USA > Indiana > White County > A standard history of White County Indiana : an authentic narrative of the past, with an extended survey of modern developments in the progress of town and county, Vol. I > Part 36
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possession of railway facilities. The war question was the vital one overtopping all others in which the citizens, not alone in Monticello and Reynolds, but the whole country, were deeply interested, and until it was finally determined, county seat and other minor questions were relegated to the rear and almost, if not entirely, forgotten for the time being.
FOURTH AND FIFTH ADDITIONS
"The fourth addition to Monticello was made April 13, 1860, when George Snyder, one of the first settlers, who owned a farm adjoining the town on the north, made his addition of eight lots on the north side of the railroad and fronting on the right of way.
"The fifth addition was made by Sylvanus Van Voorst and called by him the West addition. It consisted of two tiers of lots lying between the extension of Main Cross street on the south and North street on the north. There were thirty-six lots in this addition, with street sixty feet in width between, running the entire length of the addition. This street was named Julia Ann street at the suggestion of Professor George Bow- man, who had before purchased a small tract of ground fronting on Main Cross street and on the west side of the new street, where he lived when the addition was made. The name has since been changed to Dewey street, in honor of Admiral Dewey, the hero of Manila."
GEORGE W. EWING A SITE OWNER
Among the land owners of what has become a portion of the site of Monticello and which was acquired before the first incorporation of the town in 1853, none was so widely known as George W. Ewing, of Fort Wayne. He laid the foundation of a large fortune in trade with the Indians of the Northwest, and, in the course of his negotiations and travels, invested his profits in real estate at St. Louis, Chicago (when it was a frontier town), Fort Wayne and many other sections in Indiana. Mr. Ewing acquired title to large tracts in White County, embracing land covering what is now known as the Dreifus and Haugh addition. He was a man of courtly carriage and conveyed the impression, which was fully borne out by acquaintance, of great breadth and strength of character. He had the sagacity, energy and patience not only to estab- lish an immense and widely extended trade with the Indians in their native homes, but to follow them to the reservations allotted by the Gov- ernment, and, with the perfected business machinery and tried person- ality of his establishments, continue the dealings with them commenced in a former generation. This policy made it necessary for him to spend much of his time in Washington, giving personal attention to his claims and treaty interests. Another portion of the year he spent in journeys of inspection among his western trading posts, and the third, in visits to his old friends at Fort Wayne and in other portions of Indiana, includ- ing Monticello. He was an especial friend of David Turpie, who largely looked after his real estate interests at the county seat. Mr. Ewing had
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much public influence and in his earlier years was somewhat active in state politics. But his mental and physical energy was too great to be confined even to Indiana.
SECOND AND MORE STABLE CORPORATION
Notwithstanding the drains of the Civil war, Monticello continued to increase in population and business, the "boom period" of stimulated industries and inflated prices affecting it, as elsewhere in the country secure from the actual ravages of the armed conflict. In 1862 the town incorporation was effected under which the local government was con- ducted for over half a century. That important step was taken mainly through the persistent efforts of Alfred R. Orton, son of a prominent lawyer and public man of Perry County, Ohio, and himself a prominent merchant of Monticello at the time it became an incorporated town. He afterward became county surveyor. He is yet an honored resident of Monticello.
In response to a petition numerously signed and presented to the Board of County Commissioners, that body ordered an election to be held at the courthouse, in April, 1862, for the first town officials, and it resulted as follows: A. Hanawalt, Z. VanBuskirk, James Wallace, John Saunders and D. K. Ream, trustees; W. H. Parcels, treasurer and marshal, and Milton M. Sill, clerk and assessor. Richard Brown was the first school trustee.
The subsequent history of Monticello, after its more permanent in- corporation as a town, is given in the chapter which follows, which also embraces sketches of religious, social and benevolent organizations the record of which, in some cases, antedates the life of the 1862 town by many years.
CHAPTER XXIV
TOWN AND CITY
TOWN BACKS A NEW SCHOOL-THE OLD HIGH SCHOOL-PIONEERS OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM-LEGAL COMPLICATIONS-HOW THE SNARL WAS UNTANGLED - SUPERINTENDENT J. W. HAMILTON - BETTER TOWN SCHOOLS-PRESENT HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING STA- TISTICS OF THE PRESENT-SUPERINTENDENTS AND TEACHERS-THE GRADES BUILDINGS-SYSTEM AS A WHOLE-MONTICELLO PUBLIC LIBRARY-GOOD WATER AND A GOOD SYSTEM-THE TELEPHONE EX- CHANGE-RIVERVIEW PARK-THE REYNOLDS ADDITIONS-TURNER'S ADDITION - CLEVELAND STREET CREATED - HUGHES' ADDITION - COCHELL'S AND FRASER'S ADDITION-MCCUAIG'S ADDITION-DREIFUS AND HAUGH'S ADDITION-MCLEAN AND BREARLEY'S ADDITION-LATER ADDITIONS TO THE TOWNSITE-CITIZENS' ADDITION-ADDITIONS TO THE CITY-CITY HALL-IMPROVEMENTS OF WATER POWER-PRESENT-DAY INDUSTRIES-FOUR BANKS-STATE BANK OF MONTICELLO-MONTI- CELLO NATIONAL BANK-WHITE COUNTY LOAN, TRUST AND SAVINGS COMPANY-FARMERS' STATE BANK.
For several years after the permanent incorporation of the Town of Monticello its population increased quite rapidly, and there was prog- ress all along the line. Such members of the Board of Trustees as Samuel Heckendorn, David McCuaig, W. S. Haymond and John Saun- ders; William Reese, the treasurer and marshal; D. D. Dale, A. W. Reynolds and Robert Gregory, clerks, and other town officials, did what they could to regulate the health and morals of the new town, and in March, 1869, the Town Board approved articles of association which brought into being the Monticello Hook and Ladder Company. The fire fighters were, of course, all volunteers and relied upon buckets and the Tippecanoe River, with such wells as private citizens had at their disposal. But it was a start in the direction of protection against fire- the department, and the ordinances in force of a precautionary nature.
TOWN BACKS A NEW SCHOOL
The educational system of the town had been mainly advanced through the private labors of such citizens as Prof. George Bowman and Rev. William Irelan, but in the year 1869 the school trustees be- stirred themselves as an official body and presented a petition to the Town Board praying that a specified amount of corporate bonds should be issued to defray the expense of constructing a new school building ; Vol. 1-20
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Courtesy of Monticello Herald
HIGH SCHOOL AFTER FIRE OF AUGUST 25, 1905
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HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY
whereupon, on motion of W. S. Haymond, the following ordinance was passed :
"Section 1-Bt it ordained by the Trustees of the Incorporated Town of Monticello, White County, Indiana, That for the purpose of advancing educational interests in the town and county aforesaid, the Board of Trustees hereby order issued to the School Trustees of Monticello twenty thousand dollars worth of coupon bonds of the denomination of one hun- dred dollars each, with interest at the rate of ten per cent per annum from date; and the interest on said bonds is to be paid by the Treasurer of said corporation, at his office in said town; and said bonds are made redeemable at the pleasure of said corporation after two years and within ten years after the issue thereof.
"Section 2-It is declared that an emergency exists for the imme- diate taking effect of this ordinance; therefore it shall be in force from and after its passage."
THE OLD HIGH SCHOOL
The bonds were issued and sold and with the proceeds the old high school building on West Broadway was erected. At that time it was one of the finest brick schoolhouses in Northwestern Indiana. The first term in the new building began in September, 1870, the school trustees then being Harrison P. Anderson, William S. Haymond and Charles W. Kendall. I. M. Gross was principal, and his assistants were Albert S. Nordyke, James M. McBeth, Annie Henderson and Lodie Reed.
PIONEERS OF THE PUBLIC SYSTEM
During the first twenty years of corporate existence, the school trus- tees of the town included Richard Brown, H. P. Anderson, J. A. Wood, A. Hanawalt, Ira Kingsbury, W. S. Davis, Lucius Pierce, M. A. Kerr, W. J. Gridley, William Davis, C. W. Kendall, A. W. Reynolds, J. S. Hurtt, Thomas Bushnell, F. M. Mullendore, Robert J. Clark, M. M. Sill, S. B. Bushnell, J. H. McCollum, Samuel Heckendorn, W. S. Bushnell and J. B. Smith. Besides I. M. Gross, the principals of the school dur- ing that period were J. A. VanLandingham, J. R. Owens and J. G. Royer, who, with the school trustees named, placed the public school system of education on a fair basis.
LEGAL COMPLICATIONS
The efforts of the school authorities were considerably retarded, even disorganized, by the financial complication growing out of the $20,000 bond issue through which the handsome new building was completed. Under the ordinance authorizing their issue the interest was fixed at 10 per cent, and the time limit at ten years. As the limitation approached, the citizens became less and less inclined to pay that high rate of in-
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terest, and in 1878 measures were taken to refund the bonds at 7 per cent. New paper to the amount of $21,000 was issued and placed in the hands of Joseph C. Wilson, a leading director of the First National Bank of Monticello. He sold the bonds, but the non-appearance of the funds caused the citizens to voice their uneasiness through the columns of the local press. Through the united efforts of people and press Mr. Wilson was placed under bonds, a precaution which had not before been taken. Notwithstanding which, the First National closed its doors, Mr. Wilson departed for Canada, and the Town of Monticello was left with a bonded school debt of about $40,000, of which $21,000 was drawing 7 per cent interest and the balance 10 per cent.
Then ensued a tangle of legal complications. Suit was first instituted against Wilson's bondsmen and then against M. L. Bundy, receiver of the First National Bank, to recover $10,000 alleged to have been de- posited by Wilson as a portion of the proceeds realized from the bond sales. About $7,000 was recovered by the latter suit, but nothing from the former.
HOW THE SNARL WAS UNTANGLED
The town next decided to resist the payment of both interest and principal of the refunded bonds, and suit was therefore brought against the corporation by A. L. Merrill, representing the bond holders, to col- lect the full amount guaranteed on the face of those securities. The court decided that the new refunded bonds were invalid, upon the fol- lowing ground: "Municipal corporations have no power to issue or make commercial paper. That power must come from the Legislature. The town had no authority at the time to refund its debt."
This was the decision of the United States Supreme Court in an action on the bonds, and not in an action for money had and received, regardless of the validity of the bonds. The court held that there being no express statutory authorization of the bond issue they were void as being issued ultra vires. Merrill vs. Monticello, 138 U. S. 673. This is known as a ruling case on this proposition of law decided in 1891. After this decision holding these bonds void Merrill, for himself and other bond holders, on November 4, 1892, commenced a new suit in the United States District Court at Indianapolis, seeking to recover the amount of the bonds in another form of action, known as a bill in equity, to require the Town of Monticello to pay over the proceeds of the bonds, to charge the town, as trustee, with the sum of $6,988.43 recovered by it, and also to compel the town to assign the bond given by Wilson to account for the money realized by him from the sale of bonds.
The town defended on this grounds, to-wit: Want of equity, six- year statute of limitations, and general laches, which defense was sus- tained, and Merrill appealed to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh District at Chicago, when in 1896 this decision of the United States District Court was sustained.
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SUPERINTENDENT J. W. HAMILTON
Thus, after years of litigation, matters were finally adjusted in the courts, and the schools progressed through it all. To no one person were the improvements more indebted than to John W. Hamilton, who became superintendent in 1889 and continued as such for more than twenty years. Under his administration the high school courses were expanded to modern breadth, and the South Side School was erected on South Main Street. To meet the demands of the growing town the old high school building had been doubled in capacity, and, with its destruc- tion by fire on August 25, 1905, had been replaced by the massive struc- ture still occupied.
FIRST BIG SCHOOL IN A FEED STABLE
In its historical edition of December 8, 1910, the Herald has the fol- lowing interesting paper on the Monticello schools :
"In nothing does Monticello show a greater contrast between past and present than in her schools. It is within the memory of citizens still living when the 'select school' was our only dependence-when a sub- scription paper was circulated to hire a teacher, and if there were not enough signers there was no school. Up to 1859 schools were held wher- ever a temporary room could be found. One of the first, if not the first, was held in a building on the bluff long since torn down. It was on the site of the present Nordyke property, and its existence is now almost a tradition. Other schools were taught in the 'old court house' (now Cowger's feed store), in upper rooms of the Commercial Block, in the old Kendall building on the site now occupied by the Baker-Uhl build- ing, and at private residences.
"About 1859 the township trustees, then three in number, leased the old building still standing in the rear of the Hotel Forbis and occupied by Job Wickersham as a feed stable. Previous to that time it had been used as a warehouse for the storage of grain. When plastered and par- titioned off, with two rooms below and one above, and equipped with home-made desks and a bell, which surmounted the comb of the roof without belfry or other protection, it was regarded as a palatial institute of learning and served its purpose well for about ten years. Here George Bowman conducted the first graded school in Monticello, and here many of the present residents of Monticello, now from 50 to 70 years old, got most of their education.
BETTER TOWN SCHOOLS
"In 1869 a more pretentious building was erected on the site of the present high school building. Years later it was enlarged by an addi- tion on the east to meet the demands of the growing school population. In 1891 an additional building was erected on South Main street, which still accommodates the lower grades of that part of the city.
.
Courtesy of C. L. Foster
HIGH SCHOOL, NORTH AND SOUTH VIEWS
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HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY
PRESENT HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING
"In August, 1905, fire destroyed the high school building, and it was restored by the erection of the present imposing structure. The first floor of this building is set apart for the lower grades. It contains seven commodious and well lighted grade rooms-three on the south side of the corridor, two on the north side, and two in the east end of the build- ing, each with a cloak room adjoining and each equipped with a cabinet for supplies.
"On the second floor at the east end of the building is an assembly room with a floor dimension of 55 by 60 feet, and a rostrum on the west side. Adjoining this room on the west and occupying the place of the old office is a library room. Next is a suite of three office rooms ap- proached through one vestibule. The superintendent's room is 16 by 25 feet in size. Perhaps the most striking feature of the whole building is the reception room on this floor, which takes the place of the old dark corridor. Here is a hall 16 by 60 feet in size, well lighted from above and flanked on the south side by a cloak room extending its full length and separated from the main room only by a low wall, from which col- umns rise at intervals to the ceiling. South of this are two large reci- tation rooms and one grade room. The latter is in the southwest corner of the building and is used by the eighth grade. On the north side are three recitation rooms.
"On the third floor are the physical, chemical and biological labora- tories, three large rooms with the necessary laboratory equipment, plumb. ing, etc. These rooms connect with a lecture room on the same floor, which is lighted with a skylight and furnished with raised seats, making a delightful little amphitheater.
"All the rooms in the building are well lighted and well arranged, and nobody can view the work of the architects without realizing that they understood all the modern requirements in school architecture. Every sanitary precaution has been observed, and even the blackboards are provided with closed troughs which receive the chalk dust and pre- vent it from circulating in the rooms. Toilet rooms are on every floor and also in the basement. Each floor is also supplied with sanitary drinking fountains.
"The basement contains the heating plant. The air is heated by steam coils and forced to every part of the building by a ten-foot revolv- ing fan. This is supplemented by steam radiators in different parts of the building. Every room is supplied with an automatic heat regu- lator, by which the temperature may be kept at any degree desired by simply turning a button. The whole building is lighted with electric lights.
"In the basement, besides the space used for the heating plant and toilet rooms, there are several large rooms that are utilized for play . rooms in bad weather and for luncheon rooms. One room in the northwest corner is especially well lighted and will be used hereafter for work in the manual training department."
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HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY
STATISTICS OF THE PRESENT
The schools of Monticello are now under the superintendency of James M. Leffel, who succeeded Mr. C. F. Jackman in 1914. The system is maintained at the high standard required by the educator of today, and the following figures indicate its present status: Enrollment, 600; average attendance, 498; number of pupils in the high school, 170; num- ber in the fifth to eighth grammar grades, inclusive, 189; number in the first to fourth primary grades, inclusive, 241. The average attendance at the high school building on West Broadway is: High school, 151; grades, 271; and at the South Side School, 76.
SUPERINTENDENTS AND TEACHERS
Superintendents since 1883: J. G. Royer, - Sinclair, B. F. Moore, J. W. Hamilton (1890-1912), C. F. Jackman, and James M. Leffel.
Present high school faculty: J. M. Leffel, superintendent, physics; H. E. Elder, principal and teacher of science; Miss Grace Lowe, domestic science ; J. H. Bachtenkircher, penmanship; Miss Louise Miller, music and art, and Perry Patmore, manual training and agriculture, also super- visors for grades and high school; A. R. Staggs, history and physiology ; Miss Ethel Roberts, Latin and English; G. W. Gray, public speaking; Miss Emma Shealy, English, and C. T. Steward, mathematics.
West building teachers: Grade 1, Miss Ora Orton, 38 pupils; grade 2, Miss Blanche Cullem, 40 pupils; grade 3, Miss Margaret Roach; grade 4, Miss Lida Wigmore; grade 5, Miss Mary Laurie ; grade 6, Miss Flossie Thompson ; grade 7, Miss Isabel O'Dowd ; grade 8, J. F. Duncan.
South building teachers : Grade 1, Miss Jennie Burns ; grade 2, Miss Martha Watts.
Possibly the most important departure of the school policy is the establishment of vocational training as a part of the high school curric- ulum. In September, 1915, a course in vocational agriculture was offered to all students who care to prepare themselves for scientific farming. Students will be allowed to enter this department who do not care to take work in any other branches offered in the high school. Students taking the regular high school course will be allowed to take work in the agricultural department. Mr. O. E. Ackerson, who is employed for the calendar year, will spend his time on the farms or truck gardens in the city, working with the agricultural students during the summer months while school is not in session. School authorities are very anxious that great benefit may come to the whole county from this new project.
THE GRADES BUILDINGS
The west building was originally erected in July, 1869. It was burned in August, 1905, and immediately rebuilt at an approximate cost of $50,000.
The south building was completed in February, 1892, at a cost of $10,000.
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SYSTEM AS A WHOLE
The Monticello public schools are equipped with commodious build- ings, which comply with all the requirements of the state laws regarding school structures. The school has thorough equipment throughout the grades and high school.
Since 1914 the school has been a member of the North Central Asso- ciation of Colleges and Secondary Schools. The association maintains high standards of scholarship for instructors, requires thorough equip- ment of laboratories, limits sizes of classes, requires a broad curriculum and a wholesome school spirit in all schools belonging to the association. All graduates of high schools in the association are admitted to colleges in the West and many in the East without entrance examinations.
THE MONTICELLO PUBLIC LIBRARY
In the early part of the year of 1903 some little agitation was started with reference to a public library. J. W. Hamilton, superintendent of the public schools, contributed occasional articles to the newspapers. setting forth its need and urging that some action be taken in the matter. Assisted by the ministers of the churches, particularly the Rev. H. G. Rice, of the Presbyterian Church, Mr. Hamilton succeeded in interesting the business men. As a result, a subscription paper was started, and fifty-two men, each subscribing $8.00, made the $416 required by law for the organizing of a public library.
Under the law of March 4, 1904, the following persons were ap- pointed to serve as a board of trustees : W. H. Hamelle and Mrs. T. F. Palmer, appointed by the town council; J. W. Hamilton and Mrs. M. T. Didlake, by the school board, and Dr. J. D. McCann, Mrs. E. R. Brown and Miss Anne Magee by the judge of the Circuit Court.
These persons met in the county clerk's office and were duly qualified on the evening of April 6, 1903. An organization was formed by elect- ing W. H. Hamelle, president ; Mrs. M. T. Didlake, vice president ; Mrs. T. F. Palmer, secretary, and Miss Anne Magee, treasurer. Miss Magee was appointed to collect the subscription, and she proved a successful collector.
The county commissioners, represented by Messrs. Inskeep and Ball, tendered the use of the two northwest rooms on the ground floor of the courthouse for the library until permanent quarters were obtained. One of the first steps taken by the board was to have these rooms put in proper condition for library purposes. Miss Mercia Hogland, who was then state organizer of the Public Library Commission, made some suggestions in regard to the furnishing.
The floors of both rooms were covered with plain brown linoleum, and the first room to be used as a stack and circulating room was papered in a soft shade of tan. Shelves were placed on three side walls, and a kitchen table was bought of E. R. Brown to serve for a charging desk. The record room, to be used for a reading room, was papered in plain
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dark green. The furniture consisted of a magazine case made by George Coen, a leather top library table, and a half dozen chairs.
On April 28, 1906, Miss Hogland was invited to meet with and advise the board as to the proper course to pursue. She advised the adoption of the Dewey decimal system of classification, named the qualifications to be considered in electing a librarian, and discussed the question of books. W. H. Hamelle presented a list of seventy books, from which fifty were to be selected by the board as a gift from his private library.
It was decided to canvass the town for like donations, and a circular letter, which read as follows, was sent to each citizen: "The members of the library board wish to assure you that no effort is being spared to put the Monticello Public Library upon a substantial and permanent footing. The people are manifesting a lively interest in the enterprise,
PUBLIC LIBRARY, MONTICELLO
and they are exceedingly anxious to see the library opened to the public at the earliest possible day.
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