USA > Indiana > Elkhart County > A twentieth century history and biographical record of Elkhart County, Indiana > Part 14
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There are two churches in Waterford, the Christian and the Meth-
OLD JACKSON RESIDENCE, IN JACKSON TOWNSHIP PART OF THIS HOUSE WAS BUILT BY COL. JOHN JACKSON IN 1832
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odist. The former, whose pastor is now Rev. Stewart, is one of the oldest churches in the county, having been organized at Benton in Octo- ber, 1842, shortly afterward moved to a log schoolhouse west of Water- ford, and in 1853 a house of worship was erected in the village. The Methodist, which no longer has regular services, except Sunday-school, was founded here perhaps as long ago as the late thirties, and a building was erected in 1842. At one time there was a Presbyterian congrega- tion in the village. Waterford has a pretty two-story brick schoolhouse, erected 111 1898 by Trustee Hess. There are four teachers.
JACKSON TOWNSHIP'S CENTERS.
An entire chapter, if not a good-sized book, might be compiled from the historical data which one or two townships of Elkhart county furnish. This is true of Jackson township, and at this point the historian is prompted to be diffuse and speak of many matters which concern not so much the centers of the township as the township at large. This town- ship furnished some of the most interesting personalities in the county's history, and upon their life work and character as a foundation has been. built up the prosperous community which we now know as Jackson town- ship. Col. Jolin Jackson, the sturdy old soldier-pioneer, after whom the township was named, one of the first. if not the first, permanent settlers here, is mentioned at length in various parts of this work, and for the more intimate relation of his family record the reader is referred to the sketch of his grandson, Frank Jackson, who resides on the very home- stead which was occupied by the colonel three quarters of a century ago. Elsewhere will also be found the life history of that other forceful char- acter. Mark B. Thompson, so prominently and early identified with this township, and whose son, Hon. John E. Thompson, is still with us, one of the oldest and most honored of the county's citizens. The Rodi- baughs, Weybrights, Wylands. Rippeys, and others who were the foun- dation stones and pillars of the early progress and upbuilding in the town- ship, are given space on other pages. According to the original pur- poses of this chapter we must here confine our attention to those places in the township which have served or do serve as centers of population or social and business life.
Leaving aside from our present consideration the centralizing of interests which was brought about to such an important degree in this township by the church communities of the German Baptists and the Methodists, we have to deal with only two centers. In recording the
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history of these two centers there is found a course of development sim- ilar to that which marks the centers of Goshen and Waterford, especially in the circumstance that the older and more particularly industrial center of Jackson township in time yielded precedence, in population. business activity and most other respects to its younger and more prosperous neighbor.
Here, as elsewhere, the presence of convenient and good water- power was the factor which determined the location of the first industrial center. The Elkhart river flows through the northeast corner of the township, and its swift current early invited a utilization of its wasting force. There was the power, and all around were the magnificent for- ests of lumber trees. In 1831, only a year after Elkhart county came into organized existence, a Mr. Ingle built a sawmill near the dividing line between Benton and Jackson townships, and not long after Mr. Jonathan Wyland constructed a mill race on the southwest side of the river, in section 2, and with his sawmill laid the foundation of the village which through the succeeding years has been known by various names-Wyland's Mills, simply The Mills, and, now more generally. Baintertown. This is another practically " deserted village." through which the traveler in Elkhart county may pass and, by the vestiges that survive the passage of time, hardly suspect the industrial activity which once characterized the place. Mr. Wyland soon built a grist mill and did custom work for many years. Old settlers tell how the ten-acre field about the mill would often be filled with the wheat and corn wagons driven here from all directions, and often the teamsters would be com- pelled to camp here a week before their turn would come to unload the grain into the hopper. Mr. Wyland sold to a man named Bainter, and the mill has had various owners, and of course has been remodeled and changed to suit the changing times, until, having been newly equipped about twenty years ago. it is now known as the New Paris Mills and is owned by Mr. William Reddin ( see his sketch). . \ woolen factory, two wagon shops, a postoffice, and various other institutions belonging to a village community have existed here in the past, but the above- mentioned mill is now the only concern that differentiates this place from any other rural vicinity. Baintertown has declined as New Paris has ascended in the scale of commercial prosperity, and, situated only a mile cr two apart, the former is little more than an industrial adjunct of the latter.
At the junction of the Wabash and Big Four Railroads, located in
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the midst of a rich agricultural region, is situated the village of New Paris, one of the oldest centers in the county. New Paris is not a large place, its population according to the most recent estimate being four hundred and ninety-seven persons, but in many important particulars it deserves consideration among the trade and residential centers of the county.
New Paris has an excellent school system, a substantial brick school- house of four rooms, and the principal for the term ending in the spring of 1905 was Mr. Frank Swartz. Three churches afford opportunities for religious observanee-the Evangelical, whose minister is the Rev. Spangler ; the Methodist, presided over by Rev. Wilkinson (see chapter on churches), and the Progressives (a branch of the Dunkards), with no regular minister. There is a Ladies' Missionary Society maintained by the ladies of the Methodist denomination. There is one fraternal order. the Modern Woodinen, whose camp was founded December, 1904. and now has twenty-three members. John Reddin general consul.
New Paris, by its convenient situation on two railroad lines, has become a good shipping point for the grain and stock products of the surrounding country. The Big Four Railroad (then known as Cincin- nati, Wabash and Michigan) was completed through this point in 1870. and in the winter of 1892-3 the first trains began running over the Wa- bash. Mr. William Cart ships several carloads of stock from New Paris each week. Wheat, oats, corn and stock are the principal products of the surrounding country. A grain elevator was constructed about four years ago. To take care of the dairymen's products Mr. Greena- wault is erecting a creamery. Fisher Brothers have a private bank ; there are three general stores, an undertaking establishment, a hardware, implement and lumber establishment, a tinning and roofing shop. one barber shop, a restaurant and lunch room, two butcher shops, a drug store, a livery stable, and one hotel, whose proprietor, Mrs. E. G. Blanchard, is one of the old residents of the town and county, and the hotel building has been her home for thirty-seven years. The citizens of New Paris talk among themselves and with the surrounding country by means of the Bell. the Farmers' Mutual and the Home Telephone Companies.
The postmaster is George W. Cart. New Paris is a rural delivery center for three mail routes. There is no newspaper published at the present time in the village.
In the medical profession New Paris is represented by Dr. James
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Matthews and Drs. Walters & Brothers. Jackson Pickering is the pres- ent justice of the peace, and Frank McFarren constable. The village is not yet incorporated, hence an integral part of Jackson township govern- ment. Charles Rohrer being present township trustee.
The early history of New Paris begins about 1838, when the village was laid out by Isaac . Abshire and Enoch Wright, the former of whom was a settler here in 1829 and the latter in 1834. Each of these men owned a hundred and sixty acres, the east and west road dividing the farms, and each set aside part of his land for village lots. The first postmaster was Joseph Cowan, and the story goes that he kept the mail in a sugar bowl, the contents of which he would carefully examine when- ever anyone inquired for his mail. Among the early business men were : David Parrot, who had a dry-goods store: Elkanah Hoffman, the first blacksmith: T. Divinnie, the tailor and the first hotel proprietor : John Berry and Mr. Cashner: W. C. Matchett, the first physician. The first settler on the site of the town was Frederick Harriman. Abram Blanch- ard, the father of E. G. Blanchard, settled just east of town in 1836 and built the first brick house in this vicinity. He was the first man to bury a child in the cemetery just east of town, and he built a rail fence around the little mound in order to keep the wolves from digging up the body.
E. G. Blanchard, who has lived here since 1836 and is now past seventy, being the oldest resident of the town, speaks interestingly of several phases of early life in this part of the county. Laban Lacy, who was one of the early settlers about New Paris and who broke up a great deal of the land in this vicinity, introduced into this section, according to Mr. Blanchard, the first grain separator. bringing it from Buffalo. Up to that time the " chaff-piler " had been used as the successor of the Hail. This was a mere cylinder worked by four horsepower or tread- mill, and although by this means the grain was beaten out, the straw and grain were piled together and had to be separated by means of fanning. Mr. Frank Jackson says that after the chaff-piler came the traveling thresher-a prototype of the modern "headers " so much in use in the great wheat countries. Six horses drew this machine around the field. threshing out ten bushels at a time and emptying the grain on a canvas, leaving the straw scattered all over the field. This threshing device was operated by a bull wheel.
The first schoolhouse at New Paris, of logs, was located just oppo- site from where the hardware store now stands. John McGrew was the first teacher.
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UNION TOWNSHIP.
Union township is pre-eminent for its agriculture. Much of it is park-like in its landscapic beauty, and the fertility of its soil is known far and wide. If we except the city of Nappanee, part of which lies in section 31 of this township, there was no community center of any im- portance until recent years. The observer is struck by the number of churches which can be found along the highways, so that at least one is in sight at almost every point in the township. This suggests that the worthy people of this part of the county, being entirely rural in their occupations and manners of living, have relied upon the commercial centers outside of the township for material supplies, while their social and spiritual needs have all been satisfied by their churches. Certainly one would go far to find a more generally intelligent and progressive class of people than those in this township, and homes, schoolhouses, farmsteads and every other factor that would furnish a basis for judg- ment indicate their prosperity and material welfare.
To single out only one of these rural localities for specific mention at this point, there is in section 22 a little rural community which has long been known as Stumptown. This appellation has nothing to do with the material appearance of the place, but was given in honor of Abram Stump, who, some sixty years ago, taking advantage of a small watercourse in that vicinity, constructed a dam and built a mill. A sawmill is still maintained at this point, though run by steam power. Several old buildings survive from the era of prosperity, among them a log house of hewn timbers, plastered chinks and clapboard roof, which dates back to the real pioneer period. An old store building still stands on the west side of the road, a weather-dimmed sign in front indicating a commercial enterprise under the title of "Union Valley Groceries. Dry-goods, Boots and Shoes Store." The sawmill is now operated by P. W. Hollar. At the crossroads north of the mill stands the Dunkard church, across the road from which the city of the dead tells, by its large number of mounds and many crumbling headstones, the long-con- tinned existence of this community center better than more vital facts could.
In 1892, when the Wabash Railroad cut through the northeastern corner of Union township, two enterprising business men-Messrs. Blosser and Bechtel, the former of Waterford and the latter of Waka- rusa-began the promotion of a new business center in that portion of the township. The name given to this village was Foraker, and it has
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enjoyed, during the thirteen years of its existence, a very considerable degree of prosperity and will no doubt in time be one of the important towns of the county. The village was platted on the land of Samuel Yoder, and there are now about twenty-five families who claim resi- dence in Foraker. There is one general store, P. B. Bollinger, pro- prietor; M. T. Miller has a store and the postoffice ; there is a creamery station, a branch to the Freese creamery in Nappanee; two blacksmith shops; Dr. M. T. Brumbaugh is the physician. Three trains stop at the station, and there is unusual business activity for a place of the size.
LOCKE.
Locke township, which was not organized until the forties, but which in the character of its citizens has long since made up for its tardy beginning, has experienced considerable diversity in the move- ment of its population toward community centers. The records men- tion a union church, built on section 22, which served as a foeus for the people of the surrounding region. Another center was the first store, which was established by John Wolfe where the village of Locke is now situated. As to the first postoffice the records are not clear. In De- cember, 1847. the Goshen Democrat has an item which states the estab- lishment of a new office in Locke township, called " Locke." and Daniel McCoy postmaster. The postoffice was known also as " Five Points " and under different postmasters had different locations. Previous to its removal to the village of Loeke the office was occupied by Solomon Berlin, who was the incumbent from 1861 to 1869. The Berlin home- stead is situated half a mile east and one mile north of the present village of Loeke.
The village of Locke tells another story of vanished prestige and the " survival of the fittest." Laid out about 1867 in section 24 by George W. Ebv. M. H. Morlan and L. B. Winder, its history for several years was that of a flourishing town, with a future which would place it among the leading towns of the county. At one time its business interests were substantially these: Three dry-goods stores, one drug store, one grocery store, one hardware store, one tin shop, one furniture store, two boot and shoe shops, two sawmills, one shingle mill, one wagon shop, one steam grist and flouring mill, three blacksmith shops, a hotel. public school. a church, three physicians, and about forty dwellings. Located on high and rolling land. it no doubt seemed the acme of eligi- bility as a site for a large center.
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When the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was constructed the ad- vantages that might accrue to the road from having a station at Locke were disregarded, and the line was built two miles to the south. Nap- panee was laid out, and with the help of the railroad grew rapidly and soon overmatched its rival on the north. Locke could not hold its own even as an agricultural town, and its business interests soon were at- tracted to Nappanee or quietly passed away where they were. Twenty- five years ago Locke was still regarded as a commercial center of some importance. Now there are perhaps twenty-five or thirty people resid- ing within the original limits of the village. At the date of this writing a small store building had just been erected by E. J. Pippenger, who accordingly has the honor of being the sole representative of business activity in the place. With the establishment of rural delivery the post- office also was taken away. A part of the old flour mill still stands, but many of the business houses were moved away entire. Religious and educational advantages still make the locality somewhat of a center. The United Brethren church holds services every two weeks, and there is an excellent district school, in which many of the best teachers in the county have obtained their education. There are two teachers, Miss Catherine Chamberlain having been principal of the school during the past year. The pretty brick school building was erected in 1890. The oldest resi- dent of Locke community at the present time is Martin Robinson. Locke used to bear the name of Whistlertown.
The history of the city of Nappanee, which appropriately could be considered in the centers of Locke township, is deserving of such ex- tended notice that place will be given for that purpose on later following pages.
WAKARUS.A.
Wakarusa has for half a century been the principal center of Olive township. During the greater part of this period it existed as a " coun- try town." without railroad advantages, and the fact that it grew and prospered and was a busy trading and industrial village even without a railroad indicates the enterprise of its citizens and the high character of its surrounding population. Nearly twenty-five years ago the directory of the town's institutions contained the following: Four churches, Methodist, Lutheran, Christian, Baptist; two-story brick schoolhouse; one stave and heading factory; one saw and planing mill; two wagon and carriage factories; two harness shops, two drug stores, three shoe
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shops, two dry-goods stores, one hardware and implement, one furniture store, one grist mill, two blacksmith shops, a meat market, a hotel, a millinery store, barber shop, saloon, two physicians, veterinary surgeon, and nearly four hundred people.
During the first ten years after Olive township was organized there were no centers of population other than the log schoolhouses. In 1849 a postoffice, known as Mt. Olive, was established in Harvey Bly's log cabin, two and a half miles north of the present Wakarusa. In that primitive postoffice was born the wife of Mr. George Nusbaum, the pres- ent postmaster of Wakarusa, and as Mrs. Nusbaum is her husband's assistant the Bly family has been identified, first and last, with Uncle Sam's affairs in this vicinity for over fifty-five years.
In 1852 a village was platted where Wakarusa now stands, and was given the name of Salem, the original plat being made by Messrs. Holdeman, Smeltzer and Pletcher. When the Mt. Olive postoffice was moved to this place, there at once arose difficulties in consequence of there being another Salem in the state. After a period of confusion in postal matters, the citizens assembled in town meeting and voted a new name. At this meeting, which was held in 1850. Mr. Jacob Dell, then a hoy in his teens, was present, and he remembers many of the pros and cons of the discussion which preceded the change of name. Mr. Wool- verton finally proposed the name of Wakarusa, which was the name of a place in Kansas of which he had been a resident, and this designation was finally adopted. Wakarusa is an Indian word whose meaning, ac- cording to the best authorities, is " knee deep in mud." It was owing to the consistency of this name with the nature of the boggy soil on which the village was located that the decision of the majority of the citizens finally favored the present title.
William Moon was the first settler on the site of Wakarusa, build- ing his house near what is known as the " fish pond." Thomas Inks and Jackson Woolverton are mentioned as the first merchants, the Lutherans built the first church, and the first public school was erected about 1856, subscription schools having been in vogue up to that time. Of the old- est residents who are still living. it is fitting to mention Samuel Kline. who is now past eighty and has lived here over fifty years; Mrs. Lucinda M. (Stevens) Woolverton, the mother of Dr. Woolverton, is now in her eighties, and it was her husband who named the town. Mrs. Pamelia (Pitts) Grove has the double distinction of being one of the oldest women in the county and of living in the oldest house in Waka-
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rusa-the frame structure on the west side of Elkhart street near the business section. She was the first child born in Locke township, about seventy-five years ago. Other old-timers are Anthony Myers, David H. Pletcher. Mrs. Mary A. Young, Mrs. Abraham Lechlitner. Abraham Weldly, Isaac Letherman.
The twentieth century Wakarusa affords many attractions as a place of residence and is a business center whose importance is growing every year. The census of 1900 gave 917 inhabitants, and it is now estimated that there are not many short of twelve hundred. To afford permanent representation of the business activity as found in 1905, we make a list of the persons and firms who are identified with the various phases of business, professional and industrial affairs :
Wakarusa Exchange Bank, a private bank, established for fifteen years ; Jeremiah Bechtel, proprietor, and H. M. Freed. cashier. Frash Brothers, general merchandise. Ketring & Warner and Yoder Brothers, hardware. General stores-A. C. Lehman, Melvin Yarian, George W. Swartz. Wakarusa Bargain Store, Kilmer's Market Place. Wakarusa Coal and Lumber Co., Fred Trisinger and Jacob Walters, proprietors, manufacturers of the cement building blocks. Dell sawmill. J. H. Dell. manufacturing hardwood lumber from local trees. Wakarusa Milling Co., established in 1895. Jacob Weldy, principal stockholder. Waka- rusa Machine and Iron Works, Walmer Brothers and Gall. Wakarusa creamery. Two restaurants, three barber shops, two hotels. one livery. two drug stores, two millinery shops, one tailor shop, three harness and vehicle establishments, three implement dealers. two jewelers, three saloons, two blacksmith shops, one butcher shop, one tin shop. E. F. Leinhart and Yoder Brothers, undertaking and furniture; T. A. Freed. shoe store; building contractors. Dave Moyer. John Hoover. Frank Doriot ; Elliot and Brenneman, stockmen ; P. J. Kaufman, poultry dealer. The professions are represented by four physicians. Drs. A. S. Sensenich, LaMar Knepple. S. C. Knepple and Bauman; dentist. Dr. Sanderson; lawyers. F. W. Brown, S. C. Harrington, J. B. Stewart: real estate. Brown and Smetzer and J. M. Blocher. The Wakarusa Telephone Ex- change, organized by Mr. F. W. Brown in 1901, has over 200 sub- scribers, connecting with Nappanee. South Bend. Goshen. Elkhart. Mil- lersburg, New Paris and country. C. W. Miller, president : C. C. Piatt. vice president : F. W. Brown, secretary, treasurer and manager.
Civic enterprise is noticeable on every hand in this town. About three years ago a first-class fire department was organized, and the drill
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is a regular feature of the municipal program. There are three fire companies, with chemical engine, hook and ladder, and plenty of hose. The pond and level-full cisterns afford a never-failing water supply, and it is hardly possible that Wakarusa could ever again suffer such a de- structive fire as visited her a few years ago. The present town board has the following members: B. F. Lutz, president. Fred Trisinger, sec- retary; John Fink, treasurer: Jeremiah Bechtel and Howard Elliott. The town was incorporated in 1898.
The citizens take just pride in their public schools. The school building, which stands on the east side of town, was practically rebuilt some twelve years ago. being a two-story brick structure with nine rooms. Superintendent A. C. Steele and Principal L. M. Culp have five other teachers to assist in the work, and so well is the institution graded and so efficient are all departments of the work that in 1905 the high school was accredited with the State University. There were four graduates from the high school in 1905.
WVakarusa is a religious town and has a full quota of churches. The beautiful Christian church is mentioned elsewhere. The Methodists are under Rev. Eari Parker, the United Brethren have a non-resident minister, the German Baptists have E. J. Swartz as their pastor, and there is also a congregation of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ. There are also a Christian Endeavor, Epworth League, Home Missionary So- ciety. Ladies Aid, and the Band of Willing Workers of the Christian church.
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