkham. 1850; George D. Pinkham, 1851; John T. Hamilton,

Marshals-Seth L. McCarty, 1849; Newton L. Carpenter, 1851; J. K. Bailey, 1852; D. McKellar, 1853; Noah T. Farr, 1854-55; Amos James, 1850.

ORGANIZATION OF THE CITY.

The city government was organized, under legislative authority, in 1857. The charter was amended in April, 1869, and again, under the act of March 29, 1877, it was subjected to other changes. Under the amendatory act of the last date, it was ordered that, The territorial limits of said city shall consist of all that tract of country in the county of St. Clair bounded and described as follows: Commencing at a point on the national boundary line in the St. Clair River, directly opposite and in a line with the south line of fractional section fifteen in the township of Port Huron, and running thence westerly along said south line of said fractional section fifteen, to the east line of section sixteen; thence north along said line, and said line extended to the middle of Black River, thence up said Black River to the northwest corner of the military reservation; ttnaaa easterly on tlu north lino of said military reservation to the national boundary line in the St. Clair River, thence southerly along said boundary line to the place of beginning.

The first election under the City Charter, was held within the Port Huron Engine House. April 6, 1857. John Miller, William T. Mitchell and J. H. Vanderburg were Inspectors, and