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A HISTORY OF PIERCETON, INDIANA BY GEORGE A NYE
9772
1952
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DO' DUE
Our County History
By County Historian Marion W. Coplen
Exactly one hundred years ago | War. In 1866 Peter Conrad start- today, Lewis Keith and John B. ed a carriage and wagon factory which in a few years employed ten men and manufactured about 100 wagons and carriages an- nually. In 1867 L. C. Smith start- ed a hub and spoke factory which soon had a payroll of eight men.
Chapman platted a village in the southern part of Washington township. It was laid out on the proposed route of a new railroad to be built from east to west through our county.
If a town were to be platted in our county today perhaps it would be named after President- elect. Eisenhower. This village was named after the President- elect at that time, Franklin Pierce.
Pierceton became the first railroad town in our county. The rails of the line which is now called the Pennsylvania were laid from the east and the first passenger train reached Pierce- ton on September 1, 1854. The first load of freight left there sometime in October. The rails were not laid to Warsaw until 1856.
A visitor to Pierceton in 1873 states that in addition to the two factories mentioned above the town had a furniture factory, a stave manufactory, a flouring mill, one hardware, two drug stores, two dry goods stores, two tailors, the "Pierceton Restau- rant", the "Pacific Hotel", and "Engle's Livery Stable".
In 1866 the citizens of Pierce- ton voted to incorporate. The community organized both a civil and a school corporation. By this time Pierceton was the sec- ond largest town in our county, second only to the county seat. In 1869-70 Pierceton built a $12,- 000 school building which was the Because of its location on the railroad several factories were started at Pierceton during and best in the county at the time. The school corporation has been abandoned since that time in immediately following the Civil favor of a township school.
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HISTORY OF
PIERCETON, INDIANA
BY
GEORGE A. NYE
1952
Piercek and Wach Mon Ternship Carnegie Library
3 pages
Introductory
Much money was made in land in early day in this county and when a new town sprang up there was always a good chance to sell lots if the town went ahead. It appears that several attempts were made to locate Pierceton before the present site was laid out. It seems that they did not know just where the railroad would go thru. Westminster was laid out northeast of the present site of town by Christopher Lightfoot for Samuel Zby in May 1837. This town was to be east of the Sharton Ditch called the headwaters of del River, The town contained 40 lots of the usual size 4x8 rods and some of the streets were Water, Market, Eel, Wayne and Main. It had a square closed at the corners such as Angola has. Westminster never became a town.
Fairview was another such town. It was laid out SE of the present site of Pierceton about 3/4 of a mile east of the cemetery. Henry Sticknell of Ellisonville, Illinois was the proprietor and Mr. Chapin was the surveyor. 45 Lots were laid out but the whole matter was dropped. In the winter of 52-53 John Butler Chapman and Lewis Keith, his father-in-law, employed Otho Means, a big red headed surveyor, to lay off a town about & a mile north of the present Pierceton. By the next summer they found they had missed the railroad and so they laid off Pierceton as it is now. In March, 1853 the plat was entered for taxation. The question of where the railroad was coming thru was perhaps as clouded as the pres- nil question as to where Road 30 will eventulayyaly go thru or around Warsaw.
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Introductory Remarks.
This story of Pierceton which we have written is rather full of statistics and may not be very interesting in places. I did not grow up around Pierceton and in all my life I have only lived there two winters 1920-21 and 1923-24 when I was a teacher in the high school. It would take some oldtimer about town to really put some color to a history of the town and recite some interesting stories about people who lived there. The nucleus of a good history would be the clippings from the Pierceton Record about oldtimes. Real oldtimers about the town are few. Maurice Brosnahan is perhaps the last one left to tell us much of early times in Pierceton. He was for years connected with the Pierceton Record and was a store keeper of the town.
One reading the old Indianians can easily see that Pierceton was the leading town of the county outside of war- saw for at least thirty-five years. It was a very live town politically during this time and always sent a creditable delegation to the county seat whenever any big political demonstration was to be held. Pierceton in those days was full of activity based largely on woodworking industries. This is now a thing of the past for our supply of wood has all but sadly diminished. Logs they haul to mills here today would not have been accepted seventy-five years ago. Then they were useing only the best of maple, hickory, walnut, and other hard woods. Pierceton too had a factory dealing with cloth called a woolen mill where weaving and carding Vone .
Carly beginnings in and around Fierceton.
Pierceton and Washington Township
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A History of Pierceton.
By Geo. A. Nye.
The present site of Pierceton was farm lands up until 1853-4. The old atlas of 1879 says that the town was laid out in December, 1852, by Lewis Keith and John Butler Chapman. It was at this time that Franklin Pierce was president so the town was named Pierceton. There was an agitation to change the name to Birmington in 1869 because postal clerks confused Pierceton and Princeton but this was not done. ' Some years later than 1854, i 1856
perhaps about 1858 Chapman was out in Kansas helping to keep
that territory free and he became so disgusted with Pierce's Leuro and Buchanan's policy there that Chapman wrote back to Keith and told him to change the name of Pierceton to Freemont. This
again was never done. It is quite likely that the name of the town willnever be changed. The atlas goes on to say that Chap- un. PierceTon man started the first storesin a log cabin north of the town limits on a farm which today (1951) would be in the northeast part of town. There was no railroad then so he went to Fort stock Wayne with ox teams and hauled his stere of new goods back to his store. There had been a road from Ft. Wayne to Warner's Mills ever since 1837, the road being 45 miles long and being one of the very first described in the records of the Commissioners' court. This road no doubt went south of Pierceton past the old Ryerson home. For hs his goods Chapman accepted skins of animals, furs and wild-cat currency. This was true of all the early stores even until after the war of the rebellion. Farm produce was taken
in exchange for groceries. The first frame. houses in town were the one in which Dr. Hays lived in 1879, This was on the corner of 2nd and Market streets, Another was on First street where the Citizens Bank was in 1879, and the third was where Foster's Drug store was at that time.
The first postoffice in Pierceton was established in 1854. It was in a frame building where the bank was in 1879. O.P. Smith was the postmaster. He served one year and then Dr. Wil- liam Hayes took the office. Succeeding postmasters in Pierceton were Dr. Banta, Mr. Skinner, David Binkley, James Getty, Henry Ruth. S. M. Hayes, John Justice, ard David H. Connell. Mr. Justice died while in office. It was the custom in these days when the postoffice did not serve too many people to have the office in connection with some store. Thus it was at Haye's drug store at one time. The office of postmaster has always been more or less political and so it enaged changed with the administrations. / Pierceton was incorporated May 10, 1866. Thus at this time it was a town about 12 years old. It was the first new railroad town to be founded in the county. The Ft. Wayne and Chicago rail- road was built agre across the county in 1854-7. Trains began to run into Pierceton about 1855. These were from Ft. Wayne. Con- nection was not made to Chicago until a year or so later. Many Irishmen helped to construct the road. The road bed was made with mules and scoops. There was much drinking especially after pay day and free for alls were common. The pay was about $1.50 a day. The working day was at least ten hours long and maybe twelve. The Catholic church did missionary work among the railroad labor- ers, putting up temporary church buildings.
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In 1879 the town of Wooster about two miles west of Pierce- ton on the railroad was a trading center of ws minor importance. Since the railroad had Wooster, Ohio on its line it had the post- office named Kosciusko. P. brosnahan and H. E. Pollock owned the ground on the east side of this small village. P. Hoover and J. Vaness owned ground to the west. Wooster had some stores and a postoffice, a church and a schoolhouse. We read in an old paper how the countys superintendent went to Wooster on the train to take part in the ceremonies marking the }-$ last day of school.
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The pupils and teachers met him at the train and escorted him to
the schoolhouse. A winding road lead from Wooster eastward to the road north of Pierceton. It crossed Deed's Creek on the farm of G. W. Dunbar just east of his house. The plat of Wooster has neverw been vacated and the sale of property there would still be by lots U.S. 30 New road thirty runs just north of the tracks at this place. One 1 going thru the village now would not believe that trains used to stop there and that it was a busy trading point.
Washington Township is scarce on lakes. The only lake entirelc within the township is the little Froehly Lake in the SE- of Sec- tion 15. The Ike Shanton Ditch, one of the longest in the county, has this lake as a half way point. This ditch begins south of the railroad in Section 36 and ends in Cedar Creek about seven miles from where it begins. The west part of the township drains into Deed's Creek which now is known as the Andreas Ditch and down Little farther as the George McCarter Ditch. It goes into' Pike Lake at Partly Warsaw. Ridinger Lake is in the northeast corner of the township and the west end of Robinson Lake juts into the township in the SEX of Section 13. The rest of this lake lies in Whitley County. The township as we said before is short on lakes.
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We copy from the Atlas of 1879 a list of business houses in Pierceton at that time.
Gibson, Hirm & Co. Dry Goods
R. M. Lawrence do Froehly Brothers do
B. F. Andlauper Tailor & Clothier
F. V. B. Minnich
and W. R. Schaeffer
Hardware & Farm Implements.
Foster & Brother and
C. G. Baker
William N. Graves
0. Palmer
Levi Snyder
D. E. Moore and Mrs. M. E. Boylan
B. M. Covert
D. H. Connell
William Fenton
Harness shop, trunks etc.
Netter & Bros.
D. Simonton
Meat market do GC
Agent for the railroad and
for the express company.
shoe shop do do
Frank Brower Barber
H. Hackett
Undertaker
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J. M. Humphreys
Broom factory.
Moore & Hackett Furniture
Doctors were: Dr. J. P. Long, Dr. E. H. Lakemson, Dr. H. 0. King, Dr. William Hayes, Dr. S. D. Ammerman.
Lawyers were: C. Clemans, John McNamara, an
J. P's were J. W. Stinson, Dan Kaylor, & Samuel Forsythe.
Drug store do
Grocery
Grocery, bakery and Restaurant Boots & Shoes
Millinery
Jeweler
Postmaster, Books and Stationery.
Nichols Brothers
Levi Snyder william VanWormer S. Widup
Pierceton
Pierceton is a town that covers about 160 acres of ground. It is located in the west one-half of Section 27, Township 32 North and Range 7 East. The Main Street north and south is the quarter section line. The east and west half section line goes thru town at the alley south of the depot. There is a more recent addition called Fairview which is over west of town in Section 28. It was laid out about 1916. The plat did not go over very big but recently there have been some houses built on this plat. It would have been a better setup if a road one-half a m le long had been built on the east and west half section line connecting the road west of tow with the one east of town. This would have made a good main street east and west. We should like to know why this was not done but no one living now would be able to tell.
Additions have been laid off in Pierceton many years ago. Dr. Hays added several additions known as Ilays first, second etc He see s to have been the A. T. S. Kist of the town for Warsaw has about five Kist's Additions. Then there is Redkey's Addi- tion, Ryerson's Addition, Conant & Moore's Addition, and Fair- view. The later was laid out in a big hurry one day in 1916 when some man came to the surveyor's office and Mr. Summy sent the writer to help him. It was done by some out of town concern. The Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne & Chicago Railroad company which came thru Pierceton in 1856 bought considerable ground in the town. Pierceton for the most part is laid off in blocks, each block having six or eight lots. The lots are of standard size being one chain (66 feet) wide and two chains long. The Gunter's chain was in use at the time it was laid out.
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Gierceton in the 1860's and 70's.
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of Preston The first town boardi was made up of John Moore, adam Sim- mons, and Alexander Daugherty. E. T. Marshall was town marshall, town clerk and town treasurer all in one. November 5, 1866 the 7 first school board was appointedand At consisted of Michael Mur- ray, J. A. Shorb and John Shaffer. The total amount of taxes collected the first year was #355.18. The town board began to cause walks to be put down and streets to be graded so that the town began to look very respectable. The town grew and was second in the county as to population for perhaps fifty years. It was the day of cheap lumber for in early day this whole county was well wooded. Thus several industries spring up in Pierceton such as a sawmill, a furniture factory, a hub and spoke factory etc. During the e war of the Rebellion many walnut gun stocks were ultimate made at Pierdeton and shipped to the front.
In 1864 Dr. Baker and W. C. Conant erected a frame building A north of the railroad for a sash and door factory. Besides the main building there were two drying houses nearby and an engine house. After two years it was changed somewhat and furniture was manufactured. About 1864 John Moore took the place of Baker and the firm was known as Conant and Moore. In 1872 Mr. Conant sold out to Mr. Moore. In 1869 Mr. Conanat built the fine square house Ivier
in the south part of town where Ross Radcliff recently lived. This furniture factory, the atlas says, employed about 100 men. The Panic of 1873 caused the mill to close down. Oldtimers around Pierceton may remember the whistle at this mill and how it used 1 to call out the fire department when the town was endangered by fire. In dramaus for 1872 has picture of the will .
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Five denominations at least have been responsible for the churches in Pierceton. They are the Presbyterians, the Methodists, the Universalists, the Baptists and the Catholics. The First Presbyterian Church in Pierceton was organized on the 9th day of January, 1857. This was at the Crawford schoolhouse. The committee entrusted with the organization consisted of J. N. Swan and W. S. Wilson, ministers, and John Allen and Robert Cowan as elders. illiam Wilson was elected Ruling Elder. The first , stated supply of the church was W. 3. Wilson who was minister at Warsaw. In 1865 he was succeeded by W. H. Blair. In 1872 Rev. .. G. Martin became the minister. In 1879 Rev. F. M. Elliott was the pastor. He increased the membership by 107 making it 163. The con- gregation met in various schoolhouses, the Crawford, the Ryerson and the town schoolhouse for several years. In 1863 they erected a church building. In 1879 most of the older members had passed away but Mr. Menzie, aged 90, a very devout member, was still at- tending.
The Methodist Church in Pierceton was started in 1854 at the depot. Rev. Camp officiated at this first meeting. Meetings were held at the home of Robert Mcheal. After a year or so the congrega- tion met at the schoolhouse. About 1862 the first church was built at a cost of $1500.00. Rev. McElwee was the pastor in 1879. The Universalist church was started in 1865 and prospered for some years and then interest beganto wane and the meetings stopped. In 1863 the Catholics started a church. In 1864 they erected a church home at a cost of #1800.00. This church has lived thru the 1
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years and to-day (1951) is attended by many people some of whom
live outside of town. The Baptists now have a church in town and have had for many years.
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The Odd Fellows Lodge in Pierceton was chartered Hay 16, L866. It first met in the upstairs of a building owned by Dr.
illiam Hayes. Charter members were D. M. Shoemaker, N. B. Morlan, Jacob Klingel, J. W. Shaffer, Eli Hayden and Groege Watts. August 26th 1878 a big fire in the town destroyed their lodge rooms. After 1 a new building was completed the lodge again rented the upper part. In 1879 the officers of the lodge were David French, Samuel Snod- grass, H. H. Shank, Levi Snyder, J. M. Humphreys, William Jpayde, Daniel Hoover and William Snyder. Enterprise Encampment 103 was organized May 15, 1870. Eleven charter members were wm H. Spayde, 3. M. Hayes, E. G. Eddy, Jacob Klingel, Levi Snyder, F. G. Frary, J. W. Shaffer, J. W. Stinson, J. B. Dodge, C. H. Netcham, and H.C. Milice. The Masonic Lodge was founded in Fierceton June 2), 1868. There were ten charter members. The first officers were Henry H. Sweet, William A. Babcock, John W. Waldo, Dwight P. Nichols, Til- ? liam Sherburn, .Jerome Potter, Uriah Ruch, and David Johnson. In 1879 the lodge had fourty-four members. The lodge room then was in the Hayes Block. The officers in 1879 were Alfred ile, J. G. alde, R. M. Lawrence, F. B. V. Ninnich, Hiram Finton, ". N. Graves and
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Josiah Trump. These were the days before there was anyElks, Moose were or Eagles. These more modern lodges sprang up about the beginning, of this century. The Masonic Lodge will no doubt live but the mem- e pership in the Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias, the Redmer, e and other older lodges is decreasing. This might not be true so noticably in the larger places, but is true of the smaller towns. Years ago there were lodges at Packerton, Sevastopol, ATwood,
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int,c. but these have practically disappeared. The idea connected the balcony ui lodge seems to call for more social life than these lanterns. It all went over as .However, we are not a member of
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For June 11, 1868 the correspondent writes about Nr. Conant building a fine new house and about some men building a church where the Presbyterian Church is now.
building for the Universalists? G. I. Ryerson, Samuel Galbreath, S. M. Hayes, and Jacon Phillips were some of them. The design of the church is very pretty and convenient. When completed it will be one of the finest frame churches in Northern Indiana. The ex- terior is to be an imitation of stone and beautiful spires are to & run up to a distance of 112 feet. The estimated cost is to be about $8000.00. The July 16th issue says that E. W. Perkins or I. N. Baker, the postmaster, will take subscriptions in Pierceton for the paper. The Klu Klux Klan in 1868 were interested in disturbing . any meeting where the republicans were in charge. An old fashioned
ec Republican rally was held in Warsaw Tuesday September 22, 1868 and Pierceton sent over a big delegation. General William H. Gibson, th most eloquent orator since the days of Tom Corwin was to be one of the speakers. General Nathan Kimball known to his men as Old Fight- ـر ing Nat, the only general who whipped Stonewall Jackson, was to be there. Generals Dick DeHart and Milo 3. Hascall were expected to to speak. A silk prize banner was to be given with the township with L the most in line compared to their population. Bronson's Band from
Warsaw, Reids band from Etna Green, and other bands from Leesburg,
Pierceton and Liberty Tills were to be in the parade as well as the
Lake City Glee Club. The Lake City Artillery in charge of Hank June ut will will start the day with a 21 gun salute and later be in the parade. ous The Grant Tanners, commanded by Andy Milice, will be in uniform. A mounted escort in charge of Samuel Bougher will be on duty all day
At night there was to be a torch light parade with a speech from Hotel hotel
the balcony of the Kirtley which will be illuminated with jack-o-
washington was a CAR lanterns. It all went over as planned. Etna Twp got the banner.
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And so we see that Pierceton during the Civil War and for several years after was a very busy manufacturing center along 2 the new railroad. From morning till evening the sound of the - sawmills and planing mills could be heard. Children played in the log yards and finished up with a swim in Deed's Creek which .1-
is not very far away to the south or to the west whichever direc- 1 tion they decided on. From accounts in the Indianian Pierceton, like Warsaw, was more or less overrun with saloons, which did not contribute to the moral welfare of the town. One saloon in Pierce-
ton became so obnoxious that the women of the town visited the rn
place and dumped out a lot of liquor into the gutter. In a trial ;C held later the women were cleared on the grounds of extinguish- ing a nuisance The old German who ran the place left town between wec two days.
Every town along the railroad had men who bought up grain. In Pierceton Samuel Snyder was in this business. In the year ending August, 1878 he bought and sold forty thousand bushels of wheat. He rented the elevator at Balliet's & Co. flour mill. Gibson, Hirn & Co. also bought grain. They rented a store room at 1 more & Philadelphia. The Citizen's Bank was first started im on W
the depot in which to store it. They shipped much of it to Balti- T November 1st, 1876. William M. O'Brien was president, illiam H. Spayde was the first cashier, F. V. B. Minnich and William J. Gra- ut ham were the first directors. The bank filled a great need in the ous
business life of the town. Except for a few years during the 1
depression of the 1930's Pierceton has always had a bank since 1 November, 1876. Many banks failed in these depression years and the bank at Pierceton was one of these. r
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D. P. Nichols, who was -station agent at Pierceton beginning in 1855, said at that time that the railroad reached that town May 25th 1853 and that the town plat was surveyed the next January. . A. Bainbridge was the first agent for the railroad company. April 1, 1855 Nichols succeeded him and served in that capacity until January 5th 1878 a period of about twenty-three years. The firt first station house and freight office was a one-story frame 20 x 30 feet which cost abo t -125.00. The first passenger reached Pierceton September 1st 1854. The engine was named The Plymouth. The first frie freight left Pierceton in October 1854. It was less than a carload and contained merchandise. The road was completed tc Warsaw, Nichols says, in November 1854 and soon thereafter a static was built there. It was a cheap wooden station and burned down in 1875. At Warsaw WBMontford was the first agent. Nichols became agent at Warsaw in 1878. The first train over this road arrived at Plymouth November 11, 1856. This was important for connection was made there for Peru and Indianapolis. It took another year to get the line built to Chicago. Plymouth was the first division point 1 on the line. (Note). We dislike to differ with Mr. Nichols but according to the Indianians of the day the first train left Warsaw W in the fall of 1856. It is quite likely he may be right with re- spect to Pierceton for the stretch from Pierceton to warsaw was a difficult stretch to build and may have taken two years. The out gravel pit at Winona Lake, then Eagle Lake, furnished much gravel and they needed it for fills. Clark Holbrook says the hill thru
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their old farm was called turgey hill because the trains went so sl K Dance said y,
slow going east that the brakemen could get off the train and cap- e
ture a few turkeys and then get on the caboose. This might be taker with a grain of salt.
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In studying an old map of 1866 of the county we find a map of Pierceton on the border. It shows the grist mill in the east part of town where it is now. It was then run by Michael Murray. Across the tracks to the north was the furniture factory of Conant & Moore. Robert McNeal owned a rather large tract west of the grist mill. A blacksmith shop and carriage shop is shown south of the present library. In the southwest part of town there was a cooper shop on Lot 1 of Block 4 and not far away was school No. 4 on Lot 5 of Block 3. This solves the probelem of school No. 4. On Lot 4 of Block 6 east a block or so from the present Legion Hall there was a tannery. A. B. Downs had a tannery in town at this time. Water tanks are shown north of the depot. North of the railroad facing the main street there was a saloon on Lot 6 of Block 12. Next to it on Lot 7 was a hardware store. The M. E. Church is shown on its present site and there was a store across the street to the south. There was a store on Lot 8 of Block 1 and a cabinet shop on Lot 3 of Block 2. These were in the northwest part of town. The northeast part according to this map had few houses. There was a sawmill on Lots 3 & 4 of Block 4 and another on Lot 4 of Block 9. The present Baptist church was then the Presbyterian Church.
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