A LAND-USE STUDY GP THE ST. CLAIR FLATS Thesis Ear Fae beam at“ M. .8. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Joseph H. Roam-s i955 u mum; HIZIIQJILJIIHI LII! m 11ml jlll 11m 114m; ll ‘ 2%: 25¢ per day per item RETURNIN LIIRARY MATERIALS: Place in book return to remove charge from circulation records A LAND-USE STUDY OF THE ST. CLAIR FLATS by Joseph H. Rogers AN ABSTRACT Submitted to the School of Agriculture of Michigan State University of Agriculture and Applied Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Department of Land and Water Conservation Year 1955 TVZH‘ -' Joseph H. Rogers THESIS ABSTRAQI The Delta of the St. Clair River is a unique land form which has and does present unusual problems in the utilization of its resources. In the past man's misunderstanding of the complexities of the area has resulted in many, man-land maladjustments. The purpose of this paper is to determine the physical and cultural factors affecting the area and to utilize an understanding of these factors in making recommendations for the future deve10pment of the area. An under— standing of the area is important, for with understanding comes knowledge, and with knowledge most problems confronting the "Flats" can be solved. Evaluation of the physical and cultural factors affecting the "Flats" indicates that the area would probably serve its highest and best use if developed as residential and recreational pr0perty. This should be accom- plished by a compatible combination of both public and private ownership and develOpment. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The writer wishes to express his gratitude and appreciation to Professor Frank W. Suggitt, Professor Clifford R. Humphrys, Professor Ivan F. Schneider, Professor Standard G. Bergquist and Dr. William F. Jewell, for their interest, encouragement, and guidance which aided immensely in the preparation of this paper. . I'am also grateful to Professor Emeritus J. O. Veatch, Mr. William H. Colburn, Mr. J. Stephansky, Mr. 8. Collins, and Mr. Paul Schneider for their advice, suggestions, and aid in the compilation of this study. Z-THE LAND-USE STUDY OF THE ST. CLAIR FLATS by 6 Joseph H. Rogers A THESIS Submitted to the School of Agriculture of Michigan State University of Agriculture and Applied Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Department of Land and Water Conservation 1955 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION 00......0.0.0.0...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 1 PART I THE PHYSICAL NATURE OF THE ST. CLAIR FLATS AREA ................... Location 0.00.0...0.00.0000....0.00000000000000000000000000000 Area 0.00.00.00.0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 The St. Clair River O0....OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO0.00.00.00.00. Lake Ste Clair .0.0.0.0.000...I0.0000000000000000000...0...... The Islands of the St. Clair Flats ........................... 10 Soils of the St. Clair Flats ................................. 12 Fluctuation of the Level of Lake St. Clair ................... 16 Climate of the St. Clair Flats ............................... l9 OO‘U‘Q 0) PART II GEOLOGIC HISTORY OF THE ST. CLAIR FLATS COOOOOOOOOOOOOOO0.0.0.0.... 23 Pre'61361al HiStory OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO0.00.0.00...00.0.0000... 23 The Pleistocene EPOCh OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 24 Glacial History of the St. Clair Flats Area .................. 25 PART III THE HISTmY w LAND-USE IN “E ST. CLAIR FLATS oeeeeeeooeeeeoooeeoe 32 Early Exploration ............................................ 32 F1r5t settlement 0.0.0....OOI.O...0.00.00...OOOIOOOOOOOOOOOOO. 33 The Harsen Family and the St. Clair Flats .................... 34 The St. Clair Flats From 1821 to 1887 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 36 The Era of Public Recreational DevelOpment ................... 37 The Era of Private Recreational DeveIOpment .................. 39 Litigation Affecting the St. Clair Flats ..................... 4O Legislative Enactments Concerning the St. Clair Flats ........ 45 PART IV PRESENT LAND-USEOFTHE ST. CLAIR FLATS OOOOOOOCOOOOOOOOOO000......52 Land warship eeoeeeeeeooeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeoeeeooeo 52 Taxation 000......0...O...I.O...O...O...IOOOOIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOII 52 The St. Clair Flats Wildlife Area ............................ 54 Gravel Leases ................................................ 55 Transportation ............................................... 57 Continued 361673 TABLE OF CONTENTS -- Continued PAGE Utilities 00....IO...OOOOIOOOODOOOOOOOOCOOIOOOOO00.000.000.00. 6o ChUI‘Ches and SChOOls OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOIOOOO 61 Fire and Police Protection ................................... 61 AgriCUIture 0.0.0....00OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO000.0000... 62 Cottages and Re51dences OOOOOOOOOOOOOO0.0000000000000000IOOOO. 62 Retail Stores and Services Businesses ........................ 64 Boat Yards and Boat Liveries ................................. 65 Resort Hotels ................................................ 66 Miscellaneous Land Uses on the St. Clair Flats ............... 71 PART V SUINAARY Am RECWMENDATIONS OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO0......OOOOOIODIOOOCO 71 smary C....COIOOOOOOOCIOOOOOOOOOOOCOOOOOOOO00.000.000.000... 71 Recommendations .............................................. 72 TABLES Table I. Areal Extent of the Major Physical Sub-divisions of the St. Clair Flats .......................................... 5 Table II. Pertinent Lake Levels for Lake St. Clair ............... 17 Table III. Climatic Data for the St. Clair Flats ................. 20 Table IV. Stages and Sub—stages of the Pleistocene Epoch ......... 24 Table V. Glacial Lakes of the Huron and Erie Basin ............... 25 Table VI. Number of Residences on the St. Clair Flats by Major Physical Sub-divisions ....................................... 63 FIGURES Figure 1. Geographic Location of the St. Clair Flats ............. 4 Figure 2. Sources of Sediments and the Currents That Move Them into the St. Clair RiveIOOOIOOOOOOOOOOOOIOO...OOOOOOOOCOOOOOO. 7 Figure 3. Generalized Profile of the St. Clair Flats Showing the Under LaYing Strata Down to Bed ROCk 0.0000000000000000... 11 Figure 4. Soils of the St. Clair Flats ........................... 15 Continued TABLE G: CONTENTS -- Continued PAGE Figure 5. The Effect of Lake St. Clairs Water Level on the Area Of the St. Clair Flats OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO0.0...00.000000000000000. 18 Figure 6. Location of Weather Stations ............................. 20 Figure 7. Effect of Differential Uplift North of the Algonquin Hinge .00...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO0.0.0.0000... 29 Figure 8. Land Ownership in the St. Clair Flats .................... 53 Figure 9. Present Land-Use in the St. Clair Flats .................. 67 W The St. Clair Flats comprise that portion of the St. Clair River Delta situated on the Michigan side of the United States-Canada International Boundary. This deltaic formation owes its origin and growth chiefly to sediments carried from Lake HUron and deposited in Lake St. Clair by the St. Clair River. Politically the region is the southern one-half of Clay Township, St. Clair County, Michigan. The areal extent of the St. Clair Flats, as surveyed for the State Land Office under provisions of Act 175 P. A. of 1899, was established as 25,178.79 acres, 11,669.87 acres of which was land and 13,508.92 acres of which was water. They physical nature and geographic location of the St. Clair Flats has rendered this area desirable to man from the time of the first settle- ment of Michigan. The proximity of water and the consequent ease of navi- gation resulted in the ”Flats“ being especially desirable to the early settlers. Availability of easy water transportation facilitated trade and agriculture, both of which the early settlers depended upon for their livelihood. After the importance of water transportation had declined, the desirability of land ownership in the St. Clair Flats remained undi- minished. The abundance of game and fish in the channels and marshes of the "Flats" made them attractive as fishing and shooting grounds for many private sportsmens' clubs. The late 1800's gave rise to several large public picnic and recreational deveIOpments to which the citizens of Detroit and Toledo traveled by excursion boats to Spend their vacations and holi- days. At the peak of its papularity the St. Clair Flats were called the "venice of America.” The advent of the automobile and the resulting in- crease in private transportation facilities gave rise to still another episode in the history of the St. Clair Flats. This period, which has continued with increasing intensity to the present, has been one of in- tense deveIOpment of private recreational facilities. The 1,275 cottages and residences presently located on the area is evidence that the present trend, towards the develOpment of the St. Clair Flats is based largely upon the recreational values of the land. In the A past the demand for land in the St. Clair Flats has resulted in a great deal of friction wherein private interests have tried to overthrow state ownership and control of certain lands. This dispute between public and private interests, even after years of litigation and several Legislative enactments, has not been resolved to the complete satisfaction of either party. The future significance of this conflict is best realized by con- sidering the present nationwide increase in papulation. In addition to pOpulation increase, the land use problem in the St. Clair Flats is further intensified by a general increase in prosperity, more leisure time for the working class, more automobiles, and better highways. The maladjustments resulting from excessive papulation pressure on a limited land resource has made it imperative that steps be taken to fa- <=ilitate better utilization of the ”Flats” area. The logical approach is 1&0 make an inventory of the resources available and on the basis of these findings endeavor to establish new man-land relationships which are com- :Natible to both society and the land. In this way society will gain a Inaximum of human satisfaction and at the same time a valuable resource will be insured against detrimental exploitation. THE PHYSICAL NATURE OF THE ST. CLAIR FLATS AREA LOCATION The subject under discussion in this thesis is a group of islands known as the St. Clair Flats. The "Flats,” as they shall henceforth be called, are bounded on the east by the South Channel of the St. Clair River, on the north by the North Channel of the St. Clair River, on the west by Anchor Bay, and on the south by Lake St. Clair. Of these delineat- ing features the North and South Channels of the St. Clair River are the most significant. The significance of the North Channel is that it sepa- rates the "Flats' from the mainland of Michigan. The South Channel de- lineates not only the eastern margin of the ”Flats” but serves also as the International Boundary between the United States and Canada. Politi- cally the "Flats” constitute the southern portion of Clay Township, St. Clair County, Michigan. The complex nature of the land and water bodies (of the "Flats" prevented the General Land Office of the Federal Govern- lnent from making a rectangular grid type survey of the area. The region, trowever, can be described as the land lying immediately south of Town three North, Range fifteen East and Town three North, Range sixteen East Els.measured from the Michigan Base Line and Principal Meridian. The latitude and longitude of the "Flats” boundaries are as follows: South lacundary 42°30'30” North Latitude, north boundary 42°37'30” North Latitude, east boundary 82°30'00” Nest Longitude, and the west boundary 82°42'30” We st Longitude. GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION of the ST. CLAIR FLATS ANCHOR BAY DICKINSON ISLAND $30 LAN: ST CLAIR R or CLAI / couu'rv \ // I / \“\ f / (/4 / \ ‘L / LAKE ST CLAIR ‘\ \ (FlG-URE“ I) LAKE HURON CANADA AREA The ”Flats,” although never surveyed by the rectangular grid system of the Federal Government, were surveyed and platted by the Michigan State Land Office in 1902. This survey was initiated under provisions of Public Act 175, passed June 23, 1899. The purpose of this act was to provide for the sale, disposition, and control of the unpatented swamp and over- flowed lands in the wanship of Clay, St. Clair County, Michigan. The survey provided by this act was started on July 26, 1899 and completed October 15, 1902. The results of this survey established the areal ex- tent of the "Flats" as 25,178.79 acres, 11, 669.87 acres of which was land, and 13,508.92 acres of which was water. The following table shows a breakdown of the total acreage figures according to the major physical subdivisions of the "Flats.“ TABLE 11 AREAL EXTENT CF THE MAJOR PHYSICAL SUB-DIVISIONS OF THE ST. CLAIR FLATS Description Land Acres later Acres Russell Island 132.82 Harsens Island and Muscamoot Bay Section 7,126.90 3,789.17 Dickinson Island 3,326.28 4,125.31 Area Nest of Chenal A Bout Rond 1,083.87 2,358.69 Nbrth Channel 1,585.10 Chenal A Bout Rond 554.78 Middle Channel 824.74 New Baltimore Highway 107.28 Strawberry Highway 81.97 Fairhaven Highway 81.88 Total 11,669.87 13,508.92 Extension of the foot of the delta into Lake St. Clair has undoubtedly increased the land area of the "Flats” in the 53 years since the completion of the original survey. Mr. A. C. Lane in the introduction to Mr. L. J. Cole's publication on the "Delta of the The St. Clair River" estimated that through aggradation the Delta was being extended into Lake St. Clair at a rate approximating five feet per year.2 The extension of the land margin into Lake St. Clair would not change the area as determined by the original survey because of the fact that this survey was extended into Lake St. Clair a considerable distance past the shore line. The only varia- tion that a new'survey of the same area would show would be a gain in land area at the expense of the water area as determined in the original survey of 19025 THE ST. CLAIR RIVER The deltaic formation of which the "Flats" are a part, is unique in that it was formed by a river which serves as the outlet for a large lake. The large quantity of sediment which the St. Clair River has deposited at its mouth is contrary to the concept that lakes serve as settling basins, and as a consequence streams flowing from them should be relatively free of sediment and incapable of deltaic deposition. Professor I. C. Russell has credited the shore currents of Lake Huron for the major portion of the sediment load carried by the St. Clair River.3 In addition to this there are three other sources of sediment which have contributed to the V Delta's formation and growth. One of these sources is the sediments con- tributed by the Black, Pine, and Belle Rivers which are tributary to the St. Clair River, another sediment source is corrasion of the St. Clair River's own banks and channel. The third source of delta growth is the annual accumulation of vegetative litter contributed by the vegetation of the marshes. SOURCES OF SEDIMENTS AND THE 4 CURRENTS THAT MOVE THEM INTO THE ST CLAIR RIVER. \ MICHIGAN X "“71 '7’, "'X ( ST CLAIR RIVER 31% ,.§ I STCLAIR ,7, LAKE ST CLAI FLATS W. DETROIT RIVER?! L A K E TW__.___ E R I E I \u uvvu\ The St. Clair River, from the outlet of Lake Huron to the head of Russell Island, is 28 and one-half miles long and has a mean breadth of one-half mile. Throughout its length the River's channel is cut into a bed of blue clay which is overlain by yellow clay and sand or gravel drift. The banks of the River are quite low, usually not more than two or three feet, but in the upper reaches there are places where the height of the bluff reaches 18 to 20 feet. The Black, Pine, and Belle Rivers, all of which are on the United States side of the International Boundary, are the only important streams tributary to the St. Clair River. At the head of Russell Island the st. Clair River divides into two large branches, the most direct one being the South Channel and the other the North Channel. South of Russell Island the North Channel swings sharp- 1y westward flowing between the mainland to the north and Harsens Island to the south. The North Channel, after making this westward swing, is twice more divided. The first division, three and three-quarter miles below the Russell Island split, gives rise to the Middle Channel which flows southward between Harsens and Dickinson Islands. The second divi- sion of the North Channel is three and one-quarter miles west of the Middle Channel split. At this junction the North Channel again branches to the southward forming Chenal A Bout Rond, or as it is locally known, Sni Bora Channel. All of these major channels in turn give rise to minor distributaries in true deltaic fashion. The current in the River and main channels ranges from a maximum velocity of four and one-half miles per hour down to nearly zero, the fluctuation depending to a great extent upon the direction and velocity of the wind.5 Northerly winds tend to increase the current velocity by piling Up water in the south end of Lake Huron. Southerly winds, on the other hand, retard the current velocity by piling up Lake St. Clair's water in the vicinity of the "Flats." Regardless of the fluctuations in current velocity it appears that the St. Clair River is capable of maintaining a current of sufficient velocity to carry its sediment load. The depth of the St. Clair River and its main channels varies con- siderably. The channel of the River from Port Huron south to Russell Island ranges in depth from twenty-five to fifty feet with the mean depth being between thirty and forty feet. Nater depth in the four main channels of the “Flats” varies from thirty to forty feet, with the North Channel having the deepest water. At one place in the North Channel, near where it veers westward, the water reaches a depth of ninety feet. The minimum water depth in all four of the main channels is found over the bars which have formed at their mouths, however, this minimum depth in all cases ex exceeds 18 feet. Of the four main channels the South Channel has the most uniform depth. The reason for this is that the United States Corps : ’ of Engineers keeps it dredged to a minimum depth of twenty-five feet to facilitate navigation on the Great Lakes. LAKE ST. CLAIR Lake St. Clair is the lake into which the St. Clair River discharges, and in which the St. Clair Delta has been formed. Lake St. Clair is about thirty miles long and about twenty~four miles wide at its widest point. The mean depth of the central part of this lake is only twenty feet. The bottom of Lake St. Clair is composed, for the most part, of blue clay which in places is covered with deposits of sand and muck. The sedimentation process which is building up the “Flats" already has filled about one- 10 of the Lake basin. Cole in 1902 advanced the hypothesis that if aggra- dation continues at the present rate, Lake St. Clair's basin will be com- pletely occupied by the St. Clair River Delta in another twenty to forty thousand years.6 THE ISLANDS OF THE ST. CLAIR FLATS The size, shape, and elevation of the islands of the "Flats” vary considerably. In the upper or headward portion of the Delta the islands are the largest and also attain the highest elevation above the water of Lake St. Clair. The difference in elevation between the upper and lower islands can be attributed to two factors, one the normal slope which any delta deveIOps and two, the differential uplift which has occurred since the lisconsin Stage of Glaciation. Harsens Island, the largest of the group, has a maximum elevation of six feet above the normal level of Lake St. Clair. Portions of this Island are well enough drained to support forest vegetation, and where cleared, are capable of sustaining agriculture. The size and elevation of the islands becomes progressively less as the foot of the Delta is approached. The outer islands usually comprise little more than a few acres of ground rising a foot or so above the level of Lake St. Clair. Many of these outer islands have been made into cottage sites by building up the land with material dredged from the bottom of the channels or the Lake. If left in a natural state these outer islands are nearly flat land masses that in summer are covered with a luxuriant growth of sedges and grasses vdaich merge with the aquatic plants of the shallows giving the impression of a large grass prairie. Borings made by L. J. Cole in 1902 indicate that the islands consist GENERALIZED PROFILE OF THE ST CLAIR FLATS SHOWING THE UNDER LAYING STRATA DOWN TO BED ROCK oasesasaer 595’? ‘P PEEP;izéfiiie‘fiii'sf‘fi:55? “rev 9* iii. 's S“ ili'Z‘I‘L-E’ 4391'." .‘F C' ”:93: . ......... _. " '3 FEET °F ,,.,,,,., SAN D, SILT. AND CLAY I'/2° 3 FEET or ORGANIC IIATTER Iso-zoo FEET or BLUE "BOTTOM CLAY" __ BED ROCK "AIITRIIII SHALE" ? IIIISSISSIPPIAN AGE (FIGURE -' 3) 12 of a relatively thin, 14 to 16 feet, layer of sand, silt, and clay super- imposed on 150 to 200 feet of uniform soft blue clay.7 The "bottom clay,” as it is called, underlies the entire lowland area between Lakes Huron and Erie. The bed rock immediately below this clay is Antrim shale of early Mississippian age. Several of Cole's borings revealed the presence of a one and one-half to three foot layer of organic matter between the top of the bottom clay and the upper sediments of the delta. Despite the relatively thin nature of the delta deposit it is very similar to the deltas of other rivers, having in general a fan shape which is disected radially by a number of distributary streams which have built up natural levees along their channels. SOILS OF THE ST. CLAIR FLATS Professor J. 0. veatch in his publication, "Soils and Land of Michigan," placed the St. Clair Flats area in the Wauseon-Colwood-Berrien Soil Asso- ciation.8 He describes the area as land lying at low elevations, along the shores of Saginaw Bay, the delta of the St. Clair River, along the shores of Lake St. Clair, and part of the Lake Erie lowland in Monroe County. This area is characterized by limy soils with the low lying areas being covered with cattail, sedge and marsh grass while some of the better drained lands are used for general farming and the production of truck crops. The land is subject to flooding and storm damage by waves, espe- cially during periods of high water level on the Great Lakes. The soils map for the St. Clair Flats, made in 1929 by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station shows four soil types and two miscellaneous land types.9 The four soil types mapped in the ”Flats" are representatives of three 13 soil series, two of which are members of the Nauseon—Colwood-Berrien Asso- ciation. These soil series are the Celwood, Berrien, and Clyde. The two miscellaneous land types mapped in the "Flats" are Marsh and Made Land. The following brief descriptions of the soil types and two land types are taken from the ”Soil Survey of St. Clair County, Michigan."10 Cblwood very fine sandy loam. —- Colwood very fine sandy loam is the principal soil on several of the larger islands lying at the entrance of the St. Clair River into Lake St. Clair. The surface soil is 10 or 12 inches thick and is very high in organic matter which im- parts a black color. Below a depth ranging from 10 to 15 inches, the dark-colored soil overlies wet very fine sandy loam which is gray, mottled with yellow. The soil is strongly alkaline throughout. Many variations are noticeable in the material below the dark surface layer, the principal one being the occurrence of light-textured fine sandy loam or loamy fine sand. In other places, this same mate- rial may underlie the typical very fine sandy loam at a depth ranging from 24 to 30 inches. At several places, wet medium or coarse sand and fine gravel are present at a depth ranging from 30 to 40 inches. Ihere areas of this soil approach the true marsh, the upper black layer contains a higher percentage of organic matter and is usually thicker. During the present survey, when the water of the lake was at a high level, some areas of Colwood very fine sandy loam were classi- fied as marsh. Such areas are a comparatively high lying phase of true marsh. Reeds, rushes, and other marsh vegetation are absent, but water stands on the land to a depth ranging from 6 to 12 inches. To a depth ranging from 10 to 15 inches the very fine sandy loam is mixed with a very high percentage of organic matter, and it overlies saturated sandy material. Hay has been mowed from some of the low areas when the water level has not been so high. At one time, wild and tame hey were important sources of income, but low prices have practically destroyed the hay industry, except locally. A number of farms are located on Harsens Island, the products of which are corn, oats, buckwheat, clover, and timothy hay, vegeta- bles, poultry, eggs, milk, and a little fruit. Berrien loamy fine sand. -- Where cultivated, Berrien loamy fine sand is grayish-brown fine sand or fine sandy loam, grading, at a depth, ranging from 8 to 12 inches, into brownish-yellow or yellow loamy fine sand. The subsoil, occurring at depths ranging from 18 to 24 inches, is pale yellow loamy fine sand or sand with rust-brown, yellow, and gray mottlings. In most places, the lower part of the subsoil grades, at a depth of about 30 inches, into gray fine sand splotched or mottled with yellow. 14 The virgin (uncultivated) soil is marked by a very light gray or nearly white fine sand layer beneath the litter, sharply set off below from a distinctly rust-brown loamier material. Berrien loamy fine sand is intermediate between the poorly drain- ed Newton soils and the very well drained Plainfield soils. Conse- quently variations are included, which show characteristics of each of those two soils. Areas of Berrien loamy fine sand are ridgy, slight- ly undulating, or moundy and billowy. The variations in the soil are determined to a large extent by the surface relief and position, as those factors affect drainage. 0n the higher elevations, the surface soil is usually dark-brown or brownish-gray fine sandy loam or loamy fine sand, which grades into yellow loamy fine sand underlain by pale yellow fine sand, with rust-brown and gray mottlings. It differs from the Plainfield soils in the darker surface soils and the mottled subsoil. 0n the lower elevations and in depressions between mounds and ridges are spots of dark-gray fine sandy loam grading downward into brownish- yellow loamy fine sand containing yellow and gray mottlings and under- lain by gray and yellow fine sand. In many places, at a depth rang- ing from 4 to 6 feet, the substratum consists of heavy bluish-gray impervious clay. ' Berrien fine sandy loam. -- Berrien fine sandy loam has a surface layer, from 7 to 10 inches thick, of dark grayish-brown fine sandy loam or loamy fine sand. The subsurface material is yellowish-brown, or mottled yellow and gray, and ranges in texture from fine sandy loam to fine sand. This material grades downward into pale yellow and and gray fine sand or sand, the gray color increasing with depth. At depths ranging from 3 to 5 feet, it is underlain abruptly by mottled yellow and bluish-gray impervious clay. This soil is of slight agricultural importance and of small extent in the ”Flats." Owing to this occurrence in small areas, no particu- lar kind of agriculture has deveIOped on it, but it is farmed in con- nection with other soils. It is recognized as fairly good farm land but better adapted to potatoes, some garden vegetables, truck craps, and fruit than to hay and grain crepe, with the exception of rye. It is warm, easily worked, and retentive of moisture. Clyde loam. -- Clyde laom is similar to Brookston loam, except that it has a much darker and deeper surface soil containing a higher percentage of organic matter. The subsoil material is similar, though it is more distinctly gray throughout, owing to extremely poor natural drainage. This soil occupies only a small total area, mainly in the southern part of the county. Like Brookston loam, it is a very fertile soil and is highly productive when prOperly drained. Made land. -- Made land consists of artificial fills. Marsh. -- Marsh is closely associated with the Colwood soils, but it occupies even lower areas which are covered with water to depths ranging from a few inches to several feet. The depth of submergence is directly dependent on the rise and fall of the lake waters. W0 SOILS OF THE ST CLAIR FLATS” AN CH OR BAY ............ ............. .............. ............... ................ ................ ................ ............ ............. ............ ............ .............. ........ a‘.'.‘.' . .‘. . . . . I .'.‘.‘IMI .................................. ...................................... ..................... ............................... ............................ ............ ....................... .............................. ........................... .................................... ..................................... ,..... --- "' ' "' "' ......................... ......... ......... ....... ................. ............... ................. ............. .............. ........... aaaaaaaa .......... ..~--.‘ ......... ., .......... ‘. _ ............. ' ,,' ''''''' '.....-.e,_' , .... e ............... . _ .. """" l",',',.. "'- ,,_,_,,,,._.,,,_,\...........a, I ..... ‘.-"'_.. ,T-‘L ,......-...-.-..., -._'.._‘.,.,,,, """ ‘ e--......-........ ., - . ~~~~~~ 3,33"; ;- t I........ ,.... ‘.- ....... '....¢ ,’~ ......... "' .. -.... t ' .-. ....." “-.e* _ .'.""’ .--'-. ................................ ‘----‘ .................................. "" . ................................ . ..... “-' .................................. ----‘ ................... I ............. .--v- ................... n. ................ - .............................. ’- .................................. ’ ' ................................. ’- ............................ ................................ ............................... ............................. ........................... ............................. .............................. ........................... ........................... ...................... ..................... ....................... ........................ ..................... ................... ................. .............. ........ LAKE ST CLAIR COLWOOD VERY FINE SANDY LOAN BERRIEN LOAMY FINE SAND BERRIEN FINE SANDY LOAM CLYDE LOAw MADE LAND I I MARSH (FIGURE 4) 16 The soils of the "Flats” fall into one of two groups, they are either imperfectly or poorly drained. Berrien loamy fine sand and Berrien fine sandy loam are soils of the imperfectly drained group. These soils have mottled B horizons due to imperfect drainage, but drainage was sufficient so as to prevent the accumulation of excessive organic matter in their surface horizons. Celwood very fine sandy loam and Clyde loam, on the other hand, are soils deve10ped under poor drainage conditions. Prolonged saturation has been responsible for the gray coloring of their B and C horizons as well as being conducive to the accumulation of organic matter which is the reason for the dark colored surface horizons of these two soils. The deve10pment of the soils of the ”Flats” has been strongly influenced by the fluctuations of the level of Lake St. Clair. The de- scription of Colwood very fine sandy loam indicates that areas of this soil were mapped as marsh because of the high water level prevailing at the time of the survey. FLUCTUATION OF THE LEVEL OF LAKE ST. CLAIR The poor drainage of the "Flats" is evident in the development of the soils of the area. The factors responsible for this poor drainage are are in the main, the level nature of the "Flats" and frequent changes in the water level of Lake St. Clair. The plane of reference or low water datum for Lake St. Clair is 573.5 feet above the mean tide at New York City. Since 1898 the Lake Survey Branch of the Corps of Engineers of the United States Army has made daily stage readings to determine the level of Lake St. Clair. The following table shows the pertinent lake levels, on a monthly basis, for Lake St. Clair since 1898. The informa- tion given in this table indicates a difference of 5.78 feet between the all-time recorded low of 571.68 feet in January 1936 and the all-time high of 577.46 feet in August 1952. 12 TABLE II PERTINENT LAKE LEVELS FOR LAKE ST . CLAIR13 Month High Year Low Year Average 1954 January 576.95 1952 571.68 1936 274.19 574.69 February 576.69 1952 571.70 1926 573.84 574.52 MarCh 577 . 01 1952 572 . 23 1934 574 . 23 575 .76 April 577.29 1952 572.91 1901 574.92 576.31 May 577.32 1952 573.46 1934 575.23 576.50 June 577 .41 1952 573.56 1934 575.44 576 .63 July 577 . 51 1952 573. 70 1934 575 . 53 576 . 72 August 577.46 1952 573.42 1934 575.41 576.59 September 577.23 1952 573.18 1934 575.18 576.35 October 576 .68 1952 572. 95 1934 574. 90 576 .64 November 576 . 19 1951 572. 65 1934 574 . 60 576 .44 December 576 .65 1951 572.87 1925 574.59 576 . 3O Figure five of this paper graphically illustrates the effect that six foot fluctuation in the level of Lake St. Clair would have upon the extremely low level land masses of the ”Flats." The land elevations and the water depths used to prepare this map were obtained from United States Geological Survey Tapographic Quadrangles and from the United States Army, Corps of Engineers Lake Survey Chart for Lake St. Clair. The elevations and depths taken from these charts were by no means sufficient to precisely plot the effect of water fluctuation in Lake St. Clair. It was possible, however, by following the principles of deltaic deposition, to utilize these depths and elevations in a manner such that the end results approxi- mate very closely the areas inundated by various levels of the water in Lake St. Clair. It is pertinent to note that certain areas of the "Flats,” especially 1? ANCHOR LAKE BAY ST CLAIR ‘ I8. THE EFFECT OF LAKE ST CLAIRS WATER LEVEL ON THE AREA OF THE ST CLAIR FLATS ,ooeaoooeee so .0000. a geese-8*- :::: eeeeeeeee eeeee ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO earnSLAmiff? """" f .......... '. .. .. \. 2' “‘/i. ................. \Wf) {.‘.'fi eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ' ,.. cocoon-oeuoeeeeee90“,»:1‘ OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO .......... ooooooooo Q94 . ,-‘;. ,.. e o a" _ D 0 e o . _ .. , -. . . V4 .0 " ' ' ‘ ' a I‘ o e e o o . . ./e e o e - . ‘. ‘. - . T . . . I V . . . O f,..‘-' ""' IIIIIIII ,1. 0 o / . . .. - . . I . f. .' : _.__. 4, ‘: . . . . , . . . .,. I _ '- --------------- x ............. ‘ go o e ' e o - . . . . v.2 0 e e e o e e o e o e e .'.‘ ‘ ' ' ' , eeeeeee e r . O Q . \ . . ,' . _ eeeeeeeeeeeeeee . eeeeeeeeee 7" ', . l ‘ . . - . . , , , ‘ 0 U o ccccccccc ‘ eeeeeeeeeeeeee I \ ................ O 0 Q I . . ’ ( 7 l o e e e e e o i ' ' ' ‘ ............ ' “ ‘ e e e e e e e eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee LAND AREA OF THE "FLATS"WHEN THE LEVEL OF LAKE ST CLAIR Is 572.0 FEET. LAHD AREA OF THE"I~'LATs"wHEu THI .'.:.:._' R -- LEVEL 07 LAKE ST CLAIR Is 573.5 FEET.(PLANE OFREFE 5"“) LAND AREA OF THE”FLATS” WHEN THE LEVEL or LAKE ST CLAIR Is 576.0 FEET. LAID AREA 07 THE“ELATs”wHE~ THE LEVEL OF LAKE ST cLAIR Is 578.0 FEET. /' ‘ (FIGURE —- 5) 19 along the South and Middle Channels, have been built up by dredging sedi- It has went from the channels and depositing it upon the land masses. been previously mentioned that many cottage and resort sites have been constructed on these fills. The constant threat of damage by unusually high or low water levels has greatly affected the utilization of the "Flats,” especially in the outermost portions where relief is at a minimum. Future use of the "Flats" would be better facilitated if some means of control could be exercised over the fluctuating water level of Lake St. Clair. I I J - 3 _J— —-“—‘— _k id...- .. A .- , ‘3— - _ _.. _ _ __1 CLIMATE (F THE ST. CLAIR FLATS There are two distinct types of climate recognized for the State of The interior counties have a climate which alternates from con- Michigan. The semimarine climate is due to the moderating tinental to semimarine. influence exerted by the Great Lakes and is governed chiefly by the ve- Strong landward blowing winds have the locity and direction of the wind. The counties border- effect of extending the marine effect farther inland. It is the ing the lakes have a modified marine climate most of the year. Figure semimarine type of climate that is dominent in the ”Flats” area. six and Table III of this paper shows the comparison between the tempera- ture, precipitation, and growing seasons as determined from weather ob- servations made at five weather stations near the St. Clair Flats area}.4 These five stations are located at Port Huron and Jeddo in St. Clair County, Lapeer in Lapeer County, Pontiac in Oakland County, and at Mt. Clemens in Macomb County. The data presented in Table III was taken from "Climate Ind Man," and covers the period of record for each of the stations up 0 19410 20 CANADA Lake Stu.» (FIGURE 6) l5 TABLE III CLINATIC DATA FOR THE ST. CLAIR FLATS “I an MD “3 Hl' '”:j g g g g u. :3 ’3'} z “- .- ... t- I- 0 am!- “- O O “.’.‘ Ill ( ’( 3‘ m U.- 0 -— :0 oz“ 9 I: :9: am 5:: ”PO 0» 53 I- P‘ 2‘2 3 g 28 aa‘ o§ 935 “F ”I 00 a >- - ¢C0 . as was :4... u :3 a... ,.1‘9 ~22 a: 5 3a: :5..- <3*- 1" 3" 4“ ‘0‘ ‘0“- °" JEDOO 22 YR” 2|.3' 39.9“ IO4' -23° 2| YR. wAve ocT.I3 I30 DA. PORT HURON ' 4OYR., 23.5' 70.l' I00 -23' 4am. uAva OOTJC Ies DA. LAPEER 36m. 22.9' 72.2' Ioa‘ -2e' 34“. wAVIo OCT.II I34 DA. pom“ 32 YR. 23.I° 72.l’ IO4’ -—22° 32YR. HAVII OCT9 Isl DA. 'tCLENEHS 36 TR. 24.4. 7|.6° I06. —24° 35". MAY 7 OCTIZ I5. DA. _ _-J ,.-... AVERAGE PRECIPITATION A -_-'_’_“_ ””1 £1 7 _— z o ,, > u I: a: 0 :r O '3 $ t- 3 5 3 w } 4 "' r- c 4: a z _, o u, o 3 ‘ a . 4 '” c0 3 a: 0 — u ,. a r- 0 m ‘ 3 i a a s a s E s = J g e *- > 8 : s m :13 7 u. a < a 3 2 c g 8 1 g 1 '81 4 «one ZIYR. I.92 In no 2.43 3.34 2.67 an 3.2I 2.7o 2.3I I2.OI her 29.75 PORT HURON 39m. Lee I49 I.» 2.33 2.68I2.4C 233 2.7l 2.77 2.34I2.OI ,I.73 26.90 LAPEER 36YR. Lee Lee 2.02 2.32 3.39 3.II 2.79 2.73 2.93 2.33 2.3I I.92 g29.30 PONTIAC 32YR. L77 I37 |.9l 2.34 3.09 2.7l 2.73 2.67 297 2.20°2.0C |.93 28.73 IT.CLEMENS 37 YR. L73 |.70 LOB 2.34 2.9 2.94 2.99 2.41237 2." I204 L95 27.97 The information in Table III indicates that, in general, the weather stations nearest the lake have the highest January and lowest July tem- peratures. The stations near the lake also have longer growing seasons because the last spring frost comes earlier and the first fall frost comes later than at Lapeer and PDntiac which are farther inland. The precipi- tation for all stations is well distributed throughout the year, the only variation being about one inch less precipitation for each of the winter months as compared with that received during the warmer months. It may then be said that the proximity of the water'bodies around the "Plats" has some effect in moderating the climate. 1Commissioner of the State Land Office. Repgrt of 393 Sggggy of the 5;, Clalr Flats. Michigan State Land Office, Lansing, 1903. 2 Leon J. Cole. me Delta 2f mg 5;, Clalr Rlve . Geological Survey of Michigan, Lansing, Vol. IX, Part 1, 1903. 3 I. C. Russell. lakes of North Marlee. Ginn and Company, Boston, p. 40, 18950 4John Ayres, Report on 1954 Lake Huron SynOptic Survey. (Unpublished manuscript map.) 50013, We Cite 6 Ibid. 71b1d. 8Jethro Otto vaatch. Sojls agg Land of Michigan. The Michigan State College Press, East Lansing, p. 98, 1953. 9E. B. Deeter, H. W. Fulton, B. E. Musqrave, and L. C. Capp. Sell ngey of St. Clair Cougty, Michigan, United States Department of Agri- culture, Bureau Of Chemistry and Soils, and the Michigan Agricultural EXperiment Station, Number 27, Series 1929, 1929. 1°1bid. 11Ibiol. 12Corps of Engineers, United States Army, Monthly Report of Lake Levels, January through December, 1954. 21 ' I I .. -l TIE-Ir” ”mun”. -'.' ca 1 I I. 4. L . 131bid. 1“United States Department of Agriculture, Climate and Man, Yearbook of Agriculture, United States Printing Office, Washington, pp. 914 - 923, 1941. 15Ibis. GEOLOGIC HISTORY OF THE ST. CLAIR FLATS PRE-GLACIAL HISTORY Prior to glaciation it is rational to assume that the area presently occupied by the Great Lakes was very similar to the present tepography of Kentucky and Tennessee. The tepography was probably a series of lowlands divided by highlands of more resistant rock. There are two schools of thought as to which way the drainage from this area flowed. One follows the studies made by J. W. Spencer in 1890,1 who from his studies maintain- ed that the pre-glacial drainage of the Great Lakes region was to the east down the St. Lawrence River. Leverett, on the other hand, favors the hy- pothesis that the pre-glacial drainage was more likely down the present day Nabash and Ohio River valleys. There is little conclusive evidence to support either view, but what evidence there is available leans heavily in favor of the hypothesis supported by Leverett.2 Glaciation had a three-fold effect upon the physical nature of the Great Lakes region. Highlands were planed off, valleys and lowlands were filled, and the whole area was subsequently depressed somewhat by the weight of the ice. The only one of these factors that can be accurately measured is the amount of material deposited by glacial action. The depth of the glacial drift in Michigan ranges from zero to over 1,300 feet. The nature of this drift is such that its origin can be determined with a certain degree of accuracy. Examination has revealed that as high as 75 to 80 per cent of the drift material found in Michigan originated south of the Canadian Border.3 The vast quantity of this drift is ample evidence 24 Upon which to base a theory that the tapography must have been considerably higher before the erosional action of the glaciers planed off the area. ‘The effect of depression by the weight of the ice sheet in well known, lmrt since the region is still being uplifted it is difficult to reach any conclusive figure as to the total effect of this depression. The amount of drift deposited in certain areas has also had a marked effect Upon this eustatic uplift. In areas where the drift deposits are thickest there has ‘been less uplift. This would lend strength to the hypothesis that the weight of the drift is instrumental in keeping these areas depressed. It would then seem reasonable to assume that the Great Lakes region before glacia- tion was higher and had a wider range of tepography than it has at present. THE PLEISTOCENE EPOCH Studies have shown that the Pleistocene glaciation was not one, but a series of four ice sheets, which advanced over much of North America at widely spaced intervals. The sequence of these ice sheets and the inter- glacials between each is listed in the following table, going from young- est to oldest. TABLE IV STAGES AND SUB-STAGES 05 THE PLEISTOCENE napocn4 Epoch Stage Sub-stage Mankato Cary Tazwell lisconsin glaciation Iowan Sangamon inter-glacial Pleistocene Illinoian glaciation Yarmouth inter-glacial Kansan glaciation Aftonian inter-glacial Nebraskan glaciation I When-v.4 A. 1. .g—u I ' a With the exception of certain small areas each succeeding ice sheet reworked the deposits of the one preceding to the extent that many of the glacial features were obliterated. This being the case, it is evident that the features left by the most recent or Wisconsin ice sheet will be the most dominant. This is especially true in Michigan and the other north- ern glaciated states. To be even more specific, the deve10pment of the St. Clair Flats area is most directly affected by the conditions which prevailed during and since the Cary and Mankato sub-stages of the Wisconsin glaciation. .' 1 a - .J ‘ImmaTTfC‘WVWHlnw .- 2, “I \a A.__ __ . _.l GLACIAI. HISTCRY OF THE ST. CLAIR FLATS AREA The glacial history of the St. Clair Flats is very closely associated with the deve10pment of the Great Lakes during the Cary and Mankato sub- stages of the Wisconsin stage of the Pleistocene glaciation. The lowland area between Lakes Erie and Huron has been affected by a succession of lakes far more complex than any other part of the Great Lakes region. The sequence of the lakes which have affected the area are listed in the following table in order of their occurrence. TABLE V GLACIAL LAKES OF THE HURON AND ERIE ansms5 Lake Elevation First or highest Lake Maumee 790 feet Second or lowest Lake Maumee 760 feet Third or middle Lake Maumee 780 feet Lake Arkona 694-710 feet Lake Hhittlesey 735 feet Lake Wayne 660 feet Lake Warren 680 feet Lake Grassmere 640 feet Lake Elkton (Lundy) 620 feet Lake Algonquin 605-607 feet Nipissing Great Lakes 595 feet The elevations of the various glacial lakes, as shown in the right hand column of the preceding table, indicates a number of fluctuations in the levels of the various lakes as they developed. The complexity of these glacial lakes can be explained by the following four factors; one, the rela- tive height of the land between the Huron and Erie basins; two, the direc- tion of the glacial retreat in relation to the orientation of this lowland area; three, the oscillations of the ice front resulting in a series of re- treats, still stands, and readvances; and four, the eustatic or differen- tial uplift which occurred during and after the final ice retreat. Evidence left by the Erie and Huron lobes of the Labradorian ice sheet indicates that what is now the St. Clair Flats area was uncovered by the glacier sometime during the late Maumee stage of lake development. This area was at that time two hundred or so feet below the surface of Lake Maumee. This submerged condition continued through the succession of glacial lakes until the waters started their recession from the Lake Warren stage. This long episode of submergence explains the thick stratum of blue ”bottom clay," a lacustrine clay deposit which underlies the entire lowland between the Huron and Erie basins. The Grassmere and Elkton lake stages were of short duration, and serve only to indicate minor static intervals in the decline of the waters from the Warren to the Algonquin stage. It was during the Elkton stage that the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers first functioned as flowing streams. Prior to the Elkton, the valley occupied by these two streams had served only as a broad non-flowing strait between the deeper Huron and Erie basins. The close of the Elkton stage resulted in a merging of the waters of the Michigan, Superior, and Huron basins to form one great lake, Lake Algonquin, .m g‘ :i‘” “3‘. Wm.- . .s . . .._._ V 14.. _ _ _.. the largest of all the glacial lakes. The retreat of the ice sheet and the accompanying differential uplift gave rise to four distinct stages of Lake Algonquin, each stage being designated in accordance with the Lake's dis- charge outlet.6 Present day evidence indicates that the early or first stage of Lake Algonquin was confined to the southern one-half of the Huron Basin with dis- charge southward past Port Huron. However, this stage was of short duration, for the ice was so far to the north at its beginning that only a slight re- treat of the front was necessary to open up passages which provided new out- lets, one at Chicago and another at Kirkfield Ontario. The opening of these two outlets initiated the second or Kirkfield stage of Lake Algonquin. Of these two new outlets the Kirkfield was the lower and as a result the level of Lake Algonquin was soon lowered to the point where the Chicago and Port Hiron outlets were left high and dry. This lowering of the Lake Algonquin waters resulted in the emergence of the lowland area between the Huron and Erie Basins. The ice sheet had completely retreated from Michigan about this time and a great movement of differential uplift started to ele- the land. The hinge line for this uplift was a line running roughly west north west and east south east across the "thumb" of Michigan. The area north of this hinge experienced strong uplifting which eventually elevated the Kirkfield outlet to the point where it no longer was effective in dis- charge. The elevation of the Kirkfield outlet brought to a close the Kirkfield phase of Lake Algonquin. The third, or Port Huron-Clucago phase of Lake Algonquin resulted from the shift of the discharge from the Kirkfield southward to the Port Huron and Chicago outlets. At the beginning of this phase the major portion of the discharge was through the Chicago outlet, but by progressive down cutting - J ’ l l ' Ihfismme‘Je-hflx-‘* I." ,- ‘ A . “Jain "-—E—J- ., ,.s '-'—' v ____._Ji_ ____ _.. __l the Port Huron outlet soon lowered the lake's level to the extent that the , Chicago outlet became ineffective. The inability of the Chicago outlet to keep pace with the down cutting of the Port Huron outlet was due to the fact that the outlet channel at Chicago rested upon a rock sill. The differential uplift which started during the Kirkfield outlet phase reached its maximum intensity during this phase of Lake Algonquin. At Sault Ste. Marie the ver- .‘ E tical differential between the highest Algonquin beach and Hipissing beaches I is 365 feet, while in the area of horizontality the differential between these two beaches is but ten or twelve feet. This lends strength to the r.i view'that the uplifting which followed the ice retreat was quite spasmodic a E: and relatively rapid. This indicates also that the major portion of the uplift occurred during the later phases of Lake Algonquin. The fourth, or closing transition phase of Lake Algonquin was initiated by a shift in the drainage to the North Bay outlet. This new outlet was Opened by the removal of a final glacial remnant which dammed the Ottawa River valley east of Mattawa Ontario. This outlet soon lowered the eleva- tion of Lake Algonquin to the level where the Port Huron outlet was again abandoned. It is likely that the one and one-half to three feet of organic matter, which overlies the "bottom clay” of the "Flats,“ was formed by the vegetation which grew during this emerged condition. The shift of all the drainage of the upper three Great Lakes to the new outlet at North Bay in- augurated the Nipissing Great Lakes, the last in the succession of the gla- cial lakes.7 The Nipissing Great Lakes discharge was northward to North Bay and thence east through the Ottawa and Mattawa River valleys into the Champlain Sea. The outlet at North Bay was evidently only a little lower than the Chicago 29 EFFECT OF DIFFERENTIAL UPLIFT NORTH OF” THE ALGONQUIN HINGE L~ A... A- “ (Q 7‘. / “Tr E‘fE‘E \\ Ex) flit/[C I 4y . \ \A' /W J,” Y I / / fl / i / // --—' wAHREN HINGE ELEv.sso‘ -"— LUNDY HINcE ELEV. szo' (AFTER TAYLORELEVERETT) ----- ALGONOUIN HINsE ELEV. 607' -—-—-- ALGONOUIN ISOBASES A-A' an 700' a—s' ELEV. IOIs' I I | I II I I I ' ' | I . P mod I l I z | l I O | I I I — 900‘ I l I I < o I | > 900 I I I I J I u, 700' I I ‘ I I .&E I I 600- r v 1 I g I I I I a F I so I00 I50 200 250 NILES PROFILE OF LINE O’F,SHOWING THE NORTHWARD ELEVATION OF THE ALGONOUIN BEACH. CAUSED BY DIFFERENTIAL UPLIFT SINCE THE TIME OF SECOND LAKE ALGONQUIN (FIGURE—7) and Port Hiron outlets. During the time of the Nipissing Great Lakes «differential uplift again occurred, with the isobase passing through the North Bay outlet serving as a nodal line upon which the water plane swung. 'This uplift eventually elevated the Nipissing beaches north of the Nbrth ‘Bay’outlet, and submerged those south of the isobase. The submergence of the southern portion of Lake Huron eventually restored flow to the Port Huron outlet. At this time the Nipissing Great Lakes had two outlets, a condition that existed until the outlet at North Bawaas elevated to the height where it was no longer effective. With the restoration of all discharge to the Port Huron outlet the modern Great Lakes came into existence. The outlet for the upper three Great Lakes has not changed since the time of the Nipissing stage. There has been, however, a decline in I the water level of all of the Great Lakes and connecting waterways. The water level of Lake Huron has fallen some fifteen feet since the end of 30 I the Nipissing stage. The effect of this decline in water level has brought :4 about a gradual emergence of the St. Clair River Delta. The highest present elevation on the delta is about six feet above the level of the St. Clair River. By allowing two to three feet for the gradient of the old discharge stream from the Nipissing Great Lakes, the present elevation of the St. Clair River Delta still would have been six or seven feet below the surface of the Nipissing counterpart of the present St. Clair River. It is apparent then that the St. Clair Delta is of very recent develOpment, geologically speaking. 1J. N. Spencer. Pre-Glacial History of the Great Lakes Region. 9131211! Japan] of Th; Geoiogiggi Socieiy gf ngdgg, XLVI, 1895, p. 189. 2Frank Leverett. Outline History of The Great Lakes. 0 the Michiggn Acader of Science, 12, 1910. 31bid. 4Richard F. Flint. G as a 010 a e P e ocene E c , ed. 3, John Niley and Sons, New York, p. 210, 1949. sFrank B'. Taylor. Glacial and Post Glacial Lakes of the Great Lakes Region. W, Government Printing Office, Washington, pp. 291-327, 1912. 6Leverett, Op. cit. 7Ibid. 8Frank Leverett and Frank B. Taylor. 332 Pieigiggene of HERE and h a H of Gr a e . United States Department of Interior, Geological Survey, Nonograph 53, 1915. 31 film—_... 32 ‘ H S Y OF USE IN THE ST. CLAIR FLA EUUUCYiEXPLORATION Prior to the coming of the white man, the entire Great Lakes region served only as a vast hunting and fishing ground for the Indians who in- :51 1'6 habited the area. Nith the exception of small acreages used to grow maize | and squash, the Indians made no intensive use of the land. ~ ' The first white man to visit the western Great Lakes region was a Jesuit missionary named Father Segard, who in the sumner of 1632 journey- -; b' ed from Montreal up the Ottawa River into Georgian Bay at the northern end of Lake Huron.1 The explorations of Father Segard as well as those of his successors were primarily aimed at converting the natives to Christianity, but as their reports filtered back to Montreal and Quebec an intense inter- est in the western lakes region was created in the minds of the French traders and trappers of the St. Lawrence Valley. Father Narquette's exploration of the Mississippi River in 1673 was of special significance in that it served as the stimulus for La Salle's exploration of Lake Erie, the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair, the St. Clair River, and the southern portion of Lake Huron. La Salle, in 1678, while commandant at Fort Frontenac on the eastern end of Lake Ontario, reached the decision to complete the exploration which Marquette had started on the Mississippi River. To initiate his plans La Salle resigned his post at Fort Frontenac, sailed across Lake Ontario to the Niagara River, and after portaging around the ”Falls of the Niagara,” established a crude fort on the shores of Lake Erie. La Salle, however, I I had no desire to conduct his explorations in the frail bark canoes used 1 33 by his predecessors, but elected to construct a sailing ship for the trans- port of his expedition. Late in the fall of 1678 the keel of the "Griffin” was laid down, and on the seventh of August, 1679 La Salle embarked upon the first voyage ever made on Lake Erie by a white man. Three days later, on the tenth of August, La Salle arrived at the mouth of the Detroit River. Ascending this river, La Salle's party encountered villages of friendly Indians on both banks of the stream. Inquiry revealed that these villages had been visited from time to time by Jesuit missionaries. La Salle then continued northward through Lake St. Clair, the St. Clair River, and the southern portion of Lake Huron to the French Fort at Michilimackinac, arriv- ing there. in September of 1379.2 La Salle's voyage was the first recorded visit ever made by a white man to the St. Clair Flats region. It is true that La Salle was preceded by Jesuit missionaries but no definite record was ever made by any of these priests. THE FIRST SETTLEMENT The first white settlement anywhere in the vicinity of the St. Clair Flats was made in 1686 when M.du Lhut, under the direction of the Governor General of New France, was ordered to take fifty men from Michilimackinac and establish a fort and trading post on the Detroit River. This fort, Fort St. Joseph, was abandoned in 1688 only two years after it was constructed.3 The advent of hostilities between France and England haulted further attempts at establishing a permanent post on the Detroit River at this time. The "Peace of Ryswick," ratified by the French and English in 1697, again made it desirable to establish a French Fort on the Detroit River. The English competition for the Indian trade made such a move necessary if the French were to maintain control of the Indians in the Detroit River area. To fulfill this need, Fort Pontchartrain was built in 1701. This fort and its compliment of one hundred men under the comand of La Mott Cadillac was the humble beginning from which has grown the present day City of Detroit.4 Cadillac was responsible for at least a small settlement of Indians on the St. Clair Flats. Cadillac coaxed about two hundred Missauga Indians down to Fort Pontchartrain, but these Indians being quite timid 7 a ‘ 4 'i refused to settle any closer than the Delta of the St. Clair River. Relics which have been found in the "Flats“ leads historians to believe that these ‘ i l natives settled upon mat is now Harsens Island. _.. Fort Pontchartrain remained under French control until 1760 when Major ~' Robert Rogers took control for the British. The French release of the Northwest Territory to the British came as a result of the French surrender at Montreal which brought a close to the “French and Indian War.” The North- west Territory remained under British control until 1796, when under the provisions of the "Greenville Treaty,” control was transferred to the United States of America .5 It was during the period of British control that Detroit and the sur- rounding area began to develop. Prior to this time the French had utiliz- ed the area only for trading, trapping, and subsistence type agriculture. The British colonial policy favored rapid settlement, and as a result num- erous farmers located in the area, several of them settling as far north as the St. Clair River Delta. One of the first of these settlers to move to the St. Clair Flats was a gunsmith named Jacob Harsen. THE HARSEN FAMILY AND THE ST. CLAIR FLATS Jacob Harsen, and his son-in-law, Isaac Graveret had moved from Albany,‘ New York to Detroit sometime prior to 1778.6 In 1778, these men moved 35 their families north from Detroit to the Delta of the St. Clair River thus becoming the first white settlers in the St. Clair Flats. Jacob Harsen is reported to have purchased, from the Indians in 1783, the island which now bears his name. This transaction was evidently a verbal agreement, since the first deed granted to Jacob Harsen was not recorded until February 3, 1879. This deed, giving Jacob Harsen title to the island, was signed by Chiefs Wetonis and Nangue and was witnessed by James, William, and There was at this time three houses on the island, hous- Bernardus Harsen. The Harsen family was at ing nine men, ten women, and twelve children. this time farming 300 acres of land from which they supplied flour and beef which was sold to the United States trOOps stationed at Detroit. Upon the death of Jacob Harsen, the eldest son Bernardus became head Bernardus Harsen was killed in 1800 by a powder eXplosion of the household. The island was then divided which leveled the original Harsen homestead. into five parcels and a portion given to each of the remaining children. The original family farm went to Francis Harsen. (he of Michigan first comercial distilleries was established on Harsen ] Island in 1810.7 Mack and Harvey, two Detroit merchants, employed Harvey Stewart to distill whiskey which they used as trade goods with the Indians. The advent of the War of 1812 made it necessary to vacate the "Flats“ in order to prevent trouble with marauding Indians. The end of the War brought renewed activity to the "Flats" area. A pottery was established on nearby >ickinson Island but ceased Operation after only two or three years Operation. 8 A school and a church were established on Harsens Island in 1818. he school had eighteen students, some of which came from the mainland. 1e teacher of this school was John K. Smith a resident of nearby Dickinson land. The church was started by a Methodist minister named Dixon, who came to the island at the request of the residents. In 1821 the Harsen families claim was admitted by the United States Land Comissioner and patents to their holdings were granted.9 The grant- ing of these patents was the result of the United States and Canada Boundary Commissioners decision which gave the United States jurisdiction over all land west of the South Channel of the St. Clair River. Prior to this time jurisdiction over the islands had been doubtful with both the United States and Canada claiming ownership. THE ST. CLAIR FLATS FROM 1821 TO 1887 The "Flats,” from 1821 until nearly the turn of the twentieth century, were utilized chiefly for agriculture, but there were interludes when other enterprises contributed to the utilization of the resources of the ”Flats." Starting in 1840 and continuing until after the Civil War, ship building } was a prominent activity on Harsens Island. The schooner ”Island City,” 10 was one of the many vessels constructed before a shortage launched in 1859, of good ship timbers forced the industry from the island. Great Lakes shipping also contributed to the livelihood of the ”Flats" inhabitants. Prior to the construction of the St. Clair Flats Ship Canal in 1886, all Great Lakes The reason shipping was by way of the North Channel of the St. Clair River. for this was that the water of the North Channel was deeper than that in the other channels of the river. Anchor Bay received its name from the ships that anchored there while waiting for their cargo to be lightered over the North Channel bar. The transferring of cargo furnished employment for a large percentage of the maple living on and around the "Flats.” 37 1 THE ERA CF PUBLIC RECREATIONAL DEVELOPMENT The dredging of the St. Clair Flats Ship Channel in 1886 ushered in The Ship Channel the era of public recreational deve10pment in the "Flats.“ is over seven thousand feet long and serves to connect the deep water of the South Channel with the deep water of Lake St. Clair, thus eliminating the necessity of lightering cargo over the North Channel bar. The Opening . h V“. of the western Great Lakes to unrestricted navigation resulted in an upsurge 1 J i in the develOpment of the Great Lakes steamship. The steamship also furnish- . _ ed an easy means of transportation whereby the citizens of Detroit and _g 1 Toledo were readily accessible to the recreational facilities offered by the "Flats." It was but a short time before a number of resort hotels began to develOp along the South Channel on Harsens Island. The White Star Steamship Line's timetable for the 1900 season lists three round trips daily between Detroit and the St. Clair Flats. 1 There were, in addition to the White Star Steamers, numerous independent ships offering the same service. Fare on the White Star Line was fifty cents for a round trip ticket between Detroit and any of the thirteen steps which In order of their occurrence going their steamers made in the ”Flats." "The Old Club,” } upstream the thirteen steps of the White Star Line were: the “Mervue Hotel,” the ”Rushmere Club," the "Star Island House," the “Marsh- land Club,” the "Riverside Hotel,“ the "Tratz Hotel,” ”Joe Bedores Hotel,” "Muirs Hotel,” "Maple Leaf,” "Tashmoo Park," "Sans Souci,” and the "Grande Dointe Hotel."12 The ”01:! Club" was the first club to establish on Harsens Island and The club was established ikevlise is one of the few which have survived. ometime prior to 1895 and was first known as the "St. Clair Fishing and mating Club." The original club house burned in 1926, but was soon re- 38 1‘ placed by the present day club building. The ”Old Club" is not only the oldest but also probably the most exclusive private club on the "Flats." The "Mervue Hotel" was converted from a hotel into a private club in 1898. The membership of the ”Mervue Club," as it was then called, consisted of members from various private clubs in Detroit, with a considerable portion of the membership also belonging to the Fellowcraft Club of Detroit. The in..- ;;m organization has since disbanded and the building converted into what is today known as Frank Miller's Hotel. The "Rushmere Club“ was organized by C. W. Cocher, a prominent lumber- 75-.- ‘mru—m‘ “4‘ng Ii. . ..‘ fl Cn" ! it. man, and numbered among its members many of Detroit's oldest families. Fire destroyed the original building in 1919. The building constructed to replace the original has long since been dismantled. The original building site is presently being utilized as sites for private cottages. The "Star Island House" and the ”Marshland Club" have also been de- stroyed by fire, the former burning in 1916 and the latter in 1929. After their destruction neither establishment was rebuilt, but instead the sites have been converted into private home sites. The 'Tratz,“ ”More,“ and "Muir's Hotel" are still in existence today, but in all cases their names have been changed and the original buildings \ have undergone extensive modification. One of the most favored of the steamer staps was "Tashmoo Park.” This 60 acre playground was owned and Operated by the White Star Line for the convenience of its steamship passengers. The facilities of "Tashmo Park“ included rest rooms, a bathing beach, dance pavilion, picnic areas, and athletic fieldsall of which were provided free to the patrons of the White Star Line.” Today the site, occupied by "Tashmoo Park," has been almost completely engulfed by the commnities of Sans Souci and Maple Leaf both 39 of which have grown considerably since 1900. The ”Grande Points Hotel,” the final steamer stop on the "Flats," was built in 1895 by Dr. J. 8. Kennedy of Detroit. The spacious dining room, bowling alley, swimning pool, beautiful landscaping, and long dock made this hotel one of the most pepular on the "Flats.” This hotel, how- ever, suffered the same fate as many of the other historic buildings of the "Flats.” After its destruction by fire in 1909 the building was never replaced. ’ There were many famous steamers which plied the waters between Detroit and the "Flats” during the era of public recreation. A few of the more prominent ships of this fleet were the ”Toledo," ”Greyhound," ”Idlewild,” and "Tashmoo," all steamers of the White Star Line. In addition to these ships the independent steamers ”Cole" and "Unique” were quite well known. No one ship, however, recein as much notoriety or fame as did the steamer 'Tashmoo.“ This famous ship was built at the Wyandotte yards of the American Shipbuilding Company, and from the time of her launching in 1899 until the end of steamboat service to the "Flats," was the undisputed "Queen" of the St. Clair Flats run. The ”Glass Rack,“ as she was called, was 320 feet long with a beam of 70 feet and was licensed to carry three thousand pas- «angers.14 The "Tashmoo" burned at her dock in 1936 thus bringing the end to not only a great ship, but also bringing a close to the era of public recreational development in the St. Clair Flats. THE ERA Cf PRIVATE RECREATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE ST. CLAIR FLATS The increased use of the automobile as a medium of transportation re- sulted in a rapid decline in the use of the steamboat as a mode of travel to and from the "Flats." The automobile and better highways eliminated 40 the necessity of depending upon rigidly scheduled public transportation facilities. The convenience afforded by the automobile made it practical for people to develop their private recreational facilities. Other factors such as a shorter work week, and a general increase in prosperity were also instrumental in bringing about the shift from public to private development of the "Flats.” It is true that there were many private cottage owners on the “Flats" prior to the twenties, but these develOpments were mostly the property of the wealthier segment of Detroit's pepulation. The trend of the twenties and early thirties was toward small moderately priced cottages, developed largely by families of moderate means. This trend, with exception of the depression period of the middle thirties, has continued with ever increasing intensity up to the present. There is very little evidence to indicate that this trend will decline in the imediate future. LITIGATIGI AFFECTING THE ST. CLAIR FLATS In the late eighteen hundreds land ownership in the "Flats” was very uncertain. With the exception of the private claims on Harsens and Dickin- sons Islands, the land had never been surveyed. In the winter of 1887 H. D. Bartholomew, under contract with the Michigan State Land Office, sur- veyed all of the ”Flats" territory, platting it by townships and sections. This survey was submitted to the United States General Land Office for ap- proval, but was rejected on the grounds that the United States Government had no control over lands accreted or relicted subsequent to the establish- ment of the meander line by the General Land Survey made when Michigan became a state in 1837. The relinquishment of all control by the Federal Government left the way clear for the State of Michigan to take action to establish control over the "Flats” area. 41 The first action taken by the State of Michigan was in 1895,16 when the Legislature passed a joint resolution directing the institution of suits to determine the just and equitable rights of all parties claiming an an interest in the unsurveyed portions of Harsens and Dickinsons Islands. In the fall of 1895 the state initiated ejectment proceedings against four parties. One of these defendants was the ”Old Club” and involved club prOp- erty which was valued at $80,000 dollars. The state maintained that the lands in question were swamp lands, and as such, came into the possession of the state as a result of the United States Swamp Land Act which the Federal Congress had passed in 1850. In September of 1898 the case was heard in the Circuit Court of St. Clair County. The decision of the court ‘ was in favor of the state. In his decision Judge Vance stated that by virtue of the United States Swamp Act of 1850, title to the disputed lands was in the state and all parties established thereon were trespassers and subject to eviction without compensation. The ”Old Club" appealed the decision of the Circuit Court but in its decision rendered on July 10, 1901 the Supreme Court sustained the ruling of the lower court. The United States Swamp Land Act of 1850 granted ownership of vast acreages of swamp land to the State of Michigan. The state had in turn used this land as payment to contractors for the construction of various pu public works. The swamp land script issued as payment to the contractors was originally good for redemption only in the counties in which the con- struction had been done. Since the script was transferrable and was fre- quently issued in quantities too large to be redeemed in a single county, it became necessary from time to time to broaden the field of selection. The Legislature eventually enacted legislation which made it possible to 42 redeem script in any other lower peninsula county of the script holder's choice. A short time after Judge Vance's decision in the ejectment case, counsel for the ”01d Club“ made arrangements for purchasing certain issues of swamp script which had originally been issued for redemption in Ottawa and Muskegon Counties, but had later been eXpanded to include selection anywhere in the lower peninsula of Michigan. The "Old Club” procured this script and in March of 1899 applied to the State Land Office for patent to the lands occupied by the club. The refusal of the Land Com- missioner to grant the patent resulted in the "Old Club“ bring suit in the Supreme court for a writ of mandamus compelling the Land Cemmissioner to issue the club a patent to the lands selected.17 Pending the hearing of the case against the Land Commissioner, Schyler S. Olds of Lansing, another holder of swamp land script, filed application for a patent covering most of the land south of the private claims on Harsens Island, including the land occupied by the club. The_triangular contest which followed was extremely complicated. The state maintained that the script of neither of the applicants was valid, and if valid, was incapable of use for the acquisition of lands in the St. Clair Flats. Olds maintained that his script was valid but that the Ottawa County script of the ”01d Club” was of no value in St. Clair County. The Supreme Court rendered its decision on the case on July 10, 1901, the same day that the Circuit Court decision in the ejectment case was confirmed.18 The Supreme Courtk decision in the script case made the state‘s victory in the ejectment case a barren one. The ejectment case held that the land was swamp land and as such was Open for selection by holders of swamp land 43 script. The state's request for a re-hearing of the script case was granted and a new trial was held in September of 1903. At this re-hearing the state sought and obtained permission to withdraw its admission that the St. Clair Flats were swamp lands. The state then took the stand that the lands in question were in reality part of the bottom of Lake St. Clair and as such came into state ownership when Michigan was admitted into the Union in 1837. The reversal of the state's stand as to the character of the land of the St. Clair Flats in no way affected the decision reached in the ”Old Club“ case. The court's decision in the ”Old Club” ejectment case conclu- sively established the ”Did Club's” property as swamp land and as such the State Land Commissioner was forced to issue a patent honoring the club's swamp land scipt. Schyler S. Olds, the intervening party in the triangular script case, had also requested a writ of mandamus directing the State Land Commissioner to issue patents on the St. Clair Flats lands on which he had filed claim with his swamp land script. (134 I 442) The writ of mandamus requested by Olds was issued in September of 1903 concurrently with the writ issued to the ”Old Club.” The dissenting Opinion of Judge Hooker in the Supreme Court decision granting the writ to Olds, was that the lands in question were in fact lake bottom lands and not subject to selection with swamp land script. The state used Judge Hooker's Opinion as a basis for appeal and a re-hearing was scheduled for May 25, 1906. (150 M 134) The Supreme Cburt ruling upon re-hearing was to reverse its previous decision and to assume the stand that the lands of the St. Clair Flats, with the exception of the private claims, the "Old Club” prOperty, and Dickinsons Island, were lake bottom land and subject to state control under the provisions of Act 171, Public Acts of 1899. The case of the State vs Dickinson (129 M 221) was another of the four original ejectment cases started by the state. This case resulted from the state's effort to eject Don M. Dickinson from Stromness or Dick- inson Island as it is now known. Dickinson maintained that he held fee title to the whole of the island by virtue of an Indian deed which had been duly recorded and recognized by the British Government prior to the time that the island came into the jurisdiction of the united States. The case was heard in the Circuit Court of St. Clair County on November 22, 1901. During the hearing evidence was submitted by Dickinson which established the validity of his claim and as the result the case was decided in his favor on December 30, 1901. Upon the state's appeal of the case to the Supreme Court the decision of the lower court was sustained and Dickinson became the undisputed owner of all of what today is known as Dickinson Island. The case of the State vs Venice of America Land Campany (160 H.680) was the next significant case in the history of the litigation over the St. Clair Plats. The Venice of America Land Company had advertised in . the Detroit papers about a new resort sub-division which they were Open- ing in the St. Clair Flats. The site of this sub-division was between the private claims and Muscamoot Bay on Harsens Island. The state filed its claim to the court on April 26, 1906 and requested that the court en- join the company from selling lots in the proposed sub-division. The state based its case on the contention that the land in question was the prOperty of the state. The Venice of America Land Cbmpany claimed ownership of the land as a result of a deed purchased from the heirs of Jacob Harsen. The litigation that ensued established that the Harsen family had never claimed any of the lands south of the private claims and for that reason 45 the title to the land in question was in the state. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court on January 22, 1910 and in its decision the upper court upheld the ruling of the Circuit Court. LEGISLATIVE ENACTMENTS CONCERNING THE ST. CLAIR FLATS Act 171, Public Acts of 1899, was the first Michigan legislation to have any direct bearing on the St. Clair Flats. This Act dedicated all state administered swamp and submerged lands of the Great Lakes and connecting waterways as a public park, to be forever held in trust by the state for the use of all of its citizens for hunting, fishing, and navigation. The only areas excepted were those areas of the St. Clair Flats which were occu- pied, built up, cultivated, or otherwise improved to the extent of twenty- five dollars when the Act went into effect on January 1, 1899. Administration of the Act was vested in four agencies, the Prosecuting Attorney and the County Board of Supervisors on the county level, and the Auditor General and the State Land Commissioner on the state level. _ Act 175, Public Acts of 1899, was specifically designated to provide for the sale, disposition, and control of the unpatented swamp and overflowed lands in the Township of Clay, St. Clair County, Michigan. The provisions of this Act provided for a survey of the entire St. Clair Flats area for the purpose of establishing the legal rights of all persons claiming owner- ship of lands in the “Flats.” The price set for payment by claimants of "Flats" lands was set at one dollar per front foot on the South Channel, fifty cents per foot on the North Channel, and twenty-five cents per foot on the Middle Channel and Chenal A Bout Rond. The maximum footage allowed to any claimant was 200 feet, but clubs were allowed to claim twenty-five feet for each member enrolled in the organization at the time the Act went 46 into effect on January 1, 1899. The lands not claimed under provisions of Act 171 or Act 175 were to be divided into convenient sized lots to be sold or leased at the discretion of the State Land Comissioner. The next legislature to affect the "Flats" came after the Supreme Court's decision had established that the lands of the St. Clair Flats, with the exception of the private claims, the "Old Club” preperty, and Dickinson Island, were lake bottom lands and as such were part of the public park provided for under the provisions of Act 171, Public Acts of 1899. This new legislation, Act 215, Public Acts of 1909, was titled an Act to provide for the sale, disposition, and control of the unpatented swam, overflowed, lake bottom, and made lands in Clay Township, St. Clair County, Michigan. The inclusion of the words lake bottom and made lands in the title to this Act is indica— .tive of the state‘s new stand as to the nature of the lands of the "Flats." This Act provided for a board of control to administer the sale and leasing of the lands covered by the provisions of the Act. The members of this board were the Auditor General, Secretary of State, Attorney General, and the Com- missioner of the State Land Office. The duties of the board were to meet every five years for the purpose of establishing lease fees and determining the validity of new applications for leases. The board also exercised the prerogative of determining which lands if any should be withdrawn from leas- ing to satisfy the provisions of Act 171, Public Acts of 1899. Lands under this Act were leased for only a 'five year period. The Act also provided for the granting of deeds to persons who had occupied and improved land to the extent of one hundred dollars prior to January 1, 1909. The deeds granted to claimants were subject to the public's paramount right of navigation, hunting, and fishing. Act 326, Public Acts of 1913, provided for the leasing, control, and taxation of certain unpatented overflowed, made lands, and lake bottom lands owned and controlled by the State of Michigan. This Act served to repeal Act 215, Public Acts of 1909. The administration of this Act was placed in the hands of a board of control comprising the Secretary of State, the Auditor General, and the Commissioner of the State Land Office. This board of control was to have jurisdiction over the lands in question until January 1, 1915, at which time control was to pass to the newly formed Public Domain Commission. The most important part of this Act was the portion which pro- hibited the controlling agency from granting a deed to any of the lands cover- ed by the Act. The only authority granted the controlling agency was the power to issue leases for a ninety-nine year period. Leases granted under this Act were to be divided into two lease rent periods, the first one for a fifty year period and the second rental period to be the remaining forty— nine years. The rental fee for the last forty-nine years of the lease period should not exceed two times that paid for the first fifty years. The rent for these leases was to be a gross sum for the lease rent period and not an annual rent. The leases granted under this Act were further restricted in that the paramount right of navigation, hunting, and fishing is reserved for the public according to Act 171, Public Acts of 1899. All leases granted under provisions of this Act are to specify the use to which the land will be placed and no transfer of leases, other than those granted for home sites, shall be made without the consent of the administrative agency. To facili- tate taxation of the leased lands all leases are to be recorded with the Recorder of Deeds for the county in which the leased lands are located. This Act also provides for forfeiture of all lease rights upon failure to pay all taxes and assessments levied by the governmental unit in which the 48 lands are located. Act 92, Public Acts of 1915, amended section five of Act 326, Public Acts of 1913, and added four new sections to said Act 326. The change made in section five was to provide for a forfeiture of lease rights for all per- sons not acting to perfect their leases within ninety days of their notifi- cation that their lease application had been approved by the leasing agency. The four sections added to the Act are designated as sections twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, and thirty of Act 326, Public Acts of 1913. These four sections granted riparian owners and lease holders the exclusive right to remove marl, stone, sand, gravel, and earth from the bed of any Of the Great Lakes, or bays and harbors connecting said lakes. The extent of this right extends into the lake for one mile on Lakes Superior, Huron, and Michigan. On the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, and the Detroit River the outer limit of the riparians right to remove bottom materials is limited to five hundred feet, and in the Channels of the "Flats" this right is further reduced to one hundred feet from the low water mark. The granting of leases and setting Of prices for the material removed was vested in the Public Domain Commission. The powers Of the Public Domain Commission have since been transferred to the Department Of Conservation which now administers all of the powers grant- ed to said Commission. This Act further provided that all removal Operations were to be subject to the paramount rights of navigation, hunting, and fish- ing. Sections five, eleven, and twenty-five of Act 326, Public Acts of 1913, were amended in 1917 when the Legislature passed Act 12, Public Acts 'of 1917. The change which this Act made in section five of Act 326, Public Acts of 1913 was to provide for forfeiture of lease rights by persons who had neglect- 49 ed to pay the second half of their lease rental fee. This section was fur- ther amended to provide for the notification of the County Register Of Deeds when any lease right became forfeit. This section also provided that any lands forfeited to the state could immediately be re-leased to any party making application for a lease on the forfeited prOperty. Section eleven was amended to permit the granting of leases to the lands lying between the surveyed portions of the South and Middle Channels, south of the private claims on Harsens Island. To qualify for a lease in this area it was necessary to make application prior to July 1, 1918, and to show occupation back to January 1, 1913. Section eleven further provided for surveying all leases and filing of the survey plats with the Public Domain Commissioner and the County Register of Deeds for the county in which the lands are located. Section twenty-five of Act 326, Public Acts of 1913, as amended by this Act provided for the return Of leases to the Public Domain Commissioner in the event that the leases were defaulted for nonpayment of taxes. Act 382, Public Acts of 1921, further amended section eleven of Act 326, Public Acts Of 1913. This new amendment authorized the Department Of Conservation to grant leases in the area between the lands surveyed along the Middle Channel of the St. Clair River and between the private claims on Harsens Island and Muscamoot Bay. Application for leases in this area were to be made before September 1, 1921. It was also required that the applicant show proof of occupancy and improvement of the claimed land prior to January 1, 1913. Act 94, Public Acts of 1941, provided for leasing Of certain unleased lands in the Muscamoot Bay section, to lease holders of the adjoining lands. The lands affected by this Act were those on the Muscamoot Bay side Of the South Channel levee. 50 Act 215, Public Acts of 1949, was passed on May 31, 1949 and provided for the granting Of fee title to certain lands along the South Channel and the eastern side of Muscamoot Bay. The deeds granted to lease holders in this section are subject to two deed reservations, one is that the land must be maintained in the same use that was prescribed by the lease before the deed was granted, and the other is that paramount right of navigation, hunt- ing, and fishing is reserved for the public. The lots specifically designated for sale were the South Channel lots two through six hundred and one, the interior lots four-fifty-two through six hundred and one and all Of the Muscamoot Bay lots leased under the provisions Of Act 94, Public Acts of 1941. One other important provision of this amendment was the authority which it granted the Department Of Conservation to dedicate the unleased portion Of the ”Flats” for the use of navigation, hunting, and fishing. A..__- 1Frederick C. Bald. Mlchigan lg Four Centuries. New York: Harper, 1st. ed. 1954. 2Isaac J. Cox. The Journey; Of Rage Roberl Caveller, sieur de La Salla. New York: Allerton Book Company, 1922. 3Ba1d, Op. cit. 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid. 6Newell B. COllins. Ihe Story of Harsens Island and the Old Johnsog Housg. Algonac, Michigan. 7William F. Lawlar. Harsens Island. Mlchigan Historlcal Magazine, Vol. 22, p. 301, 1938. BCollins, Op. cit. 9Michigan Reports, Vol. 134. 0 1 Lawler, Op. cit. 11White Star Lina. Daylight Trips on the Detroit and St. Clair Rivers, Detroit, James H. Stone, Printers, 1900. 51 12Ibid. lalbid. 14Michael O‘Brien. History of the Steamer Tashmoo. Ihe Della News, Vol. 5, NO. 2, p. 5, 1951. 15Lands Division, Michigan Department of Conservation, unpublished manuscript. 16Ibid. 17 . Hinton E. Spalding. A History of the Litigation "hereby “The Old Club" Acquired Title to Its Pr0perty at the Saint Clair Flats. 21° ;. Qlalr Flags, Vol. II, No. 4, p. l. lalbid. 52 PRESENT LAND USE OF THE ST. CLAIR FLATS AREA LAND OWNERSHIP The present land-use pattern in the St. Clair Flats is, for the most part, regulated by the legislative enactments described in the preceding. chapter of this paper. Land ownership in the "Flats" may be broken down into four categories. The private claims on the northern part of Harsens Island and the lots along the north and east sides of Dickinsons Island are owned in fee simple ownership by private citizens. The lake bottom land south of these private holdings, with the exception of the "Old Club” prep- erty and those lots sold under provision of Act 215, Public Acts of 1949, is is owned by the State of Michigan. The state owned lands are at present either leased to private citizens on a ninety-nine year basis or were dedi- cated as the St. Clair Flats Wildlife Area in 1949. The South Channel and interior lots which were sold under the 1949 Act are resuicted in their use by the deed restrictions stipulated in said Act. Figure eight of this paper shows the present land ownership in the St. Clair Flats. TAXATION The taxation of the St. Clair Flats is a function of three levels of Government. These three agencies are the Clay Township Tax Assessor, the St. Clair County Board Of Tax Equalization, and the Michigan State Board of Tax Equalization. The privately owned and leased state property of the St. Clair Flats figured on a basis of thirty-five per cent Of its real estate value had an assessed evaluation Of $1,493,185 dollars in 1955. Figured at one hundred per cent of its real estate value, this property is worth 53. "USE AND OF LAND QT. CLAIR FLATS. PRESENT STATUS OWNERSHIP IN THE HIIIIII" 'Onlli’lj I see asses /“*\- . 0 R z/.. L I. , 0 .AL 8 C T .u .// . . ., U W / // \II// x . ,... a ../ \ / ,/ / I I E . z w ,/ / // I H //, ~/ A); /W// , . . z 'T 1.. Jr]! TI ./1 I. - //V x. \V?. J / UNDER PROVISION OF ACT 2I5,F.‘A.I949 DEDICATED AS .FLATS WILDLIFE AREA PRIVATELY OWNED STATE OWNED aUT LEASID STATE OWNED ONCE REFUGE AREA, PART or / / / / /. / I. PRI VA T E 5” ,/ I (H? 8 EN 8 / ,~>~—. ,.sd _\ . ,..”-..Jxx...‘ . 75.-.-.- -.—.~. .R: H—-»~ u... -1.“ ‘V' s... .e..-—.4 .I....4 L\ \ x x \ \ VI . _ so \ . ._ .s . _ er . .... _ , 4. . m: e o... I .u. _ P at: _ , .3,an I ...,v» ...I 4 Hut. “,3.-. ....o. ., .IT. . Av , .T..+ .... . . . .r...u...t .‘ l.. . , . “..s1l»v,.lv1 (IL 4.7. l..I .1..;...v. .« . «,.. n It wfiIsAvfij r. o .1 fi;l . LooL; 1 flvaéwflfi \ is . t .4. Is _. GOOSE BAY KM UNIT '8' O. 3600 ACRES \I XII n ‘- _ Ir/ WILDLIFE AREA. '(FIGURE 8) $4,266,242 dollars. This value divided by 11,669.81 acres, the land acreage of the ”Flats” as determined by the State Land Office Survey of 1902, gives an average per acre value of $365.57 dollars for the entire land acreage of the "Flats.” This value tends to be misleading because it is the im- proved value of the property that is used to compute the average per acre value. This value is significant, however, because it serves as an index for making comparisons with land values in other parts of Michigan. THE ST. CLAIR FLATS WILDLIFE AREA The St. Clair Flats has been one of Michigan's best hunting and fish- ing areas for many years, but it was not until the passage of Act 215, Public Acts of 1949 that the Department of Conservation was able to take any measures to develOp their potential. Prior to this Act the Department of Censervation was required to issue a lease for any of the "Flats” lands on which a citizen filed a lease application and paid the lease fee. This 1949 Act amended Act 326, Public Acts of 1913, and gave to the Department of Conservation the power to determine whether a plat of land should or should not be leas- ed. The Act further stated that the Conservation Department, could at the discretion of the Conservation Commission, dedicate any unleased lands for use as public hunting, fishing, and recreational area. As a result of Act 215, P. A. 1949, a land study of the St. Clair Flats was made during the summer of 1949 for the purpose of determining which of the "Flats" lands were best suited for develOpment as cottage and residential sites. A report of this study was submitted to the State Conservation Com- mission with the recommendation that those areas not suited for residence be dedicated as the St. Clair Flats Wildlife Area. In November of 1949 the Conservation Commission approved this recommendation and the Lands Division 55 of the Department of Conservation immediately launched a land acquisition program designed to consolidate the State of Michigan's ownership and con- trol within the dedicated boundaries of the Wildlife Area. At present the state has acquired control over most of the land within the boundaries of the Wildlife Area and some progress is being made toward improving wildlife habitat and public access to the area. The most important single object of the Conservation Department's management policy is to main- tain the "Flats" in as nearly a natural state as possible and still allow public utilization of the facilities which are available there. Some planting of cereal grains, trees, and herbaceous shrubs have been made in an effort to improve the upland game habitat of the lildlife Area. It is heped that it will be possible in the near future to control water levels in certain localities for the purpose of improving the waterfowl carrying capacity of some of the marsh land of the area. In July of 1952 the Conservation Depart- ment issued an order prohibiting hunting for a period of five years on approxi- mately 4,200 acres of marsh land located in two units, a 600 acre unit on the northwest edge of the ”Flats," and a 3,600 acre unit located between the Chenal A Bout Rond and the Middle Channel just southwest of Goose Bay. In addition to efforts to improve the game habitat the Conservation Depart- ment has also done some work improving access points where hunters and fish- ermen can launch their boats and park their cars. GRAVEL LEASES The removal of sand and gravel from the channels and submerged lands of the St. Clair Flats is regulated by the provisions of Act 326, Public Acts of 1913 as amended. The granting of leases for the removal of these materials from the state-owned bottom lands of the "Flats” is a function of the Lands Division of the Department of Conservation. This agency has the power to grant a one year lease for the removal of earth materials, pro- vided that the lessee also obtains a dredging permit from the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The lease applicant must also state in his appli- cation the area in which he wishes to Operate and the type of equipment he- intends to use. In addition, the Corps of Engineers requires that the vessel carry a Government Inspector at all times when dredging Operations are being conducted. The lessee must also post a $500.00 dollar bond and pay a $10.00 assignment fee before the Department of Conservation will issue a lease. After starting Operations the lessee must submit to the Department of Conservation, on or before the fifteenth of each month, a statement of the material removed during the preceding month. Said report shall show the date of each trip made by the vessel, name and capacity of the vessel, kind of material taken, cubic yards loaded, destination of the load, to whom de- livered, and OOpies of the manifest for each unloading of the vessel. The PHOTO» l -- Sand dredge removing sand from the Middle Channel of the St. Clair River. This vessel is typical of those Operating in the "Flats.“ 57 lessee must pay, to the State of Michigan, royalty at the rate of twenty cents per cubic yard for gravel, eighteen cents per cubic yard for sand and gravel mix, fifteen cents per cubic yard for common sand, and eight cents per cubic yard for core sand and backfill material. After a commercial lessee. has received a lease it is non-transferrable without the consent of the Depart- ment of Conservation. There are at present five regularOperators removing sand and gravel from the ”Flats,' and in some years the number of leases grant- ed will be one or two more than that. The amount of material removed varies greatly with market conditions and with the rate and amount of materials car- ried into the Channels by the St. Clair River. When the gravel lease applicant is the owner or lessee of state land riparian to the Channels of the St. Clair River he may obtain a lease and pay royalty according to the following minimum scale of lease fees. The fee charged is $10.00 dollars if the frontage is less than 100 feet, for frontage between 100 and 500 feet the fee is $25.00 dollars, on frontage between 500 and 1,000 feet the fee is $50.00 dollars, on frontage larger than 1,000 feet but less than one-half mile the fee is $100.00 dollars, and any frontage in excess of one-half mile is charged for at the rate of $25.00 dollars for every one-eighth of a mile in excess of one half mile. In all cases this is a yearly fee Just as the lease is a yearly permit. The yearly fee paid in all cases is deductible from the yardage royalty assessed against the lease holder. inmANSPORTATION Transportation onto and about the "Flats” is accomplished by either automobile or boat. There are no direct rail or air connections with the. "Flats.“ There are two auto ferries serving the St. Clair Flats; Champion's auto ferry serves to connect Harsens Island with the mainland and the Russell 58 Island-Canada ferry serves the same purpose for Russell Island. The round trip fare on each of these ferries is seventy-five cents. The means of transportation available for that part of the "Flats" lying west of the Middle Channel is by boat. Harsens and Russell Islands are the only islands of the "Flats” which have any roads. The roads on both of these islands are for the most part unimproved or gravel roads. Michigan State Highway Route 154 runs from Champion's auto ferry southwest between private claim numbers three and four, thence eastward toward Sans Souci. Just west of Sans Souci this high- way turns southward and is called Green Road. South of the settlement of Maple Leaf the highway follows along the South Channel to where it terminates just south of Little Muscamoot Bay. There is a good backtOp road which con- tinues west from the terminus of Route 154 for approximately two and one-half miles to the boundary of the ”Old Club" property on South Channel. In addi- tion to this road the South Channel Road, Stewart Road, and portions of the North Channel and Cottage Lane Roads are also paved with blacktOp. The re- maining roads on Harsens and Russell Islands are either gravelled or unim- proved. The mileage of these three types of roads are as follows; 15.7 miles of paved road, 13.8 miles of gravelled road, and 2.6 miles of unimproved earth roads. Boat transportation in those portions of the "Flats“ west of the Middle Channel and between the natural levees on the south end of Harsens Island has been greatly facilitated by the dredging of a number of boat channels or highways through the natural levees which extend into Lake st. Clair. These channels or highways eliminate the necessity of boating around the ends of the levees in order to reach another channel or another area of the “Flats." 59 PHOTO 2. -- Champion's Auto Ferry loaded with automobiles and headed for the ferry landing on Harsens Island. I PHOTO 3. -- A portion of M-154 just south of Maple Leaf showing the marsh along side the highway. The South Channel of the St. Clair River serves a very important func- tion in Great Lakes shipping, being the Channel that is kept dredged to a twenty-five foot depth by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. All 60 Great Lakes shipping between Lakes Erie and Huron must pass through this Channel. “ ‘ ’ 9 - . if.“ -- ._’ - K.:" .- ."- ‘ ‘-‘;/ I - ' .‘P' ’- _ ..‘. s . 9&2» -. - -- -_. - - t-I - 5‘ V _~- _- ._ .’.‘, " O! at: ‘ ~ - - ..- s 9‘“, W! 4" _-- v.0 .‘ :V v; _' - ' V ' ‘ - P? ’15“? .—,l. ' --a— «he. .:_- " ° u, ' - " ~ :A’ -' _ ’ .'- ’.'_l ‘ ' 5“ ~_ . , “ ~ - l. " - ‘7‘ ‘7 L“; 'W , 4‘: .‘.- - r, - - , " r ‘ ~ ‘-- ' I” .~: -~fi$' 4‘ _\ ' § .. - ~.‘- ‘ VT _-“- ~.“‘ " E‘ _ _ .7‘ . __' _..” *TW \.s-_ g ‘mg—k "’ ' \ -‘.tui' PHOTO 4. -- This are carrier is typical of the size and type of vessel carry- ing commerce through the ”Flats" via the South Channel of the St. Clair River. UTILITIES Public electric and telephone services are available only on Harsens and Russell Islands. The electric utility is furnished by the Detroit Edi- son Company and the telephone service by Michigan Bell Telephone Company. There are 35 telephone subscribers on Russell Island and 346 on Harsens Island giving a total of 381 telephone connections on the ”Flats." No accu- rate count was made of the number of electric connections but it is most certain that the total number Of subscribers to this service greatly exceeds that of the telephone company. The area of the "Flats" west of the Middle Channel is completely lacking in all utilities and likely to remain so for a considerable time. The scant number of prospective customers and the ex- treme difficulty of providing these services render the cost of providing them almost prohibitive. Sanitary and domestic water facilities are prob- lems which each individual prOperty owner or lessee must solve for himself. 61 At present pollution of water supplies does not present a problem, but care should be taken that future deveIOpments do not disturb this situation. CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS The religious and educational facilities of the "Flats" are limited, but adequate, due to the seasonal nature of the major portion of the popu- lation. There are two churches on the "Plats," one Catholic and one prot- estant, both of which are on Harsens Island. Harsens Island is also the site site of the only school located on the "Flats.” This school has facilities for teaching only the elementary grades and as a consequence it is necessary to transport students into Algonac for high school education. FIRE AND POLICE PROTECTION The annual danger of fire is ever present on the St. Clair Flats. Each fall the annual accumulation of marsh vegetation dies, presenting a source of combustible material that endangers much of the prOperty. Present day protection against fires is provided by a well equipped volunteer fire de- partment. This department has two engines, one stationed at each of two locations on Harsens Island. One engine is stationed in the village of Sans Souci, the other on the South Channel near the point where the Joy Highway bisects the South Channel levee. The department on Harsens Island is the only organized fire fighting unit on the ”Flats.” The remaining portions depend upon individual fire protection systems. Police protection on the "Flats" is provided by three levels of govern- ment. The Clay Township Constable, the St. Clair County Sheriffs Depart- nuent and the State Police furnish the necessary property protection. Game and fish protection and regulation is a function of the officers of the De- partment of Conservation. 62 AGRICULTURE The low inherent fertility of the soil and the naturally poor drainage of the "Flats" have not been conducive to profitable agriculture. Private claims three and four, on the north one-half of Harsens Island, are the only portions of the "Flats” currently being utilized for agriculture. The acre- age of farm land associated with the farms in this area is 520 acres of crOp land and 43 acres of pasture land. Certain of those lands designated as idle land were once in crOp production but have long since been abandoned. With few exceptions the agriculture of the area is classed as general farm- ing. There is one farm located southwest of the intersection of Stewart Road and M—154 that produces registered Aberdeen Angus cattle. The St. Clair COunty Office of the Agricultural Stabilization Commission has let five wheat allotments totaling 93 acres to farmers on the "Flats.” The value of the agricultural product of the St. Clair Flats was unobtainable, but it is most certainly considerably less than the recreational value. COTTAGES AND RESIDEI‘CES The cottages and residences of the ”Flats" are widely diversified, rang- ing in use from small week end shacks to large year round residences. The ‘value of these developments varies from a few hundred dollars up to many ‘thousands of dollars. The residences located on the levees of the South Iand Middle Channels, as well as those located west of the Middle Channel, are all constructed on "made land," that is, land that has been elevated above the water level by filling in behind sheet piling with material dredged from the adjacent channels and submerged bottom land. This dredging and filling process is extremely costly and as a consequence many of the resi- dential develOpments in the outer portions of the "Flats" represent a con- Siderable expenditure in moneY- In making an inventory of the cottages and residences Of the St. Clair Flats it was impossible to differentiate between year round and seasonally occupied residences, for this reason, that they were classed as one. The following table indicates the number of residences found on each of the major sub-divisions of the "Plats.” TABLE VI NUMBER OF RESIDENCES ON THE ST. CLAIR FLATS, BY MAJOR PHYSICAL SUB-DIVISIONS Sub-division Residences Harsens Island 932 Russell Island 81 Dickinson Island 36 South of Dickinson Island, west side of the Middle Channel 87 South of Dickinson Island, east side of Chenal A Bout Bond 11 West of Chenal A Bout Bond 128 Total 1,275 PHOTO 5. -- House built on made land, located in Big Muscamoot Bay. PHOTO 6. -- Houses along the west shore of the Middle Channel, south of the Big Fisher Highway. b . a- _/./ A“; I “ ‘ PHOTO 7. -- Photograph taken faéing south—ffomTtEE—JOEE at the "Idle Hour Hotel," located on the South Channel. RETAIL STORES AND SERVICE BUSINESSES The retail stores and service businesses of the ”Flats” are all lo- cated on Harsens Island, the major portion of them being confined to the village of Sans Souci. Located within Sans Souci there are two grocery stores, one hardware store, one drug store, one bakery, one dry cleaning 65 service, one barber and beauty shOp, two restaurants, and one tavern. There are six additional grocery stores scattered over Harsens Island. The only gasoline service station to offer complete service is the Standard Gas Station located just west of Sans Souci at the intersection Of La Croix and Green Roads. In addition to the service offered by this station gasoline and oil may be purchased at several of the scattered grocery stores and at the boat landings and liveries which are equipped to service both boats and automobiles. In addition to the tavern in Sans Souci, alcoholic beverages are sold at all four of the resort hotels on the South Channel and at Browns Tavern on the Middle Channel. Beer and wine may be purchased from any of the scattered groceries on the "Flats.” There are also four building contractors and two dredging companies Op- erating from Harsens Island and servicing the entire "Flats" area. BOAT YARDS AND BOAT LIVERIES There are two commercial boat landings on the "Flats" Offering Complete marine sales and service facilities. These commercial landings are Schneiders Marina and Marineland Incorporated, both of which are located on the South Channel. . . IIIIIT _.[I {MW PHOTO 8. -- Photograph ”Of Schneiders Marinaj, located on the South Channel Just east of Peninsular Highway. i 66 In addition to the above mentioned boat landings there are five commer- cial boat liveries all located on Harsens Island. Of these liveries, two are located on the Middle Channel and three on the South Channel, and have a combined total of approximately 135 boats for hire. Sixty of these are owned by one of the Operators on the Middle Channel, the other Operators each having from fifteen to twenty boats. PHOTO 9. -- Photograph of some of the sixty boats owned by Earl Brown of Browns Boat Livery, located on the Middle Channel near Snooks Highway. In the background note the bridge which apans Snooks Highway. RESORT HOTELS There are still four resort hotels in Operation on the "Flats," all of them being on Harsens Island along the South Channel. ‘The main function of these hotels today is the restaurant and bar service they offer, although their lodging facilities are well utilized during the summer and hunting seasons. They are equipped with adequate dock and parking facilities, cater- ing to both automobile and boat travelers. All of these hotels are located on the outer or South Channel side of 'the South Channel levee. Joe Bedores Hotel is the first encountered when sNEET s ::::::::::: °:e"‘8::‘ ;IZIIIIIZZZI.. SHEET' ..... :Z: .:°"°II:IIIIIIIII'.Z. ion-- DICKINSON. ..... 12:1.”1‘ . . . . ................... .2: ' .,-:. eee el§. ."‘. .’.'e: : : ,. .: eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee w]; :2: .3 .nlxgzzgs'lx:A... . j :::::::::::. such a "H H: LEGEND . -- COTTAGES AND RESIDENCES ;_ sCNOOL r— RETAIL STORES o-oauss - CHURCH G'GROOE" “3° coast sumo II- HARDWARE 8"" o“ 9,-UNOIEEERENTIAVEO susINEss z—umupfiovso ROAD J. —SERVICE BUSINESSES s-sas STATION n..enAVEL none e-saassa AND BEAUTY SHOP c-OLEANERS — -PAVE0 ROAD R-RESTAURANTS A -TAVERN . ——NOTEL («number OHJOQIs -80AT LIVE" on ooquacuI. LANome -oax,mcxoav,asu TYPE wOOOLANo —A$P£N,TAG ALDER seusu “'- ""900 I l I I -OROP LAND Omr. In rm. lmn ease MAP —u.s.e.s. TOPO. ouaos. LAND-USE waeeeo IAYJDSS "“<"-PASTURE LAND P...“ I j-IDLE LAND I-___._. L T.-UAR$MLAND UNUSED EXCEPT WHERE FILLED .1 FOR BUILDING SITES. L l—UPLANO AREA. INTENSIVELY DEVELOPED /. O C OUR-S ,...o E ‘ A (11" aér<< “:- L" c-t G h I‘\~)'_"“\J‘\ V J .3. .1. 127;" .P-t.‘ ', ,' - ”47/5 ‘{'2)—;,4£.-_\,I.(“(‘. I .‘.‘- .. Ky‘s‘. _~‘ r I.F’~’ - ‘- e e i , I If. r3 . . .‘ 91‘ _ 't‘. O I“: ..-~"" . m—o-v H“, P51 “ 1.1.”“T’A h ee“ (SHEET I OF 3 SHEETS) HARSENS |SLAND (SHEET 2 or a sugars) (SHEET 3 on SHEEN) ANCHOR , 3 . u ,f , UCMNSON BAY ' a“ ‘fi ‘ ransom ISLAND fid‘s" 0 5mm: ERRY/ ISL no ~\ ‘ K7/ .. :1; CHANNEL .r—- Q/ G 00 SE B AY LONG PmNT .3 .fl (‘9.— .. ’- BAY . rgx” HARSENS 3 Q ,, ISLAND a 0 ° f3? 7‘ WV traveling from the mainland outward on the "Flats." Bedores Hotel is locat- ed just south of the Little Muscamoot Bay. Proceeding west toward the end of the South Channel levee the other three hotels are encountered in the following order, Kulow's Hotel located just west of Bedores, the Idle Hour Hotel located farther west near where the Peninsular Highway bisects the South Channel levee, and last, Frank Millers Hotel located just south of the turn around at the end of South Channel Road. MISCELLANEOUS LAND USES ON THE ST. CLAIR FLATS The Coast Guard Station, the Mid-Channel Golf Course, and the public picnic area are three land uses that don't fall into any of the afore men- tioned land use classifications. The Coast Guard Station is located on the South Channel between Slocum and Mervue Highways. The function of this station is to service the navi- gational aids along the South Channel portion of the St. Clair River. The Mid-Channel Golf Course is located on Harsens Island on the northern portion of Private Claim number five. This is a private golf course but the public is free to play upon payment of a green fee. The picnic area is located on the North Channel Road near Grande Pointe. This is a privately owned facility which caters to organized group outings. 72 SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS SUMMARY The original settlement and subsequent develOpment of the St. Clair Flats was almost entirely dependent upon the proximity of the water bodies surrounding them. The waters of the St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair have played a major role in every phase of the deve10pment of the "Flats" area. Early settlers journeyed to the area and stayed there because of the ease of transport furnished by these waterways. Later the "Flats“ were important as a base of Operations for the lightering of cargo over the shallows of the Herth Channel. The ”Flats" agriculture of this time was also dependent upon Great Lakes shipping as a market for much of the produce of the farms of the area. With the decline of the importance of water transportation, brougfifabout by the develOpment of other transport media, the ”Flats" con- tinued to prosper from the utilization of the vast fish and game populations of the surrounding waters and marshes. The presence of this resource has served as the stimulus for the deveIOpment of the recreational resources of of the area. There is little evidence to indicate that the trend toward recreational develOpment will decline, in fact, if the matter is viewed in the light of our nationwide increase in papulation and living standard, it becomes more rational to assume that the demand for recreational facilities will increase rather than decline. The physical characteristics of the area are such that this type of develOpment appears to be the highest and best use to which the area could be placed. It is then concluded that recreation deveIOpment of the "Flats" will bring greater satisfaction to human wants and and desires than any other use to which the area could be placed. 73 The present intent of land use and ownership pattern has evolved from the legislative and judicial decisions affecting the "Flats" and therefore is the framework within which any develOpment of the area must fit. There has been considerable thought placed on the develOpment of this pattern and it has been refined to the point where it best fits the physical capabili- ties of the ”Flats." RECOMMENDATIONS To secure and maintain the highest and best possible use of the resources of the St. Clair Flats the following recommendations are offered for consid- eration. 1. There should be no further aelienation of state owned or controlled lands and lake bottom lands in the St. Clair Flats. 2. Acquisition of lands within the prescribed boundaries of the St. Clair Flats Wildlife Area should be continued until the state has gained control of all available land. 3. The natural characteristics of the Wildlife Area should be main- tained and if possible improved. This would include planting of food and cover species of vegetation, hunting restrictions, stocking, stabilization of water levels where every/possible, and any other-practices deemed necessary by the Game Division of the Michigan Department of Conservation. 4. Access to the Wildlife Area should be improved by the construction of boat launching sites and parking areas. 5. Utilization of the state controlled lands could be increased and additional people benefited by the construction of picnic and bathing facili- ties on the inner bays of Harsens Island. This could be accomplished by the establishment of a state park. 74 6. The highways and roads on Harsens Island should be improved, espe- cially those along the Middle Channel. 7. The construction of a bridge across the North Channel would elim- inate the necessity of the ferry and thus greatly facilitate utilization of the resources of the "Flats.” This could be accomplished by the forma- tion of a public corporation and selling bonds which could be retired by bridge tolls. 8. The leasing of state owned lands for cottage and residential pur- poses should be continued in the areas presently developed for this use. There should be no further expansion of this program because all of the lands best suited to residential develOpment are presently dedicated as such. 9. The utilization of the private lands of the "Flats“ should conform to the existing rules and regulations governing the area. It might be desire able in the future to create cottage sites with water frontage by dredging channels through the higher upland areas of the "Flats.“ 10. The dredging of sand, gravel, and fill materials should be care— fully regulated for the removal of excessive amounts of sediments could cause the slumping in of some of the upland areas near the channels. 11. Due to the shallow stratum of permeable material overlying the relatively impermeable ”bottom clay," future cottage and residential develOp- ments should take all possible precautions to eliminate pollution of domestic water supply resulting from sewage contamination. 12. The physical and geographical nature of the "Flats" is such that zoning and building ordinances should be enacted to regulate their develOp- ment. Any ordinances enacted should place Special emphasis on recreational develOpment. Heavy industries should be zoned out completely since the "Flats" will serve a better purpose if used for residential and recreational 75 land for the peOple working in the mainland factories. 13. Future develOpments are going to be more expensive in that most of the easily accessible lands have been deve10ped. 14. There is an abundance of fill material available since the St. Clair Delta is constantly growing as a result of aggradation resulting from sediment carried from Lake Huron by the St. Clair River. This sediment could be used to make land. 15. Should the demand for cottage and residential property become intense enough it would be possible to develop new sites at least equal in number to the present 1,275 developments, and probably greatly in excess of this number. The recommendations set forth in the above paragraphs closely parallel the present land use pattern which, with few exceptions, is well suited to the physical capabilities of the St. Clair Flats area. llt\I‘lll‘lllllllllllmllllmlullillllll“IliIlllIHlllHHll 312931008