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 27
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The St. Mary's Academy is another of the valuable educa- tional advantages of La Fayette, as is also the Sisters' School. The buildings and grounds of these institutions are valued at one hundred thousand dollars.
Tippecanoe county is one of the best agricultural counties in the State. Throughout the county the farmers are nearly all wealthy, the schools are in good condition, and general prosperity is noticeable to the observing traveler on every hand.
CHAPTER XLIX.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY - EARLY HISTORY.
M ONTGOMERY county was named in honor of the dis- tinguished General Richard Montgomery, who gave his life for the American cause at the battle of Quebec. It was first settled in 1822-3. In the latter year the county was organized, including a much larger tract of country than that now embraced within its limits. Crawfordville, the county seat of Montgomery county, was early a central point on the Wabash, and for several years the principal town in that sec- tion. It is one of the oldest settlements in the valley. It was the depot from which the early settlers of La Fayette and
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Tippecanoe county, drew their supplies from 1823 to 1826-7. Until 1826, all the settlements for thirty, and even forty miles in any direction, were compelled to visit Crawfordsville for judicial purposes.
Among the prominent early settlers was Major Ambrose Whitlock, who located in Montgomery county in 1822. This pioneer laid off the town of Crawfordsville in 1823. He was appointed receiver of public moneys by John Quincy Adams in 1825, one year after the land office was opened in Craw- fordsville. Major Whitlock was one of the leading men of the olden time; he was an active and efficient officer under General Wayne, and a useful man in the town which he assisted in founding. He died in Crawfordsville in June, 1864, leaving a widow, who lived until ninety years of age. She died in Crawfordsville in 1873.
In 1824, or about two years after the county was first settled, and one year after the county was organized, the land office was opened at Crawfordsville. The first general land sale took place on the twenty-fourth of December of that year. Up to this date the numerous settlers were mere " squatters," having no title to the land which they occupied, and, as a con- sequence, there was considerable rivalry at the sale. At this period Crawfordsville was a small settlement, surrounded on every side by a dense wilderness.
The first white settlers in Montgomery county were William Offield and William Miller. Mr. Offield settled near the mouth of Offield creek in 1822, where he built a rude cabin and began pioneer life with energy. Mr. Miller settled near the present town of Crawfordsville in the same year. He erected a round log cabin, which was the first building of any kind erected in the vicinity. Both of these pioneers have passed away. Mr. Offield left the county in 1836, and Mr. Miller died in the city which he was useful in founding, early in 1874.
Among those who settled in 1823, in the vicinity of Craw- fordsville, was John Beard. He was born in North Carolina in 1795, and at the age of twenty-seven, came as a pioneer to the State of Indiana. He became prominent in the affairs of Montgomery county at an early day. In 1827 he was elected
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representative of the county in the State legislature, and was continued for fifteen years, with the single exception of one term, as a representative either in the Senate or in the House. Mr. Beard distinguished himself in legislative duties, render- ing an effective support to the bills for the abolition of impris- onment for debt, liberal exemption of property from execution, investing the governor with power to commute capital pun- ishment to imprisonment for life, and for the construction of the Wabash and Erie canal.
There is no better tribute to the memory of the public ser- vices of Hon. John Beard than that which has been con- tributed by Hon. John Coburn, of Moorsville, Morgan county, Ind., which is in these words: "I venture to say again, that not one man in a hundred in our State knows the name of him who proposed that the surplus of the proceeds of the stock of the State in the State Bank of Indiana should be appropriated as a school fund. He is one of our greatest public benefactors, a venerable, simple-hearted, clear-headed, sound-minded old gentleman, living in Montgomery county, named JOHN BEARD. His name ought to be precious in the heart of every boy and girl who enjoys the benefit of free schools. When he proposed the measure, it was hardly treated seriously. Nobody thought anything would be left as a surplus; he himself, doubtless, did not realize its importance. But so it was he put the net where it caught the golden fish, and we thank him for it ten thousand times; and we thank those steady, straightforward, strictly upright financiers who husbanded these funds for us. This measure has been the means of producing our present fund of eight hundred thou- sand dollars for the support of common schools."*
But we must discontinue our sketches of biography, and refer the reader to the regular department of biographies in this work for life sketches of Messrs. Beard, Lane, and many other pioneer settlers of Montgomery county.
Montgomery county was organized in 1823, with the follow- ing county officers: John Wilson, clerk of the circuit court, recorder of deeds, and clerk of the commissioners' court;
* The fund is now $8,000,000.
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William Offield, James Blevins, and John McCullough, county commissioners; Samuel D. Maxwell, sheriff.
Montgomery county is located in the western part of the State, having good facilities for the transportation of its mer- chandise. The soil is well adapted to the cultivation of the various kinds of grain indigenous to the northwest. "It bor- ders upon those fertile prairie lands in the northern part of the State, and partakes partially of both timbered and prairie soils. Indeed, the northern portion of the county contains several small prairies, which give to it the appearance of having been settled much longer than it really has. The soil of these prairies is very rich and productive, yielding in favor- able seasons, very profitable crops of corn, wheat, rye, oats, and barley. Considerable tracts of this prairie remain uncul- tivated, being used principally for pastures.
Nearly two-thirds of the county was originally very heavily timbered, but much of it has been consumed; yet there is an abundance remaining for all immediate needs. The county is laid out into eleven townships, and is twenty-four miles long north and south, and twenty-one miles wide. The soil is watered by Sugar creek and its tributaries. This stream used to be known by the name of Rock river. There are a consider- able number of mills located on this stream. The next prin- cipal stream is the Walnut fork of Sugar creek, which empties into the main stream near Crawfordsville. "The county," says Mr. James Heaton, Sen., "is well supplied with good public highways. The public improvements, in the way of school houses and bridges, are of the most substantial charac- ter. There are but few counties in the State so well supplied with railroads. Every township in the county, except two, has a railroad; and the two exceptions are so near to a road that it may be said that every township has a direct advantage in the way of railway traffic. These roads all center at Craw- fordsville, making that city a desirable location for manufac- turing enterprises."
Crawfordsville is the county seat, and the principal business center of the county. It is an enterprising city of over four thousand inhabitants, many of whom may be ranked among
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the most enterprising citizens of the State. The city has three railroads, giving six different directions of railroad trans- portation. These roads have constructed a very fine Union Depot at the junction, about one mile from the city.
Crawfordsville is taking great pride in her streets, expend- ing considerable means in grading and paving them. They are very broad, and are bordered on either side with beautiful shade trees, which lend an enchanting scene to the place. Good turnpike roads lead from the city in almost every direction.
The medical, or mineral springs, just northwest of the town, promise to become no inconsiderable attraction to this city, and seem to add another assurance that the future of Crawfordsville will partake largely of a resort for summer recreation and literary pursuits. These springs are already enclosed in light and airy summer houses, and the gentlemen who have control of them contemplate erecting a five story hotel just north of the springs. The waters of these springs are said to contain ingredients of great medical importance.
The material resources of Crawfordsville for manufacturing purposes are equal to those of any town in the State of its size. There is an abundance of good timber, coal, iron ore, limestone and sand, and brown stone.
In educational and religious enterprises, Crawfordsville is not behind any other point in Indiana. She has nine churches, most of which are constructed in an attractive and substantial style. The public schools are well conducted in one of the finest school buildings in the State, having been erected at a cost of over sixty thousand dollars.
Wabash College is the pride of the city, and is one of the finest educational institutions in the West. It is located just west of the city limits, "in a campus containing thirty-three acres, shaded with beautiful native forest trees, affording to the students a healthful atmosphere, as well as abundant space for drill and field sports." There are four buildings, viz .: Central Hall, the Academy, the Dormitory, and the Polytech- nic Building, all of which are tastefully appointed and well equipped with all modern appliances.
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This college was founded in 1832-3, and in the latter year the institution was opened with only twelve students. Through a long and tedious effort, however, it has reached a firm financial footing.
CHAPTER L.
VIGO COUNTY - HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE.
T HE first settlement made in Vigo county was around Fort Harrison. The march of Harrison's army to the Upper Wabash, the battle of Tippecanoe and the establishment of Fort Harrison, seemed to impress the people of the West with the importance of this region of country, and soon after the close of the war of 1812, public attention was drawn toward it. The Indians of the Wabash, who had been mainly hostile during the war, were far from being reconciled to peace, and the sur- veys of the land in that section were not only opposed by them, but frequently interrupted; and in the spring of 1815 a company of Rangers, on Busseron creek, were defeated and dispersed by Indians, and a number of children taken prisoners, who were never recovered.
At the close of the war, in 1814, an act was passed by Con- gress granting lands to certain Canadian volunteers, who had been citizens of the United States, but who had during the war joined our forces, and whose property in Canada had been confiscated in consequence. This act permitted these lands to be located in the Land District which included Vigo county, even before the public sale. The sale was announced to take place in June, 1816, and in anticipation of this many settlers, in the early spring of that year, had resorted hither and selected favorite spots, with the intention of purchasing at the sale, and several had erected log houses thereon; but previous to
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the sale, their lands so selected, together with a large propor- tion of the most valuable of the county, were located by the claims referred to. This so disheartened and discouraged the early settlers that many left and located on the eastern border of the Great Prairie, in Illinois. This, together with the unconcilatory bearing of many of the prominent Canadian set- tlers, engendered hostile feeling, which, for years, it seemed impossible to allay, and which tended greatly to retard the settlement of the country.
In 1815, Fort Harrison * was garrisoned by a rifle regiment under the command of Major W. Morgan. In this year he rebuilt the fort. In the following year this regiment was ordered west, and the garrison succeeded by a company from Fort Knox, under command of Major John T. Chunn, who had command of the fort up to the summer of 1817, when he was ordered to Detroit and the post finally abandoned as a military fortification.
The early settlers at the fort, in 1815, were Isaac Lambort, John Dickson, Joseph Dickson and John Handy. These then were the only reputed settlers north of Turman's creek, or Fort Turman, as it was then called. The Indian traders at the fort in 1815, were John A. LaFonde, John Rolland, A. Dash- ney and Pierro Laplant. Mitchell Bronillet was the Indian agent and also the interpreter.
The early settlers around Fort Harrison prairie, were Mr. Lane, at Strawberry Hill; R. Blackman, Thos. Packet, and some others, at the ravine near Hiram Smith's place; a Mr. Austin, on the hill now occupied by Joseph Gilbert; John M. Coleman, at the Early Grove; Capt. John Hamilton, at the old Dawson place; Peter Allen, two miles east of the fort; Maj. Markle, at the mill; Truman Blackman, also east of the fort; Caleb Crawford, Robert Graham and Solomon Taver- baugh, at Otter creek; Alexander Chamberlin and Elisha U. Brown, on the bluff north of the Hovey Creek Locks; Isaac Lambert, John Dickson, George Clem, Moses Hoggatt, Robert
* An account of the erection of Fort Harrison is given in the first part of this work.
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
Hopkins, William Walker, and others, on Hovey creek, and Ezra Jones, at the Wallace farm.
In the fall of 1816 the town of Terre Haute was laid out, and the first sale of lots took place on the thirty-first of October, of that year, and its settlement commenced immedi- ately thereafter. Dr. Charles B. Modesitt, who had lately come on from Virginia, and who then resided near the fort, was perhaps the first to settle at Terre Haute. He built a log cabin on the alley, on lot No. 257, at the mouth of Ohio street. Soon thereafter followed Lewis Hodge, Robert S. McCabe, John Bailey, Adam Weaver, Nicholas Yeager, Samuel Mc- Quilkin, Henry Redford, John Harris, Malcom McFadden, Wm. Haynes, Richard Jaques, Robert Brasher, Nathan Kirk, Robert Kerr, Gideon Sleeper, Ichabod Wood, John Britton and Lucius H. Scott, and in 1818, came Dr. E. Aspinwall, Dr. Davenport, Lewis B. Lawrence, Demas Dening and Chauncy Rose, who had the year previous been at the fort. These per- sons, with but two exceptions, have finished their labors and gone to rest.
The second sale of lots took place in May, 1818. It was made by the county, of lots donated by the original proprie- tors, on account of the seat of justice being established there. The sale was, in all respects, a good success, but from this period the value of lots began to decline, and in 1821, when a final sale of the company's property took place, it had declined more than fifty per cent., and had severely affected those who had made large purchases.
In 1820, the river became remarkably low, the wells were all dried up, and general sickness prevailed, and not a family escaped. Many deaths occurred, taking off some of the most prominent citizens, including Dr. Aspinwall, Dr. Davenport, Lewis B. Lawrence, Samuel Hill, a Miss Collett, and Mrs. Hussey. This seemed to strike a fatal blow to the health of Terre Haute, which was felt for years, and from which it did not fulley recover until after the draining of Lost creek, in 1837. This creek, previous to being drained, had washed down the prairie east and south of the city, creating an immense
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VIGO COUNTY - HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE.
morass of several hundred acres, without any outlet except by absorption and evaporation.
As already mentioned, nearly all of the first settlers of Vigo county have passed away. The first white male child born in the county was William Earl, who became a successful navi- gator in foreign seas. He was born in Terre Haute, September 22, 1818. The first female child born here was Mary McFad- den, now Widow Markle, of Terre Haute.
Vigo county was organized in 1818, and the first county officers were: Curtis Gilbert, clerk and recorder; Truman Blackman, sheriff; Alexander Barnes, coroner; Moses Hag- gett and James Barnes, associate judges; John Hamilton, Isaac Lambert and Ezra Jones, county commissioners.
The first session of the circuit court held in the county, was commenced April twenty-seventh, 1818, and was conducted by the associate judges, at the house of Truman Blackman. The county was then attached to the first judicial circuit. The first attorneys were George R. C. Sullivan, Samuel Whit- tlesey, Jonathan Doty, and Wm. P. Bennett. The regular term of court in 1819 was held at the house of Richard Redford, in Terre Haute, by Hon. Thomas H. Blake, presiding judge.
The first court house was erected on the public square in Terre Haute, in 1821-2. It was built for the county by Mr. John Brocklebank. In 1868, becoming unfit for use, it was torn down. The present building occupied by the county offices, was erected in 1866. The following persons have been judges of the circuit court of Vigo county since its organiza- tion, in the order named: Thomas H. Blake, Gen. W. John- son, John R. Potter, David Mc.Donald, John Law, Elisha H. Huntington, Amory Kinney, Delaney R. Eckels, Wm. P. Bry- ant, James Hughes, Solomon Claypool, R. W. Thompson, and C. Y. Patterson.
The old judicial system required associate judges to set in the circuit courts, and also probate judges, without separate jurisdiction; but in 1851 the system was changed by a revis- ion of the constitution of the State into circuit courts and courts of common pleas. This system continued until 1872, when the legislature dispensed with the courts of common 26
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
pleas, since which time all business has been done by the circuit courts.
THE CITY OF TERRE HAUTE, one of the largest and most flourishing business centres in the State, is beautifully situ- ated, and, with the possible exception of Evansville, is the handsomest city in Indiana. It is situated on the eastern banks of the Wabash river, and is, of course, the county seat of Vigo county. It derived its name (which signifies high land), from the site on which it is located, being elevated about fifty feet above the level of the river, on a rolling table land, which extends back to the adjoining prairie. Terre Haute is admirably laid out, and has quite a metropolitan appearance. Many of the business houses are among the largest in the State, and the principal thoroughfares will com- pare favorably with those of any city in the west.
The town of Terre Haute was laid out in 1816, by a com- pany styled the Terre Haute Company. The company con- sisted of Cuthbert and Thomas Bullitt, of Louisville, Kentucky ; Abraham Markle, of Fort Harrison ; Hyacinth LaSalle, of Vin- cennes; and Jonathan Lindley, of Orange county, Indiana. The articles of association of the company bear date of September nineteenth, 1816. The company held patents from the United States to lands described in their articles as "thirteen tracts of land on the river Wabash, in the vicinity of Fort Harrison." These lands were divided into twelve shares, of which Lindley had four, Markle three, LaSalle three, and the Bullitts two. They were the original proprietors, from whom the first title to lots were derived.
The original site selected for the town was a spot some three miles below the present location, but it was soon aband- oned for the more desirable situation now occupied. One of the principai objects, however, in moving was that the national road crossed the Wabash at the latter point. In 1817, this town presented a truly pioneer appearance. There were only a few log cabins, situated along the river, and these were of the rudest style of architecture. But in 1818, when the town was made the county seat, there was a new life diffused among the somewhat dull inhabitants, and the village settlement im-
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VIGO COUNTY - HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE.
proved. The company referred to, that laid out the town, deeded to the county eighty lots, besides the public square, and paid into the county treasurer four thousand dollars in cash and mortgage bonds. These liberal inducements secured the location of the county seat at Terre Haute. The spirit of liberality, as well as the location of the county seat at Terre Haute, was instrumental in creating a new feeling of enter- prise.
The first settlers of Terre Haute were Dr. C. B. Modesitt, Lewis Hodge, Henry Reedford, Robert Carr, John Earle, Abner Scott, Ezekiel Buxton, and William Ramage. These pioneers settled in 1816, and built the first cabins in the town. The settlement grew very slow, at first, from the causes noted in the previous chapter; but, in 1823-4, it took a new start, and has prospered until the present.
Terre Haute was incorporated as a town in 1832. The town was divided into five wards, and one trustee elected from each. These trustees elected the first municipal officers of the town as follows : James B. McCall, president; James T. Moffat, clerk; Charles B. Taylor, assessor; Samuel Crawford, treas- urer; William Mars, constable and collector.
In 1838, a new charter was granted to the town by the Legislature, which provided for the election of a mayor and ten councilmen. This charter was adopted by the inhabitants in March, 1838, and, in the May following, an election was held, which resulted in the election of Elijah Tillotson as the first mayor of the town.
In 1853, Terre Haute was incorporated as a city under the general laws of the State, and the first city election was held in May, 1853, at which William K. Edwards was chosen the first mayor.
PRESENT CONDITION .- A popular city directory, of recent date, gives the population of Terre Haute at 28,000. This is, probably, a little too high. It is about 23,500, or, perhaps, 24,000. The census of 1870 places it at a little more than 16,000 at that date. The growth since then, however, has been marvelous. No city in Indiana has made greater progress in all material interests. Only ten years ago Terre Haute was
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
but an agricultural town, " and had," says a recent writer, " reached about the height in population and business usually attained by towns whose chief dependence is on the farming interests immediately around them; but, by a system of ex- pansion through railroads, manufacturing interests, and whole- . sale business, the area of its influence and resources has been greatly extended, so that now Terre Haute draws its sustenance and wealth from a wide extent of country, and from many cities connected with it by its numerous railroads. As the country itself is inexhaustible, and the channels of trade and communication are already fixed, like the veins and arteries which circulate the blood through the human system, we may expect no premature decay or death of a city which has become the vital center of so extensive a commercial and business system." The business interests of the city are increasing every year. Some of the largest wholesale houses are located there. The manufacturing interest of the city is represented by blast furnaces, with a capacity of fifty tons of iron daily; nail.works, 3,000 kegs, weekly; water works, 3,000,000 gallons, daily ; a successful rolling mill, and other very extensive establishments. Terre Haute is fast becoming one of the leading manufacturing cities of the west.
The schools and churches of Terre Haute, and, indeed, the whole of Vigo county, are in a high and efficient condition. In the various professions are found men of superior talent and education, under whose care the schools and churches have attained the highest degree of usefulness.
The State Normal School is located there. The building is one of the finest in the United States, having a capacity of accommodating over a thousand pupils. This institution has already achieved a national good name, and is fast becoming the pride of Indiana.
Another educational institution is now being established in Terre Haute, which has already elicited the attention of the philanthropic citizens of half the world. We refer to the " Terre Haute School of Industrial Sciences," in support of which the Hon. Chauncey Rose is devoting his immense for- tune. In short, Terre Haute lacks none of those higher phases
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KNOX COUNTY - HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE.
of material and intellectual enterprise that characterize the modern American city, while, on the other hand, it excels in many of them.
CHAPTER LI.
KNOX COUNTY - HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE.
TN a view of Knox county, historically, our attention must at once centre round Vincennes, one of the oldest-and possibly the oldest-settlements in the State of Indiana. This city -once a French trading post and military station-is situated on the east bank of the Wabash river, about one hundred and ten miles southwest of Indianapolis, and, of course, is the county seat of Knox county. It was on this spot where a French Jesuit missionary from Canada, or New France, said mass before astonished savages in the year 1702 .* This act may be regarded as the very beginning of French civilization in Indiana, for, although missionaries had been in the habit of visiting the territory during the fifteen years pre- ceding, and notwithstanding Robert de La Salle passed through it on the old Wabash and Maumee route, erecting some tem- porary stockades in 1680, there was no permanent mission established within the limits of Indiana until 1702. This was one year after the establishment of Detroit by La Motte Ca- dillic; and the French records show that this missionary came from that post, or from some point in Michigan. Three years later, or in 1705, the date at which the French fort at the con- fluence of the St. Mary's and St. Joseph rivers, where the city of Fort Wayne now stands, was erected, a French trading post and stockade were established at Vincennes.+ Thus it will be
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