HAMILTON TOWNSHIP

GRATIOT COUNTY, MICHIGAN

From: Gratiot County, Michigan. Historical, Biographical, Statistical, by Willard D. Tucker, Saginaw, MI. 1913.

Pages 314-315

page 314

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP

Hamilton had some first settlers in 1854. Among them were Dr. John R. Cheesman, Wm. Barton, Elijah Curtis, the latter being the first supervisor of the township. Dr. Cheesman left the township in 1857, and afterward became a resident of St. Louis. Settlement was slower in Hamilton than in some of the other townships, probably for the reason that it was far removed from the principal settlements that sprang up at the center of the county and on Pine River, Hamilton being one of the townships extending to the eastern county line. The technical description is town 10 north, range 1 west.

Much of Hamilton’s surface is level. Quite a proportion of the soil is sandy and light. These sandy portions were the homes of heavy pine forests which yielded much revenue to the speculators who were able to buy up the land when it was cheap. The pine lands with the light soil lie mainly in the eastern and southeastern part of the township, the west and north portions having a heavier and better soil for agricultural purposes. There are many fine farms in this portion: farms that compare favorably with those of any other part of the county.

page 315

The average distance to market for the farmers is greater than that of most of the other townships, as there is no railroad through it. Ashley is convenient to a considerable portion of the people of Hamilton, but the northeast corner of the township eleven or twelve miles from Ashley, and about the same distance from Wheeler. The north branch of the Bad River furnishes drainage for the northern parts of the township, Potato Creek also aiding in the eastern part.

Much local information relative to Hamilton is given in other departments of this volume. The sections following also give valuable information as to who took an active part in the township business, and thus incidentally naming a large proportion of pioneers.

The little Village of Sickels, located in the northwestern part furnishes a trading point for a large scope of the country. And the same may be said of Edgewood lying on the Hamilton and Lafayette line.

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