USA > Indiana > Marshall County > A twentieth century history of Marshall County, Indiana, Volume I > Part 16
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HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.
and declared the motion lost. Councilman Reynolds then, with the consent of his second, withdrew his motion to suspend the rules. Councilman Tibbitts then moved that the rules heretofore governing the proceedings of the council as printed in the ordinance book be annulled and repealed. (This rule provided as follows: 'All ordinances shall be read three times before being passed. No ordinance shall pass or be read at the same meeting in which it was introduced.') The yeas and nays were taken on this motion to repeal the rules and the result was a tie-three for and three against. The mayor cast his vote in the affirmative and declared the rules repealed. Councilman Reynolds then moved that the ordinance as read be placed upon its passage. This vote was a tie and was declared carried by the mayor casting his vote for it. Councilman Tibbitts then moved that the ordinance as read be passed and adopted upon one reading, and upon the passage of the ordinance the ayes and nays were taken with the following result : Messrs. Hughes, Reynolds and Tibbitts voted for the ordinance and Gretzinger against it, and Bailey and Tanner were recorded as present and not voting. The mayor thereupon declared the ordinance passed and adopted.
"Councilman Bailey presented a protest against the action of the council and moved that the same be placed upon record. Upon this motion Bailey, Gretzinger and Tanner voted in the affirmative and Reynolds, Hughes and Tibbitts against it, and the vote being a tie, the mayor voted in the negative and declared the motion lost. A resolution was then introduced appointing James W. Maxey and William O'Keefe councilmen from the new ward. Those who voted in favor of the resolution were Hughes, Reynolds and Tibbitts, those against it Bailey, Gretzinger and Tanner. The vote being a tie, the mayor voted in favor of it and declared it adopted. The new councilmen were thereupon sworn and entered upon the discharge of their duties."
At the first meeting in September Joseph Swindell entered upon his duties as mayor, and among his first acts was to refuse to recognize Messrs. Maxey and O'Keefe as members of the council, or allow the clerk to call their names on roll call. This resulted in the new councilmen bringing mandamus proceedings in the circuit court to compel the mayor to recognize them, which it did, but on appeal to the supreme court of the state, that court decided adversely to the claimants to represent the Fourth ward, on the ground that the ordinance under which they held their appointment had been passed contrary to the rules governing the introduction and passage of ordinances through the council of Plymouth, which it decided the council had no right to repeal in the manner in which they declared it done. This case created a good deal of ill feeling in the community at the time, but as the supreme court has settled it forever, and the three councilmen instru- mental in its passage are now all dead, it will only be remembered by our people as an episode in our local history.
Street Lighting.
For several years after Plymouth was legally chosen as the county seat there was no street lighting of any kind, and those who had occasion to go about at night had to feel their way, as there were no sidewalks and darkness prevailed everywhere, except when the fickle moon shed its pale
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and solemn light over the little town with unimproved dirt streets. In these days the little stores and shops were lighted with tallow candles, and lard and tallow lamps, until time to close for the night. Then but little business was done after sundown, and seldom 9 o'clock at night found many people out of bed. There were no street lights of any kind for more than twenty years after the place had grown sufficiently to be known as really and truly a town, and when the sun went down preparations were begun for the closing up of business for the day. After a while, glass standing and hanging lamps with cotton wicks and a burning fluid made of alcohol and other dangerous explosives, came into use, and proved to be a great improvement over the old system of lighting. Later still coal oil was discovered, and was brought to Plymouth for lighting purposes by H. B. Pershing, then in the drug business. He kept one of the lamps filled with coal oil burning in his store to show the superiority of this oil pumped out of the earth over all other lighting fluids that had previously been discov- ered. The writer remembers distinctly of his father procuring one of these lamps and a can of oil and taking it home with him and trying it as an experiment. It made a beautiful, clean light, far superior to anything the family had ever seen; but for some time there was a feeling of insecurity pervading the household, that some day an explosion would take place that would knock things into smithereens. But the expected did not take place, and coal oil rapidly found its way into favor until its use became almost universal.
The use of coal oil having been fully established, the town council determined to devise a way by which the streets could be lighted, and about 1876 or 1877, some twelve or thirteen posts were put up at places where lights were needed the most, on top of which were fastened lamps that would hold about a quart of coal oil. These lamps were lighted by contract, Ezra Barnhill having the job the first two or three years. He sublet the work to John S. Harsh, who attended to the lamps about three years, when Dickson Thompson took the job off his hands and attended to it about three years, when he resigned, and was suc- ceeded by Jonathan Brown, who remained in charge of the "plant" until it was discontinued to give place to electricity.
This old-time system of lamp-lighting the streets was the first effort in this direction Plymouth had had, and it seems exceeding strange that the streets of the town had been in darkness about forty years from the date of its organization before the edict had gone forth from the town board, "Let there be light," and "there was light!" The people of the town, "without regard to race, color, or previous condition of servitude," hailed with joy and gladness this new process of bringing them "from darkness to light." Of course it was better than no lighting at all, but as com- pared with the present splendid electric lighting system it would be consid- ered very little better than no light at all.
In 1888, an electric light plant having been established in Plymouth, the city decided to enter into a contract with the company looking to the lighting of the principal streets with electric arc lights, and this was done without much delay. The streets are now lighted with about thirty arc lights, and with the electric signs, and lights in the plate glass windows
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on the business streets, it is as pleasant and easy getting about town in the night time as it is in daylight.
During the summer of 1907 a gas plant was established in Plymouth, the output of which is mostly used for cooking and heating purposes, but when added to the electric light, will add greatly in dispelling what little darkness there may be left.
In 1888, after long and patient investigation, the city council deter- mined to put in a system of waterworks for use by the citizens of the town and especially for fire protection, and that year put in about 18,000 feet of pipe, built an engine house, put in the necessary engines and fixtures, etc., at a total cost of about $17,000. Since that time several thousand feet of pipe have been laid, so that almost every part of the city can easily be reached by the fire hose, and since the organization of the fire depart- ment to conform to the waterworks system, the fires that have occurred have been extinguished with very little loss, whereas those that occurred prior to that time were in every case disastrous, so that in every fire in the main business part of town since that time enough property has been saved in each fire to pay for the entire waterworks system, as is shown by the losses in the great fires of 1851, 1857, 1866, 1872, before the waterworks fire department was organized.
The editor of the Plymouth Pilot in his issue of July 18, 1851, paid the following glowing tribute to the beauty of the town of Plymouth:
"Plymouth was always a beautiful town. It never looked so beautiful to our eyes as at the present time. Just bathed in refreshing showers, she blooms like a garden of roses in the desert. Silvery voices ring upon the ear, and bright eyes peep through the damask custains of heat, white Bloomer palaces. Yellow river glides on its course, laughing merrily among the greenwood shades and inviting us to drink of its limpid waters! We were not aware that Plymouth could gather so bright an array of celestial spirits. Many a sigh comes mourning over the green sward from the rosy bowers of Love and tears are falling for many a lost Adonis."
Early Merchants and Landlords.
For some time after the organization of the county, merchants and hotel keepers were required to procure a license from the board of commis- sioners. At the May term, 1837, the board fixed the rate of license for these and other occupations as follows :
"Ordered that license for retailing spirituous liquors be taxed at $100 for the present year.
"License to vend wooden clocks, $100 per year.
"Each traveling caravan, menagerie, or other collection of animals or show of wax figures, or circus exhibited to the people for money, $50 for each day.
"That license to vend foreign merchandise and foreign and domestic groceries be taxed $5 for each $1,000, and $2.50 for each additional $1,000 ; provided that no license shall exceed $20 for one year."
At the same term of court the following order was made:
"Ordered that Pomeroy & Muncy, merchants, trading and doing busi- ness under the name, firm and style of Pomeroy & Muncy, be granted a
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license to vend foreign merchandise for the term of twelve months from this date for the sum of $10. Their capital does not exceed $1,000."
At the same term licenses to vend merchandise were granted to Chester Rose, Evan B. Hobson, Wheeler & Gregory, Hobson & Cougle. Jeremiah Grover, William M. Dunham, Grove Pomeroy were licensed to keep tavern.
The mercantile business was not very lively in those days. The whole county did not contain more than 600 people, not more than half of whom were residents of Plymouth and vicinity, and these were generally poor and had little use for dry goods and "foreign merchandise," and consequently many who engaged in the business failed to realize the profits they had anticipated and went out of business. All these old merchants and tavern keepers are long since dead-not one is left to tell the story of the pioneer days in the wilderness.
Plymouth Fire Department.
For a period of twenty-two years Plymouth was without any appliances to assist in extinguishing fires. The first effort in that direction was the organization of what was called Protection Hook and Ladder Company No. I, which perfected its organization under the law by filing its constitu- tion in the clerk's office February 24, 1858, about half a century ago. The following were the original members as they appear on the constitution : Jacob B. N. Klinger, Daniel McDonald, Adam Vinnedge, Stephen A. Francis, Henry B. Pershing, D. Lindsay, Thomas J. Patterson, Rufus M. Brown, James E. Houghton, J. C. Leonard, L. D. Lamson, Julius Tacke, David How, Eli R. Shook, Henry Humrickhouser, John H. Beeber, Nathaniel B. Klinger, David Vinnedge, Samuel Freese, John S. Woodward, second, Meyer Becker, Adolph Meyers, Henry M. Logan, William W. Hill, S. Vinnedge, Matthew Boyd, John M. Shoemaker, George Anderson, Charles G. Tibbitts, John Noll, Henry Kuntz, Horatio B. Sellon, William M. Kendall, Henry Botset, Christopher Seitel, Charles Ebel, J. Alexander, M. La Pierre, Homer Sluyter, George H. Wilbur, Thomas K. Houghton, Amasa Johnson, John W. Patterson, Henry McFarlin, John W. Houghton, Jerry Blain, Daniel B. Armstrong, James L. Cleaveland, Joseph Lauer, Henry M. Hilligas, J. N. Freese, F. Mullen, D. R. Davidson, William Babington, Michael Stoll and William C. Shirley.
The first officers were: Jacob B. N. Klinger, foreman; Stephen A. Francis, assistant foreman ; William C. Shirley, treasurer ; Daniel McDonald, secretary, and Eli R. Shook, steward.
The formation of this company grew out of the great fire of 1857, March 22, which destroyed every business house on both sides of Michigan street, between La Porte and Garro streets, entailing a loss estimated at between $75,000 and $100,000, with little or no insurance. There was no fircmen's organization here then, not even a bucket brigade, and no water if there had been, except such as could have been drawn from dug wells and from Yellow river, a considerable distance away.
The constitution and by-laws are quite voluminous and contain about everything that could possibly be thought of in connection with the duties of members of the organization. The hour of meeting was fixed at 7 p. m., John M. Shoemaker's time being the criterion-he being the town watch- maker at that time. Everything went by sun time then, which was, and is,
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about fifteen minutes slower than "standard time," which is now in universal use in this part of the country, the change having been made some thirty years ago. There was a good deal of opposition to abandoning the good old-fashioned sun time, but the town clock was set forward to standard time, the town schools adopted it at once, the railroads followed suit, and it was not long until the business houses, the churches and the citizens gen- erally turned their timepieces forward, and everybody began doing business on "fast time." The telegraph office at the Pennsylvania station receives the exact time every day at 12 o'clock noon; in this way the town clock is regulated, as well as the clocks of the watchmakers and others. Each mem- ber was required to procure the following uniform: "A black glazed cap, a red woolen sack or wamus, with black velvet collar and cuffs, and a black leather belt."
A two-story frame building for the use of the company was erected on the bank of the river on the south side of Adams street, the upper story being used for meeting purposes and the lower room for trucks, ladders, etc. Later the company moved into the Dawes wagon shop, located where John W. Parks now has his law office, on the south side of Garro street.
April 10, 1859, the residence of David How, on the southwest corner of the public square, caught fire, and had it not been for the Hook and Ladder Company would have been totally destroyed. Speaking of the fire the editor of the Republican said :
"The conduct of the members of Protection Hook and Ladder Company No. I, on this occasion, was honorable to them in the highest degree. No set of men could have done more efficient service with the same means. Our citizens will ever be proud of their firemen so long as they demean them- selves in this manner, and will doubtless on all suitable occasions manifest a material regard for them."
With the organization of the old Hand Engine Company, and later the Hose Company, the Hook and Ladder Company necessarily had to take a back seat, but it was the first organization for the protection of property against the ravages of fire in our midst and is entitled to its due meed of praise.
As near as can be ascertained, the books having been destroyed, Adriatic Engine Company No. I and Torrent Hose Company No. I were organized in 1865. The first officers of the engine company were: Martin H. Rice, foreman ; D. Emmit Simons, assistant foreman ; Sigmund Mayer, secretary ; John W. Palmer, treasurer.
About that time the department was regularly organized and was com- posed of the following companies: Protection Hook and Ladder Company No. 1; Adriatic Engine Company No. 1 ; Torrent Hose Company No. I.
The records having been destroyed, as stated, it is impossible to get any information in regard to the work of the fire department until about the first of the year 1876, when the present city building was erected and occu- pied by the fire department. From that time up to the present a record of all the doings of the department has been kept, from which it appears that the companies took possession of the new hall February 21, 1876, and dedi- cated it by a grand ball on the same night, which proved to be one of the best paying balls ever given in Plymouth, the net proceeds being $165. At
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the regular meeting of the fire department, February 22, 1876, the following resolution was unanimously adopted and ordered printed :
"Resolved, That the members of the fire department of Plymouth take great pleasure in returning their sincere thanks to the citizens of Plymouth for their liberality in purchasing tickets to the firemen's dedication ball, and to the McDonald Brothers, printers, especially, do the firemen feel grateful for their unparalleled liberality in donating all the printing for the occasion, amounting to $13, consisting of tickets, cards and programs, executed on the best of material and in a neat, artistic style."
Since the organization of the fire department there have been but six chiefs, whose names are as follows: James M. Confer, Daniel B. Arm- strong, Andrew H. Korp, Adam Vinnedge, James Moore and Fred H. Kuhn, the present incumbent, who has been elected every year since his first election, the best endorsement he could possibly have that his work has been well and faithfully done.
The City Hall and Engine House.
The city hall was completed about the first of January, 1876, by Robert McCance and William P. Beaton, contractors, at a cost of $4,200. The construction of the building was under the immediate supervision of Alfred Morrison, Platt McDonald and William D. Thompson, all at that time mem- bers of the city council. The building is 34 feet wide by 50 feet in length. The walls are 35 feet high, 18 inches thick to the second story and 12 inches from there to the top. The tower is 9 feet square and 59 feet high. The first story is in one large room, in which are kept the implements of the fire department. The upper story is divided into two rooms-one for the fire department and one for the meetings of the city council, and the use of the clerk and mayor. The building is one of the best of its kind in northern Indiana, and is large enough for the use of the city for many years to come.
THE TOWN OF BOURBON.
Bourbon township, in which the town of Bourbon is situated as the seat of justice, was regularly organized January 6, 1840. The petitioners for the organization of the township were James O., Grayson H., John F. and Edward R. Parks; Thomas R. McKey, Peter Upsell, W. H. Rockhill, Israel Beeber, William Taylor, John Greer, William Elder, John Henry, A. H. Buckman, Lyman Foote, Samuel Taylor, Jolın F. Dukes, John Fuller, James Taylor, William Taylor, Jr., George Taylor and Samuel Rockhill.
John Greer and John F. and Edwin R. Parks had, a year or so prior to the organization of the county, come to the region of where Bourbon now is from Bourbon county, Kentucky, and James O. Parks, as the spokesman for the others, suggested to the board of commissioners that the new town- ship be named Bourbon in honor of his native county in Kentucky, and it was accordingly so done.
The town of Bourbon was not regularly laid out as a town until April 23, 1853, thirteen years after the organization of the township, although prior to that time it had grown to be considerable of a village. Naturally enough the town of Bourbon took the name of the township and for the same reason. The original proprietors of the town were Samuel Thomas and J. S. Neidig. Since then the following additions have been made :
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Martin's first and second; J. F. Park's addition and continued addition ; Linn's addition and continued addition ; Boley's first and second addition ; Ball's addition ; Davis's addition; Bailey's addition; Thayer's first, second and third and continued addition ; J. W. Thomas's addition; Borton's addi- tion, and Staples's addition.
In September, 1865, the town of Bourbon was incorporated under the state law authorizing the incorporation of towns and villages for municipal purposes. The first officers elected after the organization took place were as follows: Trustees, Elias Galentine, James H. Porter and Omar Davis ; Caleb Davis, marshal; George Sears, clerk and treasurer; Lewis Gross, as- sessor.
The first election held in Bourbon township was held at the house of Elizabeth Parks. This occurred in April, 1840. The town of Bourbon had no existence at that time, and for several years afterwards had but few houses. The writer remembers having passed through what is now the town of Bourbon in August, 1849, and his recollection is quite vivid to the effect that there was not what could be called a town there then. The whole country in that region, with few exceptions, was an unbroken wilderness, and to follow the road that led to Tippecanoe town, the place he was trying to find, without missing the way, required a close look-out for the blazes on the trees, the primitive guide-boards as it were, that enabled the traveler to find his way. Notwithstanding these precautions, on his return in the dusk of the evening he lost his way, and some time during the night found him- self the guest of a pioneer who lived in a log cabin in the woods half way between what is now Bourbon and Tippecanoe town.
Some thirty odd years ago a writer gave the following glowing descrip- tion of Bourbon: "The pleasant and beautiful little city of Bourbon is in the center border of Marshall county, in the midst of one of the finest, richest and most splendidly developed agricultural regions in the entire state. The vicinity of the city is beautiful and diversified by old and magnificent forests of the loftiest and largest timber of every variety; the finest and cosiest country seats, nestled in secluded spots, surrounded by Nature's choicest beauties ; the largest and most productive farms and horticultural planta- tions, the peaceful towns and sleepy villages, the schools and churches here and there, o'er hill and vale, all in the midst of health, and abundance of all that makes life desirable and enjoyable."
The First College Student.
The following order appears on the records of the board of commis- sioners of Marshall county at the March term, 1837, and that was the first order of that kind that had been made since the organization of the county : "Now, at this time, to-wit, on the seventh day of March, 1837, here comes in open court James Parks and makes application for the privilege of sending a student to the Indiana college at Bloomington, to-wit: John F. Parks, which request is granted for the term of two years."
James Parks was the father of the applicant and of James O. and the other Parkses named above. In a paper prepared by Sinclair D. Parks many years ago, he speaks of the death of James Parks as follows :
"The first death in the new settlement occurred on the twenty-eighth day of August, 1839, the deceased being James Parks, at the age of sixty-three
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years. He was buried in the first burying ground laid out in the township, which is now known as the Parks or Ganzhorn burying ground, two miles east of Bourbon. Considerable astonishment was manifested when it was rumored that a gravestone was to be shipped from New York and was to be erected at the head of his grave. It was the first gravestone ever brought to Marshall county."
Destructive Fires.
For several years Bourbon was without adequate fire protection, and during that period several destructive fires occurred, but a detailed record of them has not been kept.
On the twelfth of January, 1854, the storeroom of W. E. Thompson was consumed, together with its entire contents, including his books. The estimated loss on building, goods, etc., was about $2,500, on which there was an insurance of $1,600. The adjoining room, occupied by Robert Cornwall as a drug store, was also consumed, but a portion of the contents was saved.
January 20, 1854, the dwelling house of James Miner was burned; no insurance and nothing saved.
The most destructive fire of which an account is given occurred October 3, 1872. The second block north of the railroad, on the west side of Main street, was entirely destroyed, resulting in an estimated loss of $10,000 to $15,000. Those who suffered by the fire were Leroy Manville, William Sear, A. M. Davis, D. Walmer, Phil Matz, Thomas Banks, Matchette & France, W. C. & A. C. Matchette, H. A. Snepp, Mrs. Hess, A. W. Johnson, J. Oldfather, Dr. L. Johnson and Tyrrell & Chamberlain.
January 15, 1878, the residence and ax handle factory of Peter Knisely was destroyed. The loss was estimated at $1,500. The house was one of the first erected in Bourbon.
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