oe’s townsite. In 1792,
Jan Van Dolzen, an elderly loyalist of Dutch descent, settled on the
Thames about four miles below Chatham. A son, Isaac Dolsen—as the name was
speedily Anglicized—located on the Raleigh side, and another, Matthew, in
Dover. About Matthew’s homestead, there grew up, in the course of years, a
considerable trading community, with a tavern, store, blacksmith shop,
distillery and other small pioneer industries. Another trading center grew
up around the Thomas McCrae homestead on the Raleigh side; and both
McCrae’s and Dolsen’s were
thriving communities when Chatham was merely a name.
The early business activities of
Chatham were, actually, beyond the eastern limits of Iredell’s townsite.
About 1792 Thomas Clark moved
from Dolsen’s to a location on McGregor’s Creek, about a mile upstream,
where he built a primitive sort of mill, the first in Kent county. Clark
borrowed money from John McGregor of Sandwich, the upshot being that Clark
found lodging in Sandwich jail and McGregor took over and rebuilt the mill
and gave his own name to the creek. The mill was
destroyed by the Indians in Procter’s retreat in 1813;
but some years after the war it was rebuilt, a store and a distillery
added, and extensive trading was carried on by John McGregor and his son,
Kent’s first postoffice was
established at McCrae’s— which was, incidentally, the first brick house in
Kent. The postoffice was known
as Raleigh. Subsequently, still under the name of Raleigh, the postoffice
was transferred to McGregor’s Mills; and ultimately, about 1830,
to Chatham itself.
Iredell, the pioneer Chatham
settler, died early in 1812, just before the war broke out: and his
townsite remained empty till 1820 when William Chrysler located on the
of the Thames immediately west of Third
Street. From this year dates the permanent settlement of Chatham; and with
its gradual growth, the rival communities of McCrae’s, Dolsen’s and
McGregor’s Mills faded from the map.
Settlement on the upper Thames
beyond Chatham antedated the War of 1812. In 1794 William Baker, the
shipbuilder, was granted several hundred acres on the north bank of the
river; and though Baker does not appear to have settled there, his
son-in-law, Joseph Eberts, did so, founding one of Chatham’s leading
families. The first real settler on the Chatham township river front was
George Sicklesteel, a Hessian, who located in 1794; and whose son, David,
for many years kept the Sicklesteel tavern on the old homestead.
The transfer of Detroit to the
Americans in 1796 resulted in many loyalist residents of that community
seeking new homes on the Thames. One of these, Frederick Arnold, a native
of Berlin, located on Lot 4, River Range, Howard township, about 10 miles
above Chatham. Here, some time between 1797 and 1800, Frederick, or his
son Christopher, built a flour mill, later adding a saw mill. At Chris.
Arnold’s house, Tecumseh breakfasted in his retreat up the Thames;
lingering afterward to prevent his braves, who had camped in the
surrounding woods the night before, from firing the mill.
But before this, in 1809, the
government had surveyed townships, the surveyed road between Howard and
Harwich passing a short distance west of Arnold’s Mill. At this point on
the river, four townships — Chatham and Camden on the north and Harwich
and Howard on the south — cornered, the cross roads point being known as
Kelley’s Corners. A distillery was built a short distance west; and, as a
result of the destruction of McGregor’s Mill at Chatham, Arnold’s had for
some years a monopoly of the milling business, which stimulated the growth
of the community. The sons of Frederick Arnold located on both sides of
the Thames, Lewis Arnold giving his name to the present Louisville; and
the Arnolds continued a potent force in the life of the growing community.
About 1830 a post-office, White Hall
— the second post-office in Kent — was opened on the north side of the
River. Stores were opened; a foundry was established by Chris Arnold’s son
Frederick; and a brickyard, the first in Kent, was established by
Christophe