(P.75) Indian trails were the first roads in this section. They formed the highways over which the pioneers came to their wilderness homes. Occasionally the wagons would come up against the trees which grew so near together that one must be cut before they could get through.

     The beginnings could hardly be detailed as such, but somehow the march of progress turned these indian trails into roads, July 4th, 1832, Congress passed an act directing the president to appoint three commissioners to lay out a road for military and other purposes, from Detroit through Shiawassee county to the mouth of the Grand river. The sum of $2,500 was expended during the next two years, in opening and grading the first ten miles out. in 1835, Congress apportioned $25,000 more, which opened the road one hundred feet wide through the timber, and built bridges as far as the Cedar river. A grant of five thousand acres of land was also secured for the Grand river and Saginaw roads, of which our road, received its share. While the work thus provided for was in progress Michigan became a state. Soon after Judge Turner (P.76) came to Howell in 1840, he became interested in the project. The road which he found opened to Brighton, was gradually worked through Howell, and nearly to Fowlerville, largely by his efforts for state appropriations and other ways of securing funds for that purpose. In the spring of 1841, $5,000 was transferred by the State Legislature from the North Wagon Road," to the "Grand River Turnpike," with which it was opened to Lansing. This appropriation was increased by the addition of "non resident taxes" for all land within two miles of the road along the line of the improvement. The legislature of 1848, passed an act providing that 10,000 acres of internal improvement lands be appropriated to improving the Grand River road from Howell to what is now Lansing, then the village of Michigan, six thousand acres in Ingham county and four thousand acres in Livingston county. With the aid of a large number of private subscriptions which were secured, this appropriation added to what had gone before, put the road west of Howell in fairly good condition.

     Before this time the stage lines heretofore mentioned, were doing a thriving business from Howell to Detroit. About 1842 or 1843, Ralph Fowler who had become very much interested in the road west of town because of his connection with it as commissioner, and C. B. Williams of Williamston, put a live of lumber wagons to running between Howell and Lansing which rapidly developed into another stage line in that direction.

     (P.77) The first Legislature of Michigan went on record for roads. Acts were passed for state roads everywhere where any one suggested them. If a very small percentage of those provided for had come to be roads, the pioneers would have vied with present day tax conditions. Among those which would have come to Howell was a road from Allegan to Hastings, to Charlotte, to Mason, to Howell, to intersect with the Grand River road here. F. J. B. Crane of Howell, was one of its commissioners. The next Legislature seems to have insisted that something be done for this road for another act was passed for the same line. Guy C. Lee was named as commissioner in this act in place of Mr. Crane. In 1838 the same line was again provided for except that in describing it, the line was reversed, the description commencing at Howell, George W. Jewett was one of the commissioners named in this act. It seems to have been a case of three times and out however, for the road was never built.

     In 1840 an act was passed providing for a state road from Milford to Howell but it was never opened.

     While the proposed line failed to touch Howell the canal fever which swept through this section about 1837 should be noted in this connection. The Legislature appropriated $20,000 for the surveys. Three were proposed which touched the county. The one which promised most was to commence at (P.78) Mt. Clemens on the Clinton river and ran to the mouth of the Kalamazoo river. It crossed Crooked Lake in this county. A branch canal was promoted from Crooked lake along the Huron river to Dexter, and a company was chartered for its construction. As late as 1845 the agitation for these water routes had life but they too died in the paper stages of the enterprise.

     In 1843 a rail road project was started but farmers all along the line strongly opposed it on the ground that it would injure their teaming trade and make it unprofitable for them to keep so many horses, thus forcing them back to oxen for their farm work. Partially as an outgrowth of this rail road agitation which there grew up a sentiment for a plank road which materialized the next year when the Legislature passed an act appointing Charles P. Bush and Ely Barnard of Livingston county and Levi Cook, John Blindbury and David Thompson of Wayne County as a board of commissioners to solicit stock to build the "Detroit and Grand River Plank Road." Quite an amount was secured but no where near the $50,000 which the charter provided for and the project was given up.

     In 1850 another plank road enterprise was started. George W. Lee, Josiah Turner, B. W. Dennis, F. S. Prevost and Noah Ramsdell were appointed commissioners by act of the Legislature, to solicit stock for the building of a plank road from Howell to (P.79) Byron, The next year the act was amended by making Nathaniel Turner and Harvey T. Lee commissioners in place of B. W. Dennis and F. J. Prevost. The $30,000 required by their charter was never secured but enough was raised to make the promoters sure that it would pull through and their company was organized by electing George W. Lee, president, Josiah Turner secretary and treasurer.

     April 3, 1848, a company was incorporated with a capital stock of one-hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars, to build a plank road from Detroit to Howell also from a point on this road to Waterford, also from some other point on the line, to Milford. The Company was empowered to increase its stock twenty-five thousand dollars at some future time, and then to extend its main line from Howell to "the village of Michigan," now Lansing. A commission was selected to solicit stock, as follows: Henry Ledyard and A. S. Bagg of Detroit, Joseph M. Mead of Plymouth, Augustus C. Baldwin of Milford, and Josiah Turner of Howell. By its charter this company was empowered "to enter upon and take possession" of the Detroit and Grand River road.

     Hon. C. C. Trowbridge of Detroit, became president of the company and Henry Ledyard, also of Detroit, secretary and treasurer. The commission made a vigorous canvass and soon had enough money to warrant commencing work. During the year 1850 the plank was laid to Howell and the great enterprise  (P.80) became a fact. The financial success of the Detroit and Howell road was assured long before the planks were all laid. This caused the organization of another company which secured its incorporation in the spring of 1850. James Seymour, Hiram R. Smith, Ephraim B. Danforth, George W. Lee and Frederick C. Whipple were the commission to solicit sixty thousand dollars of stock. Their company was given the Grand River road from Lansing to Howell. They had raised enough to commence work by that fall and two years later, had the road completed.

     In these days it is hard to grasp the value of such a road to the development of all this part of Michigan. It opened the way for the hundreds of teams which daily passed over it. The old stages which were little more than lumber wagons, gave place to four horse vehicles which carried from twelve to twenty persons each.

     When the planks wore out and rotted away the company filled the gaps with gravel which became more and more substantial until the early '70s when public sentiment against the tollgates became so great that everyone could see that they were not to stand much longer. The companies took off their repair forces and allowed the road to run down gradually, until the people would stand it no longer, and in, 1881 they ceased to collect toll here. They hung on in other parts of the line until some years later. The old tollgate houses were moved back and sold (P.81) for residences. Charters of the companies provided for gates every five miles. As Howell was the end of both roads, each company maintained a gate here the one just in the eastern part of town and the other at the brow of the hill just west of the village.

     This arrangement made it impossible for anyone to get in or, out of town without paying the cent per mile they traveled on that road, for each horse they drove. It seems a nominal amount but it was a big enterprise in the early day and paid a large income on the investment before the railroad came here.

     In this connection it may be well to review the railroad projects and development here. A few miles beyond Brighton is a little settlement of very old houses and a one-story brick building. This old town is Kensington. In the very early days it had a few aggressive men who sought to build a city there. The brick building was their "Wild Cat" bank. It's failure with the consequent loss to people all through this section; was their death blow. In whatever enterprise their names appeared after that, the people turned against it. In 1837 a railroad was projected from Detroit to Farmington, to Kensington, to Howell, to Byron, to Shiawassee village. It is noticeable that the charter provided that the company should not only have the right to propel cars by steam power, but by animals or a combination of any power they should decide upon. The commission to solicit stock for this enterprise had two (P.82) members from Kensington who were prominent in the work, and the people refused to take hold with them. Even the names of such thoroughly reliable men as Ely Barnard of Howell, and others along the line who were members of the commission, did not suffice to give the people confidence and they would not take hold.

     In 1847, there was another railroad project here. George W. Lee, L. K. Hewett and E. F. Burt were the Howell portion of the committee which worked it up. They created quite a sentiment and raised considerable money here. Other parts of the line failed to bring up their portion however and the company never went far enough to even organize.

     June 17, 1864 a meeting was held at New Hudson in response to a sentiment which had long been growing, and the Detroit and Howell Railroad Company was organized. The board of directors elected at that time contained the names of John H. Galloway, E. F. Burt, R. C. Rumsey, Joseph H. Wilcox, Ely Barnard, William McPherson and Marcus B. Wilcox of Howell. The directors organized by electing, Theodatus T. Lyon, president; E. F. Burt, secretary; William McPherson, treasurer and Marcus B. Wilcox, attorney. The capital stock was placed at $400,000 in shares of fifty dollars each. Hiram Newman, Isaac W. Bush, P. B. Holdridge, Giles Tucker and J. M. Swife were appointed a commission to secure the stock.

     There was a unity of purpose in Howell at that day (P.83) which surmounts every obstacle. Led by William McPherson who was more active in the work and more ready to sacrifice his time and labor than probably any other, the people went after the great project they had
undertaken. A year later $250,000 had been subscribed, and in September, 1866, President Lyon announced that $300,000 had been secured. This was the sum agreed upon when work should begin.

     It required another year to secure the surveys and preliminary engineering and then grading commenced. Many will remember that day when the crowd gathered near a low place of ground not far from where the water tank at the Howell station now stands, to see the first dirt move for the new railroad. William McPherson wheeled the first load; James Donelly the second and George Greenaway the third. A number of Howell people followed, one after another. It was a standing subject for talk that Mr. McPherson wheeled his load easier than any other of the older men who tried it.

     Some stock subscriptions failed to materialize but the company pushed on with all the money it could secure. When about $240,000 had been expended their funds gave out and they were obliged to quit.  They had accomplished enough however to insure the building of the road and that was what they wanted.

     In 1868 another company was organized to build a railroad from Howell to Lansing. Howell people were bending all their energies for the Detroit road (P.84) and only a few became financially interested in the new line. Joseph H. Wilcox was one of its board of directors however. They secured most of the franchises and right of way and had accomplished considerable of the preliminary work when the other company was obliged to suspend its operations.

     The work accomplished on the Detroit and Howell line had already attracted considerable attention in financial circles. When the company was obliged to quit, James F. Joy and other Detroit capitalists interested themselves. Learning that all the old company wanted was the construction of the road, they proposed to enter into bonds to do this if the old company would give them what they had, and they could also acquire the holdings of the Lansing and Howell company. These terms were accepted. Mr. Joy and his associates at once organized what they called the Detroit, Lansing, and Lake Michigan R. R. Company, and took up the work under their contract. A newly opened road from Lansing to Ionia was also acquired by the company shortly after they commenced operations.

     True to their agreements the new company went vigorously to work at both ends of the line. In May, 1871 the eastern end was opened to Brighton, and three months later this whole county turned out to a great celebration at Fowlerville, addressed by Dennis Shields of Howell, which celebrated the advent of the iron horse in that village. August 22, 1871 the (P.85) line was formally opened with an excursion train from Detroit to Keywood five miles beyond Greenville.

     The Detroit Post in reporting the trip said:
     "At Howell the train was received with something of an ovation. A six-pound cannon had been brought into service and fired a salute as the train moved up to the depot, where were assembled an immense concourse of people who testified their gratification at the arrival of the party, by cheers and waving of handkerchiefs. Ladies distributed bouquets. The people are enthusiastic over the arrival of the iron horse in their town and though the assemblage was impromptu, it clearly indicated the joy which they feel over the completion of the railroad for which they have worked and waited for so many long years. Their enthusiasm is pardonable. The town has a population of over two thousand, is one of the handsomest in the state and next to Lansing, probably the most important on the line of the road."

     The road like most business projects, has seen its ups and downs, but has nearly always been a paying property. Its name was changed to the Detroit, Lansing and Northern, not long after it commenced running. It was acquired by the Pere Marquette system a few years ago, and is now operating under that name.

     As far back as 1869, Ex-Governor Ashley of Toledo, proposed the construction of a railroad through Howell from that city, to the north. His company (P.86) was organized in Ann Arbor, Oct. 28 of that year and about $20,000 of capital stock was secured in this county. Right of way was secured from Toledo to Ann Arbor, but as only about five per-cent of the amount subscribed north of that place, was paid in, the road left its original line and ran to South Lyon which was its northern terminal for a number of years. Gov. Ashley was one of  those men who never give up however, and with his sons, Harry and James M. Ashley, kept at the project of extending northward. In 1888 their work was crowned with success and the Toledo, Ann Arbor and North Michigan R. R. was completed through Howell to Frankfort on Lake Michigan. A few years later a system of large transfer steamers was established across Lake Michigan to Menominee, and the road became a leading trunk line to the northwest, adopting as its trademark the claim that It was the "Key to Michigan." Its name has been changed a number of times as its owners have changed but for several years past it has been known as "The Ann Arbor Line."

     When this road sought to cross the old road just south of Howell, they were refused the right of way. The tracks were laid up to the old road's right of way on both sides and one stormy Saturday night, a large gang of men were brought in from the south. By daylight Sunday morning a hole bad been dug under the old road and their tracks were united. The next day an armed guard was posted there and a bridge which (P.87) had been prepared for the place, was put in. Officials of the two roads held a conference Sunday evening and seemed to get together. The new company was thrown off its guard and withdrew its forces. Early Monday morning the work train of the Detroit, Lansing and Northern appeared on the scene with a load of necessary material, and filled the cut under the bridge. Then ensued a series of digging out and filling up lasting for some time. A compromise was finally affected whereby the new road was moved to the west several rods and a grade crossing with a station which for years was known as Howell Junction, secured. It is now known as Ann-Pere.

     A very spirited indignation meeting of Howell citizens was held at the court house during the quarrel.

     The first train north from here carried a party of Howell businessmen who paid two dollars apiece and spent the afternoon in Owosso.