1818 letter from Detroit -- a 'little community'

[RealityCheck]

I've read, reread and now share portions of a letter written 191 years ago this month by a first-time visitor to Detroit, who found a "little community in its environs, an isolated moral mass. . . . The city of Detroit contains at least 1,200 people."

William Darby of Philadelphia also describes lush summer crops, trade with native people before they were displaced, and pioneers' reluctance to settle here.

Darby's letter, dated Aug. 14, 1818 [[his 43rd birthday), was sent to his publisher back east for a journal of a 20-week trip from New York City to Detroit and back. The New York Historical Society member was a surveyor, mapmaker and naturalist. My copy of his 1819 book, A Tour from the City of New York to Detroit [Kirk & Mercein], is a 1962 reprint from the Americana Classics series published by Quadrangle Books [[original price: $7).

The Pennsylvania-born son of Irish immigrants landed in Detroit on Aug. 11 after "a tedious passage of eleven days" on Lake Erie aboard the schooner Zephyr. He had endured an overnight gale that blew "with great violence from the N.W. soon after we left Buffalo creek."

His local observations, 13 years after Congress established the Michigan Territory, cross nearly two centuries with views of familiar sites in the frontier era. [[Original spellings are preserved.)

Coming up the Detroit River from lake Erie, he wrote, "both shores exhibit lines of farm houses, interspersed with orchards and gardens."

The settlements on the United States side continue up the rivieres Ecorees and Rouge, which, together with those along the shore of that strait, present a country in high state of culture. . . . The bank of the strait has been vaunted, I believe correctly, for its fine orchards; fruit trees, apples, pears, peaches and plumbs have a very healthy appearance.

Darby also he saw encampments on Bois Blanc [Boblo island], an abandoned military outpost "which now serves as a camping ground for the savages who visit Amherstburg."

A similar tone of the times appears when he visits Gov. Lewis Cass "on the banks of the strait below the garrison."

The governor leaves this city on the 16th to meet the governor of Ohio in order to hold a treaty with the Putawattomies, Wyandots, Senecas, Weas, and other nations of Indians . . . to remove the savages to a greater distance westward.

At the same time, the first-generation American acknowledges that Detroit and Michigan weren't exactly a magnet for newcomers.

Ancient settlements were formed along the water courses and continue to be in most part the only establishments yet made in the territory. . . .

"Though the soil is good in general, some of it excellent, and all parts well-situated for agriculture and commerce, some causes have hitherto operated to prevent any serious emigration to the Michigan Territory. For upwards of a month that I have been travelling between this city and Geneva, in the state of New York, I have seen hundreds removing to the west – and not one in fifty with an intention to settle in the Michigan Territory.

"By the census of 1810, the inhabitants then were 4,762 . . . Since 1810, no increment has been added of consequence to the mass, except that of natural increase.

As he describes riverside docks and warehouses with "ponderous packages of articles destined for Indian trade . . . bales of stroud [woolen cloth] and blankets," Darby sounds surprised that the city wasn't more of a commercial hub.

With all the attributes of a seaport, [Detroit] forms the uniting link between a vast interior, inhabited yet in great part by savages, and the civilized Atlantic border.

Anticipating big changes, he envisions how the Grand Canal of New York [Erie Canal, started a year earlier] will connect to the Great Lakes and let "Buffalo, Detroit, Michilimakinac and Green bay form an immense chain of inter-communication . . . [letting] the commercial rivalry of New York and New Orleans come in contact in the heart of our country."

The imaginative mapmaker even takes a stab at meteorology, though he stops short of explaining lake-effect snow.

The seasons are much more mild at Detroit than at Buffalo. The difference is greater than could be expected, from the small difference in latitude, less than one degree. I believe the phenomenon is produced by the prevalence of westerly winds, which crowd the ice continually into the N.E. angle of lake Erie.

Amid his harsh reminders that Michigan Territory settlers generally didn't show good will to those who blazed the trails they expanded, William Darby sketches an absorbing illustration of our area less than two decades before statehood.

[Full chapter excerpted is posted by Central Michigan University's Clarke Historical Library.]

[UFO]

I have always loved reading old manuscripts and have always found it intriguing the romantic choice of vocabulary no matter the subject.

[Ray1936]

Good post, Realitycheck. I worry that such written records involving contemporary times will little exist due to the electronic communications that we now enjoy. Hopefully I worry for naught.

[iheartthed]

What a difference two centuries makes.

[eriedearie]

Thanks Reality! Loved reading that link you provided. Imagining what was seen in yesteryear as to what is seen today - what a comparison!

[Lorax]

William Darby of Philadelphia also describes lush summer crops, trade with native people before they were displaced, and pioneers' reluctance to settle here.

I find this part intriguing. Seems modern day "pioneers" are still reluctant to settle here!

[gnome]

From the HOF vault, ItsJeff classic post brings to life Dyes circa 1807

http://atdetroit.net/forum/messages/...tml?1137044460

Posted on Friday, January 06, 2006 - 4:03 am:

Using the Way Way Back machine, I dug up this forum thread from January, 1806:



Velma
Member
Username: Velma
Post Number: 29
Registered: 10-1805
Posted January 10, 1806

Pray, what are everyone’s opinions of this new mayor, Solomon Sibley? Any thoughts?


Ndavies
Member
Username: I Ndavies
Post Number: 223
Registered: 10-1805
Posted January 10, 1806

Damn thee for a fool, Miss Velma. This topic has already been posted.


Rasputin
Member
Username: Rasputin
Post Number: 134
Registered: 10-1805
Posted January 10, 1806

Sibley can waltz his hindparts back to whence he came! If ye Negroes had the vote, Elijah Brush would have been swept into office.


Townshiplover
Member
Username: Townshiplover
Post Number: 39
Registered: 10-1805
Posted January 10, 1806

Bah. What care I about the mayor of Detroit? It is a two day ride from Ann Arbor.



Fnemecek
Member
Username: Fnemecek
Post Number: 59
Registered: 10-1805
Posted January 10, 1806

Sibley pledged to demolish Fort Pontchartrain without benefit of a public hearing. Tis troubling news.


Kathleen
Member
Username: Kathleen
Post Number: 9
Registered: 10-1805
Posted January 10, 1806

Fort Pontchartrain is to be razed? Tis tragic indeed. I recall as a little girl my father taking us for rides past it. And of course, every year we’d all get dressed up and go celebrate Bastille Day at the Pontch. Of course Fort Pontchartrain was simply the only place for Detroit society to witness beheadings. I hate seeing it boarded up like that.


Royce
Member
Username: Royce
Post Number: 943
Registered: 10-1805
Posted January 10, 1806

Fort Pontchartrain was poorly planned and would not have withstood a British attack. In my plan, it would have been located on Hog Island, and thus less susceptible to invasion. I also would not have built it with the pine lumber common to the area. Indeed I would have imported hard maple from the east.


Super_d
Member
Username: Super_d
Post Number: 2
Registered: 10-1805
Posted January 10, 1806

Why should we pay taxes to support a symbol of French authority in Detroit? Detroit is now British, but the French still act like they want to run things. Tear that shyte down.

Super d [[horsedetroit)


HamtramckSteve
Member
Username: HamtramckSteve
Post Number: 74
Registered: 10-1805
Posted January 10, 1806

Fort Pontchartrain contributed so much to the history and culture of Detroit. We destroy a piece of ourselves when we destroy our past.


Skulker
Member
Username: Skulker
Post Number: 3259
Registered: 10-1805
Posted January 10, 1806

Ignoramuses! Unpleasant fellows! In 1795, the King granted us 100 pounds sterling for the demolition of Fort Pontchartrain. 11 years have passed and the Fort just sits there without public benefit. How much longer shall we let that hulking wreck simply sit there? It would cost the Township 15 pounds per year to maintain the building, with no foreseeable use. That money could be better spent shoveling manure off the streets.



Mikem
Member
Username: Mikem
Post Number: 8
Registered: 10-1805
Posted January 10, 1806

Here is a picture of Fort Pontchartrain that I drew.




Supersport
Member
Username: Supersport
Post Number: 7845
Registered: 10-1805
Posted January 10, 1806

I, too, wish that Fort Pontchartrain were removed. It blocks the route whence I walk from my home to the tavern. Although of late it has become a gathering place for whores. I shall miss that. Tis all about maintaining the authenticity, my friend. Maintaining the authenticity.


Jelk
Member
Username: Jelk
Post Number: 953
Registered: 10-1805
Posted January 10, 1806

As a lad my little friends and I would play cricket on Fort Pontchartrain’s lawns. Pleasant memories.


Marcnbyr
Member
Username: Marcnbyr
Post Number: 455
Registered: 10-1805
Posted January 10, 1806

Did you play in the English style? English batsmen are afraid to use their feet against spinners for fear of being left stranded down the pitch and they rely heavily on the sweep shot.


Jelk
Member
Username: Jelk
Post Number: 954
Registered: 10-1805
Posted January 10, 1806

If the orthodox sweep is partially premeditated, the much-maligned reverse sweep is wholly so.


Marcnbyr
Member
Username: Marcnbyr
Post Number: 456
Registered: 10-1805
Posted January 10, 1806

Chap! Tis totally interesting to see how a batsman’s initial setup has changed over time. One of the most attacking shots in the batsman's armoury, the pull, not to be confused with the hook, is a back-foot shot played at a ball around waist height.


Eric_D
Member
Username: Erik_D
Post Number: 357
Registered: 10-1805
Posted January 10, 1806

The first thing any batsman does when he arrives at the wicket is take his guard, or 'line himself up' across the crease so that he knows where he is standing in relation to the stumps.


Zuluwarrior
Member
Username: Zuluwarrior
Post Number: 85
Registered: 10-1805
Posted January 10, 1806

Stance and backlift are everything. Opening batsmen have to face a continuous onslaught of aggressive fast bowling, often at different heights and angles. There is a good incentive for tail-enders to hang around at the crease. They're under no pressure, so any extra runs are a bonus and will be received enthusiastically.


Itsjeff
Member
Username: Itsjeff
Post Number: 3687
Registered: 10-1805
Posted January 10, 1806

I condemn thee! You are boring the britches off my bodkin. Pray turn the conversation to a topic other than athletics.

I see that Mistress Lurker is wearing a new bodice, tightly wound around her ample bosom. I am escorting her to the gala dance at the public square tomorrow night, so that I will not be thought the poofter.


Supersport
Member
Username: Supersport
Post Number: 4259
Registered: 10-1805
Posted January 10, 1806

I regret that I cannot attend the dance. I have tickets to see 50 Pence on Piety Hill with yon wenches. Still maintaining the authenticity, I am.


Jjaba
Member
Username: Jjaba
Post Number: 298
Registered: 10-1805
Posted January 10, 1806

Supersport is lucky that he can see events on Piety Hill. As a lad, jjaba was not allowed entry to that most Protestant of areas on the east side.

Jjaba, riding his ass back to the west side.

ItsJeff, you are missed, we sure could use your sense of style and humor.

[eriedearie]

ItsJeff was before my time, but I clearly see now why he was such a great guy! Thanks Gnome

[stromberg2]

That was sweet, Gnome!

Tis I, Stromberg2

[SWMAP]

Jjaba, ItsJeff, jelf, MikeM - I miss them all. It was more brilliant then.

[cman710]

Thanks for posting that. It was quite funny, and also shows how little things change on the Forum over time. I began reading the Forum regularly not long before itsjeff was gone. He is definitely missed.

Isn't MikeM still around here and there?

[gkoeppel]

Read more about Darby, Detroit, and the Erie Canal in: "Bond of Union: Building the Erie Canal and the American Empire" [[DaCapo, 2009): www.amazon.com/Bond-Union-Building-American-Empire/dp/0306818272 . “This engrossing account of an important achievement in U.S. history shows evidence of an awesome amount of research." - Detroit Free Press

[Patrick]

Yeah, where are most of the old-timers at? Used to be about 20 long-time regulars on DY.

[Homer]

I wonder that too. Maybe they all moved to Livonia.