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T h e m a jo rity o f users in d ic a te th a t th e te x tu a l c o n te n t is o f greatest value, m ade h o w ever, fro m d is s e rta tio n . a som ew hat " p h o to g ra p h s " S ilv e r p rin ts h ig h e r q u a lity if essential of to re p ro d u c tio n c o u ld be th e u n d e rs ta n d in g o f th e " p h o to g r a p h s " m ay be o rd e re d at a d d itio n a l charge by w ritin g th e O rd e r D e p a rtm e n t, giving th e catalog n u m b e r, title , a u th o r an d specific pages y o u w ish re p ro d u c e d . University Microfilms 300 N o rth Z e e b R o ad Ann A rb o r. M ic h ig a n 481 06 A Xero x E d u c a tio n C o m p a n y 73-5410 JOHNSON, Howard George, 1943THE FRANCONIAN COLONIES OF THE SAGINAW VALLEY, MICHIGAN: A STUDY IN HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. Michigan State University, Ph.D., 1972 Geogranhy University Microfilms, A XEROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan © Copyright by HOWARD GEORGE JOHNSON THE FRANCONIAN COLONIES OF THE SAGINAW VALLEY, MICHIGAN: A STUDY IN HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY By Howard George Johnson A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in p a r t ia l f u l f i l l m e n t of the requirements fo r the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Geography 1972 PLEASE NOTE: Some pages may have in d istinct p rin t. F i l m e d as r e c e i v e d . U niversity M icrofilm s, A Xe r o x E du c a t i on Company ABSTRACT THE FRANCONIAN COLONIES OF THE SAGINAW VALLEY, MICHIGAN: A STUDY IN HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY By Howard George Johnson This study deals with four Gentian Lutheran communities which originated in Bavaria and were transplanted in to the Saginaw V alley o f Michigan between 1845 and 1850. (1) The study has three major emphases: to determine major elements of the Franconian culture p r io r to the emigration to Michigan; (2) to describe and evaluate the development of each settlem ent's cu ltu ra l landscape to 1970; and (3) to determine which factors enabled the Franconians to maintain t h e i r c u ltu ra l h e r i­ tage despite a lack o f topographic is o la tio n from other culture groups in the Valley. The hypothesis is set fo rth th a t the key unifying e le ­ ments were the Lutheran Church and the Franconians' a g ric u ltu ra l heritage. An analysis of the Nuremberg area from which the Franconians emigrated and the Saginaw Valley to which they came show few s im ila r ­ i t i e s in terms o f physical q u a litie s or land use patterns. The strength o f the Church as a unifying element is seen in many ways. The Church provided the i n i t i a l motivation f o r establishing the colonies; the Church was the social organization through which com­ munity r e s p o n s ib ilitie s and regulations were determined; parochial education was required in each of the settlements and through the years generated numerous pastors and parochial teachers; a m ajority of the c itizen s of each o f the townships in which the colonies were located belong to the Franconian congregations despite the presence o f numerous churches o f other denominations. That the a g ric u ltu ra l background o f the colonists is a unifying element is supported by the following facts. Each colony attempted to become a p r o f it - o r ie n te d a g ric u ltu ra l e n t ity from i t s inception; the growth o f each settlem ent's population appears closely related to the a v a i l a b i l i t y o f good farmland and the ease with which land could be cleared and drained; the c itiz e n s of each of the settlements remain keenly aware o f the a g ric u ltu ra l economic base which supports them; when commerce was introduced into the settlements, the f i r s t to take hold was related to a g ric u ltu ra l needs and production. Other factors played less important roles in maintaining the Franconian heritage. The German language declined in use rapidly following World War I I , but p r io r to th at time served as an unintentional b a r r ie r between the Franconians and other culture groups in the V a lley. Certain fa m ilie s and individuals were instrumental in shaping the future of the settlements and in taking steps to preserve t h e i r heritage. D if f e r e n t i a l development among the four settlements is thought to be related to advantages or disadvantages of location. Conclusions drawn from the study indicate potential growth f o r Frankenmuth and R ic h v ille , stagnation fo r Frankentrost, and elim ination o f Frankenlust. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author g r a t e f u lly acknowledges Daniel Jacobson, Clarence Vinge, and Roger T rin d e ll fo r t h e i r advice and counseling during the preparation of this document. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES.............................................................................................................. v LIST OF F IG U R E S ...............................................................................................................vi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 1 Review o f the L ite ra tu r e Research Aims Methodology The Study Area II. THE FRANCONIANHE R ITA G E............................................................................... 14 The Physical Setting M aterial Culture T r a its Non-material Culture T r a its III. THE SAGINAW VALLEYPRIOR TO 1845 ......................................................... 25 The Physical Setting The Cultural Setting IV. THE FRANCONIAN COLONIES, 1845-1855 .............................................. . 38 THE FRANCONIAN COLONIES, 1856-1920 ................................................... 85 Conception, M otivation, Implementation Introduction o f Franconian Culture to the Saginaw Valley Frankenmuth (41) Frankentrost (59) Frankenlust (68) Frankenhilf (78) V. Frankenmuth (86) Frankentrost (96) Frankenlust (100) Frankenhilf (104) iii V I. THE FRANCONIANCOLONIES, 1921-1970 ................................................. 108 Frankenmuth (109) Frankentrost (122) Frankenlust (125) Frankenhilf ( R i c h v ille ) (127) V II. SUMMARY ANDCONCLUSIONS..................................................................... 132 BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................................................................. 143 APPENDIX A .................................................................................................................. 153 APPENDIX B .................................................................................................................. 156 APPENDIX C .......................................... ....................................................................... 158 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Monthly Temperature and P r e c ip ita tio n Data fo r Nuremberg, Germany and Saginaw, Michigan ........................................................... Page 17 2. Number o f Souls in the Franconian Congregations, 1845-55 3. Commercial A c tiv ity 4. Number of Souls in the Franconian Congragations fo r Selected Years Between 1856 and 1920 94 5. Commercial A c tiv ity in Frankentrost, 1856-1920 98 6. Commercial A c tiv ity in Frankenlust, 1856-1920 .............................. 101 7. Commercial A c tiv ity in Frankenhilf ( R i c h v i l l e ) , 1856-1920 . . 105 8. Commercial A c tiv ity in Frankenmuth, 1921-70 .................................. Ill 9. Number of Souls in the Franconian Communities fo r Selected Years Between 1920 and 1970 119 10. Number o f Residential Units by Type in Frankenmuth, 1954-71 . 120 11. Membership o f Franconian Congregations as a Percentage o f Township Population fo r Frankenmuth, Blumfield, Frankenlust and Denmark Townships, 1860-1970 121 Natives and Descendants o f Natives o f Franconian Congrega­ tions in Church-Related Occupations, 1845-1969 122 Commercial A c tiv ity in R ic h v ille (F r a n k e n h ilf), 1921-70 . . . 130 12. 13. . . 45 in Frankenmuth, 1856-1920 .............................. 90 v LIS T OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. The Franconian Colonies and Neighboring Settlements in Michigan's Saginaw V a lle y , 1970 ............................................... 12 2. Settlement and Land Use in Frankenmuth, Michigan, 1855 3. Settlement and 1920 & 1970 Land Use in Frankentrost, Michigan, . . . 44 62 4. Mission Colonies as Portrayed by Wilhelm Loehe, 1848 . . . . 63 5. Settlement and 72 6. Settlement and Land Use in Frankenhilf ( R i c h v i l l e ) , Michigan, 1855 & 1920 Land Use in Frankenlust, Michigan, 1855 . . . 81 7. Settlement and Land Use in Frankenmuth, Michigan, 1920 . . . 8. Settlement and Land Use in Frankenlust, Michigan, 1920 . . . 102 9. Settlement and Land Use in Frankenmuth, Michigan, 1970 . . . 113 .............................................. 117 Frankenmuth, Michigan 89 10. C ity Shield: 11. Settlement and Land Use in Frankenlust, Michigan, 1970 . . . 126 12. Settlement and Land Use in R i c h v ille , Michigan, 1970 . . . . 129 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The early settlement and growth o f the United States owed i t s immediate success to the large numbers o f European immigrants who came to the New World. Their reasons fo r coming were many. Conditions in Europe, such as p o l i t i c a l reforms, relig io u s persecution, overcrowding, and economic s t r i f e , were fa s t becoming in to le r a b le . Many people sought r e l i e f from these conditions by re-esta b lis h in g themselves in America. Others came seeking p r o f i t and adventure in the e x p lo ita tio n of Amer­ ic a 's resources and the exploration o f i t s f r o n t ie r s . Ship owners and merchants, r e a liz in g the potential p r o f it s to be gained in transA t la n t ic trade, and laborers s k ille d in service trades were also quick to establish themselves in America. Thus, motivated by a d iv e r s ity of reasons, s e t t le r s came to America in ever-increasing numbers. European settlement f i r s t occurred along the A tla n tic seaboard, eventually spreading westward to the eastern slopes of the Appalachian Mountains. I t was not u n til the l a te 1700's, however, that large num­ bers o f s e ttle r s began pushing westward across the Appalachians, along the Ohio River, and into the Lower Great Lakes region. By 1870 s e t t l e ­ ment had reached northward into the Upper Great Lakes region and westward across the Great Plains and over the Rocky Mountains to the P a c ific . When the f i r s t s e t t le r s came to America, they had l i t t l e accurate knowledge o f t h e i r new physical m ilieu . 1 Discovery and e a rly exploration 2 o f North America during the l a t e f if t e e n t h and e a rly sixteenth centuries yielded l i t t l e sp e c ific knowledge useful fo r s e t t le r s . But soon a f t e r the establishment o f permanent colonies in the e arly 1600's, a v a rie ty o f reports, l e t t e r s , and maps (commonly referred to as tra c ts ) describing America reached Europe. Many of these documents were grossly, even fra u d u le n tly , inaccurate and what l i t t l e useful information they con­ tained was often biased in favor o f a p a r t ic u la r area or settlement.^ Nevertheless, these tra cts provided Europeans with a general idea o f the opportunities and challenges th at lay before them, and convinced many of them to come to America. An example o f the type of l i t e r a t u r e mentioned above was the guide book. These books were published by land speculators, government agencies, and l a t e r , by r a ilr o a d companies.2 D istributed in Europe, they t o ld o f lands a v a ila b le in America and directed people to them, suggesting and describing various routes and means of transportation . One such guide book of p a r t ic u la r in te r e s t to this study, Des Auswanderers Wegweiser nach dem Staate Michigan, was w ritte n and published by E. H. Thompson in 1849.^ The overall e f f e c t of this dissemination of information about America into Europe was th at by the mid-1800's the European immigrants had a much more detailed and accurate idea o f what to expect in America, and were, th erefo re, b e tte r able to plan and prepare f o r l i f e there than were t h e i r precursors. York: ^Ralph H. Brown, H is to ric a l Geography of the United States (New Harcourt, Brace & World, I n c . , 1948;, p. 5. ^ Ib id . ^ (N e w York). 3 Settlement of the Midwest was s im ila r to settlement throughout much o f America. settlement. I t was b a s ic a llj >f two types: individual and group Settlement by individuals and fa m ilie s occurred as s e t t le r s moved in to a f r o n t i e r area over a period of time u n til that area con­ tained a s u f f ic i e n t number of inhabitants to support a town. The communities developed in th is manner were usually diverse in t h e i r c u ltu ra l composition, perhaps the birthplaces of the American "melting pot" cu ltu re . The individuals involved in th is type of settlement moved into areas on the f r o n t i e r about which l i t t l e was known. They were often a tra n s ie n t l o t , fo r i t was not uncommon f o r a fam ily to abandon the home they had carved out o f the wilderness and move on to meet a s im ila r challenge elsewhere. The growth o f f r o n t i e r populations lured merchants and technicians westward to new markets and jobs, and so the towns crept westward, always following the e lu s iv e , constantly ad­ vancing f r o n t i e r . In contrast to settlement by individuals there was planned settlement by groups. I t was common fo r communities to be organized in Europe and then transplanted to the United States. was esp ecially popular with relig io u s denominations. This practice Because such groups intended to maintain t h e i r cu ltu ra l i d e n t it y , they often sought to seclude themselves, i f not geographically, at le a s t by t h e i r customs, laws, r e l ig i o n , and the language o f t h e i r c u ltu re , from neighboring communities. Agents were appointed by the groups to search fo r s u itab le community locations and were often authorized to make the actual land purchases. The communities were planned to become permanent features of the New World landscape. These groups perceived and interacted with t h e ir new environment as best t h e i r culture had equipped them. Thus 4 each group, working through i t s cu ltu ra l h e rita g e , created a p a r t ic u la r cu ltu ra l landscape out o f the natural landscape. This study proposes to analyze the o rig in and development of four planned communities in the Saginaw Valley o f Michigan. These com­ m unities, c o l l e c t iv e ly referred to as the Franconian c o l o n i e s , ^ were established during the f iv e -y e a r period 1845-1850 by congregations of German Lutherans from the rural provinces o f Bavaria. Review o f the L ite ra tu re H is to ric a l geography, as a subfield of human geography, views man as an active agent in a basic man-land relatio n s h ip and recognizes that the variable of past time, or h is to ry , is important to geographi­ cal studies. During the twentieth century the underlying concepts of h is to r ic a l geography underwent several modifications. During the f i r s t quarter of the twentieth century h is to r ic a l geography was characterized "by a preoccupation with environmental d e t e r m in is m . E x a m p le s o f th is trend to "explain past events in terms of the causal e ffe c ts of the physical environment"^ are Semple's American History and i t s Geographic ^The word Franconian is derived from the word Franks, the name given to the inhabitants of northern Bavaria. ^H. Roy Merrens, "H is to ric a l Geography and Early American His­ to ry ," The W illiam and Mary Q u a rte rly , published by the I n s t it u t e of Early American History and Culture, (October, 1965), 538. 6I b i d . , p. 531. 5 Conditions, Brigham's Geographic Influences in American H is to ry , and the teaching of Barrows in Chicago.7 A revival of the s p a tia l t r a d it io n and the area studies t r a d it io n heralded the popular decline of determinism. Both revived tra d itio n s found new l i f e in the e x p lo ita tio n of previously unused primary source m ate ria l. A s p a tia l study based upon extensive use o f primary source materials in F r i i s ' "A Series o f Population Maps of the Colonies and the United S t a t e s . Studies in the spa tial tr a d it io n such as those by S c o field , Dodge, and Kniffen and G l a s s i e , ^ deal with the " d is tr ib u tio n o f features o f settlements or s e ttle d are a s ."10 The area studies t r a d it io n was revived from two d i f f e r e n t ap­ proaches, sequent occupance and the reconstruction o f past geographies in time. Sequent occupance studies the geography of each stage of occu­ pance which remains r e l a t i v e l y stable o- unchanging in a p a r t ic u la r area. Studies of th is type are not r e s tr ic te d to one segment o f time and thus present a broader h is t o r ic a l context in which the development of a 7E1 len Churchill Semple (Boston and New York: Houghton M i f f l i n , 1903); A lbert P. Brigham (New York: Chautauqua Press, 1903); Harlan H. Barrows, Lectures on the H is to ric a l Geography of the United States as Given in 1933, ed. by W. A. Koelsch, Department of Geography Research Paper No. 77 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962). ^Herman F r i i s , Geographical Review, XXX (1940), 463-70. ^Edna S c o fie ld , "The Origin of Settlement Patterns in Rural New England," Geographical Review, XXVIII (1938), 652-63; Stanley D. Dodge, "The F ro n tie r o f New England in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries and Its Significance in American H istory," Papers o f the Michigan Academy of Science, A rts, and L e t t e r s , XXVIII (1942), 435-39; Fred B. Kniffen and H. G lassie, "Building in Wood in the Eastern United States: A Time-Place Perspective," Geographical Review, LVI (1966), 40-66. ^M errens, op. c i t . , p. 540. 6 landscape is presented as the culmination of several stages o f occupance. Whittlesey f i r s t described th is approach in his a r t i c l e "Sequent Occu­ pance. "This approach served to dramatize contrasts between one occupance era and the next. But in doing so i t slighted place-to-p lace variation s th at existed in any one period and minimized changes"^ be­ tween eras and how or why they occurred. The reconstruction approach is s t a t i c , studying the geography of a c ertain area a t a p a r t ic u la r point in time. I t makes l i t t l e reference to cause and e f f e c t relationships and makes no attempt to describe geo­ graphical changes through time. Two of the best examples of th is ap­ proach are Darby's publications on Domesday England and Brown's recon­ struction o f the eastern seaboard of the United S t a t e s . ^ Yet another approach, proposed by Carl Sauer, is known as c u l t u r a l- h i s t o r ic a l geography. The approach is b a s ic a lly genetic and stresses the o rig in and d iffu s io n of features o f the landscape. Sauer emphasizes the idea th at man as an activ e agent works through his culture Derwent W hittlesey, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, XIX (1929). Further examples and discussion o f the sequent occupance model are found in the following a r t ic l e s : Richard E. Dodge, "The In te rp re ta tio n o f Sequent Occupance," Annals of the Association of American Geographers, XXVIII (1938); Stanley D. Dodge, "Sequent Occupance of the I l l i n o i s P r a i r i e , " B u lle tin of the Geographical Society of Phi lade!phi a , XXIX (1931); Alfred H. Meyer, "C irculation and Settlement Patterns of the Calumet-South Chicago Region of Northwest Indiana and Northeast I l l i n o i s , " Proceedings of the XVIIth Congress, Inte rn ationa l Geographical Union, Washington," D .C ., (1952). 12 Merrens, op. c i t . , p. 542. ^ H . C. Darby, The Domesday Geography of Eastern England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1952) and The Domesday Geog­ raphy of Midland England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1954); Ralph H. Brown, M irro r fo r Americans: Likeness of the Eastern Seaboard, 1810 (New York: American Geographical Society, 1943). 7 to create a cu ltu ra l landscape. Thus the culture of a group determines to what degree i t can perceive the potential o f an environment and in what manner i t w i l l in te r a c t with an environm ent.^ Sauer recognizes th a t cultures evolve through time, and because of th is the cu ltu ra l landscape would also evolve. He views the landscape as an evolving e n t i ­ ty and seeks causal links between a culture and the lanscape i t c re a te s .^ Studies by Broek, Jordan, Meinig, M ike sell, and Wacker demon­ s tr a te th is approach.^ This study is also of the c u lt u r a l- h is t o r ic a l ^ C a r l Sauer, in his "Foreword to H is to ric a l Geography," ( Annals o f the Association o f American Geographers, XXXI [1 9 4 1 ], 9) defines culture as the invented or acquired h ab its, a t tit u d e s , s k i l l s , and p re fe r­ ences o f a cu ltu re group. Recently J. 0. M. Broek and J. W. Webb defined c u ltu re as "the t r a i t s that give human groups t h e i r d is t in c t iv e charac­ t e r and th at condition the manner in which each group perceives and uses i t s h a b ita t." (A Geography o f Mankind [New York: McGraw-Hill Book Com­ pany, 1968], p. v .) j ! E. Spencer and W. L. Thomas's d e f in it io n th at cu l­ ture is "a way o f l i f e developed by p a r t i a l l y isolated groups sharing unique experiences in space and time" ( Cultural Geography: An Evolution­ ary Introduction to Our Humanized Earth [New York: John Wiley and Sons, I n c . , 1969], p. 4 . ) d if f e r s from those previously c ite d , y e t a l l agree that culture is a dynamic e n t i t y , constantly changing as i t amasses t r a ­ d i t i o n , confronts the ideas and concepts of neighboring groups, or gener­ ates such ideas from w ithin i t s e l f . For purposes o f th is study, culture is defined as th a t dynamic and evolving socio-economical, technological, ideological structure through which man acts w ithin and upon his environ­ ment. ^ C a r l Sauer, "The Morphology of Landscape," Un iv e r s ity o f C a li­ fo rn ia Publications in Geography, I I , 2 (1925). ^ J . 0. M. Broek, The Santa Clara Valley in C a lifo rn ia : A Study in Landscape Change (Utrecht! A. Oosthoeck, 1932); T. G. Jordan, German Seed in Texas So flT Immigrant Farmers in Nineteenth-Century Texas (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1966); "The Texan Appalachia," Annals o f the Association of American Geographers, LX (September, 1970), 409-27; D. W. Meinig, The Great Columbia Plain: A H is to ric a l Geography, 1805-1910 (S e a ttle and London: U n ive rs ity o f Washington Press, 1968); Imperial Texas: An I n te r p r e tiv e Essay in Cultural Geography (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1969), Southwest: Three Peop1es~in Geographi­ cal Change, 1600-1970 (London: Oxford University Press, 1971); Marvin M ik e s e ll, Northern Morocco: A Cultural Geography," U n iversity o f C a li­ fo rn ia Publications in Geography, XIV (1961); Peter 0. Wacker, The Musconetcong V alley o f New Jersey: A H is to ric a l Geography (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1968). 8 t r a d it io n f o r i t seeks to describe the evolving cu ltu ra l landscape o f the Franconian colonies and to d e lim it causal relationships between the Fran­ conian culture and the c u ltu ra l lanscape. Research Aims The primary objective o f th is research is to te s t the hypothesis that the two factors which influenced the development and perpetuation o f the Franconian c u ltu ral landscape were an a g ric u ltu ra l peasant h e r i ­ tage and a unifying relig io u s b e l i e f . This w i l l be done f i r s t by des­ cribing and analyzing the c u ltu ral landscape of the Franconian colonies as i t developed in the Saginaw V alley in terms of: (1) the settlement pattern and population d is t r ib u t io n , (2) the shape of the f ie ld s and the types o f crops grown, (3) the tools and techniques of farming, (4) com­ munication and transportation systems, (5) the types of houses and barns, and (6) the types o f economic and commercial use o f land other than farming. The second te s t of the hypothesis w i l l consist o f measuring the degree to which the colonies were able to maintain t h e i r uniqueness despite a lack o f topographical is o la tio n from neighboring communities and an ever-increasing amount of contact with other cultures due to improved communication f a c i l i t i e s . This measure w i l l be taken by ana­ lyzing the amount of land sold to "outsiders", the number of inhabitants of each colony who were not members of the Lutheran Church, and the degree to which they retained use of t h e ir native language. Variables other than the a g ric u ltu ra l heritage and unifying religious b e l i e f are recognized by the author as having played lesser roles in shaping the evolution of the Franconian's cu ltu ra l landscape 9 and preserving the Franconian heritage. These additional variab les, such as adherence to Old World d ia le c t s , customs, dress, and p o l i t i c a l id e o l­ ogies were s h o rt-liv e d in the Franconian colonies, whereas the a g r ic u l­ tural heritage and the strength and growth o f the Church are vigorously demonstrated to the present. The culture history of the Franconians w i l l be studied as the secondary objective of th is research, to gain a basic understanding of the heritage they brought with them to America, and to provide a gen­ e ra liz e d description of t h e i r previous environment fo r purposes of comparison. This w i l l be done p r in c ip a lly in terms of (1) the physical environment in Bavaria from which these people emigrated, (2) the set­ tlement patterns commonly found in t h e i r homeland, and (3) the degree o f technology with which they supported themselves. Franconian culture history should also reveal t h e ir motives fo r coming to the New World, and the in s titu tio n s which provided the social structure o f the people. Methodology The following methodological guidelines w i l l be used in research­ ing th is study. Much th e o lo g ic a lly -o rie n te d l i t e r a t u r e is ava ila b le which deals with the founding of the Franconian c o l o n i e s . ^ I t is as­ sumed that th is material w i l l also y ie lo information regarding the mo­ tives behind Franconian emigration and the i n i t i a l settlement a c t i v i t i e s of the Franconians in Michigan. An attempt w i l l be made to determine l^Much of th is l i t e r a t u r e is c ite d in Chapter IV. 10 which in d iv id u a ls , i f any, played s ig n ific a n t roles in founding the s e t­ tlements.^® M aterial is also a v a ila b le which indicates the c u ltu ral preparedness o f the Franconians fo r t h e i r venture by describing t h e i r pre-emigration heritage. B r ie f comparisons o f the Bavarian and Michigan environments w i l l be made to determine the degree to which the emigrants might have been required to adjust to t h e i r new m ilie u . Franconian settlement patterns in Michigan w i l l be reconstructed and mapped from interview s, perusal o f documents, l e t t e r s , reports, and by personal observation o f settlement s ite s . The influence of a g ric u ltu re on each community w i l l be measured by determining the r a p id ity with which land was cleared fo r farming, and by l i s t i n g types o f commerce which develop and noting the degree to which they are a g r ic u lt u r a lly oriented. The strength of Lutheranism w i l l be measured by comparing church membership data with census data on the township level to determine proportions of Lutherans in each township. 1Q Parochial education w i l l also be analyzed by comparing parochial school enrollment figures with public school fig u re s , and by noting the number o f pastors and teachers generated by the Franconian parochial school system. Lim itations of the scope of th is study preclude attempts to de­ fin e the e f fe c tiv e area of Franconian settlement by mapping d is trib u tio n s l®Numerous references indicate the v a l i d i t y of th is approach, among them: I . M. King, John 0. Meusebach: Colonizer in Texas (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1966). 1Q S im ilar methodology was used by James P. Allen in his recent a r t i c l e "Variations in C atholic-Protestant Proportions Among Maine Towns," Proceedings of the Association of American Geoqraphers, I I I ( 1971), T 11 of surnames, although studies using that methodology have recently proven successful .20 The Study Area The four Franconian colonies are Situated in the Saginaw V a lle y , near the c ity of Saginaw (Figure 1). Frankenmuth, founded in 1845, is located approximately ten miles southeast o f Saginaw on the Cass River. Frankentrost was established the following year on a s i t e seven miles northwest of Frankenmuth and seven miles east-southeast of the c i t y o f Saginaw. A t h ir d colony, Frankenlust, was established in 1848 on a western t r ib u t a r y of the Saginaw, the Squ-qua-ning, approximately ten miles north of Frankentrost. In 1850 the fourth colony, Frankenhilf, was founded "on the Cheboygening R iver, four B r itis h miles from three d if f e r e n t places: Frankenmuth, Frankentrost, and the English settlement of Tuscola on the Cass River. The Saginaw V a lle y , as the German s e t t le r s found i t , was sparsely populated by Indians, and by English and French s e t t le r s . The v a lle y , having once formed the lake bed of Saginaw Bay, was r e l a t i v e l y f l a t , composed of a sandy loam s o i l , and densely forested with v irg in stands ^Recent studies using d is trib u tio n of surnames include: James Bohland, "The Influence of Kinship Ties on the Settlement Patterns of Northeast Georgia," Professional Geographer, X X II, 5, (September, 1970) 267-69; Richard L. Nostrand, "The Hispanic-American Borderland: Delim­ i t a t i o n of an American Culture Region," Annals o f the Association of American Geographers. LX (December, 1970) 638-61; Wilbur Zelinsky, "Cultural Variations in Personal Name Patterns in the Eastern United States," Annals o f the Association of American Geographers, LX ( December, 1970) 743-69. ^Theodore Graebner, Church Bells in the Forest (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1944), p. 56. Bay Bay C ity Saginaw County .Reese M 46 Gera, id g e p o rt THE FRANCONIAN COLONIES AND NEIGHBORING SETTLEMENTS Birch IN MICHIGAN’S SAGINAW VALLEY, Run 1970 SCALE M ILES SOURCE: Mops o f Boy, Tuscola, and pub Figure 1 Michigan Soginow counties, Deportment o f Conservation 13 of oak, hickory, and white pine. Economic a c t i v i t y o f the v alley focused on the c i t y of Saginaw, where lumbering and salt-m ining in te re sts were located. Subsistence a g ric u ltu re was c h a r a c t e r is t ic , with a l l crops used to feed the populace o f the c i t y . CHAPTER I I THE FRANCONIAN HERITAGE The Physical Setting The people who s e ttle d the Franconian colonies in Michigan emigrated from an area surrounding the c i t y of Nuremberg in Bavarian GermanyJ To b e tte r understand t h e i r preparedness to meet the chal­ lenges of s e t t lin g a new land, i t is necessary to examine the physical and c u ltu ra l environment o f t h e i r homeland. Landforms Nuremberg is situated in a portion of the present-day province of Bavaria which h i s t o r ic a ll y was c alled Franken, a f t e r the Franks who occupied the region. To the west o f Bavaria lie s the province of Baden- Wurttenberg, formerly known as Schwaben, "named a f t e r a branch o f the Alemannic trib e s which occupied the south-west corner of Germany in l a t e r Roman t i m e s . T h e two provinces occupy th at area of southern Germany between the upper Rhine River v a lle y and the Czechoslovakian border known as the M itte lg e b irg e or Central Uplands. In Mesozoic and ^Most o f the colonists emigrated from these v illa g e s near Nuremberg: Amberg, Ansbach, Bamberg, Erlangen, Habersdorf, Kulmbach, Neumarkt, Neuendettelsau, Neustadt, Obererlbach, R o s ta ll, Schwabach, Windsbach, and Wattenbach. O Margaret R. Shackleton, Europe: A Regional Geography (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1969), p. 39b. 14 15 T e r tia ry times th is region accumulated depositiorsal material from the Hercynian Mountains. The layers o f alluvium deposited on the eastern flanks of the mountains were fu r th e r t i l t e d upward toward the northwest. Stream erosion removed successive layers leaving the more re s is ta n t rock s tra ta protruding above the surface as escarpments. A series o f these west- or northwest-facing escarpments now punctuate the otherwise level topography. The valleys o f the region are generally steepsided to the east and ris e gently to the west rim of t h e i r respective escarpments. "In Franken sandstone outcrops over a wide area to give the d is t in c tiv e regions of the Frankenhohe and Steigerw ald ."3 In places these escarp­ ments a t ta in heights o f six hundred to one thousand fe e t above the plains. The sandstone layer dips to the south where i t is covered by f e r t i l e marls, and to the east where g la c ia l outwash sand has blanketed i t "giving the i n f e r t i l e , forested s o ils of the Regnitz basin around Nuremberg."4 The r iv e r system o f the scarplands is p a r t ic u la r ly complex, owing to the fa c t th a t there has been a major reversal o f drainage. The riv ers in e arly T e r tia ry times apparently flowed down the dip-slope towards the Danube, but the devel­ opment o f the Rhine r i f t attra c te d drainage in th a t d ir e c tio n , as the flo o r o f the r i f t is several hundred fe e t lower than the upper Danube v a lle y . Accordingly a complicated series o f r iv e r captures took place, which accounts fo r the numerous elbows of capture, fo r instance the notable series along the middle Main v a l l e y . 5 Many of the v illa g e s from which the Franconian colonists emigrated are located in the v a lle y o f the Regnitz R iver, a r iv e r that has been cap­ tured from the t r ib u t a r y system o f the Danube and is now part o f the Rhine watershed. 3Ib id . 4 I b i d . , p. 397. 5I b i d . , p. 398. 16 Climate Climatic data accumulated by meteorologists in Nuremberg show d is trib u tio n s assumed typical o f the neighboring countryside with but s lig h t exceptions due to local r e l i e f and c ir c u la tio n . As seen in Table 1, p r e c ip ita tio n to ta ls approximately 24 inches annually with a maximum concentration of 39 per cent during the summer months and a minimum 16 per cent in the w inter. Autumn and spring rains account fo r 23 and 22 per cent of the to ta l respectively. Temperatures are f a i r l y moderate with a mean monthly high in July o f 64.7°F. and a mean December low of 29.5°F. These mild temperatures and the res u lta n t long growing season, plus the seasonal r a i n f a l l d is t r ib u t io n mentioned above, produce a c l i ­ mate favorable f o r a g ric u ltu ra l p u r s u i t s . ^ Soils and vegetation Soil types in th is area vary considerably on a local scale from the residual s o ils formed on the outcroppings and exposures of various layers of sedimentary rock which dominate the topography, to the trans­ ported so ils formed o f large amounts o f loess and g la c ia l f l u v i a l outwash, a re s u lt of both alpine and continental g la c ia tio n . Soils range in type from gray-brown to rendzinic, and in texture from sandy loam to s i l t loam. The gray-browns and degraded chernozems of the zonal order ®This statio n is c la s s if ie d according to the 1953 Koppen-Geiger system of c lim a tic c la s s if ic a t io n as Marine West Coast (warm summer) using the following c r i t e r i a : (1) mean temperature o f the coldest month lie s between 26.6°F. and 6 4 .4 ° F .; (2) s u f f ic i e n t p r e c ip ita tio n in a l l months; (3) the warmest month mean is less than 71.6°F. and a t least four months have means over 50°F. Arthur S tr a h le r , Introduction to Physical Geography (New York: John Wiley & Sons, I n c . , 1965), pp. 10510 . TABLE 1 MONTHLY TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION DATA FOR NUREMBERG, GERMANY AND SAGINAW, MICHIGAN Month J F M A M J 0 A S 0 N D Year Nuremberg, Germany Temperature (°F) P re c ip ita tio n (Inches) 29.5 31.3 38.6 46.7 55.4 61.8 64.7 63.3 56.6 46.9 38.9 32.2 47.1 1.69 1.53 1.37 1.57 2.16 2.79 3.54 2.95 1.81 1.81 1.61 0.47 24.34 Saginaw, Michigan Temperature (°F) P rec ip itatio n (Inches) 23.5 23.0 34.5 44.5 55.5 67.5 71.0 68.5 62.0 55.0 37.5 26.5 46.5 1.61 1.74 2.17 2.37 3.52 2.71 2.88 2.85 2.84 2.52 2.13 1.79 29.13 Source: U .S ., Department of Commerce, Weather Bureau, World Weather Records, 1950-1960, Vols. I - I I (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing O ffic e , 1965-67) 18 are associated with stands o f deciduous timber and forest-grassi and tra n s itio n zones respectively. The brownish-colored, somewhat acid ic gray-brown podzols are found over much o f western Europe. Leaching of the A horizons is moderate and the soil provides the n utrients needed to support growths o f maple, beech, and oak trees. Much o f the natural deciduous vegetation was removed to increase the amount of c u ltiv a te d land during the settlement of Germany^ and the deciduous trees were replaced by a secondary growth of conifers. The degraded chernozem s o ils occur frequently in conjunction with loess deposits and are q u ite f e r t i l e due to the high lime content in the loess. Because of the tr a n s itio n a l nature of t h e i r location between the forests and grassland, the degraded chernozems experience some leaching in the A2 horizon, yet remain very productive esp ecially fo r small grain farming. A th ird major soil type found near Nuremberg, rendzina, is c la s s if ie d as a calcimorphic soil of the in tra-zo n a l order. I t is ty p ic a lly dark gray or black a t the sur­ face, with soft subsurface layers o f l i g h t gray or white m a te ria l. This soil is rich in calcium carbonate as i t was formed of the parent rock, chalk. Natural vegetation on rendzina s o il is grassland.8 A composite o f the natural vegetation near Nuremberg includes deciduous and coniferous forests and natural grasslands. cultural production: The soils also support a vigorous a g r i ­ cereal crops (wheat, two row b arley, white o a ts ), ^H. C. Darby, "The Clearing o f the Woodland in Europe," in Man's Role in Changing the Face of the E a rth , ed. by William L. Thomas, (Chicago: U n ive rs ity of Chicago Press, 1956), p. 196. 8S tr a h le r , op. c i t . , pp. 177-91 19 root crops (sugar beets, potatoes), f r u i t trees (apple, plum, pear, cherry), c u ltiv a te d grasses ( c lo v e r ) , and v i t i c u l t u r e .® Material Culture T r a its Settlement types Another phase o f the Franconians' background deals with the basic settlement and house types which existed in Bavaria a t the time of t h e i r emigration. Numerous a r t ic le s have attempted to d i f f e r e n t i a t e between the various types of settlements found in Germany and generally agree that the Strassendorf, Angerdorf, and Waldhufendorf were most prevalent. Dickinson describes the Strassendorf type in these words: "In the f o r ­ mer [Strassen dorf], two series of farmsteads face each other in two rows on a road which existed before the s e ttle m e n t."1® J. M. Houston elabo­ rates fu r th e r in th is excerpt from his Social Geography of Europe. Across North Central Europe and with scattered areas to the south, extends the "street" v illa g e or strassendorf. This type o f nucleated settlement is commonly associated with colo­ nizatio n in the forested lands and therefore dates from the rodungszeit or fo re s t clearance of the Middle Ages. . . . The f i r s t permanent settlement of many Slavonic peoples was as­ sociated with such "street" v illa g e s and therefore some w riters have a t tr ib u te d th is type to Slavonic t r a d it i o n . However, i t is c e rta in the German colonists also s e ttle d in many "street" v illa g e s Description o f the Waldhufendorf type of settlement is given by ®Shackleton, 0 £. c i t . , p. 34. l®Robert E. Dickinson, "Rural Settlements in the German Lands" Annals o f the Association o f American Geographers, Vol. XXXIX, No. 4 TT949), m .------------------- lljames M. Houston, A Social Geography o f Europe (London: Gerald Duckworth & Co., 1963), p. 105 . 20 Dickinson as follows: The second type o f medieval f i e l d system and v illa g e s e t­ tlement is found e s p ecially in reclaimed marshland and fo re s t c learin g s, though i t is not peculiar to such areas. In the " fo re st v illa g e " (Waldhufendorf), the farms are arranged in a s e rie s , l i k e beads on a chain, along a broad v a lle y bottom or route. The farm holding (Hufe) consists o f one b e lt o f land running back from the farm to the lim it s o f the v i ll a g e area and including meadow, arable land, and w o o d la n d .'2 The prevalence o f a t h ir d type o f v illa g e settlem ent, the oval-shaped Angerdorf, is due to "the systematic clearance of the fo re s t behind the road settlement and the organized co lonization , supervised by 'lo c a t o r s . 1" 13 The Angerdorf consisted o f several farmsteads located around an almond-shaped common which usually contained the v illa g e church and pond. Although data was not a v a ila b le to give exact descriptions of the house types o f each v illa g e near Nuremberg, i t can be assumed th at they would not d i f f e r g re a tly from the dominant type in the area. This dominant type is discussed by Houston in these words: Over the loess b e l t of Central and Western Europe, associated with the rich grain lands, there is the fourth zone of housetypes. The c h a ra c te r is tic feature of the houses is a separate accommodation fo r man and beast. I t is highly probable th a t this m u ltip le type of dwelling has spread considerably beyond a formerly more r e s tr ic te d zone. I t is prevalent in the Danube basin and extends into Bulgaria and Serbia. I t is predominant in the Frankish type of,Germany and in Bohemia and extends across the loess lands. Agri culture One o f the most notable culture t r a i t s of the Franconians was t h e i r knowledge o f and active p a r tic ip a tio n in a g ric u ltu ra l production. T2pp. c i t . , p. 256. 13op. c i t . , p. 107. 14I b i d . , p. 131. 21 Their u t i l i z a t i o n of the plow was based on the p ractice of animal hus­ bandry which existed in Central Europe p r io r to medieval times. "The essential feature o f plow a g r ic u ltu r e , in contrast to other forms of c u lt iv a tin g the s o i l , is the in te g ratio n o f animal husbandry with plant production."15 mer. The use o f animals served several functions fo r the f a r ­ C a t t le , horses, and swine were raised to provide food, hides, power, and manure. Using animals in production, the farmer could expand the amount o f land under c u lt iv a tio n . Animate power was used to remove tree stumps--the fin a l phase of fo re s t clearance--and l a t e r to draw the plow across the newly formed f ie l d s . Introduction o f root crops into Central Europe fu r th e r prompted clearing of woodlands during la te medi­ eval times. As population grew in density the value o f each parcel o f cleared land increased, leading farmers to consider s o il conservation techniques. Contour plowing was widely practiced in Bavaria to conserve so il on the numerous sloping f i e l d s . Another conservative technique, fallo w in g , emerged as man increased his capacity to cle a r and plow more land than he could sow in any one year. Concomitant with fallow ing was the in t r o ­ duction of "green manuring," the use of leguminous plants to nourish and r e v i t a l i z e the s o i l . Several variation s of the t h r e e - f i e l d system were developed in Bavaria in conjunction with the above mentioned practices. The use of a systematic approach to the layout of f ie l d s marks a s ig ­ n i f i c a n t change from the piecemeal approach used e a r l i e r . ^ G o t t f r i e d P f e i f e r , "The Quality o f Peasant Living in Central Europe," in Man's Role in Changing the Face o f the E a rth, ed. by William L. Thomas, J r . , p. 2497 22 Non-material Culture T ra its Social organization Social organization of the Franconians was closely tie d to the land and the church. The fam ily was not only the basic social u n it , but also served as a production u n i t , esp ecially in carrying the a g ric u ltu ra l work load. On a higher order, the v illa g e provided a vehicle fo r social in te ra c tio n and cohesion. In Bavaria the c itiz e n r y o f a v illa g e often also comprised the e n tire congregation of the local church, and in some instances church constitutions and regulations were applied to a l l c i v i l matters of the v illa g e . The v illa g e or congregation determined the fallow ing schedule and the quantity and d is trib u tio n o f crops grown. In ­ heritance procedures that led to fragmentation of land parcels were banned by v illa g e s throughout Bavaria in favor o f undivided claim by the natural h e ir to the land o f his fa th e r Motives fo r emigration Circumstances in Bavaria up to the early 1800's aroused specu­ la tio n in the free- land and opportunities ava ila b le in America. The fore-mentioned land inheritance policy offered a second or t h ir d son l i t t l e hope of becoming a landowner. This dilemma was fu rth e r emphasized by the land reform p o lic ies which lim ite d ownership of land to a r e l a ­ t i v e l y small number of the n o b il it y . According to P f e i f e r , . . . the so-called "reform movements" of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries brought the greatest amount of peasant land in to the hands of the n o b il it y . . . . The large owners 16i b i d . , p. 257. 23 received emoluments fo r the lib e ra tio n of t h e ir peasants amounting to one-third of the peasant land and, in some cases, even o n e - h a l f J 7 F ailure to own land not only lim ite d a young man's opportunities to pursue farming as a vocation, but negated his chances fo r matrimony since land ownership was a p rereq u isite f o r obtaining legal permission to marry. Widespread local w arfare, a holdover from feudal times, con­ tinued to make demands on the peasant class both in terms o f m il i t a r y service and in the damages wrought to and supplies demanded from a g r i­ c u ltu ra l production. In addition to these local urgings, the Franconians received a beckoning c a ll from America. Germans, among them many of the Lutheran f a i t h , had e a rly joined the gradually increasing movement of people to America and, upon a r r i v ­ ing, formed an in te g ra l part of the westward expansion into the Old Northwest T e r r ito r y . There they s e ttle d on individual farmsteads, widely scattered and often isolated from each other. Their desire to hold o r­ ganized communion and worship services reg u la rly was rendered a l l but hopeless due to t h e i r dispersion and to a shortage o f pastors. As a tem­ porary solution many pastors became tra v e lin g preachers so as to m inister to as many of t h e i r f a it h as possible. One of the most able of the preachers, Friedrich D ie tric h Conrad Wyneken, originated his tra v e ls in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I t was Wyneken who f i r s t explained the s itu a tio n in America to the Lutherans in Bavaria, in a t r a c t published in Stade in 1840.18 His plea fo r assistance came to the atte n tio n of the pastor in 17Ib id ., p. 266. l^Herman F. Zehnder, Teach My People the T ru th ! Michigan: By the Author, Box 404, 1970), p. 13. (Bay C it y , 24 Neuendettelsau, Wilhelm Loehe. Loehe's immediate concern fo r the Amer­ ican Lutherans is revealed in an a r t i c l e he submitted in 1841 to a widely-read Franconian paper, the Sonntags-Blatt, e n t i t l e d "The Lutheran Emigrants to North America: An Address to the Readers." As Loehe ex­ plained, Shall our brethren no longer worship in the church of t h e i r fa th e rs , f i l l e d with the breath o f the Lord, and instead, rec lin e a t the miserable shacks of sectarianism? Shall German p iety decay in the new world under the influence o f human pro­ paganda? I beg you, fo r Jesus' sake, take hold, organize speedily, do not waste time in consultations! The salvation of immortal souls is at stake! Beyond the a r t i c l e Loehe personally trained and sent seven missionaries to America by June of 1844, among them Georg Wilhelm Hattstaedt. H a tt- staedt journeyed to Monroe, Michigan, and in his work there became ac­ quainted with Friedrich Schmid, a pastor involved in mission work among the Indians. H a ttstaed t, in his correspondence with Loehe, repeatedly noted the rich mission f i e l d extant among the Chippewa in northern Michigan. Based on his conviction to serve both the Indian and German populations in America, Loehe conceived the idea o f planting a congre­ gation o f Lutheran fa m ilie s into the wilderness to bring strength to other Lutherans in the area, and to preach bythe examples of t h e i r d a ily liv e s , the gospel of C h rist. Thus motivated, Loehe assembled a small group o f fam ilies and recruited the leadership o f pastor Friedrich August Craemer to implement his scheme. This congregation, motivated both by Loehe and by the fore-mentioned conditions t h e i r journey to Michigan in l ^ I b i d . , p. 1841), cols. 9-14. 14, in t h e i r homeland, set out on the spring of 1845. c itin g Nordlingen Sonntags-Blatt, XI (January 10, CHAPTER I I I THE SAGINAW VALLEY PRIOR TO 1845 The Physical Setting As the Franconians arrived in the Saginaw V a lle y , they encounter­ ed physical and cu ltu ra l landscapes unlike those they had known in Bavar­ ia . In order to appreciate the growth and development o f the Franconians' cu ltu ral impact on the Saginaw V a lle y , an examination o f the physical and c u ltu ra l features extant p r io r to t h e i r a r r iv a l is in order. Landforms The Saginaw V alley of Michigan is s t r u c t u r a lly unlike the Nurem­ berg area o f Bavaria. The Saginaw Valley was formed during the g la c ia l advances and re tre a ts which shaped the Great Lakes system, and was once part of an inland waterway which extended from present-day Saginaw Bay to the southern end o f Lake Michigan, thus dividing the lower peninsula of Michigan into two p a r t s J As the Great Lakes assumed t h e i r present shapes and dimensions, the land which had formerly been inundated by Saginaw Bay emerged as that part o f the land mass of Michigan's lower peninsula known as the Saginaw V alley. I t s extreme length north and south is something over 125 miles; i t s extreme breadth about 120 m iles. That portion ^Charles B. Hunt, Physiography of the United States (San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Company, 1967), pp. 236-37. 25 26 of i t , the waters of which drain through the Saginaw r iv e r proper, comprises about 170 townships, as per Government sur­ vey, over 6,000 square miles, and over 4,000,000 of ac re s .2 Several features in the v a lle y point to i t s watery past. The topography is predominantly level with some local r e l i e f in the v i c i n i t y o f the watercourses and beach ridges which dissect the v a lle y . Original survey reports of the Frankenmuth, Frankentrost, and Frankenhilf l o c a l i t i e s use the terms " le v e l ," "gently r o l l i n g , " "a l i t t l e r o l l i n g , " and "undulating" to describe the to p o g r a p h y . 3 Dr. M. C. T. Plessner, in an 1881 address before the Pioneer Society of Saginaw C it y , describes not only the v a l­ le y 's r e l i e f and drainage featu res, but also alludes to the presence of beach ridges. I t is a very f l a t country, only a few low h i l l s in i t , that were formerly covered with heavy primeval forests. The v a l ­ ley is very much intersected by many r iv e r s , the Saginaw being the la rg e s t. Its t r ib u t a r ie s are the Cass, F l i n t , Shiawassee and Tittabawassee, coming from the four points of the compass. . . . A peculiar feature of th is region is th at the lakes and la k e le ts , so abundant north and south o f us, are here e n t i r e ly missing. Saginaw v alley has undoubtedly been the bottom of a great lake. I t s soil is 80 to 100 fe e t above the rocks and boulders; on top of this is r ic h , a l lu v ia l black loam, varying in depth from six to eight inches; the h i l l s are mostly covered with s a n d . 4 J. T. Blois described the area as e ith e r level or undulating with marsh and wet p r a i r i e . ^ Poor drainage and the resultant swampy conditions of ^Michael A. Leeson, History of Saginaw County, Michigan (Chicago: Charles C. Chapman & Co., 1881), p. 291. ^Original surveyor's reports of T12N, R6 E; T12N, R7E; and T U N , R6 E on f i l e a t Michigan State H is to ric a l Society Archives, Lansing, Mi chigan. ^Quoted in Leeson, op. c i t . , p. 220. ^Horner Reginald Greenholt, A Study o f Wilhelm Loehe, His Colo­ nies and the Lutheran Indian Missions in the Saginaw V alley o f Michigan (unpublished Ph.D. d is s e r ta tio n , University of Chicaqo D iv in ity School, 1937), p. 91. 27 much of the land was also evidenced by the high incidence of malaria and ague among the s e t t le r s in the v a lle y . Climate The climate o f the Saginaw Valley d iffe r e d from th at o f the Bavarian homeland in several ways. In Michigan, temperatures were more severe during the w in ter months, were ho tter during the summer, and the annual p r e c ip ita tio n was g r e a te r . 6 P re c ip ita tio n to ta ls approxi­ mately 29 inches annually (Table 1) with nine months each receiving more than rain . 2 inches, and with the m ajority of p r e c ip ita tio n occurring as Mean temperature extremes are greater than those in Nuremberg, with a mean February low of 23.0°F. and a mean monthly high in July of 71.0°F. The growing season is delayed u n til e arly May by the colder Michigan w inters, and lasts approximately 150 days, into mid-October.7 A l e t t e r from the Franconians to Bavaria enumerates several clim a tic differences between Bavaria and Michigan as they affected the s e t t le r s . In the f i r s t place the w inter was longer than in Germany and the summer seemed hot. . . . No one ventured to plant garden vegetables or potatoes before the end of A p r il. But i t was not r e a lly necessary to do th a t anyway . . . because growth was very rapid once summer arrived. The old-world practice of working from e arly in the morning to la te in the evening was not conducive to health in Frankenlust. Linen s h irts soon had to give way to those made of ®This s ta tio n is c la s s ifie d according to the 1953 KoppenGeiger system of c lim a tic c la s s if ic a tio n as Humid Continental using the following c r i t e r i a : (1) mean temperature o f warmest month above 50°F. (2) coldest month mean below 26.6°F. (3) s u f f ic i e n t p r e c ip ita tio n in a l l months (4) warmest month mean is below 7 1 .6 ° F ., and at le a s t 4 months have means above 50°F. S tr a h le r , op. c i t . , pp. 105-10. ^U.S., Department o f A g ric u ltu re , Yearbook of A g ric u ltu re , 1941: Climate and Man (Washington, D.C.: Government P rin tin g O ffic e , 1941), pp. 916-17. 28 cotton because the workman perspired copiously and was annoyed by the cold linen against his body. As a rule the laborer also wore a red woolen undershirt under the cotton s h i r t since the physician explained the climate demanded i t . ° Soils The s o ils o f the Saginaw Valley are closely associated with the topography o f the area and with the Humid Continental climate which pre­ v a ils . There are two major soil types in the v a lle y , the gray-brown podzols of the zonal order, and the hydromorphic soils o f the i n t r a ­ zonal order. The gray-brown podzols develop in those areas where greater r e l i e f provides adequate drainage. Abundant annual p r e c ip ita tio n leaches base elements from the A horizons of the gray-brown soils and deposits these base elements in the B horizon, thus the soil surface tends to be moderately a c id ic . The luxurious deciduous forests which th r iv e on the gray-brown podzols lessen the impact of the leaching process by r e t r i e v ­ ing base elements from the B horizon and returning them to the surface as dead branches and leaves. Soil color ranges from the dark browns o f the A horizon to the yellowish and reddish browns of the B horizon. Although the natural a g r ic u ltu ra l potential o f the gray-brown podzols is lim ite d , when treated with lime and f e r t i l i z e r s they make highly productive farms . 9 Hydromorphic s o ils , the second develop in areas with inadequate drainage. found. are formed on the "Meadow so ils drainage is somewhat b e tte r than poor."10 in the major type found in the v a lle y , Two subtypes are commonly flood plains of streams where bogs,but is nevertheless They are dark brown to black in color and develop under a ®Greenholt, 9S t r a h l e r , op. c i t . , p. 142. op. c i t . , p. 182. 1 0 I b i d . , p. 184. 29 grass vegetative cover. Humic-gley s o ils , a combination o f meadow and half-bog s o i l s , develop under a fo re s t cover in level areas with poor drainage, and are id e n t if ie d by a gray, sandy A horizon overlaying sticky brown subsoils. Both hydromorphic subtypes e x h ib it a g le i or clay subsurface s t r a t a . ^ Though drainage was a problem throughout much of the v a lle y , e a rly s e ttle r s recognized the potential o f i t s so ils as is summarized in the following statement: The soil is a l l that the farmer could desire. A deep, dark, sandy loam, with a yellow or blue clay subsoil is found through­ out the v a lle y . At in te rv a ls a small boulder formation may occur, but generally the rich soil is fre e from r o c k . ' ^ Vegetation The natural vegetation o f the Saginaw Valley was dominated by forests. O riginal survey records note large q u a n tities o f "1st rate timber" consisting o f elm, lynn, ash, sugar, oak, beech, hickory, and pine. " F r u it trees such as the w ild apple and the w ild cherry were to be found in the fo re s t [as were] many nut-bearing tre e s ," reports one s e ttle r.^ Another described the vegetation as follows: "The forests consisted o f pines on the h i l l s and hemlock, oak, beech, maple, elm and ash on the plains. There is comparatively l i t t l e p r a i r i e in the v a lle y , and th at is very l o w . " ^ The immensity of the forests had a noted impact on the s e t t le r s inthe v a lle y . Several authors r e f e r to the "heavy forest" or the 11I b i d . ; and U .S ., Department o f A g ric u ltu re , op. c i t . , p. 227. ^Leeson, op. c i t . p. 288. ^ G re e n h o lt, op. c i t . , p. 116. ^Leeson, op. c i t . , p. 220. 30 "heavy timber"; some considered i t "impenetrable"; others give accounts of persons becoming lost in the forests fo r several days w ith in a short distance o f t h e i r homes. Of greater economic importance was the l a t e r recognition th at the immense forests could be converted in to equally immense p r o f it s by lumbering concerns. Although the physical environment o f the Saginaw V alley held promise of future p ro sp erity, i t was i n i t i a l l y foreboding and considered to be a "nameless w aste."^5 Public opinion of the area can be summarized by the following reply given to the philosopher DeTocqueville by the r e g is te r of the D e tro it land o f f i c e , when asked which part of Michigan was le a s t s e ttle d : Toward the northwest. About Pontiac and i t s neighborhood some p re tty f a i r establishments have l a t e l y commenced, but you must not think of fix in g yourselves fu rth e r o f f ; the country is cov­ ered by an almost impenetrable f o r e s t , which extends u n in ter­ ruptedly toward the northwest, f u l l of nothing but w ild beasts and Indians. The United States proposes to open a way through i t immediately, but the road is only ju s t begun and stops at Pontiac. I repeat that there is nothing to be thought of in th a t q u a r t e r .'o The Cultural Setting Indian landscape P rior to 1815 the c u ltu ra l landscape of the Saginaw Valley was dominated by the cultures of i t s various Indian inhabitants. Clark Wissler in his book Indians of the United States has c la s s if ie d the Indian trib e s o f the Upper Great Lakes region as belonging to the Algon­ quin Indian fam ily. Several trib e s o f th is family inhabited the Saginaw 1 5 I b i d . , p. 291. ^I bi d. 31 Valley a t one time or another. Plessner relate s a sequence o f t r i b a l occupance as follows: I t is said th at the Sac and Fox trib e s occupied this v a lle y , and gave i t the name i t bears, and th at the Chippewas [Ojibways] came over from Canada, defeating the former trib e s in three great b a t t le s , two of them being fought on the Saginaw r i v e r , and the la s t and decisive one on the Cass r iv e r d rivin g the Sac and Fox trib es south and w e s t.” Blois indicates the presence of two other trib e s in the v a lle y , the Ottawa and the Potawatomi.^ W issler's descriptive analysis o f the A l­ gonquin l i f e s ty le is invaluable in estimating the c u ltu ra l impact these Indian trib e s had on the v a lle y 's landscape. The Algonquins were a woodland people with an economy based on hunting. They raised some maize and vegetables, but a t no time depended on a g ric u ltu re as t h e i r main support. The Algonquins were masters o f the a r t of tanning deerskins, taught woodcraft to the white man, but were a l ­ most ignorant of the use o f copper and knew nothing about iro n. pottery was basic, as were t h e i r t e x t i l e a rts . Their They could spin strong cord from the fib e rs o f the n e t t le and the bark o f the lynn t r e e , y e t they wove nothing but bags and b e lt s , making t h e i r clothing instead from s o f t , tanned skins. Woodcraft s k i l l s included construction o f snowshoes and s p e c ia liz a tio n in the use of birchbark, not only fo r canoes, but also fo r covering houses, fo r containers, and fo r p a p e r .^ Indian settlements favored r iv e r in e locations which were l a t e r used as bases o f European settlement. Plessner remarks, "The Indians ^Quoted in Leeson, op. c i t . , p. 220. New York: T. B lo is , Gazeteer of the State o f Michigan ( D e t r o it and n . p . , 1840), p . 64. l^Clark W issler, Indians of the United States (Garden C ity and New York: Anchor Books, Doubleday & Company, I n c . , 1966), pp. 114-16. 32 had wigwams on the Tittabawassee, opposite Freeland, near the mouth of Swan creek, and a t Chesaning and Taymouth, u n t il they were removed to Is a b e lla c o u n t y . Fox's comments reveal th at the r iv e r in e s i t e of Saginaw C ity was favored by the Indians also. The spot upon which Saginaw C ity now stands, was called bythe Indians Ke-pay-sho-wink, meaning the great camping gound. Here i t was th at the natives a l l rendezvoused in the spring a f t e r fin is h in g t h e i r sugar making and w inter hunting. I t was t h e i r custom to come in and s e t t l e with the tra d ers, and have a general, grand ju b ile e f o r two or three weeks . . . . 21 Indian culture is also re fle c te d in the toponymy of the v a lle y . Many o f the physical features and settlement site s re ta in t h e i r Indian names to the present, thus perpetuating the c u ltu ra l landscape o f the t r i b e s . 22 The Indian population o f Saginaw Valley in the 1840's consisted o f th ir te e n bands o f Chippewa numbering approximately 1600 p ers o n s .^ This fig u re represents the reduction of a population th a t may have reached 3000 f o r , according to Fox, up to two-thirds o f the former population died o f small pox: During the summer o f 1838, the small pox broke out among the Saginaw Indians making f e a r fu l havoc among them, and taking about h a l f , i f not two-thirds of t h e i r number to the hunting grounds o f the Great S p i r i t . . . .24 ^Leeson, op. c i t . , p. 227. 2lTruman Fox, History o f Saginaw County (Saginaw, Michigan: Saginaw Enterprise P r i n t e r s , 1858), pp. 9-10. 22jhe follow ing are examples of Indian place names in use today: (1) settlements--Kawkawlin, Chesaning, Wahjamega, Sebewaign; (2) watercourses--Cheboyganing Creek, Beaver Creek, Tittabawassee River, Shiawas­ see R iver, Wisscogin Creek. 2 3 B l o i s , op. c i t . , p. 64. ^ F o x , op. c i t . , p. 10. 4 33 Another fa c to r which led to decreasing numbers among the Chippewa popu­ la tio n was the deeding o f t h e i r land to the government and t h e i r sub­ sequent removal to government reservations. The Chippewa deeded t h e ir land to the government in a series o f tre a tie s dated 1819, 1821, 1837, and 1838. In return fo r t h e i r land they were given varying amounts of cash and rights to land in less populated sections o f Michigan. Move­ ment of the Indians from the Saginaw area was described in these words: "[The Indians] are fa s t leaving fo r the north, to take possession of the land which Government has given them. Many o f t h e i r v illa g e s are already deserted, and i t w i l l not be long ere they w i l l a l l have passed from us. " 25 That the Indian population of the v a lle y was in need of s p ir it u a l aid was surmised by the government years before Wilhelm Loehe o f Bavaria had heard of the p lig h t of the red man and resulted in an abortive a t ­ tempt by the government a t mission work. The Treaty o f 1819 was s i g n i f i ­ cant not only because land changed hands, but also because through i t the government made the f i r s t attempts to bring C h r is tia n ity to the Indians in the Saginaw area. "One of the conditions of the tre a ty o f 1819 was that the Indians were to have a blacksmith and a 'blackcoat , ary, sent to them."26 1 a mission­ Zacharias P itch er, an assistant surgeon in the army stationed in Saginaw, describes the results of this i n i t i a l mission e f f o r t in these words: When the tre a ty was made with the Saginaw Indians, they were to have a Blacksmith and a Missionary sent to them. Accordingly Mr. Hudson came among them in the l a t t e r capacity. A fte r a while the Indians became d is s a t is fie d with the r e s t r i c ­ tions probably placed upon them by him, and sent back word that 25Ib id . ^ Z e h n d e r , op. c i t . , p. 38. 34 they wanted to "swap" o f f the Missionary fo r another Black­ smith. Shortly a f t e r which Mr. Hudson l e f t . The above observations make possible several generalizations concerning the c u ltu ral impact o f Indian populations on the landscape o f the Saginaw Valley. The trib e s recognized c ertain r iv e r in e sites as favorable fo r occupance and there established d is t in c t iv e assemblages of l iv i n g quarters. They practiced hunting and fish in g of certain a n i­ mals and selected several v a r ie tie s of natural vegetation fo r use as foodstuffs and m aterials. Their s k i l l s in woodcraft provided items such as snowshoes and canoes which were valuable assets in coping with the environment. present. Many of t h e i r toponymic e f fo r t s have survived to the Perhaps the most s ig n ific a n t c u ltu ral impact of the Indian population, in terms o f th is study, was the fa c t th at they were early recognized as a potential f i e l d fo r missionary a c t i v i t y and, as such, provided much of the motivation fo r the establishment of the Franconian colonies. European landscape The a r r iv a l of the f i r s t European s e t t le r s in the Saginaw Valley in 1815 marked the onset of a new cu ltu ral landscape. Lewis Campau, a French fu r trapper, is believed to have been the f i r s t European s e t t l e r in the v a lle y , his a r r iv a l heralding an in flu x of French, I r i s h , and English s e t t le r s . These Europeans focused t h e ir a c t i v i t y , as had the Chippewa, on the banks of the Saginaw River and i t s t r i b u t a r i e s , with fu r trapping and trading t h e i r major in te re s ts . In 1822 the government established a f o r t at Saginaw which was garrisoned fo r j u s t one year 27 f o x , op. c i t . , pp. 5 -7 . 35 before being abandoned. The establishment of the f o r t did lure some s e ttle r s into the v a lle y , esp ecially to the banks o f the Tittabawassee River; however, vested in te re sts were also a c tiv e ly try in g to keep im­ migrants from the area. Indians, trappers and agents o f the American Fa~ Company spread reports th at the region was unsuited fo r anything except w ild beasts. When the United States Government withdrew i t s m i l i ­ tary contingent from the post a t Saginaw C ity in 1823, osten­ s ib ly on account o f sickness, i t appears th a t speculators and promoters in te re s t [ s i c ] in the lands near D e tro it and in the lower counties used sickness as a way of prejudicing s e t t le r s against the whole region. . . . In addition the l a t t e r frequently persuaded the immigrants that they would simply waste time by v i s i t i n g S.-rinaw V a lley; th at they stood in danger of drowning in freshets; ?,nd th c t the mosquitoes would almost devour them.28 As Saginaw C ity grew slowly in size and population, the need fo r a c ity plan became apparent, thus a plan with ten or twelve streets was la id out in 1822. At th at time the town consisted of several log houses and the log house surrounded by a stockade which had served as the f o r t . ^ By 1831 the population of Saginaw C ity had reached t h i r t y 3^ and in 1834 the f i r s t saw m ill was established on the Saginaw River. The year 1837 witnessed a building boom in Saginaw due to the real estate spec­ ulation e f fo r t s of several c itiz e n s who sought to make a fortune should a canal be dug between the Bad and Looking-glass Rivers, thus lin k in g the Grand and Saginaw River systems. The canal proposal f e l l through, economic panic struck the c i t y , and Saginaw once again became l i t t l e more than an assortment of buildings in advanced stages of d is re p a ir and abandonment. ^ G re e n h o lt, op. c i t . , pp. 92-93. ^Leeson, pp. c i t . , p. 224. 3 0 Ib id . , p. 291. 36 As lumbering grants were drawn to in te re sts grew in the Saginaw region, more immi­ the c i t y , more buildings were erected, and trans­ portation linkages were established with c i t i e s to the south and east. The f i r s t German immigrants to s e t t le in the v a lle y arrived some time p r io r to the lumbering boom, though disagreement exists as to the exact date of t h e i r a r r i v a l . John Russell, in The Germanic Influence in the Making of Michigan, states th a t "Germans had moved in to the c i t y of Saginaw as e a rly as May 13, 1837."31 Plessner, however, l i s t s the a r r iv a l of the f i r s t Germans as being about 1840. He fu rth e r r e la te s , The f i r s t Germans who came to this v a lle y were three West­ phalians. . . . They found some work in the c i t y , soon bought w ild land on the "cross-roads," and made exc ellen t farms of i t . . . . "Dutch Henry" . .. was a model of a German farmer, a hard, steady worker, economical, a good neighbor, without any p o l i t i c a l ambition, but devoted to his Church--the Lutheran-which he assisted f r e e ly as f a r as his means would p e rm it.32 The above descriptions of increasing European a c t i v i t y in the Saginaw Valley indicate the major changes which took place in the c u l­ tural landscape. Settlement a c t i v i t y , although s t i l l s i t e s , assumed new styles and dimensions. focused on r iv e r in e The economy was no longer based on hunting and food gathering, but had expanded to include manu­ fa c tu rin g , tra de, and a g ric u ltu ra l pursuits, and was implemented with technigues and tools a lie n to the Algonquin culture. Toponymic changes marked the in flu x and strength of the European cultures in the v a lle y , although many Indian place names persisted. The European landscape evidenced increased contacts with other parts of the sta te as is seen in the transportation linkages which were developed. John Andrew Russell (D e tr o it: Increased contact University of D e t r o it , 1927), p. 93. •^Quoted in Leeson, op. c i t . , p. 225. 37 u ltim a te ly led to more p u b lic ity concerning the v a lle y , and served as a c a ta ly s t to promote fu r th e r immigration. Thus upon t h e i r a r r i v a l , the Franconians encountered a cu ltu ra l landscape dominated by European cu l­ ture groups, with the Algonquin culture experiencing a s te a d ily diminish­ ing ro le in the v a lle y . CHAPTER IV THE FRANCONIAN COLONIES 1845-1855 Conception, M otivation, Implementation Franconian immigration into the Saginaw V alley resulted in the establishment o f four colonies and led to the creation o f a c u ltu ral landscape new to the v a lle y . Each colony was preconceived in Bavaria and was organized to achieve s p e c ific goals. As was described in Chapter I I , the f i r s t colony was organized to f u l f i l l two objectives. I t was f i r s t to serve as a mission colony bringing C h r is t ia n it y to Indians in the Saginaw V a lle y ; and secondly, the colony was to provide a vehicle which would promote regular worship opportunities fo r those Lutherans liv in g in Michigan who might otherwise be lo s t to the church. That meeting these challenges would require both dedication and f o r t i ­ tude can be seen in the name Frankenmuth, which Loehe chose fo r th is f i r s t colony, fo r Frankenmuth is l i t e r a l l y translated as "the courage of the Franks." Reports to Loehe from the Frankenmuth colonists and from pastors elsewhere in Michigan indicated that this type of e f f o r t to C h ris tia n ize Indians was less f r u i t f u l than expected and th at his o rig in a l concept was in need o f m odification. Loehe also became more aware o f the tendency of immigrants to s e t t le in widely scattered communities in Michigan, thus fragmenting any regional relig io u s unity which might otherwise have 38 39 developed. Thus his second colony, Frankentrost, was organized to complement the f i r s t by locating i t in the immediate v i c i n i t y of Frank­ enmuth. This in te n tio n can be observed in Loehe's statement r a t i o n a l i z ­ ing the choice of the name, fo r Frankentrost means "consolation o f the Franks" and was chosen because "the f i r s t emigrants having had the COURAGE to s e t t le on strange, Indian s o i l , the successors o f these shall take CONSOLATION from these t h e i r brethren and rest assured th at the same divine favor and guidance are to be t h e ir lo t l i k e w i s e . L o e h e at this time appears to have abandoned mission work among the Indians as a major objective of c o lo n izatio n , although many Indians were reported to have attended school and catechism sessions in Frankentrost. Reports o f the growth o f the f i r s t two colonies reached Europe and were received by various church-related groups with great in te r e s t. One of these groups, the Bavarian Society fo r Inner Missions, envisioned the establishment o f several colonies r e p lic a tin g the Loehe colonies, but based on fin a n c ia l support derived from a c ir c u la tin g colonization fund. The monies in th is fund were to be used exclusively fo r the purpose of church colonization. ". . . i t was called 'c ir c u la t in g ' because i t was to buy the f i r s t complex of land fo r new settlements and a f t e r i t s sale was to s h i f t to other l o c a l i t i e s fo r the same purpose." The Society's goal was to s e ll plots of land purchased through the c ir c u la tin g fund, "only to immigrating Lutherans," thus the s i t e of each large land pur­ chase would u ltim a te ly become the nucleus of a congregation "of purely Lutheran confession a f t e r the fashion and con stitution of Frankenmuth and Frankentrost." Land purchases were to be made through the fund "u n til ^Graebner, op. c i t . , pp. 4 1 -4 2 . 40 the metropolis o f Frankenmuth there had grown a number of Lutheran parishes, and these would be joined into a synod . . . . The f i r s t colony established according to the above-mentioned guidelines was named Frankenlust--"joy o f the Franks." The Society consulted with Loehe at length about plans fo r the colony and agreed upon Ferdinand Sievers as the pastor who was to assume re s p o n s ib ility fo r i t . Sievers' work in Michigan was prodigious in i t s scope; his sermons were heard not only in Frankenlust, but also in Saginaw, Bay C ity , Amelith, and as f a r away as the Minnesota T e r r ito r y . In his capacity as custodian of the c irc u ­ la tin g fund, Sievers sold parcels of land in the o rig in a l Frankenlust purchase, and used the then-replenished fund to purchase a large acreage in the v i c i n i t y of Frankenmuth. His report o f th is purchase reached Loehe, who in turn informed the Society th at land was then a v a ila b le fo r a fourth colony. Motivation fo r establishing a fourth colony was not only missionoriented, but also derived from Loehe's concern over the social i l l s that b e fe ll many of his countrymen. Under the existin g m arital laws in Bavar­ i a , young men and women were not able to marry unless they possessed the amount o f property which the state had decreed was reauired fo r issuance of a marriage license. This decree assumed increasingly greater impact as the numbers o f the poverty-stricken progressively increased, the end r e s u lt being that more and more couples turned to immoral practices and that many children were born out of wedlock and grew up in poverty and contempt. Loehe believed that emigration might serve to rescue those who had f a l l e n , by giving them opportunities to own homes of t h e i r own ^I b i d . , pp. 48-49. 41 and to s t a r t l i f e anew in more favorable circumstances. Loehe, together with the mission s o c iety, devised a colonization plan th at would o f f e r to q u a lifie d persons a piece of land and a cabin in the new colony and employment and wages on a regular basis so that these persons could gradually repay the Society fo r i t s i n i t i a l outlay. Q u alified persons were those who were penitent o f t h e i r former behavior, who would declare allegiance to the church con stitution of Frankenmuth, and who had enough money fo r passage to Michigan and s u f f ic i e n t resources to meet i n i t i a l liv in g expenses t h e r e . 3 Since th is colony was based on the premise of helping others, i t was named Frankenhilf, meaning "aid fo r Franks." Introduction of Franconian Culture to the Saginaw V alley Frankenmuth The f i r s t Franconian settlement in Michigan--Frankenmuth--was organized in Neuendettelsau, Bavaria, and established in the Saginaw Valley in 1845. Under the leadership of Friedrich August Craemer, th ir te e n colonists sailed from Bremen on April 20, 1845. They arrived July 10 in Saginaw C ity where they were greeted by Pastor Schmid o f Ann Arbor and Missionary Auch. The colonists' f i r s t order of business was the selection o f a s ite f o r Frankenmuth. Schmid and Auch had made preliminary appraisals o f the area to determine s u itab le sites fo r the colony and had procured maps o f several potential site s from the land o ffic e s in D e tro it and F lin t. While most of the colonists remained in Saginaw, Craemer, Auch, ^ G re enh olt, op. c i t . , p. 146. 42 several c o lo n ists, and a surveyor l e f t Saginaw to inspect the recommended s ite s . The land they chose was in the Indian Reserve Land. According to Pastor Craemer's des crip tio n , Frankenmuth had an exc ellen t location and fin e s o il--a lo n g the beautiful Cass River with p o s s ib il it ie s fo r m ills and hay. The post road and post s ta tio n s , Bridgeport, were f iv e or six miles away, Sagi­ naw C ity 15 to 20 m iles, the industrious F l i n t eight hours, and the English Tuscola less than two hours.4 The topography demonstrated greater r e l i e f than that of surrounding land and the Cass River ensured a water supply. The co lonists, a f t e r deciding to purchase 680 acres, sent Auch to D e tro it to r e trie v e the cash deposited there, and then to the land o f fic e in F l in t where the purchase was transacted. By mid-August the men o f the colony had cleared a small portion of land and had constructed a temporary com­ munal cabin which was to house the colonists u n til they had time to erect t h e i r own homes. Before fu r th e r construction could take place, a suitable v illa g e plan had to be agreed upon, thus Craemer met with the men of the colony on August 13, and presented to them a plan which he and Loehe had pre­ viously devised. Craemer's plan . . . was to measure 32 acres in a su itab le spot fo r housing s ite s . He proposed that four acres be assigned to each prop­ e r ty holder and an equal number to the church. In this way the congregation was to be kept in ta c t and organized in the manner o f the Bavarian v illa g e . Also he advised them to re­ serve space fo r more than 80 houses which he expected suc­ ceeding immigrants to e rec t. Furthermore, the o rig in a l colonists, in disposing o f lots from the space, were to be allowed to r e a liz e a f a i r p r o f i t . ^ The colonists, however, rejected Craemer's proposal and decided instead that each would p re fe r to l i v e on his own farm. ^Zehnder, op. c i t . , p. 51. ^Greenholt, op. c i t . , p. 105. Frankenmuth became the 43 o f f i c i a l home o f the colonists when, on August 18, 1845, they moved t h e i r belongings by c art from Saginaw to t h e i r purchased land, and established residence in the company hut. Farms were surveyed th at autumn, and during the spring o f 1846 land was cleared and cabins were b u i l t on the individual properties. These farmsteads were la id out in the v i c i n i t y of the present s i t e of St. Lorenz Church (Figure 2 ). Thus the settlement pattern f i r s t developed, one o f population dispersion to scattered farm­ steads, re fle c te d the strong a g ric u ltu ra l background and intentions of the f i r s t c itize n s of Frankenmuth. This i n i t i a l settlement pattern was soon to be a lte re d by the a r r iv a l o f eighty additional colonists in May of 1846. These colonists began clearing land and establishing farmsteads, thus extending the settlement pattern eastward from the o rig in a l s ite toward the present location of South Main S tre e t. This marked the beginning o f a s h i f t in settlement which was g reatly accelerated in the l a te 1840's by the es­ tablishment o f several commercial enterprises near the present South Main Street bridge. By the close of i t s f i r s t decade o f existence, Frankenmuth's population was focused along the Cass River in a pattern which re fle c te d a growing in te re s t in commercial a c t i v i t y . Population Frankenmuth enjoyed a rapid growth in population during i t s f i r s t decade (Table 2 ). The 14 colonists who f i r s t arrived in 1845 were joined one year l a t e r by approximately 80 r e c r u its , bringing the to ta l population close to 100 persons. Frankenmuth's population doubled in the next three years fo r Craemer reports 208 persons in 1849, and 345 SETTLEMENT AND LAND USE IN FRANKENMUTH, MICHIGAN, 1855 1 a T u sco lo St L o re n * -uth e ro n Chiecn 2 Huttmger s o * m ill 3 R o n z e n te rg tf s g e n tr o i store 4 Hubmger flo u r m ill 5 H ubm gor g ro ce ry Store re s id e n t** St. S ource' fie ld n o te s ,__ 0 Figure 2 - >e« f 1/8 «U*« 1/4 45 in 1853.® These population figures in d ic ate the size o f both the community and the congregation. As the numbers o f Germans grew and t h e i r land holdings extended fa r th e r from the o rig in a l settlement s i t e , the Franconians desired p o l i t i c a l autonomy w ith in Saginaw County, and on January 31, 1854, the County Board of Supervisors created Frankenmuth Township from land formerly included in Bridgeport Township.^ Table 2 Number of Souls^ in the Franconian Congregations, 1845-55 St. Lorenz 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 Immanuel St. Paul's . , 81 113 130 143 154 158 , . , , • • . m , m 15 22 60 # # # 150 # • • 14 94 153 203 208 , , 345 , , . , • • St. Michael's 7 19 27 20 , , 30 Isouls is defined as every person belonging to a congregation regardless of age, baptismal, or communicant status. Source: Church records of the four congregations. House types The emerging Franconian c u ltu ra l landscape included the various buildings constructed by the colonists. 6 Ib id . , p. 222. ^Leeson, op. c i t . , p. 835. The f i r s t structure completed in 46 1845 was the company h u t--a log cabin 30 x 30 fe e t designed to accom­ modate f iv e married couples, two single men, and the pastor and his fam ily. "Pieces of carpet were substituted fo r windows and doors. During the heavy rains . . . the roof was to o f f e r a very inadequate protection."® A combination parsonage-church-school was also b u i l t o f logs during the f a l l and e a rly winter o f 1845. I t was finished so that the f i r s t worship service could be held in i t on Christmas Day. The f i r s t log cabins b u i l t by the colonists on t h e i r farms provided "unsatisfactory" l iv i n g quarters, and were replaced as soon as practicable by brick or frame houses. The a rc h ite c tu ra l s ty le of the log cabins is preserved in the rep lic a o f the f i r s t pioneer res­ idence which stands near the former s i t e of the company hut. The cabins averaged 12 x 20 fe e t and one and one-half stories high. The logs were squared, the ends of the logs notched in an over-under fashion fo r a flush f i t a t the cabin corners. Clay was f i t t e d between the logs and around the windows on each side of the cabin. The sideward-facing gabled roof extended beyond the fro n t o f the cabin some four or f iv e fe e t thereby shelterin g the entranceway from the elements. The i n t e r ­ io r of the cabin, with i t s d i r t f lo o r , centered around the f ir e p la c e , the l o f t made comfortable fo r sleeping by heat rad iatin g from the chimney. The f i r s t building intended exclusively fo r use as a church was erected in 1846 and dedicated on Christmas Day of that year. The log church was converted into a school house in 1852 when the colonists con­ structed a new and la rg e r house o f worship. ®Greenholt, op. c i t . , pp. 107-08. This frame structure had 47 "three windows on each side but no tower. Quaker meeting house. I t looked l i k e a large I t even lacked a chancel and an organ . . . . In 1853 a chimney was b u i l t and a heating stove in s t a lle d ; at l a s t , a f t e r nine years, there would be some heat in church fo r t h e i r d a ily s e r v i c e s . T w o b e l l s , hung beside the building under a canopy, were used to summon the colonists to worship services and could be heard ringing as f a r away as Tuscola. Estimates by Loehe l i s t t h i r t y - e i g h t houses and an equal number of barns in Frankenmuth by 1 8 4 8 .^ Although no indication is given as to t h e i r exact type of constuction, i t miaht be assumed th at by 1855 most of the log buildings in Frankenmuth had been replaced by frame dwellings as was the case with the church. Interviews and early photo­ graphs in d ic ate th at there was apparently no attempt to construct frame buildings using Bavarian arch ite c tu ra l sty le s . In f a c t , the "English" s ty le house was most popular with the Franconians: a two-story house with a sideward-facing gabled roof, usually two rooms wide and deep, with one or more one and one-half or one story additions to the rear of the s t r u c t u r e .^ Agri culture A g ricu ltu ral a c t i v i t y was begun in Frankenmuth during the spring of 1846 and accelerated rapidly as the forests were cleared. Some a t ­ tempts were made during the f i r s t w inter to cut down and burn the hard­ woods, but the most vigorous e f fo r t s at clearing land were reserved fo r 9 l b i d . , pp. 119-20. 11 ^ G re e n h o lt, op. c i t . , p. 221. William Zehnder, J r . , p rivate in te rv ie w , January 22, 1970. 48 the spring. The f i r s t clearings were on higher ground near the company hut, where natural drainage was favorable. As the desire increased to put more acreage under c u l t iv a t i o n , the cleared f ie l d s were extended downslope in to the lowland areas, thus forcing the Franconian farmers to f a m il ia r i z e themselves with f i e l d drainage techniques. In itia l drainage techniques used in the colony included deep-furrow plowing and small ditching along the lower contours of the f ie l d s . Sub­ surface drainage developed slowly, because o f i t s expense and the u n fa m ilia r ity of the pioneer farmers with i t s use. Subsurface drainage techniques used during Frankenmuth's f i r s t decade o f a g r i ­ c u ltu ra l a c t i v i t y were less costly than t i l i n g and u t i l i z e d materials lo c a lly a v a ila b le . Ditches were dug several fe e t deep along the lower contours o f the fie ld s and were p a r t i a l l y f i l l e d with tre e branches, cobbles, or boards nailed together in an inverted "V"-shape. The ditches were then f i l l e d with topsoil to f i e l d le v e l , thus creating an unbroken f i e l d surface. The subsurface drainage network carried water from the f i e l d into a deep open ditch dug along the perimeter of the f i e l d . ^ 2 The Franconians u t i l i z e d two soil f e r t i l i z a t i o n techniques, the f i r s t of which was commonly used throughout the v a lle y . I t was known th at an enriching o f the so il took place by burning hardwood logs on the land, because the process released chemical salts which acted as f e r t i l i z e r s . The second technique, th a t of using natural manure to restore soil f e r t i l i t y , was an odoriferous c u ltu ra l tra d e­ mark p ec u lia r in the v a lle y to the 12Ib id. 13Ibid. F r a n c o n ia n s Use of manure 49 increased in proportion to the amount o f livestock purchased by the Franconians as they sought to recreate the mixed farming economy of t h e i r Bavarian homeland. P rio r to the harvest of t h e i r f i r s t crops, the colonists were sustained by a basic d ie t o f fish and w ild game. Maple trees yielded t h e i r sap which was converted into sugar, syrup, and vinegar. and nuts were gathered from the forests. F r u it Cows, chickens, and f lo u r were purchased from the "Yankees" at Bridgeport and Tuscola. Pork could be purchased at f iv e to ten cents per pound; beef from two to three cents per pound. " I f any native farmer had a few bushels of grain to spare, or a cow, or a c a l f or a pig to s e ll he was sure to fin d a purchaser among the G erm an s."^ Most of the farmers purchased oxen fo r use on t h e i r farms and as more of the land was cleared, the oxen were replaced by horses. The f i r s t crops grown by the colonists included potatoes, corn, wheat, beets, cabbage, oats, b arley, and rye. For many years grain was cut by hand and threshed with a f l a i l ­ ing pole. . . . This f l a i l i n g was done with a long pole that had a c y lin d ric a l piece of wood about 18 inches long and l k inches thick tie d to the end. When more than one person worked at f l a i l i n g , i t was essential that each person stayed "in step." To assure t h is , there was l i t t l e verse they would chant, the verse to be used depending on the number of people who were engaged in f l a i l i n g at the f l a i l i n g f lo o r . They had brought the following "Dreschverse" (threshing verses) with them from Bavaria: 3 f l a i l e r s : Schind Katz 0, Henk d'Haut auf! 4 f l a i l e r s : Zieg auf, hau drauf! 5 f l a i l e r s : Der H i r t und sei Frau! 6 fla ile rs : Die Mad hat kan S c h e r t z e r ! ^ ^ G r e e n h o l t , op. c i t . , p. 95. ^ Z e h n d e r , op. c i t . , pp. 120-21. 50 By 1855 Frankenmuth had achieved the a g ric u ltu ra l s t a b i l i t y and s e l f sufficiency which was to generate economic prosperity in the ensuing years. Commerce Although Frankenmuth began as an a g ric u ltu ra l settlem ent, com­ mercial a c t i v i t y appeared and was firm ly established by 1855. The f i r s t commercial enterprise in Frankenmuth--a general store located about one block west o f the church--was opened by George Ranzenberger in 1847. That same year marked the opening of Conrad Schreiner's general store and the beginning o f construction of the settlem ent's f i r s t saw m i l l . John G. and John M. Hubinger b u i l t a dam o f logs and stones across the Cass River at the same spot as the present dam, thus creating a water­ f a l l which could generate enough power to operate a saw m i l l . Machinery fo r the m ill was imported from Germany and the m ill opened fo r business in 1848. The sawmill . . . proved of great advantage to the s e t t le r s , as they now could improve t h e i r huts, erect houses and barns, and the community now improved very fa s t. In 1848, wheat, oats and corn were raised, but as y e t i t had to be taken to F l i n t fo r m illin g . The dauntless Hubingers set to work and b u i l t a f lo u r m i l l , the motive power f i r s t taken from the single water wheel. Now the settlement became independent of the outside world for building material and bread f lo u r , in fa c t some neighboring settlements now came to Frankenmuth fo r these things. John M. Hubinger also began agrocery store in 1851 at the cor­ ner o f main and Tuscola streets which remained in operation u n til 1971 when his daughter, Hedwid "Aunt Hattie" Hubinger, passed away. ^®T. J. Pollen, History of Frankenmuth (Frankenmuth, Michigan: Frankenmuth News, 1913), pp. 29-32. 51 Frankenmuth gained postal service in 1851 when George Ranzenberger was o f f i c i a l l y appointed postmaster and the post o f f i c e was established in his store. No longer did the colonists have to tra vel to Bridgeport fo r t h e i r m ail. Almost from i t s inception Frankenmuth enjoyed the services o f a physician in the person of Dr. August Koch, who had come to the colony in 1847. Transportation and communication Though physical conditions seemed to favor is o la tio n , the people o f Frankenmuth often associated with non-German s e ttle r s in neighboring communities. Transportation routes from Frankenmuth to other s e t t l e ­ ments were e ith e r lacking or of a very poor q u a lity . The f i r s t t r a i l to be marked linked Frankenmuth to Bridgeport and thus to a t r a i l leading to Saginaw. In 1848 a road, known today as Doehml Road, was extended northward to Frankentrost. Tuscola was reached by following a t r a i l eastward along the Cass River. These t r a i l s were not always w ell-defined and many accounts were recorded o f colonists who lost t h e i r way in the forests. In spite of these d i f f i c u l t i e s the Francon­ ians were frequent traders in Bridgeport, Tuscola, and Saginaw, and welcomed many v is ito r s to the stores and m ills o f Frankenmuth. As mentioned above, Frankenmuth had been served by the Bridgeport post o f fic e u n til 1851, thus contact with the Yankees was commonplace. Though contact with others was frequent, communication was strained because the Franconians spoke Bayerisch, a German d i a l e c t , and thus had d i f f i c u l t i e s in conversing with non-Germans. Bayerisch was the language of Frankenmuth to the extent that i t was even used by Craemer 52 in teaching s p e llin g , reading, and w ritin g to the Indian children in the mission s c h o o lJ 7 Dress The Franconians' culture was also evidenced in t h e i r clothing. That t h e i r costuming d iffe r e d markedly from what was common in America is seen in an episode which occurred in D e tro it as the colonists were walking down a s t r e e t toward the docks. Several boys, noting the un­ usual c lo th in g , began to harass the colonists and pelted them with small stones. 18 Clothing became a point of controversy between the colonists and Loehe when he received word th at the Franconians had forsaken t h e i r Bavarian togs and donned English styles instead. The rumor apparently began when several of the Franconian women, during t h e i r sojourn in Monroe, Michigan, purchased wide-brimmed straw hats to gain protection from the hot sun which t h e i r woolen bonnets could not provide. L ate r, when Loehe reprimanded the c o lo n ists, they were indignant as seen in th is l e t t e r w ritte n to Bavaria to c l a r i f y the matter: We have heard th at some miserable gossip about us has reached your neighborhood, to the e f f e c t th a t we have begun to dress in the English manner with long dresses and hats. Do not be misled to believe such; we have other things to occupy us besides th is . We know nothing other than to be German, German in doctrine and f a i t h , German in our c a llin g and dress, 1n our work and household as f a r as possible. . . . These children [Indians at the mission] are our diversion and jo y , likewise the Word of God and not long dresses and hats. Although the m ajority o f Germans are l i k e the English, th at is 1 7 I b i d . , p. 74. l ® G r e e n h o lt , op. c i t . , p. 213. 53 not our concern. We are a German Lutheran mission congrega­ tion which is concerned with the honor o f God and the salva­ tion o f s o u ls .'9 Photographs o f the colonists in the l a t e 1800's indicate that eventually the Bavarian styles were replaced with clothing more re a d ily a v a ila b le , and th at authentic apparel was reserved fo r wear on special occasions only. Customs The colonists continued to observe several Old World customs in Frankenmuth. Baptisms were performed on the f i r s t Sunday following the b ir th of the c h ild , at which time the child received the names of a l l his sponsors ( e . g . , Johann Heinrich P h i l l i p Graebner, Herbert Frederick George Herman Zehnder). Funeral customs were also d is t in c tiv e among the Franconians. When a member of the congregation died, the large b ell was t o ll e d , and then on the "hammer-tol 1 " the age o f the individual was t o lle d . . . . This was done regardless o f the hour of the day or night, i t was the medium through which i t was announced th a t a member of the congregation had died. Shortly a f t e r the death of an in d iv id u a l, some members of the fam ily would measure him, at times only with a piece of s t r in g , and hurry o f f to Jacob J. Nuechterlein and inform him th at "Pa" or "Ma" was so long, showing him the length of s trin g . Thereupon Mr. Nuechterlein would immediately build the simple casket, lined with c lo th , according to the given measurements. Every casket was custom made. There was no enbalming in the e arly days; the corpse was prepared at the home. Someone, usually two members of the family or frie n d s , was asked to serve as the "funeral wake." They stayed up a l l night to watch that no misfortune would b e fa ll the corpse. There was a s u p erstitio n that cats and rodents would attack the face of the deceased person i f i t were not c a r e fu lly guarded. U n til 1938, bodies lay in sta te in the "parlor" of the home, which ^ Zehnder, op. c i t . , pp. 58-59, quoting Waltherin (Mrs. Lorenz Loesel), l e t t e r to her mother, June 26, 1846, U niversity of Chicago Library " L ette rs ." 54 was more or less reserved fo r a v i s i t by special guests, . . . or fo r the "laying out" of a deceased member of the fam ily. Another funeral custom practiced u n til the early 1900's was the carrying o f the funeral processional cross at the head o f the funeral procession from the entrance o f the cemetary to the grave s i t e . This was carried by a r e l a t i v e of the deceased, always a boy, fo r which he received a t i p of 25 cents. . . . I t was also custom fo r some time t h a t , as the pastor intoned the words "earth to e a rth , ashes to ashes, dust to dust," a r e l a t i v e would throw three shovels of d i r t on the casket in the grave, which made a thunderous noise. A fte r the b r i e f ceremony a t the grave, amid the ringing of the church b e l l s , the funeral procession would walk to the church, where friends and neighbors had already assembled, fo r a memorial service. For the most part . . . the funeral sermons were very general and o b jective. Reference to the deceased, i f made at a l l , was b r i e f l y made in the introduction o f the sermon. Then followed a rath er general d isse rta tio n on l i f e and death and hope of eternal l i f e . So impersonal were most o f these sermons th at a f t e r one funeral service one man said to another, "Heint haet ma widda net gwiszt das a Leich woar, wenn die D rau ale it net doa gwesn saern." (Today again no one would have known th is was a funeral service i f the mourners had not been present.) A fte r the fu n e ra l, friends and re la tiv e s gathered a t the home o f the deceased fo r a "Leichentrunk," funeral refreshment. Every funeral was in a sense a fam ily reunion, food was served to friends and r e l a t i v e s , and the conversation always reverted to "the old times." The period o f mourning was usually a year. The widow wore black dresses and a v e i l , and husbands, brothers, and sons wore a 4-inch black band on the upper l e f t sleeve of the coat. Some o f the e a rly s e t t le r s who were l e f t with l i t t l e ch ild ren , often with as many as six or e ig h t, remarried w ithin months. . . . 2 0 A t h ir d custom, re a d ily observable by those in contact with the people o f Frankenmuth, was t h e i r annual church dedication f e s t i v a l , or Kaerwa. O riginating in 16th century Germany, th is three-day celebration commemorated the dedication of the v i ll a g e church. Since everyone in a given community was a member o f the church, i t was a c iv ic as well as a r elig io u s holiday, and through repeated observances became more a fo lk fe s t iv a l than a re lig io u s event. 2 ° I b i d . , pp. 163-64. As Frankenmuth became a viable 55 settlement, the celebration of Kaerwa was begun anew, though relig io u s significance was minimal. The fe s tiv a l did include the pastor's annual church dedication sermon, but more important to the c o lo n ists, i t a f ­ forded another opportunity f o r family reunions and the v i s i t i n g , eating and drinking associated with them. Another custom o f the Franconians was t h e i r insistence on making cash payments fo r purchases, while harboring a general d is tru s t of banks. For example, when Auch was sent to transact the f i r s t land pur­ chase, he went f i r s t to D e tro it to Pastor Winkler who was l e f t in charge of the Franconians' cash resources. Auch then carried th is cash from D e tro it to the Land O ffic e in F l i n t , hidden in the bottom of a wooden bucket. Frankenmuth also took pride in making its annual county tax payments in cash. Banking was not begun in the community u n til the 1900's . Social organization The social structure o f Frankenmuth was focused on the church. During the w in ter of 1844-45, Loehe prepared a document e n t it le d Kirchenordnung, the church c o n s titu tio n , and discussed i t with the colonists. This document, signed by Pastor Craemer and the colonists before leaving Bavaria, remained in e f f e c t u n til July 19, 1858. In i t were set forth policy statements concerning doctrine and the church, the c a llin g o f teachers, dismissal of a teacher, the pastor's salary and the salaries of servants o f the church in general, congregational property, parish property, v i s i t a t i o n , excommunication and absolution matters, marriage m atters, the order o f service, the school, and departure from the con­ fession. The Kirchenordnung not only established church policy but also 56 dictated policy relate d to c iv ic organization and social behavior. The following are excerpts from Zehnder's tra n s la tio n of the Kirchenordnung. FRANKENMUTH CHURCH CONSTITUTION I. Concerning Doctrine and the Church 1) We commit ourselves to a l l the confessional w ritings of the Lutheran Church: the Augsburg Confession, i t s Apology, The two Catechisms of Luther, the Smalcald A r t ic le s , and the Formula o f Concord--or in short, to the Book o f Concord of 1580, as i t f i r s t appeared in Dresden. We thereby confess our lo y a lty to the Lutheran Church i t s e l f . We, our children, our church and school, our pastors and schoolteachers belong to i t without reservation. 3) Our preachers and teachers preach and teach German exclusively. We are determined to be German and remain German. We are founding a perpetually German congregation.--Our preachers and teachers shall be pledged also to th is . V. Concerning Congregational Property 43) Every colonist shall designate as congregational prop­ e rty a piece o f the land he has bought. 44) Wherever possible, care ought to be exercised that a l l congregational property be in one spot and la id out in one d is tric t. 45) The church c o lle c tio n in the c o lle c tio n bag ( K Iin g e lb eu tel) is earmarked fo r the congregational property, especially to increase the capital through land purchase. 46) Expenses fo r church and cemetery, fo r the parsonage with i t s appurtenances, fences, and necessary in s t a ll a t io n s , fo r improvement of the parish property, caretaker's home, school bu ild in g , e t c . , w i l l be paid fo r out of the proceeds of the con­ gregational property to the extent th at f r e e w ill g i f t s of the congregation do not provide fo r them. 47) From the p r o f it s of the congregational property support should be given to the poor in the congregation. The poor are the closest re la tiv e s o f the church, so the congregational prop­ e rty is also property o f the poor. 48) The congregational property shall be under the super­ vision o f the pastor. V III. 63) Concerning Excommunication and Public Absolution Public, impenitent sinners shall be excommunicated. 57 68) An excommunicated person may not occupy any community or church o f f i c e . IX. Concerning Marriage Matters 70) In our congregation no member may contract a mixed marriage. 71) A ll children of our congregation are to be reared in and fo r the Lutheran Church. 74) For members of our congregation only one ground fo r divorce e x is ts , namely adultery. Matthew 19. 75) Unlawfully divorced persons cannot remain in our com­ munity, unless there be proof of earnest repentance, which also w i l l i n g l y rig hts the wrong when th is can be done. X. Concerning the Order of Service 85) On Sundays we o f our own free choice desist from every kind o f secular work not absolutely required by necessity or loving concern. X I. Concerning the School 86) I t is our earnest determination to in s tru c t our children ourselves. X II. Departure from the Confession 88) Departure from the confession carries with i t the necessity o f separation from the community. We are founding a p o l i t i c a l community which consists only o f Lutherans. This document c le a r ly demonstrates the in te n t to equate the c i v i l and religious status of the people of Frankenmuth. Further insight into the social organization operative in Frankenmuth is gained by perusing The Community Regulations fo r the Community o f Frankenmuth, a document adopted on January 29, 1850, at a regular meeting o f the voters of St. Lorenz Lutheran Church. A longer and amended version o f th is document was believed to have been approved sometime in 1852. In essence the regulations provide means o f dealing 58 With everyday matters which might otherwise be taken "to a strange court, whose o f f i c i a l s in most instances may not even be nominal members o f the c h u r c h . "21 This document contains a concise and exhaustive description of the c iv ic re s p o n s ib ilitie s in Frankenmuth, and is included in i t s e n t ir e ty in Appendix C. Mission work As indicated in the opening pages of this chapter, Frankenmuth achieved lim ited success as an Indian mission. Many authors have gone so f a r as to label the e f f o r t a to ta l f a i l u r e , perhaps ignoring the fa c t that by 1855, 34 Indians had been baptized into the Lutheran f a i t h , 22 and countless more had received schooling in a parochial environment. Several factors contributed to the dissolution of mission a c t i v i t y : (1) The market fo r the gospel was ste a d ily decreasing. (2) The Indians were nomads, thus making i t d i f f i c u l t fo r the missionaries to remain in contact with them. (3) By 1855 much of the Indian population had moved from the Saginaw V alley to lands elsewhere in Michigan. (4) During the la te 1840's several epidemics of smallpox reached the v a lle y , the disease proving f a t a l to many Indians thus fu rth e r reducing the population. (5) Craemer's i n a b i l i t y to communicate in the Chippewa language neces­ sita te d the use of tra n slato rs who proved undependable employees. (6 ) Methodist r e v iv a lis t s worked among the Indians dissuading them from Lutheranism, and f i n a l l y (7) there had developed a general d is tru s t of the white man in the wake of a s trin g o f broken t r e a tie s and promises on the part of the government. 2 1 I b i d . , p. 216. 22lb id . , p. 83. 59 Frankentrost Frankentrost was conceived in 1846 as the second o f Loehe's colonies in the Saginaw V a lley. About the time when the second group of colonists departed fo r Frankenmuth, Loehe began interviewing fam ilies interested in his "new colony," Frankentrost, and selected Johann Hein­ rich P h i l l i p Graebner to be t h e i r p a s to r.23 During th is organizational period Loehe was advised by Pastor Craemer of Frankenmuth that i t would be advantageous to buy the t r a c t of land fo r the second colony using State debentures which could be bought at 6ZH cents and 65 cents on the d o lla r , and applied a t face value toward the purchase of the land. Loehe, heeding this advice, collected from the colonists the money which they sought to invest in land, a sum of 5305 f lo r in s and 27h kronin (about $2100)^4 anc| through banking houses sent the money to Craemer for the purchase o f the debentures. The eighty-one colonists traveled in three groups which met in Frankenmuth during the summer of 1847. These colonists had l i t t l e time to rest in Frankenmuth f o r they had y e t to select the s i t e upon which Frankentrost was to be established. Pastor Graebner recorded the f o l ­ lowing events regarding this s itu a tio n : The task o f selecting a parcel of land fo r our colony of Frankentrost at once engaged our a tte n tio n . Together with a surveyor, Mr. Beach, Pastor Craemer, myself and about a dozen 2^At the time of his leaving Germany with the c o lo n ists, he was a candidate fo r the m inistry but had not received ordination (Greenholt, op. c i t . , p. 121). He was ordained by Pastor Craemer on September 5, 1847 (Henry C. M i l l e r , Frankentrost : 1847-1947 n .p .: n . d . , p. 7 ). ^ G re e n h o lt, op. c i t . , pp. 120-21. Graebner, ( op. c i t . , p. 42) cites 6000 guilders ($4000). M i l l e r ( op. c i t . , p. 2) c ite s 6000 guilders, as $2400. 60 o f my men l e f t on the very next morning in a northerly d ire c tio n from Frankenmuth and entered the primeval fo re s t. A fte r tramping s te a d ily fo r about two hours through the splendid wood, our guide made a h a lt and said, "Here we are six miles north of Frankenmuth." About noon we made a second h a lt a t a creek with f i n e , cle a r water and there prepared our tea. As we consumed our repast, we decided to make our camp in the same place during the night. We had taken with us provisions fo r two days and a night. The afternoon was spent in exploring the country in every d ir e c tio n , and then we requested our guide to take us back to the place where we had spent the noon hour. . . . A fte r we had spent another forenoon in exploring the land, we were a l l agreed--the best land that we bad seen was the spot where we had rested on the preceding d a y . “ The place they f i n a l l y agreed upon was about seven miles northwest of Frankenmuth in what are today sections 29, 30, 31, and 32 of Blumfield Township. This t r a c t of land was purchased on July 22, 1847, in the Land O ffic e in M arshall, Michigan, and shortly t h e r e a fte r the colonists hired a surveyor to measure the parcels of land fo r each individual farm. House types While the women and children of the colony remained as guests in Frankenmuth, the men o f Frankentrost went about the task of building log cabins on t h e i r own properties. During this work the men liv e d in a communal s h e lte r , made of branches and leaves. the men were " . . . miserable a f f a i r s . The log cabins b u i l t by The flo o r was the naked clay. No rock was a v a ila b le fo r fir e p la c e s ; these also were made of clay. Most of the ta b le s , ch a irs, and bedsteads were made by the s e t t le r s them­ s e lv e s . ^ i t was not u n til October of 1847 th at the cabins were complet­ ed and the men moved t h e i r wives and children from Frankenmuth to Frankentrost. Graebner, op. c i t . , p. 44. 2 6 I b i d . , p. 46. 61 During the w inter o f 1847-48, a church-parsonage was erected on the north side o f the v i ll a g e road (Figure 3 ). P rio r to the construction o f th is f a c i l i t y , worship services were held twice d a ily in the log cabin of Conrad Munker, and Pastor Graebner liv e d there in the a t t i c . The structure measured 20 x 30 fe e t and was described by Pastor Graebner in these words: I t is only a log cabin, but the logs are nicely squared and trimmed, and the inner arrangement is quite German in s ty le . The west room [10 x 20 f e e t ] is my dom icile, the east room [20 x 20 f e e t ] our church, which has three windows. Behind the desk, which takes the place of a p u l p i t , there is a large c h a ir, and about the a l t a r there are grouped nine benches fo r the c o n g r e g a t i o n . 27 Henry M i l l e r fu r th e r describes the building as follows: The roof was made of home-made shingles; the openings between the logs were stuffed with moss and mud; the f lo o r was covered with boards. . . The one room of the parsonage was a t the same time study, kitchen, bedroom, and school. . . . The nine pews grouped around the a l t a r are simply planks la id over two chunks o f wood. There is no stove and, consequently, no heating in w i n t e r . 28 By 1852 the congregation at Frankentrost had outgrown th is log church, so a new log churchwas constructed on the south side of the v illa g e road (Figure 3). Settlement pattern The buildings mentioned above were la id out in two rows a f t e r the manner of a German v i l l a g e , much to Loehe's d e lig h t. That th is was Loehe1s in te n tio n is seen by examining the inset of the 1848 map c irc u ­ lated in Germany (Figure 4) which shows a map as i t was planned by Loehe 2 7 I b i d . , p. 47. f i l l e r , op. c i t . , p. 8. \ SETTLEMENT AND LAND USE IN FRANKENTROST, MICHIGAN, 1920 & 1970 :**>*nof*wei _„tn£ror C h u rc * In m a r .^ e i S c r OO' S i’ e o * o r-g -fic * o g c f'u r c n im m o rje- S cn 0 0 i ’ 9 2 0 !. O D a n d o n e d 1(970) A m er:C O r -eQ -O n HC : Pe'fieo'd H*3ra*>c^e :r d « r p re s s C h e e se fa c to ry g r o c e r y s to re o * d , *9 2 0 i , c o n c r e te p r o d u c ts !i970) ’ a **™ CT> f\5 □ □ S o u rc e ; □ □ □ □ GD □ □ \r\ □ fie ld notes Figure 3 □ m □ □ m □ MISSION COLONIES As P o rtra y e d by Wilhelm Loehe, 1848 I Frankentrost a. Church, School b Pastor* Land c. 2 4 Farms 2 Frankenmut a Church b. Church Grounds c Mission Grounds d Mill e. 3 4 Farms f. Old Road nocn "9C" TUKOtfl Bridoeoori Source Plan der Missionskolonien (inset mop), Uebersichtskorte fur dos deutSCh-Lutheriech# Mtssionwerk in den Vereinigten Stoaten Nordamenkas, 1848. Property of Concordia Historical Institute, St Louis, Mo. Fiqure 4 64 for the colonies o f Frankenmuth and Frankentrost. A main s tr e e t was la id out in an east-west d ire c tio n , with the log cabins erected on the north and south sides o f the s tr e e t about t h i r t y fe e t away from i t . The church and the parsonage were to stand in the center o f the v illa g e on n in e ty -s ix acres of land set aside fo r the pastor, and purchased with a contribution from each colonist equivalent to the price of every tw enti­ eth acre of la n d .29 Individual farms extended in narrow s trip s away from the v illa g e road. Those who took more than f o r ty acres had to be s a t is fie d with a stretch which extended the whole length of a section one mile while those who took less a piece which ran the length of a h a lf section one-half m i l e . 30 This pattern remained constant as the colony grew in size. Population Frankentrost enjoyed a steady growth in population from the 81 o rig in a l colonists in 1847, to 158 by 1852 (Table 2 ). Much of this growth is a ttrib u te d to continued migration from Bavaria, fo r church records indicate that the colonists' own procreative e f fo r t s were checked by a high rate o f infa nt m o r t a l i t y . 3^ As was true of Franken­ muth, these population figures indicate both the c iv ic and congregational to ta ls . OQ ^Greenholt, op. c i t . , p. 125. 3 0 Ib id . , p. 125. 31 I b i d . , p. 130. 65 Agriculture A g ricu ltu ral a c t i v i t y was begun in Frankentrost during the spring of 1848 with the clearing of approximately one hundred acres of f o r e s t . 32 The land consisted o f a surface layer of black soil from which water e ith e r ran or was e a s ily drained away. Two brooks ran through the land, one of which was dry throughout the summer. A v a il­ a b i l i t y of water was at f i r s t not believed to be a problem in Franken­ t r o s t , fo r numerous wells had been dug and spring rains were p l e n t i f u l ; however, as t h e i r i n i t i a l planting of corn, potatoes, wheat, and vege­ tables was ripening, a drought occurred bringing ruin to most of the harvest. The wheat crop resisted these drought conditions but was unable to withstand mildew which developed during a period of heavy rains ju s t p r io r to harvest. Thus the colonists had to be s a tis fie d with the barest necessities and many "were compelled to go to neigh­ boring m ills or farms or towns to earn money or pro visio n s.33 Basic food supplies had to be obtained from the stores in Saginaw, Frankenmuth, and at times, even as f a r away as F l i n t . That the colony was able to overcome these inauspicious beginnings and develop a g ric u ltu ra l s t a b i l i t y is indicated by Leeson's observation concerning Frankentrost: "This section of the county is inhabited by an industrious class of a g r ic u l­ t u r a l i s t s , who may be said to have raised the wilderness to the of a beautiful garden 3 ^ M ille r, op. 33G reenh o lt, 34[_eeson, op. w ithin a few c i t . , p. 9. op. c i t . , c it. , p. p. 127. 734. y e a rs .^ condition 66 Commerce Commercial a c t i v i t y in Frankentrost is not mentioned p r io r to 1855 though many o f the colonists were artisans in B a v a r i a , ^ thus i t might be assumed th at "home industry" existed though no structures were erected so lely fo r commercial purposes. Transportation and communication Frankentrost existed in a v i r t u a l l y isolated state although i t was but a short lin e a r distance from Frankenmuth and Saginaw. This is o la tio n persisted because o f the d i f f i c u l t y of clearing and maintaining t r a i l s through the dense fo re s t which surrounded the settlement. In 1848 a t r a i l was marked leading to Frankenmuth; however, th is t r a i l was read i­ ly overgrown with underbrush, thus the danger of becoming lo s t in the fo rest was ever present. When one was lo s t the whole colony went in search of the person. Shots were sounded and horns blown as signals. Once Dr. Koch . . . was called to a sick bed in Frankentrost. I t was nearly night before he starte d back to Frankenmuth where he had two very sick p a tien ts. Somehow he lo st the road and as a re s u lt wandered about in the fo re s t fo r three nights and two days before he, f i n a l l y , came out on the Bridgeport road and some farmer picked him up and took him back to Frankenmuth. During these days he dined upon linden leaves. Since i t was s t i l l w inter he froze the toes on one foot and was confined to his house fo r three months.36 Ofttimes Pastor Graebner would make the t r i p to Saginaw, taking with him a w ritte n l i s t o f orders from the colonists, and would return to Franken­ tro s t heavily burdened with sacks of flo u r and other goods. The lack of ■^Original colonists and t h e i r trades: S. Abraham and Michael Huber, t a i l o r s ; A. M o ll, h a t t e r ; G. Wissmueller, comb-maker. (Greenholt, op. c i t . , p. 1 2 0 . ) • ^ G r e e n h o l t , pp. c i t . , pp. 127-28. 67 adequate transportation routes precluded postal service in Frankentrost, thus mail was sent and received in e it h e r Frankenmuth or Saginaw. Social organization The people o f Frankentrost were organized s o c ia lly in the pattern of Frankenmuth, having accepted the Kirchenordnung before leaving Bavar­ ia. While the colonists waited in Frankenmuth fo r t h e i r log cabins to be completed, they organized Immanuel Lutheran Church o f Frankentrost, and decided to apply f o r membership in the Missouri Synod, which was organ­ ized in Chicago in 1847. The d a ily liv e s o f the colonists were closely tie d to the church. Daily worship services were held at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. during the summer months, and a t 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. during the w in ter. Graebner r e la t e s , We had no church b e lls in Frankentrost in those days by means o f which the people might be calle d to services a t the appointed hours, and so we had to use some other means. An­ nouncing the hour of divine services by some public signal was a l l the more necessary as there were a t th a t time few clocks in the various households which could be depended upon as timepieces. These signals were given by means of a t i n horn, the kind used by housewives to c a ll t h e i r husbands from the f i e l d a t mealtimes. H a lf an hour before the beginning o f services I would blow my t i n horn, and immediately the signal was passed on from household to household by means of s im ila r instruments. Whoever had a watch or clock th at s t i l l was in running order, a t such times would set i t , since the "Herr Pastor's watch surely must have correct t im e ."37 Sunday services and catechism in s tru c tio n were held reg u la rly and were attended by a l l members o f the colony; school sessions fo r the children were held a t the parsonage during the week. XI Graebner, op. c i t . , p. 83. 68 Language, dress, and customs Bayerisch was the language of Frankentrost, and was used by the people in t h e i r worship, t h e i r social contacts, and in t h e i r correspon­ dence. Because two t a il o r s and a h a tte r resided in Frankentrost i t might be assumed that the wearing of Bavarian s ty le clothing persisted here fo r a longer time than in Frankenmuth, though photographic e v i ­ dence indicates the gradual acceptance of English styles. ture holds l i t t l e The l i t e r a ­ record of special customs or observances during the early years of Frankentrost h is to ry . I t was, however, recorded that the colonists frequently celebrated the Kaerwa f e s t iv a l in Frankenmuth and were often received as guests at wedding, baptismal, and funeral observances in t h e i r s is t e r c o l o n y . 38 Frankenlust In 1848 a th ird colonizing e f f o r t resulted in the establishment of Frankenlust. In the autumn of 1847, while the people of Frankentrost were preparing to move into t h e ir new log cabins, George Ernst Christian Ferdinand Sievers, then an assistant pastor, decided to leave Germany and work fo r the Inner Mission among the German immigrants in North America. Sievers discussed his decision with Loehe in Neuendettelsau, however some disagreement exists as to the sequence o f events which followed. Greenholt implies that upon consultation with Loehe, Sievers journeyed d i r e c t ly to Frankenmuth, there to await the a r r iv a l of the group o f colonists who would found Frankenlust. 38 Zehnder, op. c i t . , p. 161. He documents the a r r iv a l 69 of these colonists in Saginaw as June 20, 1848.39 Authors of Franken­ l u s t ’ s centennial booklet, 100 Years o f S p ir itu a l Leadership, r e la te the events in this manner: Sievers, together with candidates E. A. Bauer, J. H. Pinkepank and a small number o f c o lo n ists, met in Bremerhaven in August of 1847 with the in te n t of emigrating to America. Sievers, Bauer, and Pinkepank departed fo r America on August 20 aboard the F lo r ia n , approximately four weeks in advance of the colonists' departure. Upon th e ir a r r iv a l in America, Bauer and Pinkepank journeyed with Sievers to Buffalo, but remained there as Sievers moved on to Frankenmuth. The colonists l e f t behind in Bremen arrived in New York sho rtly a f t e r Sievers, but did not maintain a unity of purpose, some moving to Wiscon­ sin, others to Monroe, Michigan, and the remainder to Frankenmuth, thus Sievers was the lone c itiz e n of Frankenlust.40 Word reached Sievers in April o f 1848 that Loehe had assembled a second group to form the colony and th a t they had sailed from Bremer­ haven on April 18, 1848, with the in te ntion o f meeting Sievers in Sagi­ naw. By June 22, a l l had gathered in Saginaw where they remained u n til July 4, using D ierker's barn as church, meeting h a l l , and communal she lter. Why did the colonists remain in Saginaw instead of immediately journeying to the s i t e o f the new colony? Records in d ic ate that they contracted with Mr. Dierker to c le a r a s ix-acre piece of land, a project which took eight days to complete. In return fo r t h e i r labor, the ■^Greenholt, op. c i t . , p. 133 and p. 135. ^ 1 0 0 Years of S p ir itu a l Leadership o f St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, Frankenlust, Michigan (Sheboygan: Diamond Printing Company, 1948), pp. 4-6. 70 colonists were allowed to plant potatoes on the acreage and to keep the e n tire h a r v e s t ,^ thus the time seemed to be wisely spent. The colonists divided into two groups fo r the f in a l leg of t h e ir journey. "Some drove the c a t t le through the fo rest with Pastor Sievers as t h e i r guide; the others sailed down the Saginaw River on a scow with a supply of lumber and provisions, which Andreas Goetz had brought from D e tro it. He had bought $350 worth o f the most necessary to o ls , stoves, windows, f l o u r , food and household goods." no The two groups met on July 5 and together reached the s ite of t h e i r new home by mid-afternoon. The s i t e fo r the colony was chosen by Sievers during his winter stay in Frankenmuth, though in this matter he went against the desires of Pastor Craemer. A s i t e along the Tittabawassee River had been chosen by Craemer p r io r to Sievers' a r r iv a l in Frankenmuth. Craemer1s zeal fo r mission work among the Indians is re fle c te d in his choice fo r i t afforded close contact with an Indian population. This s i t e was v is ite d by Craemer and Sievers one day during the w inter of 1847-48, and Sievers was favorably impressed by i t fo r he reported that the soil seemed f e r t i l e and c u ltiv a b le and th a t the land lay along a beautiful stream. Upon the receipt 1848, Pastor Sievers set of 5000 f lo r in s from Loehe in the spring of out again to inspect the s i t e , taking with him John Hubinger of Frankenmuth. The character of the land had changed f o r they found so many swampy spots th at Hubinger declared the 4 ^ 100 Years o f S p i r i t u a l L e a d e r s h i p , p. 7. 4?Ib id . ^ G r e e n h o l t , o p . c i t . , pp. 133-34 71 land u n f it fo r settlement. Pastor Craemer, however, would not accept this report, so Sievers went a t h ir d time to the s i t e , accompanied on this occasion by Leonhard Berenthal of Frankenmuth. Hubinger's opinion persisted, and Sievers started fo r the region around Lower Saginaw to which he had been a ttra c te d e a r l i e r . A fte r four days of wandering in fo rest and swamps, he f i n a l l y selected the place which was to become the s i t e of the colony. The land fo r the colony was located at the forks o f the Squaquaning River, several miles west of its confluence with the Saginaw River, above Lower Saginaw. This t r a c t of land, s l ig h t l y more than 725 acres, was purchased by Sievers fo r $1,813.92*2, and constituted a l l but 120 acres o f T13N, R4E and 205 acres in section 31 of T14N, R5E (Figure 5).^4 Settlement pattern The colonists i n i t i a l a c t i v i t i e s concerned the surveying of individual parcels of land according to a plan o f settlement which they had devised. Shortly a f t e r Sievers had purchased the land, he had made a crude survey but now, fo r more accurate d e lin e a tio n , the colonists employed a surveyor. His task was made i n f i n i t e l y more arduous with the onset of a fourteen-day-long r a i n f a l l , fo r a l l measurements of the land had to be extended to the middle o f or through the r i v e r , now swollen with ru n -o ff. The i n i t i a l settlement plan agreed upon placed the church and the parsonage on the peninsula formed between the two branches o f the 4 4 i b i d . , p. 135. CASS Rd SETTLEMENT AND LAND USE IN FRANKENLUST, MICHIGAN, 1855 SC ALE 1/6 1/3 1/2 MILES SOURCE F IE L D N O T E S A N D IN T E R V IE W S S T P A U L 'S L U T H E R A N PA R S O N A G E G O E T Z 'S S TO R E R E S ID E N T IA L SW AMP Figure 5 CHURCH 73 r iv e r (Figure 5 ). The remainder of the land on the peninsula was re ­ served fo r house and garden p lo ts , two to three acres in size. Records indicate that a s ta te road, known as the Lower Saginaw Road, did e x is t at th is time and ran through the colony. The colonists were said to have entered t h e i r land "at the f i r s t bridge on the south branch of the riv e r" and t h e i r settlement plan stated th at houses and gardens were to occupy both sides of the s ta te h ig h w a y . 45 As D opulation increased, homes were erected e i t h e r along the highway o r along the south branch o f the r iv e r . House types As finances allowed, the houses b u i l t were e ith e r of log or frame construction, thus by 1855 both types could be found in Franken­ lu s t. Authors disagree as to the type and source of the building m a teria l. In the centennial booklet, the f i r s t structure is described as a h a s tily assembled shack or shanty b u i l t with lumber brought from Saginaw. The shanty was poorly constructed and proved inadequate in sheltering the colonists during the rains which began w ithin hours of i t s completion. Greenholt, however, states that on the way from Sag­ inaw to Frankenlust a r a f t , which was towed by the scow, carrying 8500 fe e t of lumber "had caught in the rushes in the r iv e r and had been l e f t stickin g somewhere along the w a y. 46 Greenholt's findings are supported by the fa c t that when the rains ceased and the land was surveyed, the colonists constructed a number of log cabins, not frame houses, in d ic a t ­ ing that lumber fo r the l a t t e r may not have been a v a ila b le . 4 5 I b i d . , pp. 1 3 7 -38 . 4 6 I b i d . , p. 137. No 74 photographs or descriptions of these log cabins are re a d ily ava ila b le . The f i r s t building described in d e ta il was the log church, dedicated in November of 1849. Sievers pictures i t in these words: " I t 1s b u i l t of fair-hewn logs, is twenty-eight fe e t long and twenty-four fe e t wide, and the inside is plastered with clay . . . . Sievers had a parsonage b u i l t in the summer of 1849 using money sent to him fo r th at purpose by his future f a th e r -in - la w . At th at time the house may have seemed a b i t pretentious as i t stood near the log church, fo r the parsonage was a s o lid ly constructed frame house 34 x 22 x 28, complete with a basement and, extending the e n t ir e length of the house, a raised fro n t porch . . . . 48 supported by six square p i l l a r s . By 1850 the colony consisted o f twenty-four houses and several barns and sheds. Of the houses, only a few were of frame construction, thus i t appears th at the process of replacing log cabins with frame houses was unhurried. Reference is found which indicates th at the barns may have been three-sided a f f a i r s , with the south sides l e f t open, since i t was believed that c a t t le in America were hardier than those in Germany. 49 Agriculture L i t t l e is recorded in the a g ric u ltu ra l a c t i v i t y in Frankenlust. Potatoes and vegetables were crops mentioned in several o f Sievers' l e t ­ ters to Loehe, and no mention was made of food shortage during the f i r s t ^ 100 Years o f S p i r i t u a l L e a d e r s h ip , p. 9. 48 I b i d . , pp. 1 0 -1 1 . ^ G r e e n h o l t , op. c i t . , p. 142. 75 winter as in the previous two colonies. I t was stated above that c a ttle were taken to the colony when i t was f i r s t begun, and th at in 1850 "the colonists owned about 150 head of c a t t l e , oxen, calves, many hogs, chickens, and pigeons . " ^ 0 One hundred acres o f fo re s t land had been cleared by 1850, and although no indication is given as to actual land use, the low r e l i e f of the s i t e suggests th at the farmers may have had trouble with f i e l d drainage. Another indication o f the swampy nature of the s i t e is the high incidence of disease and the hordes of mosquitoes observed. 51 Commerce P rio r to 1855 commercial a c t i v i t y in Frankenlust was lim ited to two types: enterprise w ithin the colony and employment of colonists in neighboring towns. The only commercial establishment in Frankenlust was a general sto re, located on the south branch of the r iv e r opposite the church, and operated by Andreas Goetz. He opened his store in 1852 and stocked i t with every conceivable type o f household good. The colonists found i t convenient to buy from Goetz, thus he was con tin u ally faced with the task of replenishing his inventory. Since roads were impassable much of the time, he made his t r i p s , often three a week, in a small sailboat and was frequently delayed in his return by adverse winds. 52 Others in Frankenlust engaged in commercial a c t i v i t y included blacksmiths, fishermen, cobblers, t a i l o r s , brewers, bakers, and masons 5° 1 0 0 Years o f S p i r i t u a l L e a d e r s h ip , p. 11. ^ Ib id . ^^I b i d . , p. 14. 76 who were offered many job opportunities during these early years, espe­ c i a l l y in Lower Saginaw. Population As seen in Table 2, the population of Frankenlust rose s te a d ily during its early existence. This population growth was due p rim a rily to an in flu x of immigrants to the v a lle y . From an i n i t i a l to ta l of 15 persons in 1848, the colony grew to approximately 150 by 1853. Goetz, in a l e t t e r to Loehe, indicated that " l i t t l e increase from the outside" took place a f t e r 1853,53 thus the population growth rate declined somewhat from i t s previous pace. Transportation and communication From its inception Frankenmuth was linked to neighboring communities by both road and water. Lower Saginaw Road extended through the colony providing access to Lower Saginaw and Saginaw. The Squaquaning River also provided a route to these communities, thus Frankenlust was the le a s t isolated of the colonies and its c itize n s experienced extensive social contact with other s e ttle r s in the v a lle y . The road may not have been o f the highest q u a lity , but the short d is ­ tances to neighboring towns (three miles to Lower Saginaw and seven miles to Saqinaw) made the lack of q u a lity less detrimental to t r a v e l. ^ G r e e n h o l t , op. c i t . , p. 243 77 Social organ ization In Frankenlust, as in the two colonies which preceded i t , the c iv ic population was also the church congregation. While staying in D ierker's barn in Saginaw, the colonists organized St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church and adopted a c o n stitu tio n w ritte n by Loehe, which Sievers had brought with him from Germany. The f i r s t worship service of the new congregation was held June 25, 1848, in D ierker's barn, thus the congregation became a r e a l i t y before the colony was a c tu a lly estab­ lished. The church c o n stitu tio n w ritte n by Loehe was almost id en tic al to the Kirchenordnung used at St. Lorenz and Immanuel. That the social a f f a ir s of the colony were not always as expected is seen in this s t a t e ­ ment w ritte n by Goetz to Loehe: "When in 1850 more immigrants came from northern Germany things did not go so smoothly and harmoniously anymore as in the f i r s t two years when only Bavarians were h e r e . " ^ This s i t ­ uation was apparently brought under control without harming the i n t e g r it y of the colony fo r no fu rth e r mention of i t is recorded. One social relatio n s h ip p a r t ic u la r ly s ig n ific a n t in shaping events in Frankenlust was that of Pastor Sievers and his fa th e r -in - la w , Frederick Koch. P rio r to his coming to America, Sievers had served as a p rivate tu to r employed by Mr. Koch, thus becoming acquainted with Koch's daughter, Caroline. Mr. and Mrs. Koch were a r is t o c r a t ic and highly educated and were somewhat chagrined that t h e i r daughter wanted to accept Sievers' proposal of marriage and go with him to the Michigan wilderness. Mr. Koch s tip u la ted that a suitable parsonage should be ^ 100 Years o f S p i r i t u a l L e a d e r s h ip , p. 14. 78 b u i lt before his daughter would come to America. Thus Koch financed the construction of the colony's most impressive liv in g quarters, some­ times referred to by the s e ttle r s as "das wiesse Schloss," the white c a s tle .^ In 1849 Koch purchased from Sievers the e n t ir e southern h a lf o f the township of land in the o rig in a l purchase. This parce l, which he intended to s e ll l a t e r to colonists, is s t i l l called Kochville. The large purchase replenished the mission society's c ir c u la tin g fund to the extent that Sievers was now able to purchase land for a fourth colony. Koch was therefore in d ir e c t ly responsible fo r the creation of Frankenhi1f . FrankenhiIf A fourth colony, Frankenhilf, was founded during this f i r s t decade of Bavarian occupance in the v a lle y . As relate d e a r l i e r in the chapter, conditions o f poverty and moral decay in Bavaria gave Loehe ample motivation to begin this venture, but fo r a time he lacked suf­ f i c i e n t funds. Sievers' rapid renewal of the c ir c u la tin g colonization fund a lle v ia te d th is problem and bv the spring of 1849 a t r a c t o f land had been purchased by Sievers f o r the new colony. The land chosen by Sievers tota led 1592 acres and was located a t the source of the Cheboyganing River in the southwest corner of Denmark township "four B ritis h miles from three d if f e r e n t places: Frankenmuth, Frankentrost, and the English settlement Tuscola on the Cass River"^® (Figure 1). When news of Sievers' purchase reached Loehe, he began screening S^I b i d . , p. 13. ^Graebner, pp. c i t . , p. 56. 79 applications and appealed to other pastors to select su itab le persons, even couples l iv in g together out of wedlock i f they showed promise of reform, to populate the new colony. This process continued through the winter and by e a rly spring o f 1850, a number o f fam ilies had been organ­ ized under the leadership of candidate Herman Kuehn to leave fo r America. This group arrived in D e tro it and proceeded from there to Lower Saginaw by s ailb o at. Upon reaching Lower Saginaw t h e i r boat was becalmed fo r almost fiv e days, during which time two single men deserted the group and many fam ilies chose to s e t t le in Frankenlust, having had an oppor­ tu n ity to meet Pastor Sievers and several of his colonists. Two fami­ lie s continued as f a r as Saginaw with Kuehn and then q u it the colony to find employment so that they'could pay debts incurred on t h e i r journey. Thus on June 6 , 1850, the colonists of Frankenhilf who f i n a l l y arrived in Frankenmuth were Pastor Kuehn and the Ammon f a m il y . 57 On June 10 the Ammon fam ily, along with several Frankenmuthers, l e f t fo r the s ite of the new colony. Immediately a spot was chosen in the middle of the land, a clearing made and a cabin started. From th is point Ammon and a Frankenmuther l a t e r inspected the whole estate a t which time the former selected a p lo t in the southeast part o f section t h i r t y fo r a permanent home. I t was, he reported, a beautiful place stretching along a brook whose water was good to drink, covered with beech, maple, and oak trees and easy to be c u l t iv a t e d . 5° Because Frankenhilf's population was that of one fa m ily , worship services would have to be held in the colony's only bu ild in g , Ammon's log cabin; thus Kuehn dedicated the cabin to the service o f God on August 17, ^ G r e e n h o l t , op. c i t . , p. 150. 68I b i d . , p. 151. 80 1850 and by September 11 o f th at year i t was ready fo r o c c u p a n c e . ^ Shortly t h e r e a f te r , Kuehn abandoned the colony, c i t i n g poor health and a lack of parishoners as his main reasons. The Ammon cabin stood on the s ite of the present cemetery and constituted the f i r s t settlement pattern of Frankenhilf. By 1855 the population had grown and several more log cabins and sheds had been constructed in a loosely clustered pattern (Figure 6 ). Population The exact population of the Ammon family is not lis t e d though mention is made o f Ammon's cousin, thus indicating an extended kinship group was present. By autumn of 1851 the colony had increased in size to eighteen people, the a r r iv a l o f three fam ilie s having been preceded by the June a r r iv a l of Michael Gruber and his wife.^® These f i v e fam­ i l i e s requested Loehe to send a pastor and on December 3, 1851, the population grew with the a r r iv a l of Pastor Johannes Deindoerfer. The following year saw the addition of eight more persons so that by 1855, though Frankenhilf was s t i l l the smallest of the Franconian settlements, i t had s u f f ic i e n t populace to insure i t s survival (Table 2 ). House types Log cabins were the only types of dwellings mentioned and appar­ ently provided scant protection against rain and snow. By 1852, the congregation had outgrown the worship area provided in Ammon's cabin and the colonists began construction o f a log church patterned a f t e r the 59I b i d . , p. 152. 60Ibid. e< 'Q ir a do* .ify »P SETTLEMENT AND LAND USE IN FRANKENHILF (RICHVILLE), MICHIGAN, 1855 8 1920 St 6 ViChoels 'OQ ;hurch ' S*; 2 fevdenria1(e55J 3 S» M ic h a e l s fra m e c ftu r-.h 4 Ban. of o r a o r - b ia c * 'j,n .tn 6 wagon srico »e*-D cid -ia rd *» a re S ta r o f *r>e W est e le v a to r 9 ro H fo o d depot 0 earner/ N ico d e m u s A p pn on ce 12 Kern'? Market 24 ',nz nc> ft SO'OCn - nTrres? sncp : s 7 1o * e r f5vr?enoer3er - nrsfn res-oenva' 020) C HUPSH jr - .e metery 0 0 Figure QCZZ3® L 6 1817 I •■e.o n o te ? ona -n ’ e r.-e w s 82 log church under construction in Frankentrost. This f i r s t church was completed in 1853. Agriculture Farming a c t i v i t y was lim ite d by the time-consuming necessity of having to cle a r away the heavy fo re s t. Pastor Deindoerfer reports that the fie ld s were never completely cleared fo r the stumps were not removed, thus production was lim ite d . For t h e ir food the colonists were dependent on the cows and pigs they kept, thus the numerous wolves and bears in the forest posed a constant th re a t. Their d ie t "consisted c h ie fly o f corn bread, m ilk , edible mushrooms and sometimes venison. They drank a beverage brewed from acorns and beech-nuts. Labor was lightened a b i t by a yoke o f oxen which Amman [ s i c ] owned. From Frankenmuth came the supplies which they were unable to provide fo r themselves. Transportation The dependency on Frankenmuth is seen in the transportation pattern extending from Frankenhilf. Even while building his cabin, Ammon was busy try in g to cut a road through the fo re s t to Frankenmuth. He borrowed eighty-two d ollars from the colonization fund fo r that purpose and intended to equip his road with markers and milestones.®^ Pastor Deindoerfer organized the s e ttle r s about the task o f completing the road, though even when i t was fin is h e d , parts of the road had been overrun by the f o r e s t, and i t proved impassable whenever i t rained. 6 1 I b i d . , p. 154. 6 2 I b i d . , p. 152. 83 Prior to 1855 Deindoerfer Road was Frankenhilf's only lin k to a neighboring community. Social organization The colony grew from an extended fam ily into a congregation, St. M ich ael's, with a membership o f over t h i r t y souls by 1850. The pastor was the leader o f the colony and as such handled any disputes which arose using the church co n s titu tio n and his theological tra in in g as guides. The colony lost this leadership in 1853 when Deindoerfer sided with Loehe in a doctrinal dispute with the Missouri Synod and l e f t the colony, taking the Ammon fam ily with him to Iowa. Summary By various means and fo r varying motives, four Bavarian colonies had rooted themselves in the Saginaw V alley. Without exception, the colonies engaged in a g ric u ltu ra l a c t i v i t y and by 1855 some showed s tir r in g s of commercial awakening. In several ways these colonies were isolated from neighboring settlem ents, i f not by natural b a r r ie r s , then by the th e o lo g ic a lly oriented l i f e - s t y l e they pursued, and by t h e i r Bayerish d ia le c t. Their presence in the v a lle y was noted, but t h e i r meager beginnings showed less economic promise than the lumbering in te re sts focused on Saginaw. Their presence did, however, make the v alley increasingly a t t r a c t i v e to other Germans seeking to immigrate to America. The colonies' attractiveness complemented a program designed by the State o f Michigan to increase the number of immigrants seeking 84 land w ithin i t s boundaries. Upon assuming governorship o f the State in 1848, Epaphroditus Ransom introduced le g is la tio n which favored the purchase of state lands by immigrants and also appointed Edward Hughes Thompson o f F l i n t , Michigan, Commissioner o f Im m ig ra tio n .^ The wisdom of the appointment was borne out in the success enjoyed by Mr. Thompson in luring immigrants, esp ecially Germans, to Michigan. Much of Thompson's success was based on the pamphlet which he authored in 1849 which formally in v ite d immigrants to the s ta te . In this pamphlet Auswanderers Wegweiser nach dem Staate Michigan Thompson used the Fran­ conian colonies as lures fo r future immigration. "The names o f these pioneer German Lutheran missionaries (Craemer, Sievers, Graebner) were used to charm many a group o f t h e i r race into the new country." 64 Another document published during th is i n i t i a l period of German s e t t l e ­ ment appeared in 1851 e n t i t l e d Die Deutschen Colonien in der Naehe des Saginaw-Flusses. 65 Widely d istrib u te d in Germany, i t d ealt prim a rily with the Franconian colonies, and thus appealed to German Lutherans more s p e c if ic a lly than Thompson's e a r l i e r publication. These documents, together with le t t e r s sent from Michigan to Bavaria, plus Loehe's enthusiasm fo r co lo n izatio n , convinced many Ger­ mans to emigrate to the Saginaw V alley. Thus the German population in the valley was to grow in numbers, and i t s c u ltu ral impact was to assume dimensions unrealized during the i n i t i a l decade of settlement. /TO 0 Russell, op. c i t . , pp. 56-57. 6 4 Ib id . , p. 58. ^ G e o r g e Westman, Die Deutschen Colonien in der Naehe des Saginaw-Flusses, (Braunschweig: G. and B. Westernmann Bros., 1851). CHAPTER V THE FRANCONIAN COLONIES 1856-1920 The period 1856-1920 marks the second stage in the history of the Franconian colonies. I t was a time of change and economic pros­ p e r ity , a time of increased m o b ility and communication, a time during which each colony shaped i t s character and treasured i t s heritage. Michigan, with i t s vast forests o f pine and hardwood, was attacked by an army o f lumbermen during the 1850's and became a center of lumbering a c t i v i t y which reached i t s economic peak during the twenty-year period ending in 1880. The Saginaw River provided a natural o u tle t fo r timber from the i n t e r i o r o f the state and was soon lined with saw m ills and wood products manufacturing operations. As the timber harvest waned, economic impetus was continued in the v a lle y by the increased a g ric u l­ tural prices paid fo r grain crops in the wake o f crop fa ilu r e s in Europe and In d ia , and by the war economy generated during the Spanish-American War a t the close of the century. A g ricultural and commercial enter­ prises also benefited with the onset of World War I and the economic prosperity which i t supported u n til 1920. The i n i t i a l decades of the twentieth century also witnessed the rapid growth in popularity and in numbers of the automobile, which stimulated not only the automotive manufacturing and service in te re sts in the country, but also the many r e t a i l and service-oriented establishments which now became more e as ily accessible to greater numbers of customers. 85 The period ended in 1920 8G with the onset o f post-War depression and the then-recent r a t i f i c a t i o n of the Prohibition Amendment. During th is s ix ty -fo u r year segment of t h e ir h is to ry , each of the colonies was to emerge with i t s own peculiar character, yet a l l were to re ta in the i n t e g r it y of t h e i r c u ltu ral h e r i­ tage. Frankenmuth Agriculture Patterns of a g ric u ltu ra l and commerical a c t i v i t y begun in Frank­ enmuth p rio r to 1856 continued to influence growth and development during the second period of its history to 1920. Incorporated in 1854, Frank­ enmuth township became a leader in the a g ric u ltu ra l development o f the Saginaw V alley. Every e f f o r t was made to clear land and by 1866 there remained but a few patches of woodland in the e n tire townshipJ Thoughts o f the actual p r o fits to be made in s e llin g the logs and the potential p r o f it s to be realize d when the additional acres bore t h e i r harvest stimulated land clearance. During this period of a g ric u ltu ra l expansion, new drainage techniques were adopted by the Bavarians. C ylindrical clay t i l e were made ava ila b le in diameters ranging from one to six inches. The t i l e were in s ta lle d as a network which consisted of rows of smal 1 -diameter t i l e la id four rods apa rt, each connected to a major c a r r ie r made of 1arger-diameter t i l e . Because clay t i l e were c o s tly, a farmer's prosperity was estimated by determining the distance ^Zehnder, op. c i t . , p. 122. 87 between the t r ib u t a r y rows o f t i l e — only the wealthy could affo rd to space these rows close together . 2 The farmers in Frankenmuth township were reputed the best in the e n tir e Saginaw V a lle y , not only in terms but also in the care given to maintaining the farmsteads. to be among o f production, Noteworthy were the cleanliness o f the grounds around the house and outbuildings, the care shown the orchards and gardens, and the manure p i le in the barnyard. The houses were large frame structures, often designed and b u i l t by the Neuchterlein brothers. They were t y p ic a lly rectangular in shape, two and one-half stories high, with a frontward-facing gabled roof. The barns took on a new look with the invention and adoption of the t r i p , a three-slinged device used to l i f t m aterials up into the l o f t and then to the back o f the barn. Use o f the t r i p necessitated a double break roof with an extension out over the t r i p apparatus on the fro n t of the barn.^ Emphasis in a g ric u ltu ra l production was shifted from wheat to specialty crops such as sugar beets and beans during th is period. Staple crops such as wheat, barley, oats, buckwheat and rye were grown to meet the needs of the community though these crops did not enjoy the p r o f i t margins of the sp e cia lty crops. Hay and meadows of clo ver, tame grasses, and timothy were prominent features of the a g ric u ltu ra l landscape. was grown fo r use as silage and fodder, and not as a grain crop. ^William Zehnder, J r . , p rivate in te rv iew , January 22, 1970. 3 Ib id . Corn 88 Commerce The settlement pattern established by the f i r s t s e ttle r s was perpetuated during this period, with farmers l iv in g throughout the town­ ship on t h e i r own farms and v illa g e expansion a tta in in g i t s most s ig n ific a n t growth in the v i c i n i t y of the Hubinger saw m i l l . Most manu­ facturing and service o u tlets were established north o f the r i v e r ; how­ ever a f t e r a covered wooden bridge was constructed in 1858, commercial a c t i v it y expanded to the south side of the r iv e r as well (Figure 7). The increase o f commercial a c t i v i t y and the growth of the com­ munity i t s e l f owed much of i t s success to the cooperative a t tit u d e of the a g ric u ltu ra l and commercial segments of the population. The f i r s t industries to achieve prominence in Frankenmuth were closely related to the a g ric u ltu ra l heritage and needs of the settlement (Table 3 ). The Frankenmuth Cheese Company was the f i r s t of many d a iry-o rien ted food processors to take advantage of the local supply o f raw materials and the local market attuned to consumption of i t s porducts. Barley grown by the farmers of Frankenmuth was an in te g ral ingredient in the manu­ facture of beer, an a c t i v i t y welcomed in the community as e a rly as 1857. Other businesses dependent upon the a g ric u ltu ra l segment of the community were the slaughter houses and sausage shops, the flo u r m i l l , the cider m ill and wine press, and the various shops occupied by blacksmiths, wagon repairmen, and farm implement dealers. Many businesses in Frankenmuth were of a service type such as those of the cooper, cobbler, barber, t a i l o r , p a in te r, cabinet-maker, photographer, jew e ler, tin s m ith , and plumber. General stores and saloons SETTLEMENT AND LAND USE IN FRANKENMUTH, MICHIGAN, 1920 e^etery ? S' 0 - jO in q e ' S c- 00' g ro c e ry s to r e r err. ^ Var*e? 3 G e yer B ro s A F fo n k e n m y tn S r e w e 'y 5 H u b m g e r so*> t ,. h 6 S f o r o f th e 7 U n io n 8 E «chonge B r e w e ry ■5 w est ^ c ’e1 16 Gomrre'CiOi »iOuse M illin g 17 OuOliC s c h o o l H ouse CD CD ^ c te - S o u rc e - Figure 7 f ie ld n o te s residentia l ana a n d in te r v ie w s com m ercial 90 Table 3 Commercial A c t iv it y in Frankenmuth, 1856-1920 Hotels R e ta il/S e rv ic e Industries Exchange H o tel, est. 1852 Union House, est. 1873 Eagle House, est. 1880 Commercial House, est. 1882 Union House, est. 1888 Fischer's H a ll , est. 1894 Goetz H o tel, est. 1899 New Exchange Hotel, est. 1900 German Assistance Soc., est. 1869 Power and Light Co., est. 1894 Reichle, blacksmith/farm tools Habke, blacksmith/wagon shop Schaefer, blacksmith/farm tools Hoerlein, wagon m fg ./re p a ir Reichle, carriage painter Rhode, p a in te r/c a rp e n te r/ upholsterer Breweries L i s t , b u ild e r /a r c h ite c t Frankenmuth Brewery, 1857-64, 1870' s Neuchterlein Brothers, fu n erals/ cabinet makers Cass River Brewery, 1862-74 Roth, builder Geyer Brothers Brewery, est. 1884 Veitengruber Brothers, wood prod. Frankenmuth Brewery, est. 1899 Link, tinsmith General Stores/Markets Kurtz, cooper R o lle r, cobbler Schreiner's G. S ., est. 1847 Pausch, photographer Hubinger's G. S ., est. 1851 Kern, t a i l o r Gugel Brothers' G. S . , est. 1888 Zucker, barber Kern's Market Link; Nuechterlein; Fechter Rau Brothers' G. S ., est. 1900's Brothers, plumbers Ortner Brothers' G. S . , est. 1900's Hubinger Tavern Bierschneider Bar and Bakery Food Processing/Manufacturing Heine's store and saloon Hubinger flo u r m i l l , est. 1874 Gugel haberdashery Freudenstein sausage, est. 1851 Hubinger hat shop Frankenmuth Cheese Co., est. 1884 Weber's Jewelry Hubinger-Rau Creamery, est. 1886 Bernthal Jewelry Zehnder slaughterhouse Rau Leather Goods Goetzinger slaughterhouse Ranke's Greenhouse Doerner's sausage, est. 1915 Tannery, est. 1865 Cass River Creamery and Cheese Zucher, new/used fu r n itu r e Manufacturing Company Witzleben Furniture Rauke's cid er m i l l , wine press, Weiss farm machinery, est. 1916 and j e l l y fa c to ry , est. 1889 Rau Implement, est. 1915 Baker Sales and Service, e st. 1917 Medical Services G alsterer Motor Co., est. 1918 Drs. Schick; Speckhardt; Acme Oil Company, est. 1919 Frankenmuth Woolen M ill P ills b u r y , MD's. Frankenmuth State Bank, e st. 1910 Dr. Schmitt, DDS. Drs. Stowe; Conzetmann; Engel, DVM's American State Bank, est. 1917 Source: Compiled from numerous a r t i c l e s , pamphlets, and books. 91 were also popular enterprises, but the hotel industry was perhaps the most important to the fu tu re development o f the community. As the lumbering era began, increased numbers of lumbermen arrived in Frankenmuth on t h e i r downsteam journey to the Saginaw River. As the Hubinger saw m ill expanded operations, a great number of the lumbermen found need o f a place to stay over before heading upstream fo r another r a f t o f logs. In 1856 the Exchange Hotel was opened in Frankenmuth, signaling the s t a r t of a series of hotel openings that would continue to 1900. During the l a te 1800's a hotel tr a d it io n was established which was to gain statewide fame. I t is believed th at the f i r s t "Frankenmuth chicken dinners" were served by Mrs. Kern a t the Commercial House in 1895.4 These dinners, served on an a ll-y o u -c a n -e a t basis, soon became so popular th at the hotels were f i l l e d almost every evening with guests who had come the day's journey from F l i n t or Saginaw to partake of the fa re . With the improvement of highways and the increased popularity of the automobile, diners could reach Frankenmuth and return home again in a single day, thus the hotels phased out t h e i r overnight accommodations and concentrated instead on expanding t h e i r dining room and kitchen fa c ilitie s . In t h e i r expansion programs, the hotel owners were careful to re ta in the family s ty le o f dining and continued to serve t h e i r guests with the warmth and frie n d lin e s s born of long acquaintance, known lo c a lly as "Gemuetlichkeit." Thus by 1920, the reputation o f the Frankenmuth ^Irene Z e ilin g e r , e d ., Frankenmuth (125th ann ive rs ity commemo­ r a tiv e booklet, May, 1970), p. 9. 92 chicken dinner had spread throughout lower Michigan, and people were drawn from miles around to the hotel dining rooms. The in flu x of large numbers of tra velers also benefited other service industries in Frankenmuth, and brought about the gradual r e a l i ­ zation t h a t , i f properly handled, the t o u r is t trade could become one of the economic mainstays o f the community. Despite continued growth in ag ric u ltu re and business, Frankenmuthers retained t h e i r suspicion of banks, thus several attempts to establish banks met with f a i l u r e . Savings were hidden instead in homes or were given to trusted storekeepers f o r safe-keeping. Among those most often entrusted with cash were the Hubinger brothers, who put the money into various hiding places in the saw m i l l , f lo u r m i l l , or general store. An in d ic atio n of the wealth o f Frankenmuth1s c itiz e n s is given in the remark by Lorenz Hubinger th a t i f any great emergency arose fo r which immediate cash was a necessity, Frankenmuth couldproduce h a lf m illio n dollars from i t s hoards in twenty-four hours.^ a When a bank was f i n a l l y established in 1907, i t s e n tire cap ital stock of $50,000 was sold a t the f i r s t meeting.® Transportation and communication The need fo r good roads to Frankenmuth had long been apparent to farmer, merchant, and manufacturer a l i k e , and Frankenmuth township took pride in maintaining its transportation links with i t s neighbors. The Cass River was heavily traveled during the lumbering era, and as commerce grew in Frankenmuth the numbers of tra velin g salesmen vying fo r the ®Rus s e ll, op. c i t . , p. 338. ®Zehnder, op. c i t . , p. 190. a tte n tio n o f the local merchants also rose s te a d ily . By 1920 Frankenmuth boasted of good q u a lity roads to Bridgeport, Tuscola, F l i n t , and Frankentrost. A r a ilr o a d lin e (the East Saginaw & St. C l a i r ) had also been b u i l t ju s t four miles north o f town and a s ta tio n established a t Gera, which handled the r a i l f r e ig h t business and housed the telegraph o f f i c e . Population Frankenmuth experienced a large population increase between 1856 and 1920, due in part to the continued in flu x of Germans from the Old World, and due also to the natural increase o f the local population. The community remained r e l a t i v e l y fre e o f epidemic diseases such as smallpox and cholera, and enjoyed the services o f a physician through­ out this e n t ir e period. Congregational records indicate that by 1920 the population o f the township had grown to more than 2500, fo r St. Lorenz indicates a membership of 2320 and the more recently formed congregation of St. (Table 4 ). John's was estimated to number 200 additional souls St. John's was begun in 1879 bycombining two smaller congregations from the outlying area. The congregation also added to i t s r o lls several fam ilie s who were d is s a tis fie d with various aspects of the St. Lorenz operation, which brought the to ta l membership to 34 fam ilies or approximately 119 souls.^ h t . John's Congregation Records Book o f O f f ic ia l Acts l i s t s membership a t 34 fa m ilie s . Rev. Joel E h le r t, p riv a te inte rv iew , September 13, 1971. 94 Table 4 Number of Souls in the Franconian Congregations fo r Selected Years Between 1856 and 1920 St. Lorenz 1856 1859 1861 1874 1882 1892 1902 1910 1919 St. John's Immanuel St. Paul's St. Michael's 20 860 , # , , 2168 2375 2215 2320 Source: . , , , . . 119 . , , , , , • • . . . . , , 35 221 . . , , 525 598 576 650 678 735 540 604 908 934 940 1096 Church records of Franconian congregations. Data since 1892 is recorded by the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, Depart­ ment o f Research and S t a t i s t i c s , S t a t i s t i c a l Yearbook (S t. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1892-). Customs Customs mentioned in the previous chapter were continued through th is period o f Frankenmuth's h is to r y , and use of the German language both from the p u lp it and lectern and in the social a f f a i r s o f the town was the rule rath e r than the exception. The Frankenmuthers, however, realize d th at English was the language of trade and commerce, and so encouraged the teaching of English in t h e i r schools. I t is also note­ worthy that the f i r s t newspaper in Frankenmuth was published by an Irishman and printed in English, fo r Mr. Gallagher's e d it o r ia ls fostered good re la tio n s between Frankenmuth and i t s English-speaking neighbors during the anti-German hysteria o f World War I.® ® Z e i l i n g e r , op. c i t . , p. 34. 95 Public and parochial education were conducted in a unique fashion up to 1900. Since v i r t u a l l y a l l residents of the township were members of the Lutheran Church, fin a n cial support given the congregation was used to run the parochial or German school. In 1858 these same people established the English school, supporting i t with the taxes paid yearly to the township, thus the English school was, in e f f e c t , a public school and the children of the township attended both schools. Teachers were hired by the congregation to teach in the German school. In the event th at the teacher was b ili n g u a l, he also became the teacher fo r the English school, his work there paid fo r out of the town­ ship treasury. As the number o f teachers grew to e ig h t, and the number of school buildings m u ltip lie d , a system o f classroom exchange was begun which t y p i f i e s the so c io -relig io u s character o f the township. Students would attend school on a half-day basis f o r 200 days per year. In the morning session, grades one through three would receive re lig io u s and secular in stru c tio n through the medium of the German language, while grades four through seven were instructed in English. A f t e r the noon recess, the teachers would exchange classrooms, thus reversing the language media fo r the students during the second h a lf of each school day. In 1901 the state superintendent of education informed the r e s i ­ dents of Frankenmuth township that t h e i r system of education did not meet the requirements o f the law which held th a t a l l students must attend a given school fo r 100 school days each year. The plea was made that a student attending each school fo r 200 half-days was in e f f e c t obeying the law, but the state refused to allow this system to continue. The r e s u lt was th at the German schools received the bulk of the students 96 and held sessions in both German and English. schools o ffe rin g only the eighth grade. The English schools became By 1912 St. Lorenz congregation had eight parochial schools scattered throughout the township and had begun a system o f voluntary contributions by school d is t r ic t s to bear the added burden of educational expense.^ Frankentrost In contrast to Frankenmuth, Frankentrost changed very gradually between 1856 and 1920. A g ricu ltu ral development was c u rta ile d by the poor drainage of the s o i l , commercial growth was lim ited by market and transportation conditions, and population increase was counterbalanced by a steady emigration from the colony. A griculture As Frankentrost farmers cleared the forests during the i n i t i a l period of settlement they had room enough to avoid poorly drained areas and y e t had s u f f ic i e n t acreage to meet t h e i r needs. As more farmland was desired during th is second period, the poor drainage of the remain­ ing land became a major obstacle to expansion. Land could only be brought under c u lt iv a tio n using costly t i l i n g systems, which most of the farmers could barely affo rd to i n s t a l l . Thus spring rains and snow melt l e f t water standing in the f i e l d s , delaying planting annually. Lack of suitable farmland also cost Frankentrost an opportunity to g re a tly expand i t s population fo r by 1870 the farmers in Frankenmuth were looking fo r good farmland in outlying d i s t r i c t s and bypassed ^Zehnder, op. ci I . , pp. 153-55. 97 Frankentrost in favor of the b e tte r land a v a ila b le near F rank enhilf. ^ Sons of many Frankentrost farmers also l e f t the settlement in search of b e tte r farmland. Commerce Commercial a c t i v i t y did not develop beyond the home-industr.y stage u n til the 1890's. P rior to th at time the population was not large enough to support local business in the face o f already established com­ mercial centers in Frankenmuth and Saginaw. Transportation links to other communities did not necessarily favor development in Frankentrost; fo r example, during the 1860's when the Frankentrost farmers desperately sought outlets fo r t h e i r a g r ic u ltu ra l products, the only road out of Frankentrost led to the already prosperous farming community o f Franken­ muth. Completion of the plank road to Saginaw by 1870 opened new markets ju s t as a g ric u ltu ra l expansion slowed due to the poor drainage conditions mentioned above. Completion of the plank road also increased commercial competition from the Saginaw merchants. Commercial a c t i v i t y was begun in Frankentrost during the 1890's (Table 5) with the opening of the Frankentrost Cheese Factory. The o r i ­ ginal s tru c tu re , located on the north side of Holland Road, was destroyed by f i r e in 1908, and was replaced with a brick structure s t i l l dence today (Figure 3 ). in e v i ­ In 1893 a saloon opened across the road from the cheese factory and a blacksmith shop was constructed several yards east o f the saloon. In 1904 the blacksmith shop was moved and attached ^ 100 Years of Grace: 1851-1951 (Centennial booklet, St. Michael's Evangelical Lutheran Church, R i c h v ille , Michigan), p. 8. 98 to the saloon fo r use as a dancehall. I t was also used to house the cream separator while the cheese factory was being r e b u i l t . ^ Reinbold opened a hardware store and cider m ill in 1914, ^ commercial venture undertaken in Frankentrost u n t il 1970. P h ilip the l a s t This lim ited commercial growth indicates th a t few jobs were to be found in Franken­ t r o s t , providing fu rth e r incentive f o r the young to move elsewhere. Table 5 Commercial A c t i v i t y in Frankentrost, 1856-1920 Blacksmith Frankentrost Cheese Factory, est. 1890's, r e b u i l t 1908 Frankentrost Tavern, est. 1893, expanded 1904 Dancehall (formerly the blacksmith shop) 1904 Reinbold Hardware and cider m i l l , est. 1914 Source: Field notes. Population and communication Population growth of the community-congregation is shown in Immanuel congregation's records(Table 4) and in the building program carried on by the church during In 1869, as the congre­ th is period. gation grew to approximately 300 souls, a new frame church was construct­ ed to replace the log structure then in use. The log church was then converted into a school house and saw service u n til 1886, when i t was replaced by a new frame school house. ^Herman Kueffner, p rivate in te rv iew , September 15, 1971. ^ P h i l i p Reinbold, p rivate in te rv ie w , September 15, 1971. 99 A parsonage and a teacher's house were b u i l t in 1866 and 1874 resp e ctive ly, the parsonage replaced in 1903 and the teacher's residence in 1920. By the close of this period, Immanuel congregation had grown to include more than 600 s o u l s . ^ German was used in church and school throughout the period. The public school which opened in 1869 was run by a teacher from the congre­ gation on a half-day basis, u n t il 1884 when a f u l l - t i m e English teacher was hi r e d . ^ Settlement pattern By 1920 the i n i t i a l settlem ent pattern of Frankentrost had undergone only s lig h t m odifications. church buildings though a l l were s t i l l Holland Road. There were more farmsteads and located along e ith e r side of The complex of church, school, parsonage, teacherage formed the nucleus of the settlem ent, with a secondary commercial nucleus on the east edge o f the v ill a g e . Pastor Deindoerfer traveled through the four colonies in 1866 and made the following comments upon v i s i t i n g Frankentrost. With s lig h t modifications his words would hold true in 1920. Of a l l the places which I v is ite d Frankentrost has grown and changed the le a s t; only along the road to Frankenmuth has the cleared land increased perceptively. . . . Here and there a frame house has taken the place o f a log cabin . . . . During the la s t few years the w ell-bein g of the colonists is said to have increased somewhat. Soon the plank road to Saginaw w i l l be completed and then things w i l l progress more rap id ly. The Frankentrosters are using t h e i r low fie ld s as meadowland, and the hay w i l l find a ready market in East Saginaw. Frankentrost ^ M i l l e r , op. c i t . , p. 44. ^ K u e ffn e r , p riv a te in te rv ie w , March 8, 1969. TOO w i l l not grow much, however, even i f i t gets a good road because the neighboring land is w e tJ S Frankenlust Frankenlust showed lim ite d development during the second period of i t s history and became increasingly dependent upon the church fo r its sense of cu ltu ra l i d e n t it y . Several factors contributed to c u r t a il i t s development, among them (1) the poor q u a lity of the farmland, (2) i n ­ creasing attractiveness of employment outside of the colony, and (3) the rapid growth and expansion of Bay C ity. Agriculture The r iv e r in e s i t e chosen by Sievers was a poor place to base a colony o f farmers. The land was very swampy and did not lend i t s e l f to a g ric u ltu re without extensive and costly drainage systems. As farmers in other sections o f the v a lle y prospered, those in Frankenlust struggled to bring more land into c u lt iv a tio n . The nearness of a large market apparently did not r e s u lt in large enough p r o f i t margins to make addi­ tional drainage fe a s ib le . Many of the second and t h ir d generation s e ttle r s found no farmland a v a ila b le in the v i c i n i t y of the colony and sought employment of other kinds, often in other communities. ^ M i l l e r , op. c i t . , p. 12 101 Commerce The region around Frankenlust had many near-surface coal deposits and coal mining a c t i v i t y was a c t iv e ly pursued during the l a t e 1800's. Many o f the colonists found employment in the mines in nearby Beaver, Monitor, and Amelith. A coal mine across the r iv e r from St. Paul's Church was converted into a brickyard and carried on production u n til 1920. Commercial a c t i v i t y in Frankenlust was lim ite d to several general stores, a blacksmith shop, a creamery, a post o f f i c e , and a saloon (Figure 8 ). Numerous businesses in Bay C ity provided s t i f f competition to those in Frankenlust. Goetz' s to re , the f i r s t in Frankenlust, closed its. doors in 1898 and by 1920 ju s t store remained on the the MichiganHouse saloon commercialscene in the colony and general (Table 6 ) J ® Table 6 Commercial A c t i v i t y in Frankenlust, 1856-1920 Goetz General s to re , closed in 1898 Brickyard, closed in 1920 Michigan House saloon and general store Blacksmith Creamery Cass Avenue Saloon Beaver Coal Mine Grocery store (three attempts made at the intersection of M84 and Three M ile Road) Source: Field notes. ^ o t t o Schmidt, p riv a te in te rv ie w , September 15, 1971. SETTLEMENT AND LAND USE IN Cass Rd FRANKENLUST, MICHIGAN, 1920 SALE 1/6 1 /3 M IL E S ST PA U LS LU TH E R A N ST PAUL'S SCHO OL 0 CEM ETERY 0 PARSONAGE M ICHIGAN H O USE VARIOUS G R O C ER Y 0 BLACKSM ITH □ R E S ID E N T IA L SO U R C E - F IE L D CHURCH STORE S ITE S NOTES Della Rd Figure 8 103 Population and communication Throughout th is period, the church continued to add to i t s membership, and by 1920 counted 603 on i t s r o l ls (Table 4 ) . The church provided the means f o r reasserting one's c u ltu ra l id e n t it y and was the strongest unifying element in the colony. The strength o f the congre­ gation and the growth o f i t s population is seen in the need to expand both the church and school f a c i l i t i e s : A frame church replaced the o rig in a l log structure in 1857 and was l a t e r replaced i t s e l f by the present brick structure in 1905; a school b u ild in g , constructed in 1865, was replaced in 1909 by a cement-block s t r u c t u r e . ^ There was no public school in Frankenlust, as such, fo r the teachers of the D i s t r i c t Public School were appointed and controlled by the congregation and the f a c i l i t i e s used were those belonging to the congregation. German services were conducted every Sunday and German language and r e lig io n were taught to the young in the parochial school. Transportation Cass Road, Three M ile Road, and Michigan 84 were b u i l t through various sections of Frankenlust, providing i t s c itize n s with immediate access to Bay City and Saginaw. These highways also encouraged the westward expansion o f Bay City so that by 1920 Frankenlust appeared to be situated on the o u tskirts of th at town. ^ 100 Years o f S p i r i t u a l L e a d e r s h i p , pp. 2 6 - 2 7 . 104 Frankenhilf The emergence o f Frankenhilf as the second most prosperous of the Franconian colonies can be a t tr ib u te d to several factors: (1) a v a i l a b i l i t y of good farm land, (2) l i t t l e economic competition from larger c i t i e s , (3) the in flu x of many second- and third-gen eration Frankenmuthers and Frankentrosters, and (4) a favorable s itu a tio n with regard to transportation routes. During the twenty-year period 1856-76, the colony of Frankenhilf grew very slowly. Church records indicate that in 1874 the population o f the congregation-community was only 35, an increase of only 15 persons since 1856 (Table 4 ) . L i t t l e economic a c t i v i t y was carried on in th is colony and goods and services were obtainable only in neighboring Frankenmuth. The fam ilie s s e ttle d in the colony were engaged in farming and made annual attempts to expand the number o f acres under c u lt iv a t io n . Beginning with the l a t e 1870's, however, an economic awakening began in th is community, due in part to the lumbering boom sweeping Michigan, and also to the several locational advantages enjoyed by the colony. Agriculture Prosperous farmers in Frankenmuth had purchased a l l ava ila b le land in th a t township by 1870's and were looking fo r land fo r t h e i r sons. Nearby Frankentrost had land a v a ila b le , but i t was a t best of marginal q u a lity , with poor drainage a major obstacle to a g ric u ltu re . The farm­ land near Frankenhilf was of a much b e tte r q u a lity and v i r t u a l l y a l l of i t was s t i l l a v a ila b le , thus there began an in flu x of Frankenmuth o f f ­ spring seeking land on which to establish farmsteads. The magnitude of 105 this trend is seen in the congregational records f o r 1892, which l i s t s a membership o f 908. This rapid growth in population exceeded even the most o p tim is tic expectations o f the e a r l i e r s e t t le r s who had b u i l t a new church in 1874 with a seating capacity o f 500 even though the congrega­ tion a t th a t time numbered a mere 35. Commerce As the population o f the colony grew, so did the demand f o r goods and services, thus the l a t t e r years o f the nineteenth century were ones of commercial development in Frankenhilf (Table 7 ). By 1920 Frankenhilf Table 7 Commercial A c t i v i t y in Frankenhilf ( R i c h v ilie ) 1856-1920 Raush's H o tel, est. 1907 Rogner's H o tel, burned 1914 Bauer's H o tel, est. 1890 Schluchbier's Beer Hall Harauf and Hoerlein general store Kern's Market, est. 1892 Cider press Cheese and b u tte r fa c to ry , est. 1893 Star of the West grain elevator Reinbold Hardware, est. 1912 Nicodemus Appliance (had been a saloon then an ice cream p a rlo r) Source: M allory's saddle shop Jordan, blacksmith Weber, photographer M il li n e r y shop Kern, undertaker Schluchbier wood products shop Frank and Schluchbier saw m ill S te in , ornamental concrete Dr. Holz Dr. Steinbach Bank of R ic h v ille , est. 1910 F ield interviews. boasted a wide array o f manufacturing concerns and r e t a i l o u t le ts , among them cheese and wood products fa c t o r ie s , general stores, an appliance shop, a hardware sto re, saddle shop, wagon shop, ice cream p a r lo r , and a cider press. Several saloons, h o tels, and a concert h all served the 106 populace as did the blacksmith, undertaker, tin s m ith , and photographer. A bank and a f i r e house stood as indicators of c iv ic wealth and respon­ s ib ility . Transportation and communication Transportation links to other locales were also constructed during the l a t t e r part of the 1800's which provided more outlets fo r the goods produced in Frankenhilf, and also made the colony more e a s ily ac­ cessible to traders and other v is it o r s . The plank road which connected Frankentrost with Saginaw was extended eastward through Frankenhilf to Kingston and Sandusky. A highway was extended from Bay C ity to Pontiac and i t also passed through Frankenhilf, thus the colony found i t s e l f favorably situ ated a t the crossroads o f two of the major highways in the area. Not only did the character of the community change during these years, but even i t s name was changed sometime between 1890 and 1895, from Frankenhilf to R ic h v ille . Many explanations have been offered fo r th is change, among them th a t the farms were so prosperous that the community should be calle d R ic h v il le , or that the soils in the area were very r ic h , but the most plausible is th at the name was changed to f a c i l i t a t e han­ dling of the m a il, fo r i t is easy to imagine the consternation of the postal clerk faced with the task of sorting the hundreds of le t t e r s which must have arrived every week f o r the neighboring communities of Franken­ muth, Frankentrost, and Frankenhilf. 107 Church services and parochial schooling retained the usage of the German language throughout th is period, although occasional fe s tiv a l services may have been conducted in English as e arly as 1875. Schooling was carried on in the Frankenmuth t r a d it io n with the upper grades attend­ ing German school while the lower grades attended English school in the mornings, then switching fo r the afternoon sessions^® This practice was continued u n til 1900 when state regulations required i t be dropped. Residential settlement was concentrated near the church, commer­ cial a c t i v i t y located along the highways, and most of the farmsteads lay outside the v illa g e on the individual farms, a tra n s fe r of the Franken­ muth pattern (Figure 6 ). ^ 1 0 0 Years of Grace: 1851-1951 , p. 8 . CHAPTER VI THE FRANCONIAN COLONIES 1921- 1 970 The period 1921 to 1970 marks the t h ir d and most recent stage in the development of the Franconian settlements. Advances in communi­ cations and transportation made the Franconians increasingly aware of national and in te rn a tio n a l events throughout the period. The colonies were, in f a c t , often d ir e c t ly affected by national trends and p o lic ie s . Prohibition was considered unjust in the German communities and was t a c t f u l l y ignored in the taverns and saloons u n t il federal agents raided Frankenmuth to make arrests which had both economical and emotional consequences. The Franconian breweries circumvented P rohibition laws by manufacturing a malt e x tract s u ita b le as a base fo r home-brewed beer u n til the amendment was repealed and regular production could be resumed. The Franconians weathered the stock market crash and the depression which followed into the 1930's, due in part to t h e i r tendency to avoid banks, and also to the conservative investment p o lic ies o f the banks they did patronize. As the national economy geared fo r World War I I both the a g ric u ltu ra l and commercial segments o f the settlements enjoyed p ro sp erity, though the colonies were again attacked by waves o f a n t i German sentiment then sweeping the nation. The Franconians s t i f l e d much o f th is c r itic is m by contributing t h e i r quotas of men to the armed forces and by leading the sta te in the purchase o f war bonds. Though the war was followed by a period o f recession, the Franconians' stable economic 108 109 base did not f a l t e r and experienced renewed growth during the w a r - i n f l a t ­ ed economies associated with the Korean and Southeast Asian c o n flic ts . Throughout th is period with i t s wars, depressions, and awesome displays of technological achievement, the four colonies retained both the uni­ fying and also the in d iv id u a li s t ic elements each had developed p r io r to 1920. Frankenmuth Agri culture Frankenmuth remained the dominant Franconian colony throughout the t h ir d period of settlement. The c i t y today owes much o f i t s success to the cooperation o f both the a g r ic u ltu ra l and commercial facets of its population in achieving community goals. have prospered since 1920. Both segments o f the community That a g r ic u ltu ra l a c t i v i t y in the township has been modernized through the years is evidenced by the adoption of mechanized farm equipment, the use of s c i e n t i f i c h o r tic u ltu r a l and animal husbandry techniques, and the improvement of crop storage and transpor­ tatio n methods. As of 1970 there remain few woodlots in the township, most of the land having been cleared and in production since the 1870’ s . One gauge of Frankenmuth' s a g ric u ltu ra l success is seen in the success of the farm implement and machinery dealerships supported by the rural population, and in the a b i l i t y of the local m illin g company to update i t s processes and equipment to the highest standardsJ These indicators ^The Star o f the West m ill recently in s t a lle d pneumatic equipment, bulk shipment f a c i l i t i e s , and laboratory q u a lity control of a l l processing. Richard K r a f f t , J r . , Manager, p riv a te in te rv iew , September 15, 1971. 110 of a g ric u ltu ra l progress are su b tle , having occurred gradually over a period of years, y e t they demonstrate the economic s t a b i l i t y of the Frankenmuth farmers who have been able to incorporate a g ric u ltu ra l innovations consistently through the years. The a g ric u ltu ra l segment maintains a sameness about i t which belies th is constant modernization, that sameness being the rural settlement pattern which has remained r e l a t i v e l y unchanged fo r more than one hundred years with farmsteads scattered throughout the township on individual parcels of land. Commerce The several major industries of Frankenmuth established before 1920--brewing, food processing, and chicken dinners--were joined during this period by a fo u rth , metal-products manufacturing (Table 8 ). These four types o f industry create approximately 1500 job opportunities in Frankenmuth today. Of the two breweries in Frankenmuth, Geyer Brothers is both the oldest and sm allest, with a brewing capacity o f about 30,000 barrels annually. The Carling Brewing Company operates Frankenmuth's larger brewery with an annual production of 800,000 barrels and a payroll of 220 employees. Founded in 1899 as the Frankenmuth Brewery, the f a c i l i t y changed i t s ownership and i t s name several times before being purchased by Carling in 1956. Frankenmuth's several cheese facto ries a l l discontinued opera­ tions by 1940. The food processing industry which continues to bring nationwide repute to the community is sausage-making. Both Kern's Sausage and Repprecht's Sausage Haus have developed a large volume of m ail-order sales. Ill Table 8 Commercial A c t iv it y in Frankenmuth, 1921-1970 Service R e ta i1 Accountants (3) Architects (2) Attorneys (2) Barbershops (2) Beauty salons (3) Builders ( 6 ) Car wash (1) Service stations ( 6 ) Insurance agents ( 8 ) Masons (2) Mortician (1) Newspaper (1) Photographer (1) Realtors (3) Road service (3) Upholsterer (1) Wood carver (1) Taverns (3) Financing (2) Motel (1) Nursing homes (2) Trucking (2) Appliances (3) Auto parts (1) Bakery (1) Building supplies (1) Car dealers ( 6 ) Carpeting (2) Cement (1) Clothing (3) Dairy (1) Drug store (1) Dry cleaning (1) Farm machinery (2) Food store (3) F l o r is t (1) Furniture (1) Gasoline d is t r ib u t o r (3) G i f t shops (9) Hardware (3) Laundry (1) Bowling lanes (1) Golf course (1) Signs/displays (1) Jewelry (2) Medical Services Physicians (4) Dentists (4) Veterinarians (2) Optometrists (1) Chiropractor (1) Community Service Frankenmuth Rotary Club Frankenmuth Lions Club Frankenmuth American Legion Frankenmuth Jaycees Frankenmuth Civic Events Council Frankenmuth H is to ric a l Association City B e a u tific a tio n Committee Frankenmuth Professional Nurses Assn. Frankenmuth Chamber o f Commerce Frankenmuth Development Corporation Source: Field notes and interview s. Foods Restaurants ( 8 ) Wholesale meats (1) Industry Brewery (2) Mi 11i ng (1) Metals (3) Community Service (continued) Frankenmuth Chapter o f People to People Junior Achievement Company Boy Scouts o f America Frankenmuth A t h le t ic Assn. 112 The food f o r which Frankenmuth has become most famous is the chicken dinner. This industry is cu rren tly centered in two former hotel buildings, known today as the Bavarian Inn and Zehnder's. The Union House b u i l t in 1888 is the nucleus o f the Bavarian Inn, while the New Exchange Hotel of 1900 forms the main dining room a t Zehnder's. The two restaurants combined employ about 500 people to prepare and serve 500,000 dinners per y e a r, 80 per cent o f which are chicken dinners. In 1969 alone, 968,760 pounds o f chicken, 188 tons o f potatoes, 79,764 pounds of cabbage, and 114,264 loaves of bread were needed to produce Frankenmuth chicken dinners. The most recent type o f major industry begun in Frankenmuth was introduced in 1925 with the establishment o f the Universal Engineering Company. Government contractors recognized the high q u a lity and depend­ a b i l i t y o f U n iv e rs a l’ s precision metal parts. Universal expanded its plant several times and c u rre n tly employs over 500 persons. Wic Top Machine and KLC Enterprises, Inc. are two more recent additions to O Frankenmuth's metal industry. Of the four major types o f industry mentioned before, the chicken dinner industry has had the greatest impact on commercial growth in Frankenmuth. T o u ris t-o rie n te d commerce agglomerated near the r iv e r in the v i c i n i t y o f the Bavarian Inn and Zehnder's, while commerce dependent to a greater degree on local trade clustered on North Main S tre e t in the v i c i n i t y o f the bank and f lo u r m ill (Figure 9 ) . With the increased volume of v is ito r s to Frankenmuth came the r e a liz a tio n th at the town had a marketable h erita ge; thus shortly a f t e r World War I I had ended ^ Z e i l i n g e r , op. c i t . , pp. 8 , 15, 1 8 - 2 0 , 4 0 - 4 1 . G e ne see St I . 1 w cca C om m e'ool 3 u ' s t- O n e n te d G o m ftie rc ia T u s c o la 0*1*' ZI-.Z-.TK#K*j S ta r o< " i e * e s t M SETTLEM ENT AN D LAND M -ia USE IN . S:. -qs » FRANKENM UTH, 2 U n ive rsa l L .n q in e e r:n q J 3 Convoiescer: **ome on _ennaers b Si uorenz r> W 'c ;e n J e ffe r s o n ; a . r c e Uf f'C:0 n:03 Cl * ■b 16 S t M i'i / Of F-onhe J o n n 's - O u 'c n 7 Fran*enmum Hqn Scnooi Rd a n k e n m u tn CnamOer M IC H IG A N , r*om e St L o re n i S cnool n___ j 1970 114 there began a remodeling program in Frankenmuth's downtown area, designed to emphasize the community's Bavarian heritage. Bavarian-style a rc h i­ tecture was thus introduced to the colony a f t e r a century had elapsed. The remodeling p ro ject was c u r ta ile d by the annual flooding o f the Cass River. The Zehnder fa m ily , owners o f both the Bavarian Inn and Zehn­ d e r 's , as well as other merchants located near the r iv e r who faced annual restoration expense due to floodwater damage, convinced the c i t y govern­ ment to a llo c a te funds fo r the construction o f a dike. The dike was completed in 1952 and the remodeling program continued from th a t time at an increasing pace so t h a t , a t present, almost a l l buildings along the main s t r e e t o f Frankenmuth are done in a Bavarian m otif. The Zehnders may also be credited with i n i t i a t i n g a major social event in Frankenmuth. O r ig in a lly planned to celebrate the opening of the Bavarian Inn in 1961, the Bavarian Festival has been celebrated annually during the second f u l l week in June and draws crowds o f up to 100,000 to the community. The f e s t iv a l not only stimulates the local economy, i t also gives the community an opportunity to remind i t s e l f of i t s heritage and to re-evaluate i t s goals and achievements. In s p ite o f e f fo r t s to but one motel consisting of 31 cater to the t o u r is t trade, the c i t y has u n its , a f a r cry from the number of ava ila b le during the peak of Frankenmuth's hotel industry. rooms Local opinion disregards th is lack o f motel f a c i l i t i e s as a potential b a r r ie r to tour­ ism, and favors the present combination the local residents of serving to u ris ts by day and during the evening. Two incidents involving commercial enterprises serve to reveal some c h a ra c te ris tic s o f the community. Because the Germans loved t h e i r glass of beer and f e l t beer-drinking to be a part of t h e i r c u ltu r e , they 115 c a re fu lly ignored Pro h ib itio n laws. Tavern and saloon keepers served local customers across the bar and the hotel dinings rooms featured beer with t h e i r meals. In 1930 federal agents raided two hotels and arrested the owners fo r v io la tio n o f the p ro h ib itio n law. T r ia l was held in fed­ eral court in Bay C ity and to the astonishment o f northern Michigan, the judge handed down maximum fines o f $10,000 and $5,000 and stip u la te d th a t the hand-carved solid oak bars in the two hotels would have to be de­ stroyed before they would be allowed to resume business. A Frankenmuth hotel owner thus achieved the n o to riety o f having paid the highest fin e in the histo ry of Proh ibition in the United States. According to the cultural role the church played in community a f f a i r s , a f t e r facing the court t r i a l the hotel owners were brought before a congregational meeting where i t was decided whether or not the offense demanded an apology to the congregation. The congregation was unanimous in i t s exoneration of the hotel owners.-^ The German's f r u g a l i t y paid dividends even in the face o f nation­ al panic in 1933 when the banks were forced to close. By federal law the banks were allowed to return to each depositor no more than 60 per cent of his balance when they reopened. A fte r determining i t s remaining as­ sets, the Frankenmuth State Bank was fu rth e r able to pay every depositor his remaining 40 per cent plus 10.7 per cent in te r e s t. As o f 1969 the bank's assets had grown to over f i f t y - f i v e m illio n d o lla r s , even though i t must now compete with a branch of the Saginaw Savings and Loan Association, opened in Frankenmuth in 1965.^ ^Zehnder, op. c i t . , pp. 178-79. ^ Z e i l i n g e r , op. c i t . , pp. 31-32. 116 Commercial and In d u s tria l development Is c a r e fu lly encouraged and regulated in Frankenmuth by the Frankenmuth Development Corporation and the Chamber o f Commerce. The number of community service organi­ zations is in d ic a tiv e of the unity of purpose that exists in Frankenmuth (Table 8 ). C itizens of Frankenmuth have realize d the importance o f pre­ serving information concerning t h e i r community and have established the Frankenmuth H is to ric a l Society to that end. The Frankenmuth News has run frequent a r t i c l e s dealing with the history of the conmunity, and St. Lorenz has commemorated each quarter-century o f i t s existence with a b r i e f h is to r ic a l pamphlet. Since the Bavarian Festival was begun, the City has also published two booklets o u tlin in g i t s history and accom­ plishments, thus Frankenmuth has made concerted e f fo r t s to preserve and document i t s heritage. Perhaps the most s tr ik in g display of the commun­ i t y ' s awareness o f i t s past and present tie s is the o f f i c i a l shield adopted by the City (Figure 10): Proud o f t h e i r Bavarian h erita g e, but remembering they are Americans f i r s t , Frankenmuth c itiz e n s r e f e r to the present in the upper part of t h e i r shield and to the past in the lower part. The brown and white American Eagle stands proudly with wings outspread over the red and white v e r tic a l stripes denot­ ing the 13 o rig in a l states. Appearing in white on a brown f i e l d , the word "Franken" represents the Province o f Franken in the Kingdom o f Bavaria from where the o rig in a l Frankenmuth s e ttle r s came. The "Muth" o f the blue f i e l d means "courage", thus the FRANKENMUTH means "courage o f the Franks." The seal of the great reformer, Dr. Martin Luther, is the white open rose with red heart and white cross. That and the brown and white sheaf of grain stand fo r the 12 farmer leaders plus the pastor, his wife and her c i l d who, by word and example, were to teach and l i v e C h ris tia n ity in the New World. The pleasant blue and white colors o f Bavaria complete the lower l e f t portion of the shield. 4Z e i l i n g e r , op. c i t . , pp. 3 1 -3 2 . 5I b i d . , p. 1. 117 CITY SHI ELD FRANKENMUTH, MI CHIGAN Fig ure 10 118 Transportation In 1958 the In te r s ta t e system was completed from Bay C ity to F l i n t , with access to Frankenmuth via the Bridgeport E x it (M38) or the Birch Run E x it (M83). Service to Frankenmuth by the interurban railway was discontinued during the l a t e 1920's, leaving the c i t y four miles from the nearest railhead at Gera. The Cass River gradually lo s t i t s importance as a transportation route, and has become instead a focal point o f community recreational a c t i v i t y . Frankenmuth has developed a c ity s t r e e t network which reaches a l l areas with the c i t y lim i t s . S tre e t surfaces are maintained in e x c e lle n t condition, perhaps a carry­ over from e a r l i e r times when the Kirchenordnung were in e f f e c t . Population Since the end o f World War I there has been a gradual migration of non-German and non-Lutheran people into Frankenmuth. Exact figures are not a v a ila b le , but an approximate fig u re might be derived by com­ bining the membership data fo r the two non-Lutheran congregations in the c ity (Table 9 ). The United Methodist Church, organized in Frankenmuth in 1962 with a membership of 79, has grown in size to 213 by 1970.^ Blessed T r i n i t y Catholic Church was organized in 1967 with 172 members and by 1970 had grown to 540.^ Thus by 1970 approximately 750 persons were l iv i n g in Frankenmuth who were not Lutheran and perhaps not German. ®Rev. G. E. Ackermann, p riv a te in te rv ie w , September 14, 1971. ^Rev. Kenneth Cerczak, l e t t e r to the author, October 6 , 1971. 119 Table 9 Number o f Souls in the Franconian Communities fo r Selected Years Between 1920 and 1970 St. Lorenz 3 St. John's 3 Iirenanuel3 St. P a ul's 3 St. M ichael's 3 United Methodist Church of Frankenmuth15 Blessed T r i n i t y Catholic Church o f Frankenmuth0 Source: 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 2275 2068 255 650 660 1092 2275 385 650 598 1066 2622 462 717 670 1103 3052 513 792 861 1307 3758 735 801 935 1401 , , 640 603 1103 213 • • • • • • • • • • 540 aLutheran Church--Missouri Synod, Department of Research and S t a t i s t i c s , S t a t is t i c a l Yearbook (St. Louis: Concordia . Publishing House, 1892-). Rev. G. E. Ackermann, in te rv ie w , September 14, 1971. cRev. Kenneth Cerczak, l e t t e r to author, October 6 , 1971. The in f lu x o f "outsiders" appears to be part o f a nationwide trend to move from urban to suburban setting s. Frankenmuth, with i t s small-town atmosphere, is ju s t minutes away from Saginaw, Bay C ity and F l i n t , and has become a favored suburban location. Local contractors and realto rs have benefited from this trend as shown by the increase in the number of re s id e n tia l units in Frankenmuth since 1954 The number of s in g le -fa m ily re s id e n tia l units increased from 366 to 722; m u ltip le fam ily units from 39 to 52; and apartment units from 16 to 116 (Table 10). Another type o f residence was created with the opening o f the Frankenmuth Convalescent Center in 1967 and the Lutheran Home fo r the Aged in 1970. These two f a c i l i t i e s house a combined population o f 213. ®City o f Frankenmuth, Michigan, "Census Study, 1954-71," Frankenmuth (1971 ), p. 1. (Mimeographed) O 120 Table 10 Number o f Residential Units by Type in Frankenmuth, 1954-71 1954 1955 1955 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 Source: Single fam ily M u ltip le family Apartments 366 381 402 409 424 436 450 470 496 514 539 555 585 608 634 39 41 41 37 37 41 41 34 40 34 36 34 34 34 33 30 50 52 16 19 19 24 668 699 722 21 21 21 21 21 33 46 46 45 59 75 74 74 116 "Residential Units in Frankenmuth, 1954-71," Frankenmuth (1971). (Single mimeographed sheet) Despite the movement of non-Lutherans into the township, the Lutheran church remained dominant throughout this period of time (Table 11). I t was not uncommon fo r the combined membership of the two Lutheran congregations in Frankenmuth to exceed the to ta l population of the town­ ship. The continuing strength o f Lutheranism is demonstrated in several ways. St. Lorenz and St. John's draw a combined average Sunday attend­ ance of over 2200.9 Lorenz Elementary School (1 -8 ) had a 1970 ^St. Lorenz Lutheran Church, Report fo r 1970 (Frankenmuth, Michigan: n . p . , 1970), p. 22. 121 T able 11 Membership o f Franconian Congregations as a Percentage of Township Population fo r Frankenmuth, Blumfield, Frankenlust, and Denmark Townships, 1860-1970a Frankenmuth*5 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 Blumfield *5 79 36 , , , 4 , , 30 33 39 40 46 50 48 52 47 43 noc 114c 110c 119C 108 82 82 110 92 Frankenlust *5 . , , . , , 63 43 59 63 55 , , 47 45 Denmark 9.7 4.3 • « • 49 45 45 58 58 53 54 49 60 C a lc u la t e d from U.S. Government Census publications and member­ ship data in the S t a t i s t i c a l Yearbook o f the Lutheran Chureh--Missouri Synod. Some percentages exceed 100 because in those instances church membership exceeds township population, in d ic atin g th at some members do not l i v e w ithin the township under consideration. ^Frankenmuth: St. Lorenz and St. John's; Blumfield: Immanuel; Frankenlust: St. P a u l's; Denmark: S t. M ichael's. cSt. John's membership is not included in th is fig u re . enrollment o f 479. ^ Parochial tr a in in g and in d o ctrin a tio n have produced an unusually large number o f students who continued t h e i r educations in various Lutheran seminaries and u n iv e rs itie s to become pastors or paro­ chial school teachers (Table 12). ^Records o f the Frankenmuth, Michigan, Public School System. 122 Table 12 Natives and Descendants o f Natives of Franconian Congregations in Church-Related Occupations, 1845-1969. Teachers Pastors Congregation St. Lorenz St. John's 3 Immanuel St. Paul's St. Michael's Holy Cross St. John'sb Total Total Natives Descendants Natives Descendants 64 7 57 126 3 49 6 2 12 8 1 14 9 5 • • 43 17 14 • • 296 14 34 35 30 76 26 120 85 238 68 511 11 9 2 11 . . 16 22 2 1 aLocated in Frankenmuth ^Located in Amelith Source: Herman Zehnder, Teach My People the T ruth! (Bay C ity , M ichi­ gan: By the Author, Box 404, 1970), pp. 223-29. Communication St. Lorenz continues to hold German services every Sunday and on a dozen fe s t iv a l occasions, but averages only 282 per s e r v i c e , " in d ic ­ a tiv e of the declining use of and f a m i l i a r i t y with the German language by the local populace. In the schools German has become a subject in the curriculum and not the medium used to implement i t . Frankentrost Frankentrost has continued to develop gradually since 1920 and has made moderate strides in population growth and a g r ic u ltu ra l a c t i v i t y . " S t . Lorenz Lutheran Church, op. c i t . , p. 3. 123 These two facets o f the community appear to have developed simultane­ ously during the 1930's. Government assistance in defraying drainage costs enabled farmers to move onto land previously unsuitable fo r cul­ tiv a t i o n . Growth o f the farm population was due to an immigration of farmers from other areas and also to the f a c t th a t local young farmers found i t possible to remain in the area. 12 This increase in population had a modifying e f fe c t on previously established settlement patterns in the area. New farms were developed away from Holland Road, thus the farmsteads were scattered throughout parts of the township and were not focused along the road in the previously determined shoestring pattern. There is l i t t l e evidence th a t the v illa g e population expanded, fo r almost none o f the homes e x is te n t in 1970 were b u i l t l a t e r than 1920 (Figure 3 ). The most obvious changes in the v illa g e involved Inmanuel congregation (Table 9 ) . A f i r e destroyed the frame church in 1951 so the congregation b u i l t a new brick structure the following year which is s t i l l in use today. Parochial school enrollment and needs outgrew the f a c i l i t i e s of the frame school and in 1964 a new school building was erected behind the church. The old school building was demolished in 1970.13 Commercial a c t i v i t y in Frankentrost between 1921 and 1970 was minimal. The saloon changed ownership several times and a small grocery store and a gasoline pump were added to the services o ffe re d . As o f 1970 the grocery store was s e llin g out i t s stock and the saloon had almost no ^Herman Kueffner, p riv a te in te rv ie w , March 8 , 1969. ^ Id e m , private in te rv ie w , September 15, 1971. 124 business except on w e e k e n d s . ^ The cheese factory also saw use as a b u tte r factory and as a sweet corn processing f a c i l i t y . ^ No one in Frankentrost can remember exactly when the f a c i l i t y was closed, but most concur th at i t must have been during the 1950's. The building was pur­ chased in 1970 and is currently being used by a manufacturer o f orna­ mental concrete products. Mr. Reinbold, owner of the hardware store and cider m i l l , resides in a room at the rear o f the store and seldom has c a ll to w ait on a custom er.^ Many o f the present-day residents of Frankentrost have r e t i r e d , many have given up farming to work in nearby Saginaw. Those who continue to work the land have prospered as is indicated by the la rg e , w e ll-k e p t farmsteads resplendent with several new silo s and corn storage f a c i l i t i e s . Though the v illa g e remains rath er unobtrusive, and to motorists on Holland Road i t is simply another reduced-speed zone, the congregation remains a powerful force in the township. Manning and Blumfield Corners are the other v illa g e s in Blumfield Township, each having a church o f i t s own, y e t Immanuel has consistently drawn between f o r ty and f i f t y per cent of the township population into i t s congregation (Table 11). The character o f the church is changing and r e fle c ts the continuing Ameri­ canization o f the Bavarians. Beginning in 1935, German services were reduced to one per month, and in 1970 they were discontinued completely. The few older residents who feel strongly about worshipping in the native language journey to Frankenmuth every Sunday to hear the Word in German. l^Mr. Heidenberger, owner, p riv a te in te rv ie w , September 15, 1971. ^ K u e f f n e r , in te rv iew , September 15, 1971. ^ P h i l i p Reinbold, p riv a te in te rv ie w , September 15, 1971. 125 Frankenlust During the past f i f t y years Frankenlust has suffered the greatest loss to the physical i n t e g r it y o f i t s v i ll a g e . L i t t l e remains of the a g r ic u ltu ra l settlement founded by Pastor Sievers in 1848, and perhaps he is p a r t i a l l y to blame f o r this s itu a tio n . His missionary zeal led him to establish congregations in Amelith (S t. John's Lutheran Church) and also in Saginaw (Holy Cross Lutheran Church). He so inspired his parishoners that several of them formed a s i s t e r congregation in Bay City (Zion Lutheran Church) and l a t e r another in Salzburg (Zion Lutheran Church). These Lutheran congregations drew many o f the second- and third -g en eratio n people from Frankenlust. Amelith offered b e tte r farm­ land; Saginaw and Bay C ity greater employment opportunity; thus the population of Frankenlust increased slowly through the e a rly part of th is t h ir d period of i t s h is to ry . Only w ith in the past ten years has the congregation shown stronger growth, this growth perhaps in d ic a tiv e o f a force that may u ltim a te ly overwhelm the community (Table 9 ). Bay City has been sprawling westward towards Frankenlust and an increasingly la rg e r number of that c i t y 's residents have joined the congregation. Frankenlust has always enjoyed close ties with Bay C ity and Saginaw due to i t s location on a major a rte ry of tra v e l between them. During the past f i f t y years the in d u s tr ia l and re s id e n tia l fringes of Bay C ity have a l l but surrounded Frankenlust. S t i l l more c r i t i c a l to the physical v i a b i l i t y of the settlement has been the construction in 1958 o f In te r s ta t e 75 through the settlement and the re s u lta n t con­ stru ctio n o f a c lo v e r le a f interchange in the center of the settlement (Figure 11). St. Paul's steeple, long an impressive landmark on the SETTLEMENT AND LAND USE IN FRANKENLUST, MICHIGAN, 1/6 1 1970 1/3 M IL E S LU S T P A U L 'S L U T H E R A N CHURC H E] S T P A U L 'S S C H O O L □ ] CEM ETERY SI PARSO NAGE EH M IC H IG AN □ R E S ID E N T IA L S E R V IC E S T A T IO N , M O T E L , RESTAURANT CO M PLEX SOURCE: -____ 2 Mile Rd EZ3 HO U SE F IE L D N O T E S SquQ Q uam nq R ,v e r Delta Rd Figure 11 127 horizon, now shares the horizon with myriad p la s tic banners proclaiming motor fu e ls , food, and lodging f a c i l i t i e s . The church does remain with i t s school and cemetery as the nucleus o f Frankenlust, and continues to exe rt a unifying awareness o f the colony's h e r i t a g e But even th is may change as the congregation includes more non-Germans and non­ residents. services. Proof o f th is is seen in the de-emphasis of German church Held every Sunday u n til 1963, German services were reduced to a semimonthly basis, and as of 1971 were held only once a month This author believes th at as the congregation changes from predominantly German Lutheran to one of mixed ethnic backgrounds, the f in a l thread of con tinuity w i l l be severed and the colony w i l l cease to i d e n t if y with the German heritage. Commercial a c t i v i t y has changed a great deal since 1920. Michigan House is the sole remaining business o f previous eras. The The settlement is today dominated by the presence o f four service stations and a motor lodge and restaurant a t the 1-75 interchange. Pastor Mueller indicated th a t a very small percentage o f his congregation is a c tiv e ly engaged in farming, fo r most of the land has become more valuable fo r other u s e s .^ Frankenhilf ( R ic h v ille ) The past f i f t y years have been used to fu rth e r develop a g r ic u l­ tu ral and commercial in te re s ts in R ic h v ille . Since 1920 most of the ^ O t t o Schmidt, p riv a te in te rv ie w , September 15, 1971. 18Rev. H. C. M ueller, pastor, p rivate inte rv iew , September 15, 1971. 128 arable land in the v i c i n i t y o f the v illa g e has come under c u lt iv a tio n . Mechanized s c i e n t i f i c farming has become the ru le and the farms show signs o f prosp erity. Farms begun since 1920 have continued to locate away from the v i ll a g e as was the case in Frankenmuth and Frankentrost. The v illa g e settlement pattern has undergone few modifications during th is period (Figure 12). Residential buildings remained clustered in the tria n g le formed by Van Buren Road, M46, and Ml5; corranercial a c t i v ­ i t y remained oriented along the roadsides in a shoestring pattern. Few new homes are seen in the v illa g e today, though recently several homes have been constructed on the o u ts k irts o f the v i ll a g e along Ml5. George Moser, the postmaster, indicates th a t 100 post o f f i c e boxes are currently rented in R i c h v i l l e . 2 0 The commercial scene in R ic h v ille changed with the times. Many concerns such as the blacksmith, the wagon shop, and the Bank o f Richv i l l e ceased operation p r io r to 1970. Others were converted to serve changing markets; fo r example Bauer's Hotel became the R ic h v ille rec­ reation center, the saddle shop became M allo ry's Restaurant, and Moser's general store is now the Party Shop. New business brought to R ic h v ille since 1920 includes a food cannery and two service station s. 21 As o f 1970 the commercial nucleus of R ic h v ille could provide most basic goods and services required by the population (Table 13). St. Michael's congregation has grown in size from 1103 in 1920 to 1401 in 1970 (Table 9) and has consistently included more than f i f t y per cent of the township population in i t s membership despite the 2 0 Hr. and Mrs. George Moser, p riv a te in te rv ie w , September 14, 2W and Mrs. Art Rupprecht, p riv a te in te rv ie w , September 13, 1971. 1971. . D e tro it a Bay C *y R R SETTLEMENT AND LAND USE IN RICHVILLE, MICHIGAN, 1970 Mil E j t St M ichael's L u th e ra n C hurch 2 Bonk o f R icnvtl* (abandoned) 3 s e ^ ic e 4 R em odd H ardw are 5 S to r o f t r e 6 £ P E v a n s »»ood o r o d u c H j O« s 9 • d v trn N .c o d e rrv s ■ lo ci.o,'c e ’ Orme' wOQOr 5/>0C stction tltn s M cne* #e s» e ie v o r o f 7 D rohes M eat Processing I f.*e s'O’ c•5 S’ M i: n 0* r s - 0*d sc^oo 6 c 3 ,.y ■7 S ’ o re se»*>ce s 'a t c n •9 M an ory s P f v s P e s to u r o n t T o *e r- EZ3 res>dent£i eid notes M 46 F ig u r e 12 » tw rb e r -jff-ce '8 2 0 Cemetery 5c*«oi Oonamg 130 T ab le 13 Commercial A c t i v i t y in R ic h v ille ( F r a n k e n h ilf ) , 1921-70 Service Retail Bank o f R ic h v ille 3 Standard Oil service statio n R ic h v ille Recreation*5 Joe's Tavern G ra tio t Service Station F r i t z ' s Bar and Restaurant M allo ry's Restaurant R ic h v ille Fire Department R ic h v ille Post O ffic e Weber Lumber aClosed in 1927. Kern's Market Nicodemus Appliance Reinbold Hardware Star o f the West ele v a to r Drake's Meat Processing E. P. Evans, plywood Party Store and barbershop0 Schluchbier Wood Products^ Cider presse Cheese and b u tte r factory^ Bank ledger in possession of E. Nicodemus ^Formerly Bauer's Hotel cFormerly Moser's general store ^Closed in 1932 eClosed in 1942 ^Closed in 1925 Source: F ield notes and interviews presence o f Lutheran, Catholic and Methodist congregations in nearby Reese (Table 11). St. M ichael's elementary school moved into a new building in 1960 and the congregation is c u rre n tly awaiting the comple­ tion o f t h e i r new church building. German services are conducted twice monthly a t St. Michael's although attendance is reported to be d e c lin ing. 99 Congregational meetings were conducted in German through the mid-1950's, a t which time i t was noted th a t the younger members of the congregation were not attending because they did not understand the language. Since th a t time the business portion o f each meeting is 22|tev. Mr. Schoenow, pastor, p riv a te in te rv ie w , September 14, 1971. 131 conducted in English and only the opening prayers are spoken in German. The la s t y ea r in which the confirmation classes were held in German was 1938, and in 1964 the church c o n stitu tio n was f i n a l l y tra n slate d from German in to English. The senior members o f the congregation regard the t r a n s itio n from German to English with some misgivings. An example of one person's concern is re la te d in th is anecdote from George Moser: Moser re c a lls th a t when he f i r s t introduced his fiance to his aunt (approximately t h i r t y years ago), the older woman shook her head and said " I t ' s too bad she doesn't speak German; t h a t 's the only language the Lord understands."23 The population of R ic h v ille continues to emphasize i t s c u ltu ra l heritage and has maintained i t s close tie s with Frankenmuth. At the same time, R ic h v ille is j u s t l y proud o f i t s growth and achievements and views i t s e l f as somewhat of a r iv a l to Frankenmuth. This f r ie n d ly r i v a l r y is in evidence whenever a competitive event includes c itiz e n s from the two communities.^ ^ M o s e rs , in te rv ie w , September 14, 1971. ^ R u p p r e c h ts , in te rv ie w , September 13, 1971. CHAPTER V I I SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS The previous chapters contain material describing the h is to ric a l geography of four German Lutheran settlements located in the Saginaw Valley o f Michigan. Each of the colonies originated in Bavaria and was created to serve a s p e c ific religious purpose. Instrumental in gathering colonists into congregations and in tr a in in g pastors to lead these groups to Michigan was Pastor Wilhelm Loehe o f Neuendettelsau, Bavaria. He sent the f i r s t group o f colonists as an experiment in Indian mission work. The two groups which followed were to form centers of Lutheran worship opportunity fo r a l l Lutherans in the Saginaw V a lle y , and the la s t group was sent to establish a colony to which the Bavarian poor might inmigrate and thus a l l e v i a t e moral problems facing the church in Bavaria. The land to which these groups were sent offered new environ­ mental challenges, f o r i t was quite unlike t h e i r homeland near Nuremberg. The lowland topography of the Saginaw Valley with i t s sluggish streams, beach ridges, and poorly drained areas was markedly d if f e r e n t from the pronounced local r e l i e f of the escarpments and valleys near Nuremberg. The so ils in Michigan contained greater amounts of clay than those of Bavaria and the climate of Michigan seemed more severe due to the longer winters and the greater range in seasonal temperatures. As the four groups of colonists began a rriv in g in the v a lle y in 1845, they encountered a c u ltu ral landscape which re fle c te d the occupance 132 133 o f the v alley to th at date. The Indian landscape had by 1845 been super­ seded by French settlement which manifested i t s e l f in small trading com­ munities such as Saginaw and Lower Saginaw. To th is was added the B r i t ­ ish cu ltu re with i t s settlements, Tuscola and Bridgeport. little There was a g ric u ltu ra l a c t i v i t y in the v a lle y p r io r to the Franconians' a r r i v a l ; however, lumbering and saw m ill operations were assuming increased importance to the area's economic l i f e . The f i r s t Franconian colony established in Michigan--Frankenmuth-was begun in 1845 by a small group o f Lutherans and t h e ir pastor. group cleared land and planted crops shortly a f t e r they a rriv e d . The By 1880 they had cleared a l l of the arable land in the township, thus t h e i r sons had to be sent to a neighboring colony, Frarikenhilf, to establish farms because no land remained to be purchased in Frankenmuth township. The farmers o f Frankenmuth were not hesitant to adopt new drainage techniques and farming methods and were also able to change crop emphasis to meet changing market demands. During the early 1900's the farms were mech­ anized and the past twenty years have seen an emphasis placed on univer­ s i t y tra in in g in a g ric u ltu ra l techniques and management. Commercial a c t i v i t y was begun early in Frankenmuth' s history with the construction o f a saw m ill on the Cass River. Other businesses were soon established to serve the local population as well as the grow­ ing numbers o f v is ito r s to the v illa g e . This commercial development was highlighted by the emergence of several major types of industry in Frank­ enmuth: industry. brewing, processing meat and dairy products, and the hotel Two Frankenmuth breweries survived the Proh ibition years and remained prominent in v illa g e commerce to 1970. The manufacture of dairy products was phased out o f the local scene by 1940; however, meat 134 processing continued to expand i t s markets to 1970. The hotel industry in Frankenmuth has undergone a marked change since the lumbering era. As e a rly as 1920 several o f the hotels had closed t h e i r overnight f a c i l i t i e s in order to concentrate more e f f o r t into serving the numerous guests who d a ily v is ite d t h e i r dining rooms. The main a t tr a c tio n on the menu was the chicken dinner, served fam ily s ty le . The increased pop ularity of the automobile and the improvement of state highways brought more diners to Frankenmuth and statewide fame to i t s chicken dinners. By 1970 the chicken dinner industry served 500,000 meals annually and had become the major a ttr a c tio n in Frankenmuth. The growth of th is industry was also instrumental in establishing tourism as a major thrust of local commercial enterprise. Though a g ric u ltu re and commerce grew and prospered, the church remained the dominant organization in Frankenmuth. St. Lorenz, the o r ig in a l congregation begun in Frankenmuth, and St. John's, a second Lutheran congregation begun in 1882, have always included in t h e i r membership a minimum o f ninety per cent o f the township population. Church control in community matters was absolute under the Kirchenordnung u n til 1858, when c i v i l matters were f i r s t adjudicated in c i v i l courts before being brought before the congregation. In more recent years congregational censure has been reserved fo r re lig io u s matters. The church has provided parochial education throughout i t s history and has gained national recognition fo r i t s elementary school program and fa c ilitie s . As o f 1970, parochial school enrollment in Frankenmuth had never been surpassed by the public school's. The Lutheran churches o f Frankenmuth also led the nation in providing students who became pastors and parochial teachers. In 1962 a Methodist congregation was 135 begun in Frankenmuth and in 1967 a Catholic congregation was organized. The Methodist pastor confirmed the status of St. Lorenz Lutheran Church in Frankenmuth by in d ic atin g th at several o f his parishoners had trans­ ferred to St. Lorenz because membership there would provide b e tte r standing in the community. Various aspects of Frankenmuth1s settlement pattern have changed since 1845. I n i t i a l l y a i l buildings were clustered near the church, though each farmstead was situated according to the location o f the farm­ land. As land was cleared, the farmsteads were spread throughout the township. A s h i f t in settlement began with the development o f commercial a c t i v i t y along the r i v e r , several blocks southeast of the church. The main s t r e e t of Frankenmuth was run through the commercial section of the v i ll a g e and settlement focused on e ith e r side of the s tr e e t north of the Cass River. As the t o u r is t trade increased, commercial s e t t l e ­ ment developed two nodes: the to u r is t-o r ie n te d businesses located nearer the r i v e r , while those businesses catering to a greater extent to local trade clustered on the north end of the main s tr e e t several blocks north of the r iv e r . One of the Franconians' most obvious c u ltu ral t r a i t s was t h e ir language, a German d ia le c t called Bayerisch. This German language was used in worship services, in the schools, and in everyday social con­ tacts. The Franconians, r e a liz in g the importance of being able to con­ verse in English, began teaching English in t h e i r schools. Gradually English made i t s appearance in the worship services and became the media fo r most formal presentations. During the war years of the 1900's, the use o f the German language was c u rta ile d even fu rth e r u n til today few o f the young people in Frankenmuth are able to speak German f lu e n t l y . 136 German services are s t i l l held each Sunday a t St. Lorenz, and in th is manner the church perpetuates one aspect o f the Franconian heritage. Frankentrost was founded in 1847 as the second of Loehe's colonies. Located approximately six miles north-northwest o f Frank­ enmuth, the colony was la id out along a road surveyed along an eastwest axis. Immediate concerns o f the colonists included c learin g land, planting crops, and constructing l iv i n g quarters. The population of Frankentrost grew slowly as did the amount o f land under c u l t iv a t i o n , f o r much of the surrounding land was poorly drained and was thus u n f it f o r farming. A g ricu ltu ral a c t i v i t y took a turn fo r the b e tte r during the f i r s t h a lf of hte 1900's when mechanization made the laying o f drain t i l e s f a s t e r , and government subsidies defrayed part o f the expense. As more land was opened f o r farming, more farmers were drawn to the v i l l a g e , however Frankentrost never reached the population growth levels of Frankenmuth. I t was not u n t il the 1890's th a t commerce appeared in Franken­ tro s t. By 1920 a saloon, blacksmith shop, cider press, hardware sto re , and cheese factory comprised the nucleus of commercial a c t i v i t y . That small assemblage marked the peak o f commerce in Frankentrost and by 1970 most of the businesses had closed or were on the verge o f closing. Immanuel Lutheran congregation is and has always been the domi­ nant social organization o f Frankentrost. The congregation has grown in numbers though most o f the additions have been people liv i n g on farm­ steads scattered throughout the township, fo r the v i ll a g e i t s e l f has not increased in size. Immanuel has consistently counted more than fo r ty per cent o f the township population in i t s membership, despite the presence o f other congregations in Blumfield Corners and Manning. The 137 church, through i t s worship services and various committees and organi­ zations has served to unify the people of Frankentrost and remind chem o f t h e i r heritage. Immanuel has supported a parochial school program since i t s inception and has made continued e f fo r t s to update i t s f a c i l ­ i t i e s and programs. For years the church perpetuated use o f the German language by holding weekly German services. This p ractice was reduced to monthly German services and was discontinued alto gether in 1970 for want o f attendance. The v illa g e o f Frankentrost is rather unimpressive today with few houses, several farmsteads and decaying shops, and the assemblage o f church, school, parsonage, and teacherage lin in g e it h e r side of Holland Road. Those farmers who moved to Frankentrost during i t s l a t e r period of expansion b u i l t t h e i r homes on t h e i r farms and thus departed from the shoestring pattern established in 1847. The t h ir d Franconian colony was Frankenlust, established by Pastor Sievers and his congregation in 1848. was unfortunate in th at i t afforded l i t t l e Sievers' choice of s ite room f o r a g r ic u ltu r a l expan­ sion, lying as i t did on a peninsula between the forks of the Sququaning River. Despite this handicap, a g ric u ltu re was the main occupation of the colonists during the i n i t i a l decades of the colony's existence. Lack o f p o ten tial farmland, drainage problems, and the continual expan­ sion o f Bay C ity 's r e s id e n tia l hinterland severely c u r t a ile d the a g ric u l­ tu ra l growth o f Frankenlust so th at by 1970 few residents o f the settlement are a c tiv e ly engaged in farming. Frankenlust lay a s trid e the Lower Saginaw Road which gave i t access to the la rg e r communities o f Lower Saginaw (Bay C ity ) and Sagi­ naw. The convenience o f having two la rg e r c i t i e s w ith in a s ix -m ile 138 radius hindered commercial development in Frankenlust. P rio r to the 1950's several grocery stores and saloons had sprung up, only to bow to competitors. The only commercial enterprise begun during th at period to remain operational to 1970 was the Michigan House restaurant. The greatest single expansion o f commerce in Frankenlust came shortly a f t e r the In te r s ta t e 75 interchange was completed in 1958. Agglom­ erated a t the interchange are several service s ta tio n s , a restaurant, and a motor lodge. Pastor Sievers could not have envisioned the urban sprawl which by 1970 had reached the settlement, nor could he have foreseen that the settlem ent's position between Saginaw and Bay C ity might prove detrimental to i t s commercial development and u ltim a te ly to i t s physical i n t e g r i t y . Sievers' missionary z e a l, which led him to establish several Lutheran congregations near Frankenlust, may have fu r th e r hindered the growth of Frankenlust by providing targets fo r out-migration from the colony. Population increase in Frankenlust has been very gradual, though recently St. Paul's congregation has added s u b s ta n tia lly to its member­ ship. This trend seems to indicate a tra n s fe r o f membership from Saginaw and Bay City congregations to St. P a u l's, as the re s id e n tia l zones sur­ rounding the two la rg e r c i t i e s move nearer to Frankenlust. This trend may undermine the church's a b i l i t y to sustain an awareness of the set­ tlement's heritage as the congregation includes greater numbers o f nonGermans into i t s membership. The Lutheran church has always been the organization in which the residents of Frankenlust found common in te re s ts . Though several other congregations are located in or near Frankenlust Township, St. Paul's has consistently included at least f o r t y - f i v e per cent of the 139 township population. The church has supported parochial education fo r over 120 years and has contributed many students to seminaries and u n iv e rs itie s to t r a in fo r church work. The church has also been in s tru ­ mental in perpetuating use o f the German language, though German ser­ vices were held only once a month as of 1970. The physical presence of the church, school, and cemetery provide the most v i s i b le evidence that Frankenlust ever existed. Frankenhilf began as a colony to which the Bavarian poor could m igrate, but was never successful in th a t capacity. From its founding in 1850 u n til the la te 1870's, the colony numbered less than f i f t y per­ sons. I n i t i a l a c t i v i t y in the small settlement was lim ite d to clearing land and farming. There was no commercial a c t i v i t y w ithin the colony although trade was carried on with Frankenmuth, seven miles away. During the l a t e 1870's many second-generation farmers from Frankenmuth moved to Frankenhilf causing the population to increase rapidly. Concurrent with th is in flu x of people came the economic prosperity o f the lumbering boom years and the beginnings of commerce in Frankenhilf. Frankenhilf, i t s name changed to R ic h v ille by 1895, enjoyed s i t e advantages not only in terms of the high q u a lity of the surrounding farm­ land but also with respect to transportation routes. The road lin k in g Frankentrost and Saginaw was extended eastward through R i c h v il le , and a major highway lin k in g Bay C ity and F l i n t intersected the aforementioned road in the heart of the v illa g e . both highways, while the v illa g e r s ' The businesses o f R ic h v ille lined homes remained near the church, and the local farmsteads dotted the surrounding countryside. The nature of much o f R ic h v ilie 's commerce has changed, yet the number o f esta b lis h ­ ments has remained r e l a t i v e l y constant. 140 The population growth rate of R ic h v ille has leveled since 1900, with gradual increases accruing less noticeably than during the preceding years. Much of this growth has taken place in the township surrounding R ic h v ille . St. Michael's congregation has also increased in numbers over the past decades and as o f 1970 included s ix ty per cent of the township popu­ la tio n on its r o l l s , despite the presence o f four congregations in the town of Reese, ju s t three miles north of R ic h v ille . The strength o f St. Michael's support is seen in the ambitious building programs the congregation has undertaken, culminated by the recent construction of a modern worship f a c i l i t y . The church has always supported parochial education in R ic h v ille , and as of 1970 the parochial school was the only educational f a c i l i t y in town. St. Michael's also continues the use of the German language in its monthly German services, though the language is no longer the common vehicle f o r social or corranercial intercourse. Several conclusions can be drawn from the data presented in this study: (1) Each of the Franconian settlements developed an a g ric u ltu ra l economic base to which commercial development was l a t e r added. Much of this i n i t i a l commercial growth was oriented toward meeting the needs and consuming the products of the local farmers. (2) The Lutheran Church appears to be the organization th a t has given d ire c tio n and unity to each of the colonies. The colonies, created by the Church, organized as congregations, and led by pastors, were u n it ­ ed by the common b e lie fs and re s p o n s ib ilitie s associated with church mem­ bership throughout t h e i r h isto ry. The Church has provided the thread of commonality that binds together the farmer, merchant, i n d u s t r i a l i s t , 141 student, and housewife. The parochial schools established in each o f the colonies have not only perpetuated th is sense of u n ity , but have encouraged a fe e lin g o f duty and r e s p o n s ib ility to the Church, which has resulted in the sending of hundreds o f the congregations' young into the m inistry or into parochial school teaching. (3) The German language is no longer a p re v a ilin g unifying element in the colonies, i t s usage having s te a d ily declined in popu­ l a r i t y since 1900. German services continue in several of the Lutheran churches, however social and commerical contacts are made in English. (4) The settlement and land use patterns of the colonies have remained r e l a t i v e l y constant, with the exception o f Frankenlust where the physical i n t e g r it y of the colony has been g re a tly a lte re d . (5) There appears to have been no d e lib e ra te attempt by the colonists to is o la te themselves from other cultures; in fa c t the volume o f contact with others has played an important role in the d i f f e r e n t i a l development of the four settlements. "Outsiders" may have viewed the settlements as less than desirable due to the l i n g u is t i c and relig io u s preferences of the residents, and v o lu n ta r ily stayed away. (6) Frankenmuth and R ic h v ille (Franken hiIf) appear to have 'ben efited due to t h e i r s itu a tio n a l advantages r e l a t i v e to farmland, transportation routes, and distance from larg er c i t i e s . Each was sur­ rounded by areas of good farmland, each had access to major transporta­ tion a r t e r ie s , and each was located at le a s t ten miles from the larg er c i t i e s o f Saginaw and Bay C ity , providing local commerce an opportunity to develop. (7) Frankentrost and Frankenlust appear to have been hindered in t h e i r growth due to s itu a tio n a l disadvantages r e l a t i v e to farmland, 142 transportation routes, and distance from la rg e r c i t i e s . Each was faced with drainage problems as i t sought to expand i t s a g r ic u ltu ra l holdings, each was situated on a major transportation a rtery lin k in g i t to one or both o f the la rg e r c i t i e s in the area, and each lay w ithin six miles of one or both o f the la rg e r c i t i e s ' commercial centers, thus c u r ta ilin g local commercial growth. What might the future hold in store f o r each of the settlements? Frankenmuth gives every in d ic atio n of continued growth and prosperity, with i t s dual-based economy and the recent i n f lu x of suburban fam ilies into the c i t y . to do so. years. Frankentrost l ie s dormant and w i l l most l i k e l y continue Commercial a c t i v i t y is dying and may cease to e x is t in f iv e The community's proximity to Saginaw may u ltim a te ly help i t to become a dormitory community o f that c i t y . Frankenlust w i l l probably be absorbed by Bay City and is the colony th a t probably w i l l lose sight of i ts c u ltu ra l id e n t it y . R ic h v ille has the potential to become another Frankenmuth in terms o f i t s commerce. Although the community exudes a small-town t r a n q u i l l i t y , i t contains s u f f ic i e n t base fo r expansion to to u r is t-o r ie n te d a c t i v i t y and may some day expand along those lin e s . Further research on the Franconian colonies might include the reconstruction of several genealogies to determine the degree to which members o f the four congregations are related and a survey o f land use changes in Frankenmuth and R ic h v ille over the next ten years in order to determine growth patterns and commercial o rie n ta tio n s . BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY Primary Sources Abstracts of various pieces of property re la te d to the commercial development o f the Franconian settlements. Concordia H is to ric a l I n s t i t u t e . St. Louis, Missouri. (Items con­ cerning Loehe and the Franconian colonies on dep osit.) H is to ric a l Museum. Frankenmuth, Michigan. (Maps and photographs.) Huber, Michael. L e tte r to r e l a t i v e s , July 28, 1847. Owned and translated by Herman Hueffner, Frankentrost, Michigan. Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church. Frankentrost, Michigan. Minutes, records, and Book of O f f i c i a l Acts. 1847-. Lerczak, Rev. Kenneth. 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London: Hunt, Charles B. Physiography of the United S ta te s . W. H. Freeman and Company, 1967. Gerald San Francisco: 146 Jordan, T. G. German Seed in Texas S o il: Immigrant Farmers in Nineteen­ th-Century Texas. Austin: University o f Texas Press, 1966. ________ . "The Texan Appalachia," Annals o f the Association o f American Geographers, LX (September, 1970), 409-27. King, I . M. John 0. Meusebach: of Texas Press, 1966. Colonizer in Texas. Austin: University K niffen, Fred B. and G lassie, H. "Building in Wood in the Eastern United States: A Time-Place Perspective," Geographical Review, LVI ----- ---------------------------(1966). Koch, W. C. L. Die deutschen Colonien in der Nahe des Saginaw-Flusses. Ein Leitfaden fuer duetsche Auswanderer nach dem Staate Michigan in Nordamerika. Braunschweig: G. and B. Westermann Bros., 1851. Leeson, Michael. History o f Saginaw County, Michigan. C. Chapman & Co., 1881. Chicago: Charles Lohrmann, W. H. Kurzgefasste Geschichte der Evangelisch-Lutherischen St. Michaels-Gemeinde U. A. K. zu R i c h v ille , Michigan. In Auftrage der Gemeinde zur Feier ihres Fuenfundsiegzigjaehrigen Jubilaemus am 18. J u l i , 1926, zusammengestellt von W. H. Lohr­ mann. South Bend, Indiana: Home Mountain Publishing Co. (1926). Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod. Department of Research and S t a t is t i c s . S t a t i s t i c a l Yearbook. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1892-. McCormick, W. R. "Trip from D e tro it in 1832 to the Saginaw V a lle y ," Michigan Pioneer C o lle c tio n s , V II (1996). Mayer, E. A. Geschichte der evangelisch-lutherischen St. Lorenz-Gemeinde U. A. C. zu Frankenmuth, Michigan, 50th anniversary p u b lic a tio n , St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1895. Meinig, D. W. 1910. The Great Columbia Plain: A H is to ric a l Geography, 1805Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1968. ________ . Imperial Texas: An In te rp re tiv e Essay in Cultural Geography. Austin: University o f Texas Press, 1969. ________ . Southwest: Three Peoples in Geographical Change, 1600-1970. London: Oxford University Press, 1971. Merrens, H. Roy. " H isto rica l Geography and Early American H is to ry ," The W illiam and Mary Q u a rte rly , published by the I n s t it u t e o f Early American History and Cu lture, October, 1965. 147 Meyer, A lfred H. "C irculation and Settlement Patterns of the CalumetSouth Chicago Region o f Northwest Indiana and Northeast I l l i n o i s , " Proceedings of the XVIIth Congress, In te rn atio n a l Geographical Union, Washington, D.C ., 1952. M ik e s e ll, Marvin. "Northern Morocco: A Cultural Geography," U niversity of C a lifo rn ia Publications in Geography, XIV (1961). M i l l e r , A lb ert. "Early History of Churches in Michigan," Michigan Pioneer C o lle c tio n s , X I I I (1889). ________ . "Pioneer Sketches," Michigan Pioneer C o lle c tio n s , V II (1886). M i l l e r , H. C. 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Plessner, H. C. T . , Dr. Address given before the Pioneer Society a t Saginaw C ity , Michigan, on May 26, 1881. Cited in Michael Leeson, History of Saginaw County, Michigan. Chicago: Charles C. Chapman & Co., 1881. Pollen, T. J. History of Frankenmuth. muth News, 1913. Frankenmuth, Michigan: Franken­ Putz, J. W. Geschichte der Evangelisch-Lutherischen St. M ic h a e li's Gemeinde zu F rank enhilf, Michigan: Zur Feier ihres fuenfzigjaehrigen Bestehens am 18. und 19. August 1901. Saginaw: F. and C. R e it t e r , 1901. Russell, John A. Germanic Influence in the Making of Michigan. U n ive rs ity o f D e t r o it , 1927. D e tro it: 148 Sauer, Carl. "Foreword to H is to ric a l Geography," Annals o f the Associa­ tion of American Geographers, XXXI (1941). ________ . "The Morphology of Landscape," University of C a lifo rn ia Publi­ cations in Geography, I I , 2 (1925). S c o fie ld , Edna. "The Origin o f Settlement Patterns in Rural New England," Geographical Review, XXVIII (1938). Semple, Ellen Churchill. American History and Its Geographic Conditions. Boston and New York: Houghton M i f f l i n , 1903. Shackleton, Margaret R. Europe: A Regional Geography. Frederick A. Praeger, 1969. New York: Spencer, J. E. and Thomas, W. L. Cultural Geography: An Evolutionary Introduction to Our Humanized Earth. New York: John Wiley and Sons , I n c . , 1969. S tr a h le r , Arthur. Introduction to Physical Geography. Wiley & Sons, I n c . , 1965. New York: John Thompson, E. H. Des Auswanderers Wegweiser nach dem Staate Michigan. New York: n . p . , 1849. U.S. Department of A g ricu ltu re. Yearbook of A g ric u ltu re . 1941: Climate and Man. Washington, D.C.: Government P rin tin g O ff ic e , 1941. U.S. Department of Commerce. Weather Bureau. World Weather Records, 1950-1960. Vols. I - 1 1 . Washington, D.C.: Government P rin tin g O ff ic e , 1965-67. Wacker, Peter 0. The Musconetcong Valley o f New Jersey: A H is to ric a l Geography. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers U n iversity Press, 1968. W hittlesey, Derwent. "Sequent Occupance," Annals o f the Association of American Geographers, XIX (1929). W issler, Clark. Indians of the United S ta te s . Garden C it y , New York: Anchor Books, Doubleday & Company, I n c . , 1966. Zehnder, Herman F. Teach My People the T ru th ! By the Author, Box 404, 1970. Bay C ity , Michigan: Z e ilin g e r , Ire n e, ed. Frankenmuth. 125th anniversary booklet. Frankenmuth, Michigan: n . p . , 1970. Zelinsky, Wilbur. "Cultural V a riatio n in Personal Name Patterns in the Eastern United States," Annals of the Association o f American Geographers, LX (December, 1970), 743-69. 149 Personal Interviews Ackerman, G. E ., Rev. United Methodist Church. September, 1971. Frankenmuth, Michigan. Bleke, Walter. P r in c ip a l, St. Lorenz Elementary School. Michigan, September, 1971. Buchinger, Clarence. Diedrich, Donald. R ic h v il le , R ic h v il le , Michigan. September, Frankenmuth, 1971. Michigan. September, 1971. Deterding, J . , Rev. St. Lorenz Lutheran Church. September. 1971. Frankenmuth, Michigan E h le r t, J . , Rev. St. John's Lutheran Church, Frankenmuth, Michigan. September, 1971. Heidenberger, Mr. H o erlein, Carl. Huber, George, Kern, Ed. Frankentrost, Michigan. September, 1971. Frankenmuth, Michigan. September, 1971. R ic h v il le , Michigan. R i c h v ille , Michigan. September, 1971. September, 1971. K r a f f t , Richard, J r. Manager, Star of the West M illin g Company. Frankenmuth, Michigan. September, 1971. Kueffner, Herman. 1971. Luebkert, Fred. Moser, George. Frankentrost, Michigan. March, 1969, and September, Frankenmuth, Michigan. September, 1971. Postmaster. R ic h v ille , Michigan. M ueller, H. C . ,Rev. St. Paul's Lutheran Church. gan. September, 1971. September, 1971. Frankenlust, Nicodemus, E. L. R ic h v ille , Michigan. September, 1971. Reinbold, P h ilip . Frankentrost, Michigan. September, Richards, Bruce. Chamber of Commerce. September, 1971. 1971. Frankenmuth, Michigan. Rupprecht, A rt. R ic h v ille , Michigan. September, 1971. Schmidt, Otto. Frankenlust, Michigan. September, 1971. Michi­ 150 Schoenow, Rev. Mr. St. Michael's Lutheran Church. igan. September, 1971. Schultz, Fred. Saginaw, Michigan. September, 1971. W irth, Arlene, Tuscola, Michigan. September, 1971. Zehnder, W illiam , J r . Bavarian Inn. January, 1970. R ic h v ille , Mich­ Frankenmuth, Michigan. General References Baepler, Walter A. A Century o f Grace: A History of the Missouri Synod, 1847 to 1947. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1947. B a ll , John M. "Changes in Sugar Beet Production in Michigan, 1899-1958, Papers of the Michigan Academy o f Science, Arts and L e tte rs , XV (1960), 137-144. Bates, W. R. The History and Future Prospects o f the Saginaw. Saginaw: n . p . , 1874. Brace, Charles L. 1853. Home-life in Germany. New York: East Charles Scribners, Calkins, Edmund A. "Railroads of Michigan since 1850," Michigan History X I I I (January, 1929), 5-25. C a t lin , George B. "Michigan's Early M i l i t a r y Roads," Michigan H istory, X I I I ( A p r i l , 1929), 196-207. Danford, Ormond S. "The Social and Economic Effects of Lumbering on Michigan, 1835-1890," Michigan H isto ry, XXVI (Summer, 1942), 346-64. Faust, A lbert B. The German Element in the United States with Special Reference to Its P o l i t i c a l , Moral, Social and Educational In ­ fluence. 2 vols. New York: Steuben Society of America, 1927. F u l le r , George N. Economic and Social Beginnings of Michigan: A Study o f the Settlement of the Lower Peninsula During the T e r r i t o r i a l Period, 1805-1837. Lansing, Michigan: Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford C o ., 1916. G lazer, Sidney. "Early Sugar Beet Industry in Michigan," Michigan H is to r y , XXVIII ( July-September, 1944), 405-14. 151 Hargreaves, Irene M. and Foehl, Harold M. White Pine in the Saginaw V a ll e y . Keg Press, 1964. The Story o f Logging the Bay C it y , Michigan: Red History o f the Evangelical Lutheran Church o f the following Counties in Michigan--Wa.yne, Oakland, Bay, Midland, Monroe, MacomET St. C la i r , Saginaw, Gladwin, C la re , Huron, Sanilac, Tuscola, Lapeer, Ingham, Jackson, Shiawassee, Genesee, Calhoun, Len­ awee, H i l ls d a le , Branch, and Presque I s l e i D e tro it: Robert E. Erickson, 1924. Hutchinson, E. P. Immigrants and Their Children: 1850-1950. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. , 1956. New York: Jenks, William L. "Michigan Immigration," Michigan H is to ry , XXVIII ( July-September, 1944). Johnson, Robert C. "Logs f o r Saginaw," Inland Seas, V (Spring and Summer, 1949), 83-90. Karpinski, Louis C. Bibliography of the Printed Maps o f Michigan, 18041880, with a Series o f Over One Hundred Reproductions of Map? Constituting an H is to ric a l Atlas of the Great Lakes and Michigan. Lansing, Michigan: Michigan H is to r ic a l Commission, 1931. Lamb, Leland W. "History o f Dairying in Michigan," Michigan H is to ry , XXIV (Autumn, 1940), 413-34. Maybee, Rolland H. "Michigan's White Pine Era, 1840-1900," Michigan H is to ry , X L III (December, 1959), 385-432. M i l l e r , George J. "Some Geographic Influences in the Settlement of Michigan and in the D is trib u tio n of I t s Population," B u lle tin o f the American Geographical S o c ie ty , XLV (1913), 321-48. Poppen, Eugene. A Century o f Lutheranism in Michigan. Toledo Lutheran Company, 1934. Toledo, Ohio: Ruff, Joseph. "The Joys and Sorrows o f an Emigrant Family," Michigan H is to ry , IV (1920 ), 530-74. Schetler, Eliza M. "Lights and Shadows from Pioneer L i f e ," Michigan Pioneer and H is to r ic a l C o lle c tio n . XXXV (1 9 0 7 ), 184-98. Skal, Georg. History o f the German Immigration in the United States and Successful German-Americans and Their Descendants." New York: F. T. & J. C. Smiley, 1908. 152 S tr e e te r , Floyd B. Michigan Bibliography: A P a rtia l catalogue o f books, maps, manuscripts, and miscellaneous materials r e la tin g to the resources, development, and history o f Michigan from e a r l i e s t times to July 1, 1917; together with c ita tio n of l i b r a r i e s in which the materials may be consulted ancf a complete a n a ly tic a l index by subject and author. 2 vols. Lansing, Michigan: Michigan H is to ric a l Commission, 1921. Sweet, William H. " B r ie f History o f Saginaw County," Michigan H is to r­ ic a l C o lle c tio n s , XXVIII (1900), 481-501. Terpenning, W. A. "V illa g e and Open County Communities in Michigan," Michigan H is to r y , XVI (1932 ), 384-97. Veath, J. 0. "Presettlement Forest in Michigan," Department of Resource Development, Michigan State U n iv e rs ity , East Lansing, Michigan, 1959. APPENDICES APPENDIX A As the several groups o f Franconians journeyed from Bavaria to t h e i r new homes in Michigan, t h e i r experiences were typ ical o f those which b e fe ll countless other Europeans emigrating to America. Confusion, poor accommodations, exorbitant fa re s , and swindlers made the t r ip s mem­ orable and sometimes needlessly costly and time-consuming. Passage to the United States by ship took i t s t o l l in health due to the overcrowded quarters of the immigrants, the overtaxed sa n ita tio n f a c i l i t i e s , and the inadequacies of the d ie t aboard s h ip J Upon a r r iv a l in New York City the immigrants were beset by various p arties o ffe rin g to exchange foreign currency fo r American, or s e llin g fo odstuffs, clo th in g , and other supplies. When Dr. August Koch and fam ily, who s e ttle d in Frankenmuth, arrived in New York in August 1847, he was shocked when he discovered th at a t h i e f had made o f f with his medicines and his medical k i t , f u l l of instruments, while he was helping his w ife from the ship.^ Many an immigrant was divested of his l i f e savings or possessions in th is manner soon a f t e r a rriv in g in America. Travel from New York C ity to the Saginaw Valley took many forms, and was often quite cos tly. The immi­ grants could tra vel by steamer from New York C ity , north on the Hudson River to Albany, and then westward to Buffalo via the E rie Canal. ^Herman F. Zehnder, Teach My People the T ruth! , (Bay C ity , Michigan: By the Author, Box 404, 1970), pp. 24-26. ^I b i d . , p. 28, c itin g Dr. August Koch, l e t t e r to Craemer, February 10, 1848, University of Chicago Library. 153 154 Passage by canal boat to Buffalo required from seven to ten days and cost $1.50. Time could be saved by making the t r i p from Albany to Buffalo by r a i l - - t h e t r i p took only t h i r t y - s i x hours--however, the fares were much higher. A seat in the immigrant car cost as much as $5.00, to rid e in a passenger coach, $9.75. Lake steamers p lie d the waters o f Lake Erie between Buffalo and D e tro it in twenty-four hours' time with steerage fares ranging from $1.50 to $2.50, and cabin fares from $4.00 to $5.00. Two routes led from D e tro it to Saginaw City. One carried the immigrant by ship through Lake St. C la ir and Lake Huron into Saginaw Bay and u l t i ­ mately to docking f a c i l i t i e s on the Saginaw River. The second route from D e tro it was by r a i l to Pontiac and then by wagon or on foot to Saginaw. The Franconians, upon reaching Saginaw C it y , would tra vel by wagon or on foot through the forests to the s ite s o f t h e i r colonies (Appendix B).^ These major routes o f tra vel from New York City to the Saginaw Valley were mapped as e a rly as 1848 fo r d is t r ib u t io n in Germany. The following is excerpted from a l e t t e r dated July 28, 1847, from Michael Huber to his r e la tiv e s in R o s ta ll, Germany. His account of the journey from Bavaria to Frankenmuth serves to i l l u s t r a t e several of the points mentioned above. Dear Brother, i f you or others plan to emigrate to North America take cr,re so th at you don't get cheated, because fa ls e dealing is so general th a t one cannot take care well enough. Look out esp ecially fo r th at Schroeder in Bremen to whom people are usually directed. He can t a lk so smoothly so th a t a person thinks the Holy Ghost Himself speaks through him. He cheats a person as much as he can, e sp ecially with the change o f money. In New York a person has to take care so one's baggage i s n ' t lo s t or loaded on wagons before one knows where a person wants i t to be taken. They load up, one on th is wagon, another on ^Theodore Graebner, Church Bells in the Forest (S t. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1944), p. 3. 155 t h a t , without looking where i t should go. One takes i t here, another to a d i f f e r e n t place, and in this way much baggage has been lo s t. I t ' s not much b e tte r in Albany, but in Buffalo and D e tro it things are b e tte r. I f you are coming over don't f a i l to take enough dried bread and meat along, because biscuits (zweiback) don 't make good soup, and the meat is so s a lt y , being in s a lt water 4 to 5 days, that a person t ir e s , o f i t very soon. You don't have to buy anything in D e tr o it. You can buy everything in Frankenmuth.^ ^Owned and translated by Herman K ie ffn e r, Frankentrost, Michigan. APPENDIX B The follow ing quotation from Plessner's address is perhaps the best single description o f the cu ltu ra l features extant in the Saginaw Valley when the f i r s t group of Franconians a rriv e d in 1845. Of p artic u la r in te re s t are references to transportation modes and metworks, pop ulation size and d i s t r i b u t io n , and settlem ent patterns. The access was not easy. From the East to D e tro it we could come very e a s ily by ra ilro a d and steamer. From D e tro it to Pon­ t ia c we rode on the ra ilro a d o f t h a t name. The engine looked l i k e a large coffee m i l l ; one car was attached, about as large as a s tr e e tc a r o f today [1877], which jumped from the s tra p r a i l s every h a lf m ile. All passengers then got out and assisted in replacing the car on the r a i l s ; so we made 26 miles in four hours. . . . From Pontiac to Saginaw i t took two days more, over very rough roads. The City of East Saginaw did not e x i s t . On the north of the present c ity was a single farm-house; in a small clearing on the south, where are now located the c i t y Gas Works, was Buena V is ta , containing the s a w -m ill, a small boarding house, three c r four shanties, and the "Halls o f the Montezumas." This was the residence of the owner, Curtis Emerson, remarkable f o r his e c c e n t r ic itie s and great t h i r s t . West Bay C ity did not e x is t , there being only one house near the r iv e r . Bay C ity , or as i t was commonly termed, Lower Saginaw, had a h o te l, the Campbell House, about h a lf a dozen small frame houses and a dozen or more shanties. Zilwaukee had j u s t been located and contained only one fa m ily , one house and three shanties. C a rrollton consisted o f a small log house. Saginaw C it y , the most pretentious place in the v a l l e y - - t h e county seat then as now--had about 200 in h ab ita n ts ; the big hotel was closed; the warehouse contained one stove, but was otherwise empty; several larger houses and also the buildings o f the f o r t were in a state of great decay; one small saw-mill a t work; about a dozen frame houses and as many old huts. The r iv e r f l e e t consisted o f one d ila p id a te d stern-wheeler; roads were very few; one, the old Government road, led to F l i n t ; and the r iv e r road from Saginaw C ity to Midland. Between Saginaw and Lower Saginaw there existed no road on e i t h e r side o f the r i v e r . The county was covered with heavy fo re s ts ; was q u ite swampy; only small c learin g s, and the g reater portion o f those along the Tittabawasse r iv e r . 156 157 Living was very cheap, as f a r as game and fis h were concerned--a f u l l b a r r e ll o f white fis h costing two d o lla r s , and a grown deer about one d o lla r ; but other things, which are commonly considered neccessaries [ s i c ] o f l i f e were luxuries here. Flour came from D e tro it . . . . fresh meat we had only when our butcher, Hayden, k i l l e d a cow and sold the meat. . . . Beer and wine were very uncommon, but whisky was plenty. The country had the name of being very unhealthy and deserved i t in some respects. Malarious diseases, such as fever and ague, were very prevalent in the f a l l season, so th at once in Bay C ity , out o f a population o f about 120, I could not find a single person able to stand on his fe e t. Crime was a t th is time unknown; we had no j a i l and d id n 't want one. We had a poor-house, to be sure, and the keeper of i t , Nelson Gerry, who held this position fo r several years, threw i t up in disgust, when the f i r s t pauper entered. Churches, we found none. . . . In the "high times" o f Saginaw C it y , they had started everything except a church. Source: Michael A. Leeson, History o f Saginaw County, Michigan (Chicago: Charles C. Chapman & Co., 1881), pp. 226-27. APPENDIX C The following document, adopted on January 29, 1850, at a regular meeting o f the voters o f St. Lorenz Lutheran Church, provides fu rth e r insight into the social organization operative in Frankenmuth. GOD IS A GOD OF ORDER Community Regulations fo r the Community of Frankenmuth I Whereas i t is the w i l l of God that a l l things be done honorable and o rd e rly , but the laws o f our country impose few re s tr ic tio n s on the individual c itiz e n fo r a s t r i c t l y regulated community l i f e , therefore we feel compelled to set up the f o l ­ lowing community regulations among us, through which, however, we in no wise desire to dispense with the c i v i l government, but only desire to thwart t h i s , that not everyone act a r b i ­ t r a r i l y , and th at we are not compelled in every instance to turn to a strange court, whose o f f i c i a l s in most instances may not even be nominal members o f a church. II Whereas every member o f the community shares in the benefits o f the community l i f e , therefore every voting member, be he farmer, tenant, craftsman, or bachelor, should help bear the burdens of the community according to the standard o f f a ir n e s s -fo r which we set down fo r the present the following regulations. NOTE: No one, of course, can be a member o f our community who does not accept the Lutheran Confessions or who has been excommunicated. III The required contributions a re , to begin w ith , to be made according to the following fo r m u la - - l/3 of the to ta l expens-e is to be apportioned equally among a l l members, and the remain­ ing 2/3 is to be contributed by the members on the basis of the amount of property owned. 158 159 IV Community service is to be rendered in the following manner: Every member shall work two days per annum; i f there is more to be done, th is is to apportioned on the basis of the government work program ( S ta a ts -A rb e it) . Hired hands and ad u lt sons shall work one day. In ad d itio n , with reference to widows, the p rio r resolution o f the community remains in e f f e c t , th a t they are excused from'community service in case th v ,' have no adult sons. Adulthood is set at 18 years. With reference to chopping wood fo r the pastor, the following regulation shall be in force: they who haul the wood are excused from cutting i t down in the fo r e s t , but a l l are to chop i t into small pieces fo r burning. V With reference to church roads and connecting roads, we feel compelled by the law of love to be s a t is fie d not alone with the le g a lly required section roads, but in addition pledge ourselves a lte r n a te ly to o f f e r our land fo r opening o f connecting roads, yet in such a way th a t the roads do not cross the land a t an angle. Roads which are traversed by vehicles are to be no less than 1^ rods wide. ( I f someone is unwilling to give the land g ra tis which he loses through the opening o f roads, than he is to be remunerated a t the o rig in a l purchase price o f 2h d o l la r s .) He who finds i t necessary to build special fences because of the openingo f such roads shall be remun­ erated fo r his trouble. I f roads are obstructed by f a lle n tre e s , then the owners o f the land a t th at place are to remove them forthw ith. Greatest care ought to be exercised in the maintenance of the roads. A fte r a road has been surveyed, an exact description shall be recorded in the records of the communi ty. VI Regarding fences between neighbor and neighbor the following regulations shall be in force: a) I f , within the very near fu tu re , both w i l l make use of i t , then i t shall be b u i l t on the property l i n e , and both shall p a r tic ip a te in i t s erection. b) I f l a t e r a neighbor desires to share the fence of the o ther, he shall have the p r iv ile g e of doing so, but he shall be responsible fo r reimbursing the former fo r his work in a f a i r manner. c) Taking fo r granted th a t i t w i l l not occur among us in t e n t io n a lly , y e t i f i t should happen that a neighbor has trespassed with his fence on the property of the other, no squ atter's rights shall be practiced, but both are to come to an amicable agreement. d) All fences are to be wel1-constructed, be 5 fe e t high, and the lower 4 r a i l s dare not be more than 3^ inches apart. 160 NOTE: We forbid each other the manufacture of sugar and vinegar in the open f o r e s t , i f guards have not been set up so th at cows, hogs, and steers may be prevented from drinking such water, under a penalty of 5 d o lla r s , and everyone is made responsible f o r the reporting o f v io la tio n s ; and in cases where c a t t le drink such water and d ie , the v io la to r is held respon­ s ib le f o r paying the damages. V II Regarding the damages suffered by neighbors, i n f l i c t e d by c a t t l e and poultry o f others, and regarding f a i r remuneration, the following regulations shall be in force: a) I f someone has c a t t le or horses th at jump over fences and do damage in the f i e l d of another, then, i f they are not able to come to an agreement, above a l l , the fence is to be examined i f i t had been constructed according to the regula­ tio n s , sturdy enough, and i f perhaps the standing grain on the other side was closer than 6 fe e t to the fence and tempted the animal; on the other hand, whether or not the owner o f the animals had used the necessary preventive measures to prevent his animals from jumping fences. I f i t should be discovered that he had been informed or knew th a t his animals had th is bad tendency, but that he did not take the necessary precau­ tionary measures, and t h a t , moreover, the fence had been b u i l t according to regulatio ns, then he is responsible not only for the damage done but also fo r the costs of the inspection. If the animals are so uncontrollable th at they cannot be prevented from jumping fences by the preventive measureswhich are in use, then they must be disposed of or penned up. b) I f the damage is done by hogs, the neighbor is to be informed of th is upon the f i r s t occurrence and to ld to pen them up or to i n s t i t u t e other preventive measures. I f he f a i l s to do t h is , and they break through a r e g u la t io n -b u ilt fence, then he is held responsible fo r paying the damages; but the other dare not seize them, much less k i l l them. c) I f neighbors are unable to agree on thebehavior of t h e i r p o u ltry , and the poultry o f the one repeatedly i n f l i c t s damage on the crops of the other, without the owner o ffe rin g to pay a f a i r remuneration, then he shall be compelled to get r id of his poultry or to make r e s t it u t io n and pay the costs on each occasion. d) I f anyone has c a t t le that are dangerous, he shall put to use every precautionary devise and measure, and i f these are unavailing, such c a t t le must be disposed o f , and r e s t i t u ­ tion must be made fo r damages done. V III I f in the act of f e l l i n g tre e s , or i f in some other manner the c a t t le of another are injured or k i l l e d , the person respon­ s i b l e , i f they are unable to come to f a i r agreement, is to 161 make r e s t i t u t i o n , and, in any his neighbor o f the accident. case, i t i s his duty to n o tify IX In order to maintain t h e s e legal reg u latio n s to provide the required supervision, and to pass v e rd ic ts in cases of disputes th a t may a r i s e , the community s h a ll e l e c t , by m ajority vote, one e ld e r and two j u s t i c e s o f the peace, whose number, however, may be increased w i t h the growth o f the community, f o r a term o f 3 years, and w h o are accountable to the commun­ i t y f o r the adm inistration o f t h e i r o f f i c e s , and have the follow ing powers and duties: X The duties o f the e ld e r are: a) As often as is n e c e s s a r y , to c a l l and conduct a com­ munity meeting. He is to see t o i t t h a t no voting member absents him self w ithout a val i d excuse, and he is to mete out an earnest admonition to anyone who misses twice without an excuse (the t h ir d time s u c h a one must pay a fin e o f 25 cents, which flows in to a t r e a s u r y established by the commun i t y ). b) To determine c o n s c i e n t io u s ly the required contribu­ tions according to the above-mentioned regulatio ns and with the help o f the 2 ju s tic e s o f the peace to c o lle c t and record the same as soon as possible. c) To s e le c t and engage p e o p le to render the necessary community s e rv ic e , and with t h e help o f the ju s tic e s o f the peace to conduct s t r i c t s u p e r v is io n --w h o e v e r absents himself without a v a lid excuse sh a ll b e e a r n e s tly admonished (and fined o n e -h a lf d o l la r the s e c o n d tim e ). Also, the time fo r which one has been engaged m u s t be adhered to pun ctu ally, f a i l i n g which, he has to make up the tim e . d) In cases of disputes i n v o l v i n g th e time of the ju stice s of the peace in the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f th e duties according to the above-mentioned r e g u l a t i o n s , the g u i l t y party shall be held responsible fo r t h e i r compensation f o r loss of time. e) To give an account a n n u a l l y to th e community fo r other loss o f time and expenses, so t h a t he may be reimbursed in a f a i r and equ itable manner. f) I f some member should commit an i n ju s t i c e on these occasions and remain o b s t i n a t e , or have given public offense, he is to report i t to the p a s t o r . XI The ju s tic e s of the peace a r e , in th e cases mentioned above and in other cases where i t m a y be necessary, the assistants of the e l d e r , and in his absence o f his i n a b i l i t y to serve, one of them sh a ll be his r e p r e s e n t a ti ve a l t e r n a t e l y , and he shall have the same powers and duties. 162 X II All these regulations shall have v a l i d i t y and force as long as they have not been repealed or l a t e r amended by 3/4 o f the vote o f the community. Amendments and new paragraphs are in e f f e c t as soon as they have been accepted by the community. In the t a ll y i n g of votes, the votes are t a l l i e d according to the number of those present--he therefore who is not present loses his vote unless i t should happen th at he send in his vote in w ritte n form. Source: Herman F. Zehnder, Teach My People the T ruth! (Bay C ity , Michigan: By the Author, Box 404, 1970), pp. 216-18.