The first roads built around the township were no more than trails from one area to another , sometime following old Indian paths. They followed the line of least resistance, meandering around hills and gullies and dodging swamps and streams. The old River Road [now Leonard road ] is a good example. Later on some roads began to appear that followed a surveyor line. Ditches were formed by removing the soil on either side and depositing it in the middle forming a crown for the water to run off. This worked very well , but there was no stability and when the weather was dry the steel wheels of the buggies and wagons churned the soil into a dust mulch several inches deep, when it rained this dust turned to mud. In the winter the frost could penetrate several feet deep resulting in a sloppy mess in the spring when the frost went out. The early settlers tried to remedy this by placing a layer of gravel eight feet wide on top.
Gravel was brought in and dumped at Spoonville in large piles, the farmers had to load their own wagon [sleigh in winter] with a shovel by hand. Farmers could work off their tax obligation in this manner. The wagons were fitted with loose boards fitted tightly between wagon bolsters, upon arriving at their destination with their load the boards could be dislodged allowing the gravel to fall to the ground. In those days no one had ever heard of a snow plow they just drove on top of the snow and pac ked it down. Sometimes the pack would build up to the point that the sleighs slid sideways off the road. This problem was solved by plowing a furrow down each wheel track.
Later on in the 1930's the County took over the care of the roads. They widened them out, built better culverts and improved the drainage and prepared them for the modern car that we have today.
THE COOPERSVILLE OBSERVER APRIL 21 1899
Henry E. Plant of Nunica, one of the Michigan soldiers who helped to capture it Rewarded by Congress
One of the most desperate charges of the Civil War in which Michigan men participated has lately called to public attention by the recent action of the state legislature in passing the Phillips bill providing for the return t o its original owners of the colors of the Fortieth North Carolina confederates, which were captured in action by the fourteenth Michigan infantry at Bentonville , N. C., March 1865, in a charge which for reckless daring and dauntless courage stands unsurp assedin the annals of warfare.
But few of the veterans who survived that charge are living today but one man who was prominently connected with the event, the man who was made the color sergeant of the regiment as a reward for gallantry shown on that occasion is a well-to-do farmer living a few miles out of the village of Nunica. Sergeant Henry E. Plant is today a vigorous hard working man and retains a vivid recollection of the many exciting scenes in which he played a part during the rebellion. On the day of the fight at Bentonville, Plant was a corporal and member of the color guard and with the others of the guard they led the charge. When the color serg eant fell with three bullet wounds in his body , any one of which was fatal, he was the man to grasp as it fell from the dying sergeant and carry it to victory.
For his conspicuous gallantry on this occasion , congress one year ago presented him with a medal, bearing on its reverse side as follows
CONGRESS TO HENRY E. PLANT
For conspicuous Gallantry At Bentonville N. C.
March 19, 1865.
The story of the fight is best told in his own words.==
"The fight in which the colors of the North Carolina regiment were captured occurred during Sherman's march to the sea, on the way from Atlanta to Columbus, Throughout the entire march of 2,500 miles the army had been dependent upon forage for its sustenance and the main body each day was preceded by a body of foragers perhaps 3,000 strong who acted as skirmishes.
On the night of the 18th of March Sherman encamped between the lines of our regiment and those of the sixteenth Illinois, the latter being a part of our brigade which was the first brigade of the second division of the army.
Early on the morning of the 19th the detachment of foragers marched out in advance , but in a short time they were driven back by the enemy who had developed unexpected strength , the truth of the matter being that they had come in contact with the whole of Johnston's army which had taken up a position across our front behind earthworks with a large swamp directly in front of them.
"Immediately after the Union skirmishes retired, the firingalong both lines became general. Our brigade was that day acting as the train guard for the army and shortly after the firing began the officer in command of the train was ordered to corral his train and we were order to take up positions on the firing line on the extreme right of the line with the first division to our left. As soon as we reached the line we were ordered to throw up temporary breastworks which we speedily constructed out of three tiers of pine logs.
" During the time occupied to throwing up the breast works the first division on our left had been engaged by the enemy and driven back about a mile before they succeeded in making a stand. This retrograde movement left our left flank entirely exposed a fact that we did not appreciate at the time. "Finally the enemy charged our position moving up in a solid formation five ranks deep. Four times they rushed our works only to retire in confusion before our fire. The fifth time they came at us, our colonel, Grummond, ord ered us to hold our fire until the enemy had approached up to within eight or ten rods of our line. Then he shouted "attention" and without the following command to fire we rose up and poured a volley into closely packed r anks of the confederate. Colonel Grummond seeing the confusion which the volley had caused , springing to the top of the breast works he waved his sword over his head and ordered a charge . Leaping over the low breastwork s we followed him. The enemy seeing the maneuvering formed into some semblance of order and as we approached nearer we entered a region where they could cross fire upon us. Here we began to lose men on every side. As I tore along straining every nerve to keep abreast of the flag, I saw the sergeant who was a down east Yankee, named Davis leap into the air and pitch forward mortally wounded . I sprang to his side and grasped the falling colors, and I tore them loose from his dying grasp Davis looked up i nto my face and gasped .== " Damm ye, don't let them colors drag in the dust,"
" After a bloody hand to hand fight the rebels retired in disorder and I saw the Colonel with two stands of colors , one in each hand, one of them was of the fortieth North Carolina and the ot her that of the Thirty fourth of Virginia . When we turned around to return to our own breastworks we found that they had been taken by the enemy who had charged in through the gap on our left and who were now pouring a heavy fire into our ranks and demanding our surrender . For answer our Colonel ordered a charge , and with a yell we rushed the low breastworks. The fighting was fearse. In the charge the colonel led with two stands of colors in his hands and I followed him carrying our flag as fast as I could, being about a dozen yards behind . After some of the hardest kind of fighting we took the earthworks. It was about nightfall when the last fight en ded and all firing ceased. The last charge probably saved General James E Morgan, our commander from falling into the hands of the enemy, as he was riding along line and he had reached our portion of them just after we had retaken them. The next morning th e two armies were lying on their arms facing each other , Johnstons army being entrenched in the swamp. Colonel Grummond asked for permission and received it to make a reconnaissance with the fourteenth Michigan and the sixteenth Illinois to develop the strength of the enemy. Taking the regiments he ordered a charge down the hill to the point where he knew the confederates were lying . We found the confederates too strong for us, the whole line opening up on the two regi ments and we were speedily cut to peaces. As I carried the colors forward with the men falling about me I saw flag of the Illinois regiment shoot up in the air as the sergeant who carrying it fell with a bullet thru his h eart. Before it fell to the ground another man grasped it and held it upright. " The Colonel was wounded in the arm and as the men were being slain in large numbers he ordered us to fall back. When I got back to our lines of the breastworks there were just three men of the color guard left. That ended the fighting for that day and in the morning Johnson moved out and we did not meet him again for some time.
One of the early settlers of Spoonville who was talked about by the Petersons was a Mr. Medad Spencer. He settled on a little over eighty acres to the north of our farm. The woods is still called after him. He obtained the property from his father in law . A man by the name of Williams. Mr. Williams owned a one hundred sixty acre parcel of which he split up ,each of his da ughters received an eighty acre piece of land The other daughter was married to Samuel Easterly's father.
The stories that I heard about Medad was that he was well educated and had been in the Civil War. He obtained a job as a light house attendant and was gone from the farm for long periods of t ime. One of his children Len ran the threshing rig with Claus Erhorn and then with my dad for at least a dozen years. Another was Ned. He took over the farm and was also a local country school teacher having taught in the Taylor district for many years .
He was still teaching when I was going to school in the nineteen twenties. Ned had a large family . I can remember most of them before they left the area. Chester was gassed in World War one and had breathing problems and he lived out his remaining year s in the Veterans facility in Grand Rapids. Two girls Clairsy and Helen married but died young. Warren children were about my age and I went to school at Nunica with some of them.
The following article was gleaned from the files of the Coopersville Observer of November 7, 1919.
Medad Spencer, of Crockery , Dies at the home of his son
"After a long illness of many months Medad Spencer , Veteran of the United States lighthouse service died Saturday, October 24th at the home of his son. Ned B. Spencer, in Crockery Township. Funeral services were held from the Spoonville chapel. the following Wednesday, and burial was in Nunica cemetery.
Mr. Spencer, who served in the Civil War with a Michigan regiment. was for many years a keeper of Lake Michigan lights. He served the Grand Haven harbor for a number of years. Bu t his last charge was the government light at St. James. on Beaver Island. For many years he cared for this important light house, and lived on the island , which was once the home of "King Strang" and his Morman colony .
Mr. Spencer knew conciderable concerning the history of Beaver Island, and he could talk entertainingly on the subject.
Mr. Spencer was compelled to retire several years ago because of ill health and has spent most of the time with his son in Crockery township, although he liked to go to Grand Haven to renew old acquaintances there. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity and was interested in the work."