I came to this township in the spring of 1835. On the night of Saturday June 20, 1835; corn, potatoes and wheat were frozen to the ground. There were only eight acres of wheat in the county that year and that was in on Jackson Prairie. On Monday following, the commissioners started to lay out what is now known as Vistula road. The first night I spent in Jamestown was northeast of Dewey's corners. It rained and we had no shelter save what we were able to make with strips of bark from elm trees. Only four quarter sections of land had been entered from the government, and the rest was vacant between Fremont and Orland except two pieces, one 92 of acres entered May 10, 1835, by A. Ansley, and 12 acres by C. Elmore, May 19. I entered 80 acres June 27 and Barton Collins 386 acres on July 3, and built the first house in the township.Orrin Preston entered 120 acres in September, 1835. He started to mill one morning with an ox team and went from one mill to another until he was seven miles from Constantine, Michigan, where he was told by the miller he could not grind for him. Mr Preston however, prevailed on him to grind the grist during the night. He had gone over 40 miles. It took people a week to mill in those days. Now people think it hard to spend one day in that way.
The Mallory family came from Vermont in 1836. There were eight children, five girls and three boys, and all lived near together. Their father died in 1864, and the children were all at the funeral but one. In 1868 their mother died and they were all at her funeral.
In the fall of 1865 a large family by the name of Depue came and bought land in Jamestown and Millgrove. The first two generations have all passed away, but I have lived to see the fifth generation of that family.
There are now only four families in the township living on the land they entered. Daughters of C. McCuller and B. Collins, E Leland and Harding.
George Harding - Jamestown Township
Early Settlers Meeting
