An illustrated history of the state of Indiana: being a full and authentic civil and political history of the state from its first exploration down to 1875, Part 20

Author: Goodrich, De Witt C; Tuttle, Charles R. (Charles Richard), b. 1848
Publication date: 1875
Publisher: Indianapolis : Richard S. Peale & Co.
Number of Pages: 752


USA > Indiana > An illustrated history of the state of Indiana: being a full and authentic civil and political history of the state from its first exploration down to 1875 > Part 20


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1858


318,204,964


844,416.84


1,363,728.04


1859


435,367,862


1,288,445.72


1,218,185.64


1860


1 350,428


455,011,378


1,658,217.88


1,621,107.48


1861


441,562,339


3,672,657.64


3,546,224.07


1862


421.406,936


3,486,304.55


2,974,976.46


1863


443,455,036


2,232,899_33


2,503,246_53


1864


516,805,999


2,391,291.15


1,752,529.70


1865


567,381,553


2,742,989.19


8,899,993.02


1866


578,484,109


3,957,035.23


8,663,179.63


1867


577,869,079


4,210,336.44


4,446,691.09


1868


587,970,549


4,279,687.07


3,842,342.52


1869


655,521,479


4,197,489_21


4,473,129.66


1870


1,680,637


662,283,178


3,589,889_40


3,532,369.04


1871


3,605,639.23


2,943,416.90


1872


2,415,269.59


2,686,601.70


1873


831,955.26


1846


122,265,686


1848


128,960,986


1,245,306_36


1,177,218.73


1843


103,709,853


1823


35,643.44


27,044.02


1825


21,544.18


41,170.01


988,416


CHAPTER XXXVI.


AGRICULTURE- PIONEER HISTORY.


-


T HE first object of the pioneer settler of Indiana was to provide the means of subsistence, and for a considerable time all the surplus produce was limited to a few articles, and usually disposed of to other settlers. Every one, as soon as possible, prepared a corn field, a garden, procured a few swine, one or two horses, and a few cows. These made up the capital of the pioneer farmers of Indiana. Many of the citizens of the State who are now rich, can to-day point back to a beginning of this kind, and we doubt not they often do so with pride, as they justly should. They frequently entered on the public lands with even less stock than that above enumerated; they were generally protected in the improvements they made, and after accumulating sufficient means, entered and purchased the lands. Many of the wealthy farmers of to-day in Indiana can look back to the period when they began to erect the little log cabin with only an ax and some provisions- their capital consisting wholly in a persistent energy. They rented land on improvement leases, by which they were to have the use of from ten to twenty acres from seven to ten years, and, in most cases, at the end of that time, they were abundantly able to buy land for themselves.


It was an easy matter in those days to maintain stock. The wild grass, nutritious roots, and several kinds of nuts and acorns, were so abundant that neither horses, cattle, nor hogs required much grain; and often, after a few years residence, the flocks and herds of the settlers were very numerous. This condition of things soon produced a surplus of corn, beef, pork, etc. Low prices created a market, and even before the


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298


HISTORY OF INDIANA.


farmers were fully aware of it, a profitable commerce was established. Fluctuations soon crept into the market, how- ever, and the farmers became much exercised as to what arti- ckes of produce to expend the most labor on. This led to a greater diversity of crops, and as a consequence, a wider range of commerce; and thus, step by step, year by year, the pro- duce market of Indiana has been extended, until to-day it is one of the largest in the Union - certainly the best regulated. Many causes combined to render a great diversity of crops necessary. The soil, though very rich, demands this, as it will not yield a large crop of one kind of produce for many years in succession, frequent changes being required. Hemp has been tried, and although at first unsuccessful, owing to an injudicious management, will eventually result in profit to the producer. Flax, tobacco, fruit of various kinds, and a great variety of seeds from which oil can be manufactured, are now cultivated to a great extent, and many valuable experiments are being made yearly in beet and corn sugar. The cultiva- tion of grapes in many parts of the State, is attended with profitable results.


Corn is the great staple of the State; many farmers have become wealthy in raising it. It is easily cultivated, and almost every farmer has from forty to one hundred and fifty acres. Two persons can prepare the ground, plant and attend to and gather from forty to fifty acres, and the product is gen- erally from thirty to seventy bushels an acre, averaging, per- haps, forty or forty-five. Good land, with the proper prepara- tion and care, will, in a good season, produce from seventy to ninety bushels to the acre. Corn, in former days, say from 1840 to 1850, usually sold at from ten to thirty cents a bushel. Millions and millions of bushels have been used at the former price to fatten hogs in the interior; but in this respect things have undergone a change- a change in favor of the farmer. As we pen these lines, September twenty-fifth, 1874, corn is in good demand in New York city at from 95c. to $1.00, while in the western markets the price is firm at from 85 to 95c., according to quality. This year, however, is not a representa- tive in regard to the price of corn of the last decade. The


299


AGRICULTURE - PIONEER HISTORY.


prices are ranging unusually high, owing to the lightness of the crop, in many parts, and, also, to the great demand exist- ing among pork producers for this cereal.


The cultivation of corn is admirably adapted to the climate and soil of the State, and to the customs of the farmers. The


CROSSCUP &WEST.PHILA.


G. W. ROBBINS, ESQ. See page 21.


soil is very rich, loamy, and with proper cultivation the corn does not often suffer either from cold, rains or drouth.


Following are statistical tables showing the growth of agri- culture in all its branches, from the year 1841 down to the present time:


AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS OF INDIANA FROM 1841 TO 1870.


Productions.


1841.


1850.


1860.


1869.


1870.


Bushels of wheat


4,049,375


6,214,458


16,848,267


30,600,000


27,190,000


Bushels of Indian corn


28,155,887


52,964,363


71,588,919


73,000,000


79,205,000


Bushels of rye.


129,621


78,792


463,495


575,000


437,468


Bushels of oats


5,981,605


5,655,014


5,317,831


12,413,000


11,784,000


Bushels of barley_


28,015


45,483


382,245


411.000


352,000


Bushels of buckwheat.


49,019


149,740


396,989


303,000


154,000


Bushels of potates.


1,525,794


2,083,337


3,866,647


4,750,000


5,436,000


Pounds of tobacco


1,820,306


1,044,620


7,993,378


7,000,000


9,316,000


Pounds of butter


12,881,535


18,306,651


22,506,470


22,915,385


Pounds of cheese.


624,564


605,795


590,213


283,807


Number of horses.


241,036


314,000


520,677


690,340


497,883


Number of asses and mules


6,599


28,893


35,340


43,259


Number of sheep


675,982


1,122,493


991,175


1,011,120


1,612,680


Number of swine.


1,623,608


2,263,776


3,099,110


3,580,120


1,872,230


Number of cattle.


619,980


714,666


1,069,384


1,744,850


1,026,184


Value of domestic animals


$22,478,555


$41,855,539


$58,125,360


$83,594,222


Pounds of wool.


1,237,919


2,610,287


2,552,318


2,478,235


5,029,022


Pounds of hops_


38,591


92,796


27,884


16,280


63,884


Pounds of honey and beeswax_


30,647


935,329


1,259,014


2,018,047


407,337


Tons of hay-


178,029


403,230


629,426


1,200,000


1,026,009


Pounds of sugar made_


3,727,795


2,921,192


1,541,761


1,049,321


1,332,332


Value of farms and implements


$367,270,072


$402,033,219


$673,049,280


1


1


1


1


1


I


I


1


I


I


I


1


1


1


1


I


.


.


1


1


-


1


-


-


-


HISTORY OF INDIANA.


-


-


300


301


AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS.


AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS OF 1850, 1860 AND 1870 COM- PARED.


1850.


1860.


1870.


Acres of land in farms, improved.


5,046,543


8,242,183


10,104,279


Acres of land in farms, woodland.


7,189,334


Acres of land in farms, other unimproved.


7,746,879


8,146,109


82,635


Present cash value of farms.


$136,385,173


$356,712,175


$634,804,189


Present cash value of farm implements


6,704,444


10,457,897


17,676,591


Total amount of wages paid during the year, in- cluding value of board.


9,675,348


Total value of all farm products.


122.914,302


Orchard products.


324,940


1,258,942


2,858,086


Produce of market gardens.


72,864


546,153


487,479


Forest products


2,645,679


Value of home manufactures


1,631,039


986,393


605,639


Value of animals slaughtered or slaughter


6,567,935


9.824,204


30,246,962


Value of all live stock


22,478,555


41,825,539


83,776,782


Number of horses on farms


314,299


520,677


497,883


Number of horses not on farms


39,425


55,320


Number of mules and asses


6,599


28,893


43,259


Milch cows on farms.


284,554


363,533


393,736


Working oxen, number of, on farms


40,221


117,687


14,088


Other cattle, number of, on farms.


389,991


588,144


618,360


Swine, number of.


2,263,776


3,099,110


1,872,230


Wheat, winter, bushels


6,214,458


16,848,267


27,585,231


Rye, bushels


78,792


463,495


457,468


Indian corn, bushels


52,964,363


71,588,919


51,094,538


Oats, bushels


5,655,014


5,317,831


8,590,409


Barley, bushels.


45,483


382,345


356,352


Buckwheat, bushels


149,740


396,989


80,231


Tobacco, pounds


1,044,620


7,993,378


9,325,392


Cotton, bales


14


3


Wool, pounds


2,610,287


2,552,318


5,029,023


Wool, average of fleeces, pounds


257-100


312-100


Peas and beans, bushels.


35,773


79,902


35,526


Potatoes, Irish, bushels


2,083,337


3,866,647


5,399,044


Potatoes, sweet, bushels


201,711


299,516


150,705


Wine, gallons.


14,055


102,895


19,479


Butter, pounds.


12,881,535


18,306,651


22,915,385


Cheese, pounds


936,903


Milk sold, gallons


283,807


605,795


624,564


Hay, tons ...


403,230


622,426


1,076,768


Clover seed, bushels.


18,320


60,726


61,168


Grass seed, bushels


11,951


37,914


17,377


Hops, pounds


92,796


27,884


63,884


Hemp, tons


4,222


22


Flax, pounds


584,469


97,119


37,771


Flaxseed, bushels


36,888


119,420


401,931


Sugar, maple, pounds.


2,921,192


1,541,761


1,332,332


Molasses, sorghum, gallons


881,049


2,026,212


Molasses, maple, gallons


180,325


292,908


227,880


Beeswax, pounds


34,525


12,049


Honey, pounds


939,329


1,224,489


395,278


79,340


156,804


Sheep, number of


1,122,493


991,175


1,612,680


Wheat, spring, bushels


161,991


Cattle not on farms


sold for


.


CHAPTER XXXVII.


MANUFACTURES AND COMMERCE.


T THE manufacture and trade of the State will be more par- ticularly noticed in the descriptions of the towns and places where they are carried on. Madison and some of the other towns on the Ohio, above the falls, have good natural advantages for manufactures. These are being employed to a good advantage, and every year carries the prosperous State of Indiana further along the highway of commercial prosperity. In the whole southwestern part of the State, and for three hundred miles up the celebrated Wabash, coal exists in good quality and abundance; and in the central portion of the State, as well as in the north, there is every facility for water power, and in the latter inexhaustible beds of bog-ore, so that when- ever labor for agriculture ceases to be in demand, it can be turned to manufacturing with good results. And, indeed, it is true that much labor is being profitably employed in the latter, while yet the pursuit of agriculture is on the advance. This is one of the many evidences of the steady growth in all the great industries of civilization applicable to the resources of the State. The wheat raised within the State is almost entirely manufactured into flour within its limits, though large quantities in the southeastern part are sent to Cincinnati, and some is transported north by the Wabash and Erie canal, and by the lakes to Canada and western New York.


There is no commanding position in the State at which even a fifth of the whole business will ever be concentrated. Madi- son, Indianapolis, Richmond, Fort Wayne, Logansport, Lafay- ette, Terre Haute, South Bend, Michigan City, Evansville, and many places on the Ohio, are all fast becoming great commer-


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.


303


MANUFACTURES AND COMMERCE.


cial centers, and the railroads and other improvements now in progress, and the facilities that shall hereafter be afforded to the enterprising business men of the State, point to no par- ticular city with any assurance of its precedence. All parts and sections are progressing. It has truthfully been said that " the public convenience and the general good, not State pride, is building our cities."


The principal articles of export from the State, at the pres- ent time are pork and flour. The former is mostly produced in the southern, and the latter in the northern part of the State. To these great staples may be added horses, mules, fat cattle, corn, poultry, butter, most of the agricultural products of the West, and a wide range of articles of manufacture. The numerous canals and railroads which intersect each other at many points in the State, afford great facilities for trans- portation, so that our producers can reach any market desired at a nominal expense.


The disposition to monopolize in the trade of the State does not exist to a greater degree than is desirable or necessary in a healthy commercial State. During the civil war many attempts of this kind were made, which resulted either in making very large profits or in the utter failure of the specu- lator who engaged in them. The prospect of securing a large profit in a vast amount of produce which was made reasonably certain by the increasing demand for this merchandise became very exciting, and the flour and pork trader found it quite impossible to practice moderation in their calculations. The result was always damaging on the general trade. When the trader failed the farmer generally suffered in pocket, and when he made heavy profits their feelings were outraged. This state of things led to a better regulated commerce. Farmers united in maintaining prices and protecting each other, and so great has been their strength and influence in the making and administration of the laws touching matters of trade that they have been enabled to regulate the cost of transportation, and to prevent, in a great measure, damaging fluctuations in the markets.


Commerce in the productions of the soil, for many years,


304


HISTORY OF INDIANA.


absorbed the attention of traders and speculators; but no sooner had the prosperity of trade created a demand for a general development of the agricultural resources of the State, than a special interest was directed to manufacturing. This was manifested as early as 1840, and, from that year down to the present, a general prosperity has attended almost every manufacturing establishment in the State. It is said that the largest carriage factory in the whole world, to-day, is located in the State of Indiana, at the flourishing city of South Bend. This is the greater evidence of the enterprise of Indiana man- ufactures, when taken in consideration with the celebrated carriage factories of Connecticut, many of which have sup- plied, to a great extent, the markets of the old world. Fol- lowing are some statistical observations.


MANUFACTURING STATISTICS.


Classes.


1875.


1870.


1860.


1850.


Mfg. establishments


16,812


11,847


5,323


4,392


Steam engines employed


3,684


2,881


Total horse power


114,961


76,851


Total No. waterwheels


1,641


1,090


Hands employed.


86,402


58,852


21,295


14,440


No. males over 16 years.


81,621


54,412


20,563


13,748


No. females over 15 years


3,791


2,272


732


692


No. of youths-


2,000


2,168


Capital employed


$117,462,161 $ 52,052,425


$18,451,121 $ 7,750,402


Wages paid


35,461,987


18,366,780


6,318,335


3,728,844


Cost of material


104,321,632


63,135,492


27,142,597


10,369,700


Value of products


301,304,271


108,617,278


42,803,469


18,725,423


Horse power waterwheels


38,614


23,518


The above statistics of manufacturing in Indiana, for the years 1850, 1860, and 1870, were compiled from the re- ports of the Bureau of Statistics; those for the year 1875 have been gathered by the compilers of this work, while trav- eling through the State, and are, in nearly all cases, as correct as those taken from the reports. The column representing 1875 will show the unparalleled increase in manufactures in Indiana during the last five years. As a manufacturing State, Indiana is now considerably in advance of Illinois and Mich- igan, in proportion to her population, and she is rapidly leaving them in the rear in this great branch of industry,


305


MANUFACTURING STATISTICS.


which must, in some future day, become the great source of wealth in the States, instead of agriculture.


From careful estimates by the compilers of this work, it is shown that there is over $100,000,000 now invested in manu- facturing in this State. Five years ago Illinois had less than


H. BATES, ESQ. See page 21.


$90,000,000 invested in this branch of business, while at the same time Michigan had but $70,000,000. Indiana, in the same year had but little over $50,000,000 invested in her fac- tories. How has this comparison been affected by a growth


20


306


HISTORY OF INDIANA.


of five years! It was estimated, in 1874, by one of the leading journals of Illinois, that the manufacturing capital of that State had increased thirty per cent. in five years. This would give Illinois $117,000 000 in manufacturing, in 1875, against $100,000,000 in Indiana. From this basis it will be safe to predict that in 1880 Indiana, in proportion to her population, will greatly exceed the State of Illinois in manufacturing enterprise. The comparison with Michigan, during the same period, is still more flattering to Indiana, than that with Illinois.


The same increase of prosperity is noticeable in the pro- ducts of Indiana factories. In 1870 they were estimated at $103,617,278. From careful estimates by the compilers of this work, it appears that the products of the various factories in the State, for the year ending September thirtieth, 1874, will exceed $300,000,000, showing an increase in five years of nearly $200,000,000. These estimates have been made with the greatest of care, and although they seem to overstate the pros- perity of the State during the last five years, yet they may be regarded as reliable.


It is true that the inquiries as to the amount of capital invested, and the amount of products, were not always suc cessful, but means have been employed to correct errors, into which the answers of over-ambitious persons were calculated to lead us.


But the manufacturing industry of Indiana has not pros- pered in the last five years more than it will in the next. There is a brilliant prospect for a great future advancement in this branch of business. Indeed, this department of enter- prise cannot be regarded as more than fully begun; and from the present indications, its future growth is guaranteed.


CHAPTER XXXVIII.


THE MINERAL WEALTH OF INDIANA.


SI YECOND in importance among the material resources of Indiana are her minerals, as yet only partly discovered, and almost entirely undeveloped. In agricultural wealth the State has no equal, acre for acre, in North America; in min- eral wealth she is scarcely behind the richest States in the Union. In short, she possesses within her borders every ele- ment required to produce wealth, and stimulate progress. Physically, the surface of the country is, for the most part, gently rolling. In the southern portion, along the Ohio river, there are a few hills ranging from fifty to four hundred feet in height, but the average height is probably not more than one hundred feet. About one-eighth part of the State is prairie land, and the remaining seven-eighths, when in a state of nature, was set with a dense forest .*


About one-third of the State is still well timbered. The surface of the territory is well supplied with water courses. The Ohio river, one of the largest tributaries of the Missis- sippi river, flows along its southern border, and is navigable by the largest class of steamboats during the greater part of the year. The Wabash river rises in the State of Ohio, crosses Indiana in a southwesterly direction, and thence to its junction with the Ohio river forms the boundary line between Indiana and Illinois. For a part of the season this fine stream is navigable for steamboats as far up as Lafayette, about three hundred miles above its mouth. When the improvements now going on under authority of the General Government,


* We have been kindly permitted to use, in this chapter, the materials embraced in a pamphlet edited by Prof. E. T. Cox, State Geologist.


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308


HISTORY OF INDIANA.


are completed, it is believed by competent engineers that it will be navigable as far up as Terre Haute, at all times except when stopped by ice.


Lake Michigan, one of the chain of great lakes between Canada and the United States, extends down into the north- west corner of Iudiana, and furnishes ship communication with the immense iron ore deposits of the Lake Superior regions, as well as a channel of commerce with the Atlantic seaboard. In the northern part of the State there are numer- ous small fresh water lakes, from half a mile to ten miles in length, and from a quarter of a mile to a mile in width; the water is clear and pure, and in many of them very deep. They abound with fish of the finest quality for table use, and together with flocks of wild ducks and geese that frequent them in the fall and spring, afford fine amusement for sports- men, as well as an abundance of cheap and wholesome food. It must be borne in mind that in this country there are no laws against hunting or fishing on the public domain, water courses or lakes, but they are open alike to all .*


But more particularly as to the mineral resources. Coal, the most valuable of all minerals, exists in the State in great abundance. The measures, says Prof. E. T. Cox, cover an area of about six thousand five hundred square miles, in the south- western part of the State, and extend from Warren county, on the north, to the Ohio river, on the south, a distance of about one hundred and fifty miles. The following counties lie within its area: Warren, Fountain, Parke, Vermillion, Vigo, Clay, Sullivan, Greene, Knox, Daviess, Martin, Gibson, Pike, Dubois, Vanderburg, Warrick, Spencer, Perry, and a small part of Crawford, Monroe, Putnam and Montgomery. The coal is all bituminous, but is divisible into three well marked varieties: Caking-coal, non-caking-coal or Block coal, and Cannel coal.


The total depth of the seams or measures is from six hun- dred to eight hundred feet, with twelve to fourteen distinct seams of coal, though they are not all to be found throughout the entire area of the field. The seams range from one foot


* Prof. E. T. Cox.


309


MINERAL WEALTH.


to eleven feet in thickness, and the field may, from the charac- ter of the coal, be divided from north to south into two zones; the western contains the seams of caking coal, and the east- ern the non-caking or block coal.


There are, continues Prof. Cox-and this gentleman is our authority on questions pertaining to minerals - from three to four workable seams of caking coal, ranging from three and a half to eleven feet in thickness. At most of the localities, when these are being worked, the coal is mined by adits driven in on the face of the ridges, and the deepest shafts in the State are less than three hundred feet; the average depth to win coal being not over seventy-five feet. The analysis of samples of caking coal, from different counties, are here inserted, and will serve to indicate its value.


The five feet seam at Washington, Daviess county, is as fol- lows: Specific gravity, 1,294; one cubic foot weighs 80.87 lbs.


Coke


64.50


Moisture @ 212º F 5.50


Fixed Carbon 60.00


Ash, white. 4.50


Volatile matter . 35.50


Gas


30.00


100.00 100.00


This is a bright black coal, makes a very fair quality of coke and yields four cubic feet of gas per pound, with an illu- minating power equal to fifteen standard candles. The five feet seam in Sullivan county is as follows: Specific gravity, 1,228; one cubic foot weighs 76.75 lbs.


Coke


52.50 § Moisture @ 212º F 2.85


Fixed Carbon. . 51.10


Ash, white .80


Volatile matter 47.50 S


Gas 45.25


100.00. 100.00


This is a glossy, jet black coal, makes a good coke and con- tains a very large percentage of pure illuminating gas. One pound of coal yields 4.22 cubic feet of gas, with a candle- power equal to fifteen standard sperm candles. The average calculated calorific power of the caking coals is 7745 heat


310


HISTORY OF INDIANA.


units; carbon being equal to 8080. Both in the northern and southern portions of the field, the caking coals present similar good qualities, and will be a great source of private and pub- lic wealth.


The eastern zone of the coal measures has an area of more than four hundred and fifty square miles. It is here that we find the celebrated Block coal, a fossil fuel which is used in the raw state for making pig iron. In fact this coal, from its physical structure and freedom from impurities, is peculiarly suited to metallurgical purposes. It has a laminated structure with carbonaceous matter, like charcoal, between the lamina, slaty cleavage and rings under the hammer. It is free burn- ing, makes an open fire, and without caking, swelling, scaf- folding in the furnace or changing form, burns like hickory wood until it is consumed to a white ash and leaves no clink- ers. It is likewise valuable for generating steam and for household uses. Many of the principal railway lines in the State are using it in preference to any other coal, as it does not burn out the fire-boxes and gives as little trouble as wood.


There are as many as eight distinct seams of block-coal in this zone, three of which are workable, having an average thickness of four feet. In some places this coal is mined by adits, but generally from shafts, forty to eighty feet deep. The seams are crossed by cleavage lines and the coal is usually mined without powder, and may be taken out in blocks weigh- ing a ton or more. When entries or rooms are driven angling across the cleavage lines, the walls of the mine present a zig- zag notched appearance, resembling a Virginia worm fence .*




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