Beaver Township

Beaver Township

The township of Beaver was organized by an act of the Legis¬ lature in 1867, and comprised all that part of Bay County known and described as townships Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen and Twenty, north of Range Three east. The first town¬ ship meeting was ordered held at the house of Levi Willard, on the first Monday in April, and Levi Willard, Josiah L. Wellington and Oscar H. Kellogg, appointed inspectors of election.

The town of Beaver is located fifteen miles from Bay City - ten miles west and five miles north; the land is as good as can be found in the state; we raise the very best of crops; our hay crop was rather light this year on account of the dry weather; there is a large amount here, how T ever, for which we can get a higher price, at our own doors, than we can. get in Bay City, as there is a large amount of lumbering done near by and the lumbermen are glad to buy of us, thereby saving themselves the trouble and expense of a journey to Wenona or Bay City.

Our town has been organized about six years, and in that time we have opened up about twenty-five miles of roads, four rods wide, the most of which are passable at any time of the year; we have three organized school districts, one of which has been recently or¬ ganized, and has not held school yet, but will do so as soon as the sclioolhouse which is being erected shall be completed, the others have been in running order for several years; the number of schol¬ ars in attendance at both schools is about fifty; in one of our schoolhouses we have preaching and Sunday-school every Sunday.

; Seven years ago there were but two families in the town; since that time about forty more have located here, and still they come, yet there is room for more; there are some excellent farms here considering the short time there has been to improve them in; some have about sixty acres cleared while others have from twenty to forty; I think this is doing pretty well. Frame barns and dwell¬ ings are taking the place of those that were first built of logs; we have some as fine bams as can be found in Bay County; there are two handsome dwellings being erected this Summer - one by Mr. John Bacon and the other by Mr. John Shreve - which will add materially to the appearance of the town; Mr. M. W. Jones built a house last Summer that cost about $2,000.

B4Y County

try here, and there is no one better aware of the fact than ourselves; there is plenty of vacant land to be had cheap - the prices ranging from $2.50 to $5 per acre - with good roads running past it, and in some cases there are improvements at that price; there is also some Government land here which may be taken under the Homestead Act; we are anxious to have settlers come here to locate, and will gladly inform them where to find land, and how to get it.

We are but five miles from the graded bed of the Bay City & Midland Railroad; when the iron is laid it will only take us about an hour to reach Bay City; we have a postoffice, stores, saw mills, etc., near by; therefore, taking all things into consideration, we have advantages here for settlers that are not offered anywhere else in the county.

Tax Levy For 1882

Levi Willard was born in Portage County, Ohio, in 1825. His father was a native of Maryland; born of Danish parents on their route to settle in the United States. Mr. Willard lived to age of sixteen in Summit County, Ohio. He then worked by the month on a farm for three years. He then learned the shoemaker's trade, which he followed for twelve years. At the age of twenty-nine he married Miss Sarah Ingraham, of Medina County, Ohio. In 1856 he came to Michigan and bought land on Section Thirty-three, Town Fifteen north, Three east, being now in the township of Beaver. The following year he settled thereon, and commenced improve¬ ment. He remained the only settler in the township for nine years. About 1865 settlers began to come in, and in 1867 the township was organized. Mr. Willard was elected the first supervisor in 1868, and has held the office for six years since that term. Also the office of justice of the peace nearly all the time since the organ¬ ization of the township. He has been identified with all the improve¬ ments of the community. During the time of his services as super¬ visor he was on important committees, and did his work well. As a pioneer, few have had more hardships to endure or more obstacles to overcome, but with a determination to succeed he has remained. He now has fifty acres improved; a good brick residence, extensive barns and a fine orchard of various fruits. He has had four sons and four daughters. The eldest son takes to farming. Two are carpenters. Three daughters are teachers. All have a good, prac¬ tical education.

John Farquharson, supervisor, is a native of Perthshire, Scot¬ land. He emigrated to America in 1852. He first settled in Lambton County, Ontario, where he remained about nineteen years. In 1871 he came to Bay County, and in 187 i he bought a farm in the township of Beaver, and still continues to cultivate the same. He was clerk of the township in 1873-'74; supervisor for the years 1875, 1876, 1878, 1879 and 1882, and moderator, and also director of schools. He was married to Catharine Forbes, in 1852. They have had eight children, six girls and two boys. Of the boys, but one is living.