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 23
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DR. JOSEPH H. HEATWOLE AND FATHER
Dr. Joseph H. Heatwole comes of an old Dutch-Pennsylvania family, which sent out shoots into Virginia. The father of the Doctor was born in Rockingham County, that state, and after his marriage in Ohio commenced the practice of medicine in Columbia County. He continued the practice in Lawrence County, Pennsyl- vania, and in 1853 became a resident physician of Waterford, Elk- hart County. There, and at Goshen (to which he moved in 1876), Dr. Henry Heatwole became well known as a physician and a citizen. He died in 1888.
Ex-Mayor Heatwole was born in Lawrence County, Pennsyl- vania, and was one month old when his parents settled at Waterford. He was educated at Waterford and Goshen and at Mount Union College, Ohio, before taking up his medical studies, graduating from the Ohio Medical College, Cincinnati, in 1878. After practicing five years at Middlebury, he located at Goshen. Besides acquiring a sub- stantial standing in his profession, Doctor Heatwole was honored with the mayoralty two terms; served as health officer of the county for six years and was long a member of the board of pension examiners.
THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IMPROVES
Two weeks after the voters of Goshen expressed their desire to become a city and the day before the election for municipal officers, Rescue Hook and Ladder Company was organized, and shortly afterward a water wheel was erected on the Hydraulic canal, which had recently been completed, and pipes laid to the business center of the city. As far as the actual increase in the fire apparatus of
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the city is concerned, until the completion of the first water works in 1875 the department appears to have given its attention to the formation of hose companies-Reliance Hose Company No. I, in 1870 ; Hydraulic Hose Company No. 2, in 1872; and Triumph No. I and Goshen Hose Company, in 1875.
VETERAN FIRE FIGHTERS
L. H. Noble, the veteran dry goods and hardware merchant, was for many years one of the most ardent supporters of the various fire companies. In every annual parade, for a long period, his familiar figure would be seen upon the seat of a hose cart holding the reins over his beautiful team of white horses. The Noble Engine House was named to honor his faithfulness. The late Christian Hinderer and ex-Chief of Police Self were members of the first engine com- pany. John Snobarger, who has been at the head of the department for thirty years, and with the service, as a whole, for a decade longer, is also its veteran.
THE PRESENT SYSTEM
The Goshen fire department is now on the paid basis, is well organized and has sufficient apparatus, in connection with the fine system of water works and its up-to-date equipment, to insure full protection to the industrial, business and residence districts of the city. The Gamewell fire alarm system is in use. The equipment consists of hose carts, hose, hook and ladder, chemical engines, an auto truck and all the paraphernalia to be found in a volunteer department. The pressure is sufficient for all ordinary occasions, the standpipe being one hundred and fifty feet high and containing about 400,000 gallons of water. One pump is always in operation, and at the signal direct pressure is applied sufficient to force a stream over the highest building in the city. To haul the apparatus to the fire a team is always kept in reserve at a stable convenient to each station, and this feature of the service has been developed to perfection seldom found in the smaller cities.
FOUNDING OF THE WATER WORKS
As is usually the case in western cities, the establishment of the water works at Goshen was the result of a realization that all the
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material interests of the city required better protection against fire than could be provided without a general water pressure, an ade- quate system of distribution and a standpipe as the crowning feature. While that was the primary and pressing object, it was also seen that a sufficient and pure supply of water was a necessity in the interest of public hygiene.
The history of the founding and development both of the water and lighting system, which have been public utilities for so many years, was fully collated by Wilber L. Stonex. While president of the Elkhart County Historical Society, in 1901, he prepared papers for that society. The facts which follow are taken from one of his papers published in the Goshen Daily News.
BETTER AND CHEAPER THAN A NEW ENGINE
On the 8th day of July, 1874, there appeared in the Goshen Democrat the following paragraph: "We call attention of the City Council to the propriety of laying an iron pipe from the hydraulic wheel in Whitmer and Yates' shop up Market street to the cistern on the corner of Main and Market streets in preference to any other increase of our fire department. It will be, in our opinion cheaper and of more utility than any other proposed increase in our fire department, as the hydraulic wheel could keep the cistern full of water all the time and would enable the hydraulic hose company to use the east end of the pipe as the basis of operations in any fire within the length of their hose, as well as affording a cistern full of water for the fire engine anywhere within the reach of their hose. It would be far better than a new engine and much cheaper."
BUSINESS MEN DEMAND EQUAL PROTECTION WITH MANUFACTURERS
To fully understand the meaning of this it must be remembered that at that time the fire department equipment consisted of one hand pumping engine, hook and ladder truck, and two hose carts. The water supply consisted of water stored in cisterns located in various parts of the city. The most important one was that located at the corner of Main Street and Lincoln Avenue, then known as Market Street. There were also in some of the factories on the hydraulic canal force pumps and pipes to which hose could be at- tached for the protection of the industrial district, and Hydraulic
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Hose Company No. 2 was organized specially for the protection of the factories. Their water supply came from the canal.
There had been several fires prior to the summer of 1874 and much property had been destroyed. The chief danger was to the store buildings, in the central part of the city, a majority of which were frame and veritable tinder boxes. There were always two causes for uneasiness when a fire broke out. One was the insuffi- ciency of the engine, and the other was the uncertainty of the water supply. After the factories had provided themselves with pumps and had the entire canal for their water supply it was apparent that they were better protected than was the business part of the city.
The suggestion of the Democrat was that a small iron pipe be laid from one of the factories on the canal to the cistern at the corner of Main and Market streets. This would enable the fire de- partment to fill that important reservoir with ease, and this supply pipe would also be available for throwing a stream of water through the hose of Hydraulic Hose Company equally as well as at the mills on the canal. This suggestion was so simple and inexpensive a plan that it was at once taken up and with some modifications put into operation.
BEGINNING OF CITY WATER WORKS
The first step toward this was the appointment of a committee to visit South Bend and Mishawaka to investigate the system there in use. This was done on the 3d day of August, 1874. The com- mittee made the investigation and prepared a report to submit to the people. A public meeting was called for that purpose on the 13th of August, and at the meeting, which was presided over by Hon. J. H. Defrees, Judge Wm. A. Woods, presented a resolution as follows : "Resolved, that we favor the system of water works recommended by the report read in our hearing and respectfully petition the Com- mon Council of the city to proceed at once to carry out the proposed plan ; but, instead of connecting with the Hawks' and Thomas' Mills, we recommend the city to put a wheel of its own." The resolution was unanimously adopted. The committee modified its report in compliance with the resolution and reported to the council on the 17th of the same month. The report of the committee was adopted, the resolution of the citizens' meeting was spread upon the records
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of the council and steps were at once taken to purchase the necessary machinery and the ground for the location of the building.
The site selected was at the west end of the alley between Market and Clinton streets. Work was vigorously prosecuted. Wooden mains were laid from the pump house up Market Street to Main Street, and three branches were extended from that point, for a distance of one square each, east, north and south. By January I, 1875, the work was so far completed that on that day a public exhibi- tion of its capacity was made. The result was satisfactory. The entire cost of the work had only been about $9,000 and the capacity of the pumps and the wheel supplying the power were sufficient to allow of a considerable extension of the system at small additional expense.
STEAM POWER AND ARTESIAN WELLS
After a few years, when the city found itself able to incur the expense, the citizens called for a change from water power to steam power so as to allow the use of water for private consumption. This also made it necessary to look for some other source of water supply. A system of artesian wells were decided on. On August 17, 1881, the present site was bought, and work was at once begun. From that time the record has been one of constant expansion over con- tiguous territory until by 1901 the system embraced more than 201/2 miles of street mains ; 161 hydrants or fire plugs ; 12 public watering troughs, some 1,200 private consumers, and an annual income of $7,416.60 from water rates collected from private consumers. The power station equipment consisted of four boilers of 400 horse power ; one pump with a capacity of 2,000,000 gallons for every twenty-four hours; two pumps of 1,000,000 gallon capacity each, a standpipe of 265,000 gallons capacity, with all necessary reservoirs and appliances for the operation of the station.
ORIGIN OF MUNICIPAL LIGHTING PLANT
The lighting of the city streets became a very serious problem. At first oil lamps were used. Then, in 1874, the city contracted for gas. The expense of this was considerable and the result unsatis- factory. In August, 1887, a contract was made with the local elec- tric light company, by which the company agreed to erect towers and
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furnish arc lights at a minimum price of $2,500 a year, with addi- tional charge for extra lights, but in October, 1889, the company proposed to sell its street lighting equipment and poles to the city for $3,000. The city made the purchase and since that time the streets have been lighted with arc lights from a dynamo operated from the water works station. In 1897 the city installed an incan- descent plant for commercial lighting.
EXTENSION OF ELECTRIC SYSTEM
That which led to this step at that time was the demand for the extension of the street lighting system. The capacity of the dynamo had been reached and the necessary additional lights could only be put up after providing a larger dynamo, and enlarging the plant accordingly. This was done at a cost of about $15,000 and the cost of the incandescent plant was about $5,000 more. In 1901 the entire lighting plant consisted of one 250 horse power engine; a 125-arc light dynamo, and an incandescent light dynamo with a capacity of 2,000 lights. There was also a 40-arc light dynamo which was kept for the purpose of supplying the business part of the city in case of a temporary shut down of the larger dynamo.
LATER IMPROVEMENTS AND EXTENSIONS
Since Mr. Stonex prepared the history of the founding and growth of the systems which have developed into the municipal plant, the power houses, which are at Fifth Street and the Lake Shore tracks, numerous improvements have been made, chiefly under the active supervision of Mayor S. F. Spohn and Commissioner John B. Cripe, of the Board of Control.
PRIVATE LIGHTING COMPANIES
Althought the streets and public buildings are supplied with electric light by the municipal plant the commercial lighting is largely in the hands of the Hawks Electric Company, which is operated in connection with the power plant of the Goshen Milling Company.
The gas used in the city for both illuminating and fuel purposes, is supplied by the Goshen Gas Company, its large plant, situated on
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Fifth Street, just north of the water works, having been estab- lished since 1874. The original gas works were small and crude, but in 1899 the local stockholders disposed of their interests to experi- enced manufacturers, who soon made radical changes in the plant. The system consists of a complete water gas plant and separate coal works, either of which can be operated, or they may be conducted together.
THE LOCAL POSTAL SERVICE
There is another public utility of a local nature which seems to require mention at this point, although it is not under municipal control; reference is made to the postal service, conducted by good and efficient Uncle Sam. Until 1870 the location of the postoffice was very uncertain ; since that year it has remained unchanged. The building is convenient and a credit architecturally.
William Bissell, the first postmaster, long since deceased, was appointed July 12, 1832, and delivered mail at a log building located where Mr. W. J. Davis formerly lived. Abner Stilson, the second appointee, November 26, 1832, had his office in the rear of where Twomey's shoe store now stands and near the present postoffice building. Ebenezer M. Chamberlain, who was appointed November 8, 1837, received and delivered the mail on the site of the Brownell property, until March, 1841, when the office was moved to one door south of Darrow's store. Charles L. Murray was fourth postmaster, appointed July 28, 1841.
Then follow: James R. McCord, November 5, 1841, office on Frank Hascall property; Abner Stilson, July 31, 1845; Louis B. Parmalee, May 15, 1847, in Drake's building; Edwin Martin, Sep- tember 17, 1849, and Shubael M. Pease, January 22, 1850, where the Salem Bank now is; Elbridge G. Chamberlain, June 2, 1853, under opera house in Latta's building ; George T. R. Wadleigh, August 20, 1860, in Latta's building; William B. Taylor, March 29, 1861, in Wagner's room ; William L. Bivins, December 12, 1862. It was dur- ing Postmaster Bivins' long incumbency of some dozen years that the postoffice was moved to the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Fifth Street. A few years ago a Federal building was erected at the cor- ner of Lincoln Avenue and Sixth Street.
Among the postmasters of Goshen who have served since the postal department at Goshen has enjoyed a stable location were:
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E. W. H. Ellis, William R. Ellis (twelve years), M. E. Starr and Joseph A. Beane, the present incumbent, who also was in office from 1893 to 1897.
In August, 1900, the first rural mail route was established in connection with the Goshen office, and four routes were added during the same fall. A large territory is now accommodated, and
THE PRESENT POSTOFFICE
the rural free delivery is one of the strongest features of the local office.
REAL PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM DATES FROM 1857
Considered as a public system, the schools of Goshen did not commence to be fairly organized until 1857, when the village cor- poration built its first school house and elected its first principal of schools. Strange as it may seem, although that was an epochal year, and said principal was the pioneer of a school epoch, the pio- neers of the city have not been able to furnish a more definite statement that "a Mr. McCloy was elected the first principal of the Goshen schools in the fall of 1857."
But account is to be taken of the previous twenty-five years of struggles on the part of teachers, citizens and tax payers, to provide
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education for the children who were developing into men and women in that crude frontier village.
FIRST QUARTER-CENTURY OF SCHOOL TEACHERS
The first person known to have taught school on the present site of Goshen was Samuel T. Young, who, in 1832, gathered a class in a log house, corner of Washington and Sixth streets. After teaching in that building for several years he left it for another building, also a log one, located on the corner of Fifth and Jefferson streets. Here he was followed by several different men, among them being John Sevey, a Mr. Massey and Thomas G. Harris.
In 1834 the first Methodist Church was built in Goshen, on a lot adjoining the present Episcopal Church property. The building is still in existence and forms a part of a residence. In 1837 this church began to be used for school purposes, and was so used for a number of years. Messrs. Green, Campbell, Lane and others taught there for longer or shorter periods. In 1837 Mr. H. W. Bissell came to Goshen and taught during the winter of 1837-8 in this same church. Mr. Bissell was for twelve years, beginning with 1838, one of the school examiners of Elkhart County.
In 1840 Nelson Prentiss began teaching school in a building located on Clinton Street, opposite the Court House square ; the building was afterwards moved to Pike Street, to be used for a Mission Sunday School.
A log house on West Washington Street and another on Fifth Street were used by different persons for conducting schools. Among the teachers in those buildings were a Mr. Gray, Mr. Weed, Abner Stilson and George Taylor, who afterwards was elected to Congress from Brooklyn, New York.
The first school house was built, by subscription, in the year 1841, on lot No. 54, where the Episcopal rectory now stands. It was a frame structure 20 by 30 feet in size and continued to be used for school purposes until the corporation built its first school house in 1857 on Madison Street, on what had been the county fair grounds. This building was sold in 1857 to John S. Freeman, who soon thereafter resold it to the Swedenborgian society to be used as a church for a number of years, when it was converted into a residence by the late Jesse Fuson who had purchased it. After Mr. Fuson's death the house passed into the hands of D. P. Deardoff
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who moved it to Seventh Street, where it, after having been re- modeled for a hospital and occupied by Doctor Day, was burned about the year 1887. In this first school house Abram C. Carpenter, Amasa N. Hascall, Milo S. Hascall, Melvin B. Hascall and others were teachers.
In writing to the Daily Times in. 1891 M. B. Hascall said: "In October, 1842, I commenced teaching, having been called from my home in Western New York for that purpose. Forty to fifty pupils were about the average number enrolled. The books used were not uniform but every scholar brought what he happened to have, if he had none, he came without, but Webster's Elementary Spelling book, Daboll's Arithmetic, English Reader and Kirkham's Grammar were in the lead."
During the period from 1841 to 1857 a number of private schools were started by different individuals. The general plan followed by all was to go from house to house, secure the promise of pupils and then locate quarters and begin work.
Among them George W. Weyburn, who came to Goshen in 1853 and opened the "Empire School" in the basement of the then First Methodist Church, stands out prominently. He was more than usually successful and counted among his pupils, during his four years of work in that school, many of the older citizens of Goshen. He had associated with him at different times Miss Martha Stan- cliff, Miss Valencia Watrons and others. In March, 1858, the school was closed because of the completion of the new public school building.
ERECTION OF WARD SCHOOLS
The real development of the public schools of the city began with the erection of the building above referred to, on the present site of the Emma Chandler Building. The lot was purchased at a cost of $1,000 of John S. Freeman who took, as part payment, the school property on Sixth Street; the building, begun in the fall of 1856, was a four room brick structure and cost, without furnishings, $11,000.
The rapid growth of the city from 1860 to 1870 necessitated building new and larger quarters to replace rooms that had been rented from year to year. In 1862 a frame building on West Pike Street was rented for a period of three years and in 1865 was rented
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for three years more. In 1868 the Pike Street school was built at a cost of $2,500. It was a one room brick structure 25 by 40 feet and, after being used for sixteen years, was replaced by the pres- ent building, in 1884, at a cost of $9,000. This building has four rooms and is one of the best lighted and ventilated buildings in the city.
The first building on the North Fifth school site was a four room frame structure erected in 1862. It was replaced by a brick build- ing in 1882 which now is the larger of the two at North Fifth and contains six rooms. The new four room building on the same site was built in 1895 and is in every way a model primary building.
In 1869 it was found necessary to provide more school room in the south part of town. The board purchased the site and built the main portion of the South Fifth building at a cost of $5,000. About ten years later two additions, containing four rooms, were built so that the building has altogether seven school rooms. In 1899 the board of education reconstructed the entire heating and ventilat- ing system of the building and installed the only fan system for ventilation in the city at a cost of nearly $3,000, but it made of the building a thoroughly comfortable and modern one, in so far as it was possible without tearing down and rebuilding.
During the summer of 1874 a four room addition was built to the high school building at a cost of $4,500 but the addition had been occupied only a few months when, on the evening of January 18, 1875, the entire building with its contents was burned to the ground. Temporary provision was made in churches and halls for the pupils who had thus suddenly been thrown out of school quarters, and steps were at once taken for rebuilding.
The new building erected was an eight room structure and is known as the Emma Chandler Building. It contained, in addition to the eight school rooms, the superintendent's office and two recita- tion rooms. It was completed and occupied in the fall of 1875 and cost, without furnishings, $20,000. When the limits of the city were extended to include what is now known as East Goshen and West Goshen the township schools located therein became a part of the city school system. The West Goshen Building thus received was a neat one story brick, containing one school room and the usual hall, cloak and hat rooms. It was replaced a few years ago by a fine modern four room building. The old East Goshen Building was built of wood and was in rather poor condition. In 1898 the board
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of education erected the present building there and one may safely say of it that there is not a more convenient or better arranged one room building in the state of Indiana. Its cost was in the neighbor- hood of $4,000.
In the year 1895 the demand for more school room for the grades, as well as better quarters for the rapidly growing high school, became so urgent that plans were laid for the erection of a thoroughly up-to-date high school building, which would represent the best in modern school architecture. The splendidly equipped building that resulted was placed joining the old high school build- ing on the front so that the two building are to all intents and pur- poses one.
MISS EMMA R. CHANDLER
The enrolment of the high school had increased from 150 to 325, very largely through the faithful work and high ideals of two women-Miss Emma R. Chandler and Miss Lillian E. Michael. Miss Chandler is the dean of Goshen teachers, although she retired from active service in 1894. For twenty-three years after the grad- ing of the public schools and the incorporation of the Collegiate Institute into the system, she continued as principal of the high school. She first came to Goshen in the fall of 1860 and, after a few months, returned to the famous Mount Holyoke (Massa- chusetts) Seminary to complete her studies. There she remained for a year, when she taught for a time in Indiana and Illinois. Soon after the Civil war she located permanently at Goshen and from that time until she became principal of the new high school (now known as the Emma Chandler Building), she taught in the public schools, the Collegiate Institute and in a private establishment, of which she was joint proprietress. Miss Chandler is still living, a good, cultured soul, alert in mind and body, and universally honored. As a testimony to her standing the old high school has been known for some years as the Chandler School.
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