USA > Indiana > Kosciusko County > A standard history of Kosciusko County, Indiana : an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development. A chronicle of the people with family lineage and memoirs, Volume I > Part 30
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"In the fall of 1836, the John McNeal, who donated the lot for the first Methodist Episcopal Church built in the township, moved here from Ohio, accompanied by Henry Hoover. George and Henry Sommerville came from Virginia; Samuel Firestone and William Moore from Logan County, Ohio, and Alexander Graham and William Beasley, also from the Buckeye State.
SOME PIONEER MARRIAGES
"You will remember that the first school in the township was taught by Adam Laing in a log building on the farm of William Moore, in 1840. So Mr. Laing must have been one of the early
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comers. He had been united in marriage to my aunt, Miss Mary J. Chaplin, the same year that he taught this school. Mr. Edwin Cone, a brother of Mrs. David Hayden, performed the ceremony, and was so frightened that he forgot to pronounce the couple man and wife. My baby brother, Byron, constituted himself the 'best man,' stand- ing up with the bride and holding fast to her dress, a prettily figured delaine.
"Mr. Morse Pierce Chaplin, a brother of the bride, had been married a short time before to Miss Sarah Ann Morris, one of the early settlers of Wayne Township. His marriage was one of the first that was celebrated in our township, and took place almost simultaneously with that of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria. Wil- liam Williams of Warsaw was married to Miss Eliza J. Douglass in April of the same year.
THE SOMMERVILLES AND JOHN DUNHAM
"I remember the Sommervilles well. They were fine people. The two sons of George Sommerville were my pupils when I taught school in the Adam Laing district the winter of 1857-58. They ultimately moved to Kansas, where the boys, George and Jasper, I suppose, if living, still reside. In 1837, John Hoover, William Stephenson, John Dunham, Robert MeNeal and John Doke came on from Ohio, the last named from Logan County. Mr. Stephenson died during the sickly year.
"John Dunham was the father-in-law of the William M. Millin, in whose family cemetery the Indian, Mozette, was buried. This Mr. Dunham put up the first carding mill on the Tippecanoe River in this county. It was built for Mr. Elias Sholl, or Shull-as we used to pronounce it. Robert MeNeal was for a long time a resident of Pierceton, but finally moved to Warsaw and died there.
"In the fall of 1838 my parents moved from their home near Collamer, Whitley County, Indiana, and settled on the farm where I still reside, while my grandfather, having been given his choice of the two places, left his Eel River farm and located on the place ad- joining ours on the north, both being in section 34 ( Washington Town- ship).
THE RYERSON CEMETERY
"But I must pass on to others now. Charles Chapman, the old bachelor, of whom father bought the apple trees, came in 1838, and his little cabin stood long after he had vanished from sight. He died Vol. I-22
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HISTORY OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
and was buried in the hollow in the Ryerson Cemetery north of where Norman Lipps and Abner T. MeQuigg were laid to rest, with no near friends to weep over him, no stone to mark his grave. This spot, consecrated by common consent as a place in which to bury strangers, holds several nameless sleepers, among others one poor traveler who was taken sick with throat trouble at the Ryerson tavern and died there.
"Jesse Little also came in 1838 and settled on the farm in section 36, where two of his children, Mandane and Clarke Little, still re- side. The young folks used to have fine times going to his home at singing school. He and his wife, Elizabeth, were old and full of years when they fell asleep and were laid away in the Ryerson Cemetery."
PIERCETON FOUNDED
On December 6, 1852, during the administration of Franklin Pierce, Lewis Keith and Jolin B. Chapman platted the town which carried the presidential name.
Before the year closed, Mr. Chapman opened the first store of the new settlement in a log cabin north of its corporate limits, on the farm afterward owned by J. A. Shorb. He brought his mer- chandise from Fort Wayne by ox-team, and the currency employed included skins and furs, and the "wild-cat" money of the country.
The first postoffice at Pierceton was established in 1854 and was thrown open to the public in a frame building subsequently occupied by the Citizens Bank. O. P. Smith was the first postmaster, but was succeeded in 1855 by Dr. William Hayes, who continued in office for a number of years.
THE TOWN INCORPORATED
Pierceton was incorporated on May 10, 1866, and on that day the Board of Trustees held its first meeting. John Moore represented the first district ; Adam Simmons, the second; and Alexander Daugh- erty, the third. E. T. Marshall, although not the president of the board, was surely the chief executive of the town, since he was del- egated to serve as clerk, treasurer, assessor and marshal. At an ad- journed meeting, held two days afterward, Mr. Simmons was elected president of the Board of Trustees.
Messrs. Moore and Daugherty were appointed a committee to draft a constitution and by-laws, which were adopted at a meeting of May 23d.
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HISTORY OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
The first local School Board was appointed by the trustees in November, 1866, and consisted of Michael Murray, John A. Shorb and John Shaffer.
It was ten years afterward (August, 1876) before Alért Fire Company No. 1 was organized and the first systematic effort made to furnish the town with protection against fire.
It was necessary that this movement be put under way, as Pierce- ton even at that early day had founded quite a number of industries. There were the Pierceton Flouring Mills, founded by Michael Mur- ray in 1862; the furniture factory, originally started by Baker & Conant near the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad, in
FACTORY AT PIERCETON
1864; the saw and planing mill, started by the Flukes in 1865; the wagon and carriage factories of P. Conrad and M. Rush, also of the late '60s; J. A. Shorb's hub and spoke factory, established in 1867; the chair factories of B. W. Kirkland and Shumaker & Humphreys, F. V. B. Minnich's shovel-plow works and perhaps other smaller establishments.
CHURCHES AND SOCIETIES
Pierceton has three church societies which are well supported within its limits-the Methodist Episcopal; Presbyterian and Bap- tist. The two first named are the oldest and strongest. The Metho- dists first organized in 1854, two years after the town was platted.
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and held their first meetings at the Fort Wayne depot. A house of worship was erected in the early '60s. The pastor now in charge is Rev. G. E. Whitten.
The First Presbyterian Church of Pierceton was organized at the Crawford schoolhouse in January, 1858, the first stated supply being Rev. W. S. Wilson. The Ryerson schoolhouse, as well as the one erected in Pierceton, was also used by the Presbyterians, previous to the building of a separate structure for that purpose in 1863. Rev. H. G. Hauser is the present pastor.
The Baptist Society is in charge of Rev. C. E. Rusk.
ELM STREET, PIERCETON
In 1870 the school trustees erected a handsome brick schoolhouse in the southwestern part of the town at a cost of $9,900. The main structure was 40 by 70 feet, with an L, and had accommodations for more than 500 pupils. In the fall of that year it was organized as a graded school by Professor C. P. Hodge.
The only substantial lodges of a secret and benevolent nature arc Pierceton Lodge No. 257, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, char- tered in May, 1866, with a present membership of 100; Pierceton Lodge No. 377, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, organized in June, 1868, and having a membership of about sixty, and a Knights of Pythias Society.
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THE PIERCETON OF THE PRESENT
The town, or village of today is a neat, prosperous place on the Pennsylvania Railroad, which is noticeable for its well paved streets, this public improvement having been placed under special headway since 1916. Like other communities of smart and up-to-date appear- ance, Pierceton owes much of its present substantial appearance to a large fire-that of September, 1897, which swept away not a few of its old and unsightly buildings. In the following year a municipal water and light plant was also established, which has been another source of civic pride. With a direct pressure pump, fire plugs at convenient locations, and a good chemical engine, both the house- holders and the business men of Pierceton have canse to feel secure and realize that they have accomplished a creditable work in this regard. The most serious trouble at the municipal plant occurred in November, 1917, when, on account of a break in the well, Pierce- ton was without water or light for several days.
FINANCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL
The two local banks are the Peoples and the State, of which W. F. Mitchell and Walter E. Shoop are respectively cashiers. The latter was organized in June, 1918, and has total resources of nearly $100,000. It is capitalized at $25,000.
The Piercetou Record is another invaluable town institution of nearly forty years standing, the year of its founding being 1880. Its editor and proprietor of longest service is M. F. Brosnahan, the hardware merchant, who controlled the Record in 1893-1905. J. R. Hover has owned and edited it since 1910.
Among the local industries which give Pierceton a standing are the large plant of Reid, Murdock & Fisher, manufacturers of ketchup and sauerkraut; two saw mills, a planing mill, a manufactory of wood-working machinery, an elevator and two feed mills. There is also a solid local company which deals in lumber and other builders' supplies.
CHAPTER XIX
MILFORD AND VAN BUREN TOWNSHIPS
SETTLERS OF 1833-35 - A FEW FIRST THINGS - EARLY VILLAGE OF MILFORD - INCORPORATED AS MILFORD JUNCTION - WATER WORKS AND FIRE DEPARTMENT-ELECTRIC LIGHT AND POWER-INDUSTRIES AND BANKS-THE MILFORD MAIL-MILFORD'S PUBLIC LIBRARY- THE SCHOOL-LOCAL CHURCHES AND LODGES.
Van Buren Township is in the borderland of Elkhart and Kos- ciusko counties traversed by Turkey Creek, and the lakes strung along its valley, both of which attracted settlers into the latter region. Considerable of the township's area of thirty-six square miles was originally considered so marshy as to be almost valueless; but the days of scientific ditching and draining have changed all that, and Van Buren is now one of the most productive and desirable sections of the county.
The two principal bodies of water created by Turkey Creek are Waree and Deware lakes, known for years as Wauwus and Lingle. The former, about one mile southeast of Milford, is a mile and a half long, and perhaps half a mile wide, while Deware, the eastern shores of which extend into Turkey Creek Township, is about a mile square.
SETTLERS OF 1833-35
The early settlement of Van Buren Township was formed on Little Turkey Prairie in the southern part of the township. Having no timber to fell, the settlers proceeded at once to plant crops, and the soil of the locality being very rich they were rewarded with a good harvest. Fencing proceeded rapidly and that section was one of the earliest in the county which showed real improvement over its natural advantages.
The year 1833 saw the first noteworthy influx of settlers-Oliver Wright and his son, Moses, to section 28; William Felkner, to section 21; Elijah Miller and Richard Gawthrop, to section 32; A. C. Cory, to section 1; Mrs. Sarah De Vault, with five children, to section 32, and Samuel Street, to section 29.
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HISTORY OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
Early in the spring of 1834, Judge Aaron M. Perine settled on the present site of Milford, and later, in the same year, came Samuel Stephenson and Alexander Thompson.
In 1834-35 the following joined the settlement : James and Samuel Chipman, Joel Long, Henry Doolittle, John Egbert, Samuel Sackett, Elijah Jones, Bentley Jarrett, James Jarrett, Andrew Edgar, Wil- liam Mackey and David Maxwell.
A FEW FIRST THINGS
Rachel Felkner, daughter of William and Mary Ann Felkner, was the first white child born in the township, that important event occur- ring on May 15, 1833.
In October of the following year was celebrated the first marriage in Van Buren Township, that between Fred Summey and Miss Adeline Trimble.
The first schoolhouse to be erected in the township was completed on section 29, in the fall of 1835. John G. Woods was the teacher.
About the time the first settlers located on Little Turkey Creek Prairie, the road from Logansport to Goshen was surveyed through the township, coming to Milford by way of Leesburg, from the south.
The first mills in Van Buren Township were built, in 1837 and 1839, by John Egbert and both were on Turkey Creek-one, a saw mill, about a mile east of Milford, and the other, a grist mill, in the village itself.
EARLY VILLAGE OF MILFORD
Judge Aaron M. Perine was proprietor of the original Milford, as laid out in section 8, April 10, 1836.
In the same year that Samuel Sackett set up his blacksmith's forge, Judge Perine opened a sort of a hotel, and Chipman, Chipman & Doolittle established a store where all the simple wants of those days could be met.
Three years after Milford was platted by Judge Perine, the first physician settled therein, Dr. Joseph Chamberlain.
Milford may be said to have concluded its childhood with the coming of the Cincinnati, Wabash & Michigan Railroad (Big Four) to it in 1870.
INCORPORATED AS MILFORD JUNCTION
Although the Junction (Shakespeare) is about a mile north of the larger village, at the meeting of the Baltimore & Ohio and the Big
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HISTORY OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
Four lines, the town generally known as Milford was incorporated as Milford Junction in 1882. It has increased in population, business, industrial and commercial interests, until it has at present about 1,000 people; well graded and lighted streets; a creditable newspaper, school and Carnegie library ; a substantial plant for the conservation of an abundant water supply and an efficient protection against fire ; two solid banks; several growing industries; thoroughly stocked and handsomely housed business concerns; and churches and societies which are necessary elements in the intelligent growth of every Amer-
LOOKING SOUTH ON MAIN STREET, MILFORD
ican town. Such evidences of corporate life and growth cover an area of a square mile.
WATER WORKS AND FIRE DEPARTMENT
Milford has been in advance of most communities of its size for thirty years in the way of furnishing its citizens with an abundant supply of pure water and protection against fire. The original water works, near the corner of Main and Fourth streets, were erected in 1888. The principal building is the one-story brick boilerhouse which is an addition to the old George R. Ogden flouring mill, now operated by the Milford Grain Milling Company. In 1902 a duplex pump was added to the mechanical equipment. At that time was also erected a standpipe 110 feet high, with a capacity of 83.000 gallons. The water supply is drawn from two wells, each 160 feet deep, through eight-
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HISTORY OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
inch pipe. The distributing system is more than two and a third miles in extent. The entire pumping capacity of the works is given at 720,000 gallons daily.
As measures of protection against fire, there are not only the extra pressure furnished by the water works, but the volunteer fire department, divided into three companies and furnished with the necessary supply of hose and trucks.
ELECTRIC LIGHT AND POWER
Milford's electrical supply, both for lighting and power, is con- trolled by Goshen capitalists, under the name of the Syracuse Power & Light Company. The plant is at North Syracuse, about four miles east and at the foot of Syracuse Lake.
INDUSTRIES AND BANKS
Milford has a number of local industries of a miscellaneous nature which give material life to the place, such as the saw mill of Lentz & Son, the Milford Novelty Company's establishment, and the factories of Jehu Beer for the making of porch swings, chairs and seats, and of Fred Lott, who turns out door frames. The Milford Lum- ber and Coal Company is a very substantial concern ; its name speaks for itself.
The two financial institutions of the town are the old Miles & Higbee Bank and the Farmers State Bank. The former was estab- lished in 1882 by Preston F. Miles and E. W. Higbee and is now con- trolled by E. W. Higbee, Lizzie Miles, the widow of one of the founders mentioned, and the son, Leroy Miles. The paid-in capital of the concern is $10,000 and the deposits, $200,000.
The Farmers State Bank is an institution of later establishment. Its president is Jacob B. Neff; cashier, James T. Shepard.
THE MILFORD MAIL
The local newspaper, under the name above mentioned, was founded by Groves & Williams on November 6, 1888. W. E. Groves succeeded the firm as proprietor, in 1889; W. W. Breton assumed the ownership and management in 1894, and from 1896 to 1900 Mr. Groves again was at the head of its affairs. During the succeeding five or six years J. P. Prickett was owner and editor of the Mail, and since 1906 A. J. Forbing has been in control.
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HISTORY OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
MILFORD PUBLIC LIBRARY
In 1907, the Columbia Reading Circle, a federated woman's club of Milford, decided to start a public library, and for that purpose appointed a committee to secure donations of books and money. After . collecting a small library, the committee organized a library circle of seven members in order that the community might receive the benefit of traveling libraries from the Indiana Library Commission.
These pioneer members of the first library association were : E. W. Higbee, Mrs. M. P. Wright, Mrs. Alpha Benson, Miss Maud Me- Laughlin, Miss Arilla Arnold and Richard Vanderveer. A small bookcase was borrowed and a room in Hotel Milford was donated for its use. Miss Arnold was selected as librarian. After a year the establishment was moved to a room in Miles & Higbee's bank, where it.remained for several years.
In 1916, Andrew J. Carnegie gave the Library Association $10,000 for a building, which is located on the corner of Catherine and Main streets. In the meantime (1915) Van Buren and Jefferson townships had joined Milford in the library movement, and the insti- tution is now maintained by their joint support.
Great credit should be given to Miss Arilla Arnold (now Mrs. A. Pitt Bowers) who, for four years, donated her services as libra- rian, and by her personality kept the interest alive which culminated in the'erection of the beautiful building now occupied. At the pres- ent time the library comprises more than 2,100 volumes, which num- ber is being steadily augmented. Not only is the general public of Van Buren and Jefferson townships accommodated, but service is maintained in eight rural schools of that territory. The present library board is as follows: E. W. Higbee, president; C. R. Brittsan, vice president ; Mrs. Alpha Benson, secretary; Victor Fuller, Orvilla Yeager, A. J. Forbing, W. O. Scott, Mrs. F. M. Neff, Mrs. Arilla Bowers and Richard Vanderveer.
THE SCHOOL
The school at Milford was graded soon after the completion of the two-story brick building, in the fall of 1878. The first teachers were: C. P. Hodge, principal and teacher of the high school depart- ment; Miss Loisa Felkner, teacher of the intermediate department : Miss Jennie McDonald, teacher of the primary department. Alva V. Stout is the principal now in charge.
THE HIGH SCHOOL
75 1
INTERURBAN STATION
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HISTORY OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
LOCAL CHURCHES AND LODGES
The Methodists, Dunkards and German Christians all have organi- zations which have been supported for many years iu Milford. The Methodists were the first to occupy the local field, and it is believed that they organized as early as 1850. Up to the year 1861 the class was not served by any regularly appointed pastor, but services were condueted occasionally by circuit riders. Rev. J. W. Bradshaw ap- pears to have been the first preacher to be assigned to Milford, and served in 1861-62. In accord with the custom of the church his suc- cessors served only one year or two years, so that Rev. R. V. John- son, the pastor now in charge, is the thirty-seventh to occupy the pulpit of the Milford Methodist Episcopal Church since the incum- bency of Rev. J. W. Bradshaw. The society has occupied two build- ings, erected in 1866 and 1900, respectively. Its present membership is about 120.
The Christian Church (now German Christian) was organized in December, 1866, with Rev. Mr. Marshall as its first pastor and the following officers: Elders, H. P. Stanley and Jacob Felkner; dea- cons, Jonathan Weaver and C. D. Felkner. They erected a house of worship in 1867. Rev. F. A. Thomas is the pastor now in charge.
The Dunkards of Milford are strong, although divided into two societies, as elsewhere-the progressives and conservatives (Apostolic Church). The latter are chiefly Germans, and are under the pastor- ate of Rev. Edward Haab. The minister of the Progressive Dunkards is Rev. W. E. Thomas.
The most substantial of the local lodges are those which have been supported by the Odd Fellows and the Masons for many years. The former was organized in 1875 under the name of Milford Lodge No. 478, and at the present time numbers about ninety members. The Masons are not quite as strong, and the Knights of the Maccabees and the Woodmen of the World probably follow in the order men- tioned.
CHAPTER XX
HARRISON AND LAKE TOWNSHIPS
FIRST SETTLERS OF HARRISON TOWNSHIP-PALESTINE POSTOFFICE- RISE AND DECLINE OF PALESTINE-ATWOOD RISES-TOWN OF MEN- TONE-EARLY SETTLEMENT OF LAKE TOWNSHIP-OLD VILLAGE OF SILVER LAKEVILLE-SILVER LAKE OF TODAY.
Harrison Township, which is watered by Tippecanoe River in the north and by Trimble Creek in its central and southeastern sec- tions, is one of the western divisions of the county, and one of the few townships which is comparatively devoid of lakes. In the early times, when marsh lands were considered very inferior, the township was looked upon with favor by the pioneers seeking homes which could easily be improved and made productive. The small lake (little larger than a pond) on section 7, now known as Crystal, was called Woodden's Lake by the pioneers.
Palestine Lake, often spoken of as Palestine Pond, is only par- tially in Harrison Township, extending from its southeastern cor- ner into Seward Township.
FIRST SETTLERS OF HARRISON TOWNSHIP
James Woodden (after whom the lake is named) and Andrew Sell were the first settlers in the township; came from Preble County, Ohio, in the spring of 1834, and located, respectively, in sections 18 and 19, on the banks of Trimble Creek. They both remained for years and became prominent.
For two years after the arrival of Messrs. Woodden and Sell only the following, with their families, joined the settlement: Thomas Romine, Daniel and John Underhill, Thomas Reed, Joseph Snively, William Blue, Isham Summy and Christian Sarber. Phildon Ro- mine, an unmarried man, also located in the township during 1836.
PALESTINE POSTOFFICE
In 1836 the first postoffice in the township was established at the house of James Woodden, and naturally he was appointed postmas- ter. In the following year, when Palestine was laid out at the foot
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HISTORY OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
of the lake the postoffice was moved thither, with Isham Summy as postmaster.
It was also in 1836 that Daniel Underhill sold the first stock of general merchandise in Harrison Township on the site of the future town of Palestine.
Andrew Sell lost a child about this time and buried the dear one on his home farm in section 13. That fact induced him to donate a lot for burial purposes, near the location of the church which was afterward erected for the Center United Brethren.
Isham Summy erected the first mill in the township, during the year 1838, on the bank of Trimble Creek. It was both a grist and saw mill, and met two pressing needs of the settlers of the neighbor- hood.
In the same year, the first schoolhouse was erected on section 29, near the Creek, and Henry Bradley first taught therein.
RISE AND DECLINE OF PALESTINE
Palestine, now almost a deserted village, is the oldest town in Harrison Township, and one of the most ancient in the county. Lo- cated at the mouth of Trimble Creek where it emerges from Palestine Lake and at the site of a good water power, it seemed destined to become a growing center of population and a mill town of promi- nence; but after twenty years of rather steady growth and bright hopes, not to call them real prospects, the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad passed it by in favor of Atwood, farther to the north, and from that event and time date the decline of Palestine.
The village of Palestine was laid out by Isham Summy on April 20, 1837, and until the Fort Wayne Railroad was put through the county in 1854-57 promised to remain the chief supply center of the productive valley of Trimble Creek and the surrounding country for years to come.
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