The township of Novi, designated in the government survey as town 1 north, of range 8 east, has the county of Wayne for its southern boundary, and is joined on the north, east, and west, respectively, by the townships of Commerce, Farmington, and Lyon. Its soil b very productive, its surface everywhere rolling, but rather more so in the southern than in the northern part. There is some marshy land in the north, and a swamp of considerable size lies in the southwest, extending to and across the town line of Lyon.

Walled lake, a beautiful body of clear water, abounding with fish, covers nearly two-thirds the area of section 3, as well as a considerable portion of the westerly half of section 2 ; the larger portion of the lake, about five hundred and fifty acres, lying within the limits of Novi, the remainder, embracing the head of the lake, being in the town of Commerce. The origin of the name of this sheet of water was in the fact that many years ago there is said to have existed along its margin, at several points, rows of boulders, which lay in such regular order that some imaginative people believed, and industriously disseminated their theory that these had been placed in their position by the hands of Indians, in some remote day; in other words, that the lake had been walled in by the red men, though it must have been a heavy tax on human ingenuity to assign any possible reason which could have operated to induce the indolent savages to perform the severe labor which would be necessary to the execution of such a work. Probably true explanation of the existence of the "wall" is that the ice of the Jake crowding the rocks landward, little by little, each winter, for perhaps a thousand years, had at last ranged them in the positions in which the white man found them.

The outlet of Walled lake is at its southwestern point, from whence issues a stream of some size, which, with its small branches, are the only water courses in the township. One of these rises in the east, near the Farmington line ; the other, and larger one, having its source in springs upon the Hills farm, in the northwest quarter of section 28. The main stream crosses the base-line at the cornering of sections 34 and 35, and thence pursues a southeasterly course to its confluence with the Rouge river, in Wayne county. Formerly, the outlet stream was of sufficient size to be made useful for mill purposes, but the clearing of the country, and the draining of swamps, have so reduced its volume that it is no longer available, and now it turns no millwheel in all its course through Oakland County.

The Detroit and Howell plank-road (this being its legal name, though it is not a plank, but an excellent graveled turnpike, enters the township on the southeast quarter of section 24, and, passing northwestwardly in a right line, leaves it from the southwest of section 7. The track of the Holly, Wayne and Monroe railroad enters from the south, at the southeast corner of section 34, and crosses the town line into Commerce, from the northwest corner of section 5, having one station within the town, at Novi village.

Originally the township was heavily timbered, and the forest and the lake were favorite hunting , fishing , and camping grounds of the Indians. Ancient burial grounds of their people have been discovered in several localities, one being on the farm of William Tenney at Walled lake, and another on the land of John C. Emery, just east of the centre of section 26. Even yet the plow occasionally brings to the light long buried relics of the people who once called these lands their own.

The first white man who settled in that wilderness which became the township of Novi was Deacon Erastus Ingersoll, who came from Victor, Ontario county, New York. It was on the 26th day of April, 1825, that he arrived with his wife and nine children upon the southeast quarter of section 24, the east half of which he had entered at the land office on the twentieth of the preceding September. His, however, was not the first entry of land within the present boundaries of the township ; the precedence in that particular belonged to John Gould, who, earlier in the same month (September 3, 1824), had entered the northeast quarter of section 36 ; and there were also several other entries bearing even date with that of the deacon, viz., those of Benjamin Bentley, on parts of sections 23 and 25 ; of Pitts Tafft, on the southwest quarter of section 34, and also on section 33 ; and of Joseph Eddy, on the northeast quarter of section 34.

On the morning following his arrival, Mr. Ingersoll, with the help of his son, E. S. Ingersoll, now of Eaton county, Michigan, commenced felling trees and clearing a space for the establishment of their home and the erection of the first house in Novi, though then it was in Bloomfield, under which name, until 1827, was comprehended not only the present towns of Bloomfield and West Bloomfield, but also those of Royal Oak, Troy, Southfield, Farmington, Novi, Commerce, Milford, and Lyon. On the east, now the town of Farmington, they had neighbors within comparatively easy distance : Arthur Power, an enterprising Quaker, Dr. Ezekiel Webb, George W. Collins, George Brownell, Samuel Mansfield, Wardwell Green, Hezekiah B. Smith, Solomon Walker, Howland Mason, Timothy Tolman, Orrin Garfield, and a few others. Some of these were six or seven miles away, but in those days men might live double that distance apart and be neighbors still. In this case, as in others at that time, each readily and cheerfully gave a half-day's assistance, and this, with his own and his son's diligent labor, enabled Mr. Ingersoll to move into and occupy his new house on the 10th of May, twenty-three days after the felling of the first tree upon its site. Settlers' houses have often been built in much less than that time, but perhaps in this case the weather was unfavorable, and probably the deacon's house was of unusual size and pretensions. As to the eligibility of his location and the fertility of his land, they were certainly among the best in the township then, as now. On the 10th of May, the same day on which he first occupied his new house, he made a further entry on the same section 24, E. B. Ingersoll, son of Erastus, relates that after their settlement there the Indians, of whom there was a village or encampment of some three hundred at Walled lake, and who were their only neighbors on the west, supplied the family with venison and fish for some three or four years.

It was not long that they continued to be the only settlers in the township. During the month of May, John Gould settled upon the northeast quarter of section 36, and commenced the erection of buildings, although his family did not arrive until the 20th of March in the following year. He remained a resident of Novi for seven years, and removed to Salem, Washtenaw county, in the spring of 1832.

Joseph Eddy came from Wayne county. New York, and settled on the northeast quarter of section 34, and Pitts Tafft established himself upon the southwest quarter of the same section. Both these came in the autumn of 1825. Mr. Myra Gage, now of Novi Corners, distinctly recollects assisting at the erection of Mr. Eddy's log house. He (Eddy) afterwards moved away, for the sake of more "elbow-room," and settled in Clinton county, where he died.

Pitts Tafft, upon his arrival, at once set about preparing ground for wheat, and succeeded in getting in a small field in the fall of 1825. This was cut in the succeeding July, and was the first wheat ever harvested in the township.

These above mentioned are believed to have been the only families who made permanent settlement in the town in the year 1825, but there were many others who came in that year, searching for locations on which to erect their future homes. Among these were William Yerkes and Thomas Pinkerton, two young men (cousins) from Romulus, Seneca county, New York, who traveled thence to Buffalo, where they embarked on the old steamboat " Superior," and landed at Detroit on the 20th of April, 1825, just a week before Erastus Ingersoll commenced clearing the ground for his house, on section 24. No doubt they experienced some feeling of discouragement as they turned their faces towards the northwest, from Detroit, and floundered through the seas of mud which lay between that city and the place of their destination, but they kept resolutely on, and in due time reached the lands on which they afterwards settled. While there making their selections they encountered another party, who had minutes of the same tracts which they had determined upon entering, and this circumstance cut short their stay, and hurried them back to Detroit to be first at the land-office. Using every effort to reach the city in the least possible time, they took the Indian trail, and hurried on by way of George W. Collins' place, in Farmington, stopped at Thibaud's fifteen-mile house, traversed the muddy swamps, which in many places seemed to be almost bottomless, and arrived in town at night, on the 29th of April, and at the opening of the land office on the following morning made their entries, namely, William Yerkes, on section 36 and the southeast quarter of 35, and Thomas Pinkerton, the southeast quarter of 25, From Detroit they returned to Seneca county, and commenced arrangements for the transfer of their homes to the (then) far west.

On the 10th of March following they again turned their faces towards Michigan, this time to make the journey on foot, with knapsack on back and axe in hand. They crossed the Niagara river at Lewiston, and proceeded west through the region then known as Upper Canada. Notwithstanding the melting snow, the mud, and the many obstacles, they accomplished the entire distance of more than four hundred miles in fourteen days, arriving March 24, 1826, in a disgusted and rather homesick frame of mind. On the 27th they commenced the work of chopping and fencing, Mr. Pinkerton working in the employ of his uncle, Joseph Yerkes (father of William Yerkes, Esq.), who entered upon lands just south of them, and across the base-line. He received from his uncle the sum of eleven dollars per month, and continued to labor for him until the 27th of the following November, eight months, and then commenced the clearing of his own tract on section 25. For a time he boarded at the house of Mr. John Gould, who was just south of him, and who was the second settler in Novi. Mr. Pinkerton was then a bachelor, and so continued until September 20, 1827, when he married Deborah Prudden at Romulus, Seneca county, New York.

William Yerkes had already a family of several children, who followed him to their new home, and formed a part of the colony of sixteen souls who came west under the leadership of the young pioneers from Seneca county. They all bore the name of Yerkes, excepting Pinkerton, Stephen Hayward, and Richard Boughton, and they ranged from one year to fifty-six years in age, the oldest being Joseph Yerkes, who settled across the base-line, and the youngest being an infant child of William Yerkes. They came by water from Buffalo to Detroit, being ten days on the passage from port to port, and four weeks on the whole journey. From Detroit the party and their movables were transported to their destination upon four wagons, two of which were their own, and drawn by their own oxen, and the other two were the horse teams of Diodate Hubbard and John Hamilton, of Piety Hill, now Birmingham. Upon reaching Pinkerton's place, the southeast corner of section 25, Hamilton and Hubbard positively refused to proceed farther, and left their loads there, to be returned for by the ox-teams. Of that party of sixteen ten are still living (1877), at ages varying from fifty-six to eighty-three years, the eldest being William Yerkes, Esq., and another being his old companion, Thomas Pinkerton, aged seventy-five, both hale and active, and both living upon the lands which they bravely commenced clearing more than fifty-one years ago.

The other survivors of that party of immigrants are Mrs. Wm. Yerkes, Joseph Yerkes, Wm. P. Yerkes, Joseph D. Yerkes, Mary and Sally (Utley), daughters of Wm. Yerkes, Richard Boughton, and Stephen Hayward. Old Time has certainly dealt very kindly with them!

Thomas Watts, an Englishman, settled early in the spring of 1826. He had located his lands in the previous fall (October 8, 1825), viz., one hundred and sixty acres on section 27, and eighty acres on section 26. He settled on the first named tract. Afterwards he sold a part, or all of these lands, to Mrs. Thornton.

Samuel Hungerford and James Wilkinson came from Watertown, New York, and made entries, Wilkinson on section 33, and Hungerford on section 34, June 7, 1825 ; after which they worked in the employ of Dr. Ezekiel Webb, of Farmington. In 1826 they both settled on the lands which they had entered the previous year. Wilkinson married a sister of William Yerkes, Esq. He said to Joshua Simmons that, upon his arrival in Novi, after purchasing his land, his whole capital was his axe and a small bundle tied in a pocket handkerchief. Afterwards he sold his land and moved upon section 8. Colonel Hungerford filled many public offices during his long life, and was held in high esteem by his fellow townsmen. He went to California in 1849, and remained eleven years. After his return he lived with his son, William P. Hungerford, at Northville, where he died in the year 1875, at the age of seventy-six. Philo Hungerford made entry on section 34 in May, 1825. Benjamin Hungerford also entered on section 33, and settled there late in the year 1826, About the same time Daniel Bentley established himself on section 25, and on the 31st of October Benjamin A. Hance entered a part of section 2, but did not settle upon it until the spring of 1827, when John Hiles also settled on 26, and Thomas M. Gould on the northeast quarter of the same section.

An act of the legislative council, approved April 12, 1827, established the town of Farmington. By its operation the township division proclaimed by the governor in 1820 became inoperative, and the present towns of Commerce, Milford, Lyon, and Novi ceased to be included with Bloomfield, and became parts of Farmington. One of the first justices of the peace appointed for that town was William Yerks, and other Farmington offices were filled by citizens of this town ; but their names cannot be given, as the records containing the minutes of that election were destroyed in the Farmington fire, in 1872.

The first school in the township of Novi was opened in the autumn of 1827, in a log building near the base-line, on the farm of Pitts Tafft. It probably fell far short of the schools of the present day in educational facilities and appliances, but answered its purpose well, and was most creditable to the few and impoverished settlers in the town at that time. It was, of course, supported by subscription, and it continued its first session from November until February, 1828. The teacher was Hiram Wilmarth, of Farmington. Soon after, he settled in Novi, on section 34, not far from Tafft's. He was not only school teacher, but surveyor, and in this last, named capacity he was very extensively employed through all the surrounding country.

The second school in the township (a summer term) was taught by a Miss Light, on the northeast quarter of section 25. A school house was afterwards (1832) built on the southwest quarter of the same section, and others, in due time, in other parts of the township, as the settlers increased in number ; but there was no public school system, nor any subdivision of the township into school districts, for some years, the law directing such laying off into districts being approved April 13, 1833.

The first post office in the township was established in the year 1827, and designated as West Farmington, a name which was at that time applied to the entire township of Novi ( the town now Lyon being at the same time known as West Farmington, Junior). John Gould was the first postmaster, and the office was located at his house. The establishment of this post office was mainly the result of the efforts of Dr. Ezekiel Webb, the postmaster at Farmington Centre. The office brought no emolument to the postmaster other than the revenue produced by the postage on the letters delivered and the privilege of franking his own correspondence. The second postmaster was Dr. J. C. Emery.

Among those who entered lands in the township up to 1830, in addition to those already mentioned, were : On section 26, John Powers, March, 1825 ; John Miles, James Vanduyne, May 24, 1827 ; Isaac Vanduyne, the last two settled in the spring of 1828. On section 27, Lyman W. Andrus, December, 1828, settled at same time ; Mrs. Thornton, settled 1827 ; Gamaliel Simmons, June 23, 1827. On section 23, Robert McKinney, October, 1824; Willard Wadsworth, April, 1825; David A. Simmons, on northeast quarter, March, 1827; Thomas M. Gould, on southeast quarter, August, 1828; David Guile, on southwest quarter, September, 1829, and settled same autumn. On section 28, Samuel White, June, 1827 ; Myron Garfield, settled 1827; Randall Chapman, June, 1828, and settled same year. On section 22, N. C. Prentiss, October 7, 1824 ; Philip Shaw, on southwest quarter, and also on southeast quarter of section 21, September, 1829, and settled on 21 soon after; he died October 4, 1876, in the ninety-seventh year of his age. On section 25, Timothy Farles, October, 1824 ; Joseph Yerkes, June, 1826 ; William B. Garfield, June 6, 1827 ; Captain Stanton Hazzard settled on northwest quarter in 1829. On section 15, Cornelius Davis and N. C. Prentiss, October, 1824; Richmond C. Simmons, June 13, 1825. On section 35, Samuel Mansfield, March, 1825; John Spinney, on the southwest quarter, September, 1826; Abraham Vanduyne, June, 1828, and settled in the fall of the same year. On section 13, Thomas Mulford, in 1827, and Samuel Mulford, July, 1829. On section 14, Ephraim Hick, June, 1825 ; Joshua Phillips, September, 1826. On section 36, Reuben Fitzgerald, June. 1825, and Dr. J. C. Emery, who came from Seneca county. New York, and settled on the base-line, in the southeast corner of the section, in the year 1829 ; he was the first resident physician in West Farmington (Novi), and succeeded John Gould as postmaster when the latter removed to Washtenaw county, in 1832.

In June, 1825, Ebenezer Stewart entered on section 33, and William Tenney on section 3, where he settled in 1827. Cornelius Austin also settled on the same section in that year, and is still living there, at an advanced age. In 1827, Sir Henry Herrington (not a baronet, but a plain citizen) established near Walled lake, William Rice, on section 32, and Ira Crawford located on section 1, M. Van Amburgh, Orange Van Amburgh, and B. F. Hanner also came in about the same time.

In 1828, Ruel Sherman titled on the southeast quarter of section 26 ; and Horace W. Vaughn, James Malloy, Colonel Spencer, John Mitchell, and Smith Parks were among the number who came during that year.

Asaph Smith came in 1830, and settled on the northwest quarter of section 15, With him came his five sons, Asaph Clemendon, John H., Calvin, Benjamin P., and Warren. John Renwick also came in that year, and Apollos Cudworth settled on the northwest quarter of section 23, and Benjamin Brown on the southeast quarter of section 15. Old Mr. Brown, the father of Benjamin, located near Walled lake, and died at the great age of ninety-nine years. Mr. Bishop, father of Levi Bishop, died at almost precisely the same age, ninety-nine years and fourteen days, and these two patriarchs were the oldest people who ever lived in Novi.

The following, the precise dates of whose entry and settlement cannot be given, were among the early comers: John Waterman, William Woodman, Benajah, Saveril, and Amerdon Aldrich, Lewis Britton, on section 22 ; Henry and Zachariah Eddy, John Chambers, Peter Plowman, Henry Courter, Merritt Randolph, Louis Vradenburgh, Charles Thornton, section 21 ; Cyrenius Simmons, northwest quarter of section 27 ; Brayton Flint, Loren Flint, southwest quarter of section 10 ; John Blain, Edward Butterfield, and Phillip Burritt.

Below are mentioned a few of the immigrants who came soon after 1830: David and William W. Entrican, from Massachusetts, arrived in 1831, the former taking eighty acres on section 22, and the latter the south half of southwest quarter of section 14. David still lives in the township, and William is a resident of Ionia county. Daniel Durfee, a Quaker from Long Island, New York, came in 1831, and settled on section 9 ; Samuel Rodgers in 1832, and Jesse Hazen in the same year. He brought with him a wife and eight children, and settled with them on the northwest quarter of section 14. Mr. Hazen was from the State of New York, one of a family of five brothers and two sisters; one of the sisters was Mrs. Champlin Green, and a brother was Paul W. Hazen of Plymouth, Wayne county. Jesse died at the residence of his daughter, Mrs. John M. Norton, in the township of Avon, October 9, 1873, at the age of seventy-one years. Owen F. Whipple, a cooper from Allegheny county, New York, came in 1832, and took forty acres on the southeast quarter of section 15, where he is still living. James Sanford came in 1833, and made extensive purchases of lands in the southeast quarter of section 5, in the southwest quarter of section 4, the northeast quarter of section 8, and in the northwest quarter of section 9. Afterwards he purchased an entire section in Reading township, Hillsdale county. Joseph Perkins came in 1835, and bought on section 8. He is now living at Novi Corners, the oldest man in the town.

A blacksmith shop, opened by David Guile in the fall of 1829, was among the earliest if not the very first of the mechanical industries established in the township. It was located just west of the creek, on the southern line of the southwest quarter of section 23. Another shop was built a little later by Daniel Johnson, Sr., a blacksmith who had first halted at Northfield, but after a short stay there had removed to section 7 in Novi.

Rudolph Sebring opened a wheelwright and wagon shop on the northeast corner of section 36, and Zachariah Eddy plied the trade of shoemaker on section 35. Both these commenced work at very early time, and were the first in their respective lines in the township.

In 1830 the first saw mill in the town was built by David Guile, on the outlet creek above his blacksmith shop. The second saw mill was erected by A. Clemendon Smith, in 1833. Its location was in the extreme northwest corner of section 15, upon the same stream, about a mile and a half from the point where it leaves Walled lake. This mill was afterwards destroyed by fire. Smith then sold the site, with his farm, to Mr. Richardson. He in turn sold the mill seat to G. A. Durfee, who rebuilt the mill, which was then for some time known as the Durfee mill; but after a few years it was discontinued, for the reasons that logs had become comparatively scarce, and that complaints were made of the damage done both to property and to the general health, by reason of the flowage which set back for a considerable distance on sections 9 and 10, and under these circumstances it was considered to be inexpedient and unprofitable to keep it in running condition. The old building is now a sheep barn, on the farm of Mr. Durfee.

A third saw mill was built on the outlet stream, and put in operation by Benajah and Saveril Aldrich immediately after the starting of the mill by Smith. The Aldrich mill was situated in the southeast quarter of section 34, where the railroad now crosses the creek on the land of Robert Yerkes, the track running directly over the old site. Above this, and yet below Guile's mill, a fourth saw mill was afterwards built by Mr. Bartlett; but both its capacity and its business were very small, and it never became a mill of much note among the settlers. For a considerable time after their coming the first settlers had no grist mills nearer than Auburn or Pontiac, which made the procuring of flour a matter of great labor and inconvenience; but in 1827 this was materially lightened by the erection of Steele's mill near Farmington centre ; and then came the opening of the Northville mill, by Nash and Miller, in the fall of 1828, which was as convenient as could be desired to a great portion of the inhabitants of the southern portion of the township.

In the autumn of 1830 a meeting of the inhabitants was held to take the initiatory steps towards the separation of the town from Farmington. In the discussion upon the matter of a name for the new town several diiferent ones were proposed, but those of more than five or six letters seemed to find very little favor ; some of the speakers remarking that they had quite enough of long names, which were "bothersome" and difficult to write, like Farmington. In this dilemma Dr. J. C. Emery, at the suggestion of his wife, proposed the name of Novi, which, being sufficiently brief and easily written, and yet by no means commonplace or homely, found favor with the townspeople, and was agreed to with very little opposition. It did not, however, pass the legislative council without objection, and very disparaging comment, particularly from Mr. James Kingsley, of Ann Arbor, who regarded it as a very unfit and inappropriate name, which he said meant! "not known,"" unknown," or "forgotten," if he rightly recollected his Latin, as he felt pretty sure he did. Nevertheless it was finally adopted, and in the fall of 1832 towns 1 and 2, north of ranges 7 and 8 east, were detached from Farmington, and erected into the township of Novi, embracing not only the present township of the name but also those of Lyon, Milford, and Commerce. The township proper then contained between ninety and one hundred voters. The house of Cyrenius Simmons was appointed as the place of the first township meeting, which was accordingly held there on the 1st day of April, in the year 1833, upon which occasion, as we find upon the record, "the house was called to order by William Yerkes, Esq., viva voce, Moses Bartow was appointed moderator, and Lyman W. Andrus clerk of the board. The board then proceeded to putting in overseers of highways. The following were nominated, seconded, and carried : Amerdon Aldrich, John Blain, John Mead, Israel Whipple, Benj. Hungerford, William Thompson, Dwight Hox, Silas Wilson, Henry Eddy, Peter Plowman, Merritt Randolph, Joseph Chambers, Joseph Eddy, Abraham Vanduyne, Henry Courter, Joab Giles, Edward Butterfield, Orange Van Amburgh, Brayton Flint, Horace W. Vaughn, Calvin Smith, Herman Pettibone, Sir Henry Herrington, Ransom W. Holly, William Tinney, Louis Norton, Abel Peck, Daniel Morgan, Daniel Luke, Henry Ruggles, Jeremiah Curtis, Henry Tuttle, Eliphalet Hungerford. The board then attended to receiving of votes for the following officers, who were separately chosen and appointed by a majority, viz. : for supervisor, Samuel Hungerford was duly appointed ; for clerk, Lyman W. Andrus was duly appointed. Benjamin Hungerford, Eleazer Ruggles, Asaph C. Smith, and Abel Peck were duly appointed assessors ; Louis Vradenburgh, Joseph Blackwood, Russell Alvord, commissioners of highways ; Samuel Hungerford, Asaph C. Smith, and Ransom W. Holly, school commissioners ; Philip Burritt was elected constable and collector; Saveril Aldrich, director of the poor; Philip Shaw, treasurer; James Wilkinson, Bela Chase, Eleazer Ruggles, and Ephraim Birch, fence viewers.

After Colonel Hungerford, who was elected the first supervisor of Novi, the incumbents of that office have been as follows: William Yerkes, in the years 1834, 1836, 1840-41-42, 1848, and 1 849 : Samuel White, in 1835, 1839, 1843, and 1844; Jacob B. Covert, 1837 and 1838; Samuel Rodgers, 1845, 1847, and 1855; John Bassett, in 1850 and 1854; Gideon Scott, 1851, 1852, 1853, and 1856; Jefferson C. Plumb, in 1857 and 1858 ; John C. Emery in 1859, 1860, 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865, and 1866 ; Benjamin P. Smith, 1867, 1871, 1872, 1873, and 1874; Austin N. Kimmis, in 1868; Samuel S. Coonley, 1869 and 1870 ; George E. Smith, 1875 and 1876; and George Yerkes, 1877.

The office of township clerk has been filled by the following gentlemen : Lyman W. Andrus, 1833 and 1835 ; James Wilkinson, in 1834, 1836, 1837, 1838, and 1852 ; Asaph C. Smith, in 1839 ; William Hullinger,in 1 840 ; Jacob B. Covert, in 1841, 1842, 1843, 1844, 1845, 1846, 1848, and 1849 ; William W. Rodgers, in 1847 ; Jefferson C. Plumb, in 1850 ; M. Augustus White, in 1851 and 1853; Benjamin P. Smith in 1854, 1855, 1856, 1859, 1860, 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865, 1866, 1869, 1870, 1876, and 1877; Amos A. Kaple, 1857, 1858, 1873, and 1874; Jesse S. Boyden, 1867 ; Ahijah Wixom, 1868 ; Isaac W. Lamb, in 1871 ; Norman H. Gage, 1872 ; and Richard M. Johnson in 1875.

The first justices of the peace were elected in 1836, at a special meeting held for the purpose, on the 22d of August. They were Jacob B. Covert, Samuel Hungerford, Stanton Hazzard, and Asaph Smith. Of these only Colonel Hungerford was afterwards elected to the office, viz., in 1842 for the full term, and same year to fill vacancy. The names of justices since elected for the full term are as follows : Avery Thomas, 1837 ; Philip Burritt, 1838 ; Carlos Harmon, 1839 and 1843; Stephen L. Gage, 1840 and 1844; William W. Rodgers, 1841; James Wilkinson, 1845, 1849; Daniel E. Matthews, 1846; Orange K. Van Amburgh, 1847, 1851, and 1855; John Bassett, 1848; James B. Palmer, 1850, 1854, 1859, and 1863; John J. Perkins, 1853; Brayton Flint, 1852, 1856, 1860, 1864, 1868, and 1872; John W. Morse, 1857; Robert Yerkes, 1858 and 1862; Moses G. Porter, 1801, 1865, and 1869; Aldrich Knapp, 1866; Francis B. Owen, 1867; Samuel Rodgers, 1870; Thomas E. Bogert, 1871 ; Mark H. Furman, 1873; George Yerkes, 1874; Marvin Bogert, 1875; Andrew J. Crosby, Jr., 1876; Ansley W. Arms, 1877. The justices elected at various times to fill vacancies have been Stephen L. Gage, 1837 and 1844 ; John Bassett, 1845 ; James B. Palmer, 1847 ; Elias S. Woodman, 1856 ; Daniel Smoke, 1858; Dexter White, 1866 and 1868; John C. Emery, 1867; George Yerkes, 1871; Marvin Bogert, 1873; Andrew J. Crosby, 1875; and Cyrus E. Russell, 1877.

It was but a short time that Novi held her extended territory, embracing as it did five townships, for on the 7th of March, 1834, town 1 north, of range 7 east, was detached by act of the legislative council, and named Lyon, and towns 2 north, of ranges 7 and 8 east, were detached and called Commerce, and Novi then assumed her present boundaries.

At the time of the organization of the township, the only regularly laid out road in it was that running south from Walled lake, through the entire width of Novi, to Northville; but most of the sectional line roads were laid out in the year 1834, in pursuance of the general declaration to that effect. The main road arteries of the township are the Northville road, above mentioned, and the Grand river military road, or, more properly, the Detroit and Howell plank road,

The first frame house in Novi was built by Saveril Aldrich. The exact date is not known, but it was about the year 1833. This, however, although the first dwelling house of that construction, was not the first building erected with mortise and tendon, as several frame barns had been built before that time. There is some clashing of accounts as to the first "raising" which was conducted on temperance principles in the town, that honor being by different authorities awarded to different individuals, but it seems quite probable that to William Yerkes, Esq., belongs the credit of first rearing a frame in Novi without the aid of ardent spirits.

But if there is a doubt as to the occasion of the first banishment of whisky, there seems to be none as to its first production. The first distillery was put in operation on the farm of Pitts Taft, near the spot where the first seeds of education were sown by Hiram Wilmarth. It is but just, however, to say that in those days it was considered as right and legitimate to manufacture corn or rye into whisky as to produce flour or meal from the same grain.

As to brick dwellings, there were none in Novi for nearly a quarter of a century after that time ; the first having been built by Owen F. Whipple, a few rods west of Novi Corners, in the fall of 1856. The second was erected by Richmond Simmons, and these are believed to be the only ones of the kind in the township at the present time.

The first tavern in Novi was opened by Samuel Blanchard, about 1835, in a very small frame house, attached to a log building, which stood upon a lot now embraced in the premises of Mr. A. Whipple, on the Walled lake road, some thirty or forty rods north of the point where it is intersected by the Detroit and Howell plank road, at Novi Corners.

The next public house was that which was opened by Ruel Sherman in 1835, in a log building which stood on the southwest quarter of section 15, in the southeastern angle formed by the intersection of the gravel road (then known as the Grand river military road) with the central longitudinal section road of the township, the same premises now occupied by Mr. Goodell. Sherman's house acquired rather more of trade and importance than was usual in those times for country inns situated at a distance from villages or populous points. It stood on the great thoroughfare from Detroit to the Grand river country, and received a share of the patronage of travelers over that route ; and, besides this, being located only three-eighths of a mile from the geographical centre of the township, it was chosen as a proper and convenient place for the holding of the township meetings. The first of these which was held there was the annual meeting for the year 1836, in the spring following the opening of the house, and it continued to be the regular place of holding town elections for many years. They were occasionally held there as late as the year 1862, at which time Gerard Sessions was its landlord. Sherman left it at the commencement of the year 1843, and afterwards engaged in a saw mill business in Northville.

Opposite the Sherman tavern, in the northeastern angle of the roads, a frame house of good size was erected, and opened as a tavern by Isaac Carr about ten years later, though this was not as early as the opening of Holliday's house at Novi Corners, which we mention elsewhere. Carr's, being a larger and more pretentious house than Sherman's, took precedence of the latter to some extent as a stopping-place for stage-passengers and private travelers, as well as a place of holding township meetings. The first of these which was held at Carr's was the annual mating in the spring of 1846. A few years later the house was destroyed by fire, and afterwards Carr became for a short time landlord of the Sherman establishment, on the opposite side of the way.

In Novi, as in most other localities, there was a considerable military spirit evinced some forty or forty-five years ago. The events of 1812-15 were not then fonrotten, and the Black Hawk war and "Toledo war" reawakened the martial ardor. In 1835 an independent company of riflemen was formed in Novi, with Samuel Hungerford as captain, Dexter White first lieutenant, and Joseph Yerkes second lieutenant. The name of this organization was " The Novi Greens," the name denoting the color of their uniform, of which the principal garment was the rifle frock, then usually called the "Indian frock" (though why it was so called is a mystery).

There was also a militia company, of which Captain Stanton Hazzard was the commanding officer. These were subjected to draft for the Toledo war, the members of the independent company not being subjected to the chances of conscription, but held as "minute-men,"" to be called out in any sudden and bloody emergency, such as might arise at Toledo or other fields of danger.

In its day. Captain Hungerfords company of riflemen was considered an elite corps. An old resident, who well recollects them, says that upon occasions of "muster" or local "training," as they marched to the sound of drum and fife, their superb appearance and evolutions conveyed to his youthful mind the idea of absolute military perfection.

The trainings and musters of militia and independent companies are things of the past, but sober citizens are still living who look back with feelings of fonder regret to those days of their youth when they gazed upon, or took part in, the marchings and maneuvers of the "Novi Greens."

In 1861, and the succeeding years of the country's peril, Novi performed well her patriotic duty, and freely sent her young men to the field. On another page their names will be found recorded, with those of the other sons of Oakland County who left their homes to fight for the nation's life.

Upon the line of the Holly, Wayne and Monroe railroad are the villages of Novi Corner and Wixom, the former lying wholly and the latter in part within the boundaries of Novi. At these points are located the only two post offices in the township. Some years ago the post office of West Novi was established on the line of the Detroit and Howell plank road, in the southeast quarter of section 7 ; but this has been discontinued for a considerable time. Its business, which was always very small, is now done chiefly at the newly established office of Wixom, and at that of New Hudson, in the township of Lyon.

There was also a foundry built and put in operation at West Novi by N. G. Pinney, who afterwards sold the establishment to Daniel Smoke and C. P. Larcum. Not long after Larcum purchased Smoke's interest, and the latter removed to Holly, where he again engaged in the same business.

It was at one time believed that a considerable village might spring up around the foundry and post office of West Novi, but these hopes were very slow of realization, and were finally completely blasted by the discontinuance of the post office, and the opening of the railroad more than two miles away at its nearest point. A location on the line of the railroad was obviously the only eligible one for the transaction of tile heavy business of a foundry, and so Mr. Larcum removed his establishment to Wixom station, two miles north of his old location, and by this removal the village aspirations of West Novi were extinguished forever.

The village of Wixom, created by the establishment of a railroad station at that point, is situated on both sides of the town line, at the cornering of sections 5 and 6 of Novi and sections 31 and 32 of Commerce township ; most of the business, including the station, warehouse, shops, foundry, cooper shop, shoe shop, and works of Mr. Larcum being in Commerce, while the post office, store, and hotel, the "Kimble House", are in Novi. Wixom has but recently sprung into being, and can hardly he said to have any history connected with its brief existence. The residences of the citizens are new and handsome, and the village is evidently flourishing and prosperous.

The designation of this village as "The Corners" is most appropriate, as it occupies not only the four corners formed by the intersection of the Walled lake, and Detroit and Howell roads, but ako the corners of sections 14, 15, 22, and 23.

The first inhabitant at the Corners was John Elmore, who came in before 1830, and settled on the west half of the southwest quarter of section 14. Gage's hotel now stands on the extreme southwestern corner of his tract. Immediately after came Apollos Cudworth and Benjamin Brown, occupying respectively the corners of sections 23 and 15. Upon his corner Brown opened a general store, which was the first in the township, as well as one of the two first business enterprises (Blanchard's tavern being the other) which formed the nucleus of the village of Novi Corners. Soon after Brown's commencement another store was opened by Asaph C. Smith, or Clemendon Smith, as he was usually called, on the corner diagonally opposite to Brown's, upon the premises now owned by J. J. Perkins, Esq., and occupied as a millinery store. Then came the establishment of the post office at the Corners, with Clemendon Smith as postmaster, and the opening of Holliday's hotel on the spot where the present hotel stands, this being, in fact, a continuation of the same business, though the buildings have been entirely changed by new erections since Hollday's time. Following Holliday the succession of landlords has been Rufus Wells, William Rodgers, Daniel S. Lee, William Hosner, D. S. Lee (again), John Fitch, Samuel Jones, William Rodgers (not he of the same name who had previously kept the house), Mr. Francisco, Benjamin H. Rubert, Eldad Smith, and C. C. Gage, the present proprietor. Of these the one who remained longest was Benjamin H. Rupert, who erected the front part of the present house, the rear portion having been built during the administration of Samuel Jones.

The town-hall at Novi Corners is a neat frame building, standing on a lot which was donated to the township by C. C. Gage, and adjoining that of the Baptist church. The hall was erected in 1876 at a cost of eight hundred dollars, and was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies on the 9th of September in that year. Until the building of this hall there had been no regular place for the holding of the township meetings. For the first few years after the organization they were held at the private houses of Cyrenius Simmons, Miles Mansfield, and others; afterwards at the different taverns, Sherman's, Carr's, and at Novi Corners.

Owned and operated by John Vogt, and located half a mile south of the village, near the railway track, was built in the year 1873. Its power is twenty-five-horse, which is applied upon a circular saw, cutting chiefly bass, beech, oak, and black walnut lumber, of which its annual product is about three hundred thousand feet. It also runs a machine for the manufacture of staves and headings. About the year 1850 a steam saw mill was erected by Mr. Booth on land now owned by E. Woodruff, in the southeast corner of section 1. Its business was but small, and the mill was destroyed by fire a short time after its establishment.

These works were built and first carried on by Franklin Sackner. They were formerly employed in the manufacture of bricks, but this part of the business has been discontinued, and only drain tile are now produced. These works are located just west of the Corners, and the present proprietor is Benjamin Cook.

Although the manufacturing and mechanical industries of Novi have never been numerous or extensive, yet it would seem that the township has, both in the past and the present, contained more than the average amount of inventive genius, for the statement is made (and it appears authentic) that Deacon Erastus Ingersoll, more than forty years ago, invented, constructed, and used upon his farm the first mowing machine ever put in operation in the United States ; and in later days the Rev. Isaac W. Lamb, who now resides at Novi Corners, invented and patented the well-known "Lamb knitting-machine," from which he realized a I revenue of fully one hundred thousand dollars ; and still more recently he has made other inventions scarcely less valuable

This church was organized in February, 1846, with these ten constituent members: Deacon Loren Flint, his wife Betsey Flint, and their daughters Rachel and Catharine Flint, Loomis Thayer, Margaret Thayer, Moses Maxim, and Elizabeth Munn, from Walled lake, and Orrin N. Thayer and Harriet Thayer, from Nunda, New York. They at once took steps towards the building of a house of worship, and proceeded with so much of earnestness and energy that in less than a year they had erected and finished a suitable edifice, thirty-four by forty feet in dimensions, at a cost of one thousand and eighty dollars. It stood on the west side of the Walled Lake and Northville road, at the southern end of the village of Novi Corners, on a lot of nearly an acre in area, donated by Daniel S. Lee. It was dedicated to God's service on the 3d of February, 1847, and was at that time the only church building in the township of Novi

Up to that time, and from long before the date of their organization as a church, the little congregation had enjoyed divine worship in the old school house (which is still standing, and occupied as a dwelling by George Wheeler), under the ministration of Kev. Peter F. Jones, a licentiate, who was ordained over them on the 25th of May next following the dedication of their edifice.

The pastorate of Mr. Jones continued until the end of 1848. He was succeeded by Rev. E. Hodge, who remained until May, 1850. Next came Rev. Israel Fay, who broke the bread of life to them until November 4, 1852. In January, 1853, came Rev. John Booth, who remained less than three months, and was succeeded by Rev. Asael Keith, who preached from December, 1854, to May, 1856. He was followed by Rev. J. S, Boyden, who assumed charge on the 2d of August, present house of worship, a commodious and symmetrical frame building, thirty- four by sixty feet in size, was erected under the supervision of Rev. Isaac W. Lamb, as architect, at a cost of thirty-eight hundred dollars, and was dedicated September 28, 1876

From the ten earnest ones who constituted the original band of communicants, the church experienced a growth which brought its numbers to ninety-five in 1870 ; the increase by baptism being one hundred and twelve, and by letter one hundred and twenty ; decrease by letter, ninety-nine; by death, fourteen; by exclusion, fourteen; removed and erased, twenty. Since 1870 the increase by baptism has been sixty-six ; other additions, fourteen ; total, eighty. The decrease in the same time has been, by death, four ; dismissed by letter, twenty-one ; erased, fifteen; excluded, one; total, forty-one. Net increase since 1870, thirty-nine. Present membership, one hundred and thirty-four

A Sabbath school was established in the old school house at about the time of the church organization. Prior to 1873 it was suspended during each winter season, but from that time on its sessions have been continuous through the year. The average attendance is from eighty to one hundred. The present superintendent, Charles E. Goodell, has been in charge of the school since the year 1868,1856, and remained at his post until December 1, 1860. Through the year 1861 the flock had no one to lead them, but Elder Harris filled the sacred office during 1862 and a part of 1863. On the 3d of October in the last named year the Rev. J. S. Boyden returned to them, and continued as their guide in the heaven ward path until the spring of 1868.He is at present pastor of the Baptist church in Ypsilanti. After him, the Rev. B. H. Shepherd preached for the year ending in April, 1869. Through the succeeding six months they were as sheep without a shepherd; but in October, 1869, the, Rev. Isaac W. Lamb, grandson of the Rev. Nehemiah Lamb, the veteran Baptist organizer, came to the charge, and faithfully kept it for five years, until October, 1874, when he was succeeded by the present pastor. Rev, O. D. Gregory. It was during his pastorate that a new church edifice became necessary, and was erected on the site of the church of 1847. As mentioned above, the lot had been donated, or at least intended to be donated, by Daniel S. Lee, but the unrecorded deed of gift had been lost, and, as Mr., Lee had died in the meantime, a purchase of the ground from his heirs became unavoidable. This was effected at a cost to the society of one hundred dollars; and one hundred dollars more was paid to C. C. Gage for an additional area of two rods by sixteen rods of ground, which seemed to be absolutely necessary, on the rear of the lot purchased from the estate of Mr. Lee. The church, their with the exception of one and a half years, during which he resided in Milford.

Although there were Methodists in Novi many years ago, and their worship was the first in the township, being held by Rev. John A. Baughman, at the house of John Gould, in the year 1828, yet it was not until the winter of 1869-70 that regular preaching was commenced, and a church organization effected, as a branch of Walled Lake circuit. The constituent members were fourteen in number, as follows: Susan Hulett, Harriet Pardee, Louisa Devereaux, Milla Kapel, Mary Chesebrough, Edwin Hazen, Libbie Hazen, Lucy Durfee, Sarah Bennett, Sarah Orton, Ephraim Groner, Esther Groner, Philip Plouse, and Mary Plouse.

Their worship was first held in the old school house, by Rev. Thomas Nichols, of Walled Lake. At the end of two years he was succeeded by Rev. Samuel Kitzmiller, who continued in charge for more than a year. Then came Rev. Mr. Ournalia, who was followed by Rev. Mr. Trescott, and he in turn was succeeded by Rev. Mr. Newton, the present pastor.

In the year 1875 steps were taken towards the erection of a suitable house of worship. A location was selected in the west part of the village of Novi Corners, and a lot was purchased there from Mr. C. C. Gage, at the price of two hundred dollars. On this lot the church was built, and was dedicated March 22, 1876. It is a handsome frame edifice, twenty-eight by forty-five feet in size, with seating capacity of one hundred and sixty. Its cost was seventeen hundred and fifty dollars. In the tower is a fine toned bell of seven hundred and fifty pounds weight. In the seven years of the organized existence of the church its membership has been doubled, being at present twenty-eight.

Have held worship in Novi with more or less regularity since the time of Elder Wires. At present they meet every two weeks at the Griswold school house, and are supplied with preaching from the Sibley church, in Commerce township, near Wixom. An afternoon Sabbath school is held at the same place, made up of children of the Free Will Baptists, as also from the Methodist and close communion Baptist congregations. The attendance is about forty, and the school is under the superintendence of Charles E. Goodell.

The ground of the Novi Burial Association lies on the western side of the Northville and Walled Lake road. The association was incorporated in the spring of 1873. There were twenty corporators, among whom were John Bassett, Brayton Flint, Apollos Cudworth, John H. Smith, J. J. Perkins, C. Cogsdill, H. Spencer, Josiah B. Leavenworth, Carlos Harmon, Thomas McGraw, William Eisenlord, and A. Wilkinson. The total par value of shares was three thousand dollars, of which ten per cent, was paid in. The first officers were J. J. Perkins, president; Brayton Flint, vice-president; John H. Smith, secretary; Delm Flint, treasurer; and Josiah B. Leavenworth, moderator.

The cemetery includes the old Novi burial ground, one acre, donated by Daniel S. Lee. To that old graveyard the association added one and a half acres, purchase of C. C. Gage. The ground is suitably enclosed, well kept, and beautified in accordance with the modern idea of cemetery adornment. The present officers of the association are George E. Smith, president; Carlos Harmon, vice-president; John H. Smith, secretary; Delos Flint, treasurer ; C. Cogsdill, moderator.

There are two other places of interment in the township, one dating back to the time of the early settlements, situated near the residence of Aldrich Knapp, on land donated by Benjamin Aldrich, in the northwest quarter of section 35, and the other, known as the Samuel White burial ground, being on land given by him for cemetery purposes, in the southeast corner of section 28. It is immediately adjoining the school-house lot, and formerly laid in common with it, but in later years has been properly enclosed by itself.

An old grave yard, probably commenced about forty-five years ago, was on the farm of Loren Flint, in the southwest quarter of section 10, but in the spring of 1844 the remains were transferred from this to the old ground at Novi Corners. The site of this old burial place is now the property of Mrs. Catharine Leavenworth.

The schools of Novi are eleven in number, taught in substantial and commodious houses. The terms in most of the districts are two, each four months in duration, though this is not universal, as in district No. 8, embracing Novi Corners, there is held a spring, fall, and winter term, aggregating nine months of teaching in the year. Male teachers are employed for the winter term, and females for the summer, the salaries of the former being generally forty-five dollars per month, and those of the latter ranging from three dollars to five dollars per week, with board.

The business interests of the township are almost exclusively those of agriculture, and in these Novi takes no mean rank. Her soil is of the highest fertility, and is tilled in accordance with the modern ideas of husbandry, by farmers of liberal ideas and intelligence. Their attention is chiefly turned to the cereals, fruit, dairy products, wool, and stock. At one time, a few years ago, hops were raised quite extensively, but recently their culture has been suspended, if not abandoned.

At present there are no butter or cheese factories in the township, although the production of the numerous dairies is sufficiently large to warrant their establishment. In the raising of fine sheep and high grades of cattle few townships stand higher than this, and it is believed that in all the State of Michigan there cannot be found a finer array of pure Durham cattle and merino sheep than are displayed by A. S. Brooks, Esq., at his farm on the west line of the town. Until recently there was a grange of the Patrons of Husbandry in the town, but it has been allowed to disintegrate, and some of the members have connected themselves with the Farmington grange, others with that at Northville.