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CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF INDIANAPOLIS
PUBLIC LIBRARY FORT WAYNE & ALLEN CO., IND.
V
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01715 4250
Gc 977.202 In3cen
Centennial history of Indianapolis
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2009 with funding from Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
http://www.archive.org/details/centennialhistor00indi
THUGKIEM SEORT WAYNE & ALLEN CO., I
PUBLIC LIBRARY
52
FORTY P'22 30 € PUBLIC LIBRARY
: 1931
INDIANAPOLIS CENTENNIAL 1820 920
INDIA
Published Under Dire, · Historical Commi! Indianapolis Cente: Celebration
Program Centennial Celebration
SATURDAY EVENING, JUNE 5TH .- Mass meeting Tomlinson Hall.
SUNDAY, JUNE 6TH .- Centennial service in churches. Sunday aft noon and evening, Centennial chorus, 400 voices, accompanied Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra . Coliseum Fair Grounds. It also planned to have community singing at Monument Place. vesper time Sunday evening.
MONDAY EVENING, JUNE 7TH .- Centennial parade, downtown stree TUESDAY EVENING, JUNE 8TH .- Centennial pageant at Coliseum F Grounds.
WEDNESDAY EVENING, JUNE 9TH .- Water carnival at Riverside Pa NOTE .- During entire period of Centennial Celebration curios, art d relics relative to the last hundred years in Indianapolis' hist. - will be displayed at the State House and the Herron Art Instit
A
JOHN H. HOLLIDAY, Chairman Executive Committee. AQUILLA Q. JONES, Vice-Chairman.
JULIA BELLE TUTEWILER, Recording Secretary.
HARRY G. HILL, Executive Secretary. L. V. SCHNEIDER, Assistant Executive Secretary.
Chairmen of Committees
PERMANENT MEMORIAL- John H. Holliday.
HISTORY-Jacob P. Dunn. Laura Fletcher Hodges, act- ing chairman.
SCHOOLS-Clarence E. Crip- pin.
CHURCHES-Rev. C. H. Win- ders.
MUSIC-Edward B. Birge. PARADE-Bert A. Boyd.
PAGEANT-Harry D. Tute- wiler.
AL -- Wallace
WAT 0
`s H. Lowry. ICS-Anne
MILITARY-Gen. Harry Smith.
WOMEN'S PROGRES Maude Lucas Rumpler. MANUFACTURERS - O. Iles.
TRADES-John Geckler. MERCHANTS AND DECO TIONS-Frederick M. A
ADVERTISING AND LICITY AND CON SIONS-Paul Richey.
PROGRAM-Clarence E. pin. BUDGET-Fred Millis. FINANCE-Fred Hoke. ADMINISTRATION - Ac Q. Jones.
CENTENNIAL
PUBLIC LIBRARY FORT WAYNE & ALLEN CO. INN
HISTORY OF
NDIANAPOLIS
AN OUTLINE HISTORY
AND DESCRIPTION OF THE CAPITAL OF INDIANA, WITH ILLUSTRATIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS MADE EXPRESSLY FOR THE WORK
UBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE HISTORICAL COMMITTEE OF THE INDIANAPOLIS CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION COMMITTEE
INDIANA COLLECTION
OtAL 62 AON
INDIANAPOLIS MAX R. HYMAN 1920
4
1
CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF INDIANAPOLIS
Allen County Public Library 900 Webster Street PO Box 2270 Fort Wayne, IN 46801-2270
History Committee
JACOB P. DUNN, Chairman LAURA FLETCHER HODGES, Acting Chairman ELIZABETH MACKENZIE FLETCHER ELIZA GORDON BROWNING MARY YANDES ROBINSON MARY JAMESON JUDAH DEMARCHUS C. BROWN CHARLES W. MOORES KATE MILNER RABB
Copyrighted by M. R. Hyman, 1920 MAX R. HYMAN, Publisher Printed by Bookwalter-Ball Printing Co. Photographs by W. H. Bass Photo Co.
CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF INDIANAPOLIS
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CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF INDIANAPOLIS
Birdseye View of Indianapolis, 1854, looking Southeast from top of Blind Asylum.
CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF INDIANAPOLIS
e
Birdseye View of Indianapolis, 1854, looking Southwest from top of Blind Asylum.
·
10
CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF INDIANAPOLIS
by law for three commissioners to "lay out a town," and advertise the sale of lots; also an agent to attend to the business of selling the lots, and collect the payments, the purchase money to be used in "erecting the necessary public buildings of the State." On the same day, General John Carr was elected agent and Christopher Harrison, James W. Jones and Samuel P. Booker were elected commissioners to lay out the town.
By the same law the new capital was named; and this caused more discussion than all the other features combined. Some wanted an Indian name, and "Tecumseh" was specially favored. Others wanted a high-sounding European name, and favored "Suwarrow." They finally agreed on "Indianapolis," which Judge Jeremiah Sullivan publicly claimed to have been originated by him. It has also been claimed that Samuel Merrill originated the name, but if so, he never made public claim to it.
The commissioners were directed to meet at Indianapolis on the first Monday in April, 1821; but only Christopher Harrison appeared, and he proceeded to perform the duties of the commission. He employed as sur- veyors Alexander Ralston and Elias Pym Fordham, and they formed a notable group. Harrison had been the first Lieutenant-Governor of Indiana. He was a man of artistic tastes, and for seven years after coming to Indiana, in 1808, had lived a hermit in a cabin on a bluff overlooking the Ohio River. Tradition says that this was because he had been jilted by Elizabeth Patter- son, who married Jerome Bonaparte, younger brother of Napoleon. Ralston was a Scotchman, of some prominence as an engineer. He had assisted Major L'Enfant in laying out the City of Washington and had surveyed an estate in Arkansas for Aaron Burr, on account of which he was sometimes suspected of being implicated in Burr's conspiracy. Fordham was an Eng- lishman, who came over with Birkbeck's Illinois colony, and who had studied engineering under George Stephenson, the inventor of the steam locomotive.
Plan of the City. Indianapolis, as then planned, included only what is now known as "the original mile square," i. e. the part of the city bounded by North, South, East and West streets. These streets, however, were not included in the plat, but were added later at the suggestion of "Uncle Jimmy" Blake, who argued that "fifty years later they would make a fine four mile drive around the city." The streets in the plat were as at present, except in the southeastern portion, where the regular squares were broken by two diagonal streets-North Carolina and South Carolina-running from Meridian to East street, and bounding the valley of Pogue's Run, as it then existed. The original street names have not been changed, except that in 1895 Mississippi street was changed to Senate avenue, and Tennessee street to Capitol avenue. Originally there were no alleys in the squares cut by the four diagonal avenues, and none of the alleys were named until 1831. At that time names were given to several of them which have since been changed. For example, what is now Pearl street was called "Cumber- land;" Court street was "Potomac," and Adelaide was "Choptank."
In the center of the plat was the Governor's Circle, now Monument Place, which was reserved for a mansion for the Governor, and a brick building, · about 50 feet square, was erected there in 1827, but it was never finished as a residence, and was used only for various public offices. It was torn down in 1857, and the material used in the building now standing at the southeast corner of Illinois and Market streets. Three of the squares cut by the diagonal avenues-those shaded on the plat-were reserved "for religious purposes," but were never put to such uses. They were dropped in 1831, when a new survey was made covering the entire donation. Where Indian- apolis streets cross the lines of the donation it may be noticed that there
11
CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF INDIANAPOLIS
ITY
South Side of Washington St., looking East from Pennsylvania to Delaware St., 1854.
1
.
Same View.
INDIANA TRUST BLOG.
12
CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF INDIANAPOLIS
is a slight change in the direction of the street. This is due to the fact that in the surveys for the town plat no allowance was made for the variation of the magnetic needle, while in the United States surveys, outside of the donation lines, the true meridian is followed. The original Indian- apolis streets bear about two and one-half degrees east of north, and south of east.
Sale of Lots. The sale of lots was advertised for the second Monday in October, 1821, but only one lot was sold on that day, the sale continuing through the week. At that time there were three "taverns" in Indianapolis, in addition to McCormick's. Matthias R. Nowland had one "on the west bank of the ravine" (the line of Missouri street) between Washington and Maryland streets; and here the sale of lots was held. Major Thomas Carter had established The Rosebush Tavern on the north side of Washington street east of Illinois. John Hawkins had opened The Eagle Tavern on the north side of Washington street between Meridian and Pennsylvania streets. All of these, as well as private residences, were filled with people who came to the sale, and many others camped out. Notwithstanding the crowd, many carrying money, there was no robbery or disturbance of any kind.
The highest price received for a lot was $560. It was the one at the north- west corner of Delaware and Washington streets. The next highest was $500, for the one at the northwest corner of Senate and Washington streets. The third was $450 for the one at the northeast corner of Capitol and Wash- ington. Most of the lots on Washington street between the State House and the Court House brought $200 to $300 each. The one at the southeast corner of Illinois and Washington brought $325. In all, 314 lots were sold for a total of $35,596.25, of which $7,119.25 was paid in cash. But 161 of these lots were afterwards forfeited for failure to meet the deferred pay- ments, and the total receipts for lots up to 1831 was less than $35,000. In 1831 the donation lands, outside of the town plat, which had been divided into "outlots," were also put on sale, and the receipts for the next five years were nearly $40,000. The entire receipts from the donation lands, up to 1871, when the last payments were made, were less than $125,000.
The reason for the poor returns for the land was that the isolation of the place prevented its rapid population, together with the fact that sickness was very prevalent in 1821 and 1822. At one time in the fall of 1821, it is said that there were only three persons in the place who were not prostrated by ague or fever. There were three physicians then at Indianapolis: Drs. S. G. Mitchell, Livingston Dunlap and Isaac Coe, and Mitchell and Dunlap were soon stricken down, and Coe was kept going night and day, in his single-handed fight with disease.
Topographical Conditions. The early sickness was largely due to the fact that the land was heavily timbered, very flat, and poorly drained. The rainfall was heavy, and there were many swampy pools that bred mosquitos. Northeast of the town was an extensive swamp, later known as Fletcher's swamp, which in high water discharged its overflow through the town in what were known as "the ravines." The water ran southwesterly, crossing the L. E. & W. tracks near Fifteenth street, below which it divided. The east ravine struck New Jersey street at Walnut and followed the line of New Jersey street across Washington, emptying into Pogue's Run. The west ravine crossed Meridian street at Eleventh; Illinois street at St. Clair; cut through the present State House grounds, and emptied into the river just above Kingan's packing house. These ravines were raging torrents in high water, and made numerous stagnant pools in low water. In 1837 they had become such nuisances that the Legislature made Calvin Fletcher and Thomas Johnson commissioners to get rid of them. They did so by cutting
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CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF INDIANAPOLIS
ODD FELLOWS BLDG. North Side of Washington St., looking East from Pennsylvania to Delaware St , 1854.
ANAMA HATS ANED & SUKKER
Same View.
ODD FELLOWS BLDG.
14
CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF INDIANAPOLIS
the State Ditch, which ran southwesterly from Twentieth street and the L. E. & W. tracks to Nineteenth and Central; thence along the south line of Morton Place to Delaware street; thence north to the Fall Creek bottom land, and thence along its south border to Fall Creek at Twenty-second street.
This disposed of the trouble. except that three times afterward, in January, 1847, June, 1858, and June, 1875, the banks of the State Ditch gave way and the northern part of the city was flooded by the overflows. There was another swamp southeast of the old Deaf and Dumb Asylum, which dis- charged its overflow through a channel to the southwest, and then north- westerly near the line of Virginia avenue to Pogue's Run. This was known as "Virginia River," and was finally disposed of through the South street sewer. Another damp spot on the south side, which received considerable notice in the sixties, was "Lake McCarty," a large pond between Ray and Morris streets, near the J. M. & I. tracks, which was eventually drained through the Ray street sewer. During wet seasons, before there were bridges over the streams, Indianapolis was practically cut off from the remainder of the world by floods, especially in April and May, 1822, May, 1824, and March and April, 1826, when the mail carriers were unable to get into or out of the town.
Pioneer Life. The greatest natural obstacle that the first settlers had to overcome was the forest. A few of the trees were used for making build- ings and fences, and the remainder had to be cleared away before any farming could be done. Fortunately, there was a natural "deadening" of 100 to 200 acres extending northeast from above Military Park to the neighborhood of Senate avenue and Fall Creek. The timber on this tract was mostly maple, which had been killed by "maple-borers," and the first settlers united in clearing out the undergrowth, which they used for a fence around "The Caterpillar Deadening," and made a common field of the tract. The soil was very fertile and produced ample crops with but little cultiva- tion. Game was abundant. Panthers, wolves and wildcats did some damage and bears were occasionally found. The last bear recorded was killed near Morton Place in 1846. Deer were common and for several years venison was much cheaper than beef or pork. In 1821 wild turkeys sold for 12} cents apiece. Wild pigeons were found in immense numbers in their migration seasons, and in the spring of 1822 were sold at 25 cents a bushel.
Squirrels were so numerous that they were veritable pests to the farmers, and occasionally they made migrations in droves that numbered thousands. Fish of the best quality were in great abundance in the streams. George W. Pitts stated that one day when the fish were running up through a break in McCormick's dam (just above Riverside Park), he threw out, with his hands, eighty-seven bass, ranging from one to five pounds in weight. Fishing was not an expert profession in those days. A "pole and line" and a few angle worms were all that was needed to secure "a mess of fish."
But the gifts of nature were the only commodities that were cheap, for a long time. Manufactured goods that were not "home-made" were brought in by wagon, or occasionally by flat boat, with much labor and expense. Consequently, "store clothes" were high priced, and linsey-woolsey and buckskin were very commonly used for clothing. As late as 1843 the county commissioners allowed Hervey Hindman "$2 for making buckskin pants for paupers." Coffee, tea, hardware and all other commodities that had to be imported were costly. This stimulated home production of substitutes. On February 25, 1822, the Gazette listed the industrial forces of the new capital at "thirteen carpenters and joiners, four cabinet makers, eight blacksmiths, four boot and shoe makers, two tailors, one hatter, two tanners, one saddler, one cooper, four bricklayers, two merchants, seven houses of entertainment,
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CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF INDIANAPOLIS
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North Side of Washington St., looking East from Meridian to Pennsylvania St., 1854.
K
NATIONAL CITY BANK
Same View.
KAHN BLDG.
16
CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF INDIANAPOLIS
three groceries, one schoolmaster, four physicians, one minister of the gospel, and three counselors at law."
Roads and Mails. The first roads to Indianapolis were merely roadways cut through the forest, with no grading, and with the stumps still standing. They made hard traveling at any time and in wet weather were almost im- passable. There were no bridges for more than a dozen years and streams that could not be forded were crossed by ferries. Until 1822 the nearest postoffice was at Connersville, but on January 28 of that year the first num- ber of the Indianapolis Gazette appeared and at that time all of the news- paper "dispatches" came by mail. The influence of the press was shown by a public meeting at Hawkins' tavern on January 30 at which it was de- cided to establish a private mail. The meeting elected Aaron Drake post- master, and employed him to bring the mail from Connersville once a month. Ilis first return with the mail made quite a jubilee, but his service did not last long, for Indianapolis was made a regular postoffice in February and Samuel Henderson, who was appointed postmaster, began his official duties on March 7. At first the mail came only by way of Connersville, but within a year there were weekly mails from Madison and Brookville, and fortnightly mails from Centerville, Lawrenceburgh and Washington. Postage was high as compared with the present rate, and was based on dis- tance. It cost 373 cents to send a letter from New England to Indianapolis : 25 cents from New York, and 123 cents from Ohio.
Early Newspapers. The Gazette, which first appeared on January 28, 1822, was published by George Smith and his step-son, Nathaniel Bolton, later the husband of Sarah T. Bolton. It was printed in a log cabin at the corner of Maryland and Missouri streets, and was the only paper until March 7, 1823, when Harvey Gregg and Douglass Maguire began publishing the Western Censor and Emigrant's Guide, in a cabin on Washington street opposite the New York Store. The Gazette later became The Democrat, and still later The Sentinel. The Censor in 1825 became The Journal. These two papers were for many years the leading Democratic, and Whig-later Republican- papers of Indiana. The Sentinel continued until 1906, its last number ap- pearing on February 25 of that year. The Journal was consolidated in the summer of 1904 with The Star, which had been started on June 6, 1903, by George McCulloch and had bought the morning Associated Press franchise of The Sentinel.
The first number of The Indianapolis News appeared on December 7, 1869. It was owned and published by John H. Holliday, who continued in active control of it until 1892, when he retired on account of his health. The Sun was started on March 12, 1888, by five newspaper men from Cleveland, with Fred L. Purdy as editor. It was continued under that name until July, 1914, when it was bought by W. D. Boyce, of Chicago, and on July 20 its name was changed to The Indiana Times. There were several other papers that were elements of Indianapolis development. One was the Locomotive, started in 1845 by three apprentices in the Journal office. It died out, was revived
in 1848, and for the next decade was an Indianapolis institution. Another notable paper was the Farmer and Gardener, started by Henry Ward Beecher in 1845. Another was The Common School Advocate, founded by Henry West, later Mayor of Indianapolis, in 1846. In 1856 the Indiana School Journal was started, with George B. Stone, then superintendent of the In- dianapolis schools, as editor. Later this paper came under the control of Professor W. A. Bell, who edited it for thirty years. In 1900 it was con- solidated with the Inland Educator, and is now published as The Educator- Journal. Two weekly papers that are remembered by many Indianapolis people were The Herald, edited by George Harding, and The People, edited by Enos B. Reed.
CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF INDIANAPOLIS
17
South Side of Washington St., looking East from Meridian to Pennsylvania St., 1854.
-
MERCHANTS NAT'L BANK BLDG.
L. S, AYRES & CO.'S BLDG.
Same View.
18
CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF INDIANAPOLIS
Marion County Organized. By an act of January 9, 1821, Governor Jennings was directed to appoint two justices of the peace for Indianapolis, and he appointed John Maxwell and Jacob Crumbaugh, who were the first officials at this place. Maxwell resigned and James McIlvain was appointed in his place. McIlvain had his office in a twelve-foot cabin at Meridian and Ohio streets, on the site of the old City Library building. There was doubt as to the legality of these appointments. as the Constitution provided only for the election of justices for townships. and there were no townships. A meet- ing held at Hawkins' tavern, in the fall of 1821, sent James Blake and Dr. S. G. Mitchell to Corydon to secure county organization. They succeeded, and the law organizing Marion County was adopted December 31, 1821.
The county was twenty miles square. as at present, but a still larger tract, to the northeast, covering the settlements on Fall Creek and White River as far east as Anderson, was added to Marion County for governmental pur- poses, the inhabitants having "all the privileges of citizens of said County of Marion." For judicial purposes the new county was added to the Fifth Judicial Circuit, of which William Watson Wick was appointed judge by Governor Jennings. Under the law at that time, when a new county was to be organized the Governor appointed a sheriff, who called and held an election, appointing all the election officers, administering oaths, re- ceiving returns, canvassing the vote, and issuing certificates of election. To this position Hervey Bates, of Connersville, was appointed by Governor Jennings.
The First Election. On February 22, 1822, Sheriff Bates issued his procla- mation for an election, to be held on April 1. The designated voting places were the houses of John Carr at Indianapolis, John Finch, near Con- ner's Station ; John Paige, at Strawtown; John Berry, at Anderson, and William McCartney, at Pendleton. The campaign had begun in December, and by tradition it was a decidedly wet campaign. The contending parties were known as "Kentucky" and "Whitewater," and were supposed to repre- sent the localities from which the settlers came. In reality "Whitewater" was the local representative of the Jennings party in the State, and it was triumphant in the election. There were 336 votes cast in the county, of which 224 were at Indianapolis. The highest vote was 217 for James M. Ray for clerk. James McIlvain and Eliakim Harding were elected associate circuit judges; Joseph C. Reed, recorder, and John McCormick, John T. Osborn and William McCartney, county commissioners.
First County Commissioners' Session. The newly elected commissioners met on April 15 at the house of John Carr, which was on Delaware street, just north of Washington, and which was "the seat of government" until public buildings were erected. Their first act was to appoint Daniel Yandes county treasurer, and approve his bond. They next divided the county into nine townships, substantially as at present, but for governmental pur- poses temporarily put them in four groups, known as Washington-Lawrence, Center-Warren, Decatur-Perry-Franklin, and Pike-Wayne. They provided for ten justices of the peace, however, one for each township, with one extra for Indianapolis. The territory outside of Marion County proper was divided into four townships, including severally the settlements at Anderson, Pendle- ton, Strawtown and Conner's station. The election for justices of the peace was held on May 11 and Wilkes Reagan, Lismund Basye and Obed Foote were elected for Center-Warren.
On April 17 the commissioners adopted a seal, with the words, "Marion County Seal" around a star. This was never used, but on May 14 a pair of scales over a plough and a sheaf of wheat was substituted for the star.
CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF INDIANAPOLIS
19
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North Side of Washington Street, between Meridian and Illinois Streets, 1854.
HOME OF
Merefiant's
F
HEARS LIGHT Ca
ONS&
COURTESY ALWAYS
Same View.
MERCHANTS HEAT AND LIGHT CO. 'S BUILDING
20
CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF INDIANAPOLIS
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This seal was used until 1841, when the scales and the plough and sheaf were replaced by "the engraving of a basket of fruit and likewise the repre- sentation of a Berkshire pig." On September 27, 1822, the circuit court adopted a seal with the same design of scales, plough and sheaf, but later the plough and sheaf were dropped, and now only the scales appear.
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