History of Charlotte Series – Part 1 – 1890s

For the Charlotte Community Library’s 130th birthday celebration, we will be looking at the history of Charlotte and the surrounding areas, decade by decade. For this initial blog, we will examine the 1890s, as well as a few events before then.

As a disclaimer, this is not a comprehensive list. This series of blogs are brief glimpses at the city’s history and some of the people who have lived here. If there is anything that catches your interest, please consider checking out the Charlotte Community Library’s materials for more information.

General Charlotte Information:

• October 10, 1863 – Charlotte is incorporated as a village.
• March 29, 1871 – Charlotte is incorporated as a city.
• The area was known as “Eaton Center” before being named “Charlotte” after F. B. Bostwick’s new wife.

 

Charlotte’s Schools:

• June 23, 1890 – there are ten graduates from Charlotte Schools – six women and four men.
• In July of 1890, Charlotte Schools enrollment was at 1,007 students, with 90 of them being “non-residents.”
• The Science Department at Charlotte Schools was created on June 8, 1891, with the appointment of Ms. Cynthia A. Green as, “the position of Science [Department Director].”
• In 1894, Charlotte Schools loaned the Public Circulating Library 599 books, as well as a donation of that year’s school library budget.
  • The yearly budget donation would continue until 1938, when the school district began to build its own, separate library.

 

Charlotte’s Library:

• In 1894, the city began to support the Public Circulating Library. In 1895, a tax of ½ million was levied for the benefit of a library.
• The tax produced a sum of $1,090.00, which was used to pay the salary of a janitor and a librarian, rent for the room the library occupied, and 910 books.
• 113 West Lawrence Avenue is listed as the Public Circulating Library’s address in 1890.

 

Charlotte Businesses:

• The Charlotte Manufacturing Company operated from 1873 to 1908? It was definitely closed by 1914.
• Lamb and Spencer Grocery was in operation for 52 years, opening in 1879.
• Frank D. Marple started Marple’s Bakery in 1887 and served the community for nearly 40 years. Several members of the extended Marple family would work at Marple’s Bakery during the business’s lifetime.
• W. Munger moved his hardware store from Eaton Rapids to Charlotte in the early 1890s. The Munger Jennings Hardware, run by J. W. Munger and C. M. Jennings, was located at 144 South Cochran Avenue until the early 1900s.
• John Dolson and Sons factory was built in 1890 and began operation in 1891. The Dolson factory was located at 501 West Lovett Street.
  • The Dolson company initially built carriages before switching over to automobiles.
• Albert Henry Porter purchased a brewery in 1893 but was forced to close it due to local prohibition laws. Mr. Porter would attempt to open the brewery several times during the 1890s but was forced to close the business again and again until 1900. In 1900, the Charlotte Brewing Company would permanently open.
• Joseph B. Gibbons operated an eyeglasses and jewelry business at 141 South Cochran Avenue from ~1894 to 1913 or 1914.
• Job Wildern and his wife came to Charlotte in 1886. They owned and operated the Tea and China Store until 1902, when they sold the business.
• W. B. Otto and Company created a massive, very successful horse breeding and selling business across Michigan, Illinois, and Iowa.
  • • By 1897, Mr. Otto was the owner of more than a dozen prize-winning horses, including the Champion Draft Mare of the State and the number one stallion in the world.
• The Eaton County Phone Company was organized in 1898 and operated alongside the Michigan Bell Telephone Company until 1939.
• The O. E. Packard Feed Mill was located at 114 / 118 North Cochran Avenue from 1889 to 1952.
• The Eaton County Savings Bank was organized in 1899.

 

Around Town:

• The jail connected to the Sheriff’s House (126 North Bostwick Street) was built in 1873 and used for 80+ years.
  • The Sheriff’s wife would often have to feed all the jail’s inhabitants because there was only one kitchen in the building complex.
  • The jail had a women’s quarter located on the second story of the building.
  • The third floor / attic was reserved for mental patients and laundry.
• Terrell/Tirrell Farms has been in operation since 1852.
  • John Fletcher Terrell kept a diary from 1850 to 1898, in which he recorded his daily activities, business transactions, local events, and the weather.
• In 1892, John Fletcher Terrell and several other Charlotte residents helped build a log cabin at the Eaton County Fairgrounds called the Pioneer Building. This building was built as a reminder (memorial?) to all the pioneers who settled in the Charlotte area.
• The City of Charlotte purchased 110 acres of Gale Woods in 1897, turning it into a city park named after then-Mayor Charles Bennett. This park, still open today, is known as Bennett Park.

 

Works Consulted:

Campion, Patricia A. Charlotte Michigan Historical Homes, People, and Businesses: Eaton County in the 1800’s and 1900’s. Book 1, Part 1. Vol. 1.1. 8 vols. Charlotte, Michigan: Patricia A. Campion, 2018.

Campion, Patricia A. Charlotte Michigan Historical Homes, People, and Businesses: Eaton County in the 1800’s and 1900’s. Book 1, Part 2. Vol. 1.2. 8 vols. Charlotte, Michigan: Patricia A. Campion, 2018.

Campion, Patricia A. Charlotte Michigan Historical Homes, People, and Businesses: Eaton County in the 1800’s and 1900’s. Book 1, Part 3. Vol. 1.3. 8 vols. Charlotte, Michigan: Patricia A. Campion, 2018.

Campion, Patricia A. Charlotte Michigan Historical Homes, People, and Businesses: Eaton County in the 1800’s and 1900’s. Book 2. Vol. 2. 8 vols. Charlotte, Michigan: Patricia A. Campion, 2019.

Campion, Patricia A. Charlotte Michigan Historical Homes, People, and Businesses: Eaton County in the 1800’s and 1900’s. Book 3. Vol. 3. 8 vols. Charlotte, Michigan: Patricia A. Campion, 2019.

Campion, Patricia A. Charlotte Michigan Historical Homes, People, and Businesses: Eaton County in the 1800’s and 1900’s. Book 4. Vol. 4. 8 vols. Charlotte, Michigan: Patricia A. Campion, 2019.

Campion, Patricia A. Charlotte Michigan Historical Homes, People, and Businesses: Eaton County in the 1800’s and 1900’s. Book 5. Vol. 5. 8 vols. Charlotte, Michigan: Patricia A. Campion, 2020.

Campion, Patricia A. Charlotte Michigan Historical Homes, People, and Businesses: Eaton County in the 1800’s and 1900’s. Book 6. Vol. 6. 8 vols. Charlotte, Michigan: Patricia A. Campion, 2020.

Campion, Patricia A. Charlotte Michigan Historical Homes, People, and Businesses: Eaton County in the 1800’s and 1900’s. Book 7. Vol. 7. 8 vols. Charlotte, Michigan: Patricia A. Campion, 2021.

Campion, Patricia A. Charlotte Michigan Historical Homes, People, and Businesses: Eaton County in the 1800’s and 1900’s. Book 8. Vol. 8. 8 vols. Charlotte, Michigan: Patricia A. Campion, 2021.

Charlotte 1863-1963. Charlotte, Michigan: Charlotte Republican-Tribune, 1963.

Spirits of the Past: An Intoxicating Look at the History of Alcohol, Temperance, Prohibition, and Brewing in Eaton County, Michigan. Charlotte, Michigan: Eaton County Historical Commission, 2017.