A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 47

Author: Rev. E. D. Daniels
Publication date: 1904
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1273

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His life was pure and genial; always digni- fied and courteous, honest, truthful and intelli- gent-a faithful and constant friend, a high- minded and dignified citizen.

In the death of John H. Bradley, the state loses one of her most excellent and exemplary citizens, his family a devoted husband and lov- ing father, the bar one of its brightest and most honored members.

There are many other names, in teaching, mechanical engineering, music, and art, which might be given here, and interesting things be said in connection with them, all going to show that in the professions LaPorte county has been strong and able, indeed, such is the abundance of material that has grown on our hands, so many are the facts and experiences, so interest- ing the events which accumulate as we near the closing chapters of this work, that we are con- strained to say, Oh for years, and Oh for the snace of many volumes in which to write them!

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CHAPTER XXVII.

ARCHITECTURE AND PUBLIC WORKS.

"The Tower of Hate is outworn, far and strange, A transitory shame of long ago; It dies into the sand from which it sprang. But thine, Love's rock built Tower, shall fear no change; God's self laid stable earth's foundation so, When all the morning stars together sang." ROBERT BROWNING.

The first court house of LaPorte county, or the first building used as such, was a frame structure owned by George Thomas. This was not George Thomas' first home, which was a log cabin, but a frame building erected after July, 1832. In that month Captain A. P. and James Andrew had set up a steam saw-mill just west of the village, and from that time frame build- ings began to appear. Arrangements were made by the county commissioners with George Thomas to occupy his new building for county purposes until the county could erect its own court house. This building was used for the sessions of the commissioners and circuit court, as a post office, and for other offices. Colonel Willard A. Place, who did not arrive in the county with his family until 1832, assisted in erecting this building. He afterwards purchased it and moved it onto his own land for a residence. Its dimensions were sixteen by twenty-four feet. This was the court house until the first court house proper was built. Steps were soon taken to provide the county with buildings of its own. A plan and very careful specifications were adopted for the building of a court house, and the contract was let to Simon G. Bunce. The specifications cover several pages of the county records. The building was to be forty feet square, of brick, and to be located in the center of the public square, at a cost of $3.975. The rooms for the county business were

on the first floor, and the court room on the second, to which stair cases led on the inside near the entrance. It may be interesting to note the specifications of the cupola .. This was to be three stories in height; the first to be nine feet high, twelve feet square, with a round window on each side, and a fancy sash. The second story was to be an octagon, ten feet in height, with a window on each side closed by a Venetian blind, and the corners ornamented with turned colmuns, and a suitable-sized urn to stand over each corner of the square first story. The third story was a dome, six feet six inches in height, to be covered with tin, and on this was to be a shaft six inches high, above the top of the round dome; and let .into the top of the shaft was to be an iron bar or spire holding, at its connection with the shaft, a copper ball two feet in diameter, laid with gold leaf; half way from there to the top, another copper ball one foot in diameter, and on top of the spire a wooden ball painted black and six inches in diameter. The contract was let in August, 1833, and called for the completion of the brick work by October, 1834, for the house to be enclosed by November 1, 1834, and for the whole to be finished by June 1, 1835. This seems a long time; but in those days, when nearly everything must be made by hand, work could progress but slowly. The people thought that they were getting a grand building, but after a time the brick walls began to crack, and the open-

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NEW COURT HOUSE.

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HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

ing became so serious that it was necessary to put iron bands on the house, and run rods through, and by means of threads and nuts draw the walls together. These iron rods were two inches in diameter, and the iron on the out- side, which served as a washer and to hold the walls, was in the shape of a large S. The rods ran through the building on the floor of the court room. and in passing along the room each per- son had to step over them. Many a ludicrous fall was occasioned by them. The front steps of the court house consisted of two square sticks of timber, eight or ten feet long. The next step was the door sill. The structure had a squatty appearance. Thus protected with iron rods, the court house served as the seat of justice for about fifteen years, and was the scene of many im- portant trials, notably the Scott-Coplin murder trial. Late in the forties the subject began to be agitated of building a new court house.

On August 9, 1847, the board of commis- sioners ordered that West Darling, one of their number, go to Chicago for the purpose of pro- curing a plan and specifications for a new court house. They appropriated six dollars to defray his expenses. On September 28 the Board de- cided to advertise in the LaPorte County Whig and in the Michigan City News for sealed pro- posals for building the new court house accord- ing to the plan and specifications which had been placed on file in the auditor's office, bids to be received until Monday, the 15th day of the next November. On that day the commissioners held a session to examine the proposals, and awarded the contact to Luther Mann, Jr., and negotiated a loan of $1,000 from A. P. Andrew to enable Mr. Mann to begin operations. At that time the question was being agitated in LaPorte of build- ing a town hall, which was much needed. It was discussed in the LaPorte County Whig and the proposal was made to have the hall in the base- ment of the new court house. It was thought by many that this would be a great advantage in the saving of expense. On the same day when they awarded the contract as above stated, the com- missioners passed an order allowing the con- tractor, Mr. Mann, to build a town hall in the basement of the court house, provided that it make no extra expense for the county, and not interfere with the accepted plan and specifications

drawn by Mr. Vanosdell, and that it always be free to the citizens in general of the county and. the citizens of LaPorte. For some time the mat- ter was in suspense, and the contractor proceeded slowly, not knowing what the citizens of LaPorte would do about it; but the project was finally abandoned, not assuming definite official form, and the building of the court house proceeded without making any provision for a town hall.

On July 20, 1849, the commissioners, con- sisting of Christopher McClure, Joel Butler, and Samuel Burson, considered the court house to be completed in a workmanlike manner according to contract, and ordered the same occupied as a court house, and the sheriff to take charge of the same. No public, religious or political meetings were to be held in it after candle lighting. The structure was built of brick, and had a portico supported by two pillars, with an attempt at the Grecian style of architecture; though in front it had rather a mongrel cupola which resembled a church tower, giving the whole structure more the appearance of a church than a court house. The cupola consisted of a base and two stories, in the lower of which was a new bell which the commissioners purchased for the purpose, and in the upper a place for a clock, the upper story being covered with an unpretentious dome topped with a shaft and weather vane. Inside there was a court room with galleries, and there were jury rooms at the rear. The cost, exclusive of the walks, was $9,681.

In 1862 Luther Mann, Jr., the contractor for the court house, was Indian agent at Fort Bridger in Utah, about one hundred and twenty miles this side of Salt Lake City.

On the same day when the commissioners awarded the contract for building this court house they accepted two buildings which A. P. Andrew had contracted to construct in the court house square for the county offices, and allowed him $1,000 for the same, and ordered that the west room of the easternmost building be used for the clerk's office, that the other room in the same building be used for the recorder's office, that the east room of the westernmost building be used for the auditor's office, and that those officers take charge of the respective rooms as soon as circumstances would admit. These buildings will be remembered by many as stand-

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ing on either side of the court house, the one .on the east with the gable toward Michigan ave- nue, and the one on the west with the gable toward Indiana avenue. For over forty years these buildings served as the county offices, and the court house as the seat of justice. Many important cases were tried in it, and its walls often echoed with the persuasive eloquence of the lawyers; for in the LaPorte county bar there have been able and famous men. During the Civil war, and at other times, speakers of national reputation addressed the people of the county in this court room and from the court house steps, all of which, if it were preserved in tangible form, would make this historic spot second in fame to no other county seat in the state.

But in the nineties these buildings were thought to be too small, inconvenient and anti- quated to serve their purpose, and they gave place to a new court house, the present fine struc- ture, the corner stone of which was laid on June 30, 1892, by the Grand Lodge of Free and Ac- cepted Masons of the State of Indiana. On that day there was a grand parade. The first division of the procession consisted of the Grand Army . might be proud.

of the Republic, the Odd Fellows, and the Knights of Pythias, headed by a band; the sec- ond division consisted of Firemen, Sons of Vet- erans, Knights of Maccabees, and other orders, headed by a band; the third division consisted of Excelsior lodge No. 41, F. & A. M., other Masonic lodges, the Knights Templar, and the Grand Lodge, headed by a band; and the fourth division consisted of the county commissioners, the Mayor and Common Council of Michigan City, the Mayor and Common Council of La- Porte, county officers and citizens. There was a long line of march, with mounted marshals and aids. Uriah Culbert was grand marshal, George H. Carter-since deceased-was first assistant grand marshal, and E. R. Hart was second assistant grand marshal. The general committee were William Frederickson, James H. Buck, and John W. Pottinger. The corner stone was laid with impressive ceremonies, and it was a great day for LaPorte and the county.

The new court house was completed as to all the walks and grounds in 1894. It has a frontage of one hundred and fourteen feet on Main street, and extends one hundred and forty-four feet at

the sides. It is built of Portage Entry red sand- stone from the east shore of Lake Superior, and its walls are backed with brick. Its elevation is seventy feet from the ground to the roof. It has a central tower twenty-three feet square at the base, and one hundred and seventy 'feet high, within which are an excellent clock, and a deep- toned bell that strikes the hours. On the upper floor it has a spacious court room in front, a smaller court room at the rear, commodious and convenient jury rooms, judge's chambers, etc. On the second floor it has convenient rooms and vaults for all the departments of the county busi- ness. On the ground floor are offices, sitting rooms for the accommodation of farmers and their families when they are in town, toilet rooms, etc. It is of excellent design and workmanship. It stands in the center of a spacious square with well kept lawns, good stone walks and curb- ing. Just outside the wide side-walk at the sides and rear are iron hitching rails, but the front is always kept clear of teams. The cost of the whole in round numbers was over $300,000, and withal it is a structure of which any county

When Captain A. P. Andrew, Jr., contracted to erect the office buildings which flanked the second court house, it was stipulated that he also provide a temporary place for the sessions of the court for two years, and that in return he receive the old court house and $1000. Where- upon the Michigan City News, then edited by Mr. Thomas Jernegan, complained bitterly that the board of Whig commissioners were giving Mr. Andrew a great plum, and outlined several other plans which it claimed would have been better and more economical to the county. In reply Mr. Andrew came out in the LaPorte County Whig and defended himself and showed up the other side ; all of which shows that politics then was very much like politics now, and that the party out of power is bound to complain of the party in power. With few changes, almost the identical words of one party can be used by the other party when it comes into the same cir- cumstances, and indeed this is often done.

On the site of the present city hall of La- Porte, stood. the old city hall, a frame building in which was also the jail. This building became inadequate to the needs of the city, and hence a

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new city hall was built. The corner stone of the new city hall was laid Thursday, September 3, 1885, under the auspices of the Masonic fra- ternity. Brothers Amenzo Mann and Harry Shannon acted as marshals. After the procession the impressive services of the Masonic fraternity took place, and the corner stone was formally deposited in its place. General Packard de- livered one of his choice addresses, at the close of which "America" was played by the bands. The exercises of the day ended with benediction by the grand chaplin, Rev. A. G. Jennings, now of Toledo, then Unitarian minister in LaPorte. The building is 115 feet deep, has a frontage of 41 feet 4 inches, and is three stories high, being composed of brick, stone and wood. It was com- pleted April 17, 1886, having been erected at a cost of $17,775. The rear room, the dimensions of which are 35x40, is supplied with iron cages, and was intended for the city jail. The commit- tee on public improvements of the city council, who had the entire supervision of the building, consisted of councilmen Jackson, Kreidler and Plambeack, who later resigned and King took his place. The old city hall was purchased by Mr. William Martin and moved away.

The public water works of LaPorte and Michigan City have been described in former chapters. During the last years of the century just closed, it was thought that the inland lakes, from which LaPorte was drawing her water sup- ply, would soon prove insufficient. They were lowering rapidly and their beauty as summer resorts were being destroyed. There was much public agitation on the subject, public meetings and elections were held, and the result of it all was that, in 1899, the LaPorte Water Supply Company was organized, a franchise given to it, wires were run and a water main laid to the Lit- tle Kankakee, east of town and water works were built there to be run by electricity in con- nection with the works in town, all at an expense of $105,000. In the contract with the Water Supply Company, the city obligated itself to pay $10.800 per year, water rentals, for twenty years. It subscribed for $30,000 stock in the La- Porte Water Supply Company, for which it paid $30,000 cash. Certain citizens claimed that this was a high-handed proceeding, that there was crookedness in it, and they put it into the courts

asking an injunction to prevent the city from paying money to the Water Supply Company. They were beaten in the lower court, gained their case on appeal to the Supreme Court of the state, the case came back to the local court, and is now pending.

Another public work is the harbor at Mich- igan City. The builders of that town had to overcome very great obstacles. To say nothing of subduing the wilderness on the land, they had no harbor. Trail creek, deep enough for shipping before it reached its mouth, was obstructed there by a sand bar over which it slowly made its way to the lake, and where the water was so shallow that a person could readily wade through it. No vessel could come over it to the sheltered water of the stream. Not only so, but vessels of ordinary size could not reach the wharf, but must anchor some distance away and land merchandise by means of lighters. In this way all of the enor- mous importations and exportations of Michigan City was conducted during the first years of her existence. Yet such were the pluck, energy, hope and confidence of these men in the ultimate success of their enterprise, that they persevered. With reference to some of these men a writer of that period says :

"These gentlemen, originally from the State of New York, were among the first settlers here; they have distinguished themselves not only by their enterprise and the urbanity of their de- portment to strangers, but also by their many generous sacrifices for the best interests and prosperity of the place. In such hands, with such advantages, and impelled by such a population as now resides here, Michigan City only asks for the single assistance which has been given to almost every state in the Union except Indiana- a harbor ; this granted, as doubtless it will be at the next Congress, and Michigan City will be seen rising with giant strength to claim her rank and station among the cities of the Western world."

Sure enough, Congress at its next session, 1835-6, appropriated $20,000 for the purpose of making a harbor at Michigan City, and the work began under the immediate supervision of Cap- tain Ward B. Burnet, of the engineer bureau, and has had a checkered history. It would seem that the work began to be felt at once; for on the

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Fourth of July, 1836, the first vessel, the Sea Serpent, was brought over the bar into Trail creek, giving occasion for the general jollifica- tion related in Chapter XV.

In 1837 the government made an appropria- tion of $30,000, and the further work of the har- bor was placed in the hands of Captain Stockton. These two appropriations were made while Jack- son was president. The third came during the administration of Martin Van Buren, and was made to cover the two years of 1838 and 1839. Captain Stockton continued in charge of the har- bor work until 1841, when he was succeeded by Major J. R. Bowes, of the Engineer Corps. With the first three appropriations much valua- ble improvement was made, materials were pur- chased, such as timber, stone and iron, piles were driven, a dredge and scows built, necessary buildings erected, and all the preparations made for pushing the work forward with the utmost expedition. Piers were built into the lake until a depth of eighteen feet of water, was reached, and the channel was partially dredged out so as to admit vessels of two hundred tons easily and safely inside the harbor between the piers. But more than one-half the money derived from the first three appropriations was expended for materials, shops, the dredge, horses, scows, etc., including more than $20,000 worth of hewn oak timber. To obtain any benefit from all this it was necessary that the appropriations be con- tinued until the completion of the work. But several years were allowed to pass before the fourth appropriation was made. During all this period, everything about the harbor stood still. The shops were closed up, the horses were sold for a small part of the original cost, the dredge, scows and tenders, tied up in the stream, were going rapidly to decay, the splendid lot of oak timber, which cost more than $20,000, either rotted or was sold to individuals at less than one- fifth of its cost to the government, and the un- finished pier, left to the mercy of the wind and waves, was soon seriously damaged.

Meantime the people of New Buffalo were putting in their claim for a government appro- priation to make a harbor at that place, and the LaPorte County Whig had begun to take sides

with them. This was just before Myron H. Orton became editor of the Whig. The editor of the Michigan City Gazette, James M. Stewart, took up the cudgel and went on to show that the Whig was very unfair and unwise; that if New Buffalo got the harbor, while it might make an outlet for Indiana grain, yet being in Michigan, that place would pay no taxes to Indiana; and, moreover, that the people would cut a road through to Niles and have all the travel from the east come to New Buffalo and thence by water to Chicago, so cutting out LaPorte county. The Gazette quoted from Captain Cram, a United States officer who had recently made estimates, to show that the cost of completing the harbor at Michigan City would be less than that of com- pleting the harbor either at Chicago or at St. Joseph. Captain Cram did not even mention New Buffalo, of which a good point was made by the Gazette. Then the Niles Republican took the matter up and claimed the government should make its appropriations where there was good prospect of success, and not at Michigan City, where the matter was an experiment. But the Gazette soon demolished that argument. From all this it will be seen that Michigan City was alive to the necessity of making earnest efforts to secure harbor appropriations from the govern- ment.

In 1842 Colonel Abert of the United States service, in his report to the government, classed Michigan City harbor among those works for which appropriations should be made only with a view to preservation and not with a view to the progress of the work. Thereupon the mayor and council of Michigan City drew up a memo- rial to the Congress of the United States, express- ing regret at the report of Colonel Abert. The memorial set forth the importance of a port at Michigan City, both from a military and com- merical point of view ; described the remarkable progress which had been made; stated that about $110,000 had already been appropriated and ex- pended on the harbor; and that if it were com- pleted it would afford increased facilities for re- ceiving and shipping merchandise. As proof of the need of this, the memorial gave the follow- ing table of imports and exports :-

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HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

Imports

Exports

In 1835

$100,000.00

$ 15,000.00

In 1836

200,000.00

45,000.00

In 1837

325,000.00

48,000.00

In 1838

411,319.00

130,317.00

In 1839

453,713.00

210,426.00

In 1840

410,000.00

270,151.00

In 1841

.398,762.00

262,637.00

Total

$2,298,794.00

$981,581.00

The above table was gathered from the for- warding merchants alone. Besides all this, thou- sands were annually received and exported, the amount of which there was no means of know- ing. There were also several forwarding mer- chants who had sunk under the embarrassments of the times, and there was no means of getting the amount of business transacted by their houses. At the time the above table was made there were in store, and which could not be ship- ped the previous season owing to the danger to vessels of visiting the southern bend of Lake Michigan, over 30,000 bushels of wheat, 20,000 bushels of corn, 700 barrels of whiskey, 200 bar- rels of flour, with a large amount of other prod- ucts of the soil. The memorial set forth that the government was not dealing as fairly with Indi- ana as with other states; that it was incredible that the sum which Colonel Abert had recom- mended could be expended "for the preservation and repairs" of the harbor works with the least benefit to the state; that Colonel Abert must have made his report from an insufficient knowledge of the facts; that the report of Captain Cram took an entirely different view of the situation ; and that Congress should investigate the matter.

This memorial, the substance of which is here given, bears date of January 15, 1842, and is signed by Andrew McClain, Archibald Stone- man, Oren Gould, W. W. Taylor, and Samuel Dresden, aldermen of Michigan City; and at- tested by W. W. Taylor, recorder pro tem.

At length, in 1844, the fourth appropriation of was made by the government, an appropriation of $25,000, which was all expended in patching up the waste and destruction of former years, and then the work ceased. There was no more money to go forward with the work, and that which had been expended might as well have been thrown into the lake, except that it gave employment to

laborers. The remains of the material, the tools. and implements, were all sold for a mere trifle, and the buildings were carried away or fell gradually to pieces. The dredge, after its engine was taken out, was removed into the stream, where it sank; though it was afterwards raised and sold for $50, its original cost being $10,000. The scows and tenders were driven by the floods. into the lake and lost.

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A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 47

Author: Rev. E. D. Daniels Publication date: 1904 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1273

Author: Rev. E. D. Daniels
Publication date: 1904
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1273