Pioneer History?

This progressive series was researched and written specifically for the Paw Paw pages by Jim Phillips. Jim is a lifelong Southwest Michigan resident, historian, teacher, Living History Presentor and musician.

Agard's Dream

Could a pot of gold be lying buried somewhere at the north end of Maple Lake that has eluded treasure hunters for over 160 years?

Just downriver from the hydro-plant is the site of "Agard’s Landing" or "Agard’s Trading Post." John Agard, who was of English and French descent, foresaw Paw Paw as a good site for a prospering business when, with the help of an Indian guide, he explored the area in 1826.

He knew that the proposed Territorial Road was to go through here and also believed that the spot on the river known as the "ripples" was the best place for crossing because of the low banks and shallow water.

In 1833 he moved to the area with his family, built a trading post with a landing wharf and warehouse, and began trading goods with the local Indians for maple sugar and furs.

For two years his post flourished. In fact, he did so well that several Indian families moved near him and built cabins.

Agard died of a heart attack in 1835 and is buried on the property. Rumors began to circulate almost immediately that a portion of his accumulated wealth had been buried with him.

Treasure hunters flocked to the site in hopes of locating the buried fortune but to no avail. Some claimed to have been chased off by some other-worldly presence!

Anyway, as far as I know, no one has ever found John Agard or made off with his cache of gold.

Hunting in Days of Old

Hunting in days of old was not the hobby it is today. It was a matter of subsistence and a means of supplementing a family’s food supply. And it could be dangerous.

A hunter in 20th century southwest Michigan has little to worry about as compared to the hunters of the 1830s. There are no wolves, bears, or hostile Indians to worry about and getting lost is nearly impossible. A one-mile walk (at the most) in any direction will lead you to a road, a foot trail, or someone’s front porch.

I came across an account of a young man from Paw Paw named Edwin Mears who, with some companions, set off hunting in 1836. He somehow became separated from his partners and couldn’t find them or his way home. He wandered for a full four days and nights and found himself on the shore of Lake Michigan, suffering terribly from cold and hunger.

Just as Edwin came to the realization that he was doomed to perish in the wilderness, he heard the voices of the search party that would save him. He was so near dead they did not expect him to recover but, he did and lived a great many years.

The fact that Edwin became lost and wound up on the shores of Lake Michigan illustrates just how vast a wilderness southwest Michigan once was. But getting lost in the woods was not the only danger 19th century hunters faced. In browsing through F.J. Littlejohn’s book, Legends of Michigan and the Old Northwest, published in Allegan in 1875, I came across an interesting paragraph:

"We have also alluded to the variety and great abundance of game. But along with animals of harmless habits, there were mingled birds of prey, having ferocious proclivities, always hungering and thirsting for the flesh and blood of man and beast. The bear, the wolf, the panther, the lynx and the wild cat, were ever prowling in thickets, pineries and timber glades."

Robert Nesbitt, an early pioneer of Hamilton making his way home from Kalamazoo one night, was attacked by a pack of ravenous wolves. Though only a mile or so from his home, he was forced to climb a tree to safety.

From his perch in the treetops he could see the lights in his cabin as the hungry wolves howled below, waiting for him to descend.

It was bitter cold and Robert knew there was no one to help free him from his ordeal. Breaking a large limb from the tree, he decided to fight his way to freedom and dropped to the ground, swinging the club furiously and forcing the wolves back. Making a run for his cabin he was forced to climb yet another tree from which he repeated the process as his enemies returned for another charge.

Robert repeated this method of defense until he reached the shelter of his cabin, nearly exhausted from the strenuous fight with the wolves and the attending excitement. The account fails to mention just how long this took but, my guess is hours.

Oak Openings

The years 1833-1835 mark the beginning of a heavy tide of immigrants from the east. Roads that brought them across southwest Michigan were well-beaten Indian trails but we know them now as Territorial Road, Red Arrow Highway, U.S. 12, and others too numerous to mention. Throughout their courses these roads ran through what the early settlers called "oak openings" and, according to their accounts, in a state of nature they were beautiful beyond description.

They referred to them as "great natural parks." The land beneath them was fertile with natural underdrainage and was easily cleared. The trees were scattered with a low, heavy canopy and with little or no undergrowth one could see a great distance.

One early pioneer remarked, "Coming from the bleak New England hills, the country looked to our eyes like the Garden of Eden."

Within 20 years of the arrival of the first settlers, the oak openings were dotted over with well improved farms, fine farm houses, and barns.

So, What’s In A Name?

Van Buren County was first "described and set off by its present metes and bounds" by act of the legislative council of the territory of Michigan in October, 1829. It was part of and attached to Cass County until March, 1837. In 1835, it was decided Van Buren County should be a township by itself and was given the name LaFayette, after the illustrious patriot, the Marquis de La Fayette. In March, 1837, the township of LaFayette was created from the territory that is now Paw Paw Township. The name LaFayette was retained until it was changed by an act of the legislature in 1867 to Paw Paw, taking the name from the village, which was named from the river. The river was named after the "pawpaw fruit and trees that formerly grew in great abundance along the banks of the stream."

Birds Eye View From Prospect Hill ~ 1875

Capture of Jefferson Davis

Gallery of Historic Community Photos