Retrospective

The burniug of the Soio milis last Wednesday night re noves another landmark that testified to tbepast greatness of the Hurón river as a water power, says the Daxter Leader. Looking backward a conple of generafcions we see the Huron one of the greatest milling treams, if not the greatest in Southern Michigan. Bnt time and inveution have augmented tho process of natural dooay, nntil today there is left but a shadow of its foriner greatness. While this may not be so notioeabla as we travel toward the mouth of the river, from the souroe a distance of twenty miles it is emphatically trae. The flrst of the great flour milis to succomb was the one located at Hudson which was removed fco make plaoe for the Birkett Manufacturing Co. 's pulp mili, whioh was af ter - wards bnrued and rebnilt. This flouring mili was once a good property and sold as high as $16,000. This was in 1868, when it was purchased by Mr. Birkett. No finer milling property could be fonnd on the Huron twenty years ago than Thomas Birkett's Dovor Mills. Not only were the building and machinery the best that mouey could purchase, but it was head water power oa tho river and Mr. Birkett spared no expense in making the dam and raoeway perfeot. For years the mili grouud day and uight and four teams drew barrelled flour to this station, which was the nearest railroad point, from where it was shipped to all pares of the couutry. With the innovation of rollers, the opening up of the great western wheat fields and milis, and the building of the uorthern railroads, this mili lost its prestige and gradnally lapsed into a ousfcom mili. A few years ago it was sold to the Birkett Manufacturing Co., and subsequently was entirely consumed by flre. It was, we believe, inaured for about five $5,000. The property cost Mr. Birkett $20,000. Coming down to' Dexter the flrst building we see as we' enter by the river road, is a large, dism anteled fonr story frame struoture, Ltenanted only by memories of the past. This ruin is all that remains of the Península Mills, at one time one of the largest and most flourishiug milis on the stream. With the passing of the mill-stone this mili, too, dropped out of line, and iinally oeased to be operated, being sold at last for less than $4,000 toMr. Birkett, who has had most of the machiuery removed. This mili was for years one of thi greatest producers ia Miohigan. It ohanged hands several times, perhaps its most successful owner being the late R. A. Beal, of Ann Arbor. The property was sold ouce dnring the flO's for $22,000. The Scio Mills, the burning of which oalled up this retrospect, also had a checkered career. They passed through several hands! A former owner once said in our hearing that the milis weie "hoodooed," and never made a dollar for but one owuer of them. Tl ey were once the ptoperty of N. Briggs, who paid $3,500 for them and sold them in Qourishiug milling days for $12,000. The Dexter fii-m of Costello & Evarts paid this figure for them and afterwards laid out $14,000 in improvemeuts, which made the milis cos: them $36,000. They met witta fiDanc al reverses and the milis wero so d tor kss than half this amount. Tbat this decadence was inevitables, we are not prepared to dispute. Altho' : a young man the writer of this article recalls pleasant memories of days when j not ouly these milis, bnt Dexter, (in oonmion with many other villages,) was doing a business of thousands of ! dollars where it now does one of huudreds, aud as we view the town in perspective, we soruetimes wonder if 'there may not be in store for it a deoay as complete aud unalterable as in case of the once flourisbing industries, the brief obitiiary of which we have just penned.