A standard history of Elkhart County, Indiana : an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development, Volume I, Part 10

Author: Weaver, Abraham E
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Chicago : The American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 450


USA > Indiana > Elkhart County > A standard history of Elkhart County, Indiana : an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development, Volume I > Part 10


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34


ELKHART COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY


At Elkhart County's second annual farmers' institute, held in Goshen in January, 1893, the late Joseph Rippey read a paper on the subject of Pioneer Farming. For three years following the subject was discussed at the institutes, the second paper being presented by Thomas Miller, the third by John H. Violett and the fourth by Dr. M. M. Latta. Finally, on January 4, 1896, the Elkhart County Historical Society was formally organized with a membership of twenty-six people.


The purposes of the organization are declared by its constitu- tion to be: "To secure and preserve historical data, reminiscences, records, relics and whatever else may be of value or interest in connection with the history of Elkhart county or its inhabitants." From the date of its inception the society has labored faithfully for the accomplishment of these purposes. It has collected many articles of exceptional value, a number of which it would be impos- sible to duplicate. It has also many rare old documents and papers bearing upon the early history of the county and describing the life of the pioneers.


Public meetings have been held from time to time, at which addresses have been delivered and papers read, touching upon some phase or other of our local history. Interest in the society has been steadily growing from year to year and there are at present a greater number of people concerned in its welfare than ever before since it was organized. While it has not accomplished all that was expected or desired, its work has been very satisfactory and its future outlook is encouraging.


Following are the names of the officers of the society, past and present : Presidents, John E. Thompson, 1896; Daniel J. Troyer, 1897; Wilber L. Stonex, 1898, 1899; Dr. W. H. Thomas, 1900, 1901 ; Wilber L. Stonex, January, 1902, to October, 1904; H. S. K.


88


HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY


Bartholomew, October, 1904; Dr. W. H. Thomas, 1899; Wilber L. Stonex, 1900, 1901 ; Dr. W. H. Thomas, 1902.


Secretaries, H. S. K. Bartholomew, 1896-1900; A. C. Mehl, 1900.


The present officers are H. S. K. Bartholomew, president ; Dr. A. L. Fisher, vice president ; Luella Barlow, secretary ; A. E. Weaver, custodian.


COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY


It will interest the present constituency of Elkhart County medical men to know that a flourishing medical society existed here


GROUP OF EARLY SETTLERS


in the '40s. Of the Union Medical Society of Northern Indiana -- for such was the name of this body-E. W. H. Ellis was president and M. M. Latta secretary when the third semi-annual meeting was held at the Village of Benton in November, 1847. The principal paper and discussion concerned the use and abuse of mercury. There was also an address on non-paying patrons. At the meeting of the society in June, 1848, at Goshen, Doctor Chamberlain read a paper on the nature and causes of congestion; Doctor Jackson spoke on the influence of cold in producing diseases, and Doctor Parks read a paper on pneumonia. The officers chosen for the year were: E. W. H. Ellis, president ; R. Willard, vice president ; M. M.


89


HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY


Latta, recording secretary ; P. Henkel, corresponding secretary ; S. B. Kyler, treasurer, and Chamberlain, Jackson, Willard, Fowler, Kyler, censors.


AGRICULTURE, THE GREAT PIONEER INDUSTRY


During the first two decades after the settlement of Elkhart County its people depended almost entirely upon agriculture and live stock for their livelihood and material advancement. When the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern and other railroads were pushed through northern Indiana in the early '50s, the contracted transportation facilities previously afforded by the flat boats and the little steamboats which had so long plied the St. Joseph, and by the bad or indifferent highways and stage lines incident to land travel-these land and waterways along which flowed with fair safety the grain and flour and hogs and cattle toward the ports of the great lakes and the eastern country-gave way to a system which was seen, from the first, to be capable of such expansion that manufacturers to their utmost increase could be handled and distributed to the best markets. But before that time came, when the people of St. Joseph Valley and Elkhart County had to raise and make most of the things which they ate and wore right at home, the products and riches of the soil were all-in-all.


This period of the county's history, in which nearly all the leading citizens of northern Indiana courted the favors of Mother Earth in order to advance their interests and the development of their home counties, has been well described by H. S. K. Bartholo- mew, president of the Elkhart County Historical Society and a widely known writer. What follows on that subject has been extracted from one of his papers on "The History of Agriculture."


CULTIVATING THE WOODLANDS


The pioneer farmers' first work, with the exception of those individuals who were fortunate enough to secure lands upon the fertile prairies, was to clear away the forest which covered their newly chosen farms. This at the very beginning was a great obstacle to their progress. Only small patches of ground could be cleared at first and these were planted to corn. The ground was plowed with a wooden mould-board plow and a team consisting


90


HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY


of several yoke of oxen. It usually took two persons to do the plowing, a man to hold the plow, and either a man or boy to drive the team. In a few years plows with iron mould-boards were introduced, but as they would not seam well in all kinds of soil they were not considered a success at first. Besides, as the ground was full of roots, or new stumps and standing trees, the wooden mould- board was less liable to break than one of iron, so it was better adapted to the conditions than the iron one. The cultivation was done with the hoe at first, then came the single-shovel plow, which


INDIANA CORN FIELD


was in use for a number of years. Among the trees, stumps and roots both plowing and cultivation were tedious, laborious and disagreeable work. This condition continued for a number of years, until the stumps had decayed sufficiently to make it possible to remove them.


BREAKING THE PRAIRIES


On the prairies the work of plowing and cultivating were less disagreeable and could be done more rapidly. There was no clear- ing to be done, and this saved a great deal of hard labor. The first


91


HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY


work was to turn over the prairie sod, and this was done with the same kind of a plow and team as in the newly cleared timbered lands. As the sod was turned over a man followed about every third furrow, dug into the top of the furrow with his foot or with a hoe and planted corn, covering it in the same way. In some instances the corn was dropped in the furrow very near the outside, so that the edge of the next furrow when turned over would be directly over the grain. The corn would then come through between the two furrows. Dr. A. C. Jackson says that on the farm of his father, Col. John Jackson, the first year's crop was not cultivated from the time it was planted until it was husked.


THRESHING AND CLEANING THE GRAIN


In the early '40s a machine was in use which threshed out the grain and dispensed both with the use of the flail and the tramping of the horses. This machine consisted of only a cylinder and was operated by horse power. When the threshing was done by any of these methods the grain had to be separated from the chaff by fanning with a sheet, the wind blowing the chaff away. There were no fanning mills then, but they were introduced a few years later, the exact year not being known. These mills were in their crudest form but were considered a great improvement over the winnowing sheet. All of this labor had to be done in order that the farmer might produce a supply of wheat sufficient to provide bread for his family and if possible a small surplus to sell.


No ROTATION OF CROPS


No attention was paid to the rotation of crops. Corn was planted after corn and wheat after wheat, and that was continued year after year. Sometimes these crops were alternated, but only as a matter of convenience and not to prevent the exhaustion of the soil. It was not thought necessary at that time to give any attention to this matter, which has come to be one of the most important questions the farmer of the present day has to consider. When the timber was first cleared away the land was full of fertil- ity and nobody then had any idea that these lands would ever cease to furnish sufficient nourishment for any crops that might be planted. Had the same care been exercised in conserving fertil-


92


HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY


ity then as the farmers are compelled to exercise now, the soils would never have become impoverished, as so many of them have, and it would be just as easy to raise good crops as it was when the land was first brought under cultivation.


IMPROVING THE NATIVE SWINE


The first swine of an improved breed of which there is any definite knowledge were brought to Elkhart County in 1850. Elisha D. Irwin purchased of a man named Bothwell in the eastern part of Noble County a sow of the breed known as the Irish Grazier and brought her to his farm on Elkhart Prairie. At the same time Jesse D. Vail, of Benton Township, sent with Mr. Irwin bought a pig of the same man. Mr. Irwin brought both of them in a wagon, the distance he hauled them being over thirty miles. Both Mr. Irwin and Mr. Vail bred this strain of hogs for a number of years. They were so far superior to the native breed that a ready sale was found for all surplus stock for breeding purposes, and in five or six years they were extensively bred all over that section of the country. The swine referred to were white and of attractive appearance. They somewhat resembled the old Chester Whites, but those who bred them pronounced them superior to that breed. It required about eighteen months to mature and fatten them, so it can be readily understood that they would not be adapted to present- day conditions.


ONLY SCRUB CATTLE


The cattle which the pioneers brought with them were scrubs, but as a rule they were a better type of animals than were the swine. They were kept until they were four years old before they were slaughtered, and when marketed at that age they brought from $12 to $15. They were neither of the beef nor the dairy type, but were used for all purposes. The cows furnished the family's supply of milk and butter, but that was all. The steers on a good many farms were trained for work, the ox team then being in continuous use. Such animals as were not used for either of these purposes were killed for beef. The breeding of blooded stock as a specialty or as a branch of general farming was not begun until after 1850. The first blooded animal concerning which there is


93


HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY


ING


SPECIMEN CATTLE AND HOGS OF TODAY


94


HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY


any positive knowledge was a Short-horn cow, owned by Alexander Irwin. This cow was purchased in 1833 of a man who was driving a herd of blooded cattle through from Pennsylvania to this state and selling them wherever he found a buyer. Whether they were pure-bred animals or only a good type of grade is not known. Mr. Irwin bought the cow referred to expecting to establish a herd of that breed of cattle on his farm, but he died in 1835 and his plans were never materialized. The ordinary scrub cattle were all that were to be seen here for over two decades after the county was settled.


JUST "HOMEY" SHEEP


Sheep were brought here by some of the earliest settlers, and they have been raised in the county continuously. Like the other animals the first sheep kept by our pioneer farmers were scrubs, and for twenty years or more no other sheep were known. They were kept for the purpose of supplying wool for home use, the product being woven into cloth and made into garments. Major Violett, who located in the vicinity of Waterford in 1829, kept a large flock of sheep, probably the largest in the county for a number of years. Of the first blooded sheep to be brought into the county but little is known. The first man to exhibit them at the county fair was William Long, of Benton Township. This was in the early '50s.


THE POULTRY


Just when blooded chickens were introduced is not known nor is it known who introduced them. Jacob Pfeffer, Jr., of Middle- bury Township, and the Lattas, of Elkhart Township, were among the first farmers to begin improving their flocks of poultry by the introduction of blooded stock. The first pure breed chicken that was brought in was the old Shanghai, some time in the '50s. They were greatly inferior to the improved breeds of the present day, but they were so far superior to the water fowls that they immedi- ately found favor with the progressive farmers. After the Shang- hais came the Brahmas and the Cochins, which were still better. These were the leading meat breeds that were kept here during the '6os and '70s. The first of the egg-producing breeds were the


95


HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY


Black Spanish and the Humbuts. They were here about the same time with the Cochins and the Brahmas.


POPULATION FROM 1830 TO 1910


In 1830, the year of the civil organization of Elkhart County, the Federal census enumerators gave this political division of the state a population of 935. During the following decade the rich and beautiful valley of the St. Joseph attracted thousands of agriculturists, who had become weary of struggling in the contracted areas of the East and sought freedom and fortune for themselves and their children in the West. Notwithstanding the lack of canal transportation, the St. Joseph and Elkhart rivers offered a fair outlet for the home products to Lake Michigan and thence to the region of the great lakes. And there was already promise of railroad trans- portation from the East, by way of Buffalo, across Northern Indi- ana. Consequently, Elkhart County "looked good" to so many plucky emigrants that by 1840 it had a population of 6,660.


In 1850 the United States census reports indicated that 12,690 people had settled within the limits of the county, and within the following decade, when the railroads really came and the solid future of that section of the state was assured, Elkhart County made its greatest advance in population. In 1860 the figures showed a popu- lation of 20,986 and, despite the retarding effects of the Civil war, it had increased to 26,026 in 1870, and to 33.454 in 1880.


Especially since 1890 have the census figures been of value and interest to home communities, covering, as they do, the details of townships, towns and cities. We therefore append the statistics for 1890, 1900 and 1910:


1910


1900


1890


Elkhart County


49,009


45,052


39,20I


Baugo Township


688


586


636


Benton Township, including part of Millers- burg Town


1,239


1,378


1,372


Millersburg Town (part of)


72


92


85


Total for Millersburg Town in Benton and Clinton townships


428


481


394


Cleveland Township


475


48 I


5II


96


HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY


1910


1900


1890


Clinton Township, including part of Millers-


burg Town


1,721


1,772


1,993


Millersburg Town (part of).


356


389


31I


Concord Township, including wards 2 to 6 and part of Elkhart City


19,638


15,694


1,610


Elkhart City (part of).


17,877


14,108


Total for Elkhart City in Concord and


Osolo townships


19,282


15,184


11,360


Ward I


3,622


Ward 2


2,754


Ward 3


2,483


Ward 4


3,273


Ward 5


4,389


Ward 6


2,761


Elkhart Township, including Goshen City ..


9,696


9,152


7,656


Goshen City


8,514


7,810


6,033


Ward I


2,087


Ward 2


1,667


Ward 3


1,240


Ward 4


1,605


Ward 5


1,915


Harrison Township.


1,559


1,736


1,915


Jackson Township


1,368


1,373


1,430


Jefferson Township


957


969


1,059


Locke Township, including part of Nappanee Town


1,973


2,005


989


Nappanee Town (part of)


1,122


1,065


Total for Nappanee Town in Locke and Union townships


2,260


2,208


1,493


Middlebury Township, including Middlebury Town


1,660


1,692


1,728


Middlebury Town


600


572


542


Olive Township, including Wakarusa Town. Wakarusa Town


859


917


Ward I


126


Ward 2


151


Ward 3


186


Ward 4


188


Ward 5


208


...


...


..


1,638


1,797


1.375


97


HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY


Osolo Township, including part of Ward I of Elkhart City


2,137


1,800


620


Elkhart City (part of)


1,405


1,076


...


Union Township, including part of Nappanee


Town


2,595


2,744


1,543


Nappanee Town (part of )


1,138


1,143


....


Washington Township, including


Bristol


Town


1,13I


1,173


1,135


Bristol Town


535


546


535


York Township


533


700


776


OTHER ILLUSTRATIVE STATISTICS


The reader will doubtless note as he progresses through these pages that they are not loaded with figures. When lugged in immoderately, statistics only becloud the understanding. Their only excuse of existence in a plain tale or picture is to illustrate ; as in the case of the following tables, which exhibit the comparative wealth, or taxable power, of the different townships and corpora- tions in Elkhart County.


VALUE OF LANDS AND IMPROVEMENTS


VALUE OF LOTS AND


TOTAL VALUE OF


TP. CITY. TOWN


IMPROVEMENTS REAL ESTATE


Baugo Tp.


$ 338,020


$ 5.740


$ 343.760


Benton Tp.


880,695


8,190


888,885


Bristol Corp.


69,165


67,535


1 36,700


Cleveland Tp.


235.310


235.310


Clinton Tp.


875,050


875,050


Concord Tp.


829.765


268,050


1.097,815


Elkhart City


540,905


6,010,955


6,551,860


Elkhart City (Osolo) ..


48,550


180,265


228,815


Elkhart Tp.


869,300


16,645


885.945


Goshen City


232,490


2,493.715


2.726,205


Harrison Tp.


965.790


965.790


Jackson Tp.


931,015


51,220


982,235


Jefferson Tp.


625,965


625.965


Locke Tp.


496,805


2,600


499.495


Middlebury Corp.


48,130


91,960


140,890


Middlebury Tp.


701,435


701,435


Vol. I- 7


98


HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY


Millersburg Corp.


4,810


51,280


56,090


Nappanee Tp.


62,370


505,255


567,625


Olive Tp.


436,655


436,655


Osolo Tp.


385,210


385,210


Union Tp.


985,955


5,735


991,690


Wakarusa Corp.


54,390


113,115


167,505


Washington Tp.


371,530


371,530


York Tp.


222,670


3,380


226,050


Total


$11,211,980


$ 9,875,730


$21,087,710


VALUE OF PERSONAL AND CORPORATE


TOTAL NET


TP. CITY. TOWN


PROPERTY


TAXABLES


Baugo Tp.


$


98,960


$


839,510


Benton Tp.


311,455


1,460,065


Bristol Corp.


94,720


286,865


Cleveland Tp.


38,635


328,890


Clinton Tp.


315.745


1,598,345


Concord Tp.


315,180


2,370,735


Elkhart City


1,961,610


9,051,165


Elkhart City


(Osolo)


126,680


3-45,885


Elkhart Tp.


222,035


1,582,670


Goshen City


1,531,890


4,512,380


Harrison Tp.


429,675


1,391,920


Jackson Tp.


450,095


1,631,100


Jefferson Tp.


155,925


749,965


Locke Tp.


192,465


754,345


Middlebury Corp.


220,IIO


367,580


Middlebury Tp.


238.715


946,390


Millersburg Corp.


48,465


173,555


Nappanee Tp.


439,125


1,021,575


Olive Tp.


186,235


641,260


Osolo Tp.


58,020


428.725


Union Tp.


370,195


1,513,115


Wakarausa Corp.


191,620


375,040


Washington Tp.


91,290


634,930


York Tp.


77,405


439,560


Total


$ 8,166,250


$33,445,570


VALUE OF


99


HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY


It is of interest to note that the levying of land taxes according to valuation dates from 1835. Previous to that year taxes were levied by the acre, irrespective of valuation, but with the development of the newer counties of the state, and the increased and wide varia- tion of values, it was seen that the old system was unfair. In the year named, therefore, the Legislature passed an act dividing lands into three classes, according to their market value, which were taxed accordingly. Although the law at first was strongly opposed, pre- sumably by those who had previously been under-taxed, it has stood up to the present.


RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES


The board of commissioners of the county submits an annual report, in accord with a legislative act of 1899, showing receipts and expenditures. From its last statement, for the year ending December 31, 1915, it appears that the balance in the treasury on January Ist of that year was $3,740.34; receipts from all sources, $5,065.73; total, $8,806.07. The disbursements for the year were $5,616.66, leaving a balance, December 31, 1915, of $3,189.41.


CHAPTER VI


SCHOOLS OF THE COUNTY


TAXING NON-RESIDENTS FOR THE SCHOOLS-THE COUNTY'S FIRST SEAT OF LEARNING-CAPTAIN BEANE AND OTHER PIONEER TEACHERS-HON. E. M. CHAMBERLAIN-SCHOOL CENTERS OUT- SIDE GOSHEN AND ELKHART-MRS. CHAUNCEY HASCALL'S REC- OLLECTIONS-PROFESSOR MYERS ON "THE LOG SEMINARIES"- JOEL P. HAWKS DESCRIBES EDUCATION AT WATERFORD-THE MIDDLEBURY SEMINARY-FOUNDING OF THE TOWNSHIP SYSTEM -EXPLAINING THE LAW TO THE PEOPLE-DIFFICULTIES IN THE WAY OF TAXATION-FIXING A TEACHING STANDARD-CONSOLI- DATION OF COMMON SCHOOL FUND TOWNSHIP LIBRARIES OR- GANIZED-GENERAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE SYSTEM-FOUNDING OF TEACHERS' INSTITUTES-EDUCATION OF COLORED CHILDREN- COUNTY SUPERINTENDENCY CREATED-TEACHERS REQUIRED TO BE ADAPTABLE-UNIFORMITY OF METHODS AND TEXT BOOKS- THE TEACHERS' INSTITUTES OF TODAY-ILLUSTRATIVE EXTRACTS FROM PROGRAMMES-THE OLD COUNTRY SCHOOLHOUSE AND THE CENTRALIZED SCHOOLS OF TODAY-INTRODUCTION OF AGRICUL- TURAL SCIENCE, MANUAL TRAINING AND DOMESTIC SCIENCE- THE PRESENT COUNTY SYSTEM OF EDUCATION-LIST OF SUPERINTENDENTS-STATISTICS SHOWING PRESENT STATUS OF SCHOOLS.


For a quarter of a century after the first settlers of Elkhart County occupied the fertile lands in the valleys of the Big and Little Elkhart rivers, and in the beautiful and productive Elkhart Prairie, which stretched between, the increasing population of the central and eastern sections struggled, often unsuccessfully, to give the children an education befitting ambitious, intelligent and prac- tical Americans. During that period there was nothing which, by


100


101


HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY


the most painful stretch of the imagination, could be called a county-broad system founded upon the township unit. The schools and their teachings were crude and only uniform in that it was considered useless and foolish to go beyond the drilling of the pupil mind in any branch of learning outside reading, writing, spelling and arithmetic. Both men and women taught simply to pick up a few needful dollars-the males usually as stepping stones to either medicine or the law, and often as a means of enabling


FOREST GROVE SCHOOL HOUSE, MIDDLEBURY TOWNSHIP, ERECTED IN 1836 EDSON FOSTER, IN FOREGROUND, WAS A PUPIL


them to preach the gospel and support their families at the same time. Everybody was poor and struggling in those days, and no blame was attached to actual residents for the poor showing made by the schools.


TAXING NON-RESIDENTS FOR THE SCHOOLS


At first all the schools were supported by subscription, so that their efficiency depended largely on local sentiment and the conse-


102


HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY


quent liberality or financial ability of the neighborhood settlers. This was especially true of the districts east of the Big Elkhart River which were first settled. The lands west of that waterway were chiefly held by non-residents until the early '40s, when the pioneers who were engaged in actual development commenced to vigorously protest against slaving to increase the value of lands which were held by investors comfortably housed in Ohio, Penn- sylvania or the farther East. The remedy for the imposition was successfully applied, and is described by P. M. Henkel, who came from Southern Ohio about the time it was devised, in 1843, and was auditor of the county during the period when the basis of the present township system of education was being laid. He says: "In the early '4os much of the western portion of the county was still in a state of nature. Large bodies of land were held by non- residents with the hope that by the labors of the pioneers they would become valuable. That part of the county was then but sparsely settled. True the Walburns, the Sheetses, the McCoys, the Pip- pengers and the Ulerys had penetrated the forest, built their cabins, felled the trees and opened the roads, to be followed by others who should take up the work after them. For the time being they were willing to endure all the privations and hardships incident to pioneer life for the benefit of their successors.


"Dr. E. W. H. Ellis, then auditor of the county, conceived the idea of compelling the non-resident landowners to contribute by the way of taxation to the building of roads and schoolhouses. For this purpose he induced the Legislature to pass a law by which he could assess one and one-fourth cents on each acre of land for road purposes. The citizens had the privilege of working out the tax, while the non-residents had to pay the money. This money when collected was returned to the township from which it came, where it was applied to the purpose for which the tax was raised. The effect of this law was to induce the non-residents to dispose of their holdings and permit those lands to pass into the hands of actual settlers."


THE COUNTY'S FIRST SEAT OF LEARNING


Elkhart Prairie was the first seat of learning in the county. Before Goshen was even platted it is said that a little log school stood on Wilkinson's Lane, on that prairie, and a few scholars


103


HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY


were taught by one Mr. Potts. The second schoolhouse, opened in the early '30s, was on the school section a mile south of Goshen.




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