The Milan News-Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
London commercial area thrived in 1870s
PUBLISHED: July 3, 2008
Sure, there was a post office called "London." But that doesn't mean there was a community by that name in London Township.
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However, in looking closely at the Monroe County atlas of 1876, I realized there was a huge community with the name "London" located on Plank Road and Ostrander Road.
At that time, the roads didn't necessarily have names. The atlas certainly doesn't supply any road names. But the roads are marked, and I can figure it out by comparing the old atlas with more modern maps. According to the atlas, London was quite the metropolis, bustling with commercial activity.
Today's illustration comes from the 1878 atlas, and shows the center of downtown London at that time. This idealized hand-drawing was apparently quicker and cheaper than taking a photograph. Photographs were widely available starting with the Civil War, although many at that time were done on tintype, which are metal plates, or on glass in wooden boxes. In preparing a book about Monroe County, the atlas publishers naturally leaned toward pen-and-ink drawings.
The Monroe atlas comes to us thanks to William Henry Harrison Hack, the son of Bethuel Hack. Born in 1837, he was a landowner in London Township and the father of Jim Hack, famous resident of the Hack House. He spent a few dollars to purchase this over-sized hardcover book, and his volume was passed down through the generations to Warren Hale, who kept it for the Milan Area Historical Society.
Take a look at this town of "London." Apparently, the house on the right is the residence and store of William Ostrander. Born Nov. 30, 1828, he had his finger in just about every pie where London Township politics were concerned. He served as township supervisor, ran a grocery store and had a dry goods store, as well. He did all this while raising at least six children, maybe more, and keeping track of his many grandchildren.
A directory of businesses in the Monroe atlas contains a lengthy description of Ostrander's activities: "General dealer in Dry Goods, Groceries, Boots and Shoes, Hats, Caps, Crockery, Glassware, Drugs, Medicine, Tobacco, Cigars, Hardware and Provisions. Also Postmaster, London Corners."
The thing that puzzles me is the name of the community being called "London Corners," instead of Ostrander's Corners. However, in later obituaries, I have seen families write that someone grew up near Ostrander's Corners, and looking at this atlas, it's easy to tell where that was.
William Ostrander married Sarah Adeline Hack, daughter of Bethuel and Sally Hack. Bethuel Hack was one of the first guys to show up in the Milan area, along with Harmon Allen and John Marvin. The entire area was sparsely populated, so anyone looking for a husband or a wife usually picked someone close by, and the original families to the area soon found themselves serving as in-laws to each other.
Today's illustration shows the house, with a cute picket fence, which apparently includes the grocery store and dry goods store. No blinking neon sign tells you that the store is open. People in the area just knew where to go for a bag of corn meal or a can of baking powder. Advertising apparently was not a high priority to the Ostrander retail enterprise.
Just across the street from the Ostrander store and residence, you can see a box-shaped building with some horses and a wagon pulled up in front of it. The Monroe atlas map of London Township indicates a school was located on that corner. The artist may have been busy adding cows, horses, dogs and children to the picture for the sake of decoration, and it's hard to say for sure if that building really shows the school and tells us what the school looked like.
Typically, you expect a school to have a bell. At one time, big roof bells were common, not only for schools and fire stations, but for farm houses to call the men in at the correct time for supper. Perhaps a school bell was harder to find in the 1870s, so they skipped it. I notice some cows are shown kiddy-corner from the Ostrander residence, and I would like to assume the artist drew them in accurately.
Other big-shots in the atlas directory include Wells Sprague, a general farmer and justice of the peace. He made dairy farming his specialty, and manufactured cider. Another notable person in the directory was I.S. Hitchcock, probably Isham Hitchcock, a general farmer and a contractor for the U.S. mail rout between Monroe and Milan.
Albert Bond has an entry in the directory, and I recognize his name because of his service to the London Township Board. He advertises "Notary Public and Teacher. Supervisor and Township School Inspector." I find it odd that a teacher also would be a school inspector, but that was what he did for a living.
H.H. Smith wrote an entry for the directory showing he was a general farmer and township treasurer. G.M. Stecker said he was a general farmer, and dealer in stock and "good horses. Durham cattle a specialty." A.F. Van Beuren advertised his work as a woolen manufacturer, so I assume he raised sheep.
The map of London Township contains information you will never find anyplace else. For example, it shows a cheese factory on the corner of Wells Road and Darling Road. That cider mill belonging to Sprague is just south of it, and then the John Chase saw mill. It looks like a town or city waiting to happen.
Just east of the cheese factory, a note says "E.W. Sprague settled here in 1839." Just a little farther east, a note says "Dr. L. DeVee settled here in 1841." Where Plank Road meets with Barnes Road, a note on the atlas says "E. Barnes settled here in 1837," referring to Eleazer Barnes.
On the southwest corner of Cone Road and Wells, the atlas says H.N. Allison settled in that location in 1855. That would be Horatio N. Allison, born in 1823. His wife was Marie Antoinette Allison, and they had at least nine children. J. Bruckner was the next neighbor to his south, a member of the far-flung Bruckner clan around London and Milan townships.
Northwest of Townsend and Oelke Road, the atlas states that the first house was built in London Township. The map-maker ran out of room and didn't mention when that house was constructed, or who built it.
People sometimes ask me how I get information for this column. I just go out looking for a specific fact. I check the Register of Deeds office, obituary files, birth records and census records. Chances are, I may not find what I was looking for, but I will run across some other facts that are even more interesting.
I organize the information about people into an index by last name, so if I want to know about someone named Ostrander, Hitchcock or Bruckner, I can just check and see if the family members are listed.
Another way I find local history is from people who come to me with their old pictures and their stories. Sometimes the pictures and stories come from far away because Milan residents and their children or grandchildren move out of state. When someone stops by with an old picture I've never seen, I jump for joy. The picture, or the computer scan, becomes the property of the Milan Area Historical Society.
Martha Churchill is a member of the Milan Area Historical Society. She can be reached at MilanHistory@yahoo.com or (734) 439-4055.
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