USA > Indiana > Marion County > Indianapolis > Polk's Indianapolis (Marion County, Ind.) city directory, 1857 > Part 1
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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
3 1833 01975 1459
went on to
POCRM I
A. C. HOWARD'S
DIRECTORY,
FOR THE CITY OF
INDIANAPOLIS:
CONTAINING A 1857
4
CORRECT LIST OF CITIZENS' NAMES,
Their Residence and Place of Business;
WITH A HISTORICAL SKETCH OF INDIANAPOLIS, FROM ITS EAR- LIEST HISTORY TO THE PRESENT DAY.
FIRST ISSUE.
INDIANAPOLIS : A . C . HOWARD, PUBLISHER. 1857.
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A. C. HOWARD'S
DIRECTORY
FOR THE CITY OF
· INDIANAPOLIS:
CONTAINING A 1857
CORRECT LIST OF CITIZENS' NAMES,
Their Residence and Place of Business;
WITH A HISTORICAL SKETCH OF INDIANAPOLIS, FROMITS EAR- LIEST HISTORY TO THE PRESENT DAY.
FIRST ISSUE.
INDIANAPOLIS : A. C . HOWARD, PUBLISHER. 1857.
CONTENTS.
Ilistory of Indianapolis,- 1
Circular of Board of Trade, 49
Abbreviations,
65
Names of Citizens,.
67
Business Mirror,.
209
Index to General Index,
291
Post Offices and Post Masters in Indiana.
279
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year eighteen hundred and fifty-seven, by A. C. HOWARD, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the District of Indiana.
1358737
.
PREFACE.
In presenting our first issue to the public, some what later in the season than we at first proposed, prefering to present the desired information in a correct form, which necessarily caused some delay.
Our intention, at first, was to have the work ready for delivery about the first of April, difficulties attending this as will naturally occur in compiling a work of this kind, we was necessarily compelled to delay its publication until the present time. We feel confident we have discharged our duty, and with the hope it will receive the approval of a generous public, we place the work before you for a deliberate perusal.
The citizens have in this instance acted liberal, we allude especially to our advertisers, for to them, we look for assistance, and in whom we have been equally interested, in displaying their cards to the best advan- tage, as well as their names, in the Business Mirror. And we return our, sincere thanks for your support, hoping entire satisfaction will exist among all, we respectfully solicit a continuance of your patronage in our next issue.
Our intention is fixed upon publishing an annual Directory for Indian- apolis, and in this, we expect the assistance of the citizens, with it a work can be made valuable, without it useless. Some trouble existed in canvass- ing for names which in future we hope to obviate, a large portion of our foreign citizens not speaking the English language, inaccurate names, will unavoidably be inserted.
In reference to our annual contributors we would here allude to the advantage of advertising. As it will be our highest aim to please all and have their cards conspicuously displayed, as well as their names in the Business Mirror, which we hope will be sufficient inducement to ensure a hearty support. Non supporters will be confined to small type, under a general head, merely giveing their names without designating their place of business.
IV.
PREFACE.
We found it necessary to omit some matter proposed in our prospectus, owing to the unreliable accounts procured, and deemed it advisable to omit entirely, than to present statistics in an inacurate form. Some dis- crepencies will naturally occur in arrangeing such a work, and doubtless some have occurred since our canvassing. However, as some persons may expect of us, (what has never been accomplished) to publish a work free from errors, to such we ask their indulgence, and in future with their support, and our energies we hope to meet their approbation.
A great difficulty which our city labors under, and we express surprise at the Council not taking more permanent steps in placing the names of the different streets, conspicuously on every corner throughout the city, and place proper numbers on dwellings and business houses, to enable strangers as well as citizens to designate without inquiry. This matter has recently, been timidly approached, and we hope the authorities will take proper steps and have this difficulty remedied, as it is an utter impossi- bility to give localities accurately.
The outline map accompanying was engraved expressly for the work, which we believe accurate in every point, giving. the city as it now is, the heavy lines show, the outlines of the old plot and donation, the dotted ones show the parts settled at different periods.
The historical matter which follows the map has been arranged after some trouble in ascertaining statistics accurately. In it will be found matters of interest, and valuable statistical matter for future reference, it being the only history written of Indianapolis since its settlement, and shows a striking difference from its first, and early history, with that of our present flourishing city.
In conclusion we would here add, that the work is now complete, and can with propriety refer to the correctness of the volume, but one typo- graphical error occurred, and that would have been remedied had it been discovered previous to the distribution of the form.
This occured in page 73, where half of the names were unaccounably transposed to 79, we mention this, more for the benefit of persons whose names does not appear in the former page, who will find them in the latter, and in the next annual we hope to be able to present it without errors, as more time will be allowed in preparing it for the press.
t
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2
Historical Sketch of Indianapolis.
INTRODUCTION.
The history of Indianapolis is yet to be written. The material exists for a full and instrucive work on the subject ; but it has never been collected and arranged for that purpose. Much valuable infor- mation to be derived from the early settlers will soon be lost, unless some effort is made to perpetuate it. The writer would suggest that the old settlers adopt some plan at their annual meetings to perpetuate names, dates, events and all other facts of a historical character.
The writer does not pretend to give a full, or even an accurate history of the city, in the limits of the following sketch. The want of space and want of time prevented full examination, and cut off opportunities for information. Much has been omitted, and mistakes have doubtless been made in its compilation, but it is still- the most complete and accurate sketch of the history of the city yet published.
The want of space compelled the writer to dwell more on the carly history of the city than on the more recent events, and to give the statements of facts in short paragraphs. bu cider
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF INDIANAPOLIS.
INDIANAPOLIS, the capital of Indiana, is situated upon a beautiful plain, on the east bank of the west fork of White river, in north latitude 39º 55', west longitude 86° 5'. It is two miles north-west of the geographical center of the State, and one mile south of the center of Marion county, of which it is the county seat. The plain on which it stands extends for miles in all directions, and was for- merly covered by a dense growth of timber. The surface soil is a dark fertile loam, the sub-soil is a compact clay, resting upon deep beds of drift, gravel and sand. Until 1818, the central part of the State was an unbroken wilderness, inhabited by the Miami, Del- aware, and Shawnee Indians. The whole country was covered by a dense growth of heavy timber, comprising, oak, ash, elm, beech, walnut, hickory, maple and other hard woods ; and in addition to this, the city site was overgrown by a dense thicket of prickly-ash and spicewood. The spice brush often served the early settlers in lieu of tea. This thicket was subsequently destroyed by the cattle browzing upon it, but portions of it existed in protected spots until a comparatively recent date. It afforded a fine covert for game of different kinds; and for several years after the first settlement it was
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HISTORICAL SKETCH OF INDIANAPOLIS.
5
the
1818-19
easy to find deer and bear in the vicinity. The river bottoms, and creek valleys were favorite resorts of the early hunters, who seldom returned from the chase empty handed. That game was cheap and plenty, is very evident from the prices it bore as late as 1822, when saddles of venison sold for 25 to 50 cents, wild turkes at 10 to 12} cents, and a bushel of pigeons for 25 cents. The Indians were much attached to this region, because of the abundance of fish in its streams, and of game in its forests; and they very reluctantly yielded its possession. Many of them lingered in the vicinity long after the cession at St. Mary's, and frequently visited the cabins of the settlers. Although they had no permanent village here, they often pitched their hunting and fishing camps on the city site, or in the region immediately north of it, and pursued the chase with signal success. A traveler who ascended the river a few years prior to the settlement, says that the banks were then dotted with wig-wams, and its surface often parted by the Indian canoes. The scene at night was especially interesting, when parties of the natives were busily engaged in " fire hunting" or " fire fishing."
By treaty, at St. Mary's, Ohio, on the 2d of October, 1818, between Lewis Cass, Jonathan Jennings and Benjamin Park, com- missioners, and the Delaware tribe of Indians, the latter ceded all their territory in Indiana to the United States, covenanting to deliver the possession of it in 1821. This region was afterward generally designated as " the New Purchase." Its reported fertility and beauty greatly excited the frontier settlers, and without wait- ing for possession according to treaty stipulations, they immediately entered the country and made settlements at various points. Wil- liam Conner, a trader among the Delawares, had built a cabin many years before the treaty, at a Delaware village on the bank of White river, four miles from the present town of Nobleville. This, with other circumstances, drew the attention of others to the same stream, and in 1819, two brothers, named Whitzel, emigrated from the neighborhood of Wheeling Va. or Zanesville O., and settled in " the New Purchase," at the bluffs of White river, sixteen miles below this city. These men were brothers of Lewis Whitzel, an Indian scout, well known in the border annals of Ohio and Kentucky. Lewis Whitzel visited the bluffs, and after remaining a short time at that point, went to Louisiana. Immediately after the treaty at St. Mary's a number of persons from Fayette and Wayne counties penetrated the wilderness to this vicinity. The attempt was some- what hazardous, for the Indians were illy disposed, and yet in full possession of the country. In 1818 Dr. Douglass ascended White river from the lower countries, tarrying at the bluffs for a short time, and Col. James Paxton descended it from its head waters, reaching this place in January or February, .1819. He again returned in 1820, and made some preparations for settlement, but never completed them. The honor due to the " first settler" belongs to John Pogue, who came from Whitewater, and settled here on the
the
3
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF INDIANAPOLIS.
2d day of March, 1819. His cabin stood by a large spring, close to the east bank of "Pogue's run," near the present residence of W. P. Noble. Its ruins were visible until within a few years, and perhaps exist at this time. Pogne was killed by the Indians in April, 1821. His horses were missing one morning in that month, and as some disturbance had been heard among them during the night, he concluded the Indians had stolen them, and armed him- self for pursuit. . When last seen he was near the Indian camp, and as his horses and clothes were afterward seen in their possession, lit- tle doubt remained as to his fate. His death greatly excited the settlers, but their numerical weakness prevented an effort to avenge it. The little stream which once pursued a very tortuous course through the south-east part of the city, alarming the few inhabitants of that section by its high floods, but which is now so changed that its old character is utterly lost, was named after Pogue, and will be a me- morial of him as "the first settler" of Indianapolis.
In February, 1820, John and James McCormick built a cabin near the present river bridge. In the early part of March, John Maxwell and John Cowen built cabins in the north-west corner of the donation, near the Michigan road, Fall creek bridge. In April, 1821, Mr. Maxwell was appointed a Justice of the Peace by Gov. Jennings, and was the first Judicial officer in " the New Purchase." He retained the office until June, and then resigned. The citizens held an informal election, and selected James McIlvain, who was thereupon appointed a Justice by Gov. Jennings, in October, 1821. A number of amusing anecdotes are told of his " Courts," which he held at his cabin, in the woods, near the intersection of Penn- sylvania and Michigan streets, sitting " pipe in mouth," in the cabin door, with a jury ranged in front on a fallen tree, and the first constable, Corbley, standing guard over the culprits ; who, never- theless, often escaped through the woods.
In the latter part of March, and in April and May of 1820, a number of emigrants arrived, and at the end of the latter month there were fifteen families on the donation. Among them were Messrs. Davis, Bamhill, Corbley, Wilson, Van Blaricum and Hard- ing. Emigrants now began to turn their faces toward the infant settlement, and it slowly and steadily increased for a year afterward.
The eagerness of the settlers to appropriate lands in the New Purchase, found its counterpart in the action of the State, concern- ing the location of the new seat of government. The act of Congress, of April 19, 1816, authorizing the formation of a State government, donated four sections of the unsold public lands to the State, for a permanent seat of government, giving the privilege of selection. The subject was considered immediately after the treaty at St. Mary's, and on the 11th of January, 1820, the Legislature, by law, appointed George Hunt, John Conner, John Gilliland, Stephen Ludlow, Joseph Bartholomew, John Tipton, Jesse B. Duy- ham, Frederick Rapp, Wm. Prince, and Thomas Emerson, com-
1820
4
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF INDIANAPOLIS.
missioners to select a site for a permanent seat of government ; directing them to meet on an early day of the ensuing spring, at Wm. Conner's house, on White river. They ascended the river, making examinations as they went, and met as directed, at Conner's house, where, after some very serious differences of opnion as between sites at the bluffs, at the mouth of Fall Creek, and at Con- ner's, they selected the present site. The experience of future years justified their selection. Three of the commissioners were for this site, and two for the bluffs, and thek dissension for a time was a warm one. On the 7th of June, 1820, they reported that under the act of Congress, they had selected as the site of the permanent seat of government for the State, sections one and twelve, east and west fractional sections numbered two, east fractional section num- bered eleven, and so much of the east part of west fractional section numbered three, to be set off by a line north and south as will complete the donation of 2,560 acres, in township fifteen, range three east. The selection of the site gave the place instant reputation, and in the spring and summer and fall of 1810, it rapidly increased in population. Morris Morris, Dr. S. G. Mitchell, Je and J. Given, Wm. Reagan, M. Nowland, J. M. Ray, James Blake, Nat'l Cox, Thomas Anderson, John Hawkins, Dr. Dunlap, David Wood, D. Yandes, Col. Russell, N. M.C Charty, Dr. Coe, D. Maguire, and many others arrived, and the cabins rapidly increased in number along the river bank.
On the 6th of January, 1821, the Legislature, by law, confirmed the selection of the site, named it Indianapolis, and provided for the election of three commissioners to lay off a town thereon. They were directed to meet on the site on the first Monday of April, 1821, to lay off the town, and to make plats or maps of it, one for the Secretary of State and one for the Agent. They were also to adver- tise and hold a sale of the lots as soon as possible, reserving the alternate lots from sale. The money received at the sale was to be applied to the erection of the Public Buildings.
Christopher Harrison. James Jones, and Samuel P. Booker were elected commissioners under the act. Harrison, however, was the only commissioner who performed the duties assigned him. Alex- ander Ralston and Elias P. Fordham were selected as the surveyors, and Benjamin , Blythe, as clerk of the commissioners. William Blythe became a resident of the place and died but a short time since. Of Fordham but little is known. Ralston was a Scotchman ; a man of very marked talent, and when quite young, had assisted in laying off Washington City. He/afterward joined Burr in his Western enterprize, and on the failure of that adventurer he re- mained in the West. After completing the survey he became a resident of the new town, and was much loved by the inhabitants for his virtues and intellectual powers. To his talent and skill we are indebted for the regular plan, wide streets and spacious squares of the city.
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M
1821
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5
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF INDIANAPOLIS.
Immediately after the organization of the party, the survey com- . menced. The four sections were marked out and selected on the east bank of the river, except a fractional section on the west bank, to preserve regularity in form and to take the full amount donated. The town plat was laid out in the middle of the donation, and was one mile square. In the center a circular park of three or four acres was placed, surrounded by a circle street 80 feet wide. From the corners of the four blocks surrounding it, four avenues 90 feet wide were drawn to the corners of the town plat and donation. The remaining streets were 90 feet wide, except Washington, now the main business street, which was 120. These streets crossed at right angles and ran to the cardinal points. The city was divided into 89 squares, 420 feet on the fronts, and divided by two alleys cross- ing at right angles, one being 15 and the other 30 feet wide. Besides these, there were six fractional squares, and three very large irregu- lar tracts in the valley of Pogue's run. The donation lands out- side of this town plat was divided into large outblocks and irregular The .commissioners little tracts with few and narrow streets.
dreamed that the town would ever extend beyond the town plat, and made no provision for such an event. All the sub-divisions have since been made in this donation, and the" additions are entirely outside of it. The city has now extended in some places nearly a mile beyond the nonation limits, and is now four or five miles in its extreme length and width. In these subdivisions and additions the streets and squares have been regulated in size and shape at the pleasure of the owners, and as a natural consequence the newest parts of the city are the most irregularly involved and unsightly portions of its map. The accompanying map gives the greater part of the city as it now is. The heavy lines show the outlines of the old plat and donation. The dotted lines show the settled part of the city at different periods. It will be seen that the early settlement on the river bank was outside of the town plat, but in the donation. The settlement afterward moved east, the unpar- ralelled sickness of 1821 convincing the settlers that a residence away from the river was the best for them. A fine grove of tall straight sugar trees stood on the " Governor's Circle." On Sun- day's the early settlers assembled there to hear preaching by Rev. John McClung. They sat on the logs and grass about him in In- dian style. This gentleman was probably the first preacher in the place, and preached the first sermon on this spot in the summer er fall of 1821. Other authorities say that the first sermon was preached this year where the State House now stands, by Rev. Risen Hammond.
The joint corner where the four sections donated by the govern- ment, is situated in the alley south of the Palmer House, about ten feet west and five feet south of the south-east corner of the lot on which the Palmer House stands. In laying off the town, the surveyors found that if the center of the town corresponded
e
lan 300
nearly
9
most
6
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF INDIANAPOLIS.
with the center of the donation it would place the central part of the town in the valley of Pogue's run. In making their examina- tions they discovered the natural elevation now included in the Governor's Circle, and at once resolved to make it the center of the town. The old town plat is therefore considerably north-east of the central point in the donation.
The act prescribing the duties of the commissioners also provided for the election of a State Agent, who was to serve three years, and receive an annual salary of $600 ; and reside at Indianapolis. Gen. John Carr was elected the first agent under the act, and came to the settlement in the course of the summer. The commissioners mean- time had finished the survey { advertised the sale, and made all the arrangements required, and on the second Monday of October, 1821, the sale began. The first day was cold and raw ; a high wind pre- vailed, and a man in attendance at the sale came near being killed by a falling limb. Thetown was very much crowded. Strangers from various quarters had come to settle in the new place, or to secure property. The three " taverns," kept by Messrs. Hawkins, Carter, and Nowland, were crowded, and in many cases the citizens were called on to share their homes with the new comers till the latter could erect cabins. The squares to be sold were divided into twelve lots, oweh 674 feet front by 195 feet deep, and each containing one- third of an acre. The commisioner and agent reserved the alternate lots in each square, commencing the reservation with lot numbered one. The bidding at the sale was quite spirited, and considering the position and advantages of the settlement, high prices were obtained in-a number of cases. The lots sold best in certain locali- ties, and although the greater part of the settlement was west of the canal and south of Washington, yet prices ranged highest for lots east and north. This was due to the general sickness of the pre- ceding summer, driving settlers eastward. Three hundred and four- teen lots, mostly situated in the central and northern part of town, sold for $35,596 25. Under the conditions of the sale one-fifth of the purchase money was to be paid at time of sale, and the remain- der in four equal annual instalments. To induce purchasers to meet the deferred payments promptly, the State engaged to rebate interest and eight per cent. of the principal. The sales continued for a week, and the amount realized by the State at the time was $7,119 25. The lot on Washington street, west of the Court Honse Square, sold highest, bringing $560. The lot on Washing- ton, west of the State House Square, sold for $500. The intervening lots sold for from $100 to $300 each. Some of these lots are now worth thirty or forty thousand dollars ; and out-blocks, afterward sold for ten, twenty and thirty dollars, are now worth more than as many thousands. One hundred and sixty-nine lots purchased at this sale were subsequently forfeited by their owners, or the pay- ments which they had made on one lot were transferred to another, under the provisions of an act passed a year or two later for the
Re
efecti
ne of the
much
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HISTORICAL SKETCH OF INDIANAPOLIS.
relief of purchasers of lots in Indianapolis. These forfeited lots and the reserved lots, were once or twice afterward offered at public sale, and kept open for purchase all the time. Prices became depressed, however. Money became scarce ; the sickness in the settlement caused general despondency, and for several years after the winter of 1821-2, there were but few lots sold. The amount actually received by the State for donation lands, up to the year 1842, when all were sold, was about $125,000. This amount under the law, was made a Public Building Fund. The State House, Court House, " Governor's Circle." Treasurer's House and Office were afterward erected by the money from this fund. The real estate within the donation is now assessed at $3,500,000, and its actual value is near $6,000,000. This is a vast difference ; but it is not uncommon in Western history ; and strikingly illustrates the prosperity of the country.
Gen. John Carr attended the sale as the first agent. He received the money for the lots and made the deeds. He lived in a cabin, on Delaware street, nearly opposite the western entrance of the Court House Square. The sessions of the Courts and the elections were held at his house until the completion of the present Court House. The salary of the agent had been fixed at $600, and his duties specified at the time of the creation of the office. The Legis- lature, at the next session, increased the duties, and reduced the salary. Gen. Carr said he had sacrificed health and money in the office, and therefore, declined a continuance under such circum- stances. The citizens were much dissatisfied with Carr and his temporary successor, James Milroy, who also resigned a short time after his appointment, because neither of them became residents of the place, and the late buyers were incommoded in making pay- ments on their lots. He resigned and was succeeded, Dec. 6, 1822, by Bethuel F. Morris, who lives at present on the southern border of the city. Benjamin J. Blythe, the former clerk of the commission- ers, succeeded Mr. Morris. He was elected in 1824. Ebenezer Sharpe was elected in 1828, and was succeeded by Thos. H. Sharpe in 1835. Mr. Cook then held the office for a short time, and it was then transferred to the Secretary of State.
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