History of Orient Township 1884 Portrait & Bio Album
Orient Township is situated in the southest corner of the county, and is
numbered 17 north, of range 7 west. It has for
its northern boundary, Sylvan; eastern, Clare County; southern, Mecosta
County; western Evart Township. It was
organized by order of the Board of Supervisors, and held its first meeting at
the residence of Wm. Wescott, April 4,
1870. Wm. Westcott, Joseph H. Powell and Daniel Weigel took charge of this
meeting, which resulted in the election of
Nelson Ferguson for Supervisor, Lemuel P. Jones for Clerk, and Wm. Westcott
for Treasurer; David Weigel, Joseph H.
Powell and S. H. Gordon were elected Highway Commissioners; Amos F. Blair,
Obadiah Lloyd, Hosea Brown and Ransler
Beckweith for Justices of the Peace, and Andrew Noyes for Constable.
The township has four school districts, with school-houses located as
follows: District No. 1, which is fractional, on
section 6; No. 2, on section 21; No. 3, on section 11; No. 4 on section 33.
In all these districts there are good frame
buildings, costing from $400 to $800. District No. 1 has 80 pupils on the
rolls; No. 2, has 60; No. 3, 19 and 4 have 24
pupils. The school at Sears, which is in District No. 1, is taught by J.B. Sleeger.
Orient Township is well drained by Chippewa River and its branches. Big and
Wright Lakes lie in the western part. The
surface of the land is rolling, with a varied soil, - clayey, loamy and
sandy. Anout three fourths of the land was
heavily timbered with pine, a great part of which has fallen before the ax of
the lumberman; the balance of the land was
covered with maple, beech, basswood and hemlock.
Hay and potatoes are regarded as the best crop, though grain does very well.
About 2,000 acres are improved, and the
acreage is increasing yearly.
The first settlements were made in the spring of 1868 and made their locations
as given: David Weigel, locating on
section 4; John West on section 18; Wm. Tennant, on section 20; Obadiah Lloyd,
on section 8; J.W. Powell and Wm.
Wescott, on section 6; Amos Blair, on section 8; Samuel Gordon and Hosea
Brown, on section 4; Andrew Noyes, on section
10; Nelson Ferguson, Henry Theyky and Lemuel P. Jones, on section 6.
The first school opened was on section 5, and was taught by Miss Clara Gordon
in a log school-house.
The first marriage was celebrated in the township was between Luther Elmore,
Sylvan Township, and Clara Jones. The
wedding took place at the residence of Samuel Gordon, on section 4.
About the last of September, 1871, the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad was
completed through the township. It runs
along the northern line, deflecting a little southward and passing out through
the middle of section 12.
The first store opened in the township was at Sears, by Baker & Pratt,
railroad contractors, in the spring of 1871.
The lumber camps came in before the early settlers, who used to depend on
these camps for supplies until they could
replenish their stock, which, before the railroad was built, they hauled from
Big Rapids, a distance of some 30 miles.
More attention is being paid to farming than formerly, and new lands are
constantly being brought under the plow. The
population is estimated to be about 700, and is increasing. The township has
two trading points, Sears and Chippewa, on
the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad; the latter, however, is about broken up,
owing to the withdrawal or change in
lumber camps.
At Big Lake there is a lumber and shingle manufactory, operated by V. Chandler
and owned by C.L. Gray & Co. of Evart.
The capacity of these mills for lumber is 1,200 feet; for shingles, 30,000
feet, per day.
At Chippewa there is a shingle and saw mill, owned by George Jackson; also a
supply store. Capacity of the saw-mill per
day is 12,000 feet, and that of the shingle-mill is 30,000.
Church services are held every two weeks in a school-house on section 21, by
Rev. T.M. Huddle, of the United Brethren.
Orient has honored the following named citizens as:
