USA > Indiana > Marion County > Indianapolis > Hyman's handbook of Indianapolis : an outline history and description of the capital of Indiana, with over three hundred illustrations from photographs made expressly for this work (1907) > Part 1
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Gc 977.202 IN3HYA
GEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 02492 2087
Gc 977.202 IN3HYA
HYMAN'S HANDBOOK OF INDIANAPOLIS
HYMAN'S
HANDBOOK OF
INDIANAPOLIS
AN OUTLINE HISTORY
AND DESCRIPTION OF THE CAPITAL OF INDIANA, WITH OVER THREE HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS FROM PHO- TOGRAPHS MADE EXPRESSLY FOR THE WORK
MAX R. HYMAN, EDITOR
INDIANAPOLIS M. R. HYMAN COMPANY
1907
PREFACE.
It has been the editor's aim in preparing this work to make it the most complete illustrated history of the material development of Indianapolis ever published. The text gives a comprehensive but condensed history and description of the city; also of every notable public institution and feature of especial interest. The illustrations cover a longer period and are far more numerous than have ever before been published on this subject, and they furnish many interesting reminders of the earlier history of the city as well as of the present.
1481897
In the preparation of this volume, all known available sources of relevant information have been consulted, and particular ac- knowledgment of obligations is due to the local histories, pub- lished years ago, by Col. W. R. Holloway and Ignatius Brown, and to the files of the newspapers of this city for their rich stores of material.
This edition is now submitted to the public with the hope that it will be found to be useful as well as interesting, and that its sup- port will necessitate many editions.
MAX R. HYMAN.
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HISTORICAL
MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT OF INDIANAPOLIS FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD TO THE PRESENT.
Indiana was organized as a territory July 4, 1800, and admitted as a state December 11, 1816. In 1810 the territory of Indiana had a popu- lation of 24,520, and in 1820, four years after its admission to statehood, the population had expanded to 147,178. The settlers had not strayed very far away from the Ohio river, but there were a few settlements along Whitewater, and a few along the Wabash; but most of them were along the southern border of the state. The state stretched from the Obio to the lake, but the central and northern sections were an un- known wilderness given over to the Indians. Dense forests covered the central section, while to the north stretched away the trackless prairies. It was not an inviting field for the hardy pioneer.
It was a struggle for existence. The soil was rich enough, but it was the work of years to clear a farm and get it ready to produce, and when its productions were ready for the harvest there was no market, and the malaria arising from the decaying vegetation made the outlook anything but favorable. It was under such circumstances Indiana be- came a member of the great Federal Union. Indian wars had about ceased east of the Mississippi river, but Indian massacres had not come to an end. It was not safe to stray very far away from the confines of the few settlements, and if human life was spared stock was stolen and driven away, thus depriving the settler of all means of cultivating his homestead. Corydon, the capital, was a little village on the south- (rn border, some miles back from the river, and hidden among the hills; hard to get at in the best of seasons, in the winter it was almost inaccessible. Around it there was nothing that gave promise of future growth; there was no future for it even if the capital remained there. There was absolutely no foundation on which to build a city.
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HYMAN'S HANDBOOK OF INDIANAPOLIS.
The Beginning of Indianapolis-When the state was admitted into the Union congress donated to the infant commonwealth four sec- tions of land on which to build a capital city, the land to be selected by the state from any that remained unsold. So, in 1820, the legislature determined to go out into the wilderness and hunt for a site for its future capital city. Commissioners were appointed and sent out to seek for the site of its future city, and make selection of the land do- nated by congress. It might have been a prescience of what was to come that led the commissioners to seek a spot as near the geographical center of the state as possible. It may be they naturally concluded that in time the geographical center of the state would be also the center of population, but it is more probable they thought only of finding a spot to reach which would take about the same number of miles travel from the four corners. Whatever may have been their motive, they did determine on the geographical center. Water furnished then the only. or rather the best and surest means of communication with the outside world, and as they did not want to get too far away from some stream supposed to be navigable, they clung to the banks of White river. Three sites were offered, one a few miles south of the present city, and one a few miles northeast. They came bere through the wilderness, and after much debating and considerable disputing, decided on accepting four sections of land around the mouth of Fall creek. It was a most un- promising site. White river itself was not very inviting, while deep bayous and ravines cut up the land in a way to make it look anything but attractive to one seeking for town lots. But here were the four sections with only half a dozen or so settlers. It was in the wilderness, it was near the geographical center.
With the exception of a lonely cabin here and there, it was sixty miles away from the nearest settlements. All around were dense forests; to the south were the hills reaching to the Ohio river, and to the north the woods and prairies stretching out to the lake. Only a few miles away was the boundary which divided the "New Purchase" from the lands still claimed by the Indians. There was no town, no people, not a road leading anywhere. A town had to be built, people induced to come, roads to be opened. No farms had been opened up, and sup- plies of every kind would have to be wagoned many miles over roads often almost impassable, and at that time pack-horses were the only means of conveyance. But here, in this unpromising locality, the com- missioners staked off a city that in less than three-quarters of a cen- tury was to become the largest inland city on the continent. They be- lieved that White river would prove to be navigable for the only boats then known on the western waters, and by it the people of the new city could'be fed and clothed.
BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF INDIANAPOLIS, SOUTHWEST FROM BLIND ASYLUM, 1854.
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HYMAN'S HANDBOOK OF INDIANAPOLIS.
Naming the Capital-The legislature approved the report of the commissioners and proceeded to hunt for a name for the new city, It was a difficult thing to find. Every member of the legislature had a name to propose. Some were of Indian origin, and some compounded from Latin words, and others from Greek. Finally "Indianapolis" was determined upon, and the city in embryo had a name.
The First Settler-There has been much dispute as to who was actually the first settler of this section of the state, and the honor has been contested between the friends of George Pogue and those of two brothers named McCormick. The dispute never will be satisfactorily settled, and it is not a very important historical event. Neither Pogue nor the MeCormicks dreamed of building a city. The one sought on y to live by hunting and trapping, and the others by cultivating the soil. It was only after the location of the capital city they dreamed of achie"- ing fame by being called the first to discern the future possibilities. Both Pogue and the McCormicks were here when the commissioners of the legislature came.
First Survey -- In April, 1821, the work of "laying off" the city actively began, Christopher Harrison, representing the state, appointed
T
THE OLD GOV WRIGHT MANSION
OLD GOVERNOR WRIGHT MANSION.
BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF INDIANAPOLIS, SOUTHEAST FROM BLINO ASYLUM, 1854.
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HYMAN'S HANDBOOK OF INDIANAPOLIS.
as surveyors, Elias P. Fordham and Alexander Ralston. Some years before, Ralston had been employed in some of the work of mapping out Washington, the national capital, and at his suggestion the city was to be one mile square, with streets crossing each other at right angles, and with four wide aveunes pointing toward a circle that was to be the center of the new city. The ground was uniformly level, but a slight knoll was found, and it was determined the city should start from that point, or rather that the knoll should be in the center, and that it should be crowned by a residence for the chief magistrate of the commonwealth,
Streets were marked off, lots laid out and the new city was ready for business, that is, the sale of lots. The streets ran through the woods and the lots were all heavily timbered, but could be determined by the stakes set by the surveyors. Certain plots of ground were reserved for public purposes. Que was to be the site of the expected state-house. Que was for the court-house, and one was reserved on which to build a great state educational institution, which already had been desig- nated as a university. The university never materialized. It having gone abroad through the settlements that the new capital city had been located, and information given as to where it could be found, immi- grants began to arrive, and among them was the first lawyer. A store had been opened up and a saw-mill started.
Most of the settlers had located along the bank of the river, taking it for granted that the choice corner lots would be in that section. The land outside of the mile square was to be laid off into out-lots and farms. Mr. Ralston and the commissioners evidently thought that the mile square would contain all the inhabitants the city was ever likely to have, and had provided no division of the city lots from the out-lots but the imaginary line, but some one suggested that it would be the proper thing to bound the city by streets, and name them East, West, North and South streets, and it was done accordingly.
First Sale of Lots-In October, 1821, the sale of lots began. The money arising from the sale was to be used in erecting the necessary buildings for the use of the state, and it was expected that there would be a great demand. After continuing the sale for several days, and lisposing of three hundred and fourteen lots, the real estate business was stopped for awhile. Something more than $7,000 was realized in cash, the rest of the purchase price of the lots being evidenced by promissory notes ruuuing over a period of four years. But few of the lots were eventually paid for, the purchasers forfeiting the advance payments and abandoning their purchases. Ten years afterward the state still owned three-fourths of the lots in the city limits, and nearly all of the out-lots. They were not finally disposed of until 1842, and for
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GOTT & FEATHERSTON.
VIEW OF PENNSYLVANIA STREET, LOOKING NORTH FROM WASHINGTON STREET, 1856.
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HYMAN'S HANDBOOK OF INDIANAPOLIS.
wheels would sink so deep in the mud that the axle-tree of the wagon would strike on the stump, and thus the wagon would be stranded sometimes for hours. The wants of the new settlement began to be numerous, and all supplies had to be hauled over these roads, that in the winter were sometimes impassable for weeks. They were just as bad in the rainy seasons of the spring and fall.
Organizing Marion County-The legislature of 1821-2 also organ- ized Marion county, making Indianapolis the county-seat, appropriating a square of ground and $8,000 to build a court-house. Attached to the new county, for judicial purposes, was the territory now comprising the counties of Johnson, Hamilton, Hancock, Madison and Boone. A new county demanded a new judge and a new sheriff. Hon. William W. Wick was made judge, and Hervey Bates sheriff. The new city might now be said to be fairly launched on the road to greatness. It had a judge of its own, a lawyer, Calvin Fletcher, to look after the legal wants of all the people, a store, a tavern, a saw-mill or two, a post- office, and was soon to have its first paper.
The First Newspaper-Among the enterprising citizens of Indian- apolis were George Smith and Nathaniel Bolton, and they became the editors and proprietors of the Gazette, Indianapolis' first newspaper. It made its appearance January 28, 1822.
First County Election-The legislature could name a judge for the new county, but could not choose the other officers, so in February, 1822, Sheriff Bates issued forth his proclamation calling on the people of the new county to meet together at certain named polling places and choose for themselves two associate justices, a clerk, a recorder and three county commissioners. Two of the voting places were in Indian- apolis, one near Noblesville, one at Strawtown, one at Anderson and the other near Pendleton. Only 336 votes were cast in the entire county. The vote of Indianapolis was about 100. James M. Ray was elected clerk, James C. Reed, recorder; John T. Osborne, John McCormack and William McCartney, commissioners; Eliakim Harding and James Mc- Ilvain, associate judges. In the August following, the election for governor took place, when 317 votes were cast, 315 of them being for William Hendricks.
First Session County Court-On September 26, 1822, the court began its first session. There being no court-house, its sessions were held in the cabin of Jonathan Carr, it being the most pretentious struc- ture in the town. The grand jury returned twenty-two indictments for sundry and various offenses against the peace and dignity of the com- monwealth. A candidate for naturalization appeared, in the person of Richard Goode, late of Ireland, and a subject of George IV. No jail had been provided, and as the laws then made imprisonment for debt permissible, certain streets were named as the boundaries within which imprisoned debtors should confine themselves,
HYMAN'S HANDBOOK OF INDIANAPOLIS.
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NORTH SIDE OF WASHINGTON STREET, WEST FROM OLD MARION COUNTY COURT HOUSE, 1854.
Building First Court- house and Jail-The county commissioners, as soon as they had been inducted into of- fice. set industriously about the work of erecting a court-house and jail. The state had appropriated $8,000 to assist in this work, and in September the plan for the proposed struc- ture submitted by John E. Baker and James Paxton was accepted and the contract for the building awarded them. They did not begin the work of construction until the next sum- mer, and it was not un- til 1824 the building was completed. The square of ground se- lected for a court-house and jail was covered with heavy timber. A jail made of hewed logs was erected and re- mained as the bastile of Marion county until 1833, when it was de- stroyed by fire. A brick jail was then con- structed, and in 1845 it was enlarged by an ad- dition made of logs a foot thick. In the midst of the turmoil of start- ing a new city on its upward way patriotism was not forgotten, and the fourth of July, 1822,
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HYMAN'S HANDBOOK OF INDIANAPOLIS.
was duly celebrated by an oration, the reading of the Declaration of In- dependence, and a barbecue. The first camp-meeting was also held that fall, under the auspices of Rev. James Scott, the first Methodist preacher of the town. This year was also signalized by the organiza- tion of a militia regiment, the fortieth, with James Paxton as colonel; Samuel Morrow, lieutenant-colonel, and Alexander W. Russell, major. Those days all the able-bodied citizens had to attend regular musters of the militia.
The year was not one of prosperity to the new settlement, but was marked by several important events, among them being the establish- ment of a ferry across White river; the opening of a brick-yard; the erection of the first brick and the first two-story frame house. The first brick house was erected by John Johnson, on Market street, oppo- site the present post-office. The frame house was on Washington street, a little east of the present site of the Park theater. It was long used for the storage of documents belonging to the state, and after- ward became a tavern.
At that time the capital of the state had no member of the legis- lature to represent its interest, and so the actual capital remained at Corydon. Again the rumors began to circulate that after all Indian- apolis would never be the capital, and holders of real estate began to get a little shaky over their purchases. There was a leaven of faith, however, and the citizens began to petition the legislature for repre- sentation, and at its session in 1823 the people of the new county were authorized to elect a representative in the following Angust. In the early days of the spring a new newspaper was started with a rather startling name-Western Censor and Emigrant's Guide by Harvey Gregg and Douglass Maguire. This was now the third year of the town, and the second since it had been given its name, but the election in Au- gust disclosed the fact that its growth during the last year had been very limited. In August, 1822, at the election for governor, the county had polled 317 votes, and at the election in 1823 only 270. It was an "off" year, and that may account for the falling off of the vote.
First Theatrical Performance-Having a representative in the legislature, the town began to prepare for the advent of the capital, and a new tavern was built by Thomas Carter. It was now a rival of Hawkins' tavern that had first opened out its doors for the "ente"- tainment of man and beast." It became celebrated as being a place. of the exhibition of the first show ever given in Indianapolis. It was given on the last night of the year 1823, the bill being "The Doctor's Court- ship, or the Indulgent Father," and the farce of the "Jealous Lovers."
First School and Church-The first school was started in 1821, but its teacher was shortly afterward elected county recorder and it was temporarily suspended. Religious teachings began with the advent
HYMAN'S HANDBOOK OF INDIANAPOLIS.
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SOUTH SIDE OF WASHINGTON STREET, WEST FROM LITTLE'S HOTEL, 1854.
of French missionaries preaching among the Indians. When the country was wrested from the French the or- der was changed some- what, but it was never very long after the hardy pioneer had erected his cabin, until the "itinerant circuit rider" was knocking at his door with his bible and hymn-book in hand. It has never been def- initely settled who preached the first ser- mon in Indianapolis, the honor lying between John McClung, a preacher of the New Light school, and Rezin Hammond a Methodist. They both preached here in the fall of 1821. They were soon fol- lowed by Rev. Lndlow G. Haines, a Presbyte- rian, The Presbyterians organized the first church, and in 1823 be- gan the erection of a house of worship on Pennsylvania street op- posite where the Don'- son hotel now stands. It was completed the following year at the cost of $1,200. The Iu- dianapolis circuit of the Methodist denomination was organized in 1822, under the charge of Rev. William Cravens,
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but Rev. James Scott had preached here before that and held one or two camp-meetings. The Methodists did not begin the erection of a church building right away, but in 1823 purchased a hewed log house on Maryland street near Meridian, to be used for religious meetings. The Baptists organized a society in 1822, and held meetings at different places until 1829, when they erected a church.
Not long after the school of Joseph C. Reed suspended on his being elected to the office of recorder of the county, a meeting of the citizens was called to make arrangements for a permanent school. Mr. Reed's school-house had been at the Intersection of Kentucky avenue and Illi- nois street. Arrangements were made with a Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence to open out a school and keep it going. There were no free schools then maintained by public tax, but thus, soon after its first settlement, Indianapolis laid the foundation of its educational system.
Removal of the Capital-At the meeting of the legislature in Jan- uary, 1824, the final order was made for the removal of the capital to Indianapolis, and this gave an impetus to the town and more emi- grants began to flock in. The removal was to be made by January 10, 1825, and the next legislature was to assemble in the court-house of Marion county. When Marion county's representatives to the legis- lature returned home from the session of 1824, they were given a grand reception at Washington Hall, which was then the great tavern of the city. In November of that year, State Treasurer Samuel Merrill set out on his journey to the new capital with the archives of the state, in a large two-horse wagon. It was a slow journey over the hills and through the woods, a dozen miles a day being all that could be accomplished, and that by the hardest effort. By the end of Novem- ber the state was settled in its new quarters, and the meeting of the first legislature was impatiently waited for.
When the members of the legislature came to the new capital in 1825 they found it a straggling village with only one street "cleared," and that was still full of stumps. It was a town in the mud, hard to get to, and almost impossible to move around in after once reached. But it was the capital, the state officers were here, and the "donation" of the general government had been accepted, and they had to make the best of it. It was a dreary winter, though, here in the deep woods, with the houses scattered around over a mile square, with only cow tracks through the woods from one to the other. The three taverns were the center of interest in the evenings, and around huge fires in their "bar rooms" the legislators and citizens gathered to discuss mat- ters of state. During the session one of the taverns, Carter's, was de- stroyed by fire. Some efforts were made by the legislature to improve the town, and fifty dollars were appropriated to clean out Pogue's run, so as to cut off some of its malaria-breeding powers. The outlying
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THEINDIANAPOLIS NATIONALBANK
WASHINGTON STREET DIIDINA EDIZRATI FOIDEMIS 1075
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HYMAN'S HANDBOOK OF INDIANAPOLIS.
portions of the donation were also ordered sold or leased in four-acre tracts to encourage farming.
First Organizations-The coming of the legislature did not add greatly to the permanent growth of the town, for in February, 1826, the population consisted of seven hundred and sixty-two persons. But the town did begin to show signs of permanency and several societies were organized, among them being the Indianapolis Bible Society, which is still in existence. An agricultural society was also organized, but it did not last long. The United States land office was removed to Indianapolis from Brookville, and thus the city was recognized by the federal government. Indian depredations had ceased, but the military spirit was strong, and an artillery company was formed with James Blake as captain. The government furnished the company with one cannon of small caliber. The burning of Carter's tavern demonstrated the necessity of a fire company, and as the town was too poor to buy an engine a bucket and ladder company was organized, which did service for ten years until the first fire engine was purchased.
Establishment of First Factory-The early part of 1827 witnessed the first effort to establish a manufacturing enterprise in the town. Through the efforts of James M. Ray, James Blake and Nicholas Mc- Carty the legislature ordered the sale of seven acres of land fronting on the river, for milling purposes, and a company was organized to carry on the enterprise. It took two years, however, to get the stock sub- scriptions, and in 1831 the work of building was begun. It was to comprise a steam saw, grist and woolen mill, and a very pretentious structure was erected. The boilers and machinery were hauled over- land from Cincinnati, taking some weeks in their transportation. This was the introduction of steam as a power into the city, but the specula- tion did not pay, as there was little demand for lumber, and it cost too much to transport the flour to market. In 1835 the speculation was abandoned and the machinery offered for sale, but it found no buyers, and was left to rust itself away. In 1847 the Geisendorffs undertook to use the machinery and building for carding and spinning wool, but after trying it for five years, they in turn abandoned it, and the next year it was destroyed by fire. - It had long been a rendezvous for thieves and other vicious characters.
Building of Governor's Mansion-The same year the legislature attempted to build a residence for the governor. In the original laying off of the town the circle in the center of the plat was intended for such a structure, and so designated, but up to this time no provision had been made for its building. One of the first acts of the legislature in 1827 was to appropriate $4,000 to build a governor's house on the circle, and work began by enclosing the circle with a rail fence. Under this appropriation a building was begun. It was rather elaborate in de-
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