In the Vicinity

 

.Lime Creek

Civil War Monument

Medina Center

Demings Lake

Tiffin

Tiffin Mill

C. C. Morse, proprietor of Tiffin Mills

Photo from Lenawee Historical Museum

C. C. Morse from 1874 Lenawee Atlas

House built on land first deeded to Nathaniel Upton, perhaps built by him or by J. G. Smith, brother-in-law of neighbor George Washington Moore. In the late 19th century this was the home of the John Monahan family.

Location of the early home of John Foster, across from Tiffin Mills.  The house burned in the early 2010s.

Tiffin house closest to Tiffin Mills location

The middle house at Tiffin Mills

Not right at Tiffin Mills, but on Hughes Hwy. north of the fork in the road to Tiffin.

Upton/Smith/Higley/Monahan farm buildings on Medina Rd.

Canandaigua

On Canandaigua Road to the west of Bean Creek and the village.  This is near where the Canandaigua Mills used to be.  There are no known pictures of these mills of the past.

Entering the village from the west, the old William Cavender farm is on the left.

On Gregg Street looking west.

Back of the old store, now demolished.

Church and school building from Gregg Street.

Barn corner of Gregg and Cavender Streets, at the old Webster farm.

Cemetery on the highway.  Those trees were once small shrubs over a hundred years ago.  See "Photographs" Page photo, when M-156 was a narrow dirt road.  This is what happens when you don't keep your hedge trimmed!

Bates Street looking west.

Old store in the 2010's, now demolished.  Annis Darr's parents met here upstairs at a dance in the 1880's.

Large brick home of Sylvester Slater, 1873 Lenawee Plat Book,

Harris Hwy., Sec. 12 Medina Twp.  Mr. Slater was a Landlord with a personal worth of $45,000 on the 1870 census, and living with a younger Mr. Richards, a merchant (his probable son-in-law)  By 1880 Mr. Slater is at the same location with occupation Miller.  

1874 Lenawee Atlas shows Section 12 Medina Twp. shows J. Richards land on what is later named Harris Hwy., and also to the west of the village with the * symbol tht means mill location.  This is 40 years after settlement and the Cavenders have been replaced by the Dye family; Samuel Gregg moved to Adrian and they had the Websters at the corner farm on Gregg Street and the Macombers to the south.

First wife of the Hon. Philo Wilson of Canandaigua.  Philo is buried here next to his first wife and child in an unmarked grave.  Notes from his obituary are available at his Find-a-grave memorial here and from a Lenawee history book a short biography of this important early settler who was once Judge of entire county and twice a state legislator. The convention of 1856 was the last for the Whig party which elected President Millard Fillmore, who had ties to this county--his sister is buried pioneer row Oakwood in Adrian.  We could image that Philo Wilson and President Fillmore were acquainted.

1857 wall map of Lenawee, showing properties of Philo Wilson and others.  Another important early settler was C. H. Baldwin.  A short biography of Mr. Baldwin is available at his Find-a-grave memorial.

This 1864 wall map of Washtenaw and Lenawee Counties shows the village lot numbers, as well as a business directory with references to Dr. Chappell, Mr. Cross the saw miller (later of Clayton, if I'm not mistaken), and Baldwin and Crouch, manufacturers of wagons and horse rakes.  There is also a second church shown at Chapel and Gregg Streets.

1893 Lenawee plat map shows increased land holdings for Mr. Richards of the Canandaigua Mills, as well as newcomers Ranger, Spaulding, Hawkins, Baggerly and Mrs Brown.

Site of Sanuel Gregg's first tavern and the first hotel (lot). And some of the great places left in the village.

Beautiful old houses

Cavender farm

Main Street near Cavender.

Moses//Hiram Vail farm east on Canandaigua Road from the 1873 Lenawee Atlas.

Old Vail home in 2010's before demolition.  It was located at the junction of Canandaigua and Medina Roads.  A barn or sheds may still be there, and it is shown in Google Maps.  Many pioneer families are related to the Vails; for instance,  Mrs. Isaac Warren of South Dover was a Vail, the mother of Darwin, Isaac and Harriet.

S. K. Kinney place Section 7 Seneca Twp., a mile or so SE of Canandaigua.  According to his biographies I've read, Mr. Kinney was an extremely early pioneer in Lenawee County and his family were extensive farmers in Seneca.  This is from the 1873 Lenawee Atlas.

Samuel Kinney house 2010's Packard Rd., Sec. 7 Seneca Twp.

Short bio from Illustrated History and Biographical Record of Lenawee County page 161.  Samuel's wife Mary was a Secor of a Seneca farming family.  After her father died in 1849 (and was buried in Morenci), some of the family moved to Toledo to make their fortunes and it seems they did do just that. Secor Road, a main thoroughfare of West Toledo is  named after them.  If you check Find-a-grave, it contains some biographies of the Secor family of Toledo.