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PUBLIC LIBRARY FORT WAYNE & ALLEN CO., IND.
INDIANA COLLECTION
GEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02246 2185
Gc 977.2 In2in Indiana Historical Commission. The Indiana centennial, 1916
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
http://www.archive.org/details/indianacentennia1916indi
INDIANA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
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THE act of the Indiana General Assembly signed by Governor Ralston on March 8, 1915, creating the Indiana Historical Commission, assigned to that body as one of its duties to collect and publish docu- mentary and other materials on the history of Indiana. The law pro- vides that these volumes should be printed and bound at the expense of the State, and be made available to the public. Copies are offered at practically the cost of printing the volumes, the proceeds to go into the State treasury for the use of the Historical Commission in producing other volumes. One copy is to be furnished at the expense of the Com- mission to each public library, college and normal school in the State.
Two hundred copies are to be furnished to the Indiana State Library and two hundred copies to the Historical Survey of Indiana University, for purposes of exchange with other states for similar publications. Of the $25,000 appropriated to the Commission for Centennial purposes, $5,000 were permitted to be used for historical publications.
INDIANA HISTORICAL COMMISSION.
*SAMUEL M. RALSTON, President FRANK B. WYNN, Vice-President HARLOW LINDLEY, Secretary JAMES A. WOODBURN CHARLES W. MOORES
SAMUEL M. FOSTER JOHN CAVANAUGH
CHARITY DYE
LEW M. O'BANNON
PUBLICATION COMMITTEE
JAMES A. WOODBURN CHARLES W. MOORES HARLOW LINDLEY
WALTER C. WOODWARD, Director LUCY M. ELLIOTT, Assistant Director
*Governor James P. Goodrich became a member of the Commission er officio upon his inaugura- tion January 8, 1917, and was elected President of the Commission, May 25.
INDIANAPOLIS: 1
WM. B. BURFORD, CONTRACTOR FOR STATE PRINTING AND BINDING 1919
INDIANA
1816 X 1916
THE ADMISSION OF INDIANA TO THE UNION
INDIANA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
THE INDIANA CENTENNIAL 1916
A Record of the Celebration of the One Hundredth Anniversary of Indiana's Admission to Statehood
EDITED BY HARLOW LINDLEY Secretary Indiana Historical Commission
PUBLISHED BY THE INDIANA HISTORICAL COMMISSION INDIANAPOLIS 1919
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Allen County Public Library 900 Webster Street PO Box 2270 Fort Wayne, IN 46801-2270
PREFACE
The Indiana Historical Commission presents to the people of the State a report of its activities during the Centennial year, together with a history of both the County and State celebrations. These events have become a part of the his- tory of our Commonwealth and it seems only appropriate that a record of them should be permanently preserved. The Sec- retary of the Commission, upon whom has devolved the re- sponsibility of collecting and editing this material, wishes to acknowledge in particular the valued services of Dr. Walter C. Woodward, Director of the Centennial activities of the Commission, in writing the history of the County celebra- tions, and that of County Day in connection with the State celebration at Indianapolis, October sixth.
HARLOW LINDLEY.
CONTENTS
I.
PAGE
The Beginnings of the State 15
II.
REPORT OF THE COMMISSION'S ACTIVITIES.
Organization and Scope of the Commission. 23
A Campaign of Centennial Education 26
Work in Schools and Clubs 33
Pageantry
36
Permanent Memorials.
42
State Parks as a Centennial Memorial
45
Indiana Centennial Medal
56
Historical Publications 58
Summary. 62
III. 89589
CELEBRATIONS.
County Celebrations 71
State Celebration at Indianapolis. 280
The Indiana Pageant at Indianapolis. 317
The Ohio Valley Historical Association 323
IV.
ADMISSION DAY EXERCISES, DECEMBER 11, 1916.
The Observance of Admission Day. 343
State Celebration at Indianapolis. 34.4
APPENDIX.
CENTENNIAL ADDRESSES BY GOVERNOR SAMUEL M. RALSTON.
Indiana Day Address at the Panama-Pacific Exposition, June 26, 1915 375
Indianapolis Board of Trade Centennial Dinner, February 22, 1916 390
Fayette County Centennial Address at Connersville, July 6, 1916. 395 Unveiling Exercises, State House Yard, October 9, 1916. 397
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ILLUSTRATIONS
The Indiana Centennial Medal Frontispiece
The Constitutional Elm.
13
The Indiana Historical Commission. 21
Riley Telling the Story of Indiana 29
William Chauncy Langdon, Pageant Master 37
Map of Turkey Run.
46
Views of Turkey Run.
51
McCormick's Creek Canon.
52
Walter C. Woodward, Director
69
Lucy M. Elliott, Assistant Director
69
The Capitol at Corydon
135
The Corydon Pageant.
163
Territorial Legislative Meeting Hall at Vincennes.
187
The Pageant of Bloomington and Indiana University
29
The Pageant of Indiana. 319
Indiana's One Hundredth Anniversary 342
Hymn to Indiana 372
Indiana Slogan 400
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PART I THE BEGINNINGS OF THE STATE
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The "Constitutional Elm" at Corydon
1
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THE BEGINNINGS OF THE STATE 1679-1816
One hundred years ago Indiana was admitted to the Union. It was the sixth State to be added to the original thirteen and one of five States carved from the vast and fertile region of wilderness and prairie lying between the Great Lakes and the Ohio River that had been earlier known as the North- west Territory.
The first record that we have of white men within the present boundaries of Indiana was in December, 1679, when LaSalle, a French explorer and trader, with a band of twenty- eight men, traveling by canoe, crossed the portage path from the St. Joseph River to the Kankakee near the site of the present city of South Bend. The French had established set- tlements in Canada on the St. Lawrence River seventy years before and their missionaries, explorers and traders had made visits to other parts of the rich territory surrounding the Great Lakes and the rivers of the west. For nearly a cen- tury thereafter the Ohio and Mississippi valleys were gen- erally recognized as French territory.
The date of the first permanent settlement within what are now the boundaries of Indiana is not definitely known, but from the records of the Jesuit missionaries and fugitive accounts by French officers and traders, it seems that the post on the Wabash at Vincennes must have been established very early in the eighteenth century.
The struggle between the English and French for posses- sion of the Ohio Valley and for the control of the valuable fur trade, which extended over many years, was ended by the treaty of 1763 when the French gave up this territory to the English.
After the outbreak of the American Revolution, Governor Patrick Henry of Virginia gave instructions to Colonel George Rogers Clark to proceed with a little army of militia against the posts at Kaskaskia and Vincennes. The final success of this expedition in February, 1779, was one of the important
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THE INDIANA CENTENNIAL
achievements of the American army and added a vast do- minion to the territory of the Colonies. When a treaty of peace was signed with the British in 1783, the American pos- sessions were bounded on the west by the Mississippi River and on the north by the Great Lakes. The western terri- tory was recognized as being under the control of Virginia, whose troops had captured it from the English, but in 1784 Virginia ceded it to the United States.
By the Ordinance of 1787, Congress provided a govern- ment for this Northwest Territory and also enacted that out of it there should be created not less than three nor more than five States, each of which was to be admitted to the Union when it could be shown to have at least 60,000 free inhab- itants. Under this Ordinance the first popular government was established within this territory, to succeed the French and British military administrations in which the people had no voice.
The creation of the first organized civil government within the boundaries of what is now the State of Indiana was, in 1790, when Winthrop Sargent, the acting governor, organ- ized at Vincennes the county of Knox, a subdivision of the Northwest Territory larger than the present State of Indiana. But the distances between the settlements were so great and the exercise of even the simplest forms of government so dif- ficult that plans for subdividing the Northwest Territory were soon advanced by William Henry Harrison, the delegate in Congress, and a law creating Indiana Territory was secured to take effect on the 4th of July, 1800.
This territory of Indiana, bounded on the south by the Ohio, on the west by the Mississippi and on the north by the Dominion of Canada, included territory that is now within the States of Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. William Henry Harrison was appointed by the President, John Adams, to be the first territorial governor and the cap- ital was established at Vincennes. According to the census of 1800 the population of the Territory was 6,550, of whom 929 lived at Clark's Grant on the Ohio, 2,497, mostly French, at Vincennes, and the rest along the Mississippi as far north as Mackinac.
Within the next few years considerable progress was made in the formation of stable government, the arranging of
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THE BEGINNINGS OF THE STATE
treaties with the Indians, and the opening of lands for set- tlement. In 1809 Congress passed an act of separation, di- viding the territories of Indiana and Illinois. This left the town of Vincennes on the western boundary of the new In- diana Territory and a movement was soon started to locate the capital where it would be nearer to the geographical cen- ter. After a spirited contest, the little town of Corydon, the county seat of Harrison County, was chosen in 1813 as the new capital. Corydon had been laid out five years before and boasted a court house forty feet square, built of blue lime- stone.
Numerous petitions were presented to Congress asking that Indiana be made a State. The population had been in- creasing rapidly, especially in the territory along the Ohio and lower Wabash Rivers and in the Valley of the White- water. Many settlers were crossing from Kentucky and many were entering the territory from the upper waters of the Ohio. New towns were being laid out all the way along the southern border of the State, and a census taken in 1815 showed a population of 63,897, more than the minimum re- quired for statehood by the Ordinance of 1787.
On April 19, 1816, the President of the United States approved an enabling act providing for the admission of In- diana to the Union. The duty of naming the new state was left to its inhabitants. Its boundaries were the same as they are now. In accordance with this law, forty-three delegates were elected to the constitutional convention which met in Corydon on June 10th and was in session for eighteen work- ing days. It contained such able men as Jonathan Jennings, the delegate in congress from the territory, who served as president of the convention and afterward as governor; James Noble and Robert Hanna, who became United States sena- tors; Benjamin Parke, James Scott and John Johnson, after- ward distinguished judges, and many other men of ability, including John Badollet, Dr. David H. Maxwell, John DePauw, Frederick Rapp and Jesse Holman. William Hendricks, the second governor of the State, was secretary of the convention.
The crowd of nearly fifty men seriously taxed the accom- modations of the little village of Corydon. As it was the har- vest season many members were anxious to get home and there was every inducement for the convention to complete its
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THE INDIANA CENTENNIAL
work as rapidly as possible. The sessions were first held in the little stone court house that had become the capital as well, but when the sultry June days became too warm the con- vention met under the shade of a great tree near by, that be- came known as the Constitutional Elm, and is now tenderly cared for because of the shelter it gave to the founders of the State. The constitution as finally adopted was composed in part of portions of the constitutions of Ohio, Kentucky and the United States, the material differences being in favor of wider democracy. It was a creditable document in every way. Its most notable innovation was the recognition which it contained of the duty of the State to educate all of its citizens, and Indiana was the first State to provide in its fundamental law for a general system of free education cul- minating in a university.
In accordance with the provisions of the new constitution, state and county elections were held in August, Jonathan Jen- nings being elected governor; Christopher Harrison, lieuten- ant governor, and William Hendricks, representative to Congress. The first session of the general assembly met at Corydon on November 4, 1816, chose James Noble and Waller Taylor to represent the new State in the United States Sen- ate, elected minor state officers and judges as provided in the new constitution, and began the work of providing for a sys- tem of local laws. Indiana was formally admitted into the Union by a joint resolution of Congress approved December 11, 1816, and the life of the State began.
LEE BURNS.
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PART II REPORT OF THE COMMISSION'S ACTIVITIES
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1
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INDIANA HISTORICAL COMMISSION, 1916
Charles W. Moores
James A. Woodburn Frank B. Wynn Vice-President
Harlow Lindley Secretary Gov. Samuel M. Ralston President
John Cavanaugh
Lew M. O'Bannon
Charity Dyc
Samuel M. Foster
ORGANIZATION AND SCOPE OF THE COMMISSION
The Indiana Historical Commission hereby submits to the people of the State a report of its work.
We deem it proper to speak first of the origin of the Com- mission and the scope of its duties as defined in the legislative act creating this body.
The act of the legislature creating the Indiana Historical Commission was approved by Governor Ralston on March 8, 1915. It provided for the editing and publication of his- torical material and for an historical and educational cele- bration of the State's Centennial year-the one hundredth anniversary of Indiana's admission to the Union. The Com- mission was made to consist of nine members: The Governor of the State, the Director of the Indiana Historical Survey of Indiana University (Professor James A. Woodburn) and the Director of the Department of Indiana History and Archives of the State Library (Professor Harlow Lindley of Earlham College) were by the act made ex-officio members of the Commission. The Indiana Historical Society was em- powered to name a member and Mr. Charles W. Moores of Indianapolis, First Vice-President of that Society, was so des- ignated. The Governor was authorized to appoint five other members. This he proceeded to do by naming the Rev. John Cavanaugh, President of Notre Dame University, Dr. Frank B. Wynn of Indianapolis, Mr. Samuel M. Foster, of Fort Wayne, Mr. Lew M. O'Bannon of Corydon, and Miss Charity Dye of Indianapolis.
The creating act laid out work for the Commission on two lines :
In the first place it was made the duty of the Commission to collect, edit, and publish documentary and other materials relating to the history of Indiana. It was provided that the published volumes of the Commission to be printed and bound at the expense of the State in such numbers as the Commis- sion might direct, should be distributed free to each public library in the State and to the library of each college and nor- mal school in the State. It was required that two hundred
2-15997
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THE INDIANA CENTENNIAL
copies should be supplied to the State Library and two hun- dred copies to the Indiana Historical Survey, these copies to be used in making exchanges for similar publications issued by the Historical Commissions, societies, and agencies of other States. It was further provided that other copies of these historical and documentary volumes might be sold by the Historical Commission at a price to be fixed by that body, and the moneys received therefrom shall be placed in the State Treasury to the credit of the Historical Commission.
The second and distinct line of work to which the Com- mission was required to give its attention was to prepare and execute plans for the Centennial celebration in 1916 of In- diana's admission to statehood. In the execution of this task it was provided that the Commission might arrange such ex- hibits, pageants, and celebrations as it might deem proper to illustrate the epochs in the growth of Indiana; to reveal the past and present resources of the State in each field of activ- ity; to teach the development of industrial, agricultural, and social life and the conservation of natural resources. The Commission was authorized to prepare cuts, photographs, and materials illustrative of the history and development of the State and to cooperate in such manner as the Commission might determine with State and local authorities and agencies in stimulating public interest and activity in the celebration.
The members of the Commission while being allowed their actual and necessary traveling expenses when attending the meetings of the Commission or engaged in its work, were allowed no compensation for their services. But the Commis- sion was authorized to employ such clerical and other assist- ance as might be necessary to carry out its duties. Professor Walter C. Woodward of Earlham College was chosen Director, and Miss Lucy M. Elliott as Assistant Director of the Com- mission's activities.
For all of this work there was appropriated for the use of the Commission the sum of $25,000, of which $5,000 might be applied, if the Commission so ordered, for the publication of historical materials.
So much for the official act creating the Commission and defining the scope of its work.
We shall now seek to summarize as briefly as possible what
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THE COMMISSION'S ACTIVITIES
the Commission has done in the performance of its duties and in the execution of the tasks imposed upon it.
Of the appropriation allowed ($25,000) the Commission at the outset laid aside $5,000 for the publication of historical material. The remaining sum ($20,000) has been the amount at the disposal of the Commission for the promotion of the Centennial celebrations throughout the State. It was evident from the small amount at the disposal of the Commission that any extensive and worthy celebrations would have to be financed by the people in the various localities in their own way, and that has been generally done by the people of the several communities in a splendid spirit of state pride and patriotism. The Commission used its small fund apart from the necessary expenses of the Commission in a steady cam- paign of education, to arouse and cultivate popular interest, to encourage local initiative and activity, and to give infor- mation and assistance in every way possible to the counties and local communities in their celebrations.
A CAMPAIGN OF CENTENNIAL EDUCATION
The immediate problem confronting the Commission on its organization was one of publicity in its widest sense. The people of Indiana as a whole knew little and therefore cared little about the Centennial anniversary and its proper cele- bration. There was the usual amount of inertia to overcome, the ever present demands of business life to meet, and an un- usually active political campaign with which to compete for the attention of citizens. It was therefore no little task to educate and to arouse the State over the comparatively unex- citing and unremunerative subject of Centennial observance. Many and various were the means applied toward this end.
General bulletins were issued for wide distribution, set- ting forth comprehensively the purpose of the Commission, and presenting plans for a state-wide celebration. A special bulletin was addressed to the county school superintendents of Indiana, asking their cooperation and pointing out how it might be given. Special articles were prepared for newspa- pers and periodicals and various news agencies. Starting in September, 1915, the Commission began the publication of a weekly news-letter, which served as a clearing house of infor- mation for the county chairmen and the press of the State. It was published regularly for a little more than a year. Primarily for the children of Indiana, Miss Dye of the Com- mission edited a department known as "The Centennial Story Hour," in the Sunday edition of the Indianapolis Star, in which leading facts of Indiana history were entertainingly told. She also organized the "State-wide Letter Exchange" among the school children, wherein pupils from different parts of the State wrote each other of the interesting things in the history and life of their respective neighborhoods.
Realizing the prime necessity of arousing the interest of the school population, as a potent means of publicity, to say nothing of permanent results, the Commission made an ap- peal directly to the teachers of Indiana through the county institutes of the summer and fall of 1915. In this it had al- most the unfailing cooperation of the county superintendents. .
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TJIE COMMISSION'S ACTIVITIES
With a volunteer force consisting largely of a half dozen speakers, mostly connected with the Commission, a schedule was arranged by the Director whereby practically all the county institutes were addressed in the interest of the Cen- tennial observance and of a more thorough study of our own State.
A large number of addresses were also made before clubs, commercial and civic organizations, historical societies, church organizations and public gatherings of various kinds. The most arduous worker in this respect was Miss Dye, who made one hundred and fifty-two addresses and talks all over Indi- ana. The Secretary addressed county teachers' institutes in fourteen counties, and literary clubs and local historical soci- eties in six counties. The Vice-President of the Commission made a great number of addresses and similar activity was shown by other members. The Director and Assistant Di- rector naturally visited many sections of the State in the work of agitation and organization. While the majority of its meetings were held at the Capital, the Commission met a few times out in the State for the purpose of arousing interest in different sections and giving encouragement. On such occasions public meetings were generally held, addressed by the members. The Commission met at Corydon in the au- tumn, at Vincennes in the winter, and at South Bend and Bloomington in the spring.
Many patriotic citizens who had no immediate connection with the Commission volunteered their services as speakers and were used effectively. In anticipation of the year's de- mands for speakers in connection with Centennial organiza- tion and celebrations, the Commission organized a volunteer speakers' bureau. Men and women throughout the State were called upon to donate their services in this direction, if needed, and almost no declinations were received.
As soon as the work of the organization of the State, to be explained later, was pretty well accomplished, the Director issued a call to the county Centennial chairmen to assemble at the Capital early in December, for the purpose of discussing the practical problems that confronted them in their work. The response was most hearty and encouraging. Busy men and women from all over the State spent the necessary time and money to be present and consider the best interests of
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THE INDIANA CENTENNIAL
Indiana in her Centennial year. About fifty chairmen were in attendance and their interchange of ideas and plans was most helpful, exerting a profound influence on the work throughout Indiana. At this problem conference such sub- jects as county organization, finance, celebrational features, pageantry, home coming, cooperation with the schools, perma- nent memorials, gathering historical materials, and publicity, were discussed.
For the purpose of giving added impetus to the Centennial preparations, and of calling attention to the industrial re- sources of the State, the secretaries of the commercial bodies of Indiana, at their State meeting in January, in conjunction with the Director of the Commission, set apart February 22, as a rallying point of Centennial enthusiasm. On this pa- triotic date Centennial banquets and dinners were held in many towns and cities, at which nothing but products grown or manufactured in the State were served. The Governor issued a proclamation declaring February 22 as "Indiana Products Day." Attention was thus called in a striking man- ner to our material resources and an effective means was given whereby, in the after dinner programs, interest and enthusiasm in the Centennial program for the State might be aroused. The Indiana Products Day movement was or- ganized and carried through by the Commission.
Another effective means of publicity was that of the State Park movement, launched and carried on under the auspices of the Commission. The park campaign attracted wide notice and directed attention to the Centennial propaganda, of which it was a part.
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