History of Richmond Township 1884 Portrait & Bio Album
The territory that is now embraced by Osceola County was attached to Mecosta
County for judicial purposes by act of the
Legislature passed in the year 1859. The Board of Supervisors of Mecosta
County, by resolution passed Jan. 2, 1861,
organized, this territory into a township which was called "Richmond."
Richmond was the maiden name of D.A. Blodgett's
mother, and the township was named after her on account of her son, who, with
commendable regard had requested it.
The election was held under the order of the Board, April 1, 1861, at the
residence of D.A. Blodgett, in said township.
Alex McFarlane and D. A. Blodgett were appointed Inspectors of Election.
Sixteen votes were cast at this meeting, which
resulted in electing D.A. Blodgett for Supervisor, J.G. Robbins for Clerk and
Benj. F. Gooch, William Berger and Alex
McFarlane, JUstices of the Peace; William Berger and Joseph Ryan, HIghway
Commissioners; JOhn McBride, charles Broth,
anson Berger and T. B. Haynes, Constables.
Richmond is located in the southwest corner of the county, is in number 7
north, of range 10 west, and is bounded on the
north by Lincoln, on the east by Hersey, on the south by Mecosta, and on the
west by Lake County.
Benj. F. Gooch takes precedence as the pioneer of this township, who located
for himself a home on section 25, in 1855.
After him came J.G. Robbins, Anson and Wm. Berger, Alex McFarlane, T. B.
Haynes, Joseph Ryan and John McBride.
Richmond Township has nine school districts and two graded schools, - one at
Reed City and the other at Hersey. Distict
No. 1 is located on section 34; No. 2, on section 30; No. 3, on section 6; No.
4, on section 17; No. 5, on section 24;
No. 6, on section 3; No. 7, on section 16; No. 8, on sections 22 and 27, and
No. 9, on section 11.
The land in this township has an undulating contour, with some very fine level
fields. The soil is clay loam, and in
parts sandy. It was well timbered with the hard-woods, with pine, hemlock and
basswood. Red cherry is quite abundant
in some portions of this township, which is held in reserve by its owners for
future demands. It is drained by Hersey
River and its branches.
The Flint and Pere Marquette and the Grand Rapids & INdiana Railroads pass
through the township; the former enters from
the east about the middle and passes out westward on section 7; the latter
comes in about midway from the south, and
runs northward nearly parallel with the county line, going out on section 4.
Good highways are built on nearly all of the section lines, and many of them
are well graded. It ranks the first in
improvements and in production. It is estimated that there are 7,500 acres
improved, with about 175 farms. The
statistics of 1882, the latest, gives 1,444 acres of wheat, with a yield of
23,700 bushels. The estimated number of
acres planted last year (1883) in wheat, os 1,700, with a production of 67,250
bushels. The hay lands in 1882 numbered
1,393 acres, with a yield of 1,344 tons. The stock business is quite
extensively carried on. In 1883 the number of
cattle on hand was 907, and 353 horses. The production of wool this year was
4,752 pounds, which was sheared from 974
sheep.
In 1884 the population of the township was 3,150, and has an assessed valuation
of $820,000.
The first school taught in the township (and the first in the county) was by
Alice Jones, on section 25, in 1862, and
The first child born was Mary, daghter (sic) of J.G. Robbins.
In those early days, as well as at the present time, there were people who
liked to take what did not belong to them,
particularily if they could get it on a dark night. They wished to reap
whether they sowed or not, and with them, as
with people from time immemorial, stolen fruit tasted much sweeter than any
other. Mr. Gooch planted and cultivated
with a good deal of care an orchard. But little benefit, however, did he
derive from it. Orchards and fruit were
scarce in those times. He set his wits at work finally, after many tedious
nights of watching, and devised a plan which
he executed. This was to string wires about and around his orchard, and
connecting them with a wire running into his
house. To this wire was attached a bell, which was placed over the head of
his bed. This scheme worked admirably; and
it was not necessary either for him to go out after the bell rang to fire off
his shot-gun, for the fruit thieves fled
with parcipitate haste. Though this was before the days of dynamite, yet
those moonshiners thought these wires
connected with some infernal machine, and after that he had the pleasure of
gathering his own fruit.
There are many fine farms in this township, with farm buildings about the
average. Usually the farmers are out of debt,
with their lands all paid for, and many of them in independent circumstances.
It has two very thriving towns, Reed City
and Hersey, where the people do their trading, carry their products and get
their mails. The history of these two
villages contains many incidents connected with Richmond Township, to which
the reader referred.
Richmond Township has been represented in the council halls of the county by
the citizens named below:
SUPERVISORS.
D.A. Blodgett 1861-5
Rufus E. Morris 1866-8
S. E. Lane 1869
William Stiege 1870-2
Nathaniel Clark 1873
Stephen Kissinger 1874
R.W. Page 1875
William Stiege 1876
M. O. Green 1877-80
C.B. Dean 1881
Nathaniel Clark 1882-3
W.W. White 1884
