THE WAY IT WAS
…Building the Roads
by Al Eicher

Have you ever wondered what the early streets and roads were like in the three-county Thumb area? We sometimes hear the old timers telling of flooded streets and poor rural roads in the Huron, Tuscola and Sanilac area. Without a doubt the 1870 roads were made of dirt and planks and after a good rain they were very muddy and often flooded. Several villages had wooden sidewalks in the business district, with lots of medium size field stones at the curb area to stop the erosion during a rain storm. There were also wooden walkways at street corners to help people cross the street and stay out of the mud. People then used the horse and buggy to get around. The farmers and businessmen used wagons to move their goods and perform their services. The farmer, with his wagon and team of horses, brought produce to the grist and rolling mill, elevator or marketplace. Trains were still 10 to 12 years away for communities in the three-county areas.

In doing a little research, I found some pictures of early road building and the making of improvements for pedestrians to walk along the neighborhood streets. I was also pleased to find some dating on a few of the old photographs. At Sebewaing, in 1879, a contract was given to a Mr. Beer to extend wooden sidewalks along Auch Street. The walkway, made of wood, was four feet wide. Mr. Beer had to provide the stringers and nails but not the planking. He was required to remove stumps and cut the planking to the four-foot length. For his services he received 57 cents for each 16 feet of board walk. The village council soon found out that when the roads were muddy and near flooding, farmers and residents, while traveling, would leave the road and move their wagons and buggies to run at least two wheels on the sidewalk. People were also leading large animals on the sidewalks; soon fines of third dollars were enforced, and signboards warning of the infraction were put in place.

The problems of flooding by the 1880s required the need to dig ditches along the roads in many villages and also on both sides of country roads. The dirt from making the ditch was then used to make the roadbed higher and hopefully, with some good planning, would eliminate flooding. It was also discovered that stone, quarried out of the Bay Port Stone Company and gravel pits around Bad Axe and Harbor Beach made a good base for these roadbeds. At Harbor Beach, the Arndt family farm had a gravel pit, which was used for many years. They first loaded the horse-drawn wagons and then the early gasoline trucks of the 1920s and 30s.

In the 1870s, getting the stone from Bay Port and other areas was still a problem in transporting these heavy loads with oxen or horse-drawn wagons. This all changed when the railroads came to the Thumb area. It should be noted many farmers during the summer and fall, to get some extra money, hauled wagon loads of dirt and clay for the local village and county to build up roadbeds. In June of 1889, the minutes of a Sebewaing council meeting record that 10 cents will continue to be paid for wagon loads of clay. At that meeting, Any Christen was paid $5 for 50 loads of clay. At an earlier meeting, in August of 1886, 10 railroad cars of clay were ordered from Bad Axe.

Al and Dave Eicher provide television production services to corporations, ad agencies and nonprofit organizations. They also create Michigan town histories and offer lecture services on a variety of Michigan History Events. You may contact them at 248-333-2010; E-mail: info@program-source.com; Web site: www.program-source.com; Address: PSI, P.O. Box 444, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48303.