USA > Indiana > Newton County > A standard history of Jasper and Newton counties, Indiana : an authentic narrative of the past, with an extended survey of modern developments in the progress of town and country, Volume I > Part 10
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > A standard history of Jasper and Newton counties, Indiana : an authentic narrative of the past, with an extended survey of modern developments in the progress of town and country, Volume I > Part 10
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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 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40
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were diverted from their legitimate purposes into the pockets of such officials.
In the report of the legislative committee appointed to investigate these frauds in 1859 appears the following regarding the peculations charged to Jasper County: "In the county of Jasper our investiga- tions have satisfied us that the officials of the county have not only aided others in the commission of great frauds upon the Swamp Land funds, but have also been participants in the profits arising therefrom. In this charge we make no reference to the present treas- urer and auditor of the county. The commissioner, at a letting of a large amount of ditching under a law of 1852, let almost the entire work to one man for the sum of twenty cents the cubic yard, although at this letting were other good and responsible bids for the same work at fourteen cents the cubic yard, and one as low as ten cents. The ditching contracted for at this letting has never been finished ac- cording to the plans and specifications, and some of the ditches are useless. The entire estimate of this work, amounting to $39,451, has been paid to the contractor. According to the testimony before us, this one transaction has resulted in great loss to the Swamp Land fund, and loss to the value of real estate in the vicinity of the work.
"In the year 1856, without the color of law and in violation of all right, the then auditor of state, Hiram E. Talbot, directed the auditor of Jasper county to withdraw from sale a large amount of swamp lands designated by him. The committee are compelled to conclude that this order was prompted with a view to personal and private speculation. This, no doubt, was the commencement of a system of frauds unheard of heretofore. A spirit of speculation in these lands was engendered and in a short time there were formed four separate companies who selected, as they termed it, and actually obtained, by the complicity of the swamp land commissioners; deeds for about 124,000 acres of the best of the lands vacant in the county. The deeds to these lands were procured without the shadow of law from the officers of the state."
The Swamp Land Act of March, 1857, required that these fraudulent conveyances should be returned and cancelled when the work was not completed; also provided that the contractors might file with the county auditor lists of the lands selected by them, to be taken for payment for ditching actually constructed. Under this law the swamp land commissioner of Jasper County confirmed all the old contracts at 20 cents per cubic yard, which had been originally let at from 12 to 18 cents, and the contractors were permitted to file unlimited lists of lands. Thus all the unsold swamp lands in Jasper
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County, amounting to 175,000 acres (or half its total area), were ab- sorbed, and nearly all the contractors without paying out any actual money, by private arrangement with the treasurer of Jasper County, were able to obtain certificates of purchase and land patents. These amounted to $100,000, which should have been turned over by the county treasurer to his successor. This was never done, for the very good reason that the money was never turned into the treasury. Upon the expiration of his term of office, the county treasurer was sued as a defaulter to the swamp land fund, compromised by giving his notes for $23,000, was appointed state swamp land commis-
RECLAIMED SWAMP LANDS
sioner, and in that capacity, during 1859, was also sued for defalca- tion. In view of these facts, the investigating committee recom- mended to the governor that the defaulting official be removed from office.
DRAINING AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE LANDS
The outcome of such speculations was so disastrous that it took many years for incoming settlers to venture into the swamp-land region, and as long as they remained under the direct control of the state few tracts were taken up and improved. But in March, 1873, an act was passed by the Legislature authorizing the formation of ditch and draining companies and giving them power to assess bene- Vol. I-6
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fits against all lands improved by their work. That act, although somewhat complicated, was a beginning and, as improved by subse- quent measures, finally gave both the county and private enterprise a certain confidence which has resulted in reclaiming most of the large areas of swamp lands to productive cultivation. It was some years, however, even after the passage of the 1873 act before more than two or three minor ditches had been constructed in Kankakee and Wheatfield townships. The building of the Illinois, Indiana & Iowa Railroad through the Kankakee marshes of Northern Jasper and Southern Lake, in the early 'Sos also had a good effect.
JASPER COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY
In the improvement of the farm lands of Jasper County, whether they lay in the lowlands of the Kankakee region or the more elevated tracts watered by the Iroquois River of the southern sections, the County Agricultural Society has been a constant and influential factor. Originally known as the Jasper County Agricultural and Mechanical Association, it was formed in December, 1858. Several small fairs had been held previously, but that organization pre- sented the first successful attempt at co-operation among the farm- ers and their wives and daughters. The first officers of the associa- tion were: Robert Parker, president; J. C. Post, vice president ; Alfred McCoy, treasurer ; S. Donaldson, secretary. Its first fair was held September 27-29, 1859, on the grounds of the association, which comprised seven acres about a mile down the river from Rensselaer and on the north shore. The report was that "although the occa- sion was somewhat marred by the wet weather, the exhibition was generally voted a success. Floral Hall was well filled and the ladies department was well represented. The show of agricultural products was good; the show of live stock, not so good. There were some fine blooded animals, however, shown in the ring ; cattle, horses and hogs were represented, and, for the first exhibition, the display was encouraging. The society had purchased ground and fenced it, and considerable revenue was derived from the admissions."
After the County Agricultural and Mechanical Association had struggled along for more than twenty years and become hopelessly entangled in debt, it was succeeded by the Jasper County Agricultural Society, organized July 18, 1879. The first fair of the new society, held October 7-10, 1879, is a fair index of the progress of agriculture in the county, and the status of such matters, at that time. The show of horses, cattle and hogs was excellent; that of sheep and poultry,
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passable ; of apples, remarkably fine; of corn and other cereals, Irish potatoes and produce of the garden, probably never surpassed for excellence in any exhibition. The society then owned twenty acres of ground and its officers were: William K. Parkinson, president ; Marion L. Spitler, vice president ; David H. Yeoman, superintendent.
CHAPTER VIII
GROUNDWORK OF AMERICAN GROWTH
BASIS OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOL-TERRITORIAL AND EARLY STATE LEGISLATION-FIRST TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS-THE OLD- TIME SUBSCRIPTION CONCERN-CREATED IN THREE DAYS- FOUNDING A REGULAR SYSTEM-BUILDING SCHOOLHOUSES UN- DER THE NEW ORDER-DECIDING ON TEACHER'S QUALIFICATIONS - PIONEER SCHOOLS IN JASPER COUNTY -THE COUNTY'S SOURCES OF EDUCATIONAL REVENUE.
Nothing was ever done by either the French or British govern- ments to establish or encourage a system of public schools among their scattered subjects in the western wilds, but with the first exten- sion of American paper rule over the Northwest, the cause was brought forward as one of the fundamentals of popular sovereignty.
BASIS OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOL
As has been stated, a congressional ordinance of 1785 provided for the donation of section 16 in every township for the maintenance of public schools, and the more comprehensive and famous measure of 1787 declared that "religion, morality and knowledge being neces- sary to the government and happiness of mankind, schools and means of education shall be forever encouraged." In this matter the fathers of the Northwest sustained the founders of the United States, and its greatest supporters ever since, and proclaimed them- selves both idealists and practical men. They first provided the basis of a fund for the popular schools ; then pledged the future generations of America forever to encourage them. Forever is a large word, but America has always dealt in futures, and after 129 years have passed since that pledge was given, the generations of the present are en- couraging the cause of public education with greater zeal and im- measurably greater resources than their sponsors of 1787 ever dreamed of.
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TERRITORIAL AND EARLY STATE LEGISLATION
Indiana territory had the Indians to fight, as well as the wilder- ness to break, but her public men brought up the subject repeatedly, Governor Harrison, in one of his messages, suggesting that military education be grafted into the public system. In 1807, after a sweeping preamble re-dedicating the people to the principle of pop- ular education, the Legislature incorporated the Vincennes Univer- sity "for the instruction of youth in the Latin, Greek, French and English languages, mathematics, natural philosophy, logic, rhetoric, and the laws of nature and nations." In the following year the Ter- ritorial Legislature authorized the judges of the Courts of Common Pleas to lease the school lands, and in 1810 they were authorized to appoint trustees for that purpose; these agents, however, were forbidden to lease more than 160 acres to any one person, and the destruction of timber on the leased lands was forbidden. These acts concluded the actual performances in behalf of the cause, but, con- sidering how many other measures came before the territorial au- thorities and legislators in the nature of self-defense and self-preser- vation, it is remarkable that so much was accomplished.
The first state constitution, adopted in 1816, provided that none of the school lands should be sold by the authority of the state previous to 1820, and that it should be the duty of the General As- sembly, as soon as possible, "to provide by law for a general sys- tem of education, ascending in a regular graduation from township schools to a state university, wherein tuition shall be gratis and equally open to all. And for the promotion of such salutary end, the money which shall be paid as an equipalent by persons exempt from military duty, except in times of war, shall be exclusively, and in equal proportion, applied to the support of county seminaries ; and all fines assessed for any breach of the penal laws shall be applied to said seminaries in the counties wherein they shall be assessed."
The General Assembly of 1816 took up the work and made pro- vision for the appointment of superintendents of school sections, with power to lease the school lands for any term not to exceed seven years, and each lessee was required to set out annually on such lands twenty-five apple and twenty-five peach trees until 100 of each had been planted. Between 1816 and 1820 several academies, seminaries and literary societies were incorporated in the older and more populous counties.
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FIRST TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS
The first measure which provided for any comprehensive system of public education was passed in 1824, the bill being the result of the labors of a special commission appointed by the Legislature sev- eral years before; the act, which became law, was "to incorporate congressional townships and provide for public schools therein." After providing for the election of three school trustees in each township, who should control section 16 and all other matters con- nected with public education, the law made provision for the erection of schoolhouses as follows: "Every able-bodied male person of the age of twenty-one years and upwards residing within the bounds of such school district, shall be liable to work one day in each week until such building may be completed, or pay the sum of thirty-seven and one-half cents for every day he may fail to work." The trustees might also receive lumber, nails, glass or other necessary building material, in lieu either of work or the daily wages.
THE OLD-TIME SUBSCRIPTION CONCERN
The schoolhouse, according to the law of 1824, provided: "In all cases such schoolhouse shall be eight feet between the floors, and at least one foot from the surface of the ground to the first floor, and be furnished in a manner calculated to render comfortable the teacher and pupils." As no funds were provided for the pay of teachers or the erection of buildings, the schools were kept open as long as the subscriptions held out, and the comfort of the teacher and pupils depended on the character of the householders who sup- ported the school. Neither could the school trustees levy a tax except by special permission of the district, and even then the expenditure was limited to $50.
In 1832 the Legislature ordered the sale of all county seminaries, the net proceeds to be added to the permanent school fund. Its action did not affect Jasper County, as that year marked the coming of its first permanent settler. In 1837, however, the county received its quota of the surplus disbursed from the United States Treasury to the various states during the preceding year. Indiana's share was $806,000, and of that sum the Legislature set aside $573,000 for the permanent use of the common schools of the state; but only the interest of the fund could be used by the counties.
When Jasper County commenced its political existence in the late '30s, there were no public schools within her borders, and nearly
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twenty years were to pass before anything like the prevailing system of popular education was to be in force. The conditions prevailing in the pioneer period were these: "The man or woman who had a desire to become an instructor would get up a written agreement called a subscription paper, and pass it around among the people of a certain neighborhood for signatures. The agreement usually called for a certain number of pupils at a certain price per pupil, and when the required number was obtained the school would begin. The ruling price for a term of three months was two dollars per pupil, and the number of pupils to be taught was to be not less than twenty. The board and lodging for the teacher would be provided by the patrons of the school, each one, in turn, furnishing a share during the term, or, if the teacher preferred, which was nearly always the case, he or she might chose a boarding place and remain there during the term for a small compensation to the patron of the school whose home was selected. The board and lodging of the school teacher were regarded as small matters by the early settlers, and one dollar per week was taken as ample compensation for the trouble imposed by this arrangement. The first plan was designated as 'boarding among the scholars' and the second, as 'boarding himself' or 'boarding herself.'
CREATED IN THREE DAYS
"The first matter of importance before the beginning of the school was to provide a building for the accommodation of the teacher and pupils ; but that was also an easy matter for the pioneers. 'The set- tlers of a neighborhood would get together on a specified day, say a Thursday, and begin the erection of a schoolhouse at some point as nearly central in the neighborhood as a site could be procured ; which was always easy to obtain, as land was worth one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, and a suitable site could be found where the owner of the land, if he had children of school age, was only too willing to donate an acre or half an acre of his land for the purpose. Beginning the building on Thursday, they would finish their work on or before Saturday night, so that it would be ready for occupancy on Monday morning."
FOUNDING A REGULAR SYSTEM
With the inauguration of the constitution of 1851, much con- fusion and working at cross purposes were cleared away, and a work-
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ing plan to develop a regular system of popular education was evolved. By legislative act "to provide for a uniform system of Common Schools and School Libraries, and matters properly con- nected therewith," approved June 14, 1852, the way was made clear for the establishment of the public educational system which is still expanding and developing in its details.
The free school system of Indiana became practically operative on the first Monday in April, 1853, when the township trustees for school purposes were elected. The new law gave them the manage- ment of the school affairs of the township, subject to the action of
A RURAL SCHOOL OF TODAY
the voters. But it was a number of years before Jasper County was able to derive much practical benefit from the system, the quota of the common school fund derived from the state being small and increased slowly, as it was based upon the number of children of school age residing in the various districts. In the meantime most of the actual management of school matters was vested in the old- time school examiner.
BUILDING SCHOOLHOUSES UNDER THE NEW ORDER
In 1859 the board of three township trustees was abolished and school matters were placed in the keeping of one trustee. who was
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enabled to work to greater advantage with the examiner than under the old system, but it was not until nearly twenty years later that the trustee assumed greater control of the schools within the township. As the interest of the common school fund was only available, under the constitution, it usually became necessary for the citizens of a district in pressing need of a schoolhouse to contribute a portion of the expense incurred in its erection, furnishing and maintenance. The law required the trustee to own the land upon which every school- house was erected, and a perfect title from the owner of the land to the trustee and his succesors in office must be procured before the building could be commenced. A word from the trustee express- ing the necessity for a new schoolhouse usually brought a dozen offers from property owners offering sites of half an acre to an acre, pro- vided the township would meet the expenses of executing and re- cording the deed. Land was much cheaper than money in those days; but the early settlers contributed of both, as well as of honest labor and necessary materials, for the erection of the building which was to house their children as pupils. Not infrequently the trustee erected a neat frame building beside the old log schoolhouse, that the entire township might compare the two with pride over the improvement.
DECIDING ON TEACHER'S QUALIFICATIONS
Having procured their certificates of qualification from the county examiner, the applicants for the position of teacher laid their cases before the trustee ; the primary selection rested with him, his choice being ratified by the patrons of the school. Sometimes, when there was a decided division of sentiment as to the merits of several can- didates, a meeting was held and the decision left to a majority vote. Good conduct determined the length of service, and the question of salary was left to the patrons of the school. The average salary for the male teacher of the earlier years was $20.00 a month and board, the female instructor drawing about half that amount. The farm hand was paid about the same wages, and the fairly-educated laborer was quite apt to prefer a cozy district schoolroom to outdoor work, especially in winter. So that there was seldom any dearth of district school teachers. As the standard of qualification was raised, the supply of male teachers decreased, which heralded a brighter day for the prospects of the school ma'am.
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PIONEER SCHOOLS IN JASPER COUNTY
The early settlers of Jasper were not behind the general senti- ment of the state in their appreciation of the advantages of schools, and long before the state could give the scattered communities aid, they had a number of subscription schools. Neighborhoods turned out and put up the cabin, and each patron paid the expense of the teacher's salary in proportion to number of children sent. Money was scarce, but anything the settler had was valuable to the teacher, and by exchange the farmer's hog or cow was transformed into the children's education. In the Barkley settlement, the first school was held in the winter of 1838-39, and taught by a Mr. Webster; in the Blue Grass settlement, the first school was opened about 1840, by a Miss Price, and G. W. Spitler taught the first school at Rensse- laer in 1841. The growth of schools in Jasper County was sub- ject to all the hindrances of a sparsely-settled country and the limited means of the pioneers. The slow growth of the popula- tion deferred the improvement of these early schools, and in 1858 there were but eight schoolhouses in the combined territory of the present counties of Jasper and Newton.
THE COUNTY'S SOURCES OF EDUCATIONAL REVENUE
In the early '70s, or twenty years after the establishment of the system of popular education, which has since been so greatly broadened through teachers' institutes and other agencies, the schools of the state, and therefore of Jasper County, had eleven sources of revenue, as follows :
I. The congressional township fund, consisting of the money arising from the sale of section 16 throughout the land.
2. The Saline fund comprising a portion of the salt springs properties (limited to thirty-six sections), which represented the second land grant made by Congress to the Territory of Indiana.
3. The surplus revenue fund, distributed among the different states in 1836 (as noted), of which Indiana's share was $573,000.
4. The bank tax fund, derived from an assessment of 121/2 cents upon each share of stock held by individuals in the state bank.
5. The sinking fund, comprising the residue of money bor- rowed by the state to pay its subscription to the stock of the state bank and to assist individual stockholders.
6. All fines for a violation of the penal laws of the state which had been made a part of the permanent school fund.
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7. All recognizances of witnesses and persons indicted for crime, when forfeited.
8. All moneys arising from the estates of persons dying intestate.
9. The proceeds of the sale of swamp lands, when no special purpose was expressed in the grant, after deducting the expenses incurred in selecting and draining them.
IO. Taxes on the property of corporations that were assessed by the General Assembly for common school purposes.
II. Rents and other profits derived from the unsold congres- sional school sections.
These eleven sources of educational revenue were classified, in 1872, as productive (the first five), contingent (the second five) and unproductive (the last, which at that time virtually yielded no rev- enue).
In 1872, the productive funds stood thus: Sinking fund, $4,767,000; congressional township, $2,281,076; surplus revenue, $573,502 ; saline, $85,000; bank tax, $80,000. The intestate fund amounted to $17,866, and the swamp lands fund was still very complicated, although, naturally, it never yielded what it should have produced.
In the summer of 1882 the grand total of the fund upon which the state could draw for the support of its common schools was $9,207,4II.
In the summer of 1916, according to direct communication with Charles A. Greathouse, state superintendent of public instruction, Jasper County had in the congressional township fund, $58,669.35 ; in the common school fund, $49,716.46, and from the last semi- annual apportionment of state tuition revenue, made in June, 1916, the county received $9,715.86.
CHAPTER IX
SPECIAL PIONEER PICTURES
FIRST SIGHT OF THE GRAND PRAIRIE-HARBINGERS OF MALARIA- ABUNDANCE OF WILD GAME AND FISH-THE SEASONINGS AND CULTIVATED MEATS, RARITIES-SETTLING OF THE EMIGRANT -BREAKING GROUND - THE PIONEER'S LIVE STOCK AND FORAGE-WILD HONEY AND PUMPKIN SIRUP-HOOSIER HUNT- ING GROUNDS-IN THE KANKAKEE MARSHES-A POTTAWAT- TAMIE VILLAGE.
There are certain institutions and features of western pioneer life, descriptions of which would apply to a score of states and territories as the frontier advanced to the Ohio, the Mississippi and far beyond. On the other hand there are pictures which can legitimately be drawn only of Indiana and Jasper County, and a selection of these distinctive etchings has been made for this chapter.
ABUNDANCE OF WILD GAME
The country which the earlier pioneers had selected was a hunter's paradise. The prairie, timber and waterways were crowded with game of all kinds, and without this it is doubtful if this region could have been settled until a score of years later. The early thoroughfares, obliged to deviate from a true course to avoid marshes and impassable rivers, left this region isolated, and the tide of population following these lines of travel naturally avoided this section. Thus cut off from the natural sources of supply, the pioneer was forced to depend upon the resources of the coun- try alone, which, even with the abundance of game, proved but a meager support for the family. Deer were found in unlimited numbers, and the first settlers found no trouble in killing more than the needs of the family required, right at his own door. Droves, reaching to the number of a hundred, were often seen, and settlers were in the habit of carrying their guns on almost all occasions,
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