WATER WORKS - BOARD OF

WATER COMMISSIONERS. The site of the city of Detroit was occupied by Indian villages at the period of the discovery of the country in the year 1610. The legitimate settlement of the city by a white population was in 1701. The soil being underlaid by a stiff, impermeable clay, extending down to a rock base, no living springs of water could be reached, and to the natives and early settlers, as well as the pres. ent inhabitants, the river, which sweeps past the city, and is the outlet of the great northern lakes, was the unfailing source of their supply of water, which was only obtained, until 1837, by being drawn to the dwellings of the inhabitants in carts, or was carried in buckets, which were usually elung at either end of wooden yokes and borne on the shoulders of both male and female. The want of a distribution throughout the city of an ample supply of pure and wholesome water had long been felt, and the construction of a water works was agitated at an early day, but nothing decisive was done until 1925, when the works were commenced by Mr. Bethuel Farrand, under an act passed by the Common Council granting bim “the sole and exclusive right of watering the city." In 1827 the citizens were first furnished with water from the works. The works continued in the hands of private individuals and compa. nies until 1836, when they were purchased by the city, and were under the direct management of the Council until 18.2, wł en the Council placed iheir management under a Board of Trustees. By an Act of the Legislature, approved February 14th, 1853, the Board of Water Commissioners was org nized.

Of the letroit River water, Prof. S. P. Duffield, who analyzed it, said: “I think it is impossible to find a

river water in the world more free from organic impuri. ties."

The water is supplied from the Detroit River by means of an engine of the capacity of 18,000,000 gallons per twenty-four hours, (with two other engines in case of accident to the first, of 10,000,000), a reservoir of the capacity of 10,000,000 gallons; sixty-two miles of iron pipe and eighty-eight miles of wooden logs. The total quantity distributed in 1872, 2,782, 292,578 gallons, a daily average of 7,601,892 gallons. In 1871, the quantity supplied was 2,300,150,605 gallons, a daily average of 6,301,782 gallons. The amount received in 1872 for water rates was $155,536.98; in 1871, $138,325.88.

BOARD OF WATER COMMISSIONERS. Jacob S Farrand,

Chauncey Hurlbut,
John Owen,

Samuel F. Hodge,
Elijah Smith.

66

STANDING COMMITTEES.
Ways and Means.... Com’rs. Owen and Hurlbut.
Extension and Repairs, Farrand and Smith.
Supply of Water...... Hodge and Smith.
Claims....

Commissioners in Rotation.

OFFICERS. President.

Chauncey Hurlbut. Secretary..

Henry Starkey. Sup't Extension and Repairs.... Benjamin B. Moore. Engineer..

D. Farrand Henry. Receiving Clerk..

George Kunze.

James Fenton. Collectors .....

Leverett N. Case.

F. Raymond, Jr. Reservoir Keeper.....

Henry R. Chope. Regular meetings on the Wednesday after the first Saturday in each month.

The following Statistical Table taken from the full Report of the Board, will

be found interesting and instructive.

193 Cost of Water

1852
1853.
1854
1855.
1856.
1857.
1858,
1859
1860.
1861.
1862
1863
1864.
1865.
1866.
1-67.
1868.
1869..
1870.
1871.
1872.
Total cost to date.

4,283
4,619
5,381
5,705
6,189
6,474
6,794
6,950
7,128
7,275
7,699
7,900
8,351
9,089
10,242
11,510
12,774
13,722
14,896
16,035

$25,348 32.76 235,810,271
28,617 37.42 303,531,743 $2,129 37 (4,283)
31,840 45.88 316,265,126 2,271 34 5,753
36,184 45.37 542,807,364 3,325 81 6,328
40,640

46.57 692,124,305 4,017 44 6,713
44,314 48.94 697,190,523 3,993 20 8,082
53,339 58.09 718,091,207 3,655 20

8,448
56,690 60.98 782,112,587 3,194 15 8,767
56,969 63.94 870,036,451

8,973
60,507 65.88 895,129,423 4,414 07

9,011
64,128 67.99 994,945,329 3,150 95 9,091
77,066 70.29 1,035,798,043 4,670 86 9,388
80,124 78.24 1,018,390,216 7,647 62 9,632
77,212 75.61 1,049,514,887 7,372 89 9,889
83,641 84.09 1,196,317,922 9,349 16 10,414
96,673 97.72 1,425,535,230 9,975 08

11,513
105,752 113.17 1.666,545, 125 11,397 23' 12,700
115,251 118.46 1,646,810,325 11,247 42

13,756
130,301 | 129.51 1,866,060,068 12,713 78 14,717
141,003 137.95 2,300,150,605 14,681 06 15,759
151,928 151.09 2,782,292.578 17,736 86 16,735

28,268
29,225
32,146
34,102
41,057
42,916
44,536
45,619
46,046
46,728
48,536
50,188
51,912
54,986
61,234
67,915
74,007
79,757
86,678
92,043

$7,621 36
97,974 97
155,908 97
24,487 68
80,641 84
87,154 12
21,783 11
71,471 42
18,068 77
10,236 71
3,002 45
6,401 77
6,300 10
6,741 06
31,149 01
60,651 92
71,724 07
22,228 86
84,063 25
62,883 72

141,412 30
$1,071,806 53

单

MUNICIPAL MANUAL.

47

BOARD OF REVIEW. “A Board of Review shall, on the nomination of the Mayor, be appointed by the Common Council. Said Board shall consist of three resident property-holders of said city, who shall hold thoir office for the term of three years, except that the three persons, first appointed, which shall be immediately after this act shall take effect, shall hold their offices respectively for the term of one, two and three years, as shall be determined by lot, on the first meeting of said Board, and thereafter one member of said Board shall be appointed each year for the term of three years, as hereinbefore provided. The sessions of the Board of Review shall be held at the Assessor's office in said city, and shall commence on the first Monday in April in each year, and continue from day to day until all of said assessments have been fully and carefully reviewed, corrected and approved, which shall be on or before the fifteenth day of May.

“The Board of Review shall have power, and it shall be their duty, to equalize, alter, amend and correct any assessment or valuation, and to place upon the assesso ment rolls of the proper ward any taxable property, real or personal, not already assessed, held or owned by any person or persons, and to strike from said rolls any property, real or personal, wrongfully thereon; but no assessment shall be increased or made by said Board without notice to the person or persons affected thereby, either verbal or personal, or written or printed, and left at the usual residence of such person, if a resident, and if a non-resident by a publication in some daily newspaper published in said city.”—City Charter, pp. 186, 137.

MEMBERS OF THE BOARD,
Allen A, Rabineau.

George M. Rich.
James Burns.

MICHIGAN SOLDIERS & SAILORS'

MONUMENT. An organization having for its object the erection of a monument to the soldiers of Michigan, engaged in the late civil war, was formed in Detroit in the year 1861, and was the origin of the “ Michigan Soldiers' Monument Association" of 1865. The corner stone of the proposed morument was laid on the 4th of July, 1867, in the east Grand Circus Park, in Detroit, by the Grand Lodge of Masons of Michigan, with appropriate civil and military ceremonies. In August following, the Association became incorporated under the laws of the State, by the name of “The Michigan Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument Association," and in the month of September, 1867, they entered into a contract with Ran. dolph Rogers, the distinguished sculptor of Rome, Italy, for the construction of an appropriate monument of granite and bronze, for the sum of $58,000. The whole of this amount has been secured by private subscription and accruing interest, and the statues were unveiled to the public on the 9th of April, 1872. The bronzes and ornaments are from the celebrated foundry at Munich, Bavaria, and the granite from the quarries at Westerly, Rhode Island. The whole structure is about 55 feet in height, being surrounded with a colossal allegorical statue of “Michigan.” It is situated on the Campus Martius, opposite the City Hall, and near the line of Woodward averue, the site having been changed by permission of the Common Council.

The trustees are fifteen in number, and the officers as follows: President, C. C. Trowbridge; Vice-President, John Owen; Treasurer, Wm. A. Butler; Secretaries, T. W. Palmer and James W. Romeyn.