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INDIANA'S BIRTHPLACE
ROOSE
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Indiana's Birthplace
A HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY INDIANA
By
WILLIAM H. ROOSE
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New Albany, Indiana The Tribune Company, Printers 1911
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PREFACE
I shall cheerfully bear the reproach of having descended below the dignity of history. -Macaulay-History of England.
The following pages are published at the solicita- tion of friends who have examined the original manu- script of this work, which was gathered by the author for his own personal benefit. After a careful search, I have selected the data contained in these pages from various sources, and I am indebted to many citizens of Harrison County for much of the information herein contained. I have made no attempt to elaborate, and if the important early happenings of Harrison County have been clearly and concisely told, my object in the preparation of this work has been fulfilled.
However noticeable the lack of a literary air may be in these pages, my own experience causes me to believe that they will be of interest to the reader who was born and reared in Harrison County. A perusal of these pages will enhance the interest center- ing about many of the old landmarks and historical points which are to be found in every township of the .county. The happenings about the birthplace of Indiana during the time of her struggles for a foot- hold in the Union should be interesting to every patriotic "Hoosier." It was in Harrison County that the first constitution of the State of Indiana was
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formed and adopted. It was here that our first states- men met and enacted many laws that were to govern a great people. It was here that the foundation was. laid for a state that was destined to produce many great men and women. My enthusiasm may be too great. If so, I trust that my readers will attribute it to a patriotic pride with which I point to my native county-Indiana's Birthplace.
WILLIAM H. ROOSE,
January 1, 19II. The Author.
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INDIANA'S BIRTHPLACE
A HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY INDIANA
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History hath triumphed over Time, which besides it, nothing but Eternity has tri- umphed over .- Sir Walter Raleigh -The History of the World. Preface.
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EARLY SETTLEMENT
The first known settlement by white men in Harrison County, Indiana, was in the year 1792, when some members of the Pennington family settled near Lanesville. Later, when the territory now comprising the State of Indiana was erected into a territory, adventurers and pioneers migrated from the eastern states by means of horses, wagons, on foot and floated down the beautiful Ohio River in search of home and fortune in that vast wilderness which was then "the unknown west."
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One of the most prominent men whose acquaint- ance extended into Harrison County, in the early days, was the noted pioneer, Daniel Boone. Daniel Boone frequently made hunting and exploring trips into the county, remaining for weeks among relatives and friends. In that day his acquaintance was co-extensive with the entire county. A few years ago there was a
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tree still standing in the eastern part of Posey Town- ship upon which was carved certain characters pointing to the location of a supposed "gold mine" found by Daniel Boone, but investigation developed the fact that the deposit which Boone thought was gold was the common iron mineral known as "fool's gold."
Squire Boone: One of the most prominent men in Indiana, in his day, was Squire Boone, who was a brother of Daniel Boone. In 1802, Squire Boone, with his sons, Isaiah, Enoch, Moses and Jonathan, located on a claim in Grassy Valley, in Heth Township, about six miles from the Ohio River. The Bible names given to his sons are indicative of his religious turn of mind and his sons all grew up to become useful, patriotic citizens. Squire Boone was an eccentric character, but possessed many excellent and admirable qualities and was a man of sterling worth. Old settlers have often found trees in the southern part of the county, upon which were carved, with a knife, records of his prowess as a hunter, such as "A bear killed here October 16th, 1802, by Squire Boone," which inscription is said to have stood for many years on an old beach tree in Boone Township. In 1803, Squire Boone is said to have engaged in a hand to hand contest with an Indian, in which the Indian was killed. This was at a point near Carter's School House in Taylor Township. On one of his hunting expeditions, Squire Boone discovered a cave near Buck Creek in Heth Township. At a later time he escaped, by hiding in this cave, when being pursued by hostile Indians. This cave became one of his favorite resorts and many figures of birds, beasts, Bible quotations,
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etc., are found on the rocks of its walls where they were engraved by the hand of Squire Boone. Two of the lines carved in the face of a large stone are as follows :
"Here I sit and sing my soul's salvation, And bless the God of my creation."
This old hunter had a design of building a mill of singular workmanship, on Buck Creek, and had pre- pared a large quantity of stones, engraved with many ·curious devices and tokens such as fishes, birds, animals and other inscriptions, to be placed in the building. He died without accomplishing this work, however, a mill was erected by his son, Moses Boone, near the spot selected by his father. Squire Boone was buried, at his own request, in the cave which he had discovered, and here rested the remains of the noble old pioneer until his bones were carried away by animals and relic hunters and today, nothing remains but the inscriptions engraved in the walls of the cave, by his own hands.
John Ripperdan: In 1807, John Ripperdan came 'from Danville, Kentucky, and settled in Ripperdan's Valley. Although much of the land in this valley has been cultivated for more than a hundred years, it is .one of the most fertile spots in Harrison County.
Ephriam Fleshman: In 1807, Ephriam Fleshman ·came to Harrison County and settled in Heth Town- ship. He was the first white man to die in the county. His remains lie in Heth Township.
John Frank moved from Salisbury, North Caro- .lina, to Heth Township, in 1808. He brought with
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him a large quantity of apple, pear and peach seeds from which many of the first orchards in the county were grown.
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Jacob Lopp came in the same year.
John Simler came to the county in 1807 and a short time after his arrival he built a wolf pen or trap. at Wolf Knob which derived its name from the large- number of wolves that congregated there. The hides. of the wolves were tanned and the leather made there- from was put to many uses by the settlers.
Daniel Cunningham crossed the Ohio River from Brandenburg, Kentucky, in 1800. He lived on the Kentucky side of the river but cleared and cultivated a piece of land on the Indiana side where the Town of Morvin was afterward laid out.
Edward Smith settled on the land now owned by the Harrison County Agricultural Society, near Cory- don, in 1806. Mr. Smith was born in England and came to America in 1774, as a British soldier. He later deserted and came to Harrison county and erected his cabin on a knoll near the Fairground Spring. Smith died at Corydon in 1828, and while he was buried on the hill south of Corydon the exact spot cannot be located. It is not certain that he ever joined the American Army but the Daughters of the Revolu- tion have erected a monument to his memory. This. was placed in the cemetery at Mt. Zion, near Mauck- port, where his wife lies.
John Tipton settled near Brinley's Ferry on the- Ohio River in 1807. At the first election under the State Constitution he was elected sheriff of Harrison county, and the records show that at the July term of
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court, 1817, he and his deputy, Hiram C. Boone, were fined one dollar for failing to maintain order in the court room. Tipton served with Spencer's "Yellow Jackets" at the battle of Tippecanoe. After the battle an election for officers was held and Tipton was elected Captain of the company. He was promoted until he became a Brigadier General in the service of the state, and donated to the state the Tippecanoe Battle ground. He died at Logansport, April 7th, 1839, and was buried with military honors.
Spier Spencer came from Kentucky to Vincennes and from there he removed to Corydon in 1809, coming down the Wabash River and up the Ohio to Morvin, and thence overland to Corydon. He organized a military company called the "Yellow Jackets" for the campaign against the Indians which ended with the Battle of Tippecanoe, November 7, 1811. Captain Spencer was seriously wounded during the battle and as he was being carried from the field a second shot ended his life. He was the first sheriff of Harrison County and served in that office from 1809 to 1811. For many years he conducted a hotel in a large log house on Oak Street in Corydon. After his death this business was continued by his widow until her marriage to William Boone after which they conducted the famous "Billy Boone Tavern."
Patrick Shields was born in Virginia in 1773. In 1800 he came to Kentucky and in the spring of 1805 he came to Indiana and settled on the banks of the Ohio River about two miles below New Albany. In a short time the high water drove him from his home and he went westwardly and built a cabin on the
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banks of Indian Creek near where the Town of Crandall now stands. Mr. Shields was one of the first judges of the Court of Common Pleas.
Robert Crosier, Dr. Adam Douglas, Anthony Dodd and wife, Adam Dodd and twenty-three other members ·of their families came from New York and settled in Boone Township on the 3rd day of June, 1816. Mr. Crosier bought a thousand acres of land in that town- ship from the government for which he paid twelve and one-half and twenty-five cents per acre.
Alexander Hockaday was born in Danville, Ken- tucky, and moved to Indiana on the knobs just below New Albany when a young man. In 1822 he settled in Blue River Township in Harrison County where he started a blacksmith shop. He died in 1894 at the age of one hundred and one years.
Miss Sarah Davis, was born in Springfield, Ken- tucky, September 5, 1807. She came with her parents, to Harrison County, in 1819. In 1825 she was mar- ried to William Gresham with whom she lived near Lanesville until January, 1834, when Mr. Gresham was killed while performing his duties as sheriff of the county. She was afterward married to Nathan Rumley. She was the mother of Colonel Benjamin Gresham, Colonel William Gresham and General Walter Quinton Gresham. She died March 6, 1906, in the house where she had lived since 1825.
Colonel Lewis Jordan was born in Virginia, March 14, 1792. In 1819 he came to Harrison County and settled three miles south of Corydon. In 1828 he moved to Corydon and started a tannery. Colonel Jordon held commissions in the Indiana Militia bearing
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the signatures of six Indiana Governors commencing with Jonathan Jennings in 1822, and ending with O. P. Morton in 1861.
John Mathes came to Harrison County with his- parents from Kentucky, while Indiana was still a territory. He served with distinction as State Senator and Representative and was one of the members of the Constitutional Convention of 1850.
Colonel J. J. Lehmanosky, of the Ninth Polish. Lancers of the Army of France, came to Harrison. .County and settled two and one-half miles west of Cory- don, in 1833. He was born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1773, but left his native country and went to France. He- drifted into the army and was identified with Napoleon Bonaparte's fortunes until the the Battle of Waterloo. put an end to his commander's career. Together with many other officers he was imprisoned, but made his. escape and eventually found his way to America.
Henry Funk was born in the southern part of Harrison County November 20, 1809, where his parents had settled a short time before. He is still living near Elizabeth, on a farm where he has lived since 1832. When a boy Mr. Funk lived near Corydon and sold fruit and hazel nuts to the members of the legislatures that were held at Corydon when the capital was there.
Daniel McRae came to Harrison County in 1814 and. settled on the land where New Middletown now stands.
Robert Denbo settled a short distance south of Corydon, in 1807.
Richard McMahon and Joseph McMahon settled in the same neighborhood in 1808.
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James Trotter was born in Armaugh County, Ireland, January Ist, 1811. He emigrated to Balti- more with his parents in 1816, and in 1826, he came to Harrison county where he settled near Lopp's Landing.
William M. Saffer was born in Virginia, in 1796, and came to Harrison County with his parents when a small boy. In 1853, he was elected to the Legislature where he was very active in behalf of state-wide pro- hibition. He was the "temperance candidate" for Governor before the convention which nominated A. P. Willard. Mr. Saffer was beaten one vote and Mr. Willard was afterward elected Governor. He died April 27th, 1869.
Daniel Dean settled about a mile east of where Lanesville now stands, in 1801.
Other stalwart pioneers who assisted in opening up this unexplored wilderness to civilization were R. M. Heth, who bought the claim and cabin of Squire Boone; William Applegate, who came from Pennsyl- vania; Henry Watson came from Kentucky; Frederick Mauck came from Virginia, and bought the cabin of some earlier settler where the town of Mauckport now stands. It was he who established the first regular ferry between Kentucky and Harrison county, operat- ing for a number of years between Mauckport and Brandenburg. Others were Isom Stroud, Teeson Byrn, Daniel Stout, Samuel Pfrimmer, David Floyd, Thomas Wilson, Mr. Westfall and James Samuels. It is said that James Samuels planted the first orchard in Harrison county.
The mills originally used for "cracking corn" in
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Harrison county, were known as "horse mills." The first mill to be propelled by water power was built by Moses Boone, on Buck Creek, about four miles from the Ohio River, in 1806. In the fall of the same year Harvey Heth erected a second mill on Buck Creek about a mile above Boone's mill. The next year Gov. Wm. H. Harrison built a water power mill at Wilson's Spring on Blue River. For several years the settlers of Harrison county went to Shepherdsville, Kentucky, for their provisions. Shepherdsville was many miles away, but it was then the nearest trading post, and trips were not frequently made for the reason that the cornfield and abundant supply of wild game furnished the chief subsistence of the early settlers.
HARRISON COUNTY
Harrison County was named after Gen. Wm. H. Harrison and was the fourth county formed in the state, Knox, Clark and Dearborn being earlier. It was carved in 1809, from a portion of the territory included in Knox County. It is bounded on the north by Washington County, on the east by Floyd County and the Ohio River, on the south by the Ohio River and on the west by the Ohio River and Crawford County, and contains four hundred and seventy-eight square miles. In common with the entire southern part of the state, it is somewhat broken and hilly, but contains within its borders, some beautiful and fertile valleys and more than fifty miles of bottom land along the borders of the Ohio River. As a rule, the people of Harrison County are prosperous and their generosity and hospitality is unexcelled.
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Upon the formation of the county the Governor appointed Patrick Shields Presiding Judge of the Court of Common Pleas with Moses Boone and John G. Pfrimmer as Associate Judges. They held the first term of court at Corydon on May 10, 1809, and pro- ceeded to divide the county into townships, lay out roads, license ferries, taverns, etc., they having the jurisdiction now possessed by the Board of County Commissioners. The first sheriff of the county was Spier Spencer, who was appointed by the Governor. Dennis Pennington was foreman of the first Grand Jury. The other members were John Smith, William Nance, George Gresham, Reuben Wright, Tice Light, Henry Rice, George Crutchfield, John Livanks, Jacob Conrad, Eli Wright, William Vest, Edward Smith, Lawrence Black, John Smith, Sr., William Branham, Isaac Richardson, John Hickman, Lawrence Bell, /William Pennington and William Sands. The first election was held in the fall of 1809, and the first officers were George F. Pope, Clerk and Recorder; Spier Spencer, Sheriff and Treasurer. Thomas Ran- dolph, being Attorney General of Indiana Territory, appointed W. Dunn, of Harrison County, Deputy.
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON
William Henry Harrison, the Father of Harrison County, was born in Berkeley, Va., February 9, 1773. He entered the army early and was appointed Secre- tary of the Northwestern Territory. On May 13 1800, he was appointed Governor of Indiana Territory. On January 10, 1801, he took charge of the office at
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Vincennes, which was then the Territorial Capital. He remained in charge of the executive department of the Territory until September, 1812, when he was appointed a Brigadier General and assigned to the command of the northwestern frontier. He was the ninth President of the United States. General Harrison, in 1807, entered a tract of land on Blue River, at Wil- son's Spring. He there set out a large apple orchard, some of the trees of which are still standing to mark the spot where a President of the United States once lived. He was in every sense a man of the people and was known among the early settlers far and near as "Bill" Harrison.
CORYDON
Corydon, the first State Capital of Indiana, is about the center of the county and is still the county seat. It is located at the junction of Big and Little Indian Creeks, and is surrounded on all sides by high hills, from which beautiful views of the surrounding country may be obtained. It is located 120 miles south of Indianapolis, twenty miles west of New Al- bany, and eight miles east of the famous Wyandotte Cave, and is reached by the Louisville, New Albany and Corydon Railway, which operates between Cory- don and Corydon Junction, a station on the Southern Railway, seventeen miles west of New Albany. In 1806 Edward Smith, a deserter from the British army, settled at the present site of the Town of Corydon, upon the land now owned by the Harrison County Agricultural Society and used as a Fair Ground. In 1804 General William Henry Harrison entered the
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land where Corydon now stands and held a certificate of purchase for it. It was afterward sold by General Harrison to Harvey Heth, who patented it and by a special act of Congress laid out the Town of Corydon in 1807. Edward Smith brought his family, consisting of his three sons, John, James and Samuel, and six daughters, Jennie, Polly, Sallie, Rachel, Isabel and Nancy, to his new home in the far west. The members of the family became fast friends of General Harrison, who frequently stopped over night at the Smith home on his trips between his farm on Blue River and the Government office at Jeffersonville. It is said that in those days it was impossible to secure lumber, and mother earth provided the floor of the Smith home. A platform was constructed in one side of the cabin by planting two forked poles in the ground and laying a pole from one to the other and then laying cross poles from this to the logs of the wall. This platform or gallery was reached by a ladder and provided the sleeping quarters for the family, as well as any strangers who might happen in to spend a night. When General Harrison staid over night with the Smiths he slept on this platform where his slumbers were undisturbed except by the cries of the wild animals in the forests near by.
Miss Jennie Smith was the proud owner of an old "Missouri Harmony" which was the only song book in use in those days. Vocal music was not often to be heard in the wilderness of Harrison County, and upon the occasions of General Harrison's visits, Miss Jennie was always requested, by the General, to sing from her song book. His favorite song was "The
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Pastoral Elegy," and his favorite singer Jennie Smith. These are the words of two verses of the song from which the first capital derived its name :
What sorrowful sounds do I hear, Move slowly along in the gale; How solemn they fall on my ear As softly they pass through the vale; Sweet Corydon's notes are all o'er, Now lonely he sleeps in the clay, His cheeks blown with roses no more Since death called his spirit away.
O Corydon ! hear the sad cries Of Caroline plaintive and slow; O Spirit look down from the skies And pity the mourner below; Till Caroline's voice in the grove Which Philomel hears on the plain Then striving the mourner to soothe With sympathy joins in her strain.
This plaintive lament for the death of the young shepherd, Corydon, sung by the sweet voice of Jennie Smith, suggested to General Harrison, a name for the town which has borne it for more than a hundred years.
CORYDON'S EARLY DAYS
In the early days the houses of Corydon were all built of logs and stone in such a substantial manner that many of them are still standing. Following Edward Smith, a Mr. Westfall located in Corydon in in 1807 and started a tan yard. This was later sold by him to a Mr. Kirkpatrick, who in turn sold it to Colonel Lewis Jordan, who together with his son,
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David Jordan, operated it for many years. Near the tanyard Colonel Jordan erected a substantial log house which provided a shelter for the Jordan family for more than eighty years. A smaller log house, which is still standing in the shade of the Constitu- tional Elm Tree, was built and occupied by Daniel C. Lane, who later became State Treasurer of the State of Indiana. In 1808 Richard M. Heth built a log house on the corner of Poplar and Water Streets. This house served as a dwelling until 1852, when it burned. In that year also, Jacob Conrad erected the large stone house on the Corydon Pike known as the Old Capital Hotel. Many ambitious and substantial men settled in Harrison County, and in 1809, the Commissioners bought of Harvey Heth and Wm. H. Harrison one acre and four perches of ground for a Public Square. This parcel of land included the present Public Square and the block immediately west of the square. Spier Spencer, the Sheriff, was ordered to contract, by bid, for the clearing and cleaning the Public Square and for building a Stray Pen on the west side thereof, with a fence seven rails high, staked and ridered and a good ground chunk. This contract was let by Mr. Spencer, April 26, 1810, to Henry Berghn, who was the lowest bidder, the contract price being $33.75. This is convincing proof that Public Graft was unknown in Harrison County in 1810. The first squandering of public funds and accusation of public graft in Harrison County occured while Henry W. Heth was Clerk. He was charged with giving away English quills to the school children. The English quills were said to be much better than the
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ordinary quills for pens. Mr. Heth's extravagance, which caused the sensation, probably cost the county as much as two dollars during a period of several years.
THE CAPITOL BUILDING
/On the 9th day of March, 1809, a contract was let to Dennis Pennington, by Judges Patrick Shields, Moses Boone and John George Pfrimmer, for the building of a Court House. The building of the stone walls was superintended by Watty Pennington, a brother of Dennis Pennington, and the roof was put on by Patrick Flanigan. The building was built in 1811 and 1812 and cost about $1500. The building was erected of limestone and is forty feet square. The foundation was placed three feet in the ground and made two and one half feet thick, and the room fifteen feet high. The walls of the second story are two feet . thick and the rooms ten feet high. On the roof was placed an iron balance or scales, as emblematic of justice. The stairway to the upper story was origi- nally on the inside and the floor was made of stone flagging in the lobby outside of the bar-rail. Inside the bar-rail was a platform of hewn timber. Two very large fire places, one on the north and one on the south, heated the room.
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