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 1879 > Part 27
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
family, about one year previous. The Wabash and Eric Canal was commenced in 1832, which may be regarded as the imme- diate cause that led to the settlement of Huntington. The work on this important State internal improvement prospered, and tlie new town of Huntington shared in the prosperity. In 1835 the permanent population of Huntington was probably two hundred and fifty, although previous to that time gangs of canal men frequently visited the place, swelling its popula- tion temporarily to four and five hundred.
Huntington county was organized in 1834, previous to which it formed a part of Grant county. The first county election was held in the fall of 1834, as also the first court. The latter was held in the well known "Flint Springs Hotel." From this the court was soon after taken to the school house, which shows that Huntington, now so justly celebrated for her excellent schools, began the good work of education in her youth.
The first school teacher in Huntington was a Mr. Sergant. They called him a " down cast Yankee," but he had consider- able influence, probably because he was the son of a Presby- torian clergyman. IIe " boarded round," and being a little on the particular order, it is not a wonder that the old settlers of Huntington tell some funny stories of his experience of this phase of his residence in their town. It is very probable, however, that he had enough to contend with, both in the school room and in society. But we shall not tax the reader with every step in the growth of Huntington county. Such was its social and political beginning. Let us look at results- its present condition.
The Huntington of to-day has a population of three thousand five hundred, and is surrounded by well settled, well cultivated agricultural lands, in every direction. It is the county seat, and a smart, thriving city. The streets have been admirably laid off, and the general appearance of the buildings favors the substantial. The new court house is a fine building, located in the center of a spacious square enclosed by a substantial iron fence. The churches are, for the most part, fine build- ings, erected in a modern style of architecture, and present
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HUNTINGTON COUNTY.
striking evidence of the high moral taste of the people. The city schools are, at present, in a flourishing condition. For many years they lagged for want of the proper management, but within the last few years a splendid three story brick building has been erected, in which the city graded schools are now located, excellent teachers are provided, and the public schools of Huntington to-day are a credit to the State.
There is probably no other city in Indiana of equal popula- tion that can boast as much success in manufacturing as Huntington. The manufacture from wood has increased until the city is now supplying many of the towns in northern Indiana with staves, headings, plow handles, etc. In this particular industry Huntington possesses many advantages. Wood of nearly all kinds exists in large quantities in many parts of the county. Labor is cheap, and the surrounding country affords an ample and remunerative market. However, the manufacture of lime is perhaps the largest industrial interest of Huntington. During the present year there were over thirty kilns in successful operation, employing a capital of over one hundred thousand dollars, and giving employment co an army of men either in immediate connection with the kilns or in chopping wood to supply them with fuel. Over ten thousand cords of wood were consumed during the year just closed, for which over twenty-five thousand dollars have been disbursed throughout the county. The product of the Huntington lime kilns is unsurpassed in quality. "Hunting- ton white lime," has become a favorite brand in the northwest, and is sought after even to the full extent of the supply. The lime business of Huntington shows a steady and healthy increase, and is capable of great extension. The total product in 1874 was over four hundred thousand bushels.
IInntington county is rich in agricultural wealth, and most of the farmers have become wealthy. Old-time log houses have, for the most part, disappeared, and new and elegant rural residences are scattered over the entire county. Villages have sprung up, and in every quarter there are indications of thrift and prosperity. With the increase of wealth have come all the other desirable acquisitions. Education, once so sadly
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
neglected in the county, has now its full share of attention, and the youths are as far advanced in the usual course of study as in any other rural section of the State.
CHAPTER XLVII.
CASS COUNTY -HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE.
P ASSING over Wabash and Miami counties, for the pres- ent, we will take up Cass county. This jump in our route is made necessary by the absence of data, at this writing, for the complete history of those counties, as well as by the fact that the settlement of Cass county is of carlier date .*
Cass county was organized on the thirteenth of April, 1829: previous to which it was under the jurisdiction of Carroll county, being originally, however, under the jurisdiction of Tippecanoe county. Previous to its existence as Cass county, it was known as Eel township, in Carroll county.
"The mouth of Eel," which, in early times, acquired con- siderable notoriety as the point where the main lino of travel crossed the Wabash, is the point where the first settlement was made in Cass county. As early as the fall of 1824,+ Ed- ward McCartney came down from Fort Wayne, under the auspices of a company of "fur-traders " located there, with head-quarters at Detroit, and erected a small trading-house on the north side of the Wabash, a little below the "month of Eel," which was, perhaps, the first house built for the occu- pancy of a white man within the present limits of Cass county. A year and a half later, about August, 1826, Alexander Cham- berlain, a native of Kinderhook, New York, but more recently from the vicinity of Fort Harrison, in Vigo county, Indiana, brought his family and settled on the south side of the Wabash,
* Sce Index to find sketches of Wabash andMiami counties.
t From MS. furnished by T. B. Helm, of Logansport.
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CASS COUNTY - HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE.
just opposite the mouth of Eel river. Here, with the assist- ance of his neighbors from the "Deer Creek settlements," more than twenty miles down the river, he built the first res- idence, also used as a " hotel," (a double hewed-log cabin, two stories high.) in the county.
About the same time, William Newman settled with his family and built a cabin, also situated on the south bank of the Wabash, and three miles below Chamberlain's. The samo season, James Burch made a settlement less than one mile below the former, and on the same side of the river, on what is since known as the Simons' farm. These two last remained but a short time, selling ont their claims and returning to older settlements.
Mr. Chamberlain, after selling out his first residence to General Tipton, who lived there afterward and established the Indian Ageney formerly at Fort Wayne, built another house, a little further down, where he lived and " kept tavern " until the year 1835, when he moved to Rochester, in Fulton county, and died there a few years since.
On the twenty-seventh day of March, 1827, Major Daniel Bell, a son-in-law of Captain Spear Spencer, who was killed in the battle of Tippecanoe, and brother-in-law of General John Tipton, crossed the Wabash river and built his cabin, the first one built between the rivers, within the present limits of the city of Logansport. It was situated just south of the canal, and a few feet west of Berkley street. He lived there until sometime in the spring of 1830, removing thenee to & claim, subsequently purchased, a little way north of Eel river, in what is now Clay township.
Not long after the settlement of Major Bell, IIngh B. McKeen, an Indian trader, from Fort Wayne, erected a tra- ding-honse and domicil on the banks of the Wabash, a few rods above the mouth of Eel river, near where Mckeen street, in the city of Logansport, strikes the Wabash river.
In the fall of the same year, Joseph Barron, an interpreter of considerable celebrity, with his family, moved also from Fort Wayne, and settled on the reservation granted to his children by the treaty of October 16, 1826, below the mouth
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
of Eel river, residing temporarily in the house before built and occupied by Edward McCartney as a trading-house, until the completion of his own house, a half mile above.
Beside those named, there were numerous other settlers who came shortly after, adding rapidly to the population from time to time, so that, by the spring following, the inhabitants num- bered about one hundred souls.
By the treaty with the Pottawatomies, at the mouth of the Mississinaway, in October, 1826, one section of land, "at the falls of Eel river," was reserved to George Cicott, which, hav- ing been surveyed in the month of July following, negotiations were at once entered into between MeKeen, Chauncey Carter and General Tipton, for the purpose of acquiring an interest in, if not the entire control, of the Cicott grant. Mr. Carter succeeded in obtaining the control, and, on the tenth day of April, 182S, laid ont the original plat of Logansport, between the Wabash and Eel rivers, just above their junction.
On the eighteenth of December, 1828, the legislative act anthorizing the organization of Cass county. was approved by the governor, to take effect from and after Monday, April 13, 1829. Accordingly, on that day, an election was held by the qualified voters of the county, under proclamation from the governor, and the following officers chosen, as prescribed by said act, to wit .: Chauncey Carter, James Smith and Moses Thorpe, County Commissioners; John B. Durst, Clerk and Recorder; James II. Kintner, Sheriff; John Smith, Senior, and Hiram Todd, Associate Judges; Job B. Eldridge and Peter Johnson, Justices of the Peace. For the purpose of conducting this election and carrying the enabling act into effect, William Scott had been previously appointed by the governor, special sheriff, to serve as such until his successor was elected and qualified.
By the supplemental act of January 19, 1829, the territory included within the present limits of Fulton, Kosciusko, Miami, Wabash, Marshall, Elkhart, St. Joseph, with portions of La Porte, Pulaski and Starke counties, was attached to Cass county, for civil and criminal jurisdiction.
The first session of the Board of Commissioners was held
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OASS COUNTY - HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE.
on the first day of May, James Smith and Moses Thorpe, Commissioners, with William Scott, Sheriff, being present. At this session, Cass county and the territory under its juris- diction, were sub-divided into Eel township, embracing "all that part of Cass county lying south of the Tippecanoe and west of the west boundary of the five-mile reservation "; Wabash township embracing all that part of the territory attached, " sonthi of Ecl river," and cast of the eastern boun- dary of Eel township, and St. Joseph's township, embracing all that part of the attached territory "lying north of the 'Tippecanoe river, to the north line of the State."
On Thursday, May 21, 1829, the Cass circuit court held its first session in the old seminary building, occupying only one day, IIon. Bethuel F. Morris, Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit of the State, presiding, with Hiram Todd and John Smith Associate Judges, William Scott, Sheriff, and John B. Duret, Clerk.
A scal for said court was adopted on the same day, the device of which commemorates the agreement of Aub-bee- nanb-bec, a principal chief of the Pottawatomics, and General Lewis Cass, one of the commissioners on the part of the United States to the terms of the treaty of October 16, 1826, by which the major part of the territory within the bounda- ries of Cass county came into the possession of the United States-" An Indian and a white man joining hands."
Henry Ristine, Erasmus Powell and Harris Tyner, appointed by the act of organization, Commissioners to locate the seat of justice of Cass county, by their report dated August 12, 1829, submitted to the Board of County Commissioners, then in session, selected LOGANSPORT, in consideration of certain dona- tions made by Mr. Carter, the proprietor.
The settlements in the outer townships, Miami in the cast, Clay, Noble and Jefferson immediately north of the Wabash and Eel rivers, Boone, Harrison, Bethlehem and Adams on the extreme north, Clinton, Washington and Tipton south of the river, with Deer Creek and Jackson on the extreme south, as the public lands came into market from time to time, were filled up rapidly with an enterprising population. The last
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
settlements were in the lower townships, that part having been surveyed in the winter and spring of 1846-7, came into market immediately after, though prior to that time and subsequent to the treaty of 1843, many settlements were made by pre- emption.
For several years succeeding the year 1829, the growth of town and country kept nearly even pace in the progress of settlements and improvements, reaching, perhaps, the year 1836, when the country having fallen behind in the race, as a consequence, the trade being yet chiefly of a local character the town came nearly to a stand still, while the country moved steadily forward, producing, ere long, a large excess over the demands of home trade, for transportation to other localities. The completion of the canal to this point, in the fall of 1837, opened an avenne to trade with other points of commercial importance, which advantages the people were not slow to improve. The improvement of the Michigan road, also, from the fall of 1828 to 1834-5, tended to the development of resources scarcely known to exist before. The canal having been completed from Toledo to the lower Wabash, was about the only means of shipment of surplus products until 1852-3, and from that time forward, when the Richmond and New Castle, and the Lake Erie, Wabash and St. Louis Railroad that began to be operated abont that time with telling effect upon the producing interests of the county, adding greatly to the wealth and prosperity of our citizens. Since that time other roads of equal importance traverse the county in various directions.
Beside Logansport, other smaller towns have sprung up, of greater or less importance, in different parts of the county; among these, Galveston, Walton, Royal Center, New Waverly arc of most consequence, embracing a population of from three hundred to five hundred cach in their own localities, car- rying on a substantial trade.
There are now published in the county, all of them in Logansport, the Logansport Pharos, daily and weekly; the Logansport Journal, weekly; Logansport Star, daily and weekly, and the Sun, weekly.
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CASS COUNTY - HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE.
And now, more particularly of the present city of Logans- port. The scat of justice of Cass county, as originally laid out, was a small, unpretentious plat, in the shape of a right angled triangle, its base, along the margin of the Wabash, being of the length of five, and its perpendicular of four squares, embracing one hundred and eleven lots and fractions. These lots contained an area of fifty square rods, and such of them as occupied a position on the corner of a square were offered and sold for seventy-five dollars, the others for fifty dollars. Some of the lots were sold on condition that the purchaser should erect thereon, within a prescribed time, a house not less than eighteen by twenty feet, and one story high. It was laid out on the tenth day of April, 182S, and the plat recorded in Carroll county, in which jurisdiction it then was. In connection with the name, the following inci- dent is related: While the survey was in process of comple- tion, the name of the new town site became the subject of conversation between Mr. Carter, the proprietor, General Tip- ton, IIngh B. McKeen, Colonel John B. Duret, and others present. General Tipton suggested a Latin compound, sig- nifying "the month of Ecl," of historic fame, or otherwise, commemorative of the location above the junction of the two rivers known as the " Onabache and Ecl " rivers. Another submitted an Indian name by which the locality had before been known. Then Mr. McKeen, who had formerly resided on the Maumee, in the vicinity where Captain Logan, the Shawanoc chief, a nephew of Tecumseh, who lost his life while attesting his fidelity to the white people, in the month of November, 1812, proposed that his memory be perpetuated in the name of the new town. Colonel Duret agreed with the idea, and thought Logan's port would be appropriate. These differences of opinion were then submitted to the arbi- trament of "shooting at a mark," an exercise common in those days. The several names proposed were "shot for," and that having "four best out of seven," should have it. The exercise was finally brought to a close by the declaration that Colonel Duret had "won." Hence, the name as now known - "LOGAN'S-PORT."
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
By the action of the commissioners appointed for the pur- pose, Logansport was selected as the seat of justice of Cass county, on the twelfth day of August, 1829.
At the time it was laid out, and for several years succeed- ing, its importance was, chiefly recognized in the light of a central " trading post " for a large extent of Indian territory surrounding, and as such it acquired a well merited fame. The consequence was that as soon as the sources of trade began to diminish, the producing population outside the town being inadequate to incet the demands of consumption, and the growth of the town was retarded for several years subsequent to 1836-7, indeed, until the country products equalled, overbalanced the consumption account of the non- producers in town, and the avenues of trade were opened between this and other more commanding markets.
The increase in population and business facilities was steady for many years succeeding the depression of trade in 1837-S, but not rapid. Up to 1860-65, the spirit of improvement and enterprise was only in process of development. After that time, however, new life seemed to be infused, and rapid advances were observable in every department of industry, and capital-before withheld from investment promising extensive accumulations, as if a dollar out of sight was for- ever lost-began to seek investment in public and private enterprises which have since yielded liberal profits. For a few years past, the character of the improvements have been more healthy and permanent than ever before, the population increasing in the last decade more than three hundred per cent. To-day it contains fourteen church edifices, one college, eight public school buildings, including seven ward and one high school building, in addition to four private school build- ings, representing conspicuously the educational interest of the citizens.
CHAPTER XLVIII.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY - HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE.
TIPPECANOE county contains within its limits one of the oldest historical landmarks in Indiana -Ountanon. This was the French name given to the military post which was established on the Wea prairie, near the Wabash, about the same time that Fort Miami, at the head of the Maumee, was erected, probably in 1705.
At Ountanon, (unlike other pioneer French outposts in Indiana,) but few French settled, except the transient trader, who was coming and going with the demands of his vocation, and the military occupation of the place was not permanent. There were long intervals when no garrison was maintained to restrain the savages, which may be given as a reason for the tardiness of the place as a general French settlement. Ilow- ever, in 1759-60, when all the French forts in the northwest fell into the hands of the British, Ountanon was enjoying the benefits of a garrison, and was surrounded by a small number of rude French dwellings. The post, with all others in the vicinity, passed into the hands of the English, and was garri- soned by the latter in 1760. At this time most of the French inhabitants removed to Vincennes, a few families only remain- ing.
The Wea Indian village surrounding the fort, was one of the most important Indian settlements in the Miami con- federacy, and remained such until its destruction under the military administration of General George Rogers Clark, in 1788-9.
In 1763, during the memorable Pontiac war, Fort Ountanon fell among the "fated nine," a victim to Indian stratagem.
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
At that time the little fort was commanded by Edward Jen- kins, who, in a letter to Major Gladwyn, of Detroit, dated June first, 1763, gives us an account of the reduction of the fort in the following language:
Sın: I have heard of your situation, which gives me great pain ; indeed, we are not in much better; for this morning the Indians sent for me to speak to me, and immediately bound me. When I got to their cabin I found some of my soldiers in the same condition. They told me Detroit, Miami, and all those posts were ent off, and that it was a folly to make any resistance. They therefore desired me to make the few soldiers. in the fort surrender, otherwise they would put ns all to death in case one man was killed. They were to have fell on us and killed us all last night, but Mr. Maisongville and Lorain gave them wampum not to kill us. and when they told the interpreter that we were all to be killed, and he, knowing the condition of the fort, begged of them to make us prisoners. They have put us into French houses, and both Indians and French use us very well. All these nations say they are very sorry, but that they were obliged to do it by the other nations. The belt did not arrive here till last night about eight o'clock. Mr. Lorain can inform you of all. I have just received the news of St. Josephs' being taken. Eleven men were killed, and three taken prisoners with the officers. I have nothing more to say, but that I sincerely wish you a speedy succor, and that we may be able to revenge ourselves on those that deserve it.
This letter was written by Mr. Jenkins while a prisoner of the Indians before his departure from Wea to Illinois, whence he was taken by his captors.
These incidents were enacted on the soil of Tippecanoe county, in 1763, long before it was settled by Americans. The fort had been erected probably in 1705, and was garri- soned, at intervals, by the French until 1760, when it was occupied by the English, who maintained a garrison at the post until its destruction by the Indians in 1763, which termi- nated its existence. It was never rebuilt, and to-day not a vestige of it remains to mark the place where it stood. The soil has been cultivated, and most of the old rusty swords, tomahawks, etc., have been uncovered and carried away by the surrounding settlers.
When the fort was reduced, in 1763, the few remaining French settlers removed to Vincennes, leaving their rude dwellings, as well as the old fort to the Wea Indians, who demolished them.
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TIPPECANOE COUNTY.
The first American settlers who came to Tippecanoe county, settled in 1823, seven years after the date of the organization of the State, and at an era in its history when immigration was flowing in from the east in a steady volume. From 1763 to the date of the settlement of the county, there is but little of importance to record. In 1808, the "Prophet's Town," -*
WIGHTMAN BUFFALONS
OPERA HOUSE, LAFAYETTE.
which has become famous in history, was established. It was located near the junction of the Tippecanoe and Wabash rivers, about one mile from the spot where the celebrated "Battle of Tippecanoe" was afterwards fought, and about seven miles from the present city of La Fayette. When General Harrison invaded this town, on the seventh of 26
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
November, 1811, it contained about two thousand inhabitants, men, women and children, and was the largest Indian settle- ment in the State; but, with the Prophet's defeat, and the return of his brother, Tecumseh, in the following spring, it was broken up, and the remaining followers of the brave Shawanoc went with him to Canada, where they established themselves near Malden.
In 1823, when the first settlers came to the county, Craw- fordsville was the center of civilization in the Wabash valley for several miles in both directions. It was at this place that the first land office was opened, and where the first settlers of Tippecanoe county entered their lands. For three years after the settlement of Tippecanoe county, or until 1826, when the county was organized, the settlers were obliged to go to Crawfordsville for all judicial purposes, as well as for supplies. As we have said, the county was organ- ized in 1826. "In due time commissioners were appointed to survey and lay out the new county according to law, and to locate the county seat. The natural beauty and eligibility of the site now occupied by La Fayette, together with its surround- ings, immediately determined the said commissioners to award to this locality the county honors. At the time there were rival towns, but that rivalry soon ceased to be, as La Fayette soon outstripped them in the race of progress, some of which joined with her and added to her population, being satisfied that La Fayette was soon to be the 'pride of the valley,' her location being at the head of navigation, bounded by the beautiful wooded hills, beyond which lies the different prairies, teeming with fertility, the abundance of whose harvests have more than made real the hopes of the most hopeful, gladdening the hearts of the industrious farmer, filling his home with the necessities of life, giving him a liberal purse, a liberal mind, and manly qualities."*
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