USA > Indiana > Indiana : in relation to its geography, statistics, institutions, county topography, etc. : with a "reference index" to Colton's maps of Indiana > Part 1
USA > Indiana > Indiana: in relation to its geography, statistics, institutions, county topography, etc., with a "reference index" to Colton's maps of Indiana > Part 1
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9772 535i
AIOVI
INDIANA:
IN RELATION TO ITS
Geography, Statistics, Justitutions,
COUNTY TOPOGRAPHY, ETC.
WITH A "REFERENCE INDEX" TO
COLTON'S MAPS. OF INDIANA.
Compiled from Official any other Authentic Sources.
0
BY RICHARD S. FISHER, M.D., AUTHOR OF "THE BOOK OF THE WORLD," ETC., ETC.
NEW YORK : PUBLISHED BY J. H. COLTON, No. 86 CEDAR STREET. 1854.
F 526 F5
Entered, according to act of Congress, in the year 1852, by
J. H. COLTON,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York.
$16
4 71
1
ADVERTISEMENT.
THIS little book has been prepared to accompany COL- TON'S MAPS OF THE STATE OF INDIANA, and to illustrate the geography, statistics, and institutions of that import- ant portion of the American Union. The descriptions, though brief and concise, embrace nevertheless a great mass of information useful not only to the immigrant set- tler, but also to those who, from long residence in the state, may be entitled to the distinguished title of " citi- zen." The descriptive portions of the work have been chiefly compiled from the publications of the most recent writers ; but a large mass of information has also been derived from the labors and inquiries of the publisher's agents, and from numerous private sources, all of which has been incorporated. The statistical matter is chiefly based on the census of 1850, the official returns of the sev- eral departments of the federal and state governments, and from the reports of companies incorporated within the state. Every available source of accurate information, indeed, has been consulted, and the publisher has no hesi- tation in saying that there is no other work on the same subject, and within the same compass, that furnishes so much valuable information as is contained herein.
With regard to the maps themselves, most persons who will be likely to purchase them are already cognizant of the course the publisher has taken to make them accurate and perfect. His agents in Indiana-intelligent and busi- ness-like men-have been engaged for about three years in visiting every part of the state, observing its condition, and noting from day to day its progress ; and the publisher has here to acknowledge with gratitude the important
iv
ADVERTISEMENT.
assistance they have had from all those of whom they have sought information ; and he at the same time would tender for himself his thanks to the officers of the several rail- road and other incorporated road companies who have so willingly troubled themselves to lay down the true lines of their several roads on the maps that have been sent them for that purpose. All these gentlemen may be said to be the authors of the works, for without their aid it would have been impossible to have compiled them. Their trouble will be repaid materially by the possession of more accurate maps than could otherwise have been made.
The maps are three in number, varying little but in the scale on which drawn, and the amount of information they severally contain.
The largest map is engraved on six plates, and when mounted is 66 inches long, and 48 inches broad. It con- tains the full surveys in sections, the general topography of the state, the internal improvements, and all the in- formation usually found on the most elaborate maps.
The medium sized map is engraved on two plates, and measures 43 inches long and 32 inches wide. All the features of the large map are found in this, but on a re- duced scale.
The small map is engraved on one sheet, and is intended only as a traveling map, but contains, nevertheless, more than the usual information found in like works.
All these maps are engraved in the best style of art, and are colored in a handsome manner. A REFERENCE INDEX, by the aid of which any place on the maps may be readily found, is appended to this work.
NEW YORK, April 15, 1852.
08 900
bing od
CONTENTS.
Situation, Boundaries, and Superficies
Page 7 8
Face of the Country
Ohio Valley ..
9
White River Valley
9 9 10
Rivers, Lakes, etc
12
Botany 19 20
Zoology
Public Lands, with Diagrams, etc
Aborigines
Present Inhabitants, Population 1850, etc.
Productive Industry
Agriculture
Manufactures
Commerce
Banks
Canals
Railroads
34 36
Other Roads
Government-the Franchise, Legislature, Executive, Judiciary
37
Finances-Expenditures and Resources, Pub. Debt, etc. 39 Public Institutions 42
State Prison. 43
Education-Schools, Colleges, and Universities, etc 43
46
Ecclesiastical Establishments
History 48
County Seats-their Distances from Indianapolis. 50
21 25 27 29 29 30 31 32 33
Wabash Valley.
Geology, etc
vi
CONTENTS.
Page 51
County Topography
Page
Page
Page
Adams 51
Hendricks. 70
Porter 88
Allen
51
Henry ... 70
Posey 89
Barthol'w . 52
Howard ... 71
Pulaski 89
Benton ..
53
Huntington 71
Putnam .. 90
Blackford . 53
Jackson
72
Randolph
90
Boone 54
Jasper
72
Ripley . . .
91
Brown
54
Jay ..
73
Rush
91
Carroll
55
Jefferson
73
St. Joseph
92
Cass
55
Jennings
74
Scott
93
Clarke
56
Johnson. 74
Shelby .. 93
Clay
57
Knox . -
75
Spencer.
94
Clinton 57
Kosciusko . 76
Starke
94
Crawford .. 58
La Grange.
76
Steuben ..
94
Daviess ..
58
Lake. . 77
Sullivan. .
95
Dearborn .. 59
La Porte .. 77
Switz'land 95
Decatur ... 60
Lawrence 78
Tipp'canoe
96
De Kalb .. .. 60
Madison ... 79
Tipton
97
Delaware .. 61
Marion
79
Union.
97
Dubois ... 61
Marshall
81
Vanderb'g
98
Elkhart .. 62
Martin 81
Vermilion 99
Fayette
63
Miami 82
Vigo
99
Floyd .
63
Monroe 83
Wabash .. 100
Fountain .. 64
Montgom'y 83
Warren .. 100
Franklin .. 65
Morgan
84 Warrick .. 101
Fulton
65
Noble 85
Washing'n 101
Gibson
66
Ohio
85
Wayne ... 102
Grant. 66
Orange
85
Wells .... 103
Greene 67
Owen
86
White .... 103
Hamilton .. 68
Parke 86
Whitley .. 104
Hancock .. 68
Perry
87
Harrison .. 69
Pike
87
REFERENCE INDEX TO COLTON'S MAPS 105 TRAVELING ROUTES 126
INDIANA : ITS GEOGRAPHY, STATISTICS, INSTITUTIONS, ETC., ETC., ETC.
INDIANA* lies in the form of a parallelogram between Ohio and Illinois, and extends from Michigan, on the north, to the Ohio river, on the south. Geographically, it is situated between the latitudes 37° 51' and 41- 46' north, and between the longitudes 85º 49' 30" and 88º 2' 30" west from Greenwich, or 8º 48' and 11° 01' from Wash- ington. Its extreme length from north to south is 276 miles, and its greatest width 176 miles ; but its average length is only about 242 miles, and its average breadth not more than 153 miles ; and within these limits the area of its superfices is 33,809 square miles, or 21,637,760 acres.
* The definite boundaries of the state, according to the ordinance of Congress, dated 19th April, 1816, are as follows: "Bounded on the east by the meridian line which forms the western boundary of the state of Ohio, being a north line from the mouth of the Miami ; on the south by the river Ohio, from the mouth of the Great Miami to the mouth of the river Wabash ; on the west by a line drawn along the middle of the Wabash from its mouth to a point where a due north line, drawn from the town of Vincennes, would last touch the northwestern shore of the said river, and from thence by a due north line until the same shall intersect an east and west line drawn through a point ten miles north of the southern extreme of Lake Mich- igan ; on the north by the said east and west line," etc., to beginning
8
INDIANA.
FACE OF THE COUNTRY, ETC .- The general features of Indiana are those which pertain to all countries where mountain, in the strict sense of the word, is wanting ; for if we except the river-hills and the accumulations of sand on the southern shore of Lake Michigan, no portion of the country has any continuous or definite elevation which even a florid imagination could dignify by such a term, and all of mountain that really appears is a few isolated " knobs," which serve only to diversify the scenery. Nearly two thirds of the state is level, or at most undu- lating, and a most singular feature of the country is the absence of any water-shed or dividing ridge, such as al- most every geographical region presents, from which the waters flow in different directions; still, however, the country has continuous slopes of great extent, and the difference in elevation of the highest land and the Ohio river at the Falls is nearly 600 feet, and a considerable difference is observed (about 70 feet) between the levels on the Ohio, at the Falls, and at the mouth of the Wabash, the latter being the lowest.
The river-hills, of which previous mention has been made, extend at various distances from, and parallel to, the courses of the Ohio and other streams, and inclose what are termed the bottom-lands, which are chiefly covered with a rich alluvial soil, and thickly set with forests. These hills, along the Ohio river, are generally as high as the highest levels of the interior, often of a rugged and broken as- pect, and where torn through by the tributaries of the Ohio, present much imposing scenery. Behind these a table-land spreads out and forms what with propriety may be termed the interior of the country ; and now every thing is changed. Instead of the bottoms, with their mighty forests, the most various landscape appears ; here are extensive groves of oak, ash, and other trees; there
.
9
FACE OF THE COUNTRY, ETC.
vast prairies, sea-like in their dimensions, and with un- troubled surface; here the land undulates or rolls as if formed into billows by the dalliance of soft winds, and oc- casionally hills, rising from 100 to 300 feet high, remind us of a tempest-tossed sea, when the waves accumulate in their might. There is such a marked difference between the several parts of the country, however, that no general description could embrace its topography, and hence it is necessary to detail its principal characteristics, and its di- visions as indicated by nature.
1. The Ohio Valley, including that of the White Water, contains some 5,000 square miles. This is a limestone re- gion ; it was originally clothed with heavy forests; and the soil in the bottoms, hill tops, and sides is very rich. The hills are abrupt and broken, and the numerous trib- utaries of the Ohio river break through them in every direction. Many of these streams in dry weather show only the marks where the torrents have disappeared, al- most as soon as the storms which occasioned them. Of this division of the state about two thirds is good farm- ing land, and the residue either too hilly or the soil too poor for profitable culture. The poorest part is in the flats at the heads of the streams.
2. The White River Valley extends from the Wabash centrally through the state to the Ohio line, and covers about 9,000 square miles of surface. It is almost uniformly level and heavily timbered, except in the western parts, where there are some prairies and barrens, and ranges of low rugged hills. The whole valley is destitute of rock, and the soils are of the richest kind, with little that is unprofitable. Most of the streams are clear and never- failing, and water-power is generally abundant,
3. The Wabash Valley is the largest division, and em- braces an area of upward of 12,000 square miles. It
D
10
INDIANA.
interlocks with the valley of the White river, and the eastern portion resembles it. It is equally fertile but more broken. The middle part of the valley has abundant water-power, but in the upper and lower parts it is less plentiful. From the river-hills, on the Ohio, to the Wa- bash, the surface is an inclined plane, and it is not a little curious to find streams, the head waters of which are near the borders of the Ohio Valley, traversing toward the Wa- bash, a river so much farther distant from their sources.
4. The north part of the state, watered by the St. Jo- seph's and the Kankakee, is much similar in its general character to the Wabash country, but is, perhaps, more swampy, and near the lake the country has extensive sand hills, which are covered only with stunted and shriv- eled pines and burr-oaks.
RIVERS, LAKES, ETC .- Indiana has numerous fine riv- ers, but for navgable purposes, few of them except the Ohio, Wabash, White, etc., are at all eligible. Most of them, however, afford valuable water-power.
The Ohio, the final reservoir of the principal water- courses of the state, borders the whole country on the south, from the mouth of the Miami to that of the Wa- bash, a distance, by the river's course, of 380 miles. Be- tween these two points few streams of any volume empty into it, and none exceed thirty or forty yards in width at their mouths. Laughery, Indian Kentucky, Silver, Indian, Blue, Anderson, Big Pigeon, Little Pigeon, etc., are the principal. The White Water joins the Miami six miles above its entrance into the Ohio.
The Wabash, which rises in Ohio, runs first north, then northwest, then west, then southwest, then south, and again southwest, making the whole distance to its junc- tion with the Ohio, upward of 600 miles, of which more than one half is navigable. Its principal tributaries are :
B
11
RIVERS, LAKES, ETC.
from the south and east, the Salamonie, Mississinewa, Wild Cat, Sugar or Rock, Raccoon, White, and Patoka rivers ; and from the west and north, Little Wabash and Embarras rivers in Illinois, Vermilion in both states, and in Indiana altogether, Tippecanoe, Eel, and Little rivers. White river, the most important of these, empties into the Wabash 100 miles above its mouth; the West Fork, its longest branch, rises in Randolph county, near the Ohio line, and runs in a southwest direction, receiv- ing in its course Eel river, Fall creek, etc .; and the East Fork, the principal tributaries of which are Salt creek, the Muscatatuck, Sand creek, Clifty, Flat Rock, and Su- gar creeks, rises in Ripley county, and has a western course to its junction with the West Fork-the two form- ing White river proper-about fifty miles from its entrance into the Wabash.
The St. Joseph's and St. Mary's form the Maumee, which passes to Ohio and Lake Erie. Another St. Joseph's and its tributaries, the Elkhart, etc., pass through the north- ern tier of counties, and ultimately fall into Lake Michi- gan. The Kankakee, the principal branch of the Illinois river, rises near South Bend, and runs sluggishly through the northwestern counties for 100 miles, and in its course receives Yellow river, a stream about 50 miles long ; ex- tensive marshes everywhere bound its course. Deep and Calumic rivers lie near and south of Lake Michigan, and in some places are only separated from it by banks of sand. The Iroquois or Pickamink rises south of the Kan- kakee, and runs nearly parallel to it for 50 miles, and joins it in Illinois.
Besides Lake Michigan, on the northern border, there are numerous other, but small lakes, in different parts of the state, principally to the north of the Wabash river. Several of them have no outlets ; they are generally clear,
BRD
12
INDIANA.
however, and have sandy shores and bottoms. They sel- dom exceed a few acres in extent, though some at the head of Tippecanoe river and Turkey creek, and near La Porte, cover several hundred acres. Mexancukkee lake, a beautiful sheet of water, in Marshall county, is three miles long and half as broad ; and Beaver lake, six miles long and three miles wide, covers 10,000 acres. All these lakes abound in fish, and form in the surrounding scene objects which attract the gaze of the traveler.
GEOLOGY, ETC .- The concluding chapter of the Report of D. D. Owen on the Geology of Indiana, thus sums up the results of his reconnaissance on that topic :
" Three geological formations exist in Indiana. 1st, a bituminous coal formation, occupying that portion of the state west of the second principal meridian ; 2d, a lime- stone formation (similar to the mountain limestone of Eu- ropean geologists), prevailing in the counties east of that meridian' ; 3d, a diluvium, consisting of deposites of clay, sand, gravel, and boulders ; overlying, and in many places covering up, the two other formations, to a greater or less depth, particularly in the northern part of the state.
" Now, as in this country no perfect seams of bitumin- ous coal are found associated with calcareous deposites, similar to those of Middle and Eastern Indiana, the geol- ogist can confidently predict, that it is a waste of time and labor to search for coal in any part of the state east of this second meridian, for instance, as has been done in the neighborhood of the black bituminous aluminous slate, stretching north in a narrow band, commencing at New Albany in Floyd county, and extending through part of Clarke, Scott, Jennings, Bartholomew, Decatur, and prob- ably beneath the diluvium, in a northerly direction to- ward Elkhart.
" If we were to speculate from geological observations,
13
GEOLOGY, ETC.
on the future condition of Indiana, we should say, that the western counties are destined to become, one day, the chief manufacturing counties; since, with a few excep- tions, all large manufacturing towns and districts are sit- uated on the coal formation.
" The freestones of this formation being soft and fissile, owing to the existence of mica disseminated in layers through their substance, and to the ferruginous cement which unites their particles, being liable to undergo al- terations by the action of the atmosphere upon it, a care- ful selection by the builder is always necessary. In sev- eral places, particularly toward the base of the formation, or near its eastern boundary, as at Attica, Williamsport, on Pine creek, and near the French Lick, with a little care, freestone, white and fine grained, and excellently suited for architectural purposes, may be readily obtain- ed. In character and geographical position it resembles the celebrated Scotch freestone, of which the new town of Edinburgh, and a portion of the town of Glasgow, are built.
" At New Harmony there is a quarry of freestone, yielding rock that has stood the test of twenty years ; yet it is by no means equal to the strata above alluded to, in our eastern counties.
" A freestone of a very fine grain and white color is quarried at the French Lick, west of Paoli. It is manu- , factured into whetstones, that answer admirably for put- ting a fine edge on tools, and for polishing. They are ex- ported to all parts of the United States.
" Good grindstones are also manufactured from a sim- ilar stratum of these freestones, of a coarser grain.
" The eastern boundary or base of the coal formation is the most likely place to afford salt water; for we find the most productive salt wells throughout the Western
2
14
INDIANA.
country occupying in the inferior members of the coal for mation. Thus, should symptoms of salt water make their appearance in the counties of Perry, Spencer, Dubois, Martin, Daviess, Greene, Owen, Clay, Putnam, Montgom- ery, or Tippecanoe, the encouragement to make a search would be greater than if found elsewhere in the state.
" Salt, however, is not, strictly speaking, constant in its geological position. In Europe, it usually occurs in the new red sandsone-a formation higher and of more recent origin than the bituminous coal formation ; while on the Holston, a tributary of the Tennessee river, there is a fine salt deposit, surrounded by gypsum or plaster of Paris, lying on the grauwacke formation.
" Two or three salt wells have been sunk in the knobs east of Bloomington, through the silicious beds belonging to the sub-carboniferous group. The salt is of excellent quality ; but the water has hitherto proved too weak to afford a fair profit. The boring after salt is, in truth, at all times attended with considerable uncertainty.
" Quantities of argillaceous iron ore-from which in Great Britain 600,000 tons of iron are annually obtained -occur in some of the clay slates of the bituminous coal formation of Indiana.
" Some of the clay slates answer well for fire-brick. That now excavated near Troy is to be manufactured into fire-brick for sale-an important article of commerce, in a country where steam-engines are so extensively used, and indispensable where furnace operations are carried on to any extent.
" Some of our clays in the coal formation answer well for the manufacturing of stone-ware and gray pottery- ware. Such wares are now manufactured from them at Troy.
" Since I first called the attention of the proprietors to
15
GEOLOGY, ETC.
the deposite of the hydrated brown oxide of iron, near the Falls of Eel river, examinations have been made, by digging in four or five different places : ore has been struck in all of them; many tons have been thrown up, and the prospects are so encouraging, that the proprietors of the Falls are now endeavoring to form a company, to erect a furnace, and commence, on an extensive scale, smelting the ore.
" Sandstone being the predominating rock in the coal formation, and the greatest part of the soil of those west- ern counties being formed from its disintegration, we find it generally of a sandy character.
" The dip and position of the various beds belonging to coal measures are generally constant, unless where, from the protrusions of basalt or greenstone, those volcanic disturbances called by the miners, 'faults,' ' troubles,' or ' dykes,' have disturbed the regularity of position. If, then, the general dip and order of succession of the strata can be ascertained, and these should appear to be free from faults or material undulation, a pretty correct esti- mate might be formed of the depth of the various seams of coal and other strata in different parts of the coal fields of Indiana.
" Most of the limestones in the oolitic series - that is, those occurring in the counties of Crawford, Orange, Lawrence, Monroe, Owen, and Putnam-make good build- ing materials. The enerinital limestones in Harrison, Washington, Jackson, Bartholomew, and Morgan counties, are also very suitable for that purpose; but the silicious strata, or sand rocks, in these counties, are generally soft and crumbling, and by no means durable. The only use that the black bituminous aluminous slate, occurring in the sub-carboniferous group, can be put to, is for the man- ufacture of alum. The sub-carboniferous group affords a
16
INDIANA.
water-lime, which appears to be a compound chiefly of limestone and clay, with some bituminous matter. It is associated with the black bituminous aluminous slate above mentioned. Some of the limestone in its neighbor- hood-for instance, those rocks which are excavated at the top of the hill behind Madison-contain green earth, and some are impregnated with bitumen and sulphuret of iron. In making a selection of building materials in such strata, care should be taken not to use any such, unless their durability has been well tested; for they are gener- ally liable to decay.
" The fosiliferous limestones of East Indiana, namely, those found in Jefferson, Switzerland, Dearborn, Ripley, Franklin, Fayette, and Union counties, are durable rocks, and some of them make beautiful marbles.
" The sub-carboniferous formation of Indiana is ident- ical with the formation occurring in Middle Tennessee, in which the enormous deposits of the hydrated brown ox- ide of iron, constituting so much of the mineral wealth of that state, are found.
" The deposits of this kind of ore in Indiana, however, although found in the same formation, are not associated with exactly the same strata. In Tennessee, they are in the silicious strata, just above the enerinital limestone : those at present discovered in Indiana are either resting on the oolitic series of limestone, or near the bituminous aluminous slate.
"The soil in Crawford, Lawrence, Orange, Monroe, Owen, and Putnam counties, being formed chiefly from the oolitic limestones, has a calcareous character, and is ad- mirably adapted for the growth of grasses.
" Clay will be found to predominate in the soil of the counties of Floyd, Clark, Scott, Jennings, and parts of Bartholomew, Decatur, Shelby, Johnson, Marion, and
17
GEOLOGY, ETC.
Hancock ; because the soil of these counties is underlayed by clay slates. Hence we find the beech-tree, which de- lights in a clayey soil, there growing luxuriantly.
" The soil of Jefferson, Switzerland, Dearborn, Ripley, Franklin, Fayette, Union, and parts of Decatur and Rush, being formed upon alternating strata of clay and lime- stone, must partake chiefly of these two earths. This soil is also well adapted to the growth of grasses.
" The soil of the northwestern counties appears to be a siliceo-calcareous sand, resting upon a clay bottom. This I conceive to be the reason why it is so much more pro- ductive than its external appearance promises. These points, however, I intend more fully to verify, by ana- lysis, so soon as I can get samples of all the various soils. As yet, my opinion has been formed chiefly from ocular observation, and reasoning from general principles.
" The water in the northwestern counties is strongly impregnated with carbonic acid. This, acting as a solvent upon limestone and the protoxide of iron, dissolves them whenever it meets them in its passage to the surface. And thus we find these waters often highly charged with these two ingredients, forming calcareous and caly beate springs. As they lose very soon, by exposure to the air, the excess of carbonic acid, which acts as a solvent of these ingre- dients-and as iron is brought also by the same exposure to air, to a higher degree of oxidation, and therefore to a more insoluble form-these two causes acting together, soon produce deposits of calcareous tufas and bog iron ore, so frequently found in that country. The quantity of bog iron ore is, therefore, continually on the increase.
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