USA > Indiana > St Joseph County > A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 1 > Part 48
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The region along the Kankakee is low land, but has been reclaimed. Several small lakes are found in other parts of the township, the lands in the vicinity having also been re- claimed by drainage. The uplands are in general exceedingly fertile; gravel and sandy
soils being found in certain localities. The
lands were all heavily timbered.
Settlements were first made in 1833, near the site of the present town of North Liberty. Those who came that year were Jacob and John Earhart, John Kane and Isaac Town- send. Other early settlers were: Daniel Ross, Jesse Palmer, James Loring, John and David Rupel, Joseph Liggett, Amos Liggett, Levi and Benjamin Collins, Daniel Antrim, James P. Antrim, Samuel Loring, James Cole, Franklin Pearce, Jacob Dukeman, Samuel and S. G. Williams, Rheinhard Cripe and Mr. Waldsmith,-all worthy pioneers, who laid broad and deep the foundations of an industrious, well-ordered and prosperous com- munity.
The town of North Liberty is located in the northwest part of the township; and is a growing and prosperous community, being situated at the junetion of two of our great railroads, the Wabash and the Three "I," now operated by the Lake Shore Railroad Company. The town was laid out January 12, 1836, by Daniel Antrim and James P. An- trim. Tyra W. Bray, one of the early engi- neers of the county, who had been already county surveyor and who was afterwards county auditor, was the surveyor of the town plat. Some of the most enterprising busi- ness men of North Liberty have been the ITouser Brothers, the Cole Brothers, Norman S. Miller and Houser & Knepp. The inhabit- ants of North Liberty and of the township generally, are chiefly of the sturdy l'ennsylva- nia German stoek.
The Methodist Society built the first church in the township. It was built in the town of North Liberty in 1851. A finer one was erected in its place in 1878. Some of the most eminent ministers of the church in North Liberty have been the Reverends A. Bradley, R. H. Saunders, Samuel T. Cooper, II. B. Ball, Nelson Green, James Green, Samuel Godfrey, J. C. Metzger, S. Lamb and C. W. Miller.
The Adventists erected a church in North
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.
Liberty in 1868. The Episcopalians a little later. The German Baptists are amongst the most numerous of the Christian societies in the township. They have two churches in the country. The Evangelical denomination is also represented. Also the Lutheran and the United Brethren.
The usual first log school-house was, erected in 1838. Since that date the schools have grown numerous and have improved as others in the county. A high-school was erected in the town of North Liberty in 1868.
Notwithstanding the prosperous town of North Liberty, with its fine railroad facili- ties; the township is nevertheless essentially an agricultural district. The farming com- munity is an example of all that is character- istic of good American citizenship. But little litigation reaches the county seat. The people lead sober, industrious and contented lives. The nation is strong in the lives of such citi- zens. There is no happier life than that of the Liberty township farmer. According to the census of 1900, the population of the township, including that of the town of North Liberty, was one thousand, eight hundred and forty-three, North Liberty having five hun- dred and four.
Sec. 6 .- WARREN .- The sixth township to be formed by subdivision of the original three, -Penn, Portage and Olive-was Warren, so called for Warren county, Ohio, from which many of the first inhabitants of the township emigrated. The order for the formation of this township was made November 5, 1838; the boundaries then provided for being as fol- lows: Beginning on the state line, at the in- tersection of the range line between ranges one and two east; thence west to a point eighty rods west of the northwest corner of section ten, township thirty-eight, range one east; thence south to Grapevine creek; thence down the creek to the Kankakee river; thence up the Kankakee to the range line aforesaid; thence north to the beginning.
By the orders of September 8, 1841, July 1, 1843, June 6, 1844, and June 20, 1898,
already referred to in this chapter and sub- division, in the history of Greene township, certain minor changes were made, from time to time, in the western and southern bound- aries of Warren township. The Grapevine creek was always too insignificant a stream to be made a township boundary; and the Kan- kakee itself, after the turning of the river into a great ditch, under operation of the drain- age laws, was equally unsuited for the pur- pose.
The result of the various orders referred to was that the west boundary of the town- ship remained as originally fixed, namely, the line running south from a point on the state line eighty rods west of the northwest corner of fractional section ten, township thirty- eight, range one east; except that, in section twenty-one, township thirty-seven, in the same range, for the second eighty rods from the north, the west boundary is removed one hundred and twenty rods west of the range line, and for the remainder of the distance south.through that section, and south through section twenty-eight, and through the north half of section thirty-three, the same township and range, the boundary is removed one hun- dred and sixty rods west of the range line, while for the remainder of section thirty-three the boundary is placed two hundred and forty rods west of the said range line.
Along the southwestern border of Warren township. as we have seen in relation to Greene, the Kankakee proper, by reason of drainage, ceased to be the boundary ; while the great ditch which absorbed the river was sub- stituted for it also as the boundary between Warren and Greene.
The range line between ranges one and two east remains as the eastern boundary, and the state line as the north boundary of the township. .
As we said, in chapter first, subdivision ninth, in considering the lakes of St. Joseph county, Warren township is distinguished by its numerous beautiful lakes, extending through the whole length of the township,
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.
from the Michigan border to the waters of the Kankakee. Clear lake, of the extreme north- ern group, is partly in the state of Michigan. In the neighborhood are Mud lake, Deer lake, and Twin lakes. Further south is Augustine lake. Then, midway from north to south, come Woolverton, Bass and Chain lakes, the group being connected and known together as Chain lakes. Further south, and near the present township of Portage, is Fish or Cham- berlain lake.
Chain lakes, one of the most beautiful clear water groups to be found anywhere, are drain- ed by a branch of the Grapevine; through which the waters find their way into the Kan- kakee river. The lakes of Notre Dame are the only lakes in the county which rival the beauty and celebrity of Chain lakes. They were a favorite resort of the Indian long before the coming of the white man; and perhaps of the Mound Builder long before the coming of the Indian. They are located a little to the west of the famous Port- age; and many of those who journeyed up the St. Joseph and down the Kankakee, or the reverse, often turned aside for rest and enjoy- ment on the margins of those clear, deep blue sheets of water. The chief prehistoric re- mains of the county have been found in this vicinity.
The quiet beauty of prairie, lake and wood- land has ever characterized the landscape of Warren township. Fertility of soil and beauty of scenery are the portion of the favored in- habitants of this region.
The first settlement of the township dates from 1831, when Reynolds Dunn took up a farm to the northwest of Chain lakes. Other settlers who came very early were, W. W. Brick, Peter Wikoff, George Witter, John Kingery, Walter Field, Jesse Frame and his sons, William, Nathaniel, Cornelius, Isaac, David and Jesse, Nathaniel Wilson, Isaac W. Phillips, Harvey Buekles, James Dunbar, Joseph P. Jones, Joseph Price, Thomas Jack- son, Calvin Myler, John Skiles, Theophilus Case, Jacob Mikesell, George Dunnahoo,
Abram Brown, Jonathan Platts, William Crum.
The inevitable log school house appeared as early as 1839, or sooner. As in other parts of the county, the school houses were at first voluntarily built by the combined labors of the hardy pioneers.
German Baptists were among the first to organize a religious society. They erected a church in 1879.
Three railroads eross the township from east to west,-the Lake Shore, the Grand Trunk, and the St. Joseph & Southern, now operated by the Michigan Central. Two interurban lines are also projected and partly construct- ed,-the Chicago, South Bend & Northern In- diana, formerly the Indiana railway; and the Chicago, Lake Shore & South Bend. In con- nection with these interurban lines, it is the design to establish pleasure resorts at Chain lakes.
There are two towns in Warren township. One of these is on the Lake Shore railroad, about seven miles west of South Bend; at first called Warren Center; afterwards, Sweet Home; and then Lindley. The railroad station is now called Lydick. The town is little more than a railroad station, having, however, a post office and some small business houses. The other town is Crum's Town, formerly Crum's Point, located on the Grand Trunk. It is also a small place, but of somewhat more importance than the town on the Lake Shore. The population of Warren township, inelud- ing the town of Lindley and the town of Crum's Point, according to the census of 1900, was nine hundred and forty-four.
Sec. 7 .- CLAY .- The township of Clay was formed May 5, 1840. The boundaries fixed by the order of that date were as follows: Beginning on the state line, at the intersee- tion of the St. Joseph river; thence east to the middle point of the north line of fractional section nine, township thirty-eight, range three east; thence south through the middle of sections nine, sixteen, twenty-one, twenty- eight and thirty-three, to the south line of con-
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.
gressional township thirty-eight; thenee west to the St. Joseph river; thence down the river to the place of beginning.
By order of December 7, 1842, the east half of sections nine, sixteen, twenty-one, twenty- eight and thirty-three was taken from Harris and Penn townships and added to Clay; thus fixing the boundaries of Clay township as they have since remained, to-wit: Bounded on the north by the Michigan state line, on the east by the middle line of range three east, on the south by the south line of congressional township thirty-eight, and on the west by the St. Joseph river.
It will be noticed that the west part of Clay. being that part within range two east, and lying along the east side of the St. Joseph river, was formerly in German township; while the east part, that is. all within range three east. was in Harris and Penn town- ships.
The inhabitants are proud of the distine- tion that the township was named after Henry Clay, who at that date had reached the high- est place in the estimation of the American people. The first settlements, which were amongst the earliest in the county, were near the St. Joseph river, in what was then Port- age, afterwards German and now Clay town- ship. Benjamin Potter, John Hague and William McCombs came in 1829. John and Peter Cripe and Thomas Longley came in 1830; Peter and Jacob Eaton in 1831. Other early settlers were: William Smith, John H. Smith, John C. Stutsman, Evan C. and Thomas B. Chalfant, James Stuckey, William F. and Thomas P. Bulla, Samuel Brooks, Jonathan Hardy. Franeis Jennings, Joseph and Stephen Ulery. Oliver P. Stucky, Menzo Webster. David Sossaman. Jacob Chirhart. Gideon Draper and Ariel Euclid Drapier, John Eyler. Lambert MeCombs and John Weaver. In the reminiscences taken from the paper of William D. Bulla, in chapter fourth, subdivision sixth, will be found very many in- teresting details of the life of Thomas P.
Bulla and other early settlers in Clay town- ship.
Mr. William H. Drapier, now of Indian- apolis, and famous as the author of the Indi- ana legislative Brevier Reports, but once a Clay township boy, the son of Ariel E. Dra- pier, draws attention to the circumstance that Gideon and Ariel E. Drapier, Thomas P. and William F. Bulla and Evan C. Chalfant, all settled on seetion thirty-one, township thirty- eight. range three east. the Drapiers taking up one quarter, Chalfant one quarter and each of the Bullas one quarter; and also to the further circumstance that Evan C. Chal- fant married the sister of Thomas P. and William F. Bulla, while Thomas P. Bulla himself became the husband of Hannah, the daughter of Gideon Draper. It is further in- teresting to note that the Bulla family were closely related to the distinguished Julian, family of Wayne county, Indiana, of which George W. Julian and Jacob B. Julian were perhaps the best known representatives. Both the Julian and the Bulla families were un- compromising opponents of African slavery.
The most interesting features of the land- scape of Clay township consist of the seenery along the St. Joseph river and around the deep blue lakes of Notre Dame. The Michigan Central railroad. and the Southern Michigan railway (interurban) run through the town- ship, from south to north. The roads, in general, are finely graveled; and excellent farms are found in every section. The soil is chiefly sand and gravel, there being but lit- tle elay or lowland within the limits of the township. The erops average well, and are more uniform from. year to year than on stronger soils, failures being very rare; while the soil is easily worked, from Mareh to December, in wet seasons as well as in dry. Corn, vegetables and fruit are most sneeess- fully cultivated.
The occupations of the people of Clay town- ship are almost exclusively agricultural. Four miles north of South Bend, at a pietur- esque point on the river. there stood for many
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.
years a flouring mill, called in later years the Sheffield mill, and more recently the Siders' mill. The water power was supplied by a small but constant stream usually known as Sheffield creek, which drained the low lands extending through the southwesterly section of this township and into the marshes in the south part of Harris, almost to the little town of Granger. But the drainage laws have changed all this. A "state diteh" has taken the place of the pretty stream, and the old mill has disappeared from its picturesque emi- nenee on the banks of the St. Joseph. A little above the grist mill there was for a time a saw mill run by the same stream. A Mr. Weaver also had a carding and fulling mill there in an early day. Further up the little stream Stephen Ulery at one time ran a eard- ing machine. On another small stream lead- ing from the Notre Dame lakes to the St. Joseph, a Mr. Graham had a fulling mill. But all these "infant industries" have disap- peared : and the people of the township, ex- cept alone those connected with the University of Notre Dame and St. Mary's Academy, are wholly devoted to farming.
On Saturday, July 6, 1901, there appeared in the South Bend Weekly Tribune. a paper on the Passing of the Old Gray Mill, which contained many facts of interest in relation to this ancient "Sheffield" or "Siders' " mill. The paper was undoubtedly from the pen of Mr. Richard H. Lyon, and ought to be pre- served in this history of Clay township. Reminiscence and description will be found admirably intermingled in this charming story :
"For more than 60 years the old gray mill stood a pieturesque object on the banks of the St. Joseph river four miles north of the city of South Bend. It was the most ancient and most interesting landmark of its kind in all this region. Gray it was in color originally, then it was painted red, but the storms of over half a century had beat against its antiquated clapboards until they had gone back to brown and gray. Of quaint style of architecture,
planted in a sequestered, romantie spot, it had all through its long existence filled a mis- sion of usefulness, as well as attracting the at- tention of painter and poet, of historian and romaneer, of the eurio fiend and the lover of the beautiful in nature.
"For more than a mile past the site of the old mill the river pursues a straight course and its current sweeps smoothly along, bright, sparkling, never changing. Winding grace- fully through a wild glen rippled a clear lit- tle brook, that rose many miles away and coursing through a wide stretch of farming lands found its outlet in the St. Joseph at this point. It supplied the mill with power, pour- ing its waters over the big wheel into the broad river. On every side the willow and the alder. the cedar, the juniper brush, the rugged oak and the spreading maple, the sumach and the elder, the thorn tree and the wild grape vine grow in profusion, adding to the charm of a picture of nature and ancient art unsurpassed anywhere.
"Before the days of the modern highway and bridges the pioneers came for many miles over the Indian trails through the forest with their grain to be ground at this mill. A primi- tive ferry took those across who lived on the opposite side of the stream, and the fame of the mill extended far away. It is related by one of the early settlers of this region that the meeting in the autumn seasons of the year of farmers who came to the mill with their grists, were memorable events. Often there would be a line of teams reaching half a mile in either direction, each driver waiting his turn. On these occasions the teamsters had a jolly time. They would indulge in all kinds of sports to while the hours away, even to racing horses on the level stretch of road over the hill, in foot races, games of quoit pitching. shooting at a mark and the like. Many would bring their guns along and to "kill time" would go out in the woods and kill big game. Not infrequently a deer was brought in and the men, building a big fire of logs, would have roast venison, roast corn and roast pota-
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.
toes for supper. Then they would gather around the fire and spin yarns far into the night. In later days, over macadamized roads and across the iron bridge near by, the descendents of those first settlers came with their grists to the same old mill by the river's side. In the first days of the country's set- tlement there floated up and down the river past the old mill's door, the keel boats, arks and steamers of the early navigation period and many a salute did the white capped mil- ler give to the jolly boatmen as they sped along.
"Thus the wheels of the old mill turned on day after day and its massive beams were thick with the dust of more than three seore years, when one summer night an innocent. but decidedly unsentimental, disrespectful muskrat dug a hole beneath the flume, the rains came in torrents, the foundations were washed away and when the morning appeared the ancient structure was lying upon its side a helpless ruin. Soon the torn and broken remnants were eleared away, the damaged dam repaired and an insignificant looking one-story, slightly built affair now fills the place of the old gray mill of the pioneers.
"The mill was built in the winter of 1836- '37, by Jonas Harris, a Quaker from Rich- mond, Ind., who came to this eounty in 1832. He designed the building and with its quaint, old-fashioned windows, doors and high roof, it stood and was used for over 60 years exact- ly as he had constructed it. Burton Swearin- gen and Samuel Brooks, both practical mill- wrights, were the contractors, and during the summer of 1837 the mill was first put in operation, with Ephraim Trueblood as its first miller. In that early day there were very few grist mills in the St. Joseph valley, and it is believed this was the first one, certainly it was the last of the pioneer grinding estab- lishments to go. Its dimensions were 26 by 36 feet. three and a half stories in height. It had two sets of buhrs from the beginning, one for flour and one for meal, and it kept these two only all through its existence. The
original water wheel was of the cumbersome overshot variety, but later this was supplanted by the less cumbersome turbine wheel.
"Mr. Harris died about the year 1843, and according to his own request was buried on the farm back of the house. It was his desire that his remains be laid at rest in that peace- . ful, picturesque place, and never disturbed. A few years later his wife, Barbara Beeson Harris, died and was laid beside him. Here also others of the neighborhood were buried when they had laid aside the burdens of life, including the mother and an unele of ex- Couneilman Sorden Lister, whose home was north of the old mill. All the bodies were re- moved. however, to other cemeteries, with the exception of Mr. and Mrs. Harris, whose dust in accordance with their wish lies undisturbed on the spot of their pioneer struggles and pleasures. Their resting place is really un- known, as the ground has long been used for agricultural purposes, obliterating all traces of the old burial spot.
"The farm connected with the mill property originally contained 160 acres and after Mr. Harris' death, with the exception of some por- tions divided among his children, the place, including the mill, was bought late in 1843, by J. and E. S. Sheffield and Edward Car- penter, of New York city. Mr. Carpenter, whose wife was a sister of the Messrs. Shef- field, came here the following year and took charge of the mill, Charles Deyo acting as miller.
"Mr. Carpenter about this time began the construction of the large and substantial house that still stands on the bluff in the rear of the mill. It was the country mansion of this whole region in that early period. Its frame of the heavy barn beam style was put together to stay. Its foundation of native field granite, floors of oak and doors of solid black walnut, and its large dimensions, with two mammoth elimneys, gave it an imposing appearance. The rooms were many and of good size and the house was originally warmed by five big fireplaces.
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPHI COUNTY.
"Mr. Jay S. Carpenter, an esteemed resi- dent of the city, who was the elder son of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Carpenter, came here from New York, his birthplace, to make his home with his parents in 1846, and remem- bers the site of his new home in this wild spot as really a paradise to his youthful mind. In front of the house the trees had all been cleared away and a broad grassy lawn extend- ed from the front steps to the high bluff above the mill. From the front doorway, for nearly a mile to the south the river was plainly in view and the freight boats and steamers could be seen daily plodding their way along the stream. Often they would stop at the mill and take on a load of flour, for there was a big sale in the east for the excellent flour then made by the little Sheffield mill far away out in the Indiana wilderness on the St. Joseph. Across the river was a beautiful landscape of forest and clearing and distant prairie. In rear of the house still stood the primitive for- est, the great trees towering toward the skies in their undisturbed majesty, while with the undergrowth all removed a clear view was ob- tained for a long distance and the ground in summer was covered with a solid carpet of green turf. At the foot of the bluff the old mill was grinding away night and day, the rattle and rumble of its wheels and the com- ing and going of the settlers with their grain and flour gave life to the otherwise quiet spot in the wilderness. The Lister house. now gone, was a little ways north of the Carpenter house and there was a well worn path along the river bank between the two.
"Mr. Carpenter ran the mill successfully for a few years and then moved to the city, living in the quaint residence at the corner of Main and Madison streets, so long the home of his daughters, the Misses Mary and Emma Carpenter, and where he died in 1851. He was a briek mason by trade and his last work in the city was building the First M. E. and the First Reformed churches. His son, Osear D. Carpenter, of the Folding Paper Box Company, of this city, was born at the old
house by the mill. John Sheffield afterwards settled in the city and with Charles Deyo for several years conducted a milling business where Hill Bros. are now located. Then he finally moved to Toledo, O., and carried on the same business there.
THE MILL'S MANY OWNERS.
"The old mill had many owners. Mary Elting came into possession of it on a mort- gage sale in 1860. In 1864, Dr. Robert Har- ris and Elisha Hall bought it and the next year Dr. Harris sold his interest to Mr. Hall, who conducted it for a year and then sold out to John Siders in 1866. Mr. Siders and sons conducted it for many years and it became best known in the community by the name of Siders' mill. The late John F. Kirby was one of the later owners of the property and for a few years before its collapse it was in the possession of James L. Robinson. Four years ago he sold out to the South Bend Power Com- pany, the present owners of the property, who tore away the historic structure and erected the one-story building in its place.
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