USA > Indiana > Elkhart County > A twentieth century history and biographical record of Elkhart County, Indiana > Part 6
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As far as Indiana was concerned the question of boundary was the occasion of very little further anxiety. and by congressional act the northern line of the state was accurately and authoritatively surveyed in 1827, the very year in which Elkhart county was occupied by its first settlers. But between the territory of Michigan and the state of Ohio in particular and of Indiana incidentally there was waged a bitter contest, which at one time rose to a situation of armed camps
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
and actual warfare. The Harris line cut off from Michigan a very valuable and thickly populated piece of country, and the people of the territory by no means readily acquiesced in its cession to Ohio. The final settlement cannot be described in these pages, but an account of it is full of national interest and involves many serious problems of national politics during the thirties and forties. In fact the boundary dispute delayed the admission of Michigan into the Union, the act for its admission not being approved until 1836, and even for some years thereafter the Michigan statesmen did not allow the matter to entirely rest.
During the dispute Indiana had no occasion to act save through her representatives at Washington. Her northern boundary had been fixed satisfactorily to herself, and she rested in the authority of the national government. She naturally sympathized with Ohio, and the matter was discussed more or less by her public men; but that was all. Whatever struggles might have been had afterward, the main dispute which actually existed was between Michigan and Ohio, and wholly with regard to the tract east of Indiana. The ten mile strip which had been given to Indiana was another matter. it was bounded by a different line from the Harris line. The matter was no doubt discussed in Elkhart county, and a certain interest was taken in it here; for the citizens were intelligent people. Their influence was exerted through those who represented them in the state legislature and in Congress. But the scene of action was too remote for it to cause any great excitement here. The county was more interested in her own development than in anything else, even politics were lost sight of in the united efforts of all parties to develop the resources of the county, her northern boundary had been fixed by Congress, and she rested secure in her organization.
Thus far we have mentioned the county and townships of Elkhart as though they already existed at the earliest day; but they did not. They were only in possibility, not in fact ; only in potentiality, not yet in actuality. During the late twenties many settlers had come, but they were a law unto themselves. And well was it that they possessed the .Anglo-Saxon genius for law and order and the "enjoyment of mine without injury to thine;" otherwise there would have been anarchy. But though the early settlers were in a sense without law they were not against law. and at the proper time steps were taken toward county organization.
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
Among the constantly manifested traits of the American pioneers in their pushing out into new and undeveloped countries, always re- mained the sense of social order, and with the building of primitive homes in the wilderness and the clearing of the forests there were always present the principles of common law and free political insti- tutions. Therefore hardly had the settlers established their primitive homes within the confines of Elkhart county when the forces of order caused the people to effect legal organization.
The prominent men among the carly settlers were in touch with the state authorities, and in due time the legislature was apprised of the existence on the northern border of a community desiring political organization. Accordingly in the legislative session of 1829-30 an act was passed and was approved in January. 1830, incorporating the county of Elkhart. The following limits were prescribed by the act : "The district of country within the following boundaries shall form and constitute the county of Elkhart, to wit: Beginning on the north line of. the state, where the center line of range 4 strikes the same, thence east to the line dividing ranges 7 and 8. thence south to the line dividing townships 34 and 35 north, and thence west to the central section line of range + east. thence north to the place of beginning."
These are the limits of the county as they exist to-day. This county has not. in fact, experienced the usual mutations of boundary and ter- ritorial extension that have been true of many other counties, and in its general dimensions as in its township divisions it has remained unchanged for over half a century. During the twenties Allen county comprised the territory from which were later created the counties of Elkhart. Noble and LaGrange. St. Joseph county was organized at the same time with Elkhart, and to them were attached. for county purposes. the region since divided into Lake. Porter, LaPorte, La- Grange. Steuben and Kosciusko counties.
By the act of legislature organizing the county a writ of election was also issued. ind during the spring of 1830 the citizen voters of Elkhart county chose three justices of the peace to administer the affairs of the county. It is necessary to explain that during the first months of the county's existence the civil administrative powers were vested in a board of justices. This board was abolished by legislative act on January 19. 1831, and at the same time the board of commissioners was I.rought into existence.
With the election of the board of justices the county became a
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
civic community. In the office of the county auditor is an old record book, much smaller than the ordinary ponderous tomes used for record- ing official matters; its pages bear the stain marks of age, and as one turns over the leaves he can but feel a becoming reverence for the writers who have long since passed from the stage of action. The chirography in this book is by no means its least interesting feature, for although it is marked with the quaint and curious flourishes of the time its labored characters show the earnestness and honest worth of the pioneer men upon whom devolved the direction of the county's affairs. From the records in this book can be traced a fairly consecutive history of the work of organization of Elkhart county and of many other events which should form part of the annals of the county.
Under date of June 28, 1830, the following record is of interest : "The board of justices for the county of Elkhart met at the house of Chester Sage in said county. the place appointed by law for doing county business." This first county seat was located in the present city of Elkhart, on the bank of the St. Joseph river, just where the Main street bridge crosses the stream. Thus it appears that Elkhart city has the honor of being the first county seat, and indeed at the time under consideration Goshen had not yet come into existence.
One of the first acts of the board of justices was the division of the . county into two townships, and the following record will show how that was done: "Concord township shall include all that part of the county northwest of a line beginning at the western boundary of the county between townships 36 and 37 and running thence east to the line between 6 and 7, thence north to the state line, and all that part of the county southeast shall be included in Elkhart township." From this it would appear that Concord township included what are now Cleveland, Baugo, Osolo, Concord, Washington and Jefferson townships. Thus instead of drawing the dividing line straight across the county between townships 36 and 37, a block of almost two townships, now called Mid- dllebury and York, was set upon Elkhart township, which made the area of the latter division much larger than Concord township. Did we not have the actual records of the board before us, as above quoted, this division would seem almost inexplicable when taken in connection with subsequent township divisions. At the same time this boundary line explains the word "southeast" employed in the above record, and witli- out doubt marks the two original townships as the justices intended they should be. However, on the organization of Middlebury township,
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
noted below, the phraseology used is, "Ordered that all that part of Concord township in ranges 6 and 7 be set apart and known by the name of Middlebury township." But range 7 was never constituted, so far as we have record, a part of Concord township, so that a dis- ciepancy at once arises between the records and the resultant facts. The explanation which suggests itself most readily is that the clerk omitted the phrase "and of Elkhart township" directly after "Concord township" in the above sentence; or that, in a day when the written word was only a poor symbol for pioneer logic and deed, "in ranges 6 and 7" was meant to be construed as including all that part of the county lying north of the line between townships 36 and 37 and in Elkhart county. At the best, it is a mere interesting bit of ancient history in this county.
In Elkhart township was included not only all the rest of the county as at present constituted but, for voting and other purposes, LaGrange, Noble and Steuben counties on the east, and Kosciusko county on the south.
It may be well at this point briefly to show how the present town- ships were carved from the original two. The first important change was made at the session of the board of justices on July 13, 1830, when all the territory east of Elkhart county proper was formed into a separate township and given the unwieldy Indian name Mong-go-qua-nong, and so remained until the counties of Noble, LaGrange and Steuben were crected therefrom.
Jackson township was the first township to be erected with limits as they are to-day. This is a full congressional township and as such is designated township 35 north, range 6 east. This organization for civil purposes was effected in November, 1833, and Colonel John Jack- son was chosen the first justice of the peace.
In May, 1833, the commissioners made the following order : "That ali the territory lying south of Elkhart county and attached thereto be designated and set apart and known by the name of Turkey Creek town- ship." Thus the old Elkhart township was again limited in extent, and a short time afterward Turkey Creek township became Kosciusko county, with which the history of this county has no more to do.
Another division was effected by the board in March, 1834, when Middlebury township was set apart from all that part of Concord town- ship lying in ranges 6 and 7. The new division thus comprised that
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
block of country now known as Middlebury, York, Jefferson and Wash- ington townships.
In January, 1835, Concord township suffered another large diminu- tion of her original bounds. At that time all that portion of the county lying between the Michigan line on the north and the St. Joseph river on the south, St. Joseph county on the west, and range six ( the western limit of Middlebury as above fixed) on the east, was organized as an independent township, and was duly named Cleveland.
Middlebury township as first constituted soon became too populous to remain as a single township, and on May 5, 1835, the commissioners ordered that all that portion of the township lying in range 6 be consti- tuted a township and named Washington. It was not long until this new division was also divided.
In the progress of organization we now revert to the southern part of the county. where Elkhart township becomes divested of a large and fertile district. On November 2, 1835, the commissioners ordered that all the country in congressional township 35, in range 7, be known by the name of Benton township, and by this act the extreme southeastern corner was set off and designated as it is to-day.
The county now rapidly assumed the boundaries with which we are familiar at the present time. In the commissioners' record of March, 1836, appears the following: "Ordered that all that part of Elkhart county west of range 5 east and south of the Elkhart river be set apart and known by the name of Baugo township." It therefore comprised that strip of country, three miles wide, on the western edge of the county, where now are seen three townships, and during the first years the frac- tions of the townships now in St. Joseph county were attached to Baugo township.
At the same session of the commissioners, in March, 1836. an order was entered forming township 37 north, range 5 east, into Jefferson township. This division, created from the original Washington town- ship, is a full congressional township. except the triangular piece of section 31 cut off by the Elkhart river, and which, by order of the board, became a part of Concord township.
The board met again in May, 1836, and directed that " a portion of Elkhart township in range 7 be set apart and be known by the name of Clinton." Elkhart township was by this restricted in size to three con- gressional townships, and at the September meeting in 1836, township 36 north and range 5 east was constituted into Harrison township.
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
In January, 1837, the original township of Cleveland was divided, and township 38 north and range 5 east, south of the state line, was set apart and named Osolo township.
In March, 1837, Union township came into legal existence by order of the commissioners. And on the same date and in direct consequence Elkhart township was reduced to its present limits, being. technically, township 36 north, range 6 east.
York township came into existence at the same time with Union. This is the fractional township 38 north, range 7 east, originally a part of Middlebury, which, as one of the oldest and most extensive townships, on this date took on the limits by which it is still known.
Two more townships remained to be formed. Under date of No- vember 5, 1839. the commissioners directed that "fractional township 36 north, range 4 east, be set off from Bango township, it now being a part thereof." and named Olive. According to a former history, this township formerly comprised thirty-six sections, but about 1840 the western half was detached and given to St. Joseph county. There is no authority for this statement in the county records, as the above quo- tation therefrom shows.
Locke township, the little division in the extreme southwest corner of the county, was the last to be formed, and it had a somewhat varied experience before organization. It is said that in the early days its citizens, so far at least as election purposes were concerned, had to go into Harrison township to vote: they next voted in Union township, and then in Olive, and finally, in June, 1841, they were set off to themselves, the record being as follows: "Ordered that the congressional township No. 35 north of range 4 east, in the county of Elkhart, and state of Indiana, and the same is hereby set off as a civil township to itself for the purposes of transacting township business for said township: and it is further ordered that said township be known by the name of Locke; and it is further ordered that an election be held in said township on Saturday, the 24th day of July, 1841, for the purpose of electing a justice of the peace."
Such is a brief account of the evolution of Elkhart county from an unorganized region into its present shape and its present order and arrangement of townships. With a county map before one the pre- ceding description of the formation of townships would not be entirely prosaic reading, especially to one interested in the annals of his county. Now, however, we may turn to some other matters relating to the county in its organized form.
THE FIRST ELKHART COUNTY COURT HOUSE COMPLETED IN 1833
TORN DOWN 1869
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
CHAPTER V.
THE COUNTY SEAT.
A IHISTORY OF ITS LOCATION AND RELOCATION : BY H. S. K. BARTHOLOMEW.
"For justice All place a temple, and all season, summer." -BULWER.
The history of the county seat of Elkhart county has its beginnings even before the organization of the county government. The legislature of 1829-30 enacted a law, which was approved January 29, 1830, and which was entitled An Act for the Formation of the Counties of Elkhart and St. Joseph. This law provided for the appointment of five commis- sioners, who were to examine sites and select a seat of justice for the county. The commissioners selected, and who were named in this act, were William G. Ewing and Hugh Hanna, of Allen county ; Samuel Fleming and John Bishop, of Wayne county; and John Bennett, of Delaware county. They were instructed to meet at the house of Chester Sage, whose location was not designated further than that it was within the bounds of the county, on the fourth Monday in May, 1830, and proceed to the discharge of their duties.
In accordance with the provisions of this act the commissioners met May 24, 1830, at the residence of Chester Sage and began the work which the legislature had assigned to them. Two days later they met at the same place and reported that they had examined a number of sites and had selected the southwest quarter of section 24 in township 37 north of range five east, as the site of the proposed county seat. This tract of land is in the present township of Concord, about a mile west of the line between Concord and Jefferson township, just a short distance north of the Elkhart river, and almost directly across the river from the present county asylumn. The commissioners also reported that the land which they had selected was attached to the district of lands held for sale at the Fort Wayne land office and had not been previously offered for sale by the United States government. . At that time there was no organized county government and no authorities to whom these com-
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
missioners could submit their report. They therefore adjourned May 26 to meet again on July 12, following.
The same act which authorized the formation of the county pro- vided for holding an election of county officers and for electing three justices of the peace, who should organize themselves into a board and have charge of the county business. Accordingly an election was held, but at what date I have not been able to ascertain. The three justices elected at that time were James Mather, Arminius C. Penwell and John Jackson. By another provision of the act above referred to, the house of Chester Sage was designated as the place for the meeting of the board of justices after their election. The board met for the first time June 28, 1830, and after transacting such business as came before it adjourned to meet in special session July 13. At that time the com- missioners above named formally presented their report of the selection of a site for a county seat. The report was received by the board and placed on record. What the cities of Goshen and Elkhart would have been had the county seat remained at the place first selected-for it is almost midway between the two-must be left to the speculation of those individuals who enjoy wrestling with that kind of problems.
But that spot was not to be the real county seat, whatever may have been the desires and expectations of the inhabitants of that early day. The legislature of 1830-1 passed an act providing for the reloca- tion of the county seat. The act was approved February 10. 1831. An- other set of commissioners was named, who were to examine the site which had been previously selected and also such other sites as might be considered eligible for this purpose, and decide whether or not the public interest demanded a relocation. The commissioners selected at this time were L. G. Thompson and Attorney L. Davis, of Allen county ; Hiram Todd and Walter Wilson, of Cass county ; and David Miller, of St. Joseph county. The place designated for them to meet and from which to proceed to the performance of the duties devolving upon them was at the mouth of the Elkhart river, and the time set for their meeting was the third Monday in March, 1831. The record of the board of justices shows that Anthony L. Davis, L. G. Thompson and David Miller, a quorum of these commissioners, met on the day designated and pro- ceeded with their work. On the 26th of May they submitted their report to the board. The report recites that they examined the several sites under consideration, including the one previously selected, and recom- mended that it he vacated and the county seat relocated. The new loca-
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
tion selected was described as the south fraction of the northeast quarter and the north fraction of the southeast quarter of section nine in town- ship 36 north, of range six east ; providing that the two fractions should not exceed the maximum quantity of one hundred and sixty acres, to which the county had the right of pre-emption for county seat purposes. The commissioners further recommended that, should the two fractions exceed the maximum quantity, the first described fraction should be pre- empted and the second purchased by the county. The records shows further that the commissioners recommended the name of Goshen as a suitable name to be given to the town which should be built at the pro- posed seat of justice. The report was accepted and approved by the board of justices, the seat of justice was located and the name of Goshen was officially given to the site at that time selected.
The opinion seems to be held by a great many people that the land included in the present court square was acquired from Oliver Crane, one of the earlier residents of this portion of the county. It is also be- lieved that he gave the land to the county with the stipulation that should it ever cease to be used for this purpose it should revert to his heirs. The records show, however, that this opinion was not well founded. The fact is that a tract of ninety-two and twenty-eight hun- dredths acres of land was acquired from the government by pre-emption. as had been recommended by the commissioners. This tract embraced all of that part of the present city of Goshen which lies between the Elkhart river on the west and Broad alley, now Cottage avenue, on the east; and between Clinton street on the north and the first alley south of Washington street on the south. The deed of conveyance for this parcel of land was executed June 7, 1833, and is signed by Andrew Jackson, president of the United States, and attested by his private secretary, Andrew J. Donelson, and by Elijah Hayward, commissioner of the general land office. It states specifically that the conveyance is made in accordance with the provisions of an act of Congress passed in 1824. granting to parishes or counties in each state or territory the right of pre-emption to quarter sections of land for seats of justice. The deed is recorded on page 98 in deed record number I of Elkhart county. Thus the county records completely controvert the time-honored tradi- tion that Oliver Crane donated to the county the land which is included in the present court park.
There is another tradition, which seems to rest on a better founda- tion, that Oliver Crane first suggested the name of Goshen for the pro-
.
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
posed county seat town, and that he did so because he had come from a town of that name in New York. Hon. John E. Thompson and the late Anthony DeFreese were questioned by the writer as to what they knew concerning this tradition. Both of them stated that for the past fifty years or more it had been generally accepted as true. And in a personal memoir by the late John W. Irwin appears the following state- ment : "Among the principal men who were early settlers here before 1832, the time of coming of Alexander Irwin, was Oliver Crane, who had come from Orange county, New York, the county town of which was named Goshen. It is understood that he was mainly influential in inducing those who had charge of laying out our county seat town for the name given it. My father is claimed to have been consulted about the name in 1831 and favored it, not from the standpoint of Crane, to follow a town name to which he was attached from local considerations, but from the fitness of the name as being a country rich and productive, as that of Goshen i11 Egypt, occupied, by the designation of Joseph, by his kinspeople during their sojourn in that country." ( See Note I, below. ) The public records appear to contain nothing either to prove or chisprove this opinion. All that has been found concerning the mat- ter is what has already been stated: That the name was recommended by the commissioners who chose the site for the county seat, and was officially confirmed by the board of justices in whom was vested the authority to transact all county business.
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