OAKLAND GAZETTEGovernor Moses Wisner Mansion (ca. 1845)

Vol. 34, No. 1The only publication dedicated to the history and heritage of Oakland County.

Published by THE OAKLAND COUNTY PIONEER & HISTORICAL SOCIETY405 OAKLAND AVENUE, PONTIAC, MICHIGAN 48342

Winter 2001

Letter From the PresidentThe need for change is very

important and is sometimes verydifficult for many of us to accept inour later years. We have a tendencyto believe that younger people don'thave the knowledge, because theydon't have the number of years ofpractical experience that we have. Thereal truth of the matter is that wefear letting go of the old ways becausewe are not sure we can adjust to thenew ways. We have a greatorganization here that has withstoodthe test of time. However, we mustrealize with the average age of ourboard members that time is catchingup with us. It is very important thatwe begin planning for the future andwe must bring in a younger generationto pick up where we leave off.This younger generation will never joinus if we are not willing to acceptthem and their ideas as equals.

The same thing is true of ouroperations. Many times I hear boardmembers say that we need to getsome of the grants that are available.We have available to us on staff, andalso with staff contacts, people thatcan write the grant requests. However,we must first prove that we have theneeds and types of programs, andmore importantly, the certification andability to administer these grants. Itis a very strange statement to makethat for an organization as old as ours,that we are just beginning to come ofage. It is certainly not because wedon't have the ability or the knowledge.It is because for a long time weworked only in the past and forgotto change with the times.

This year we began a new directionwith such a simple thing as voting. I

Continued on page 8

In this Issue

Letter from the President 1Society News and Notes.... 1Financial Statement .. 1From the Director ?Feature Article:' 'Neath the

Fostering Care': the EasternMichigan Asylum (Part Two) . 4

From Our CollectionsThe Hadsell Collection ........ . 7

8Honor Roll of Donors 8

9Memership ApplicationCalendar of Events . 10Historic Community News 10

Society News and Notes

This year's annual meeting was held onJanuary 17th at the new WestBloomfield Township Public Library.Our speaker was Jim Lehtola, Societymember and Detective with the Sheriff'sDepartment, Oakland County. Jim gavea fascinating talk on the formation of

the sheriff's department in OaklandCounty from "Wilderness to Statehood".Jim has been researching this topic forseveral years and has compiled data onevery sheriff, which he hopes to publishin the near future.

Continued on page 3

FINANCIAL STATEMENT(Year ending December 2000)

R e v e n u e s 2 0 0 0 1 9 9 9County Funds 20560.00 20420.00Investment Income 10864.38 7942.83Society Events 5767.48 6518.50Annual Giving 5520.00 2365.00Membership Dues 4025.00 2890.00Donations/Memorials 4654.17 7203.17T o u r s 2 0 2 6 . 0 0 2 5 7 5 . 0 0S h o p p e 1 3 8 8 . 9 9 1 2 8 8 . 0 1L i b r a r y 1 2 0 0 . 7 9 1 4 6 1 . 1 1G r a n t F u n d s 4 2 7 . 0 0 0Miscel laneous 1101.01 104.60Total Revenues 57534.82 52768.22

Expendi tures 2000 1999Salaries & Benefits 30835.86 22680.87Utilities 8796.53 6742.76Office Expenses 6079.09 5448.84Grounds/Maint. 4555.48 4156.59Insurance 2396.00 3455.34Society Events 1991.26 5017.41Publications 1202.19 781.65Library 702.56 832.31Shoppe 528.08 1073.83Fees/Dues 1860.85 1190.00Miscellaneous 32.78 2140.50Total Expenditures 58980.68 53520.10

Profit/Loss (1445.86) (751.88)

From the Director"In today's hectic world, personal attention to all patrons remains the hallmark of enduring institutions."Research Library

Libraries and archives collectmaterials, provide access to them, andpreserve collections. In this, theinformation age, the Society is constantlyfaced with the challenge of increasedpublic expectations for us to provideaccurate and prompt information. Ourjob in the research library is to assistresearchers in locating the ideas,information and materials that will meettheir diverse interests.

In the year 2000, volunteers in thelibrary made a concentrated effort toimprove our level of assistance toresearchers. Many hours were spentrearranging materials for easier accessand descriptive tools were created toassist volunteers and users in locatingpertinent information. Visitors to thelibrary are greeted promptly and everyeffort was made to provide them withquality reference service. The increasein numbers of both on-site and off-siteusers helps to illustrate the confidenceresearchers have in our ability to assistthem with their research.

Total Requests for Information1999-2000Requests 2000 1999 lncrease%Ex te rna l 205 91 225%Internal 342 184 186%To t a l 5 4 7 2 7 5 1 9 9 %If we do not have the answerresearchers are looking for in ourmaterials, we provide them withsuggestions and resources on where tolook next. This includes referrals tolocal libraries and historical societies,web pages, addresses for countycourthouses, etc. We continue toanswer off-site requests in our turnaround time of less than ten days.Thanks to all of the volunteers whohave helped to make the library sosuccessful.

PublicityPublicity for the Society continues

to be an important resource for us. Asyou all are aware, the popularity and useof the Internet increases daily. This, of

course, benefits the Society as well. Weare listed on over 50 web pages relatingto genealogical and local historyresources, and museums and attractionsin metro Detroit and the Midwest. Thisgives us a great amount of exposure to amuch wider audience with over 1500visitors to our web page in the year2000. We also had a variety of articlespublished about the Society in localnewspapers, including the OaklandPress, The Detroit News and Free Press,and U.S. Auto Scene. The DraytonPlains One-Room Schoolhouse wasfeatured in a book published this yeartitled Under One Roof: A traveler'sguide to America's one-roomschoolhouse museums, and GeoffBrieger's publication Pontiac,Michigan: A Postcard Albumacknowledges our photographcollection.

Collections ManagementCollections management continues

to be an important focus for us. Sincereorganizing and purchasing thecomputer software, we have begun tocatalog many of the artifacts,photographs, manuscripts anddocuments. It is a time consumingprocess, but one which will help us keepbetter control over our holdings. It willbe easier to pull items for displays, andwe can easily track the location ofartifacts. We can also monitor itemsthat may need restoration or repair, aswell as keep a record of the provenance.One of the most exciting parts is ourability to digitally photograph artifactsand attach the digital photo to thecataloged record, giving us an image foridentification and inventory purposes.Kimberly Bell has been a great help intaking inventory and helping tophotograph and catalog many of ourartifacts. To date, we have cataloged 74artifacts, 32 archival materials and 146photographs.

Volunteer StaffWe have been very fortunate this

year to have such dedicated volunteersinvolved in this organization. Over5000 hours were logged by volunteers,

not to mention the many hours that werespent by those assisting with our twoSociety events. We could not operatewithout your continued efforts. Inaddition, we had four graduate studentsfrom Wayne State University volunteerand work on semester projects here inthe research library. They did anexcellent job of processing manuscriptcollections, organizing library materials,and developing the Ice HarvestingExhibit in the Pioneer Museum. WAMwas here a total of 12 times this year,and were invaluable in completing thepreparation and move into themanuscripts storage area. In addition,they, as well as community servicevolunteers, worked incredibly hard onmaintaining the grounds. A specialthank you must go out to the PontiacArea Michigan Farm and Gardengroup for their upkeep of the herbgarden, and to Rosemary Gallardo fordonating perennials again this year.

It is impossible to thank all of youfor your dedication and support. Knowthis: that your love for this Society andthe work we do together does not gounnoticed, and it is greatly appreciated.I look forward to working with manymore of you in the coming year!

Board of DirectorsPresident

Michael E.Willis1st Vice PresidentCharles Martinez

2nd Vice PresidentClarke Kimball

TreasurerKathryn Daggy

SecretaryRosamond Haeberle

StaffAdministrative Director/Editor

Leslie S. EdwardsManuscripts Librarian

Virginia ClohsetResearch Librarians

Pat FisherJo Pate

Fran Wilson

Society News and Notes continued

"One of our youngervisitors at VOH"

Victorian ChristmasOpen House

The annualV i c t o r i a nChristmas OpenHouse was,once again, asuccess. Theweather wascooperative anda fine day washad by all who

visited. Musical entertainment wasprovided by Christine Ballard andMaxine Carlisle on dulcimers,Melizza Cruz on flute, accompaniedby Star Steward on the keyboard,Margaret Warczak on the celticharp and Barbara Kremsky onviolin. Guides, as always, providedvisitors history about the Wisnerfamily, the mansion and many ofthe artifacts. Thanks to all thevolunteers whohelped make theday a success.We are alreadymaking plansto help makenex t year 'sevent even moresuccessfu l . "Pres ident

Santa Claus'

Craft CommitteeThe Society will be creating a newcraft committee which will betotally in charge of craft-makingitems to be sold in the Gift Shoppe.The general public would like tosee more craft items for sale andour mission statement supports this.If you are interested in becominga crafter for the Society, pleasecontact Leslie Edwards at theoffice at 248-338-6732.

The cupola finally arrives!On a cold, windy day in December,

our cupola for the Carriage Housearrived in the back of a pick-uptruck. Accompanying the truck wasa crane, and after some trickyarrangements, the cupola washoisted into the air and mounted ontop of the Carriage House. Thecupola was hand-crafted by ShellHomes Construction using

photographs of the cupola from theoriginal Carriage House.

From the PresidentContinued

am very pleased to receive the lettersand phone calls, and hear the manycomments from our members, thatthey now feel like they are a part ofthis organization simply because theyhave a voice and the right to vote forthe officers and directors of theirsociety. Just look at the numbers. Wehad a higher percentage of ourmembers voting (35%) than mostgovernmental elections have, and wedid not have any problems with ourFlorida votes.

Just to let you know about a little ofthe old business, thanks to yourdonations for Annual Giving, the goalhas been reached, and we will noworder the sign for our location. Thiswinter has been hard on all of us,and especially the mansion; we hadseveral of the old water pipes keepspringing leaks in the joints, as well assome new ruptures. The problem wascaused by a faulty motor burning outin the old furnace that heats the gift

shoppe area of the building, so we hadno heat during the Christmas vacation.Both of these problems have now beenrepaired.

It is with sadness that I mustreport the resignation of one of ourboard members. Ms. Ruth Wall,who has been a long-time boardmember and dedicated volunteer, hasstepped down because of healthproblems. Ms. Wall will remain amember of the society, and will helpus when she can. I know that we allsend our best wishes and thanks for hermany years of service. We are goingto miss her.

In closing, I say God bless andthank you all for being a part of oursociety, and remember that you aremeasured only in a small part bywhat you accomplish in life, and inlarge part by the way you accomplish it.

Feature Article:' 'Neath the Fostering Care'Second of a two-part article about Clinton Valley Center By Bruce J. Annett, Jr.

With Clinton Valley Center'scentral administration buildingwas seen one of architect ElijahMyers's first uses of a grandceremonial entrance arch insetinto the projecting tower, addingprominence and majesty to themain doors. He is thought to bethe first American architect toemploy this device16, and it isfrequently repeated in Myers'slater works, exemplifiedespecially 10 years later in thethree story arch he designed tograce the entrance to the Texascapitol.

Durant's 1877 Historyreported a special rail spur wasconstructed to help bringbuilding materials and coal forheating and power to the site. TheSteam Age was here and theMachine Age was tantalizinglyclose, but Pontiac's massivehospital would be largelymuscled into existence by laborers aided by little more thanlevers, winches, rollers, and teams of horses, mules, and oxen.The work could be dangerous and daunting. SteamfitterWilliam H. Lang, 27, was crushed when a 3,000 lb. pumpcareened back down a ramp as it was being tugged intoposition.17

Sixty men, employed by Osmun &Gee of Pontiac, worked 12-hour days touse clay on the property to create the 11million bricks required for the project.18General contractors were Coots &Topping of Jackson. James McEwen &Co. of Detroit was low bidder for piping975 gaslights and 20 stoves for "eatables,flatirons, etc."19 Steam radiators andwarm forced air would heat the hospital.A Boston company installed the system,including two massive 8 by 26-foot steelboilers, clad in walnut and brass andclaimed by Durant to be the largest in thecountry to that time.

Chicago-based plumbers installed 22bathtubs, 48 marble-topped hand basins,27 toilets, and 24 sinks.20 Theseconveniences would be fed by five10,000-gallon water storage tanks hiddenin the attics. The tanks would be

The central administration building stands proud in the 1930s, morethan 40 years after being rebuilt following the devastating fire of1891. Within a few years, the tower and upper floors would beremoved and the building relegated to corridor status, connectingthe Myers building to new wings added east of the former mainentrance.STATE ARCHIVES OF MICHIGAN COLLECTION - ALLRIGHTS RESERVED

Gas fixtures lit corridors in the patient wards, circa1880. Gently arched ceilings of plaster-coatedbrick were designed by Myers to both suppresssound between floors and slow the spread ofpotential fire. Intersecting walls were rounded atcorners to help prevent patient injuries. Many ofthe pictures on the walls were donated by Pontiac-area residents.STATE ARCHIVES OF MICHIGANCOLLECTION - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

completely drained through usein an average day.21 Soon afteropening, the hospital's eightlaundry staffers were washing,line drying, and ironing 5,000articles per week. The laundrysinks sported four pipes — hotwater, cold water, rainwater, andsteam.22

Myers designed specialchutes so floor sweepings andlaundry could drop directly tocollection bins within a series ofservice tunnels runningthroughout the basement of thehospital. (These tunnelsultimately stretched nearly a mileby 196323 and connected to thecomplex's outlying buildings.)Railed trolleys delivered hot cartsof food to dumbwaiters andelevators for delivery to thewards, and also transportedlaundry and supplies beforebeing replaced in 1940 by electric

trams.By Oct. 1876, crews had largely finished the brick and

stonework and framed the rafters. The slaters and tinners braveddays of numbing cold to complete the roof before work finallyhalted for the winter on Jan. 20,1877. Windows were installed

and interior finishing began in thespring.24 By the following winter, 1877-78, enough of the new heating plant wasfunctioning to keep frost from mining thefreshly applied plaster.

As construction at the new hospitalwound down early in 1878, Pontiacnewspaper readers were pondering U.S.President Rutherford B. Hayes'withdrawal of federal troops occupyingthe former Confederacy. Articles reportedon the Indian Wars still raging in the west,marveled at the exploits of explorerHenry Stanley in Africa, and predicted"electric light will within a few years beas commonly used in all publicplaces...as gas is now."25 However, thehottest debate in town was about theeffect of all the hospital's sewage, whichwould soon be pouring into PontiacCreek just upstream of the city's businessand residential area.

Responding to a warning in the Pontiac Weekly Bill Posterthat the state would likely face lawsuits if sewer lines were notextended, a correspondent optimistically reminded readers that"only" diluted liquid would enter the streams. The rest was"too valuable as a fertilizer to allow to run to waste."26 Pontiac

West Cottage, (later called Burr Cottage,) designed byCharles Anderson in 1887, reflected the goal of housingpatients with similar afflictions in smaller, more homelikesurroundings instead of the main hospital. Six such cottageswould eventually dot the grounds.STATE ARCHIVES OF MICHIGAN COLLECTION -ALLRIGHTS RESERVED

voters ultimately approved a $2000 bond issue to fundcompletion.

In May, the commissioners added Hurd to their furnishingscommittee and hastened their purchases of furniture andsupplies. The ward furniture was built by a Detroit supplier,and included ash bedsteads ($2.75 each), wardrobes, bureaus,and washstands. Over 343 linear feet of ash dining room tableswere purchased from a Pontiac supplier while a Northvillecompany built chairs. Woven wire springs were topped withmattresses made of "pure South American horse hair."Crockery, selected seconds, came from a New Yorksupplier. Tinware, silverware engraved with the nameof the asylum, blankets and bedding, towels,tablecloths, napkins, kettles, ovens, washing machines— all went to bid. From the dispensary to the ice house,the barns to the kitchens, the wood and blacksmithshops to the examining rooms - everything had to bein place as the first patients arrived.

Although furnishings and some equipmentremained to be moved in, the general contractorsconcluded their work June 21. The Bill Poster observed,"the job is strictly first class, from beginning to end,and the contract finished to the letter."27

Charles M. Wells, the Board-appointedconstruction superintendent who had overseen theentire project, praised Myers. "He has succeededadmirably in clothing a ground plan designed withreference to utility only...so as to give an elegant and

imposing external appearance."28Pontiac resident Julia A. Jackson was driven to verse by

the wonder of it all,"We welcome thee - beautiful home of the suffering;Where the fear'd and frenzied may safely remain;'Neath the fostering care of the angel, Pity,To sooth the troubled brow - cool the burning brain. "29On Aug. 1, the first patient, a woman from Livingston

County, was admitted without fanfare.The building commissioners proudly pointed out the

hospital came in on budget and, in contrast to numerous largepublic projects in other states mired in graft, without a hint ofscandal.30

"Another point worthy of notice," they added, "Theoccupancy of the building has created no disturbance, revealedno serious defects, [and] overthrown no cherished schemes.The Asylum starts at once full grown.. .."31

Designed to house some 330 patients, the hospital wasfilled beyond capacity almost immediately.32

Meanwhile, the sewage problem was yet to be solved. InOctober, a Detroit contractor began to extend the six-inch sewerline over a mile and a half, from the hospital to the ClintonRiver downstream from the city. (It would not be until 1894that Pontiac would build a municipal waste treatment plant.)Though the contractor succeeded before the ground froze tolay most of the pipe, his plan to burrow a 300-foot-long tunnel28 feet below Pontiac's main thoroughfare, Saginaw St., wassoon mired, literally, in quicksand and underground water.Cave-in after cave-in brought progress to a standstill ascomplaints mounted about sewage-laden Pontiac Creekmeandering through the city.

On May 13,1879, nine months after the hospital opened,contractor John Scott was hired to finish the dangerousunderground work. Scott ultimately had to lay the pipe in anelaborately shored and timbered trench cutting 28 feet deepacross Saginaw St. The trench also passed directly beneath the

This excursion steamboat for patients plied Watkins Lake in the 1880s and '90s.A campground was leased on the lake's shore. Recreation venues for patients alsoincluded a substantial log cottage in a grove on the hospital grounds.STATE ARCHIVES OF MICHIGAN COLLECTION - ALL RIGHTSRESERVED

home of Joseph H. Voorheis, "from which he was driven bythe fear of having his house thrown down."33 Doubtless oneof Pontiac's earliest victims of "progress," Voorheis received$350 in damages for destruction of his home.

To solve overcrowding, the hospital's attics were fitted outfor patient care on a temporary basis. It would fall on CharlesAnderson, who succeeded Wells in 1880 as constructionsuperintendent, to inaugurate and soon, expand Myers's masterplan for development.Numerous additions andbuildings were added in theyears prior to the start ofWorld War I, and thenconstruction began anewagain in the 1930s to 1970.Some 50 buildings wouldeventually dot the grounds,including infirmaries formale and female patientswith contagious diseases,"cottages" with specialprivileges for residents, ag r e e n h o u s e , a n d asubstantial log cabin built forsocial events. A steamboatand picnic grounds at nearbyWatkins Lake providedadditional recreation.

The icehouse wasexpanded in 1890 to store1,400 tons of ice, enough tolast two summer seasons ifa mild winter preventedcutting and gathering ice atnearby Sylvan or HarrisLakes. At about the sametime, a new, larger meatprocessing facility was built, "in the hope of buying all meaton foot." Attached rooms were designed for storing andrendering grease for use as the hospital made its own soap.34

On the morning after Christmas, 1891, a fire starting inthe attic of the central administration building, soon engulfedit and adjacent patient wings before being contained by theasylum fire department, assisted by the Pontiac and Detroitfire companies.35 Detroit, in little more than an hour, had rushedan engine and crew north on a special train. Fortunately, nolives were lost, but hospital operations were disrupted for monthsand temporary housing for patients included Pontiac's highschool and the Michigan Military Academy at Orchard Lake.Anderson oversaw the rebuilding of the damaged hospitalbuildings to their original exterior appearances. Later additionsbetween 1930-50 obliterated the mirror image symmetry of theMyers design.

At Chicago's 1893 Columbian Exposition, the hospitalreceived a special award for "evidence of excellent fireprotection, detached cottages for each sex, and a training school

The Great Fire of Dec. 26,1891 gutted the central administration buildingand also damaged many patient rooms. Hundreds of Pontiac citizens helpedrescue patients and remove furniture, records, and personal effects beforethe advancing flames. To aid the relief effort, Pontiac bakeries that nightbaked 500 loaves of bread and butchers boiled 50 hams. Amazingly, nofatalities or serious injuries resulted from the fire, although hospitaloperations were disrupted for months and many patients had to betemporarily housed elsewhere, including at Pontiac's high school.—STATE ARCHIVES OF MICHIGAN COLLECTION - ALL RIGHTSRESERVED

for attendants (the latter being the first of its kind inMichigan.)"36

In the early 1950s, the hospital again gained nationalrecognition when social worker Alice Burlingame initiatedhorticultural therapy for patients and ultimately went on to foundthe American Horticultural Therapy Association. One of thehospitals notable visitors in the 1960s was famed Texas heartsurgeon Michael DeBakey, who introduced area physicians to

his pioneering work onartificial hearts and bypasssurgery.

In 1955, just prior to thewidespread use of new drugsand treatments and moree n l i g h t e n e d s o c i e t a lacceptance, Pontiac's patientpopulation peaked at 3,100.The hospital's mission rapidlyevolved from custodial care tomodem psychiatric treatment.It was renamed Clinton ValleyCenter in 1973. A year ofcelebration commemorated thehospital's centennial in 1978,including dedication of aMichigan Historical Sitemarker, Paradoxically, it alsohighlighted the reality thatmany buildings were beingshuttered due to the decliningpatient load and functionalobsolescence. In 1985, fouryears after the site was placedon the National Register ofHistoric Places, a countycommissioner called the site"ideal" for a factory for GM's

then-planned Saturn subsidiary, with the hospital buildingsconverted into administrative offices or torn down.37

"What value do you place on history? I think you place alot of value on it," said Owen Winnie, then-Pontiac's planningadministrator in 1991, as adaptive reuse was being studied.38He said the "unique flavor of the old buildings makes theproperty valuable."Pontiac's then-Mayor Wallace Holland was considering a "townwithin a town," with 7,000 to 10,000 people living and workingin the buildings, surrounded by nature trails and a golf course.

"I don't think there's another parcel of property with thatkind of potential this side of the East Coast," Winnie predicted.When city and county officials unveiled a more formalized planin 1992, state officials panned the proposal saying, "there wereno plans for any closure."39 As state-operated mental healthfacilities were downsized, however, the hospital's fate appearedsealed. By 1997, with barely 200 patients remaining, ClintonValley closed.40 Three years passed as state, county, and a new

Continued on Page 9

From Our Collections: The Hadsell Collection (Asa and Albert) By Leslie S. Edwards

"Hadsell Pond & Hadsell residence.View toward north."

Asa B. Hadsell was bom 31 Jan 1796in Barkhamsted, Litchfield, Connecticut.The family moved west, settling in Vestal,Broome County, New York. In 1818, Asaset out for Michigan, and in August 1819,arrived in Pontiac, where he tookemployment with the Pontiac Company,working on the first dam and the saw andgrist mills. Asa made his first landpurchase 17 Sep 1821 with John Cochran,160 acres being the southeast quarter ofSection 3 in Bloomfield Township. Hethen traded that property on 17 Oct 1822,for 50 acres in part of the northeast quarterof Section 4 of Bloomfield Townshipowned by Luther and Polly Sowles.

On 4 Jul 1822, Asa married ElizabethTodd, and they built a sturdy one-room logcabin on the south end of their land facingeast. There, they raised two sons, Charlesand Edmund until Elizabeth died 5 Nov1846. On 18 Nov 1850, Asa married hissecond wife, Fanny E. Adams. Fanny alsobore two children, Albert Gallatin, and adaughter, Addie Byron, and now the logcabin held a family of six. By April 1857,Hadsell was contracting with JohnsonPrall, a well-known architect and builder,to build a larger house. In June, Asapurchased on contract seventy thousandbricks at $5 per thousand for a total sum of$350.00, and construction of the red brickhouse soon began.

Asa continued to increase his landholdings, purchasing property all over thecounty. He owned several parcels inBloomfield and Pontiac Townships,including a "Store House" on Saginawstreet in Pontiac, as well as parcels inOrion, Auburn Hills and even Lambton

County, Ontario. He also continued toimprove his homestead. In 1866, Asareceived a "Farm Right" certifying that hepurchased the right to "manufacture anduse, on his Farm in E. Bloomfield and in noother place or places, the Farm Gateknown as the "Harrah National Gate"." By1872, the Hadsell homestead consisted of34 acres, and grew to include the "brickdwelling and frame barn...with thesurrounding yards, orchards, garden", aswell as "pasture fields known as theswamp lot and wood pasture".

Asa B. Hadsell died 28 Jun 1879 withan estimated value, both real and personal,of $25,000. His bequeathed to his sonAlbert, the farm on Section 3 consisting of149 acres, where Albert resided at the time.In addition, Albert was to receive all thetools, implements, horses, stock and otherpersonal property which belonged to Asaat the time of his death, subject to thedower right of his "beloved widow",Fanny E. Hadsell. His son, Edmund, whoresided in California was to receive $1,000and his grandson, Charles E. Hadsell $500,with the remainder of his estate, both realand personal to his wife Fanny, whom henamed executrix.

"Hadsell log cabin on south side of Hadsellpond. Artificial lake. Was a bog - took outloads of black dirt 1898."

The Hadsell house with the "Harrah NationalGate"

After Asa's death, Fanny resided inthe Hadsell home until her death 3 Apr1897. After her death, Albert and hisfamily moved back to the homestead,making improvements, and inl898, the"swamp lot" or bog, was cleared of dirt,and an artificial lake called Hadsell Pondwas created. Albert eventually sold theacreage in Section 3, and by 1916, it hadbecome the South Bloomfield HighlandsSubdivision. When Albert died in 1917, a"Statement of Property" valued the 38 acrehomestead at Bloomfield at $15,000.

7

The Hadsell house, was first builtalong the Saginaw Trail, which eventuallybecame Woodward Avenue. Woodwardbegan as a narrow 18-foot road with aninterurban rail track running along theeast side. By 1916, it had been paved allthe way from Detroit to Pontiac, and in1923, a measure was adopted to widenWoodward Avenue to make it the first"super highway". This would includecreating four lanes, with provision for theinterurban rail between two strips ofconcrete, measuring a total width of 204feet. "When the widening of WoodwardAvenue began many farms were beingtilled along its distance between Pontiacand Birmingham and between Birminghamand Royal Oak. Today scarcely a farmremains along the entire 13 miles." Theeffect of Wider Woodward on the Hadsellfarm as the loss of a large portion of landfronting Woodward, resulting in theremoval of the fence and changing theentrance to the home.

The Hadsell house still stands today,just south of St. Joseph Mercy Hospital,with the red brick painted white and anewer home where the bam used to stand.The intricate cornice brackets can still beseen underneath the roof, but the largeVictorian porch and detailed front entranceis long gone. It is not known when the logcabin was destroyed, although a 1906news clipping featured a photograph of theinterior, and a 1916 atlas shows a buildinglocated on the south side of the pond.After Albert's death in 1917, thehomestead was eventually sold off andsubdivided. Today, the home sits on a hilloverlooking the Hadsell Pond whichremains as a silent reminder of the oncerustic farm the Hadsell family called homefor over 75 years.

Board of Directorsfor 2001Edwin Adler, Lake AngelusBruce Annett, WaterfordJanice Bell, WaterfordJames Bowie, PontiacRoss Callaway, West BloomfieldVirginia Clohset, Bloomfield TwpKathryn Daggy, Auburn HillsLaVon Delisle, OxfordGuy Duffield, WaterfordPatricia Fisher, White LakeGaylor Forman, Bloomfield HillsMiriam Foxman, Keego HarborPriscilla Gaytan, CommerceDavid Hackett, Rochester HillsRosamond Haeberle, WaterfordPauline Harrison, Rochester HillsGil Haven, LindenBarbara Irwin, Bloomfield HillsAnnalee Kennedy, Sylvan LakeClarke Kimball, PontiacRex Lamoreaux, PontiacCharles Martinez, West BloomfieldIrma McMillen, PontiacSusan Metzdorf, Auburn HillsJean Milton, PontiacRuth Priestly, WaterfordRobert Reynnells, PontiacJohn Riley, PontiacVirginia Rodgers, FranklinElizabeth Ross, PontiacConstance Scafe, ClarkstonGale Scafe, ClarkstonDoris Smith, PontiacRichard Stamps, RochesterMichael Willis, PontiacEllen Zehnder, ClarkstonMichael Zehnder, Clarkston

Honor Roll of Donors 2000

Pontiac Evening Press, TuesdayMarch 10,1896"If any person has knowledge ofthe present whereabouts of any ofthe records of the Oakland CountyPioneer Society, informationwould be thankfully received byEzra Jewell, the present secretary.It is within-the possibilities that thelate Mr. Walter loaned the book orbooks of record to some one whodesired to secure certain data, whoforgot to return the same."

Corporate, Foundation and CivicSupportGifts of $1000 or moreOakland County Lincoln Republican ClubGifts of $100 to $250Great Lakes CrossingQuantum Leap, Inc.Gifts of Under $100Alpha AccountingMichigan Farm and Garden FoundationGreater Pontiac Area Chamber of CommerceInKind ContributionsGoldner-Walsh NurseryGreater Pontiac Area Chamber of CommerceHenk StudioJacobsen's Flowers, Inc.Louisa St. Clair Chapter, DARNature Nook FloristsOakland County Genealogical SocietyRattallee Lake Tree FarmStarbucksWestborn Market

Individual DonorsGifts of $1000 or moreVirginia ClohsetGifts of $500 to $999Donald and Elizabeth AdamsEd and Gretchen AdlerGifts of $250 to $499Frederick PooleGifts of $100 to $249Ross CallawayGladys ChealRalph and Carolyn CoulterKathryn DaggyGuy and Nancy DuffieldPamela GosikDavid and Marion HackettJohn P. HarrisGil HavenThomas and Jane KamlayDaniel and Carolyn MurphyJoyce ScafeForbes SibleyWalter and Betty WhitmerGifts of $50 to $99Richard BalmerJanice BellAndrew BerryJanet Hayward BurnhamMildred CarmichaelTheda DeyMargery EdwardsGeorge Ellenwood

Dan and Miriam FoxmanRosamond HaeberleShelia Dansby HarveyIsabel HazenJohn and Barbara IrwinRichard and Ann IrwinClayton Jones, Sr.Vernon and June KathMarilyn KalfianClarke and Marion KimballKen KuenkelRex LamoreauxJo PateMarjorie PflugWallace PikeBob and Ellen ReynnellsMildred SchmidtCharles SteeberIsabel StockwellRuth WallFran WilsonCharles and Ernestine WilliamsMike and Ellen ZehnderGifts of under $50Adeline AdamsJohn AverillMarilyn BrooksKenneth and Geraldine CarmanGaylor FormanJanet FreemanWilson and Virginia GarnerJulie GibsonBruce HassenJudy HauserElizabeth HoardJudith HudallaMargaret HutchinsonFlorence JohnsonJean KrogerDorothy LearningCharles MartinezEleanore McCurryDavid WallaceMary WesselsThelma WrightDorothy YanceyWe have tried to acknowledge all those whohave made financial contributions to theSociety in the past year. We apologize inadvance for any omissions. Please call us at(248) 338-6732 with any corrections. Thereare many more donors who have contributed artifacts for our collections, or items tobe used at our Ice Cream Social andVictorian Christmas Open House. Wegreatly appreciate every one of thedonations we have received in the past year.Your support is invaluable.

Eastern Michigan Asylum continued

group of Pontiac officials wrangled about whether the site'sredevelopment value was higher with or without the buildings.

Citing rising maintenance and security costs, the stateallocated $5 million to raze the hospital. Demolition began inJan. 2000. "Some concern has been voiced regarding thehistorical significance of these buildings. However, it is the typeof architecture that is cited as 'historical,' not the actualbuildings," said Janet Phipps, director of Michigan's Departmentof Management and Budget, defending the action.41 By July,most of the buildings were rubble.

Myers died in Detroit in 1909. His obituary in the DetroitNews noted, "An architect's best monument is the work that heleaves behind. Its artistic treatment and its enduring qualityshould show forth the manner of the man to future generations."

His 122-year-old hospital succumbed not to flaws in "artistictreatment" or "enduring quality," but to community indifferenceand political infighting.

Myers's grand gift from the Gilded Age — the economicengine of 19,h Century Pontiac—wouldn't be saved to contributeto the city's 21st Century future.

16 Clinton Valley Center, Capsule History, 1878-1978. Hospital monograph.OCPHS Collection.17 Ibid.18 Hitchcock and Seale, pg. 176.19 Pontiac Weekly Bill Poster, Dec. 25, 1878.20 Charles Crumm, "Practical Beauty," The Oakland Press, Feb. 24,1997,pg. A3.21 Hitchcock and Seale, pg. 280.22 Pontiac Weekly Bill Poster, Feb. 20,1878.23 Pontiac Weekly Gazette, Mar. 12, 1875 and Aug. 4,1876. OCPHS Collection.24 Samuel W. Durant, editor, 1817-1877 History of Oakland County, Michi

gan. L.H. Everts & Co., Philadelphia, 1877, pg. 32.25 Ibid, pg. 32.26 Pontiac Weekly Bill Poster, Dec. 25,1878.27 "Mental Disease: The Discipline, Modes of Restraint, and Duties ofAttendants at the Pontiac Asylum," Pontiac Weekly Bill Poster, Jan. 8,1879.28 Gary Thome, "Hospital Served by Tunnels," Pontiac Daily Press, Aug.14, 1963.29 W.M. McConnell, M.E. Crofoot, et.al., Report of the Board of Commissioners of the Eastern Michigan Asylum for the Years 1877-78, W.S. George& Co., State Printers and Binders, Lansing, 1878, pg. 3.30 "The Light of the Future," Pontiac Gazette, July 12,1878.31 Pontiac Weekly Bill Poster, April 24,1878.32 Ibid, June 28,1878.33 Ibid, pg. 28.34 Pontiac Weekly Bill Poster, Dec. 11,1878.35 W.M. McConnell, et.al., pg 17.36 Ibid, pg. 19.37 Hurd38 W.M. McConnell et.al., "Final Report of the Board of Commissionersof the Eastern Michigan Asylum for the Insane at Pontiac, Michigan fromSet. 30, 1879 to Dec. 31, 1879." W.S. George & Co., State Printers andBinders, Lansing, 1880, pgs 5-6.39 W.G. Vinton et.al., "Report of the Board of Trustees of the Eastern Michigan Asylum at Pontiac for the Biennial Period Ending June 30,1892." RobertSmith & Co., State Printers and Binders, 1892, pg. 24.40 C.B. Burr, "Eastern Michigan Asylum," The International, Vol. 1, No. 1,Jan. 1892. OCPHS Collection.41 Clinton Valley Center, Capsule History, 1878-1978.42 "From an 'Insane Asylum' to Auto Plant?," Royal Oak Daily Tribune,Jan. 26,1985.43 Steve Spaulding, "Battle Begins to Preserve History: Future of CVCBuildings at Stake," Oakland Press, May 26,1991, pg. El.44 Phil Ginotti, "CVC Development Slammed," The Oakland Press, Mar.28,1992.45 Ibid, May 18, 1997.46 Janet E. Phipps, "Pontiac Had Chance to Redevelop CVC," Letter to theEditor, The Oakland Press, Feb. 2, 2000, pg. K2.

Copyright Bruce J. Annett, Jr. 2001. All rights reserved.

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONOakland County Pioneer & Historical Society

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Calendar of EventsS a t u r d a y, F e b r u a r y 1 7 B o a r d M e e t i n g 9 : 3 0 a mWednesday, March 21 Board Meeting.... ....... 9:30amSaturday, April 21Wednesday, May 16Saturday, June 16Wednesday, July 18Saturday, July 28Sunday, July 29

B o a r d M e e t i n g . . . . 9 : 3 0 a mB o a r d M e e t i n g 9 : 3 0 a mB o a r d M e e t i n g 9 : 3 0 a mB o a r d M e e t i n g 9 : 3 0 a mI c e C r e a m S o c i a l l - 5 p mIce Cream Social (Rain Date)

NOTE: For convenience, all Board Meetings will now be held at 9:30am.

Historic Community NewsThe Ortonville Community Historical Society has received $2500 through the Ortonville Chamber of Commerce,a Community Development Block Grant and a private donation to be used for renovation of their museum.

The Milford Historic Society is trying to raise $500,000 to restore the old Ford Powerhouse, an Art Decohydroelectric plant designed by architect Albert Kahn in 1939.

In Madison Heights, the Kendall School Foundation has been formed to raise funds to restore the Kendall One-RoomSchoolhouse, built in 1914.

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